I’m not following a training program and I don’t like coming up with that to do on the training day. I also know that if I train too hard then I’ll be reluctant to train for several days which breaks progression.
Having raked my brain thus, I came up with the idea of training cards.
A training card is a complete training session, usually with just one exercise, that takes me 25 to 40 minutes of active time to do (total minus warmup and cooldown). If it’s less that 25 minutes, that’s not serious (at my preferred intensity level). If it’s more than 40 minutes, it’s too long and I get tired and will likely skip the next session.
When I’m training, I simply pick a card and do it. The effort is calibrated to my current fitness level. Were my fitness level to increase, I adjust the cards.
To avoid skewing the frequency, I should do the cards always in order:
- Type 3
- Type 2
- Type 6
- Type 5
- Type 1
- Type 4
- Type 7
Update 22/02/2024: Cut all the cards almost in half to reach a 20 minute active training time. I’m running another experiment.
Update 07/05/2024: Added the card order.
Update 19/08/2024: Added type 7.
Type 1
1-8-1 pyramid: 5-count pushups (hold and count to 5 on top and bottom) (pushup x 64).
Type 2
100 x 1-handed 20 kg kettlebell clean & press (50 each hand).
Type 3
120 x 1-pump burpee (pushup x 120).
Type 4
40x: 28 kg kettlebell 2-handed row x 2, 28 kg kettlebell 2-handed swing x 3 (2-handed row x 80, 2-handed swing x 120).
Type 5
15 rounds: 28 kg kettlebell 2-handed swing x 8, 1-handed swing x 2 (swing x 150).
Type 6
6 rounds: navy seals x 10 (pushup x 180).
Type 7
20 rounds: 11.3 kg 2-handed hammer curl x 10 (curl x 200).