Andy Boerckel is a different breed of athlete. His ability to prioritize training alongside his roles as a husband, father and leading performer in medical device sales is the reason he is one of the Top 35-39 Masters in the Sport of Fitness. The training plan below was created exclusively for Andy by his coach Jesse O’Brien to prepare him for the 2019 Wodapalooza Season.

Assessment

In 2015, Andy came to Central Athlete with one goal in mind: to be competitive in the Sport of Fitness. Andy presented as a strong and powerful athlete, having played college football at Texas Christian University. Through years of collegiate training, he established habits that made long-term strength/speed progressions difficult.

In order for Andy to improve his strength within olympic lifts, he had to spend six months improving his front rack position and neurological reeducation and repatterining of faulty movement patterns.

From a conditioning standpoint, Andy was one of the most powerful athletes we had assessed; however his ability to sustain for long periods of time was dismal. We put him into a phase of long and easy aerobic work beginning with monostructural activities such as biking, rowing and running before we shifted into mixed work in a more intense setting.

In addition, gymnastics was the weakest facet of Andy’s fitness. With minimal gymnastic development and a high body weight for his height, he had the cards stacked against him. For the 2015 season, we took a twofold approach with bodyweight reduction and three sessions per week aimed at building gymnastic volume.

Over the next three years, Andy’s plan prioritized:

• Creating an aerobic engine
• Building upper body gymnastics density
• Improving olympic lifting technique
• Preparing mentally through waves of intensity and a mock Wodapalooza competition weekend
• Assigning specific training and nutritional deload protocols for recovery
• Taking comprehensive bloodwork to refine his nourishment and supplement strategies
• Emphasizing  peak and intensity work for competition
• Preparing for odd object and open water swimming
• And finally, assessing readiness for the Sport of Fitness

Andy’s nutrition was designed to adequately support his energy expenditure for seven weekly training sessions. The framework prioritized rapid nutrient replenishment over long-term health.

Our filter was to continue keeping Andy at a reduced body weight and to adequately fuel his seven sessions per week.

• Submit weekly food log
• Macros

• 3000 calories per day broken into 5 meals per day.

• Protein - 180 grams
• Fat - 100 grams
• Carbohydrates - 250 grams

• Cheating - Limit of three meals/snacks off plan per week
• Food to consume

• No dairy, processed sugar, alcohol, gluten, flour products, energy drinks or diet beverages

• Lots of vegetables, a goal is 10 different colors, including  such ​cruciferous​ ​vegetables as broccoli, broccoflower, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, turnip root and greens. Also: artichokes, asparagus, celery, cucumber, garlic, onion, peppers, radish, sauerkraut, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes and zucchini
• Any fruits should be eaten WITH meals and preferably with nut or seed butter such as almond, cashew, pistachio, sunflower, sesame butter
• Tubers—Sweet potatoes, yams, jerusalem artichoke, jicama, taro
• Protein—Chicken, duck, turkey, salmon, cod, halibut, tilapia, grass-fed beef, lamb, eggs
• Carbohydrates—minimal quinoa, amaranth, millet, brown rice and white rice within 3 hours of post-workout
• Olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nut butters (almonds, cashews, pistachios), seeds (flax/chia/pumpkin/sesame/sunflower)
• NO raw foods in the evening, cooked foods for evening meal, do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime

From a behavioral standpoint, a greater degree of alignment was necessary due to Andy’s weekly travel schedule. Andy was often traveling four to five times per month and shifting time zones, sleeping in a new bed and off his normal rhythm. In order for him to keep progressing, we had to implement some basic lifestyle guidelines; it was critical for his nervous system to be in a recovered and optimal state:

• Sleep/water/steps (goal = 90% compliance)

• 8+ hours
• 128 ounces per day tracked in MyFitnesspal
• 10k steps per day

• End showers will a cool spray, eventually moving into cold showers

Supplements

• Magnesium glycinate
• B-Complex
• B12
• Vitamin D
• Multi
• Fish oil
• Probiotic

Below is Andy's personalized training plan leading him up to the 2019 Wodapalooza competition. If you are interested in taking your fitness to the next level, click the link below to schedule a strategy session with a Central Athlete coach to learn more about how important a personalized approach can be for moving you in the right direction towards your specific goals.

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