Weekly Rx W03 — Titrate Up
Volume week. Lighter than last week, more reps, shorter rest. W02 was heavy and slow — this one is the opposite, and it's deliberate. You can't run strength week every week on a rotating schedule.
Pick upper or lower. Then everyone runs the same finisher.
RX-W03-A — Upper
Volume. Moderate load, shorter rest, more total work.
- Dumbbell floor press — 4 sets of 8–12, rest 90 seconds. Elbows about 45 degrees from your body, not flared. The floor limits your range and protects the shoulder — that's the point. Bench press works if you have one.
- Single-arm dumbbell row — 4 sets of 10–12 per side, rest 60 seconds. Pull to the hip, not the armpit. Let the shoulder blade travel at the bottom.
- Suitcase carry — 3 sets of 40 steps per side. One heavy dumbbell or kettlebell, one hand, walk. Don't lean away from it. This is core work disguised as walking, and it's the most directly useful thing on this page for anyone who carries equipment down a hallway.
RX-W03-B — Lower
Quad-dominant and unilateral. Last week was posterior chain — this is the other half.
- Goblet squat — 4 sets of 8–10, rest 90 seconds. Chest up, elbows inside the knees at the bottom. Front squat if you'd rather load it heavier.
- Rear-foot elevated split squat — 3 sets of 8–10 per side, rest 60 seconds. Back foot on a bench or a chair. Go bodyweight first — this one humbles people who deadlift well.
- Side plank — 3 sets of 30 seconds per side. Hips stacked, don't sag. Drop to the knee if 30 seconds isn't there yet.
The finisher — TITRATE UP
Ascending ladder. 12 minutes. Same for everyone, upper day or lower day.
Round one is 4 reps of each. Every round after that, add 2.
- Goblet squat
- Alternating reverse lunge — count is per leg
4, then 6, then 8, then 10, and so on until the clock runs out. It starts easy and it does not stay that way — which is exactly what titrating up feels like.
Score: the last round you finished clean. Write it down.
Reduced dose
Coming off three nights, running on four hours, or working back from something?
- Upper: 3 sets instead of 4. Cut the carry to 20 steps per side.
- Lower: skip the split squat and do goblet squats only. Single-leg work on no sleep is a balance problem before it's a strength problem — that's the movement to drop when you're wrecked, not the one to push through.
- Finisher: 8 minutes instead of 12.
- Under five hours' sleep: strength work only, skip the finisher.
Scaling isn't failing the prescription. Running it wrecked is.
A new Rx every Monday
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This is one dose. No refills. RX-RC is the twelve-week protocol it came from — sequencing, progression, and volume built around a rotating schedule instead of a normal training week.
Prescribed by Gene Dinh, RN · Scrubs & Steel