This is the second and final portion of this program. As the title implies, it is designed for masters athletes that want a hard program, without the unnecessary fluff you normally see in more generic programs. This half of the program really focuses on building strength and anaerobic endurance. Keep reading to see if this program is right for you.
Keys to a Great Masters Program
- Maximize Training Return on Time Investment
- Do No Harm
- No Coddling
This program is written for athletes who have busy schedules, work commitments, etc. It is five days per week, and each session should take around an hour. You have a couple of options to break up the program.
I recommend 3 days on, 1 day off, 2 on, 1 off. My second favorite method is 5 days straight, even if this is a little harder to recover from. If neither of those options work, then make sure you do the workouts sequentially, and make every effort to get 3-4 sessions in per week.
Obviously, I recommend starting with part 1 of the 12 Week Masters Program, as it will allow you to acclimatize yourself to the difficult of the program.
Here is the PDF for the second half of the 12 Week Masters Athlete Functional fitness program.
12 Week Masters Program: Week 7
It’s important to note that the download includes all weeks of the program, but this portion of the program starts at week 7.
For those who’ve completed the first portion of the program, you’ll notice that the overall feel of the program is the same. We have three days per week of strength + WOD, and we have two days per week of longer sessions. This allows you to work the three most important aspects of your fitness: strength, anaerobic, and aerobic fitness.
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12 Week Masters Program: Week 8
Now that you get the gist of the program, let’s talk details. You’ll notice that the strength movements are listed as TM, which stands for Technical Max. This is the heaviest weight you can lift with nearly perfect form. Let me give you an example to illustrate the difference between a TM and RM or rep max.
If we are doing deadlifts, we might work our way up to a fairly heavy weight, where we know that our back will start to round, and yet we can still make the lift. Often times you’ll hear someone say they made the lift, but it was ugly. A TM is the weight right before an ugly lift. I want you to practice solid form with heavy weights. I care less what that actual number is, as it will fluctuate from day to day.
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12 Week Masters Program: Week 9
Here we see an increase in load for the strength movements. We also see that the WODs are starting to increase in difficulty. It’s part of the athlete’s job to figure out what the intent of the WOD is. When you see a short WOD, then you know you need to hit it hard. This also means you need a more thorough warm up, as you don’t have time to warm up in the WOD.
Longer sessions need to be paced correctly. Think about it in terms of running a race. Smart runners don’t sprint out of the gate on a 5km run. You shouldn’t go crazy on a 20 minute WOD in the first few minutes.
12 Week Masters Program: Week 10
Week 10 is our heaviest week. It is also the last week before our deload. It’s ok if you feel a little beat up and you might have a few aches and pains. This is ok.
Make sure you are taking your time with your warm ups. I recommend something like 5 minutes on the rower, or assault bike. Then work on some specific warm ups for the movements you will be doing, for 5-10 more minutes. You need to be sweating before you can begin the workout out.
12 Week Masters Program: Week 11
For this deload, we are keep a fairly high intensity, but the overall volume is reduced. Resist the urge to go a little heavier on your lifts than you should, and it’s ok to crank the intensity on the WODs down a notch or two. Remember, this is the week where your body builds new tissue, and recovers from the previous weeks of hard work.
12 Week Masters Program: Week 12
This is the week where all your progress is realized. Much of it is a repeat from week 1, all those many months ago. Hopefully, you should be setting new personal records in your lifts, and you should be beating your scores, and times on the WODs.
Nutrition and Recovery
Most functional fitness athletes actually eat too little for optimum performance, and their macros are generally a little out of whack. I highly recommend reading this article and downloading the calculator. It will tell you how much you should be eating, and give good macronutrient recommendations.
You might also take a gander at this article on scientific recovery methods. Let’s just say that there’s a reason I always finish my sessions with 10 minutes of easy cardio, and I stay away from ice baths.
Final Thoughts
This program is challenging. If you are able to finish it you should feel proud of yourself. I will leave you with a few recommendations based on my years of coaching masters athletes.
You need to listen to your body a little more than younger athletes. Some days you just won’t have “it.” It’s ok to leave the gym and come back when you are ready to go. A good rule of thumb, is to complete your warm up, and if you still can’t get into the workout, then call that an active recovery day and leave. If you feel alright then go for it.
I also highly recommend that you don’t lift heavy on anything that causes you a lot of pain. This sounds obvious, but I’ve had many athletes tell me they have xyz issue and they plan on going heavy anyway. That’s great if you want surgery, but not if you want to keep working out in the long term.
At the end of the day one session is inconsequential. Your dedication to training and recovery, in the long term, are the real keys to success. Now get out there, and start training!
If you like science based programs that build muscle mass, then check out this program!
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Thank you for this, just wrapping up part 1. Part 2 looks fun. What do you recommend when part 2 is finished? Rinse and repeat?
It depends on your particular goals. You might check out this programming sequence and see which program appeals most to you. https://www.tierthreetactical.com/72-weeks-of-free-functional-programming/
Any recommended wait period between sets? Currently going with 2 but not sure if that’s too little. Thanks for the program. Really great getting back into after a long absence.
Rom, 2 minutes is fine for strength training. If you are doing really heavy sets try 3-5 minutes. Have fun!