After finishing my last training cycle, I did some research and found a new program that I wanted to try. It was high volume for me. I think it would be high volume for really anyone, actually.
The first week of the new program was July 31st – August 6th and it beat me into the ground. It felt like “first week of CrossFit” soreness. I went from 5 days a week to 6 and extended the length of each training day by at least 30-45 minutes.
In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, get through the first week and then see how it goes. The second week was easier. The third felt somewhat better, but it was still exhausting. I had increased my carbs & fat intake to handle the volume. My body still had a hard time recovering properly.
I would work up to a 1RM FS for the day on Wednesday and then start Thursday off with a FS 3RM. Saturday I would have a 1RM OHS after a 1RM OHS on Friday. My shoulders stayed smoked and hurt constantly.
The program is not a bad program. It was written by a very knowledgable coach. But it was written for a 20-something year old athlete, not a 41 year old dad with a desk job. Once it was pretty obvious that I couldn’t handle a 12 week cycle of this volume, I backed it off and went back to the program that I was doing before this one.