Week 9

Written by Mark Messer

MONDAY, OCT 26 — SQUAT

CNS: HIGH · Strength: Priority · Conditioning: Support · 60:00

Warm-up (8:00) — 3 rounds: 250m row / 10 air squat / 10 band pull-apart / 5 strict pull-up or ring row / :30 hollow hold

Strength — Back Squat (30:00) Build to 88%, then 5 × 1 @ 88% e1RM. Rest 1:45, timed.

Effort standard: single 1 should feel fast. Single 5 should feel like a different weight. Nothing changed but the clock. Red flag: bar speed down more than 10%

Conditioning — 21-15-9 for time (14:00 cap) · ZONE 3

  • Calorie row

  • Toes-to-bar → knees-to-elbow → v-up

  • Renegade row (2 @ 50/35 or 40/25 or 30/15)

200-ft farmers carry after each round (2 @ 53/35 or 40/25 or 30/15)

Target 11-13:00. If you struggle with TTB do sets of 7 from the start.

Renegade row: hips square, no rotation. If the DBs are wobbling, go lighter — this is anti-rotation work.

Cooldown (5:00) — :60/side banded lat, :60/side banded hamstring, :60 t-spine roll

TUESDAY, OCT 27 — BENCH PRESS

CNS: MODERATE · Strength: Priority · Conditioning: Support · 60:00

Warm-up (7:00) — 2 rounds: 10 scap push-up / 10 band pull-apart / 10 empty bar press / :30/side thread the needle

Strength — Bench Press (26:00) 5 × 1 @ 88% e1RM. Rest 1:45. Spotter every single.

Conditioning — buy-in, AMRAP, cash-out (20:00) · ZONE 3

BUY-IN      800m row
            ↓
10:00 AMRAP 10 wall ball (20/14 or 14/10 or 10/6)
             8 burpee
            12 jump box step-over (24/20 in or lower)
            ↓
CASH-OUT    800m row

The two 800s are the test. If your cash-out row is more than :30 slower than your buy-in, the AMRAP in the middle got away from you. The strong play is a conservative buy-in, a steady ten minutes, and a cash-out that matches.

Cooldown (5:00) — :60/side pigeon, :60/side lat

WEDNESDAY, OCT 28 — ZONE 2 + RACE SHAKEOUT

CNS: LOW · Resilience: Maintain · 60:00

Warm-up (6:00) — :60/side banded hamstring / :60 lat stretch / :60 calf and ankle / :60/side hip flexor

Conditioning — distance pyramid, one pass @ steady pace, zone 2 (30:00)

400m run (easy)
500m row
30/24 cal bike
1,000m ski or row
30/24 cal bike
500m row
400m run (easy)

The two 400s are the only running this week before Saturday, and they are shakeout pace, not training pace. Conversational. Nose breathing.

Everything else: zone 2, nasal breathing.

Position block (14:00) — 3 rounds @ steady pace:

  • 2/side Turkish getup (53/35 or 40/25 or 30/15)

  • :60 Sorenson hold

  • :30/side Copenhagen plank

Cooldown (8:00) — :60/side calf, :60/side pigeon, :60/side figure-4, 2:00 t-spine

THURSDAY, OCT 29 — DEADLIFT

CNS: HIGH · Strength: Priority · 60:00 · Hinge day

Warm-up (8:00) — 3 rounds: 250m row / 10 empty-bar good morning / 10 glute bridge / :30 hollow hold

Strength — Deadlift (30:00) 5 × 1 @ 88% e1RM. Full reset between singles. Rest 1:45.

Effort standard: 1:45 on a heavy single is barely enough to get the belt right and breathe. Set up early, pull on time. Red flag: any lumbar rounding = set over. Drop 10%, finish there. Two weeks from the taper, there is nothing here worth a tweaked back.

Barbell — Hang Power Clean (12:00) Every 2:00 × 5 rounds:

  • 2 hang power clean

  • 135/95 or 115/75

Add load each round but keep them beautiful. Ugly weightlifting is a sin. It’s science.

Cooldown (10:00) — :60/side banded hamstring, 2:00 front rack mobility, 2:00 couch stretch, :60/side calf

FRIDAY, OCT 30 — OVERHEAD PRESS | RACE EVE

CNS: MODERATE · Skill: Maintain · 60:00

Warm-up (7:00) — 2 rounds: 10 band pull-apart / 10 empty bar strict press / :30/side wall lat stretch / 5 wall walk-up

Strength — Strict Press (24:00) 5 × 1 @ 88% e1RM. Strict, no leg drive. Rest 1:45.

Red flag: rib flare or lumbar extension → drop 5% for remaining singles.

Skill — 12:00 EMOM

  1. 25’ Handstand Walk or 12 Nose and Toes shoulder taps on the wall

  2. 3 Pull Up + 2 CTB + 1 Bar Muscle up (Add 1-3 Pull ups per round)

  3. 12 V-Ups

  4. Rest

Accessory (10:00) — superset ×3, :90 rest:

  • 6-8 DB chest supported pronated row on incline bench, moderate, RIR 2

  • 10-12 DB Pull Over

  • 15-20/ Dumbbell rear delt fly

Cooldown (7:00) — 2:00 banded shoulder distraction, :60/side calf, :60/side hamstring

SATURDAY, OCT 31 — MILLER PARK 5K

CNS: MODERATE · All pillars: Maintain · This is the Z4 session for Week 9

Warm-up — start 20 minutes before the go

  • 400m very easy jog

  • 10 leg swings/side, front-to-back and side-to-side

  • 10 walking lunge, unweighted

  • 10 air squat

  • 3 × :20 build — easy, moderate, near race pace, walk back between

  • Then stand, stay warm, don't sit down

The race

Target: even splits, or the second half a touch faster than the first. Same standard we've been running all block — produce a number and repeat it. It just happens to be a mile instead of a 3:00 bike piece.

If you're not running, come in and do this:

  • 5 rounds, 3:00 work / 2:00 rest

  • 15/12 cal bike, then max cal row in the time remaining

  • Score each round's row calories. Five flat numbers.

If you miss Saturday entirely, run the 5K piece on Sunday or let it go. Do not stack it onto Monday.

Mark Messer
Next

Week 8