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Developing & Redevloping Habits
Bounce back after a rough patch
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We all hit rough patches. When life gets busy, something has to be sacrificed to make up the time. Instead of cutting out binge watching a TV show or waking up early, they’ll choose to sleep in and skip their workout.
This article is not about avoiding the rough patches – if you’re reading this, chances are that ship has already sailed. What I want to do is help you come out the other side armed with ways to stick to your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve been in a funk for two weeks or two years, these principles will help you out!
How small changes deliver big results
Have you ever heard of the ‘Mosquito Effect’?
It can often be tricky to see your way out of a rough patch. You look for significant actions that can make a big difference… but these can seem daunting and often unreachable.
The trick is to break things down into smaller, more achievable goals – these actions then add up to make a huge difference overall. This idea helped David Brailsford turn British cycling and team Ineos into a world-conquering powerhouse and it can do the same for you, too.
What does that have to do with a mosquito? Well, think about this: a mosquito is less than 1% the size of you, yet it can keep you up all night, torment you with itchiness and even kill you.
If you think that small things can’t make a big difference, think about the Mosquito Effect!
Redeveloping Habits: 1% Gains and 1% Losses
When developing and redeveloping habits, we want to not only look at what 1% gains we can make but also what 1% losses we can remove.
How to identify bad habits
If you ask most people what bad habits they have, they may find it hard to answer.
An excellent place to begin looking is around how you start and finish your day. Screen time habits? Eating habits? Exercise habits? Believe it or not, they’re all connected.
Stressful situations often have us hooked to a screen, desperate to know what’s happening. In this case, ask yourself what you’re monitoring and if you need to be doing it right now.
So many people are hooked to the news to know the following headline. Is it helpful to see before you head out on the run you’ve been putting off all week, or is it better to have a clear head? Should we check what’s going on just before going to bed?
The answer to both questions is: probably not, so the 1% move here is to not look at your phone upon waking or 60 mins before sleeping. Remove the phone from your view!
That’s a small change that’ll make a big difference.
Why do we develop bad habits?
Rough patches usually come with a need to elicit dopamine to make ourselves feel better.
One way we can do this is to eat! Food can trigger a huge dopamine response before eating a mouthful, but be careful – with big ups comes big downs.
Planning out your week of food can remove the 'surprise' our dopamine-hungry brains love and keep levels much smoother. Seeing food as your fuel and not your emotion controller is vital.
People who love food gifts don't actually love the food (or they would already have it in their house). They love the fact they weren't expecting it and now have it. Make a plan that you are in charge of.
Don’t over-commit to unachievable goals
Exercise can also trigger many emotions along the same lines as food and news flashes. Usually good ones!
When emerging from a patch of nothing or even a patch of chaos, be hyper-aware of how you might be thinking. We can get ourselves into trouble repeatedly by setting goals out of our reach or the exercise bar a little high.
3 Principles to make fitness habits easy
If you are a little stuck at the moment or are emerging from a difficult time, try to focus on these three things:
- Small differences can make big changes
- Make a plan that you are in charge of
- Avoid comparisons
How to develop realistic habits
“I’m going to go to the gym every day this week” is not an exercise goal. Nor is “I’m going to complete an Ironman in 2 months’ time” if you’re just returning from an injury.
Seeing exercise as your partner in getting better is far more productive in these situations. Do you prefer exercising alone or with a friend?
If you prefer working out with a friend, then be willing to try what they are doing and go to the workout with an achievable goal – either spending time with your friend or simply getting out of the house.
Don’t focus on burning Kcals or working so hard that you’re too sore and stiff to workout the following day.
If you enjoy exercising alone, then do just that: avoid crowded sessions that may increase stress or data-focused workouts that you can compare with others or your previous self.
All these are possible slip-ups that could set you back again. Exercise is about raising your heart rate above baseline and stressing the muscular system, which has positive knock-on effects on your metabolism, hormones, and cardiorespiratory system.
It doesn't need to be about numbers, winners, losers, or selfies!
ENGINE
Double Mikko’s Triangle. We’re doubling the time and aiming to double the calories. Can you match your pace and hold on?
GYMNASTICS
Tuesday morning, we're diving into all things handstand push-ups with both strict and kipping variations, plus some fun progressions to challenge your upside-down game. Expect overhead strength work and spicy core finishers, too.
Toes-to-bar will take centre stage on Thursday evening with drills on the low bar and rig to sharpen your skills. Then we’ll move on to capacity work before wrapping it up with core and lat work to boost strength, control, and coordination.
HYROX
Build the Upper body strength you need for HYROX with a focus on sled pulls, farmers carries, push-ups (to power through your burpees), push presses (for stronger wall balls) and SkiErg conditioning.
MOBILITY
We have been quite dominant with mobility for the lower body; per request, we will stick with the flows, but make sure we hit the upper body harder this weekend. This session will be aimed towards the people that have shoulder niggles.
PURE STRENGTH
This week's pure strength session marks the start of the deadlift cycle, following high-volume RDLS. We also have some heavy box squats and volume reps to finish up on Monday. On Wednesday, we will start a paused bench press progression, incorporating some overhead presses and barbell rows as accessories.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on developing the split jerk technique. Followed by a classic complex of clean + front squat + jerk.
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 8 mins blocks. You will take a 3 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 3x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 200s and 600s at 3km and 5km pace. We will help you identify the best pace group for your ability at the session.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running1km at effort, into 4 x 400s and then back to 1km of effort. Push hard on the 400s, these should be a 9/10 RPE.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be running
10X
1min @ 9/10; 1min @ 3/10
5mins easy jog
then,
4X
4mins @ 7/10; 1min @ 1/10 (easy jog/walking)
Coffee post session at Common Grounds at 7am.
Monday:
We start the week with some single-leg deadlifts into a power clean front squat complex, followed by a leg-focused workout that is sure to set the tone for the week.
Strength:
A) Every 2:30 x 5 6/6 Single Leg Deadlift
B) Every 90secs x 5 2 power clean + 2 front squat
Conditioning:
17min AMRAP
3 Power Clean (60/40)
6 Front Squat
9 Box Jump
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, it's all about push and pull in the strength work, with pull-ups, bench press, gorilla rows, and some static overhead strength.
Strength:
A) EMOM x 6 - 15-20 sec UB kipping pull-ups
B) Alt EMOM x 10 - 8 DB Bench Press / 12 Alt Gorilla Row
C) Alt EMOM x 9 -M1 - 30 Sec Dual KB OH / 30 sec hollow hold / 30 sec arch hold/rock
Conditioning:
4 rounds for time:
16 Alt KB STOH
1 Lap Car Park Farmers Carry
10 Burpees Over KB
30 Double Unders
Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we will start with some heavy squats, followed by work on both the GHD hip extension and the GHD sit-up, and then a tough interval workout.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 6 - 3 2 2 1 1 back squat + 1 set AMRAP @ 80% of top single
B) Alt EMOM x 12 - 5/10 GHD Sit Ups / 30 sec Pallof Press L&R / 10-15 Hip Extensions
Conditioning
In a 3-minute window:
15 TTB
30 wall balls
AMRAP cal row
Rest 2 mins x 3
Thursday:
On Thursday, we have some bodybuilding in the strength work, followed by a real test of grip and capacity in the workout with high-volume dumbbell snatches.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 5 6/6 DB Strict Press
B) Alt EMOM x 9 - 30 sec banded tricep extension / 15-20 DB Lateral Raise / 15-20 Barbell Bicep Curls
Conditioning:
For time:
120 DB Hang Snatch
Every 3 mins
15/12 Cal Assualt Bike
10 Hand Release Push Ups
Friday:
Finally, we conclude the week with an awesome partner workout that combines aerobic work with strongman exercises.
Strength:
EMOM x 5 6 Sandbag Over Bar
Conditioning:
In Pairs for Time:
800m run together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
100 Cal Ski
Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
80 Cal Ski
Half Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
60 Cal Ski
Car Park Run (Together)
20 Sandbag Over Bar
40 Cal Ski
We all hit rough patches. When life gets busy, something has to be sacrificed to make up the time. Instead of cutting out binge watching a TV show or waking up early, they’ll choose to sleep in and skip their workout.
This article is not about avoiding the rough patches – if you’re reading this, chances are that ship has already sailed. What I want to do is help you come out the other side armed with ways to stick to your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve been in a funk for two weeks or two years, these principles will help you out!
How small changes deliver big results
Have you ever heard of the ‘Mosquito Effect’?
It can often be tricky to see your way out of a rough patch. You look for significant actions that can make a big difference… but these can seem daunting and often unreachable.
The trick is to break things down into smaller, more achievable goals – these actions then add up to make a huge difference overall. This idea helped David Brailsford turn British cycling and team Ineos into a world-conquering powerhouse and it can do the same for you, too.
What does that have to do with a mosquito? Well, think about this: a mosquito is less than 1% the size of you, yet it can keep you up all night, torment you with itchiness and even kill you.
If you think that small things can’t make a big difference, think about the Mosquito Effect!
Redeveloping Habits: 1% Gains and 1% Losses
When developing and redeveloping habits, we want to not only look at what 1% gains we can make but also what 1% losses we can remove.
How to identify bad habits
If you ask most people what bad habits they have, they may find it hard to answer.
An excellent place to begin looking is around how you start and finish your day. Screen time habits? Eating habits? Exercise habits? Believe it or not, they’re all connected.
Stressful situations often have us hooked to a screen, desperate to know what’s happening. In this case, ask yourself what you’re monitoring and if you need to be doing it right now.
So many people are hooked to the news to know the following headline. Is it helpful to see before you head out on the run you’ve been putting off all week, or is it better to have a clear head? Should we check what’s going on just before going to bed?
The answer to both questions is: probably not, so the 1% move here is to not look at your phone upon waking or 60 mins before sleeping. Remove the phone from your view!
That’s a small change that’ll make a big difference.
Why do we develop bad habits?
Rough patches usually come with a need to elicit dopamine to make ourselves feel better.
One way we can do this is to eat! Food can trigger a huge dopamine response before eating a mouthful, but be careful – with big ups comes big downs.
Planning out your week of food can remove the 'surprise' our dopamine-hungry brains love and keep levels much smoother. Seeing food as your fuel and not your emotion controller is vital.
People who love food gifts don't actually love the food (or they would already have it in their house). They love the fact they weren't expecting it and now have it. Make a plan that you are in charge of.
Don’t over-commit to unachievable goals
Exercise can also trigger many emotions along the same lines as food and news flashes. Usually good ones!
When emerging from a patch of nothing or even a patch of chaos, be hyper-aware of how you might be thinking. We can get ourselves into trouble repeatedly by setting goals out of our reach or the exercise bar a little high.
3 Principles to make fitness habits easy
If you are a little stuck at the moment or are emerging from a difficult time, try to focus on these three things:
- Small differences can make big changes
- Make a plan that you are in charge of
- Avoid comparisons
How to develop realistic habits
“I’m going to go to the gym every day this week” is not an exercise goal. Nor is “I’m going to complete an Ironman in 2 months’ time” if you’re just returning from an injury.
Seeing exercise as your partner in getting better is far more productive in these situations. Do you prefer exercising alone or with a friend?
If you prefer working out with a friend, then be willing to try what they are doing and go to the workout with an achievable goal – either spending time with your friend or simply getting out of the house.
Don’t focus on burning Kcals or working so hard that you’re too sore and stiff to workout the following day.
If you enjoy exercising alone, then do just that: avoid crowded sessions that may increase stress or data-focused workouts that you can compare with others or your previous self.
All these are possible slip-ups that could set you back again. Exercise is about raising your heart rate above baseline and stressing the muscular system, which has positive knock-on effects on your metabolism, hormones, and cardiorespiratory system.
It doesn't need to be about numbers, winners, losers, or selfies!
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 8 mins blocks. You will take a 3 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 3x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 200s and 600s at 3km and 5km pace. We will help you identify the best pace group for your ability at the session.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running1km at effort, into 4 x 400s and then back to 1km of effort. Push hard on the 400s, these should be a 9/10 RPE.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be running
10X
1min @ 9/10; 1min @ 3/10
5mins easy jog
then,
4X
4mins @ 7/10; 1min @ 1/10 (easy jog/walking)
Coffee post session at Common Grounds at 7am.
Monday:
We start the week with some single-leg deadlifts into a power clean front squat complex, followed by a leg-focused workout that is sure to set the tone for the week.
Strength:
A) Every 2:30 x 5 6/6 Single Leg Deadlift
B) Every 90secs x 5 2 power clean + 2 front squat
Conditioning:
17min AMRAP
3 Power Clean (60/40)
6 Front Squat
9 Box Jump
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, it's all about push and pull in the strength work, with pull-ups, bench press, gorilla rows, and some static overhead strength.
Strength:
A) EMOM x 6 - 15-20 sec UB kipping pull-ups
B) Alt EMOM x 10 - 8 DB Bench Press / 12 Alt Gorilla Row
C) Alt EMOM x 9 -M1 - 30 Sec Dual KB OH / 30 sec hollow hold / 30 sec arch hold/rock
Conditioning:
4 rounds for time:
16 Alt KB STOH
1 Lap Car Park Farmers Carry
10 Burpees Over KB
30 Double Unders
Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we will start with some heavy squats, followed by work on both the GHD hip extension and the GHD sit-up, and then a tough interval workout.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 6 - 3 2 2 1 1 back squat + 1 set AMRAP @ 80% of top single
B) Alt EMOM x 12 - 5/10 GHD Sit Ups / 30 sec Pallof Press L&R / 10-15 Hip Extensions
Conditioning
In a 3-minute window:
15 TTB
30 wall balls
AMRAP cal row
Rest 2 mins x 3
Thursday:
On Thursday, we have some bodybuilding in the strength work, followed by a real test of grip and capacity in the workout with high-volume dumbbell snatches.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 5 6/6 DB Strict Press
B) Alt EMOM x 9 - 30 sec banded tricep extension / 15-20 DB Lateral Raise / 15-20 Barbell Bicep Curls
Conditioning:
For time:
120 DB Hang Snatch
Every 3 mins
15/12 Cal Assualt Bike
10 Hand Release Push Ups
Friday:
Finally, we conclude the week with an awesome partner workout that combines aerobic work with strongman exercises.
Strength:
EMOM x 5 6 Sandbag Over Bar
Conditioning:
In Pairs for Time:
800m run together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
100 Cal Ski
Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
80 Cal Ski
Half Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
60 Cal Ski
Car Park Run (Together)
20 Sandbag Over Bar
40 Cal Ski
ENGINE
Double Mikko’s Triangle. We’re doubling the time and aiming to double the calories. Can you match your pace and hold on?
GYMNASTICS
Tuesday morning, we're diving into all things handstand push-ups with both strict and kipping variations, plus some fun progressions to challenge your upside-down game. Expect overhead strength work and spicy core finishers, too.
Toes-to-bar will take centre stage on Thursday evening with drills on the low bar and rig to sharpen your skills. Then we’ll move on to capacity work before wrapping it up with core and lat work to boost strength, control, and coordination.
HYROX
Build the Upper body strength you need for HYROX with a focus on sled pulls, farmers carries, push-ups (to power through your burpees), push presses (for stronger wall balls) and SkiErg conditioning.
MOBILITY
We have been quite dominant with mobility for the lower body; per request, we will stick with the flows, but make sure we hit the upper body harder this weekend. This session will be aimed towards the people that have shoulder niggles.
PURE STRENGTH
This week's pure strength session marks the start of the deadlift cycle, following high-volume RDLS. We also have some heavy box squats and volume reps to finish up on Monday. On Wednesday, we will start a paused bench press progression, incorporating some overhead presses and barbell rows as accessories.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on developing the split jerk technique. Followed by a classic complex of clean + front squat + jerk.
We all hit rough patches. When life gets busy, something has to be sacrificed to make up the time. Instead of cutting out binge watching a TV show or waking up early, they’ll choose to sleep in and skip their workout.
This article is not about avoiding the rough patches – if you’re reading this, chances are that ship has already sailed. What I want to do is help you come out the other side armed with ways to stick to your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve been in a funk for two weeks or two years, these principles will help you out!
How small changes deliver big results
Have you ever heard of the ‘Mosquito Effect’?
It can often be tricky to see your way out of a rough patch. You look for significant actions that can make a big difference… but these can seem daunting and often unreachable.
The trick is to break things down into smaller, more achievable goals – these actions then add up to make a huge difference overall. This idea helped David Brailsford turn British cycling and team Ineos into a world-conquering powerhouse and it can do the same for you, too.
What does that have to do with a mosquito? Well, think about this: a mosquito is less than 1% the size of you, yet it can keep you up all night, torment you with itchiness and even kill you.
If you think that small things can’t make a big difference, think about the Mosquito Effect!
Redeveloping Habits: 1% Gains and 1% Losses
When developing and redeveloping habits, we want to not only look at what 1% gains we can make but also what 1% losses we can remove.
How to identify bad habits
If you ask most people what bad habits they have, they may find it hard to answer.
An excellent place to begin looking is around how you start and finish your day. Screen time habits? Eating habits? Exercise habits? Believe it or not, they’re all connected.
Stressful situations often have us hooked to a screen, desperate to know what’s happening. In this case, ask yourself what you’re monitoring and if you need to be doing it right now.
So many people are hooked to the news to know the following headline. Is it helpful to see before you head out on the run you’ve been putting off all week, or is it better to have a clear head? Should we check what’s going on just before going to bed?
The answer to both questions is: probably not, so the 1% move here is to not look at your phone upon waking or 60 mins before sleeping. Remove the phone from your view!
That’s a small change that’ll make a big difference.
Why do we develop bad habits?
Rough patches usually come with a need to elicit dopamine to make ourselves feel better.
One way we can do this is to eat! Food can trigger a huge dopamine response before eating a mouthful, but be careful – with big ups comes big downs.
Planning out your week of food can remove the 'surprise' our dopamine-hungry brains love and keep levels much smoother. Seeing food as your fuel and not your emotion controller is vital.
People who love food gifts don't actually love the food (or they would already have it in their house). They love the fact they weren't expecting it and now have it. Make a plan that you are in charge of.
Don’t over-commit to unachievable goals
Exercise can also trigger many emotions along the same lines as food and news flashes. Usually good ones!
When emerging from a patch of nothing or even a patch of chaos, be hyper-aware of how you might be thinking. We can get ourselves into trouble repeatedly by setting goals out of our reach or the exercise bar a little high.
3 Principles to make fitness habits easy
If you are a little stuck at the moment or are emerging from a difficult time, try to focus on these three things:
- Small differences can make big changes
- Make a plan that you are in charge of
- Avoid comparisons
How to develop realistic habits
“I’m going to go to the gym every day this week” is not an exercise goal. Nor is “I’m going to complete an Ironman in 2 months’ time” if you’re just returning from an injury.
Seeing exercise as your partner in getting better is far more productive in these situations. Do you prefer exercising alone or with a friend?
If you prefer working out with a friend, then be willing to try what they are doing and go to the workout with an achievable goal – either spending time with your friend or simply getting out of the house.
Don’t focus on burning Kcals or working so hard that you’re too sore and stiff to workout the following day.
If you enjoy exercising alone, then do just that: avoid crowded sessions that may increase stress or data-focused workouts that you can compare with others or your previous self.
All these are possible slip-ups that could set you back again. Exercise is about raising your heart rate above baseline and stressing the muscular system, which has positive knock-on effects on your metabolism, hormones, and cardiorespiratory system.
It doesn't need to be about numbers, winners, losers, or selfies!
Monday
Time: 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Tempo
This week will be dialling into that Tempo effort (7/10 RPE) for 8 mins blocks. You will take a 3 min recovery after each block and repeat the sequence 3x.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 200s and 600s at 3km and 5km pace. We will help you identify the best pace group for your ability at the session.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
Today we have intervals in the morning and evening. We will be running1km at effort, into 4 x 400s and then back to 1km of effort. Push hard on the 400s, these should be a 9/10 RPE.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be running
10X
1min @ 9/10; 1min @ 3/10
5mins easy jog
then,
4X
4mins @ 7/10; 1min @ 1/10 (easy jog/walking)
Coffee post session at Common Grounds at 7am.
Monday:
We start the week with some single-leg deadlifts into a power clean front squat complex, followed by a leg-focused workout that is sure to set the tone for the week.
Strength:
A) Every 2:30 x 5 6/6 Single Leg Deadlift
B) Every 90secs x 5 2 power clean + 2 front squat
Conditioning:
17min AMRAP
3 Power Clean (60/40)
6 Front Squat
9 Box Jump
Tuesday:
On Tuesday, it's all about push and pull in the strength work, with pull-ups, bench press, gorilla rows, and some static overhead strength.
Strength:
A) EMOM x 6 - 15-20 sec UB kipping pull-ups
B) Alt EMOM x 10 - 8 DB Bench Press / 12 Alt Gorilla Row
C) Alt EMOM x 9 -M1 - 30 Sec Dual KB OH / 30 sec hollow hold / 30 sec arch hold/rock
Conditioning:
4 rounds for time:
16 Alt KB STOH
1 Lap Car Park Farmers Carry
10 Burpees Over KB
30 Double Unders
Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we will start with some heavy squats, followed by work on both the GHD hip extension and the GHD sit-up, and then a tough interval workout.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 6 - 3 2 2 1 1 back squat + 1 set AMRAP @ 80% of top single
B) Alt EMOM x 12 - 5/10 GHD Sit Ups / 30 sec Pallof Press L&R / 10-15 Hip Extensions
Conditioning
In a 3-minute window:
15 TTB
30 wall balls
AMRAP cal row
Rest 2 mins x 3
Thursday:
On Thursday, we have some bodybuilding in the strength work, followed by a real test of grip and capacity in the workout with high-volume dumbbell snatches.
Strength:
A) Every 2 mins x 5 6/6 DB Strict Press
B) Alt EMOM x 9 - 30 sec banded tricep extension / 15-20 DB Lateral Raise / 15-20 Barbell Bicep Curls
Conditioning:
For time:
120 DB Hang Snatch
Every 3 mins
15/12 Cal Assualt Bike
10 Hand Release Push Ups
Friday:
Finally, we conclude the week with an awesome partner workout that combines aerobic work with strongman exercises.
Strength:
EMOM x 5 6 Sandbag Over Bar
Conditioning:
In Pairs for Time:
800m run together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
100 Cal Ski
Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
80 Cal Ski
Half Park Run Together
20 Sandbag Over Bar
60 Cal Ski
Car Park Run (Together)
20 Sandbag Over Bar
40 Cal Ski
ENGINE
Double Mikko’s Triangle. We’re doubling the time and aiming to double the calories. Can you match your pace and hold on?
GYMNASTICS
Tuesday morning, we're diving into all things handstand push-ups with both strict and kipping variations, plus some fun progressions to challenge your upside-down game. Expect overhead strength work and spicy core finishers, too.
Toes-to-bar will take centre stage on Thursday evening with drills on the low bar and rig to sharpen your skills. Then we’ll move on to capacity work before wrapping it up with core and lat work to boost strength, control, and coordination.
HYROX
Build the Upper body strength you need for HYROX with a focus on sled pulls, farmers carries, push-ups (to power through your burpees), push presses (for stronger wall balls) and SkiErg conditioning.
MOBILITY
We have been quite dominant with mobility for the lower body; per request, we will stick with the flows, but make sure we hit the upper body harder this weekend. This session will be aimed towards the people that have shoulder niggles.
PURE STRENGTH
This week's pure strength session marks the start of the deadlift cycle, following high-volume RDLS. We also have some heavy box squats and volume reps to finish up on Monday. On Wednesday, we will start a paused bench press progression, incorporating some overhead presses and barbell rows as accessories.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on developing the split jerk technique. Followed by a classic complex of clean + front squat + jerk.
Monday Ride
A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park
Friday - Coffee Run
Our weekly tempo run. Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.
Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time: 05:59 am
Start Location: Common Grounds
Saturday - Long Ride
Our weekly endurance ride.
Please email Rob Foster for more details.
Time: 05:59 am
Location: Bottom of the Stick, Al Qudra.
We all hit rough patches. When life gets busy, something has to be sacrificed to make up the time. Instead of cutting out binge watching a TV show or waking up early, they’ll choose to sleep in and skip their workout.
This article is not about avoiding the rough patches – if you’re reading this, chances are that ship has already sailed. What I want to do is help you come out the other side armed with ways to stick to your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve been in a funk for two weeks or two years, these principles will help you out!
How small changes deliver big results
Have you ever heard of the ‘Mosquito Effect’?
It can often be tricky to see your way out of a rough patch. You look for significant actions that can make a big difference… but these can seem daunting and often unreachable.
The trick is to break things down into smaller, more achievable goals – these actions then add up to make a huge difference overall. This idea helped David Brailsford turn British cycling and team Ineos into a world-conquering powerhouse and it can do the same for you, too.
What does that have to do with a mosquito? Well, think about this: a mosquito is less than 1% the size of you, yet it can keep you up all night, torment you with itchiness and even kill you.
If you think that small things can’t make a big difference, think about the Mosquito Effect!
Redeveloping Habits: 1% Gains and 1% Losses
When developing and redeveloping habits, we want to not only look at what 1% gains we can make but also what 1% losses we can remove.
How to identify bad habits
If you ask most people what bad habits they have, they may find it hard to answer.
An excellent place to begin looking is around how you start and finish your day. Screen time habits? Eating habits? Exercise habits? Believe it or not, they’re all connected.
Stressful situations often have us hooked to a screen, desperate to know what’s happening. In this case, ask yourself what you’re monitoring and if you need to be doing it right now.
So many people are hooked to the news to know the following headline. Is it helpful to see before you head out on the run you’ve been putting off all week, or is it better to have a clear head? Should we check what’s going on just before going to bed?
The answer to both questions is: probably not, so the 1% move here is to not look at your phone upon waking or 60 mins before sleeping. Remove the phone from your view!
That’s a small change that’ll make a big difference.
Why do we develop bad habits?
Rough patches usually come with a need to elicit dopamine to make ourselves feel better.
One way we can do this is to eat! Food can trigger a huge dopamine response before eating a mouthful, but be careful – with big ups comes big downs.
Planning out your week of food can remove the 'surprise' our dopamine-hungry brains love and keep levels much smoother. Seeing food as your fuel and not your emotion controller is vital.
People who love food gifts don't actually love the food (or they would already have it in their house). They love the fact they weren't expecting it and now have it. Make a plan that you are in charge of.
Don’t over-commit to unachievable goals
Exercise can also trigger many emotions along the same lines as food and news flashes. Usually good ones!
When emerging from a patch of nothing or even a patch of chaos, be hyper-aware of how you might be thinking. We can get ourselves into trouble repeatedly by setting goals out of our reach or the exercise bar a little high.
3 Principles to make fitness habits easy
If you are a little stuck at the moment or are emerging from a difficult time, try to focus on these three things:
- Small differences can make big changes
- Make a plan that you are in charge of
- Avoid comparisons
How to develop realistic habits
“I’m going to go to the gym every day this week” is not an exercise goal. Nor is “I’m going to complete an Ironman in 2 months’ time” if you’re just returning from an injury.
Seeing exercise as your partner in getting better is far more productive in these situations. Do you prefer exercising alone or with a friend?
If you prefer working out with a friend, then be willing to try what they are doing and go to the workout with an achievable goal – either spending time with your friend or simply getting out of the house.
Don’t focus on burning Kcals or working so hard that you’re too sore and stiff to workout the following day.
If you enjoy exercising alone, then do just that: avoid crowded sessions that may increase stress or data-focused workouts that you can compare with others or your previous self.
All these are possible slip-ups that could set you back again. Exercise is about raising your heart rate above baseline and stressing the muscular system, which has positive knock-on effects on your metabolism, hormones, and cardiorespiratory system.
It doesn't need to be about numbers, winners, losers, or selfies!
We all hit rough patches. When life gets busy, something has to be sacrificed to make up the time. Instead of cutting out binge watching a TV show or waking up early, they’ll choose to sleep in and skip their workout.
This article is not about avoiding the rough patches – if you’re reading this, chances are that ship has already sailed. What I want to do is help you come out the other side armed with ways to stick to your fitness goals.
Whether you’ve been in a funk for two weeks or two years, these principles will help you out!
How small changes deliver big results
Have you ever heard of the ‘Mosquito Effect’?
It can often be tricky to see your way out of a rough patch. You look for significant actions that can make a big difference… but these can seem daunting and often unreachable.
The trick is to break things down into smaller, more achievable goals – these actions then add up to make a huge difference overall. This idea helped David Brailsford turn British cycling and team Ineos into a world-conquering powerhouse and it can do the same for you, too.
What does that have to do with a mosquito? Well, think about this: a mosquito is less than 1% the size of you, yet it can keep you up all night, torment you with itchiness and even kill you.
If you think that small things can’t make a big difference, think about the Mosquito Effect!
Redeveloping Habits: 1% Gains and 1% Losses
When developing and redeveloping habits, we want to not only look at what 1% gains we can make but also what 1% losses we can remove.
How to identify bad habits
If you ask most people what bad habits they have, they may find it hard to answer.
An excellent place to begin looking is around how you start and finish your day. Screen time habits? Eating habits? Exercise habits? Believe it or not, they’re all connected.
Stressful situations often have us hooked to a screen, desperate to know what’s happening. In this case, ask yourself what you’re monitoring and if you need to be doing it right now.
So many people are hooked to the news to know the following headline. Is it helpful to see before you head out on the run you’ve been putting off all week, or is it better to have a clear head? Should we check what’s going on just before going to bed?
The answer to both questions is: probably not, so the 1% move here is to not look at your phone upon waking or 60 mins before sleeping. Remove the phone from your view!
That’s a small change that’ll make a big difference.
Why do we develop bad habits?
Rough patches usually come with a need to elicit dopamine to make ourselves feel better.
One way we can do this is to eat! Food can trigger a huge dopamine response before eating a mouthful, but be careful – with big ups comes big downs.
Planning out your week of food can remove the 'surprise' our dopamine-hungry brains love and keep levels much smoother. Seeing food as your fuel and not your emotion controller is vital.
People who love food gifts don't actually love the food (or they would already have it in their house). They love the fact they weren't expecting it and now have it. Make a plan that you are in charge of.
Don’t over-commit to unachievable goals
Exercise can also trigger many emotions along the same lines as food and news flashes. Usually good ones!
When emerging from a patch of nothing or even a patch of chaos, be hyper-aware of how you might be thinking. We can get ourselves into trouble repeatedly by setting goals out of our reach or the exercise bar a little high.
3 Principles to make fitness habits easy
If you are a little stuck at the moment or are emerging from a difficult time, try to focus on these three things:
- Small differences can make big changes
- Make a plan that you are in charge of
- Avoid comparisons
How to develop realistic habits
“I’m going to go to the gym every day this week” is not an exercise goal. Nor is “I’m going to complete an Ironman in 2 months’ time” if you’re just returning from an injury.
Seeing exercise as your partner in getting better is far more productive in these situations. Do you prefer exercising alone or with a friend?
If you prefer working out with a friend, then be willing to try what they are doing and go to the workout with an achievable goal – either spending time with your friend or simply getting out of the house.
Don’t focus on burning Kcals or working so hard that you’re too sore and stiff to workout the following day.
If you enjoy exercising alone, then do just that: avoid crowded sessions that may increase stress or data-focused workouts that you can compare with others or your previous self.
All these are possible slip-ups that could set you back again. Exercise is about raising your heart rate above baseline and stressing the muscular system, which has positive knock-on effects on your metabolism, hormones, and cardiorespiratory system.
It doesn't need to be about numbers, winners, losers, or selfies!
One-Hour Workout: Revving Your Swim Engine
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