Training Sample Sessions

A curated taste of my Integrated Fitness Program

The least in important part of my integrated training modules is the literal rep and set programming. However, movement and rhythm are the main language used throughout the program to cultivate, develop, and explore psychological and emotional states.

Here you will find several energy system headings (e.g. endurance) that represent their respective training module (e.g. IFP03) and the emotional energy system I’ve associated with them (e.g. Love).

Each session here offers a unique solicitation (intention) that is trying to be derived from the (physical) training.

There are several 8.5” x 11” image interspersed that can be downloaded (or screenshot), printed, and attached neatly to a notebook.

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Mobility (MOB): Hope

Intention:

Our spines often get either neglected or abused in training. The truth is that without our spine we’re jellyfish. All movement starts internally, and usually specifically with the spine. The catch is that the range of movement and musculature surrounding each vertebrae is much less than larger joints like the hips or shoulders. Loading needs to respect the difference.

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Endurance (END): Love

Intention:

Ladders are one way to break up the monotony commonly associated with endurance work. Specifically, ascending ladders help us learn there’s a steep price for coming out too hot and thus have to learn to pace ourselves.

Open up the shoulders and hips, then get the lungs working with some mild accumulation and pre-fatigue for the shoulders, hips and spine.

When loading the step-ups and ball-overs, note that we’re aiming for a steady flow of cardiac output rather than interrupted rep-rest-rep-rest plodding.

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Power (PWR): Anger

Intention:

A barbell is probably the most common implement used to express power (or fast force), but it isn’t the only one. We can “teach” our tissue to move fast, but will have a hard time doing so through a range or into a position we’re not comfortable with.

That is the progression we’re looking at here: blood flow, articulation, contraction rate, contraction force, speed force.

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Hypertrophy (HYP): Resilience

Intention:

Fatigue resistance isn’t the same as work capacity, but it’s a start. Often this is accompanied by feelings of “burn” and “pump.” It’s also often helpful to think of training a certain joint and contraction rather than just musculature and direction.

For example, here we’re looking at rotation (internal and external) of the shoulder joint.

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Anaerobic Capacity (ANA): Valor

Intention:

One of the easiest ways to understand anaerobic capacity is in terms of intervals, such as repeated, accumulating, or alternating EMOMs (every-minute-on-the-minute). The cost of earning a rest between intervals though is often a dumpster fire of energy systems.

The breath support should steer us away from arbitrary cadences, however this suggested “triangle” format is sometimes called “Cadence 1c” — even inhale, even hold, even exhale.

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Aerobic Capacity (AER): Anguish

Intention:

Our body is an internal combustion engine. As with a mechanical engine, it’s more difficult to cram in air than it is fuel. This is the paramount limitation that’s explored with aerobic capacity, our ability to mobilize oxygen and clear waste products.

Today we’re starting with some hypoxic work, then adding some pre-fatigue, and blowing out the lungs.

For the working set, “failure” means that you cannot complete the prescribed reps within the given minute.

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Self-Directed Prompt: Wisdom (WIS)

Generative AI is making bad coaching irrelevant. That’s a good thing. LLMs can easily write you a decent training program for any given goal. However, only you can know exactly what you need, what conditions and limitations you’re facing, and how you’re responding to them.

Likewise, no coach, computer, or wishful thinking can do the work and make the necessary changes for you. You will have to learn to negotiate between what you like, what you’re good at, and what you need.

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Team / Group Fitness: Trust (TEAM)

Not dissimilar from therapy, the group is both a mirror and a microcosm. Expression is often amplified in a group setting; both strengths and deficits like frustration, resentment, communication, planning, joy, strength, and endurance.

Furthermore, burdens shared are burdens lifted. One of the single greatest assets of the human race is our ability to collaborate unlike any other animal species. This has taken us to every continent on the globe, surely it can take us to new heights and add a little creativity to fitness sessions.

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BJJ White Tissue: Surrender

While we all know someone who has a “gumby” guard that seems virtually impossible to pass, it’s a misnomer that flexibility will save your joints (connective tissue) from the destruction our sport was designed to create.

However, it is true that the less capable you are of moving yourself, the easier it is for someone else to break you. Thus, we must explicitly train and develop the integrity of those connective tissues — particularly in a way that compliments rather than competes with our sport training for recovery and practice resources.

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BJJ Red Tissue: Constrict

Grappling, all disciplines, are conceptually driven by grabbing (gripping) and control (of the spine). As such our grip, hips, and spine are some of the most important areas for grapplers to be strong.

However, as with training connective tissue (white tissue), training the musculature (red tissue) in a way that supports our on-the-mat training rather than competes with it for recovery resources is a skill that requires development and creativity beyond just barbells and bodybuilding splits.

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BJJ Engine Fuel: Scramble

Grappling conditioning is unique in that as a “repeat sprint sport” we see intervals expressed inside of intervals. That meas we don’t usually see a consistent pace for a whole 5 minute round.

Instead, we see (1) an explosive shot, (2) a scrambling flurry, (3) impaired recovery where we still need to exert force to control the opponent; then the cycle repeats several times within a given round.

We can recreate this in the S&C setting via Litvinov intervals combined with the impaired recovery of an isometric hold.

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BJJ Engine Air: Suffocate

While true endurance (LISS) work has a long road to translate on-the-mat, one of those transitory steps is aerobic capacity or ventilatory threshold work.

Oftentimes this is neglected entirely because of it’s inherent discomfort. We can neither slow to a complacent grind or sprint our way through to the next rest point.

While our training and recovery need to balance each other out, we progress very little if we remain caged in the belief that we should always and only train within “sport specific” time domains.

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Full Sample Flyers:

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