Functional Fitness Training Block: Summer 24′

R3VIVE Fitness • April 30, 2024
People in gym watching trainer with timer on a box, some wearing athletic clothes, light streaming in from the window.

Welcome to our next training cycle. This cycle will have two phases. The first phase will start on Monday, April 29th and run up to Friday, June 7th. After a deload week, we will continue with phase 2. The cycle will focus on building our aerobic and strength bases. Our progressions will rotate throughout the week, so that everyone will get exposed to different progressions whether you come every day or switch up your gym days.

In this training cycle, both Build and Perform will prioritize developing single-leg strength, overhead press strength, and gymnastic pulling strength. Our conditioning pieces will primarily target improving our aerobic capacity, with some traditional mixed modal conditioning workouts mixed in. We will be working towards tests such as the 10-min bike and “Cindy”, as well as preparing for “Murph” on Memorial day weekend.

Perform will place a greater emphasis on strength numbers, while Build will focus slightly more on hypertrophy. However, we will see the two tracks following the same programming more than usual.

Track Expectations In BOTH TRACKS, expect to see:

  • A lower body pressing strength day;
  • A lower body hinge strength day;
  • Bench press capacity supersetted with upper body pulling;
  • Higher intensity early in the week, gradually tapering down towards the latter half;
  • Single modality conditioning work (2K row progression);
  • Low intensity day each week to work on our core strength and focus on moving well;
  • A progression of intensity throughout the 9 weeks in order to increase our work capacity in the 8-15 min time domain.

Track Specific Goals

Build

We will focus on time under tension and volume, incorporating tempo and pauses into our movements to maximize muscle contractions. We will complement this approach with bodybuilding accessories and work on improving everyone’s favorite, bench press capacity. On Tuesdays, our conditioning will have a monostructural focus as we will work on improving our 2K row. Throughout the rest of the week, expect a mix of modalities to keep the workouts varied and engaging. While the earlier part of the week will feature higher intensity sessions, we’ll gradually taper down the intensity towards the end of the week for optimal recovery and performance.

A squat day with drop sets, alternating between bilateral and unilateral strength work week to week;

Bodybuilding circuits, as well as bench press, for building muscle and strength in order to look good and feel good;

Auto-regulated strength sets for deadlifts, alternating weeks with single leg strength;

A focus on monostructural conditioning on Tuesdays with a variety of exercises throughout the remainder of our conditioning pieces to keep workouts effective and enjoyable.

A back squat day with a focus on higher percentages and single leg accessories;

Strict gymnastic pulling strength and skill work paired with bench press and bodybuilding accessories;

Snatch complex progressions;

Monostructural work (2K row progression);

Short to moderate aerobic endurance workouts (8-15 min);

Higher intensity early in the week, gradually tapering down towards the latter half;

One higher intensity workout per week.

Perform

This cycle, our specific strength days will focus on back squats and snatches. To ensure a well-rounded and balanced approach, we will also incorporate everyone’s favorite, bench press, super-setted with upper body pulling exercises. Expect low volume and high intensity throughout the cycle, aiming to push our top-end strength numbers to new heights. Our conditioning will start with higher intensity early in the week, gradually tapering down towards the latter half. Finally, we will follow a 2K row progression to ensure that we do not ignore our single modality conditioning work.

By Derek Saffold February 19, 2026
Strength expression is our ability to show or utilize the strength we have. We call it expression because in the world of lifting, CrossFit, functional fitness, or training, our ability to show that strength varies. Even though our potential strength is the same, we are not always able to fully express it the way we want. Whether that is hitting a max back squat, doing heavy thrusters in a CrossFit style workout, or hitting that heavy clean complex when olympic lifting, we will not always be able to hit our maxes, this is because of factors outside of just our strength itself.
By Derek Saffold January 27, 2026
Ever walk into the gym and not sure what to do? We put together a program to help eliminate that feeling and give you confidence and the accountability to reach your goals. Introducing EL3VATE where we want to EL3VATE your strength, habits, and mindset!
By Derek Saffold December 26, 2025
Hey R3VIVE Athletes, The Apex training cycle, going from January 5th to April 3rd, is our next training cycle! This will be the firt training cycle of the new year! this is a chance to refocus and get in some good work to help you reach your goals! lets all work together to crush this training cycle! Functional Fitness: The Apex Cycle is designed to make your year-long strength work truly functional, focusing on controlled, powerful movements, complexes under fatigue, and mandated touch-and-go reps to prepare you for mixed-modal workouts. Our strength culminates in the classic CrossFit Total and the "R3VIVE Other Total," while conditioning features a wide variety of time domains, movement volume builds (like wall balls, toes-to-bar, and burpees), and regular Friday retests of past workouts to track your progress and ensure you perform your absolute best. Build: Designed to bring together all your training from the past year and prepare you for your strongest performance yet. Our strength work will focus on controlled, powerful movements, building you up to test your limits with both the classic CrossFit Total and the "R3VIVE Other Total," which challenges your skill and strength balance. Expect a well-rounded program including unilateral strength, skill work, and core stability, with dedicated days for deadlifts, squats, gymnastics, and varied accessory work to keep you healthy and constantly progressing. For conditioning, we're tailoring the work to challenge you in new ways, featuring a wide variety of time domains and movements, and a specific volume build on common movements like wall balls, toes-to-bar, and burpees. Instead of a standard test/retest, we'll be performing regular retests of past workouts on Fridays, allowing you to easily track your progress and see how far you've come. Our weekly template balances intensity—with short, fast metcons on Mondays—with recovery, incorporating lower impact endurance work on Thursdays, and a strategic taper toward the end of the week to set you up for success on Friday! Partner workouts will wrap up your week every Saturday, bringing the whole community together.
More Posts