Weekly Rx W05 — Bolus
Volume week. W04 was heavy and slow, with full rest and low reps. This one swings back the other way: moderate weight, more reps, shorter rest. Alternating like this is what keeps it sustainable on a rotating schedule. You can't go heavy every week when half your weeks start with three twelves.
Pick upper or lower. Then everyone runs the same finisher.
RX-W05-A — Upper
Volume. Moderate load, short rest, lots of clean reps.
- Incline dumbbell press — 4 sets of 10–12, rest 75 seconds. Bench at a low incline, one or two notches up. Lower under control and stop just short of the shoulder rolling forward at the bottom. No bench? Feet-elevated push-ups.
- Lat pulldown — 4 sets of 12, rest 60 seconds. Pull the bar to your upper chest and drive your elbows down into your back pockets. No machine? A resistance band anchored high does the same job.
- Band pull-apart — 3 sets of 15–20, rest 45 seconds. Arms straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end. It's the counterweight to every hour spent leaning over a bed, a keyboard or a med cart.
RX-W05-B — Lower
Quads and glutes, with a finish for the feet that carried you through the shift.
- Heels-elevated goblet squat — 4 sets of 10–12, rest 75 seconds. Heels on a small plate or a folded mat. It lets you sit deeper and stay upright, and it puts the work straight into your quads.
- Hip thrust — 4 sets of 12, rest 60 seconds. Shoulders on a bench, weight across the hips. Pause for a second at the top with your ribs down. Don't finish the rep by arching your low back.
- Slow calf raise — 3 sets of 15, rest 45 seconds. Off a step if you have one: three seconds up, a pause at the top, three seconds down. After twelve hours on your feet, this is the most useful thing on the page.
The finisher — BOLUS
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes. Same for everyone, upper day or lower day.
- 8 dumbbell thrusters (or 12 air squats)
- 10 dumbbell rows — 5 per side
- 20 mountain climbers — 10 per side
A lot of volume, delivered fast, all at once. The first few rounds feel fine. Around minute eight you'll understand the name.
Score: rounds plus extra reps. Write it down.
Reduced dose
Coming off nights, running short on sleep, or working back from something?
- Upper: 3 sets instead of 4. Keep the rest periods, drop the load a little.
- Lower: 3 sets of each, and take the heels off the plate if your knees are cranky. The goblet squat still does its job.
- Finisher: 8 minutes instead of 12, and swap the thrusters for air squats. A tired body pressing weight overhead at speed is how shoulders get tweaked. Keep the movement, lose the load.
- 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
Free, always. Get it in your inbox so you don't have to go looking for it.
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