What Is a Work Capacity Training Block? Benefits, Structure, and What to Expect

A Work Capacity Block is a 4-6 week phase where we gradually increase the total amount of work your body can tolerate. For your training in the gym, this will improve your recovery between sets and overall stamina in a session. But it also translates to real-life stamina, for those who get out of breath easily or feel fatigued by daily chores and tasks.

Compared to a strength block, you can expect an increase in:

• Total movements per workout

• Total completed reps

• Time spent working per set

And a decrease in:

• Rest between sets

By the end of this block, you can expect noticeable improvements in both cardiorespiratory fitness and local muscle endurance. If you find yourself out of breath during relatively low-intensity tasks, or needing long breaks to feel ready for your next set, this style of training is exactly what you need!

How This Block Will Be Structured:

Movement selection

You’ll still see familiar lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench variations, but with more overall movements per session. Expect plenty of unilateral work (single leg or single arm), alternating patterns, and more variety.

Intensity

We won’t be hitting sets of 12 with the same loads we finished our strength block with. Intensity will live in the RPE 4-6 range per set. No grinding reps and no training to failure. The session as a whole will feel intense as your heart rate climbs throughout the workout.

Rest between sets

Rest will be incomplete between sets, meaning your heart may still be elevated before you begin another set. This is the opposite of a strength block and a critical piece of what builds your capacity and muscular endurance.

Load

For Level 3 programs and up, expect to use roughly 60–70% of the loads from the end of your strength block, assuming prescribed reps, sets, and RPEs are followed. The goal is not maximal weight.

Work capacity training is challenging, but it pays off! Come February, we’ll shift gears and transition into a hypertrophy phase, building off of your new base and improved aerobic fitness.