By: Joel Cochran
Last month I wrote a blog titled “Build Bias” in which I touched on our 3 different programs (Build, Welded and Warrior) and how Build sometimes gets a bad wrap as the scaled or beginner program. This Bias made me wonder if a veteran athlete can still see results from our base program? So what did I do? I made myself the test subject in which I started off with objective measurements in the form of a body scan and a test workout, then I completed 20 days of the build programming in 1 month (M-F). I named this the #20daybuild challenge and below are my results.
We will first start off with the Body Scan. During the #20daybuild challenge I mentioned that I wasn’t going to alter my diet or add in any additional programming that I wasn’t already doing before the challenge. The point behind this was to isolate the programming to see if I could make a change in my body composition without any other factors.
The results were about what I expected, I decreased my overall body weight while increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat. It wasn’t a drastic change, but I didn’t expect there to be one as I went on a 3 day cruise, came down with a cold and still had my fair share of desserts.
The second data point was my physical performance in the form of a test workout. The workout was the build workout for the day on July 8th which was the first day of my #20daybuild challenge. There was a strength and a WOD which did give me the ability to have two tests instead of one.
Just like my Body Scan the results came back positive on the retest. I increased in the complex from 215 to 235lbs and went from 13:34 to 12:12 in the WOD. These results were better than I expected especially in the strength as I stayed true to the Build programming in the strength as well.
Overall, my experience with this challenge was extremely positive and a little unexpected. I have to admit, there were times when I was doing light deadlifts or ring rows where I wasn’t sure if I was going to receive the intended stimuls of the workout, let alone get stronger and faster.
But to my surprise, the lighter days or easier movements gave me the ability to recover quicker for the next day, in which I could go even harder without the fatigue that I sometimes get after hitting a hard/heavy WOD the day before. The build program became the governor that restricted me from overtraining, keeping me fresh and most importantly injury and pain free.
In conclusion, the biggest factor that played into this was the consistency of training 5 days a week for a month. The build program gave me the ability to do this without ever feeling overwhelemed or overtrained. If you would like to take on the #20daybuild challenge tag me in a post or email me at [email protected] and I will help you get set up with a body scan and give you my pro tips for your first workout!
P.S. – Next up is the #20daywelded challenge starting on Monday the 12th. For those of you who believe you have what it takes, here are the rules. If any of these are broken during the month, you must start over.
- You must complete a test workout which will be the group class workout on the day you start
- You must complete 20 Welded workouts in 30 days
- You must complete all Welded workouts RX with no modifications
- You must complete all workouts under the time cap
- All workout must be recorded in SugarWod or it doesn’t count
For those willing to take on this challenge tag me in your post using the hashtag #20daywelded or email me. I will repost all those taking on the challenge with me on my Instagram page. Who will be the first to complete the #20daywelded challenge??