Peak Project Newsletter

Week five of the strength cycle and every workout this week has a tennis name. Monday is "Federer vs Nadal" — a bar muscle-up workout where any break costs you a 200m penalty run. The penalty run exists to punish unnecessary breaks, so your strategy starts before the first rep. Tuesday is a 20-minute AMRAP of double unders, single-arm dumbbell push press, sit-ups and bike calories. The goal is one continuous pace from start to finish. Wednesday opens with squat snatch strength, then two fast 21-15-9 couplets — overhead squats paired with toes-to-bar, then lateral burpees with toes-to-bar. Thursday is bench press into descending hang power cleans with 10 push-ups after every set. Friday is the sprint row and 100 wall balls before a 15-minute clock to build to a 1RM back squat. Saturday is Committed Club — the workout is being built by the coaches and will be announced soon. Sunday closes the week with 4 sets of 400m run plus a 100m object carry every 5:00.

The biggest mistake people make in the first week of a challenge is going too hard. Winter Warriors is six weeks. This week is not the week to set PRs on every session and then miss Thursday because you can barely move. Showing up is the job. Recovery this week is about staying fresh enough to keep showing up.

This week also carries a lot of upper-body volume — bar muscle-ups Monday, push press Tuesday, bench press and hang cleans Thursday, pull-ups Saturday. Your shoulders and lats are going to accumulate fatigue across the week. Keep an eye on that going into the back half.

Week 2 of the nutrition series. Last week was about real food as the foundation. This week is about the single most important macronutrient for CrossFit athletes: protein.

Protein is what your muscles use to repair after training. Every hard session breaks tissue down — protein is what builds it back stronger. Without enough of it, you're training hard and recovering poorly. The CrossFit benchmark is roughly 0.8–1g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day (around 1.8–2.2g per kg). For most people that means somewhere between 120–180g per day depending on size and training load.

That sounds like a lot. It usually is more than people are currently eating. The simplest way to hit it: a palm-sized portion of protein at every meal, every day. Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese. Get it from real food first, supplement second.

Winter Warriors is underway and there is plenty on the calendar through July. Here's what's happening this week and what's coming up.

Remember: Winter Warriors sessions must be completed at the gym during a scheduled class to count toward your attendance total. But if you need to move on a rest day, here is Sunday's workout scaled for home — run and carry intervals, no equipment needed beyond something heavy to carry.