Table of contents

1) General Program Guidelines

2) Progressive Overload Concept and Definition

3) RPG / Fantasy Elements Information

1) General Program Guidelines For Crit Adventurers!

  • You should complete a minimum of 3 workouts per week and a maximum of 5 (rest days are important for growth, recovery, and injury mitigation)

  • All sets are listed working sets taken to failure, unless otherwise specified.

    • This means if you require some additional warmup prior to the workout, it does not get logged. For example, Iron Dad has bad elbows and will always warmup his elbows before any push day with tricep pushdowns (low weight, high volume 2-3 sets)

  • Prioritize your form over the amount of weight you are moving. Do not sacrifice good form to lift more weight.

  • Communicate recovery status frequently. If you are still sore from doing a leg work out 5 days later, we need to know that! We don’t want you suffering or injuring yourself.

2) Progressive Overload

You will likely hear this term more than once, as it is a foundational principle for any successful fitness programming. It is a term used for the most widely known way to increase muscle strength and size.

So...what is it!?

It works like this…lets say we build you a workout plan and it has an exercise that looks like this;

Weight: Reps: 12-15 Sets: 3 Rest: 30 seconds

Each client varies in strength and capability, so we do not put the weight amount on purpose. This means you need to find a weight range that you can do the following (lets just say its 10 pounds). If you pick a weight and you are unable to get within the rep range, it is either too light or too heavy of a weight. The first time you do an exercise, you have to figure out a baseline. Pro Tip: Its better to start lighter than accidentally load too much weight!

Set 1:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 15

Set 2:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 15

Set 3:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 13

This means this weight is a GOOD weight to use as a starting point. This is because you were able to hit the max rep range on sets 1 and 2, but exercised until failure at 13 reps on the last set. This means this weight should stay the same for the next time you do this exact exercise the following week. Let’s say this happens the next week;

Set 1:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 15

Set 2:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 15

Set 3:

Weight: 10 Pounds - Reps: 15

This means two things: 1) You got stronger! And 2) You need to go up in weight the next time you do this exercise, so it should (or probably) look like this;

Set 1:

Weight: 12.5 Pounds - Reps: 15

Set 2:

Weight: 12.5 Pounds - Reps: 13

Set 3:

Weight: 12.5 Pounds - Reps: 12

Since you went up in weight, it will be harder for you to hit the max rep range of 15. You stay at this weight until you can hit 15 reps on all 3 sets.

Note: You’ll know if you went too high or too low when increasing weight if;

You increased the weight and are unable to hit the minimum rep range for 2 of the 3 sets.

You increased the weight and still hit the maximum rep range on all 3 sets.

You rinse and repeat this process for ALL exercises that use measurable data (weights, reps, time, etc)

This is progressive overload in a nutshell.

Here’s the cool part about the Critical Conditioning Fitness program app. On each exercise in a workout, there is a ‘History’ button. You can click this after you ‘Start’ the workout in the app, and you will be able to see your previous week’s numbers for that exercise. There’s no need to remember all this data - the app does it for you!

3) RPG / Fantasy Elements Information

I always had this dream of intertwining my love for Fantasy/RPG games, stories, etc and my love for fitness, health, etc…and I finally figured out a way how. Mind you, this program is very young and small…but the idea and the vision goes back years and is at a grand scale…probably much more grand than you think. Below are how & where the current Fantasy & RPG elements are intertwined with the fitness aspects. Below that area will be the ‘vision’ or the ‘endgame’…so you can see where I plan on taking this program.

Where do I find all the whimsical parts!?

  • Currently, almost all of the Fantasy elements are done via text in the ╭— • 💪 Critical Conditioning 🎲 channel inside our discord community. Examples below;

In the examples above, you can see people completing workouts, gaining experience, new character creation, some ‘buffing’ mechanics and more.

Android Mobile Display

Apple Mobile Display

When you complete a workout, daily nutrition goal, weekly bonus EXP quests, etc - your character gains experience points (EXP). Once you gain enough experience points, your character levels up and a notification is sent to you via email and to the discord community like this —>

But why is leveling up important? That brings me to the next fantasy RPG themed elements of the Critical Conditioning Fitness program!

You will get a ‘ping’, aka a notification, to the ‘Crit Initiates’ role which each person who is actively part of a chapter will have. This notification will say an event is occurring, or about to occur, and you need to ‘queue’ up by reacting to that message within the specified window. Then the following happens;'

1) Each character queued in time will have their accumulative level and power compiled and it will be matched against the encounter, boss, dungeon etc…

2) This will determine the ‘success’ of the party.

3) If the party succeeds, all queued characters will receive bonus exp and potentially legendary loot (Armor, weapons, accessories, etc)

All of these elements are super important to prepare the party for the final chapter boss…which will not be easy. But if the party succeeds…they will unlock something LEGEND.

But wait, Iron Dad….you mentioned legendary items and stuff….how does that work!?

As it stands in the Prologue (the beta for this program) the items are simply part of a table. If you acquire an item, it can be equipped to your character which will boost something such as a stat, maybe provide bonus EXP, and more.

We’re currently working on implementing an inventory management system, a lobby, and a battle system. My goal is by chapter 1 to have 1 of 3 of the following elements completed and then move on to the next element (in this order) either on a website page or a stand alone app/app feature;
To be completed by Chapter 1 Start Date (March 2027)

1) An individual page where each Crit Adventurer can manage their equipment, character looks, stats and more.

To be completed at a later date to be determined

2) A battle scene like the Tangia Dungeon where a player 'queues up' and their Character Avatar ‘appears’ (displaying their equipped gear and their character name above) and prepares to battle alongside other queued characters to adventure. (Example image of ‘Galdrog the mountain orc’ shown below from Tangia Dungeons)

3) A ‘lobby’ page or in-app feature where all party members of the current chapter are displayed and move around. Each time an event occurs such as a level up, or they chat in the app/discord, it can be seen on this lobby page/in-app feature. (Example image of ‘Stream Avatars’ shown below)

Here is a screenshot from the mobile app’s training section displaying one of our foundational Paladin class leg workouts (On Android) and cleric leg workout (Apple IOS)

Essentially, when you onboard with the program - you will choose the class that aligns with your fitness goal(s) and it will determine the foundational workout plans loaded to your app profile. Once onboarding is complete, the workout and nutrition plans will be custom tailored to fit your specific and unique needs.

When you complete workouts in the app, it triggers several actions and lines of code behind the scenes. The table seen here is pulled from the character database.

Random Encounters…Dungeon Delving….and Boss Fights!?

Yea…you read that right! Your characters can embark on adventures and delve into dungeons, fight off enemies or waves of enemies, and fight bosses! At the end of each chapter, there will be a final boss fight…which is why it is imperative that you level up….and not just you. But your entire party must be strong enough! Your accumulative level and power (determined by certain stats and/or legendary items) will determine whether or not you will be successful in these adventures.

But how do I participate on the adventures!?

This is where the Discord Community comes in. Here are some tips to ensure you never miss a random encounter or adventure;

If you, or someone you know, has the ability to create (and maintain) an app or program that can make my vision a reality, please email me directly at irondadgames@gmail.com with the words “APP COMMISSION” in the subject line. Lets collaborate and make something unique and legendary! Contract/Commission price negotiable.