Welcome to the Training Notes Newsletter.
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A lot of progress comes from having a “normal” you can return to. Not your best day. Not your worst day. Just a baseline week that you can repeat without drama.
When your baseline is stable, you can push on purpose and recover on purpose. When it isn’t, every week turns into improvisation, and your body never quite knows what it’s adapting to. Today’s lens: make the default week boring enough that it actually happens.
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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
- Hip Flexor Rockback — 2 Sets × 8 Reps
- Cat Camel — 2 Sets × 8 Reps
- Ankle Rockers on Wall — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
- Scapular Push Up — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
- Dead Bug — 2 Sets × 6 Reps
Main Workout
- Back Squat — 4 Sets × 5 Reps
- Chest Supported Dumbbell Row — 3 Sets × 10 Reps
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press — 3 Sets × 8 Reps
- Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
- Goblet Squat — 2 Sets × 12 Reps
- Band Face Pull — 2 Sets × 15 Reps
- Ab Wheel Rollout — 1 Sets × 8 Reps
Cool Down
- Couch Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Reps
- Doorway Pec Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Reps
- Seated Hamstring Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Reps
- Supine Spinal Twist — 2 Sets × 45 Reps
Total time: 50 minutes
Conditioning
Warm Up
- Easy steady effort — 10 minutes @ 55–65% max HR
- Smooth build — 5 minutes rising to 70% max HR
Main Workout
- Continuous aerobic work — 25 minutes @ 60–75% max HR
- Steady finish — 5 minutes @ 65–75% max HR
Cool Down
- Very easy effort — 5 minutes @ 50–60% max HR
- Easy walk/spin — 5 minutes @ 50–60% max HR
Total time: 55 minutes
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Today’s Research Note
Your body doesn’t just respond to “hard.” It responds to the pattern of stress over time. When training stress is wildly up and down, you get a lot of soreness and a lot of fatigue, but not always a clean signal for adaptation.
A steadier weekly load tends to be easier to recover from and easier to progress. It also makes your performance more predictable, which is what you need if you want to add weight, add reps, or add time without guessing. The practical takeaway is simple: keep most weeks within a narrow band, then choose specific weeks to push.
Look Up: weekly load variability
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Today’s Final Note
Pick one “baseline rule” for this month and treat it like a product spec. Something like: same training days, same start time window, same first task when you enter the gym. Baseline rules remove negotiation.
When the baseline is locked in, you can spend your willpower on effort, not logistics. You’ll also notice problems faster—sleep dips, work stress spikes, nutrition slips—because the training routine isn’t changing at the same time. Keep the rule small, but make it non-optional.
Look Up: standard operating procedure habits
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Signing Off
Baseline weeks are underrated because they don’t feel heroic. They’re also the reason your “big weeks” actually work. Keep the pattern steady, then push with intent.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another training note and a different conditioning stimulus so your week stays balanced.
Quote of the Day
We are what we repeatedly do.
Aristotle