For the second time ever, I went after the Double Decker Leg Challenge of 1000 Step Ups and 500 Hindu Squats with a Deck Of Cards and made it through. It was pure hell and it may even make the devil go "fuck that." This type of workout will make you sweat, you will tire and you will be tested mentally and physically; hell you may be seeing stuff that aren't there who knows but it's true that this will kick your ass.
I wanted to see if I could do this again since it has been a while and I've done the 500 Step Ups and 250 Squats workout a just a few times recently as well. Let's just say I've never felt so damn happy to jump into a shower and chug some water afterwards. It's freaking brutal and my shirt looked like I came out of a damn pool. I didn't time it because I didn't want to go Speedy Gonzales on it and just focus on technique and breathing while the speed came on its own. This is not an everyday thing unless you have some sick and twisted mindset for punishment or if you're going out for a sport like wrestling.
This challenge is purely to test your mental toughness and physical conditioning. It makes you push through barriers that aren't your typical workout challenges. Doing 500 Squats in a row can be done almost daily if you have that mindset and within reason, 1000 Step Ups can be a chore but it's not impossible to do them 2-3x a week if you're working towards a goal and building some killer cardio but to do both in the same workout with your only rest is flipping a card is almost pure insanity. When you get to the jokers, you have to do 50 Step Ups and 25 Squats in a superset and you have to do this 4 times throughout the workout on top of the other cards. This workout for most people would be once in a while like every 10 days or so if you want to keep pursuing it but if you're a world class athlete like a Collegiate or World/Olympic Caliber Wrestler or Running Back/Linebacker or an aspiring MMA Fighter, you can attempt this on conditioning days or 2-4x a week if you're that sadistic like a Karl Gotch or Kurt Angle in his Olympic Training.
Leg Day is one of those days where you find out a little more about what you're capable of but never go to the point where you have to crawl back home and sleep for 10-12 hours a day for the next week. Always have something in the tank. I did say you'll get tired but don't quit. It is really tough and it's not for the average trainee. Hell, 99.9999% of people won't even try to attempt this; it's nasty, your legs will feel like jello and it forces you to breathe with intensity. This won't however make you puke your guts out. I've never believed in that and if you have to throw up during a workout, that's getting to the point of destroying your organs. Never, ever train to the point of feeling sick, whoever came up with that is an asshole who just loves punishment.
If you're up to the challenge, I encourage you to build up your leg strength and cardio first and foremost. Don't do this if you have heart and organ issues and for my sake, have a towel and water on hand. Be smart about it but don't slack off either. Do the workout as best as you can, don't go for a world record on it. If you do it in multiple workouts, see how fast you can do it (within solid form and not having a heart attack). Also don't do this if you've never done step ups and/or Hindu Squats before, if you do, you're going to find out how hard it is to even walk the next day, let alone feel like an old man with legs ready to fall off. Train with intent and preparedness. This goes beyond just leg training, it's a full body workout and do your best to keep your body relaxed but not so loose you're like a worm.
Best of luck and keep being amazingly awesome.
