March & April Programme: Power, Muscle and Cardio, oh my!
So this month, you’ll be asked to do three workouts per week, outside of your sport. Before any of my Rowers begin to panic, I consider the Erg Training as an ‘extra’ too so don’t worry you can count that as the third workout!
We’re going to take a three pronged approach of trying to improve our power (always useful to have more when it comes to sport, and one of the first things to decline as we age), our muscle strength and definition, plus our base cardio. Our Cardio session isn’t going to be super tough, but it’s what some refer to as ‘soft work’, it shouldn’t leave you in pieces but will definitely raise your core fitness level. No one sings the praises of Low Intensity Interval Training (LIIT), which is HIIT’s forgotten sibling, the fifth Beatle. PS hardly anyone does real HIIT, but we will in the power session.
This programme will end at the start of May so there is a bit of thinking towards project Summer Body 2022!
This is the third part of a four month block I’ve put you on, remember we started with Base Strength, Core and Cardio in Jan, the 6/12/25 Muscle Builder (and heart rate upper!) in Feb, now we’ve built a great foundation we just crank up the heat a little more.
Let’s go!
Workout 1 - Unleash the beast!
Warm Up: 5 mins Low Intensity Cardio (skipping, running, rowing, stepper, sled, or mobility circuit of 10 Shoulder rolls (five each way), 10 Indian Squats, 10 Lunge, Twist and Reach (five each way), 5 push ups.
Power HIIT
Choose a throw, jump or sprint, and go for max power. Then perform;
Week 1 - 8 x 10 sec on, 50 sec off
Week 2 - 10 x 10 sec on, 50 sec off
Week 3 - 12 x 10 sec on, 50 sec off
Week 4 - 14 x 10 sec on, 50 sec off
Week 5 - 10 x 15 sec on, 45 sec off
Week 6 - 12 x 15 sec on, 45 sec off
Strength Round (Choose one option of each upper, one lower) Superset 5 sets x 6 reps
Upper: Pull Up, DB Row, Military Press
Lower: Deadlift, Nordic Curl, Bulgarian Split Squat
Finisher: Farmers Walk x 100m
Workout 2 - Muscles on Muscles
This a variation on last months 6/12/25 but with a whole body focus, with some extra work for the hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors. This will be perfect for building some muscle.
Warm Up x 1 set
Ant Tib Raises x 20
Calf Raises x 20
RH half squat x 20
Band Pull Apart x 20
Utimate stretch x 3 each side
Pull Ups or Straight Arm Pulls x 5 - 10 (If no bar do 10 - 20 V ups)
Workout
3 x
Nordic Curl x 6
Squat Press x 12
Row x 25
3 x
Deadlift / Slider Leg Curl x 6
DB Bench / Push Up x 12
Cable or Band Face Pull / TRX Row / X and Y x 25
2 x
DB / Band Curl x 20
Side lying clam raise x 10
Straight Leg Sit Up x 5
Slow Reverse Crunch x 5
Workout 3 - CYO LIIT
So this is designed to be low intensity interval training, meaning you stay working at a low to moderate level, but maintain it for a long time, which does become challenging.
You have two main options here, either a longer walk, 45 mins plus, or a tempo run circuit.
The Tempo Run Circuit is for cardio and muscular endurance, with the goal of no rest with a minimum length of 15 mins, maximum of 60.
Here’s a short example of a tempo run circuit, with the format something like this;
Run 4 lengths at steady jog pace
Pull Ups x 3 - 6
Run 4 lengths at steady jog pace
Dips x 3 - 6
Run 4 lengths at steady jog pace
Wall Sit x 30 secs
Run 4 lengths just below sprint pace
- The devil in the detail here is the wall sit to sprint, to create some lactic acid build up and then increase speed, similar to tiring in competition, and building up the body’s resistance to fatigue.
For an even simpler, take a football pitch, run a length and do 10 Push Ups, run the next length then 10 Squat jumps, run the next length and do 20 lunges before sprinting the final length. That’s one set.
We really don’t need to be too complicated here. Choose a base cardio of;
Run, Row, Skip, Stepper, Speed Ladder
+ 2 - 4 strength exercises.
You could definitely do a gym version with heavier weights too.
I’m really looking forward to the next six weeks, lots of variety and tough challenges. Plus a lot of it we can do in the sunshine, FINALLY.
Ps also cross your fingers that we get the little barn we’re going for, if so you’re all invited to a summer BBQ and Sports Day! Any help needed in building your workouts as always, just message me.
Will