By Konnor Fleming
It’s not fussy — pretty straightforward in fact — it’s group fitness that works: your Alchemy workouts begin with a slow warm-up that progressively gets more intense, ultimately culminating into a peak of high-intensity in the middle, before slowly coming back down to earth through the cool down.
This is the bell-curve. The structure of each workout, no matter what’s written on the chalkboard, that every one of your coaches knows like the back of their hand, to give you kick ass workouts every day. (Yes, there is, in fact, a method to the madness – your coaches are tactfully and intentionally taking care of you from the very start, all the way to the very end, of class).
So why (“WHY!” I imagine some of you yelling) in the month of March do we decide to adjust this structure with an added full minute of maximum intensity at the end of each workout?
Let’s talk about it.
I want you to think about one of the best workouts you’ve ever had. Motivation was high, energy levels through the roof, and all the movements of the day were squarely in your wheelhouse. This workout was YOURS.
And what happened? You crushed it. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it – this was peak performance on display for all those fortunate enough to get to see you in action.
In workouts like this, there’s a certain elevation in intensity that exists throughout the entirety of the workout. You find the high and ride it all the way through the 20 (+/-) minutes of the workout, and when you finish there’s a unique satisfaction that you just can’t deny:
“I can do anything. I feel alive.”
That feeling is exactly what March MAXness is all about, with a twist. We’re asking for one extra minute – beyond the fourth quarter – to go further than you ever have before.
You end the workout with everything you’ve got left in the tank, emptying the deepest part of your reserves, finishing the workout in a heap on the floor. You and your fellow athletes just did far more than you thought possible.
It’s easy to see sixty seconds of maximum intensity as being a hindrance to the rest of your workout…but that’s just not the point. In fact, it’s exactly opposite:
March MAXness exists to push you past the limits you’ve set for yourself.
March MAXness exists to boost your intensity in the moment, and to increase your physical and mental capacity in all your workouts to come.
March MAXness exists for you to prove to yourself that you are capable of so much more than you think.
March MAXness exists to make you feel alive.
Ready to MAX out?
Download your digital trackers HERE to monitor your progress all month long.
Konnor is the General Manager and Coach at Alchemy 365 Edina. In his spare time you can find him playing slow pitch softball and flag football, spending way too much time grocery shopping, and helping others pursue their legends.
