™Training
Pursuit
Daily.
Excellence is rarely dramatic.
It is built quietly, through actions repeated over time.
N°01. Training
Training
The building block. Size and strength, trained and fed for accumulation through the colder months. A leaner phase follows later in the season.
Five things that govern whether the work pays off.
Effort
Measured in Reps In Reserve (RIR), how many clean reps you could still do when you stop. Strength sets at 2 to 4 RIR. Hypertrophy sets at 0 to 2 RIR. Close to failure drives growth. Save true failure for a last set, if at all.
Strength versus size
Strength responds to heavy loads and low reps. Size responds to a wide range of loads as long as the set is close to failure. For strength the weight matters most. For size the effort matters most.
Rep ranges and volume
Strength 3 to 6 reps. Hypertrophy 6 to 15 for compounds, up to 20 to 30 for isolation. Aim for 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle group per week.
Progressive overload
Each block, add a little weight, a rep, or a set. If the numbers never move, the body has no reason to change. Log every session.
Tempo and control
Tempo is lowering / pause / lifting in seconds. A 3/0/1 is three seconds down, no pause, controlled lift. Own the lowering. Rest 2 to 4 minutes on heavy strength, 60 to 120 seconds on hypertrophy.
Evidence base. Schoenfeld 2017 load and volume meta-analyses, Refalo 2022 and 2024, Robinson 2024, Davies 2016, ACSM 2009 progression position stand.
Run each rotation four to six weeks. Add a little weight or a rep each week on the main lifts. Log every session. The log is the program.