Welcome back to another weekly newsletter and the continuation of our more advanced pike flexibility program.
If you missed last week's newsletter and Phase 1 of the program, you can find it here.
You might also like to join the weekly newsletter so you don’t miss out on all this cool content.
It's best to stick to Phase 1 for 4-6 weeks before progressing to Phase 2. The body needs a chance to adapt to the training phase and to see progress.
Constantly varied programming equals constantly varied results.
When it comes to flexibility, consistency is king.
Doing the program 1-2 times per week will deliver significant flexibility gains in 4-6 weeks.
Speaking of flexibility gains, how do you know if you're making progress?
Unlike strength training, you're not going to be adding more weight to your stretches.
The best way to monitor your progress is through videos and pictures. It might not feel like you're making progress, but a video or picture never lies.
A lot of my online students are often surprised by the level of progress they've made when I send them before and after pictures.
If you're serious about increasing your flexibility, you're going to need to take ongoing videos and continue to compare them
You might notice that Phase 2 is very similar to Phase 1; we're targeting the same areas, in the same order, with slight progressions in each movement.
When it comes to flexibility, I find sticking to a similar pattern for 2-3 phases (8-12 weeks) delivers the best results.
It can depend on the individual, but if you're making good progress with a certain pattern, why change it?
Small variations can help, but there's no need to recreate a pattern if it's not broken.
PIKE FLEXIBILITY - PHASE 2
A1. Pigeon Stretch, Incline Bench
2 x [:30-:45sec hold ea], rest :30
A2. Calf Raise, Single Leg, Half-Lift, Weighted
2 x [10reps @2310 TEMPO + :15sec hold], rest :30
B1. Front Scale
3 x [8-10reps @10x3 TEMPO], rest :30
B2. Squat to Pike, Elevated, Weighted
3 x [5-6 @1515 TEMPO], rest :60
C1. Goodmorning, Split Stance, Weighted
3 x [6-8reps @ 2310 TEMPO + :15sec hold[, rest :30
C2. Pike Stretch, Squat to Pike, Target
3 x [:10+:10+:10+:10sec], rest :60
The meat and potatoes of this program are the B's and C's.
In both of these supersets, you're going to be strengthening the muscles of the anterior chain. This is your core compression strength while lengthening the muscles of the posterior chain.
The combination of these exercises works well together to deliver significant results.
The best way to understand how they work is to give the program a try. It might look simple on paper, but trust me, it can be brutal. 🥹
Feel free to explore this effective program and reach out with any questions or for further guidance.
Additionally, if you find value in these sessions and desire ongoing flexibility training, consider joining our Midlife Mavericks community, where flexibility training is integrated into our comprehensive wellness approach.
If you’re looking for a FREE core compression and forward fold flexibility program for complete beginners, I suggest you check this out.
