Short Workouts can be not only beneficial to your fitness but also can be very therapeutic when it's so intense that once it's over, you feel like you're walking on Cloud 9. Getting something in as little as 5 minutes with great effort, can have as much of an impact on your conditioning and long term strength within a regular 1 hour workout.
One of these entities is the classic Slam Ball Slamming. Just picking up a 10-20 ball and slamming it hard to the ground with such such fucking force, you'd think you have hatred in your heart. Just this exercise alone generates incredible benefits of conditioning, strength, explosiveness, lung power and turning you into a machine. They've been used in Wrestling, MMA, Football, Crossfit and other formats of training. They can be used as a finisher, in between sets or as stand alone.
As a finisher, it is as nasty as it gets, you've already obliterated a workout but you still need to go through hell to get that last bit of a tank you have left and burn more calories than you already have and enhance your muscular endurance. 2 workouts I've done recently were using a slam ball as a finisher, busting ass for 15 on, 15 off for 5 minutes. First workout, I would get in about 4-5 reps a round, the second, I was able to get 6, that's a PR for me.
For a stand alone, my idea was to get as many reps as possible in 5 minutes which on paper may not sound like much but when you're constantly picking up and slamming as hard as you can and torching the muscles especially the Core, it becomes a mental game of how much you're willing to take. My personal record with a 20 lb Ball is 105 reps in 5 minutes. If you're new to it, take a breather every few reps or so cause you will feel it practically off the bat. Keep a record of how many you've done, each session, try to rest a little less and see if you can get a few more reps in. Little by little keep going until you're able to keep going practically without stopping. Pace yourself and let the speed and explosiveness come naturally. You may not be at the same speed in the beginning and you may slow down as time goes on but you can still go. To do an average of 20 or so reps a minute is pretty damn fast. DO NOT TRY THIS EVERYDAY!!! 1-2 times a week is more than enough, it's practically sprinting without the running.
This is the type of training where you may not tire out as quickly doing other things and it can enhance your endurance for possibly hiking, swimming, jogging, climbing stairs or doing labor. It will definitely give you boosts of HGH and give you that driving power for takedowns in wrestling, tackles in football and throws in MMA. It is one of the most intense forms of exercise around and it can make you a damn beast either on the mat or on the gridiron. It's simple, yet hard. Short, yet hellish and it will question your sanity whether as a finisher or by itself.
Be amazingly awesome and never underestimate the power of short workouts and/or finishers, they will make you question your life choices but at the same time, they build toughness and strength that isn't easily described.
