2026 TRAINING LOG WEEK 1 of 52

Happy New Year¡

I locked in maybe a little TOO hard during winter holiday break. Did everything from Pilates to sprints to aggressive leg days. Also, got back to my bodybuilding roots for a second. When you’re from Jersey, two things are king— bodybuilding workouts + sports. The good thing about bodybuilding workouts when you’re young, they actually help you create a better connection to your body + you get over pure vanity earlier. Sport teaches you about importance of “functional” training before you even knew what that meant.

But we digress.

This week, and prolly moving forward for the next few, we are focused on an idea called “reserve reps” + trying to lay the ground for a year of getting fast. Reserve reps is a concept where you build the groundwork by actually not going too hard and always keeping energy in the tank. You get a good pump/workout but don’t go to pure fatigue so you make sure you can go again the next day or after that while still being able to live your life outside the gym. You keep reps in reserve, build work capacity, and improve without feeling like shit. THIS HELPS YOU AVOID A MISTAKE MANY PEOPLE MAKE. THEY THINK IF THEY AREN’T FATIGUED AT THE END OF THEIR WORKOUT, IT ISN’T A GOOD WORKOUT. ANYBODY WHO KNOWS ANYTHING KNOWS GOING TO CHRONIC FATIGUE CONSTANTLY IS BULLSHIT. UNFORTUNATELY THE INTERNET IS FULL OF BULLSHIT ARTISTS. NO SHADE THO.

It’s actually quite important during certain phases to keep energy in the tank. The shoulder workout below is an example of that in addition to the workout on Jan 3rd.

Main themes moving forward is getting more explosive. I know Zone 2 cardio and all that is getting big and rightfully so! But don’t forget the importance of fast twitch. We really are going to focus more on shorter races this year + coming off rehabbing a meniscus tear and finally feeling GOOD.I want to see what it’s like to push the speed limit before we get too old. This means more fast twitch work. But also need to build an aerobic base again.

Below are my workouts this past week, hopefully you can take inspiration from it + provide reasoning as to each workout here and there.

I took my Mom on vacation this week. When I am on the road, especially in a warm place, I like to double sessions. My body just responds better. The first session is never too intense, usually just a light jog, but that’s why you’ll see a few days with double sessions.

I don’t want this to carry on TOO much but I think comments are enabled on the post. If you have specific questions, drop them there or hit me on email joe@ochosystem.com

Keep moving :). A little bit goes a long way ya heard me¡

Thursday Jan 1st

No workout. Absolutely washed. Had a hard workout the day before + went to church for at midnight to bring in the New Year. SLEEPY.

Friday Jan 2nd

I’ve been inspired by old Soviet iterations on plyometrics. I can’t even fully write this workout out, cause I can’t even come up with names for the exercises I did ha. But if you want to get started with plyometrics, try this out.

BUT I did some rounds of the Bas Rutten boxing training. Always go back to this. We used to do this when I was in college at Penn for football offseason work. Simple, easy to follow once you learn the combos. Can find here.

Saturday Jan 3rd

NO WORKOUT. BUSY WORKING. ON THE WEEKEND. WOOF

Sunday Jan 4th

Notes: Today was mainly about going through a movement screen. My brother is a doctor of physical therapy and I bother him at the start of every year to do a quick assessment to see if there is any thing I need to work on. Again, I think every one should see a good physical therapist, even if just once, to help create a plan if needed to shore up any weak links.

Workout:

6x1 minute hard effort on treadmill. Rest 30 seconds between efforts. Warm-up as needed before you’re run. Here’s a great warm-up you can use.

This was just about cleaning the engines a little bit and getting some pop in the legs after a physical therapy session. This is a good high intensity workout on its own though. Can bookend with just 10 minutes of an easy jog to get a little more juice out of it.

Monday Jan 5th

NO WORKOUT. WAS ON A PLANE. JUST DID SOME LIGHT STRETCHING.

Tuesday Jan 6th

Morning:

10 minute easy jog

30 seconds hard effort

90 seconds recovery

x5

10 minute easy jog

Evening:

Dynamic Warm-up

A. BB Partial Squat (HEAVY)- 5x5, 2 minute rest between efforts

Note: Once base strength is improved, partial squats (usually go down less than half way at heavy weight) is a tactic to work on explosiveness typically used in performance world.

B. Quarter Squat Jumps- 3x10, 1 minute rest between efforts

C. BB Eccentric Squats- 3x10, super slow tempo down and up using lighter weight to work on connective tissue health

D. Modified “Sissy Squats” - 3x10

Wednesday Jan 7th

Morning:

30 minute run easy effort. Light jog.

Afternoon:

Contrast Circuit. 10-15 minute sauna, 1 minute cold plunge. Repeat 3x.

Thursday Jan 8th

Morning:

30 minute run. 8 minutes easy effort. 2 minutes medium effort. Repeat 3x.

Afternoon:

“BOULDERS FOR SHOULDERS”

Candidly, I know most women don’t want large shoulders. And that’s cool¡ But doing one set of shoulder pressing + working the rear delts on a couple sets will have you feeling a lot better. Just don’t do a lot and you’ll be fine as it relates to not putting on any size in your shoulders.

As for the fellas. No notes. This is a GOOD ONE. Warm-up as needed. On the shoulder press though, both with the DB and the BB, set the incline at a little less than 90 degrees, not completely upright. This will go a long way to taking strain of unnecessary areas + improving form.

A. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3x8

Notes: Don’t go heavy here. Treat it as warm-up for workout. Mess around with grip (palms forward, palms facing, Arnold Press style too).

B. Seated Overhead Barbell Press - 5x10

Notes: Medium to heavy weight.

C1. Landmine Press or Dumbbell Angled Press - 3x10

C2. Banded Half-Kneeling Angled Press - 3x10

C3. Standing Banded Front Raise - 3x10

D1. Standing Lateral Raise - 3x10

D2. Standing Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise - 3x10

E1. Dumbbell Shrugs - 3x10

E2. Standing Three-Way Plate Raise- 3x15

F1. Standing Dumbbell Upright Row - 3x10

F2. Rope Cable Face Pull - 3x10

F3. Reverse Pec Deck Fly - 3x10