Solcana blog

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give everyone an update on what the new cycle is going to look like. 

This cycle is going to run from July 5th to September 6th. If I had to pick a theme for this cycle it would be “Reintroduction”. It has been a long time since we have done a lot of different things, and this cycle will give us an opportunity to continue getting strong while reintroducing ourselves to lots of things.

First things first: We’ll be doing gymnastic work. Specifically, we’ll be working towards the goals of 1) a max set of strict pull-ups, and 2) a single-arm handstand. Aside from doing plenty of variations of those two things, we’ll be taking lots of time to strengthen our upper body (back and front) as well and really getting to know our core. 

We will be lifting in hypertrophy ranges (that means lots of reps) for two reasons. 1) Lots of reps means lots of practice at a weight you can execute those reps beautifully. 2) A bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. A hypertrophy cycle lays the best foundation for a strength cycle. Fear not, you’ll still gain strength in high rep ranges, and hoo-doggy you’re going to get really good at deadlifting, squatting, and bench pressing. Probably a number of other things as well.

In addition to lifting, we will be reintroducing timed metcons again. If you’re newer to the gym and haven’t heard the term “metcon” (short of metabolic conditioning) that’s just a thing we do where we move fast and consequently breathe heavy. Don’t worry – you’ve probably already done some metcon-adjacent stuff if you’ve been coming to class the last few weeks. We won’t necessarily be doing them every day. Some days we will do some heavy lifting and that’s it. We’ll ease back in. Sometimes we’ll go long, sometimes we’ll go real real short. We’re going to mix it up. Either way, between big ol’ sets of barbell lifts and a metcon here and there – we’re going to develop some cardio capacity. NICE.

For those who are new to the gym, or joined during the pandemic, there are a few things we want you to know about and be prepared for as we start to introduce all these elements back in:

• You will ALWAYS be given options for scaling metcons. If you read the workout and it includes stuff you can’t do, do not fear. We will provide you lots of options and opportunities to make it work for you (like always!)
• We often time metcons or count rounds and score them on the board. This is always optional and you are never required to count that score unless you find it joyful or useful.
• During metcons we like to cheer each other on. After you have completed your work, stop and cheer on other people before you put your stuff away. Once the clock is stopped you can clean up, high-five and head home

For the folks that were here pre-pandemic, the biggest change is that we won’t be offering 4 levels of the workout. If there is one thing that we all learned this last 15 months, it’s that we don’t need to live our lives trying to shoot for standards that don’t suit us. Over the years we saw so many people try to do platinum and drag on and on, or drop down a level and work below their capacity. 

So forget platinum, gold, etc. Instead, focus on the most challenging version of the workout that you can do while maintaining the highest level of output. Your coach is thrilled to give you a recommended weight or movement variation to help you hit this goal.

We have a really cool opportunity to redefine what these workouts mean to each of us, so let’s work together to find out what that looks like!

Here’s a rundown of the week:

Pullup, handstand, and aforementioned accessory work is going to be sprinkled all throughout the week. It’s inescapable. I’m very excited for this. We’re going to become pulling, pressing, lifting machines – who cannot be stopped because they’re fueled by their own cardio engine!!! 

See you out there. 

– Coach Jer