Momentum Days: Making You a Better Athlete

We're big on educating our members on the "WHY" behind what we do. Cue up a three-part series where we walk you through exactly what we're trying to accomplish in each of our signature intervals – Let's start with the king of athleticism: MOMENTUM.

If you think Momentum intervals are the hardest style we run (which we hear often)…you are NOT attacking the interval as intended.

For those of you who have felt this way (and most of us have spent some time in this camp during our MAD journey!), we’ll put money on the fact that you likely don’t pace yourself, and – either intentionally or unintentionally – disregard our request to start at a 70% pace.

Here’s a scenario you’ve likely found yourself in a time or two:

Your trainer ascends to their MAD soapbox in front of the whiteboard and demands “a gradual build in pace, starting at a 70%, finishing at a 90%…respect the build…yada yada yada.”

The clock starts, and you get to work. You're hauling ass right out of the gates, either because you’re either new to the program and don’t fully understand what your 70% output looks and feels like, OR you interpret the 70% pace to feel “too easy” and you want to "challenge yourself more."

What you're not considering at this stage, is that you've left little-to-no room to increase your output (speed, weight, complexity) in line with the interval's purpose.

The 90% cycle hits, and you’re out of gas -- likely moving slower than you were in the 70% or 80% cycle.?

You start moving several seconds after the work period begins and stop a few seconds before the work period ends.

The workout finishes, and you roll onto your back deciding this was the hardest workout of all time.

Sound familiar? Here’s why that happens...

Every single M.A.D. time domain is appropriately applied to the interval theme. It’s calculated and rooted in science. Our momentum workouts always leverage a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio (:40 work/:20 rest, for example).

The short and sweet of it is that you do not have enough rest time factored into the interval to sustain your all-out sprint pace through the entire workout. (Quick pause: we suggest reading that last sentence again!)?

After a 40-second work period, 20 seconds of rest doesn’t give the human body enough rest to even have the opportunity to tackle an all-out 100% pace, which is why it’s important to distinguish between your 90% pace from your 100% full-power sprint (save the juice for an A-day, friends).

When we say we specialize in energy systems and work-to-rest ratios, we mean it. While you're on our training floor, give it a shot and trust our direction! If the communicated goal is to stay in motion, move well, and successfully build up to your 90% controlled sprint, respecting the build is pivotal.

So. Why Momentum?

There’s no aspect of our program that more appropriately mirrors the training style of a true athlete than our Momentum days.

The jumping patterns, footwork, and agility drills you'll see during Momentum intervals are there for a reason: to make YOU a better athlete.

We program Momentum intervals into our training protocol to capitalize on dynamic energy control (aka pace management).

While it might take a few attempts to really grasp the concept, having the discipline to pace yourself will ultimately allow you to manage your energy expenditure so that when it’s time to explode, you can tap into your reserves and GO.

Whether you have an elite-caliber athletic background or are fresh to the strength and conditioning scene, our Momentum focus will help you improve (or acquire) your athletic skillset.

Once you’re able to execute a Momentum day as prescribed, it'll no doubt hold a special place in your MAD heart and be a day you look forward to.