Welcome to the Training Notes Newsletter.
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A lot of training weeks get decided in the “middle gear” days. Not the all-out days, and not the full rest days. The days where you’re capable, but not sharp.
The mistake is treating that middle gear like a blank check. Instead, treat it like a protected lane: enough work to keep momentum, not so much that you steal from the next 48 hours. If you can keep your effort predictable on these days, your hard days get better without you adding more total stress.
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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 × 6 Reps
- Ankle Rockers on Wall — 2 Sets × 8 Reps
- Glute Bridge — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
- Dead Bug — 2 Sets × 6 Reps
Main Workout
- Trap Bar Deadlift — 4 Sets × 5 Reps
- Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat — 3 Sets × 8 Reps
- Suitcase Carry — 3 Sets × 30 Seconds
- Leg Extension — 2 Sets × 12 Reps
- Half Kneeling Cable Chop — 2 Sets × 10 Reps
Cool Down
- Couch Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Seconds
- Doorway Pec Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Seconds
- Seated Hamstring Stretch — 2 Sets × 45 Seconds
- Supine Spinal Twist — 2 Sets × 45 Seconds
Total time: 45 minutes
Conditioning
Warm Up
- Easy effort — 10 Minutes @ 55–65% max HR
- Build-ups — 4 Minutes alternating 30 Seconds @ 70% max HR / 30 Seconds @ 60% max HR
Main Workout
- Intervals — 8 Rounds: 1 Minute @ 90–95% max HR + 2 Minutes @ 60–70% max HR
Cool Down
- Easy effort — 8 Minutes @ 55–65% max HR
Total time: 46 minutes
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Today’s Research Note
Your body doesn’t respond to “work” the way a spreadsheet does. It responds to the combination of stress and recovery, and one of the best predictors of whether you’ll actually adapt is how stable your weekly load is. Big spikes in volume or intensity tend to create more soreness, more coordination loss, and more missed sessions than steady, repeatable training.
This is why two weeks with the same total work can feel completely different. A smooth distribution (similar session demands across the week) usually produces better skill retention and less fatigue carryover. A jagged distribution (one monster day, one nothing day, then another monster day) often forces you to “re-learn” the groove each time and makes your joints take the hit.
The practical coaching lens: aim for small, boring progressions and fewer surprises. If you want to add something, add a little and keep it for long enough that your body can normalize it.
Look Up: weekly load variability
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Today’s Final Note
Use a “middle gear rule” on normal weekdays: decide in advance what a solid, non-heroic effort looks like. Not a perfect session. Just a repeatable one you can do even when your day is loud.
This works because it removes negotiation. You stop asking, “How hard should I go today?” and start asking, “Did I stay inside the lane?” Over a month, that single constraint protects your best sessions and keeps your training from turning into random acts of fitness.
Look Up: effort range precommitment
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Signing Off
Keep today clean and repeatable. The goal is to finish feeling like you could train again soon, not like you need to disappear for three days. Stack enough of those and your “hard” days stop feeling like a gamble. Come back tomorrow for a lower-stress reset that keeps the week moving.
Quote of the Day
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle