(Another small group workout is coming soon, but I wanted to share another “getting the New Year started right” workout with you first! The workout written below is seen in it’s “beta” form in my notebook above on the right side of the page… With handwriting that bad, maybe I should have been a doctor?!?)
This workout certainly isn’t for beginners, though with some thoughtful alteration it could be made appropriate for any level*. It’s emphasis is on work capacity and strength endurance… along with some very very very basic mental training as mentioned below.
“I’m sorry, I may have written this one while in a not-so-great mood…”
My workout partner and I were both very ready for a serious challenge. The rep ranges chosen were for a specific reason… we do a whole lot of things with 20 swings, 30 rope throws, etc. Similarly we’ve been doing a lot of farmer’s walks with weights to the side, or overhead. This workout mixed it up using an Ultimate Sandbag in the Zercher position for the carry portion of the workout. Because the walking distance was pretty challenging (measured out at 260 feet round trip… to figure out a way to make it an even 100 yards total next time), there’s the option to drop and re-clean the sandbag at the midpoint.
Given my stubborn nature, I used this as an opportunity to see how long I could go before having to put the dang thing down (The Ultimate Sandbag I used is the Strength shell, which we filled to about 50lbs which doesn’t seem so bad for the first few rounds, but as the workout proceeds… OOF!!! There were a few points I had to set it down for a sec then re-clean it). While we aspired to fulfill the required reps as single sets, the last round was fairly “anything goes” because we would rather stop and reset than just do a bunch of crummy, poor movement quality reps. Check out this interesting article that explains yet another reason I decided to use the Zercher hold position for this workout…
I also did the “mean” but challenging thing and only brought a couple weight choices as illustrated below. Some folks would want to go lighter or heavier as appropriate. This workout was inspired by a number of things, but mostly the Zach Even-Esh’s Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning… It was fun to interact a little with him on social media when talking about this particular workout.
The park chosen for this workout has a great little area with a seldom used set of parallel bars, and a long paved walk.
After our joint mobility warm up and the CC2 Trifecta, we did 5 rounds of the following with minimal rest (only as needed)
We did 5 rounds of:
- Sandbag Zercher-position carry down and back (260 feet round trip)
- 10 Parallel bar leg raises**
- 30 24kg kettlebell swings
- 10 bodyweight rows (Aussie pull ups)
- 50 battling rope up-downs
We ended with a much-needed cooldown and more joint mobility before begrudingly loading everything back up. The sandbags were covered with so much sweat that my later entertainment at home involved cleaning them (no, not the lift… the activity that involves a sponge.)
*A lighter weight sandbag with a shorter walk distance, lighter kettlebell for the swings–possibly fewer reps, bodyweight rows can be made easier performed with bent knees, and a lighter battling rope could also be used–and for fewer reps.
**Arms locked out, while straight legs are raised and lowered under control using no momentum. Beginners may wish to do knee raises instead.
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