athlete cycle b: Plyometric conditioning
(second month)
introduction to this cycle:
Plyometric conditioning
Plyometric conditioning may sound intimidating or high impact, which it can be. However, this cycle is designed for the injury free athlete who wants to get faster, stronger, and more explosive in their movements. There is a lot of jumping in this cycle, but it is programmed to have as minimum impact on your joints as possible.
By definition, “plyometric” is defined as exercise involving repeated rapid stretching and contracting of muscles to increase power. *If you are fresh off an injury, PLEASE discuss any restrictions with your doctor and with me before starting this cycle. You will get the opportunity to do this during your Getting to Know You session. If you didn’t go over everything and have areas of concern, you can always reach out to us at Hello@nautralfitness704.com
Cycle A was fun, wasn’t it?! You got to go back to some basics with, balance, cardiovascular stimulus, resistance training, and working on your overall endurance. Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with your body, you may have noticed that some residual tension or issues are popping up. It’s time to take care of those and knock them out of the park during your flexibility day, because it’s now time to focus on strength, power, and the dynamic movement your sport requires.
In Cycle B, we are focusing on Plyometric training. You will be in the hypertrophic phase of your resistance training (meaning you will be building muscle), but you will also possibly shed a pound or two due to the higher intensity activity. If this isn’t your intention, make sure you are fueling yourself properly to keep building that lean muscle!
You will be doing more traditional resistance exercises, coupled with yoga poses that require you to hold that balance and find the internal mental strength and awareness. All the while, we have some high intensity intervals to keep that heart rate up. In this Cycle, please make sure you take notes on any exercise you have questions about so you can use the tools at your disposal to navigate the answer, or you can refer to it as you contact us.
If you notice you have any type of joint pain with this Cycle, make sure you don’t skip out on the stretches at the end. If that doesn’t seem to help, reach out to the Natural Fitness community on tips to prevent soreness. A little soreness is common, and actually encouraged, but pain is not.
I say it a lot in my videos, to my physical clients, really to anyone who will listen. Our bodies are amazing and they are capable of so much, we just have to train them. You are here, you are at the beginning of your fitness journey and you are starting Week 5! I am so proud of you and your commitment to yourself. Keep focussing on your goals, refer to those inspirational emails, and keep at it! These 4 weeks will fly by and you will be starting the third and final Cycle to your Second Level of Fitness in no time!
Warmly,
Sara
Items to go over before starting your program:
Some Equipment is recommended for this level and cycle. If you are able to have a resistance band with handles and a door hook, that is most desirable. We would also love for you to have a stability ball and a chair/couch/ottoman that you can use for some exercises.
Annotations In Worksheets:
FB = Follow breath
ES= Each side, we will be doing a lot on one side of the body and then the other. Sometimes alternating, and sometimes completing one side before moving to the other.
AFAP= As fast as possible, but REMEMBER only go as fast as you can keep the form in check
EW= Each way, some movements require a front/back or side/side motion. It will make sense in the videos, but it is something to note while looking at the excel sheets
Numbers, EX: 2010 or 4321= Think of each digit as an individual part of the exercise. The first digit is going into the exercise, the second if there is a hold, the third is getting out of the exercise, and the fourth is if there is a hold before your next repetition. Using 4321 as an example, think about a pushup, the 4 would be how many seconds you are going down, the 3 would be holding the pushup in the “push” position, the 2 would be how long it takes for you to push back up, and then the 1 would be holding for one second at the top before starting the movement again. If the digit is a “0” that means there is no hold/pause, and you will continue the movement.
Reps= Repetitions, or how many times you will be doing an exercise
Sets= the number of times you will do the group of exercises. Most of the time there will be 3 sets. If you are not able to get through all three sets of all the prescribed exercises.
a/b/c = this is the grouping of exercises. For example, you would do all “a” exercises for the prescribed amount and then you would start back at the top of the “a’s” and complete the number of sets listed before moving onto the next group. If they are all “a” this is a circuit workout. You will start with the first exercise on the sheet, go through all of them, and then start back up at the top.