Overreaching 2017

Where has this year gone? It only seems like yesterday that we were yelling ‘Schisse!’ during our grueling German Volume Program, yet here we are a mere 4 weeks from our coveted Overreaching program. This will be the eighth iteration of our most challenging and exciting program and while we have been getting more efficient in our processes (if we do say so ourselves), this year we are going to mix it up a little. While the scientific foundations will be the same, the method of exercise prescription and periodisation will be significantly different.

Shock the System, Achieve Greatness…

Overreaching is pushing yourself into a mild state of fatigue with your training, in order to produce big gains in a short period. While regression in performance can occur during an over-reaching period, performance rebounds back rapidly, usually above and beyond its previous level, after a short period of rest.

In short, we train the shit out of you for ten days, shocking your system to such a fatigued state that when your body finally rests, it prepares itself just in case you do something stupid like this again. Quite simply, the body adapts by altering a number of physiological properties into an enhanced state; think ‘X-Men’ or something similar. By running the program a week prior to Christmas, participants are forced into a ‘recovery phase’ when gyms are closed over the festive period. So theoretically, you’re making gains during the period that your blood consists of half vanilla custard, half roast turkey – result!

For the last 7 years our participant’s trained weights twice a day for 8 days in groups of 4-5. By day 3 your body will be burning all over and by the end of the week, you’ll be in bits. By the end of it all, the recovery week can’t come soon enough.

Speaking of the recovery phase; this consists of a minimum of five (preferably seven) days sans resistance training (weights), with cardio recommended to commence three days after conclusion of the program.

What Makes This Year Different to Previous Years?

First, the programming is slightly more advanced and intricate. No, you don’t have to be more advanced, it just means the programming, the periodisation and the exercise selection is more astute this year then pervious, largely attributable to the learnings of years past.

Without going into too much detail but the programming will go a little something like this: Strength training performed concurrently with interval training; Force-Velocity circuits; strength-speed sessions; volume work; and lastly, occlusion training.

Do those words make as much sense as a Donald Trump Presidency? Not to fear, these training modalities will all be explained in good time to ensure there are no surprises.

How is this going to work?

We will be kicking off on 13th December 2017, with the full schedule to be released at the beginning of December.

The schedule of the ten days will be varied; however, it will consist of:

• 7 days, two sessions per day; and
• 3 days, one session per day.

There will be both morning and afternoon sessions: morning sessions will be run in 20-minute ‘waves’, running from 5:00am with the last wave starting at 7:20am. Afternoon sessions will run in a similar ‘wave’ format with a few exceptions as the first few afternoon sessions are conditioning based and will be performed in 2-3 large classes.

All of that clear as mud? Don’t fret, the schedule will be provided once numbers are finalized.

Sessions will be executed in groups of no more than five at once and will last 45 minutes. However, you will be expected to arrive 15 minutes prior in order for you to perform the prescribed warm up and trigger pointing programs (which will be explained to you prior). It is important that we commence on time each time; if you are late and have not performed the warm-up/trigger pointing exercises, you will not be able to participate.

A few things you need to be aware of…

You are going to hurt, and we mean, really hurt. Your joints will ache, your muscles will scream and your nervous system is going to be under immense stress.  It has to be, in order to get the compensations that we are seeking.  ‘Being sore’ is not an excuse not to show up; we will all be sore. If you have any injuries, we can accommodate those and alter your program to suit.

Pricing

We will be offering two options to ensure that we cater for everybody’s commitments, with each option designed to maximize your training effort within your availability.

*Debited weekly for 4 weeks commencing 15th December 2017.

1. One-a-day This has been designed for participants who can’t commit to two-a-day training sessions. Participants will perform one full body session per day and to achieve a hypertrophic and metabolic effect. Total cost for the program over 4 week period is $316.
2. Original two-a-day Participants in our original two-a-day program will perform weights in a split session format which focuses on specific body parts in order to achieve optimal hypertrophic and metabolic effects. Participants will yield a higher super-compensation effect due to the attention to various body parts. Total cost for the program over a 4 week period is $396.

 Timetable