Terrible 20's

I believe it is very important that an athlete has the ability to display an adequate level of work capacity relative to their sport before their training intensifies.  When work capacity is developed it establishes a base for training to be built off of. A PYRAMID IS ONLY AS TALL AS ITS BASE IS WIDE (slide 2).
 
BASE = General Physical Preparedness (GPP)
 
A protocol I put together to simplify a GPP/work capacity phase is the TERRIBLE 20’S.  The general outline is the same for all athletes (slide 3). 
 
Pending on the sport/experience level/equipment you can make changes through exercise selection, reps, sets, rest, frequency as long as the general outline is followed.
 
When I have a large group of athletes in person, I normally put together a giant circuit that consist of similar movements to the ones seen above, for simplicity sake.  I prefer not performing it in circuit fashion though because this format it allows for more individualization (i.e. exercise intensity, selection, etc.) and more control of volume (I know exactly how much work they are completing and how long it took).
 
 
BENEFITS
 
There 4 major reasons why this protocol is a great fit for any athletes GPP Phase
 
1)(arrow) Local Muscular Endurance: performing high repetition sets increases mitochondrial and capillary density in the muscle, which allows for more efficient oxygen utilization
2)(arrow) Cardiac Output: alternating muscle groups during training teaches the body how to effectively redirect blood and oxygen to the working muscle
3)(arrow) Recovery Capability: improves aerobic system and work capacity with low stress style training, allowing athlete to tolerate higher levels of volume and recover faster in future training
4)(arrow) Movement Capacity: provides opportunity to accumulate high volumes at low intensities with a variety of movement patterns
 
 
WHEN TO USE IT
 
Due to the low stress and aerobic nature of the Terrible 20s it is great options in many situations for an individual during the training year
 
-INJURED ATHLETES: can use either a lower or upper body variation based on the athlete’s injury to maintain conditioning and promote recovery
-ATHLETES NOT DRESSING: simple, time efficient workout that can be done anywhere (hotel, field, rink) to maintain fitness while not participating in competition
-FLUSH: when done at low intensities will increase blood flow to stimulate recovery while causing minimal neural stress
-FINISHER: can use 1 block as a finisher following your main high intensity exercise
-GPP: improves aerobic system and muscular endurance