MODI- Strength Focused

So you want to get strong, and you want to get strong without sacrificing your ability to run a few miles. You're in the right spot.

This is a 12-week program designed to get break your plateau on the barbell while still keeping you moving on the trail. The gas doesn't let up for the first 6 weeks. You'll grind. You'll live sore. You'll run when that's the last thing you want to do.

After that, though, you'll break through that old glass ceiling like a 300 Win Mag on a bull elk. Throughout the program, you'll focus on the "Big 4:" Back Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Overhead Press.

The accessory work is there to round you out and compliment your growth. The METCONs (Metabolic Conditioning circuits) sprinkled in there are designed to compliment the movements you're already doing while keeping your glycolytic and aerobic energy systems in shape. You'll run once or twice a week, but won't ever break 6-ish miles in a week.

After all, if you're here, you can't afford to not be able to put some miles on your legs The Foundational Phase (Week 1-6): You'll do 5x7 of the "Big 4", focusing on getting your weight average and volume-load as high as possible while still finishing all 35 reps. So make decisions about loading that will allow you to keep pushing those numbers higher.

Example: on your 5th set, you can hit 450# for 7 but instead push to 460#. You only get 460# for 5, then have to drop to 405# for the last 2 reps. In this case, staying at 450# and hitting all 7 reps is better for your average and has a higher volume-load than if you had gone up in weight only to miss the complete set of 7.

You might be thinking, "oh god, math...wtf!" Get over it, you have a calculator on your phone and this is 7th grade math. You'll be fine. You don't need to know your training max prior to starting this program. It will help, but isn't required by any means. If you're not sure, pick a number you think you could reasonably hit, and base everything off of that.

Deload Week (Week 7): You'll keep it light here and give yourself some time to recover after 6 weeks of waking up sore every day. You'll thank me when you get there. 

Realization Phase (Week 8-10): This is where you start getting paid for the investment you just made in the first half of this program. The volume drops and weight goes up. This is fun and exciting stuff as you start creeping towards numbers that used to break you off.

Back-off Week (Week 11): This is a slight and final taper before you go into a week of max testing to hit those numbers you've been chasing.

Max Week (Week 12); The explanation is in the title. This is payday, and well-deserved. Go ahead and get your caption ready for your new PR post on Instagram.