Ask Dave: Can you Still Make Progress While Training Without a Routine

9 04 2013

Here we go with another Ask Dave question.

This one comes from Peter out in Ennis. Peter is a friend of mine, he drops by the gym every time he comes to Dublin and was a long time user of the (now defunct) online training service. He’s also the guy I use to proof read and edit my eBooks.

That last fact may surprise you when you read his question which I copied and pasted direct from his email with no alteration….

“I had a question/suggestion for you that might make fodder for one of your articles…
It has to do with assessing progress while using the sort of short intense programmes you post for lunch.
Kinda – how do you balance exercise and work style variety with a framework where you can accurately assess your progress.”

Essentially Peter wants to know if it is possible to track your progress while following an unstructured training program.

Most days I post up on the WG-Fit facebook page the workout that my lunchtime crew did. Each day it’s a short, full body workout using Kettlebells and Bodyweight exercises. Due to the nature of the lunchtime sessions, we have a variety of people coming in of a variety of fitness levels with a variety of goals. They also come in at various times and with varying frequency.
So while many do have bespoke training programs that they follow, many simply look at the workout written on the wall and get on with it.

So what’s on the wall?

Here’s a few from the last week or so:

1A: Split Squat x 4-6L/R
1B: Pull Ups x 80%
3 rounds

2A: Clean & Press x 4-6
2B: Double Swing x 8-12
3 rounds

3: Hand to hand swing x 100

———————————

1A: Push up / Renegade row combo
1B: Deadlift
1C: Cleans from dead start
1D: Thrusters
1E: Front Squat
4-6 reps of each, no rest between exercises.
4-6 rounds, rest as needed between rounds.

—————————————

1A: Clean x 4
1B: Press x 1
Amrap x 15mins.

—————————————

1A: (Jump) Lunge x 5L/R
1B: Swing x 20
1C: Sit Through x 5L/R
1D: Swing x 20
1E: Hindu Push Up x 5
1F: Swing x 20
AMRAP x 20mins

—————————————

1A: Clean to Front Squat x 5 x 5 (don’t be shy with the weight)
1B: Push Ups x 12 – 15
2A: Clean & Press to Windmill OR Side Press x 5L/R
2B: Lateral Lunge x 6-8 L/R

3: Hand to Hand Swing x 100

—————————————–

As you can see, there is a variety of styles using a variety of exercises.

So can you track progress?

Yes.

There are many movements that repeat, Front Squats and Clean & Press are staples. As are pull ups and swings. It’s a simple enough to monitor how these individual lifts are progressing.
But perhaps a better way of judging is the use of what crossfit call “Benchmark” workouts.

This is exactly how the Boot Camp program has run. The Bootcamp is a structured program but it begins and ends with a fitness test, a single test that brings together all the attributes we aim to develop over the 4 week program, which are:
Strength, Power, Endurance and Mental Fortitude.

If the second fitness test is done quicker than the first, then the program has been a success.

But back to our lunchtime fitness  sessions. Every now and them we throw in a test, or a favourite workout.
These workouts pop up more frequently than any others and always follow the same parameters and so can be used to check progress.

Can you perform the workout quicker? If yes, then you’ve improved your power output.
Can you perform the workout but do more reps? If yes, then you’ve improved your work capacity.
Can you do the same workout but with more weight? If yes, you’ve gotten stronger.

So from this we can see that a highly structured training program isn’t always necessary  unless you have specific goals in mind.
If general fitness is your goal, variety can keep life interesting while still providing gains.

Just be sure to test every now and again.

Regards

Dave
http://www.wg-fit.com


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Developing Power Endurance for Combat Sports.

30 10 2012

Power.

It is an essential aspect to any athletic performance.

Especially if your performance involves stopping a guy from ripping your head off, which for a combat athlete, doorman, copper or military man is simply par for the course.

So what is power?

It’s work done in a measured unit of time.

It’s not just about strength, but it includes speed also.
For a combatant it must also be repeatable. Something a the Weightlifters and Powerlifters don’t need to be too concerned about.

A fighter can’t just throw one massive punch and then sit down for two minutes to rest. No, they must be able to repeat this, over and over again, despite increasing levels of fatigue.
It is of utmost importance that we can strike with utmost efficiency over and over.

This why at WG-Fit we use a blend of training methodologies. From Power & Weight lifting protocols to bodyweight focus and of course the kettlebell.
Possibly the most useful method of all is the classic kettlebell lift, the Jerk.

Granted the lift is technical if you take it to the level of a Kettlebell Sport athlete. But if you’re simply using the lift for the development of power endurance, you don’t need every nuance of the professional lifter.
Needless to say it is a full body lift, where the power comes from the legs,

I use the Jerk (and it’s brother, the Clean & Jerk) with most of my combat athletes, although it’s exact performance may vary from man to man.
Grapplers generally lift a pair of bells, strikers a single heavy bell.
Either way we lift a relatively heavy weight for reps, ideally while already fatigued.
The combination of some limit strength training, usually in the Deadlift, Squat or Bulgarian Split Squat with a higher rep Jerks and a dynamic core drill form an incredibly time efficient and effective conditioning protocol for a combat athlete.

An example of this would be a Power Circuit taken from our WMD program:
This one use the Double Kettlebell Jerk

1A: Deadlift x 5,4,3,2,1 (increase weight each round while dropping reps)
1B: Double Jerk x max reps (stop as soon as the lift slows down)
1C: Standing barbell twist x 5 L/R
This is repeated for 5 rounds, the deadlift goes up in weight each round, while the reps drop. Be sure to lift with good form, but go heavy.

Here’s what it looks like:

The Jerk in this case should be heavy, but fast. Keep the lift snappy and the pace up, if the lift starts to slow down we are losing the power emphasis.
By the time you hit the core drill you should be breathing hard.
Rest periods between rounds will be relatively short, in line with the rest structure of your fight if you’re a combat athlete or for the tactical types, as soon as the heart rate drops by

We would program this into a weekly training program towards the end of the week for those on a rounded training program, but for those with time issues, once or twice per week on top of the normal skills training will suffice.
This type of training is for athletes that already have a base of strength & power but are looking to take that to the next level and have it cross over into the outside world.

Regards

Dave
http://www.WG-Fit.com


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Cardio – The WMD Method

2 05 2012

A guy once came to WG for a look and asked "Where are the gym machines?" I showed him the squat rack and kettles to which he replied "But, I like to run.
My question seemed to shock him, "What equipment do you need for running?"

We’ve just passed the midpoint of Week 3 on our Boot Camp program.

This means the guys have a mere 4 more training sessions before their week off.

But it also means they just had a cardio session.

For those who know, my main interest in strength & conditioning is Martial Artists and as an extension of that anyone involved in contact/combat sports.
Look at any of my higher intensity group sessions and you’ll find Kickboxers, Kyokushin black belts, Kenpo men, BJJ players mixed in with the odd copper and few rugby/GAA heads.
Each one of these guys needs to be able to hit and take a hit.

It’s well documented that increasing size and strength will boost hitting power and also provide armour plating for receiving impact. But that’s of limited use if the muscle isn’t backed up by an equally well developed cardio system.

It’s a like fitting a bigger fuel tank to your muscle car. You still have the grunt, the speed and the power, but with the extra fuel you can put that power down for longer. Less time at the fuel pump means more time doling out the punishment.

So at Wild Geese we spend a fair bit of time developing our guys work capacity. That way they can power through a scramble, a tackle or a heavy exchange of hands and have the cardiovascular strength to get the oxygen back into the body and do it again, and again. They have the breath control to keep the mind calm, the lungs to get the air in and the heart to pump it where it’s needed.
This all takes practice.

We have a multitude of methods for developing this, but possibly the most effective is the method we use on the boot camp. It’s also detailed in the WMD manual.

It’s simply the following:

400m Run (the block we run round is actually 370m, but who’s counting..?)
Hindu Push Ups
400m Run
Bodyweight Squats
400m Run
Bodyweight Rows
400m Run
Kettlebell Swings

Repeat for 20 minutes continuously.
Time the run. However long the run takes is the time you will spend on the following calisthenic/kettlebell drill. So if it takes 1m45 to cover the first lap, then you’ve got 1m45s worth of Hindu Push Ups to do.

Why only 20 minutes?
First, try it and see.
Second, it gives us a benchmark against which we can judge progress.

But honestly, it’s as much for convenience. We spend 10 – 15 minutes warming up with skipping, muscle activation and jogging. Then hit some short (sub 15meter) sprints, agility and reaction work for another short while. Then we start the cardio.
Each week we increase the intensity of the sprint/agility work to develop a greater oxygen debt. We also try to get more round in during the cardio set itself.
The combination of a larger oxygen debt plus increased work rate means 20 minutes is plenty!

The whole session, including a stretch at the end is done in under an hour.

On the Boot Camp we don’t necessarily time the run, instead we split the group in two, while one group runs, the other group does the calisthenics. It brings some love to the group, especially if the runs start slowing down…

This is cardio, WMD style.
It works.

But don’t take my word for it, get out and try it yourself.

Regards

Dave


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