by Neil Anderson
It is weird how much more tired and sore we have been this week. It doesn't seem like we should have been this tired, right? I mean, don't we workout this hard every week?
Actually we DO. We know it must sometimes look like our workouts are just randomized non-sense, but they truly aren't. GPP workouts are painstakingly created and strung together using sound scientific principles and YEARS of experience. They are designed to push each of your systems and body parts to the edge of benefit without going over. Then they must be rested properly before we push them again. This would be more obvious if we were simply resting with days off, but this isn't how we do it. We rest one system while working another. It is what yields the greatest results.
Doing this right requires balance. You must balance systems and body parts throughout the week to get the most benefit. For example, if we work push-centric movements in the anaerobic pathway one day, we rest those systems and movement patterns before we hit them again. You may have observed that after a push-centric workout we are likely to switch to a pulling or squatting bias. If not that, then we will likely switch energy pathways from anaerobic to aerobic. This gives the energy system in the push bias a chance to recuperate. This week had virtually NO balance. It is why it was so grueling and why you are so tired and sore.
Of course, this is not to say this week had no benefit. It did. The difference this week was that the benefits we've all experienced have more to do with the purpose of "Hell Week" than the physical effects.
Congratulations on an astounding week. Good luck on a STRONG finish.