Program Modeling With SufferCity

The Suffer City Programming Model: The Three Classifications
When getting started on any training program, or any program for that matter, you’ll want to become aware of the variables involved in that program.
Now, it’s important to realize that when you use energy to lift, move, and sculpt your body through exercise you’re stressing your system out; and depending on a couple things, over the long duration of time, you could over-stress your system, leading to injury or illness--perhaps having serious implications. Let’s not do that. Let’s do this instead…
BECOME AWARE OF YOUR VARIABLES
In truth, there are countless variables at work having an impact on your health and fitness results; but for simplicity’s sake, let’s stick with the BIG FOUR: frequency, intensity, duration, and diversity.
At minimum, these four variables MUST be accounted for if any sustainable program is to be assembled. So, what are these variables?
Frequency is the amount of training sessions (or stress inputs) you engage in on a weekly basis. Intensity of your training describes how HEAVY your weight loads are (strength), how high your heart rate is (endurance), or the volume of your reps (physique). Duration refers to how long in time your training sessions are. And the diversity is what application of your fitness you’re training--strength, speed, etc.
The goal of any program or system is to tune the variables governing it as accurately as possible so as to produce desirable outcomes. If a program shows efficacy, then it can do two things, 1) produce desired outcomes and 2) produce those outcomes in a predictable manner.
The Suffer City Training Program is constructed of variables that, when tuned properly, produce desirable results in a predictable manner. The greater and more specific one’s desired results, the more robust and specific a training program must be.
And so, to help our Citizenship of members at Suffer City develop as specific a training program for themselves as possible, the Suffer City Training Team has assembled the Three Classifications for one who is aiming to more strategically organize their training week.
Now, as a matter of default, Suffer City has already helped you with the Intensity, Duration, and Diversity variables of your training program.
Your training sessions at Suffer City will be intense enough to produce the necessary stimulus for continued adaptations for strength, endurance, speed, and range of motion. The duration of each session (except S.O.S.) is 60 minutes. And the training diversity covers a variety of movement applications from stability and strength to coordination and power.
What remains is the variable of frequency. How many times are able to train each week; and how many times are you WILLING to train each week?
The answer to this question comes down to a couple of other variables. Let's take a look at three possible schedules with descriptions for what each one looks like.
LEVEL 1: THE TRAINEE
A Trainee will commit to two to three sessions a week given their schedule and other commitments.
A Trainee can choose to develop strength as a priority and select LIFT days as their primary session; they can choose to improve endurance as a priority and select MOVE days as their primary sessions; or they can choose to enhance physique as a priority and select SCUPLT days as their primary sessions.
Whether a Trainee selects LIFT or SCULPT as a primary, the Suffer City Training Team recommends MOVE day as a secondary session for improved metabolic function and advanced aerobic/anaerobic performance. And, if a Trainee selects MOVE day as a primary session then our Training Team recommends LIFT as a secondary session to develop stability and strength or SCULPT if in a phase where detailed physique enhancements are desired.
Below is a weekly training schedule for a Trainee training three (3) times a week.
SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY |
OFF | LIFT | OFF | OFF | LIFT | MOVE | OFF |
The time and space between each session provides adequate time for recovery, and the combination of types of training stimulus on a Trainee’s system--between strength inputs on Monday and Thursday then high metabolic output on Friday--leads to adaptations in strength and strength-endurance.
With a well-executed nutrition strategy, a Trainee will recognize noticeable physique and performance improvements for a long duration of time. There will come a time, however; when the Trainee will hit a plateau. The same demand formula will produce progress until the demand no longer overloads your system; at which point a new demand formula must be constructed, if new results are to be obtained.
LEVEL 2: THE ATHLETE
An Athlete will commit to three to four sessions a week given their schedule and other commitments AND they will integrate a recovery strategy for optimized energy management.
An Athlete has the same training choices and class selections as the Trainee, but they can accelerate their process with an additional session per week and their performance measures are likely to improve faster as a result of more recovery.
The main distinction between Trainee and Athlete is the integration of recovery methods throughout their training week. Recovery is the doorway through which performance advances; and one’s ability to actively integrate recovery into their training program does have a strong correlation to the results they experience.
In fact, whether or not one is able to complete a fourth (4th) training session during the week is dependent upon whether they actively engage in recovering their body…
Due to the recovery “needs” of your body, training four (4) days a week without active recovery leads to an overstressed and overworked system. This leads to high-risk of injury or illness, thus lowering the sustainability of your process. This is unacceptable through the eyes of Suffer City…
One MUST be in company of a sustainable program, no matter the frequency of training sessions per week. And, if you are to choose an Athletic training schedule of four (4) sessions a week then you MUST integrate active recovery protocols into your training week.
Ask one of the Training Staff for guidance on useful recovery strategies or book a twenty (20) or thirty (30) minute consult with your favorite trainer to learn our self-applied Advance Recovery Technologies™.
Below is a weekly training schedule for an Athlete training four (4) times a week.
SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY |
OFF | LIFT - RECOVERY | MOVE | RECOVERY | LIFT - RECOVERY | MOVE | RECOVERY |
Now, it is possible that an Athlete will ADDITIONALLY exercise training options outside of Suffer City. Trail runs, rock climbing, and swimming are types of training an Athlete can specify with optional training days and sessions. The primary distinction in an Athlete’s training program is the integration of active recovery protocols.
LEVEL 3: THE PRO
A Pro will commit to five to seven sessions a week, or more, given their schedule and other commitments. Often, a true Pro will have no other commitments; but Pro status can be attained through rigorous discipline and proper planning.
The Pro will choose to specify a single aspect of their training, provided their sport of choice is incredibly specific. If they are involved in a more functional, all-around sport (OCR, Crossfit, etc.) then they’ll have a more diverse training program and schedule.
Along with integrating recovery methods, the Pro will be well-disciplined to an organized fueling plan to which they are at least ninety (90) percent accountable. The Pro will also utilize a second training session on specified training days to further advance a skill or aspect of their fitness as it applies to their sport.
The Pro often secures the services of a personal coach/trainer to help develop and implement proven training strategies in order to promote next level results in a predictable manner.
Below is a weekly training schedule for a Pro training eight sessions a week for a functional fitness sport:
SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY |
ACCESSORY WORK - RECOVERY | LIFT - RECOVERY | MOVE - RECOVERY | SCULPT - RECOVERY - ACCESSORY WORK | LIFT- RECOVERY | MOVE - RECOVERY | S.O.S. - RECOVERY |
Given the frequency and depth of recovery strategies in place for the Pro, they are able to impose this kind of demand upon their system and continue to experience results asymmetrical* to the investment of energy over the long duration of large, mega-sized training cycles without high-risk of injury or overtraining.
*Asymmetrical Results: Training in this fashion--high-frequency, high-intensity, long-duration--along with adequate cycles of energy renewal and recovery along with proper nourishment and supplemental care, human systems are capable of wildly incredible feats of performance. Improving one’s one-mile time from 8 minute to 6 minutes 30 seconds in a return on investment; but given the margins at play, taking one’s one-mile time from 5 minutes 30 second down below 5 minutes will prove more challenging and is, in fact, an auspicious feat of performance and an asymmetrical result. The Pro Athlete is concerned with these small, auspicious margins.
IN SUMMARY
If you're going to enjoy results past the six-week or six-month and if you plan to stay healthy while improving your performance and physique then you're going to need a strategy.
Understanding the variables that govern your strategy is critical to the execution of that strategy.
It was our intention to provide for you a baseline understanding of the basic four variables of any training program: frequency, intensity, duration, and diversity; and to provide a template for how to utilize the Suffer City Training Program while mapping a Training Schedule that accounts for things like nourishment and recovery for your body onto it.
We hope this helps. Be great in all that you do and let us know how we can help you with your next breakthrough.
Semper!
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