Mackey’s Summer Workout Plan: General Physical Preparedness (GPP)
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Loading ...For yesterday’s workout, I did:
5 Pull-ups (had to go to jumping with rest around the 4th time through)
10 Sit-ups (on a back extension machine, so my torso was suspended parallel to the ground)
15 Push-ups (eventually had to take a break after the first 10 to avoid failure)
in order, as many times as I could in the span of 20 minutes. I was going off of memory of a Crossfit workout, which had the same 5/10/15 in 20 minute structure, but had 10 push-ups and 15 squats as its standards to go with the 5 pull-ups.
In any case, the main benefit is still there: improving GPP (at least, the GPP work I’m doing) means, simply, improving one’s capacity to do work. In a broader sense, it means being trained in such a way that one can respond to any sort of athletic challenge; it’s something of an opposite to the specialized training one does to improve at a single sport. A workout like this, where one is doing defined movements but asked to repeat them over and over with little rest, works towards improving work capacity. I feel like this sort of work will have the most lasting impact in terms of my fitness, as it’s self-feeding in a way–as one improves, one can in turn do more with less recovery. My hope is that it’ll pay off on the ultimate field in terms of being able to go longer, harder, and recover quickly to maintain such a level, and it’ll also allow me to do more training without dying in the long run, which is always a plus.
Essentially, it’s more “basic fitness” type work, instead of strength or speed or power work. I figure all of these are important pillars upon which an athlete is built, and that it’s better (particularly since this is my off-season) to be good to great in all areas than exceptional in a few, because the weak links in your fitness will limit your ability to use what you really excel at.
Today was going to be an interval work-type day (I was hoping to hit the hills at the golf course), but downpouring weather has forced a postponement. I figure I can get some good hill sprints in along with plyos tomorrow, perhaps in a separate morning/evening type deal or maybe both at once. We’ll see.
Chuck Wagon practice this weekend up in Hanover, should be good. SEAD (Summer Enrichment At Dartmouth, a program for underprivileged highschoolers), for which I am a mentor, is also starting this weekend, so things will be busier for the next couple weeks.
