CHIMERA
CONTEXT & TRAINING PLAN
Added the āBlockā element to my titling because I want to have some structure to what Iām focusing my efforts towards. The goal is to have all elements included to some degree at all times, but focusing on a few and maintaining the others. Thatās just good training principles under any single discipline, itās just a bit more nuanced when doing more than a single discipline.
Hereās the general setup:
| Micro |
Meso |
Block |
Cycle |
Macro |
| This |
3 Micros |
2 Mesos |
2 Blocks |
3 Cycles |
| is |
= |
= |
= |
= |
| my |
Micro A |
Meso 1 |
Block A |
Cycle 1 |
| training |
Micro B |
Meso 2 |
Block B |
Cycle 2 |
| week |
Micro C |
|
|
Cycle 3 |
| = |
= |
= |
= |
= |
| 10 days |
30 days |
60 days |
120 days |
360 days |
Microcycles are 10 days long and generally include 10 sessions, but probably somewhere in the 8-12 sessions range depending on how things are categorized (e.g. moving the last couple of things of yesterdayās session to this morning).
Mesocycles are the 3-microcycle bouts (Micro A+B+C) that follows the Cube principle of heavy/rep/power weeks per squat, bench, and deadlift each to manage fatigue and having a pattern to follow for main lifts.
Blocks are currently viewed as a 2-mesocyle bout (Meso 1+2). It may be switched to 3, depending on what I experience. This is the change in the system and is explained below.
Cycles are 2-block bouts (Block A+B) that represent a fullā¦ you know, cycleā¦ of training. This is not a peaking cycle per se. Itās more like a resetting of blocks, regardless of if Iāve maximized a specific thing. More on that below.
Macros are basically just a year (Cycle 1+2+3). The cycles donāt necessarily build upon one another to lead to some big thing. The goal of this structure is to progressively overload everything and take PRs where they happen to be available. The year is too expansive and variable in life, work, stress, traveling, etc. to worry about some grand plan.
To put it super simply, each thing will allow for an important part of long-term development:
Micro: Effort
Meso: Recovery
Block: Specificity
Cycle: Consistency
Macro: Time
Blocks Explanation
This is where the change is occurring to take my general fuckarounditis with āhybrid trainingā and making it slightly more structured. If youāve read along, you know that the goal was to create a system that can just be followed indefinitely based mostly on vibes and enjoying training while getting cool results in all physical domains, without much regard for too many programming principles. Thatās still the goal, but this points the vibes in the right direction.
I have 3-sided view of training overall: Neurological, Structural, and Metabolic.
Under each of those things is multiple variables. But to give you a couple of points: Improving at each of those levels is what causes all physical domains to improve. This does not mean Iām saying focusing on metabolic work causes hypertrophy, when itās a mechanical tension structural issue along with the neurological involvement via motor unit recruitment. What I am saying is that improving metabolic conditioning globally and locally will increase the overall capacity of the body and tissue to do the work, recover from it, and integrate it into the system. Improving structures like tendons with isometrics and reflexive plyos will not inherently improve the metabolic pathways that allow for more running (although thereās an argument of locally improving the tissue at a āmetabolicā level too). But they will improve the tissue resilience and capacity to even do more running without injuring it or overloading it.
There are a lot of different ideas I could make points of. But the overall point is improving neurologically, structurally, and metabolically over time is the only path to becoming super resilient, athletic, aesthetic, strong, and healthy. The better we can absorb the work, the better off we are.
Anyway, this is getting too long already. What Iām doing with the blocks is this:
| 1 Cycle |
Primary |
Secondary |
|
| Block A |
Structural + Metabolic |
Neurological |
|
| Block B |
Neurological + Structural |
Metabolic |
|
Basically means that Block A is mostly for hypertrophy, tissue resilience, and global + tissue conditioning. While neurological work is in the background, in warm-ups, or solely happening via the Cube heavy and power slots.
And Block B is the switch to focusing more on strength, power, speed, tissue resilience, and continued hypertrophy. While metabolic work is in the background or solely happening via traditional conditioning.
Hereās how Iām currently thinking of things:
| Neurological |
Structural |
Metabolic |
| Heavy |
Reps |
Conditioning (aerobic and anaerobic) |
| Power |
Reflexive Plyos |
Density Work |
| Intent Plyos |
Isometrics |
Capacity Work |
| Jumps |
Depth Drops |
Hypertrophy Clusters |
| Throws |
Straight Sets |
Myo-Reps |
| Sprints |
Myo-Reps |
|
There is crossover and some spots open for interpretation (hypertrophy clusters and myo-reps namely). The heavy, reps, and power parts are included, but really this whole Block concept is more for decisions on secondary, accessory, and conditioning work decision-making.
Density Work is a stable exercise done for time and multiple sets (e.g. 2 mins x 2 sets, as I did with leg press the other day) with the intent of increasing reps and weight over time. Although itās a structural stimulus as well, the differentiation that places it under metabolic is that itās also for local tissue conditioning for strength endurance and would thus fall under the metabolic area when deciding what to do during a Block (i.e. I wonāt be doing density work during Block B, since all metabolic work would be relegated to traditional conditioning only).
Capacity Work is work for time like repeated alternating split jumps, banded high knees or hops, step ups, band assisted hand-release push-ups, etc. for 90 seconds at a time for multiple sets. Not necessarily for rep or weight progression.
Regarding the Cycles not necessarily having the express purpose of peaking me into something at the end: The point is that I may have some PR or event in mind that I want to hit at any time throughout the year. I may enter a 5K race or something and that would put the focus on Block A. Or I may want to really want to focus on squat strength and put the emphasis on Block B and actually peaking to that. So the fluid cycling of training is really the point, not having the end of a cycle mean something inherently. The Block length may also change to accommodate the current goal or how Iām recovering, going from 2 Mesos to 3 Mesos.
Again, this is to provide some general structure and direction, not to make a ātraining programā. It doesnāt really matter if my Cycle ends up being 150 days and the Macro is over a year or under it. Iāll adjust as I go and see what happens.
Oof that was longer than intended for a personal log lol
