EVOLVE Strong February Workout Programming
Hey team!
Hard to believe that January is almost behind us! The first few months of the year always seem to fly by. But, let’s harness the motivation we’ve seen the past few weeks, and get after another month of excellent workouts!
In February, we are going to build on the foundation we developed in January, and aim for several specific adaptations across the month:
Increase power as well as strength. You’ll see movements like the banded deadlift, heavy thrusters (as a main movement), and the push press, where the goal is moving with speed more than grinding heavy reps. This can carry over well to those times outside the gym that you need a quick burst of explosiveness
Moving laterally. Life outside the gym comes at us from multiple directions, so we should train there too. Movements like the single leg lateral step hop, banded lateral hop + return, skater jumps, side shuffles, and lateral lunges get us moving in multiple directions.
Accessory work focusing on the rotator cuff, scapular stabilizers, biceps, triceps, and hamstrings. Strength and endurance of these muscle makes so many other exercises and activities easier.
And of course, outside of these three specific aims, each workout will have an upper body push and pull, plenty of core work, either a squat or a hinge pattern for the lower body, and varied conditioning work to keep things interesting (and challenging!). We also include some type of balance work on multiple days across the week to improve your overall stability and injury risk.
Some specific exercises that you’ll see this month include (scroll down for a full outline):
Banded deadlifts: These help with glute engagement at the top of the movement, and can develop speed and power in a similar way to the clean, but without the technical demands of an Olympic lift.
Eccentric dragon fly: Besides having a cool name, this is a crusher for the core and hip flexors
Landmine press: Many of us in the modern world have limitations of the thoracic spine and shoulders, and this is a pressing variation that has similar qualities to an overhead press, but in a much more accessible range of motion.
Heavy thrusters: You know I love thrusters! We typically use them as a conditioning movement, but this month they will also make an appearance as a full body strength-power exercise. They are excellent for working on transferring power from the legs to the arms.
Banded lateral hop + return: This movement challenges agility, single leg balance, and the ability of your legs and core to decelerate (slow down) quickly, which is often key when doing something like running or hiking downhill
With all of that said, what should you track this month that covers the majority of those goals, as an easy way to see your progress? Here are a few ideas:
The number of rounds you get on the conditioning workout for Monday, 1/31. We’ll repeat that at the end of the month. It works on bodyweight endurance as well as power.
Your weight / reps on one or two big lifts. These will stay the same each day throughout the month. So, choose a day that you typically come. We are going to start higher rep (12 reps!) and decrease throughout the month on most major movements
Your ability and ease of single leg balance and side-to-side movement. This one is less tangible, but we’ll be doing a lot of it this month, and we consider both to be important physical skills.
We hope you enjoy what we’ve got on deck for you this month, and are always open to feedback and suggestions!
Outline of February Programming with Sample Week of Conditioning Circuits