EDITOR’S NOTE: These workouts are designed by Eva Twardokens. Eva is a two-time Olympian in Alpine Skiing (Albertville and Lillehammer) and a twelve-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team. She also is a masters weightlifting champion. As a sought-after coach and consultant, she offers seminars, functional nutrition testing, and coaching to sustain training and optimize health. Learn more about Eva and her work at her website, Eva T. Strength and Conditioning.
The program is meant for the person who is not efficiently secreting cortisol and feels tired and flat much of the time. This person is also destroyed by hard workouts – initially feeling great, but hitting rock bottom a few hours afterwards. The athlete will also have a lot of soreness and unexplained aches and pains that no amount of rolling or mobility will fix. The significant reduction in cortisol secretion affects the body’s ability to reduce inflammation, and so recovery from workouts becomes difficult.
To help you recover from fatigue and get your cortisol levels back to normal, the program incorporates five elements:
- Strength
- Sprints
- Walking
- Gymnastics
- Sport Day
The workouts will be posted six days a week. To learn more about the programming, you can read my article here. Enjoy the workouts and good luck in regaining your health and energy!
Week 2, Day 1
Warm Up:
Your choice. run, row, or jump rope for five minutes. Make sure you at least do some floor back extensionsin sets of ten, and some side planks for ten seconds each side, and three rounds. This should be your minimum. Add other warm up movements as needed. Do not overstretch your hamstrings on back squat, deadlift, or Olympic lifting days.
Back Squat: 3×5
In the first week you worked up to a 3×3. Use that weight today for a 3×5. Remember last week you left a little in the tank, so doing 3 sets of 5 reps should be very doable. If you don’t think you can’t do it, take the weight back to where you can complete all 3 sets at 5 reps.
Example run up for # 260: 5x- bar, 5x 135,5x 185,5x 205, 5×235, 5x (260,260,260)-work sets.
Make sure you recover for 2-5 minutes between work sets.
Press: 3×5
Remember that you are using your information from week 1 to determine your work sets for a 3×5.
Example run up: 5x- bar, 95,115,130,140,(150,150,150)- work sets
Sprint: 10x 100m row
Mobility/Stretch – your choice.
