Welcome to the Training Notes Newsletter.
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Friday is where good weeks get finished. Not with heroics—just with clean, repeatable effort that doesn’t spill into the weekend.
A useful lens: treat today like a “quality audit.” You’re not trying to prove anything. You’re checking that your basics still look and feel like your basics, even when you’re a little tired.
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TODAY’S TRAINING NOTES
Here are two options for today’s training session. Pick the one that fits your schedule and goals. Feel free to make substitutions if you need to adjust the exercises.
Strength
Warm Up
- Open Book Stretch — 2 Sets × 6 Reps
- Scapular Pull Up — 2 Sets × 6 Reps
- Ankle Rockers on Wall — 2 Sets × 8 Reps
- Dead Bug — 2 Sets × 8 Reps
- Tall Kneeling Pallof Press — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
Main Workout
- Weighted Pull Up — 4 Sets × 5 Reps
- Incline Push Up — 3 Sets × 10 Reps
- Side Plank — 3 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Dumbbell Hammer Curl — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
- Cable Triceps Pressdown — 2 Sets × 12 Reps
Cool Down
- Doorway Pec Stretch — 2 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Lat Stretch on Bench — 2 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Seated Hamstring Stretch — 2 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Supine Spinal Twist — 2 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Child’s Pose Breathing — 2 Sets × 45 Seconds
Total time: 45 minutes
Conditioning
Warm Up
- Easy effort — 10 Minutes × 50–65% Max HR
- Smooth pickups — 4 Minutes × 70–80% Max HR
Main Workout
- Alternate steady and moderate — 6 Rounds × (3 Minutes @ 70–78% Max HR + 2 Minutes @ 80–86% Max HR)
Cool Down
- Easy effort — 8 Minutes × 50–65% Max HR
Total time: 52 minutes
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Today’s Research Note
If you want training to feel consistent, you need a consistent way to judge effort. RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is useful because it captures the whole picture: sleep, stress, soreness, and how the day is going. The catch is that “hard” drifts when you don’t anchor it to something repeatable.
A simple anchor is reps in reserve (RIR): how many clean reps you could still do at the end of a set. When you pair RPE with RIR, your log starts to mean something across weeks. It also keeps you from turning every set into a test, which is a sneaky way to accumulate fatigue without noticing.
The practical win is better comparisons. “Same load, same reps, same RIR” is real progress, even if it doesn’t feel dramatic in the moment.
Look Up: RPE and reps in reserve
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Today’s Final Note
End-of-week training is where small decisions matter. The best move is to pre-decide what “enough” looks like before you start—then stop there. Not because you’re fragile, but because you’re playing the long game with your weekend and next week’s momentum.
Pick one metric you won’t negotiate: time, a cap on hard sets, or a hard stop when form gets sloppy. That single constraint keeps the session productive and keeps your recovery predictable.
Look Up: precommitment stop rule
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Signing Off
That’s the play today: keep the signal clean and leave a little in the tank. You’ll feel it tomorrow when your body isn’t negotiating with you all day. Check back in for tomorrow’s note—we’ll keep it effective without making it expensive.
Make each day your masterpiece.
John Wooden