Who cares how strong, fast, or powerful you are if you get gassed out quickly. Building your Aerobic Capacity is essential to becoming the healthiest and fittest version of yourself. You will not lose your muscle, strength, or speed. Instead, you will be able to use those skills for a longer period of time. Aerobic capacity and strength go hand in hand to make you feel like an athlete.

Train with intent. Each training session should have a purpose for how it makes you feel. Exercising just to exercise is boring. You’re not training for anything. You just go through the motions because you think you’re supposed to. At Gate 18 we want to feel strong, powerful, and athletic. We get in, do what needs to be done, and leave. And then we do it again tomorrow. If you want to become more powerful, train like an athlete, and have a purpose with each workout, reach out. We will help.

- Lift moderate weight faster. Become powerful. My favorite: Trapbar Deadlifts focused on speed/power around 70-85% of 1RM - Sprint 1-2x a week Start with a running buildup into a 10 yard sprint. As you feel more comfortable, increase distance to 20-30-40 yards. Change the way you start your sprint. - Jump High / Jump Far Start with learning to land and absorb force. Practice small hops and build from there. - Be able to run a mile Not a marathon. Practice 1 mile at a time. An athlete can run a mile. No excuses. - Recover!! You must eat enough. You must sleep enough. You must hydrate enough. You must take the time to heal old injuries or limitations.

Most people think of running when they want to “get in shape” or think of cardio. Although running is extremely beneficial as humans, it is very technical, and has some risk to it. Not to mention, most people do not enjoy running. There are many different ways to improve your heart health outside of running that most people don’t think of. You can use any piece of equipment (Bike, Row, Ski Erg, Sled, Punching Bag, Kettlebell, Barbell, Med Ball, Dumbells, Plyometrics, etc..) The most important part of improving your conditioning, heart health, HRV, and resting heart rate is how you structure your work to rest ratios. The piece of equipment you use should really be based on what your overall goal is/injuries or limitations you may have. Here’s a few examples: - If you want to improve power output but are not an experienced sprinter, or have limitations: Explosive Med Ball Slams: 4-8 sets of 10 seconds max speed/power (rest: 1-3 minutes) - If you want to be able to improve your jumping ability and conditioning: Small Hurdle Plyometrics: 10-20 sets of 6-10 small jumps or hops (rest: 1 minute) - If you want to improve your grip strength and conditioning: Farmers Carry/Overhead Carry/Suitcase Carry: 2-6 sets of 1 minute carry (rest: 1 minute between each set) What’s your conditioning goal? Improve sprinting speed? Build your endurance/capacity? Able to do both/build the engine? Feel like an athlete again?

Weekly blueprint to be your strongest, most conditioned, and pain free: 2x - Full Body Strength Train (~6-8 exercises total each session) 2x - Conditioning (One fast session, one slower session) 1-2x - Mobility Cook 80% of your meals Drink at least 100oz of water daily Intentionally try to get more steps