Throughout the peak season in our Lift Heavy, Swing Fast program, we focused on lowering the volume and pushing the intensity of each set with low reps in order to stay fresh for more play.
There's still plenty of golf left to be played this year, but we will start increasing our volume of work in the gym - slowly.
A few new markers we will be looking at as we progress in this cycle:
RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion will be a main focus as we use a Reverse Pyramid Training in our main lifts of the program. The main lifts in this 6-week cycle will be the Back Squat, Bench Press and Romanian Deadlift - Swaps will be offered for each of these lifts.
RPE will be based off a scale of 0-10 - to gauge the intensity of the exercise. Below are the subjective measurements.
0 - At Rest
1 - Very Light
2-3 - Light
4-5 - Moderate
6-7 - High Vigorous
8-9 - Very Hard
10 - Maximum Effort
I will be denoting next to the set which target of RPE you are looking to hit in that set. This will help you adjust the weight as you progress through the cycle. Logging your weights is always very important, but especially when using this metric.
Reverse Pyramid Training - involves starting with your heaviest weights (after warm up) for fewer reps and progressively decreasing the weight while increasing the number of reps.
This technique has been shown to increase muscle growth and strength gains. Additionally, I find it very challenging and a way to push yourself mentally.
Higher volume can lead to more soreness and fatigue, so we will ease into this slowly. If you are a competitive golfer with upcoming tournaments , I recommend keeping the reps lower than what I prescribe in the workout - I will note that in the instructions for each exercise.
In this cycle - I will also be adding more home gym options for SWAP features when an exercise or equipment may not be available for most.
Our team at CWG is growing in membership AND coaches that are ready to help. If you cannot perform an exercise, or find a SWAP option that works for you, please let use know in the Facebook Group or TrainHeroic Chat. I encourage you to post it publicly so others can benefit, but if you prefer to send a private message, please don't hesitate.
