Kaizen Performance
Matthew Kirtley
Baseball , Functional Fitness, General Fitness, Personal Training, Custom ProgrammingKAIZEN PERFORMANCE
Better Every Day
Most programs progress by changing the exercise. This one progresses by changing where the load sits relative to the working limb — bilateral for capacity and real weight, contralateral to train the cross-body sling (lat to opposite glute through the thoracolumbar fascia), ipsilateral to remove the trunk's counterbalance, offset to force correction under uneven load. Position is the primary variable; the exercise changes last. Six axes drive progression: load position, tempo, base, range, closed-chain velocity, and cognitive demand.
The foundation is connective tissue. Muscle remodels in weeks, tendon in months — build strength faster than tissue can adapt and the kinetic chain fails at its weakest link. Tendon adapts to strain and needs meaningful load, but loading rate sets the stress: slow and isometric work builds tissue without the provocation. Isometrics anchor that work — sustained tension, low soreness, and they expose the asymmetries that compound lifts let you hide.
Kaizen means continuous, incremental improvement — small gains compounded, not chased. That's the model exactly: load rises steadily, tissue is built before it's stressed, and the line climbs without the spikes that cause injury.
Periodized across the full year — fall foundation, winter build, preseason conversion, in-season maintenance. Subscribe and enter at the current point in the calendar.
Included: 5 sessions/week on a rolling calendar · 200-movement library with video and cues · written setup for every movement · full-gym-to-minimal modifications · shoulder and arm care every session · direct coach access · load and PR tracking.
For: rotational and overhead athletes, high school and up — and anyone training for balance, body control, and durable connective tissue. Everything scales. Not for: bodybuilding or max-strength specialization, or undiagnosed pain — this is training, not rehab.
Enter at today's date; don't backfill. Read the movement descriptions before loading — week one runs long because you're learning positions you'll use for months. Start conservative on the isometric and single-side work, train both sides equally, and message me with anything that hurts or doesn't make sense. The early weeks prioritize position over load. The progression needs somewhere to go.
— Matt Kirtley, Kaizen Performance
A1
Shinbox rotations
2 x 5
A2
Crawl Kick Through
2 x 1 @ 4
A3
Adductor Rock to Hip Walk-Out
2 x 1 @ 5
B1
Pogo Jump
3 x 12
B2
Supine Groin Squeeze
3 x 3 @ 0:10
B3
Rotational Shotput - Half Kneeling
3 x 4
C
Trap Bar Deadlift
3 x 5
D1
Single-Arm KB RDL - Contralateral
3 x 8
D2
Isometric Lunge Hold
3 x 1 @ 45
E
Pallof ISO Hold
3 x 1 @ 30
F
Suitcase Carry
3 x 30
G
Walk
@ 20:00
A1
Crawl to Crab with Hip Reach
2 x 4
A2
Quadruped Reach- Through to Open
2 x 5
A3
Seated Hip Swivel - IR - Focused
2 x 8
B1
Pike Pushup
3 x 6
B2
Scap Push-up from Crawl
3 x 8
C
Half Kneeling Single Arm Cable row
3 x 8
D1
Half-Kneeling KB Press
3 x 10
D2
Mcgill KB Bottoms up Carry
3 x 30
E1
Single Arm Landmine Row
3 x 12
E2
Banded Plank Row
3 x 20
F
Plate Walk
3 x 50
G
Walk
1 x 20:00
A1
Shin Box to Tall Knee
2 x 5
A2
Figure 4 Flow
2 x 6
A3
Frog Rock with T spine reach
2 x 5
B1
Half Kneeling Halo
2 x 5
B2
Deep Squat Hold with Pry
2 x 0:30
C1
Bear Crawl
2 x 15
C2
Bear Crawl
2 x 15
D1
Copenhagen Plank
3 x 0:30
D2
Bent Knee Soleus Raise
3 x 12
E
Walk
1 x 20:00
A1
Gorilla Sit to Shin Box Flow
2 x 5
A2
Break Dancer Rotation
2 x 4
A3
Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor ISO
2 x 2 @ 15
B1
Pogo- Lateral Line Hop
3 x 10
B2
Broad Jump
3 x 3
B3
Scoop Toss
3 x 10
C
DB Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
3 x 12
D1
Cossack Squat
3 x 6
D2
Standing Calf ISO
3 x 30
E
Half Kneel Chop
3 x 8
F
Front Rack Carry
3 x 30
G
Walk
1 x 20:00
A1
Shin Box Rotations and Row
2 x 8
A2
Single-Arm Shoulder Airplane
2 x 5
B1
Pogo Single Leg
3 x 30
B2
Reverse Directional Rotational Toss
3 x 6
C
Landmine Reverse Lunge to Press
3 x 8
D
Ring Rows
3 x 20
E
Bird Dog Row
3 x 10
F
KB Marching Farmer's Walk
3 x 40
G
Walk
1 x 20:00
Matt Kirtley [Head Coach]
My Name Is Matt Kirtley, A baseball player and a soldier. Dedicated most my life to performance and weightlifting.
Tendon adaptation: Muscle remodels over weeks. Tendon is less vascular and remodels over months. Adding contractile strength faster than connective tissue can adapt produces a mismatch, and the kinetic chain resolves that mismatch at its weakest point. Bui
Get Kaizen Performance
When you join a team you’re getting more than programming, you’re joining an online community.
Kaizen Performance
Kaizen Performance
Kaizen Performance
