Heading on vacation in five weeks? Let’s make those weeks count!
Join Lorenzo as he fine-tunes his standard 4-week training block to make the most of the FIVE weeks before his travels!
In this episode, we review the proven 4-week strength conditioning structure: 3 weeks of progression and 1 DELOAD week…
But how can you extend it to 5 weeks without losing momentum? I’ve got you covered with two awesome options!
by Don Heatrick
@donheatrick
Odd Weeks And Adjusting Training Before Going On Vacation
Lorenzo goes on holiday in five weeks and he’s about to start a standard four week training block with a LOW week, a MEDIUM week, a HIGH week, and a DELOAD week. So, how should he change his FOUR week training block to make best use of the FIVE weeks before he heads off on his travels?
Before I go into a couple of recommended options, I’ll first quickly recap the typical four week structure of the strength conditioning training blocks that I program. For each block I default to a 3:1 ratio of loading weeks to recovery weeks.
That’s three weeks of progressive loading, and one DELOAD week. Three progressively loading weeks step up from LOW week to MEDIUM week to a HIGH week with maximal intensity and volume or duration.
These four week blocks consistently take three steps, forwards and then one back, to allow for sufficient recovery before repeating the cycle again, but stepping up even higher. This results in continuously improving performance, month after month. Pushing hard enough to overload, and resting just enough to recover and go again even HARDER. And this fits neatly in four week blocks, and maximizes progression for fighters that fight frequently.
The Trick To Adjusting Training Before Going On Vacation
But how can you most effectively stretch a FOUR week block to fit FIVE weeks before heading off on a break? I have two options, depending on how fatigued you currently feel.
Option one is for when you’re feeling a little jaded.
Just simply add an extra MEDIUM week. So week one will be LOW week. Week two will be MEDIUM week – the first time. Week three will be another MEDIUM week – possibly add an extra rep to the strength exercises, but it’s optional. Week four is HIGH week, and week five is DELOAD week – before you head off on your travels.
Option two is for when you’re feeling great. You’ll DOUBLE PEAK and use your traveling as the DELOAD.
Week one is LOW week. Week two is the MEDIUM week. Week three is the HIGH week. Week four is a DELOAD. And week five is another HIGH week – possibly with a little bit of extra load added to the strength exercises, or even an extra rep. But again, it’s optional. Both are strong options. It just depends how you feel going into the block and how restful we expect that first week of traveling to be.
And if you’re interested in recommendations for modifying four week training blocks in the lead up to a fight date, then check out the last page of my Optimal Fight Camp Blueprint. There, you’ll find options for anything from 12 to 2 weeks out, and you’ll find links to that in the further resources for this episode below.
Don Heatrick
Founder of Heatrick Strength and Conditioning
Don Heatrick is a family man from the UK, former mechanical design engineer, European Muay Thai silver medallist, former pro Thai boxer (ranked 4th in UK while aged 40-years), a Muay Thai coach, podcast host, and the go-to expert on Muay Thai performance training with over 25 years of coaching experience.
Don helps ambitious fighters and coaches take their game to the next level by bridging the gap between Strength & Conditioning, Performance Science, and Muay Thai.
Follow Don Heatrick on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donheatrick/
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