EVOLVE Strong is EVOLVING
As we head into winter in Flagstaff, your Evolve Strong classes are getting a few small but intentional upgrades.
Not a total overhaul. Not “new year, new you.” Just a few improvements to keep training fresh, relevant, challenging, and fun.
The biggest changes that you will see in December are:
Adding monthly themes to focus our strength and conditioning.
Rolling out a training load calculator to help you choose the right weights and train with more confidence.
Slight adjustments to the structure of Wednesday/Saturday workouts.
Why We’re Adding Monthly Themes
Evolve Strong isn’t a random “workout of the day” program. Behind the scenes, our coaching team plans cycles that balance strength, conditioning, athleticism, and recovery so you can keep making progress year-round.
Monthly themes are simply a clearer lens on that planning.
You’ll notice:
Slight emphasis shifts in certain movements
More coaching attention on skills tied to the month’s theme
A clearer story about why we’re doing what we’re doing
You won’t see:
A totally different style of workout
A separate “advanced” vs “beginner” track
A complete departure from the classes you already enjoy
The goal is simple: keep your training fresh, fun, challenging, and relevant—whether you’re here for general health, outdoor performance, or staying athletic for life. (If you want a deeper dive on that last piece, check out our article on staying athletic as you age. This winter block is very much in that spirit.)
December 2025 Theme: Winter Readiness
Our first monthly theme is Winter Readiness—on the mountain, on your driveway, and on icy sidewalks.
Three big pillars will show up more often in your workouts:
1. Quad Strength & Endurance
(for skiing, snowboarding, and long days on your feet)
If you’ve ever finished a ski day with burning legs or felt your thighs light up on a long snowshoe, you already know why quads matter.
In class, you’ll see a bit more:
Squats and squat variations
Split squats and lunges
Wall sits and other isometric holds
We’re not trying to crush you—we’re building durable legs that can handle:
Back-to-back ski runs
Long approaches and descents
Everyday life (stairs, carrying kids, pushing snow) without feeling wrecked the next day
2. Hip Hinging & Rotation
(for snow shoveling, back protection, and power)
Most people don’t “hurt their back shoveling” just because the snow is heavy or they are getting older. They get hurt because they don’t practice loaded hinging and rotation throughout the year. Then Flagstaff gets a significant winter storm, and shoveling equates to hundreds of reps of a fairly heavy task on unstable ground.
We can prepare for the demands of winter storms with:
Hip hinging (deadlifts, RDLs, good mornings)
Integrated rotation and anti-rotation core exercises (chops, lifts, rotational med ball work, and resisting twist under load)
You’ll see:
More coaching on how to hinge at the hips instead of bend at the spine
Rotational and anti-rotational core work that teaches your torso to stay strong while your hips move
The goal: make shoveling, loading skis, and awkward winter chores feel strong and controlled, not like a gamble of “will my back survive this?”
3. Agility & Balance in Multiple Directions
(for slippery sidewalks, turns on the mountain, and “oh-no” moments)
Winter doesn’t just demand strength. It demands the ability to react, catch yourself, and change direction.
We’ll build that with movements like:
Skater jumps (side-to-side power and control)
Lateral and diagonal hops (scaled from small to bigger ranges)
Quick-steps and deceleration drills (learning to stop as well as go)
Balance work on one leg or in split stances
And of course, you’ll always have low-impact progressions if jumping isn’t right for your body today
As always, our work at Evolve isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about:
Staying upright on icy driveways
Feeling confident changing direction on skis or a board
Keeping “little slips” from turning into big injuries
If you’ve read our article on staying athletic as you age, you’ll recognize this: we’re training the whole system—strength, speed, coordination, and balance—so you can keep doing the things you love in and out of the gym.
Smarter Strength: Our Training Load & Weight-Selection Calculator
The second big upgrade is the rollout of our custom training load and weight-selection calculator.
One of the most common questions we hear in class is:
“How heavy should I lift?”
We’ve created a training load calculator and weight-selection charts to make that easier—and smarter.
The “Anchor Set”
For main lifts, you’ll often:
Warm up
Do one challenging set of 10 reps (your anchor set)
Use that set to help guide your working weight or load for the day
We’re not chasing a max-out. We’re looking for:
A set that feels tough but repeatable
Honest effort, not perfection
A clear sense of “this is where I’m at today”
Blending Science with How You Feel
Behind the scenes, our calculator uses:
Well-established formulas to estimate your 1-rep max
Proven strength and conditioning percentages to guide training zones
But we never forget:
You’re a human, not a spreadsheet
Sleep, stress, food, schedule, and life all affect performance
So the charts:
Give you a recommended range, not a rigid rule
Adjust up or down based on how your anchor set felt that day
Help you push when you’re ready and pull back when you’re cooked
What This Means for You in Class
This system will help you:
Select weights more confidently (“this is an appropriate range for today”)
Track progress over time (“this used to feel like a 10-rep anchor; now it’s a warm-up weight”)
Stay safe while still challenging yourself
Think of it as smart guardrails for training, not a test you can pass or fail.
If you’re curious about the nerdy details, you can check out the full training calculator page—but you don’t need to memorize anything to benefit. Your coaches will walk you through how to use the charts in class.
Tweaks to Wednesday & Saturday: Strength + Endurance
You’ll also notice some subtle programming shifts on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Previously, these days often leaned heavily toward endurance-style work. That’s not going away—we know many of you love a good sweat, and longer cardiovascular efforts are important for health and performance. We’re simply changing the overarching structure to include one full-body strength block and one longer endurance block, rather than two endurance blocks.
All other days of the week will retain their current structure: Strength, Resilience, Endurance.
Strength is where we work on movement technique and building capacity with load.
Resilience is the block that’s unique to EVOLVE Flagstaff, where we train multi-directional agility and stability (along with some additional strength). This is the biggest missing piece in most fitness programs.
Endurance is where we blend a variety of movements to build cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, workouts will look like:
Full-body strength block
Focused sets targeting major movement patterns (squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, rotate). This will feel similar to the first strength block on other days of the week.
Endurance block
After strength, we’ll move into a conditioning block that will be slightly longer than other days. This allows you to improve sustained cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
The goal isn’t to crush you on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you don’t normally come on those days, there’s no need to be nervous or fearful of them. Two main blocks, rather than three, simply give us more time to work on movement technique and to train different energy systems with intention.
Looking Ahead: January and Beyond
The monthly themes, the training load calculator, and refinement of Wednesdays and Saturdays will help to focus how we create EVOLVE Strong workouts day in and day out. Beyond that, we are planning a few additional upgrades in early 2026.
You can expect:
Clear themes that connect your in-gym training to Flagstaff life (trail season, summer adventures, durability for busy schedules)
Continued refinement of our training load calculator and charts, so you’re always building strength with intention rather than guesswork
Additional movements and workout blocks that help you test and gauge progress across the year
What won’t change:
Our commitment to non-diet, weight-inclusive fitness
Coaching that focuses on what your body can do, not how it looks
A community that supports you through seasons of life, not just seasons of training
The Bottom Line
If you’re already part of Evolve Strong, here’s what to know:
Your classes will feel familiar—but with clearer focus and smarter tools.
You’ll see more intentional work around quads, hip hinging/rotation, and agility as we move into winter.
Our training load charts will help you choose weights with confidence and see progress more clearly.
Wednesday and Saturday workouts will now blend full-body strength and endurance in a way that supports both performance and long-term resilience.
If you’re not yet a member and you’re looking for a Flagstaff gym that values smart progress over punishment workouts, our Flagstaff fitness classes are built for exactly that: evidence-informed strength and conditioning, coached by humans who care how you feel and what you want your body to do.