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"Working Class Cardio Workout"

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"Championship Edition 2.0 MMA Workout"

The MMA Workout Program designed for a UFC Champ...

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Gymboss Timer

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"Eat, Stop, Eat"

The best book on Intermittent Fasting on the internet - it's how I eat!

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One of the most important developments in exercise has been the concept of Periodization.

For those that don’t know (and to keep it fairly simple), periodization is the concept of breaking training down into blocks (usually called “cycles”) to achieve certain goals. Utilized and popularized (to most of the rest of the world) by the Eastern Bloc countries, periodization is used to design cycles that prepare an athlete to “peak” (i.e. – achieve maximum physical performance) for his/her given competition period. This could be for any period of time – say every four years for an athlete wanting to compete in the Olympics, to every year for an athlete competing in a seasonal sport. Many times, these blocks would be extended periods of time, and would each have a different primary focus. For example, in a yearly template, you might have a 2 month phase for rehab/GPP/endurance, then a 2 month phase for hypertrophy (muscle gain), then a 3 month phase for strength, then a 3 month phase for power, then competition. The phase length and focus would depend on the sport in which the athlete was competing.

Though many countries in the Eastern Bloc used periodization, it was the Russians who achieved the greatest successes – especially in the Olympics. Through great amounts of govt. funding, Russian sports scientists were able to study athletes, and design programs that prepared said athletes to achieve amazing athletic success. They utilized periodization to its greatest potential, sending shockwaves throughout the Western world.

When periodization hit the West, many trainers/trainees tried to copy exactly what the Russian sports scientists were doing. This was a mistake for various reasons. First (and I don’t want to start a debate on this hotly-contested topic), there were wide-spread rumors of blood doping and steroid/drug use among Eastern athletes. Second, drug-usage or not, the Russians were dealing with elite-level athletes who had been training at this high level for a number of years. These athletes had been “fine-tuned” (for lack of a better term) so that the sports scientists could make the smallest changes to their programs, and it would make dramatic differences. Many stereotypes of Russian periodized training involve utilizing a great number of different percentages and such. As a result, there was a certain “mysticism” associated with a lot of Russian periodized training, and some thought that there was a chase for the ultimate training percentage and protocol, while others thought it was just a load of complicated crap.

Now, I’m not going to argue the effectiveness of periodization – too many great athletes have been trained, and too many great athletic achievements have been accomplished while on this training protocol. However, I would argue that for fighters/combat athletes (as well as many of us “regular folk”), there is certain way we should use periodization.

At its most basic, periodization is simply cycling. Go hard, back off, go hard, back off, etc. Periodization is just a way to organize it.

The problem (per se) with the way periodization has been traditionally used (linear periodization) is that it takes too long. Say you’ve got family that needs you to help them move. What are you going to do, say “Sorry – I’m in my endurance phase right now. Can you put it off until I’m done with my strength work for the year?” You never know what physical necessities you might come across – you’d better be ready when they happen.

Now, to do this, you have to drastically shorten the traditional length of periodization. There are several ways to so this. In bodybuilding circles, Leo Costa and Dr. R.L. Horine put out a series of books that, supposedly based on Bulgarian Olympic Lifting protocols, detailed what they called “micro-periodization.” This compressed traditional periodization into a single week. Instead of focusing a few months each on endurance, strength, and power, you trained a bodypart 3x/week, with a workout focused on each. Though the book was designed for bodybuilding, you could easily apply the principles to a Strength & Conditioning program for "regular joes".

Another way would be to sort of “auto-regulate” your training tonnage with your sets/reps scheme so that over a given period of time, you’ve done your endurance, strength, and power work. For example, do 2 sets of 20 reps on an exercise. The next workout, add 5-20 lbs. (depending on the exercise). Keep doing this each workout until you can no longer get 20 reps. At that point, drop down to 2 sets of 10 reps. Keep up the process going until you can’t do 10 reps. Then do 2 sets of 5. Keep repeating until you can’t get 5. Then do 2 sets of 3. Keep repeating. When you can’t get your 2 sets of 3, drop the weight back down, and go back to 2 sets of 20. However, you should now be starting with a weight much higher than you started the whole cycle with the last time around. Depending on the exercise and how often you can train, this whole cycle should only take 4-5 weeks.

You could do something similar with cardio workouts. Start off running 2 miles. Once you get to a certain time that it takes to complete that 2 miles (i.e. - you're running it faster, but you can't keep up a faster pace for that distance), drop it down to one mile. Once your time drops, then drop it down to sets of 400m sprints. Then sets of 200m sprints. Then 100m sprints. Then start over.

A way I like, and use most of the time is to break things down into a monthly block. I pick a primary focus that I want to increase. The focus of my training is on this one objective, but I do enough basic accessory work to maintain all other facets of training. I push hard for 3 weeks, then have a backoff week of easier training.

Periodization doesn’t have to be rocket science. Just remember what it is was designed to do – organize a way for you to go hard, back off, go hard, back off…

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.

"As a trainer and coach myself, I know not only what works but what people
will actually do. There is an art and science to physical change and peak
performance. Matt Wiggins program does it all. It is fast, effective and you will feel like a complete bad ass when you're done. This is the type of training that that isn't all show and no go...it will create both the show and the go! Scientific, Fun, and Manly. Love it!"
Billy Beck III
-2x MET-Rx World's Best Personal Trainer
-Personal Fitness Professional Magazine Trainer of the Year

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"Not just for the guys! The thing I like about Matt’s workout is that it’s simple. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard! It’s intense! It makes you feel like you’ve worked. And if you work at it, you’ll get results. I like the format and the progressions each week. Having done the workout myself and tested it on both my male and female clients, I can say it’s not a workout that’s just for guys. I really encourage women to give it a go, as much as I encourage guys. The fact that you need minimal equipment and only a small area in which to work really eliminates any excuse not to give it a go!"
Eve Gillard
Melbourne, Australia
Executive Master Trainer
www.cardiocafe.com.au

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"It's 'cardio' that moves you... beyond the boring, sitting there crap...it's your body in steady motion... burning and shaping..."

Shawn Phillips
author, "Strength For Life"
creator, "Full Strength" performance nutrition

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"Wiggy is one trainer who knows how to combine complex training for the average person as well as elite athletes..."

Dave "Scooter" Honig
Celebrity Trainer to Rapper/Actor LL Cool J
co-author, "LL Cool J's Platinum Workout"

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"Hi Matt - You are a much needed voice of reason in the strength and conditioning field. Keep up the great work."



Alwyn Cosgrove
www.alwyncosgrove.com

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"First thing that I've got to say is that I lost 5 pounds in the first 1.5 weeks of your program...that's definately the workout I would follow before my official fight...the combination of posterior and anterior chain exercises various other sportsmen would find useful because of the amount of cleans and pushes combined with anaerobic circuits."
Nikolay Ryzhkov
Ukraine

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"...after 2 weeks of the cardio program, the biggest thing that I’ve noticed is that my resting heartbeat is down about 3 beats per minutes. I’m down a couple of pounds as well. My energy level appears to be higher (I’ve got twin 4 year olds, so keeping my energy level high is very important)...At 43 years old I’m not concerned with being the biggest or the strongest, just being in the best overall athlete I can be."
Rick Eklof
masters (age 40+) Highland Games competitor

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"I have been a loyal customer of Wiggy's for 2 years now, and I’m so confident in anything that Wiggy puts out, that I will guarantee you it will work. I’m in my early 30’s and can honestly say I’m in the best shape of my life and getting better. The new "Working Class Cardio Workout" is AWESOME. If you want to get into real shape then look no further. Like any workout you will only get what you put into it. No, it’s not easy but you wouldn’t be reading this if you wanted to look like everyone else at the gym. Like Wiggy always says “Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard”. So pick it up, do what he says and you to will look better, feel better, and believe in him like I do. God bless and good luck."
Aaron Bonafede

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"I'm Aaron's Bonafede little brother, and we have been devout followers of your amazing strength and conditioning programs for at least two years. They truly have transformed my body into a work horse of a machine. I am a Firefighter who also does some Jiu Jitsu on the side. I have been asked/told by more than one person, 'How are you so strong?' or 'Do you ever get tired?' With the 'cardio workout' theme I decided to keep the rest (wait there is no time to rest between all of those wood choppers) to a minimum. By the time I was finished with the first workout, I had soaked through a shirt and had to answer more questions then normal as to what exactly I was doing. I knew it was another winner. I am confident this program will take anybody's cardio and strength to the next level and beyond. Thanks again for new ass kicking programs."
Matt Bonafede

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