In Chinese culture, the dragon represents good luck, strength, & health. Specifically, 2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon and is believed to foster growth, progress, and abundance. This year will be the perfect time to build a solid foundation for something new with long-term potential.
Throughout 2023 we learned just how strong we are and amazing gains were made! With those gains comes a paradox of things feeling easier--yet, things aren’t easier, you are just getting better and now have to work even harder to continue to improve.
You put the work in, grind each day, all year long, and your body adapts by increasing the strength of the muscle and connective tissues. This facilitates your ability to lift heavier, move better, and go further.
Block One will set the foundation for this year’s programming. The two main focus points are increasing volume and density. Increasing volume through a higher number of reps (up to 15) increases the work (force x distance). This results in improved cardiovascular fitness and fitness of the muscular-connective tissue at the joints. Density is the relative volume and work-to-rest ratio. With muscular endurance blocks, the density is higher to amplify the effect of longer duration/higher rep sets. The length of the session remains the same, yet the total volume increases. Therefore, density increases as well.
The focus on volume and density are a definite change from previous programming. Remember the goal is continued growth and improved cardiovascular health. These will help us as we work our way through what may be the most challenging year yet!