Stretching is an essential component of any fitness routine, often overlooked or rushed through. It not only improves flexibility but also plays a crucial role in injury prevention and performance enhancement. There are two primary types of stretching: static stretching and dynamic stretching, each serving different purposes and best suited for specific times in your workout routine. 

Static Stretching 

Static stretching involves holding a stretch for a prolonged period, typically 15-30 seconds. It helps improve flexibility by elongating the muscle and increasing its range of motion. Static stretches are best done after your workout or during a dedicated stretching session. They help relax the muscles and can improve muscle recovery post-exercise. 

Dynamic Stretching 

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, involves moving parts of your body and gradually increasing reach, speed of movement, or both. Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretching involves active movements that mimic the activity you are about to perform. Dynamic stretches are great as part of a warm-up routine to prepare your muscles, joints, and tendons for the upcoming workout. 

Importance of Stretching 

1. Improved Flexibility: Stretching regularly can improve your flexibility over time, which is beneficial for various physical activities and daily tasks.

2. Injury Prevention: By improving flexibility and range of motion, stretching can help prevent injuries, especially muscle strains and joint sprains.

3. Enhanced Performance: Stretching can improve your overall performance in physical activities by allowing your muscles to work more effectively.

4. Reduced Muscle Tension: Stretching can help reduce muscle tension and soreness, especially after intense workouts.

5. Improved Posture: Stretching can help improve your posture by lengthening tight muscles that pull areas of the body away from their intended position.

When to Stretch 

– Before Exercise: Dynamic stretching is best before exercise as part of a warm-up routine to prepare your muscles for activity. 

– After Exercise: Static stretching is best after exercise to help relax the muscles and improve flexibility. 

– Throughout the Day: Stretching throughout the day, especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle, can help prevent muscle stiffness and improve overall flexibility. 

Incorporating both static and dynamic stretching into your fitness routine can lead to improved flexibility, reduced risk of injury, and better overall performance. Remember to listen to your body and stretch within your limits to avoid overstretching or causing injury. Stretching should be a regular part of your fitness routine to enjoy its full benefits. 

-Grayson

Human beings have been able to move bipedally for thousands of years, a little fun fact is that humans can outrun cheetahs, wolves and even horses when it comes to long distance running, but when it comes to speed we are some of the slowest animals out there. Today, I’m going give you some programming to help you increase your speed and maybe you will be able to outrun a wombat (25mph) or at least at Black mamba (14mph).

First, we want to start with a warm up. Sprinting is tough on the body, especially if you are going 100% speed – you have to make sure your body is ready for impact. Here is an example warm up:

1. Light jog, skips, shuffles, backwards jog – get those joints moving and lubricated
2. Dynamic stretching: hamstring scoops, quad pull reach, World’s Greatest Stretch, single leg supermans, straight leg skips, carioca, bwd reachbacks (run backwards reaching with your legs)
3. Primer: ankle and calf dribbles, double leg and single leg POGOs, A-Skips (or regular skips), high knees slow to fast, 10yd accelerations, 20yd sprint buildups.

I would recommend doing 10yd for the dynamic stretches and 20yd for the primers.

After a long and focused warm up your body should be ready to start some sprinting! Below is a 3 day program of sprint work that I’ve put together for everyone. Make sure you take into account that if you haven’t sprinted in a long time that you should start a little easy then ramp up as your body gets more accustomed to the constant impact.

Day 1

1a) BW Prowler Push @100% BW x 4-5sets 10-15yd

1b) 2 point acceleration 10-15yd

2) Sprint Buildup 4×2 build on 30-40yd

3) Broad Jump(DL-SL-SL) 2-3x2ea

4) MB Counter Movement Granny FWD Toss 2-3×4

Day 2

1a) Light Sled Sprints 20% BW 15yd Build/ 10yd Fly x 3-4sets

1b) Fly In 15yd Build/ 10yd Fly

2) Hurdrle Hops (Skip) @4-5 hurdles x 3-4sets

3) MB Counter Movement BWD Granny Toss 3-4×3

Day 3

1) MB Vert Scoop Toss 3×3-4

2a) MB Punch Runs 2-3x20yd

2b) Wickets 2-3x20yd

3a) Float-Sprint-Float 90%-95%-90% x2-3sets (if that is too much bring it down to 80%) 10yd-10yd-10yd

3b) 20yd Buildup to 10yd sprint

When doing this program make sure to pace yourself, especially if you haven’t sprinted in a long time, and as the weeks go by try increasing speed and/or sets/reps. I have done this program myself and I am currently doing it. If you need help with any of the drills on here or you just want a partner to do sprints with please feel free to reach out! Now get out there and out run some wombats!!!

Dahveed Jorge

Hello everyone Hanson here,

Today’s blog is about one of the classic powerlifting programs developed by Jim Wendler. The core principle of the 5/3/1 program is starting light, progress slowly but steadily, and break personal records (that’s not your 1RM).

Starting Light:
While this might be counterintuitive for someone who wants to lift as much weight as possible, starting lighter provides more room for improvement and more practice volume without the crushing feeling of fatigue. It might be a tough pill to swallow for some, it is far better than pain from injuries and stalled progression.

Progress Slowly:
This goes hand in hand with starting light, it will help those who want to get bigger and stronger from self-sabotaging their own progress. Instead of aiming at an arbitrary number based on what people advertise on social media, every set’s weight is calculated based on your PERSONAL training max.

Break Personal Records:
5/3/1 is set up so you can break your personal records on your 5 rep and 3 rep sets on a weekly basis. To live or die by your 1RM pr every week is one quick way to discourage yourself from making progress. Instead, focus on hitting pr’s with reps with the same weight, if your squat goes from 225 x 3 to 225 x 5, you have definitely gotten stronger.

How to set up 5/3/1

You are expected to weight train 4 days a week for this program. Each day is centered around a core lift: bench, shoulder press, squat, and deadlift. Start your workout with 5 to 10 minutes of mobility and warmup, focusing on slowly moving through the warmup movement with full range of motion. After warmup, you will proceed to the main training block. Each training cycle lasts 4 weeks, with the following set-rep goals for each major lift.

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Set 1 65% x 5 70% x 3 75% x 5 40% x 5
Set 2 75% x 5 80% x 3 85% x 3 50% x 5
Set 3 85% x 5+ 90% x 3+ 95% x 1+ 60% x 5

For the weight calculations, we are basing it off your training max, which is 90% of your competition/max effort 1RM. For example, if your absolute 1RM for bench press is 315lbs your training max will be 315 x 0.9 = 285 lbs. So, for week one, your first set of bench press will be at 285 x 0.65 = 185 lbs. for 5 reps, and then 285 x 0.75 = 215 lbs. for 5 reps, and the last set 285 x 0.85 = 245 lbs. for 5 or more reps with all-out effort. The magic happens on that last set where you really push yourself to set that multi-rep PR! But don’t ignore the nice foundation you’re building with the first two set and assistance work you’ll do after.

Assistance Work:

Along with the bench press, squat, shoulder press, and deadlift, 5/3/1 includes assistance exercises to build muscle, prevent injury, and create a balanced physique. My favorites are strength-training staples like chin-ups, dips, lunges, rows, and back extensions. I like to do 4 to 5 sets of 15 reps for those assistance exercises. The goal is NOT to go as heavy as you can for those assistance exercises. The goal is to keep the tension in the muscle while maintaining good form as you go through sets of 15. For exercises such as chin-ups and dips, I just use my body weight, and for exercises like the lunge and rows, I have 30lb dumbbells in each hand.

5 Tips to a successful 5/3/1 program from Jim Wendler himself:
1. Start with a realistic idea of your one-rep max, and follow my instructions to base all training weights on 90% of that max. You can make it easy on yourself by spending a couple of workouts working up to a four-rep-max set of each of the four core lifts.

2. Your 3RM should be about 90% of your 1RM. Once you have that 3RM, you can skip a step in your calculations and just use it for all your subsequent percentages.

3. The final set of your core lift in each workout is the one that produces mass and strength, so give it everything you have, and get as many reps as you can with that weight.

4. The exceptions are the deloading workouts in Week 4. You’re giving your muscles a break, not trying to establish new PRs.

5. When you start a new four-week cycle, add 5 pounds to your 1RMs for bench and shoulder presses and 10 pounds for squats and deadlifts, and recalculate training weights using the new numbers.

I will be adding more content relating to 5/3/1 in the future as I am currently 1 cycle into this training myself! Feel free to ask me any questions about this training if you see me around the gym!

Keep on lifting!
Hanson