8-Week Summer Program, Rest Week Recap, Training Q&A

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In this issue:

• Rest week recap

• Access to brand new 8-week training program

• Training Q&A

Rest Week Best Week

We kayaked the Hiwassee last weekend. I love any excuse to get in the water, and it’s a perfect blend of activity and leisure. About half the time you can just lie back in your raft and let the river take you, but every so often you hear the trickle of a small rapid ahead. None of them are scary, but you’ve got to paddle and steer a little or your kayak might get stuck. We bring beers even though you’re not supposed to.

I brought my little CampSnap camera. That’s the screenless one I got before our beach trip back in June. It’s digital but behaves like a disposable, so you don’t review your photos until you connect it to a computer. I feel like I’m unwrapping a present when I go through them.

It’s not waterproof at all, which I learned because it fried out on me after only a few photos and a tiny splash from a rapid. I said a prayer and let it dry until yesterday morning. It survived, thank goodness, but I think I might see about a waterproof case in hopes I come back with more photos next time.

Kayaking with friends couldn’t have come at a better time, and it was nice to move my body in a way it doesn’t often get to. If you’re following along with me on the Lift Clique programming, you’ll remember that this was a rest week for me.

It’s important for me to change my routine every four to eight weeks. There’s probably some scientific benefit to diversifying your movements over time (there is), but I just have to switch things up or I’ll get bored. For the record, I believe avoiding boredom is a top priority in fitness. You have to want to be there.

So it’s helpful for me to think of a workout schedule as a series of blocks of programming. Each block typically lasts 6-8 weeks. Adding a rest week between each block lets my muscles get lots of good, solid recovery but it’s also another way to trick me into staying interested. Staying out of the gym that long makes me all the more excited to get back.

And boy am I excited! I’ve got a brand new 8-week program all fleshed out and I’m sharing it below.

In the Clique

Below is a link to my new program spreadsheet. This 8-week program will take us straight through the end of August, just in time to show off all your gains come Labor Day. It’s exactly what I’m doing in the gym, so you can think of this space almost like a book club for working out. We can share and admire our results, discuss what’s working or not, and learn together how to lean into our bodies’ cues.