Understanding ANCHORHIIT's Intended Stimulus

Is there a ‘right’ way to complete an ANCHOR workout?

How do you know?

Is it measured by time? Reps? Exhaustion?

ANCHOR workouts are written with an intended stimulus in mind – the level of intensity athletes should reach in order to get the most benefit from the programmed workout. There are several different ways this stimulus can be measured with the most common method being time or reps completed in a specified window. Knowing the appropriate time domain for an ANCHOR workout is important because not only does it give the athlete a goal for the workout, but it also ensures that different energy systems (or metabolic pathways) are being utilized for different workouts.

At ANCHOR, we believe that the fastest path to fit includes the training of all metabolic pathways, or energy systems.

The first metabolic pathway is called the phosphagen pathway and it is responsible for the highest-powered activities, such as those that last less than ten seconds. Example activities in the phosphagen pathway are a 100-meter sprint or a 1-rep max deadlift. Each of these activities lasts only a matter of seconds but requires a high level of power output.

The glycolytic pathway fuels moderate-powered activities, or those that last up to several minutes. For example, a 400-meter sprint.

Finally, the oxidative pathway dominates low-powered activities, such as a 1-mile run or a longer WOD.

When the intent of the workout is lost, athletes often end up training the same energy system over and over again, and they develop a deficiency in one or two of the other metabolic pathways. This results in a loss of fitness.

Consider the workout we did in class today: on a rolling 3:00 clock, complete 15 thrusters and 15 cal row. Rest the remainder of the time. Your score is your fastest round.

When performed at an elite level, or with the appropriately scaled movements, an athlete should complete the workout around 1:30s and will therefore use the glycolytic pathway to fuel this workout.

However, for individuals who are newer to ANCHOR and have not fully developed their skills or strength, it’s our job as your fitness partner to modify the reps, load or both to allow you to achieve the intended stimulus. With the appropriate modifications, the athlete should be able to stay within the desired pathway and train the correct energy system.

We meet with athletes prior to them getting started in our ANCHORHIIT program in a free 30 minute consult “NO SWEAT INTRO.” This allows us to effectively coach you to your goals in class! Think of our adult group training program like personal training, at a fraction of the cost 😊 schedule your NO SWEAT INTRO today!