Slamming With Pure Vengeance In 5 Minutes

 

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.  

Brutalized Conditioning: Animals & Slam Ball Hell

 On Monday, I wanted to test myself to see where my conditioning was at and safe to say, it was one of the hardest workouts I've done in a while. Did other workouts where they were a challenge but nothing like where it tested your sanity along with making the lungs seem like you're going to die LOL.

Thought I'd get into some animal training since it has been a while. Used my deck of cards to do the 4 Animals/Exercises I normally do....

Bear Crawls

Crab Walks

Half/Quarter Squat Walk (Bigfoot Walks)

Duck Walks

Doubled up on the reps and even about 10-15 cards in, I felt like quitting and I was breathing pretty heavily, I kept going anyways. These are no joke and will test you like no other. Finished with a 1000 total reps of these and yet, the workout wasn't even over.

I wanted to really amp it up by doing a finisher with the 20 lb Slam Ball I have and target my explosiveness. Went for 5 minutes doing a 15 on, 15 off protocol. Got in about 4-5 slams per round and slamming that fucker on grass just hits different. This wasn't just a finisher, it was to burn more calories like it was going out of style and build that mental toughness. More than just cardio, it's hell on earth and the battle rages on you against the system you created for yourself. This is the type of training where with other things, you won't tire out as quickly. This is not the typical workout you see many 40 year olds doing so, I wanted to find out what my capabilities were. 

Sometimes you got to go through hell to see what you're made of and what you expect out of yourself. This type of training is more than just exercise and getting in a few quick things, this is the type of hell that makes humans question their mental and physical stability along with testing themselves at peak levels of conditioning. No question pro/world class athletes can probably do this far better than me and it would be hard to try to keep up with that kind of person but at over 40 and not a professional or even calling myself World Class, I believe I did pretty damn well with this and I'd love to test this out with somebody sometime.

Conditioning comes in many forms and the idea for even as you get older is to maintain a level where you don't get tired doing things and can go as long as needed and have that lasting strength and endurance. When you have the ability to go and able to wear out others, it's a great feeling. Karl Gotch said it best "Conditioning is your greatest hold". Fitness is more than just trying to look good, it's about feeling better, being able to do things with less chances of getting injured and being able to have strength that lasts rather than temporarily. The world seems different when you are able to be fit and handle things with grace yet powerful at the same time.

Hellish workouts have their place as a challenge but don't frequent them as it can come back to bite you in the ass. Will I try this again, maybe or switch things up doing the dopa band and sledgehammer work. Strength & Cardio is part of the puzzle but when you throw in the mental aspects, it teaches you how precious and important having those attributes is. Be amazingly awesome and do what's possible. Challenge yourself but don't go so far you can't move or get injured. 

2 For 1 Sprint Training With The Dopa Band

 Always experimenting and finding exciting ways to train, I wanted to give something a go that would put that extra spring in the step and give off nasty fat burning vibes. Last night after a fun date night of Red Lobster and seeing The Iron Claw (great movie BTW, might write a review on the next post) I got in some at home Sprint Training to shed off some of the Holiday Feasting this past weekend and start creating new goals early for the coming year. 

Tying myself to the Dopa Band, I wanted to try something new (at least to me) and really tackle some Explosive Conditioning by doing a Superset of Bear Crawl & Bipedal Sprinting. The idea is to do a Bear Crawl Sprint, walk back and do a regular sprint. The two different sprints is the equivalent to 1 rep and you repeat it as many times as you can, in this case I did 5 Reps per set. Totaled 6 sets of 5 Reps for a total of 30 or 60 Sprints all together. 

This actually felt really good and somehow didn't feel I overdid anything and still had gas in the tank at the end. You may not get very far because of the band but when you explode out and keep doing it for a short period of time, it can be a bit crazy. Sprint Training is not always done out on a track, hill or grassy area, you can do them at home doing modified versions that can still give you a run for your money (pun intended). It is always good however to get Sprints going outside whenever possible 2-3x a week but if you want to kick your ass at home, you have that option as well. I believe it's a great option because when you're done, the shower is within feet of you, you don't have to drive anywhere, you can get it done within minutes and take a nap or rest on the couch and put on a movie or something right there. For some that sounds lazy but if I can get a workout in and then have things I need right there afterwards, why the hell not?

This doesn't mean your home is the only option to do this, you can do this workout at a park, in your hotel room, at the beach or wherever you can hook the band up (safely and efficiently). Being outside is ideal and training in an area where you breathe fresh air and have a good time while focusing on your goals is always important. That's the beauty of this thing, it can withstand quite a bit because of its flexibility and durability along with being very difficult to break. What are the benefits of this workout: It gets you in rugged shape fast with consistency, it develops a great level of explosiveness, mental toughness, takes only minutes to complete, gives you greater options and places to train, can be modified to your level of fitness, could help reduce injuries, enhance HGH levels, produces spikes in Testosterone, burns fat like crazy and hell of a calorie burner. 

Sprint Training is a favorite of mine and when it's warm out, I would hit the hill or the field by the house. Winter isn't always ideal although it does build a different level of toughness but at the same time, it can be slippery out there and you could be asking for a disaster if you're sprinting hard and hit some ice that is slicker than cooking oil. This also could be useful for those who've had previous injuries and helping you with your posture for regular sprinting. For me, it reduces certain acts of pain in my shin and ankles. When I do Sprint on a hill, it can be discomforting to the point of slight pain because of the rod and pins in my legs so I do have to be careful with that but with the band, it lessens those things and I can go hard without feeling any discomfort or pain. I have a small threshold for pain but when it becomes too much, I can't be at my best. So if you need to modify, do so but don't let it get to a point where you can potentially end up in the ER or worse. 

This also can be done for people who are new to Sprint Training and get a feel of what's possible so when they are going out and hitting a hill or track, they have some of the mechanics embedded into their brain. It's still important to know the basics and mechanics of sprinting with or without using a band because although there are similarities, some techniques are different so learn the proper techniques to get the most out of it. Overall, it's a great workout to test yourself on and only has to be done no more than 3x a week, 2x a week is great for most people but if you're ambitious than do it 3x a week. 

Have fun and get those legs cooking man. Be amazingly awesome. Get 10% OFF the Dopa Bands by punching in the Discount Code POWERANDMIGHT when you checkout. Grab one for yourself or create your own custom bundle.  

A So Not Walk In The Park Sub 45 Min Workout

It was intense, insane and one of the longest workouts I've done in a while. I keep raising the bar on myself and just making things more interesting and finding out what I'm willing to push to see what my body can handle. Some might call my workouts crazy but even for me, that should've put me in the nuthouse (maybe). 

The other day, I wanted to see what I can do with Supersetting the Dopa Band and Step Ups. Haven't tried it before so I figured what could possibly go wrong? Not only did it go right but it made me sweat so much, I thought I was going to need a gallon of water to get all of it back (slight exaggeration). In all seriousness, this was a workout I needed and elevating my conditioning. The only real rest was marking off sets and getting right back into it. The weird thing was, by the end, I was moving faster and had that "runner's high" feeling where I went into a state that felt great and my focus was at its peak. 

The idea was to do upper body movements with the Band and just do bodyweight with the Step Ups. Here's the workout...

100 Lateral Raises (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

100 Curls (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

100 Chest Presses (4x25)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

200 Alternating Rows (4x50 - 25 per arm)

200 Step Ups (4x50)

Total: 500 Reps Of Upper Body & 800 Step Ups 

Time- 44:09

Each superset was 25-50 reps of a Dopa Exercise and 25 Step Ups per leg. I take great pride in being able to do this but it's also important to be humble in that to not fill my ego because this isn't meant to be done all the time unless you're one of those insane Dagestani Wrestlers that are just machines with levels of conditioning that rank right up there at the top of the food chain. 

Yesterday, I did another workout that hit my legs a little differently which is why I most likely will end up just "taking it easy" today and do low level work with the band and doing isometrics. This workout was to work as many reps as possible while taking in 20 breaths and doing drills and techniques of going out as far as the thing can stretch 10-20 times going Forward, Sideways & Backwards. The reps taking in breaths were waves, tricep pulls, alternating rows and ski jumps and the legs were a walk out or a slower version of a shooting wrestling drill for 40 total reps (20, 10, 10), 20 walking at the side (10, 10) and drilling backwards for 40 (20,10,10). This hit a lot of the muscles in the legs especially in the hips since it's been a while doing side to side movements. 

Practically everyday there's been some kind of workout with the Dopa Band and just love experimenting and finding ways to work with this thing. There's so much you can do with it and it will humble you. This band has been the closest to wrestling since I was on the mat years ago, I know it doesn't have the same flare of actually wrestling but the drills, the conditioning, the fight against the resistance, the intensity and the ability to strengthen the body in ways that are new to you are all part of the process. 

I even weighed myself today and I'm sitting at 241 lbs. Only gained back about 3 since I've had my appetite back and doing what's possible for me workout wise. I was feeling it yesterday after some frustration with something in the backyard and felt it in my hip but other than that, I feel much stronger, more explosive, energetic and my stamina has skyrocketed. I'm telling you without thinking twice about it, the Dopa Band is a fucking game changer and it makes training a bit more fun and interesting. You don't have to be a wrestler or a fighter to get the benefits out of it, just a good old fashioned workout is more than enough for most and there are so many ways to use it it's practically endless. 

Use my Discount to get 10% off your order by using the code POWERANDMIGHT. You can even do custom bundles or have pre-set bundles that give you even more discounts. Get some for your family, group classes, gym, Fight School, Wrestling Room or just to get a great workout in at home, there's tons of options. Keep killing it guys and stay amazingly awesome.