Article: Conditioning and Example workouts

Article: Conditioning for the Games

            I believe in doing some type of hard conditioning 3-4 days a week.  This will accomplish a couple of things. 1.  Being in better shape is never going to hurt you.  2.  Doing some form of hard conditioning a couple times a week to the point of almost vomiting makes you not a piece of shit.  This can be done in a minimal amount of time.  I personally like using a push sled for sprints.  This has been popularized by the Prowler.  I personally made my own version.  It is still the hardest conditioning that I have found.  For me doing sprints three times a week help everything.  I also like running hills (I live in Louisiana so this is nonexistent unless using a stadium.) or putting together some type of interval circuit involving light weights and high reps.

            It is also the off season for the games right now so everyone should be trying to get into a little better shape for the upcoming season.  Everyone except Mike Pockoski, I think he is somewhere near 320 right now after thanksgiving.  He should keep bulking.  For the rest of you get to it.  Now is the time to get everything ready to handle a long season.  All of these things are going to better you as an athlete more than being on the treadmill ever will.  Even if you don’t have access to a prowler there are tons of options to destroy yourself conditioning wise.

Improving your recovery time and conditioning will help you in the games in numerous ways, not to mention make you an all around better person.  The games are no doubt a long day for anyone, 9 events over 5+ hours are tough on the body.  However the better in shape you are the better you will be at handling the repeated up and down you go through during a contest.  Also it is nice at the end of a heavy lifting day to remind your legs that they need to move quickly.  If nothing else something about running sprints and puking in my front yard alone on some random morning let me know I am willing to work harder than the people I throw against.

I try to do eight to ten rounds of whatever it is.  If you are new to this start easy and build from it.  My typical conditioning is as follows.

Options for conditioning:

Prowler: with 90lbs added

10 sprints of 30-40yrds with a min rest. 

*This can also be done on a bike, elliptical, Jump rope, or treadmill.  Just set the resistance or incline up and sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds repeat 10 rounds.

           

                Sandbag cleans:  100lbs+ bag. 

Take your sandbag clean, catch, full front squat then repeat.   You are going to start with three cleans in 1 min.  So the faster you do these the most rest time you have for the remainder of the min.  After three rounds add a rep each round till you can t finish the number of reps in a min.  You could also shoulder it and switch shoulders.

Example:  round=1 min
Round 1-3:       3 reps

Round 4:           4 reps

Round 5:           5 reps

Ect. till failure.

*My best is 11 rounds.  It starts to get tight at the end not much rest.

               

          Full body ladder:

There have been times where I have not had time to get in the gym for a week like I am rx’d.  On weeks like this I know I need to go ahead and try to accomplish something to make up for it.  The time length on this one is up to you.  It is rough and will punish you.

Barbell Complex:  Something you can press OH x10 easy.  For example I use 135.  You are going to have the bar on the ground and start with 10 dead lifts, 10 cleans, 10 front squats, then 10 push presses.  Followed by some cardio, bike or rowing.

Example:

Round 1: 

 Complex 10 reps

1 mile on exercise bike

Round 2:

Complex 9 reps

1 mile on exercise bike

All the way down to one rep.

*This will be for time.  Push as hard as you can I think my best has been in 52 min.

Here is a video of an old speed day with Conditioning at the end of it.