JonnyJames
11-03-2009, 12:59
As promised to The Block, here are some suggestions.
I apologise in advance if this comes across as patronising, condescending or just plain snotty - when you spend hours a day training the spoiled offspring of upper-middle-class (or just plain upper class) morons, you start to adopt certain habits, and I haven't had to think about this stuff since then, really.
Ok.
I divide all conditioning work into Metabolic Exercises, Hybrids, Complexes, Circuits, GPP and ESW. I'll start with the metabolic stuff first, as that's what The Block asked for, and if anyone wants I'll cover the rest of the stuff.
Though there is, of course, a fair bit of cross-over, especially between the first 2.
I have always prescribed metabolic exercises that last about 45s just to tick the 'lactic acid' box but they could reasonably last anywhere between 30 and 60s.
More importantly they should be
a) Full-body(ish - see c)
b) Explosive (or performed as explosively as possible)
c) Paired with another exercise
d) Hard enough that you start to feel distinctly ill at the end of the session
So first as comprehensive a list as I can remember:
Burpees (include a full push up)
Spidermans (where you walk along the floor as Spiderman would a wall)
Pushup --> jumping pull up
Burpees --> deck squat (this one is awful)
Bear walking
Power curl --> thrusters
DB squat --> power curl --> push press
Hang clean --> push press
Front squat --> push press
Alternating lunges --> military press
Clean grip backward lunges --> push press
Back squat --> military press
Jump squat --> military press
Deadlift --> hang snatch
High pull --> hang snatch
These can be paired up - try deadlift --> hang snatch followed immediately by 45s of bear crawls for example, or with:
Sprints, either on foot or some sort of cardio machine
Bodyweight exercises such as jump squats or jumping lunges. Or walking lunges. Or jumping walking lunges.
DB/kettlebell swings
GPP stuff like lift-carry-drops, sled dragging etc
Anything else you can think of.
Rest periods should initially be 1:1 (so about 90s) but try to cut those down to 60s - work on shaving the rest down before you increase weight.
I have mainly done these with aspiring tennis players who simply can't have enough power-endurance or CV capacity and so I'd just say do as many as you feel you need to improve. A session I would do myself would have about 30-40 minutes of this followed by 20 minutes of ESW and 70% MHR to take advantage of the fat-burning boost provided by all that lactic acid.
Hope this is useful to someone!
I apologise in advance if this comes across as patronising, condescending or just plain snotty - when you spend hours a day training the spoiled offspring of upper-middle-class (or just plain upper class) morons, you start to adopt certain habits, and I haven't had to think about this stuff since then, really.
Ok.
I divide all conditioning work into Metabolic Exercises, Hybrids, Complexes, Circuits, GPP and ESW. I'll start with the metabolic stuff first, as that's what The Block asked for, and if anyone wants I'll cover the rest of the stuff.
Though there is, of course, a fair bit of cross-over, especially between the first 2.
I have always prescribed metabolic exercises that last about 45s just to tick the 'lactic acid' box but they could reasonably last anywhere between 30 and 60s.
More importantly they should be
a) Full-body(ish - see c)
b) Explosive (or performed as explosively as possible)
c) Paired with another exercise
d) Hard enough that you start to feel distinctly ill at the end of the session
So first as comprehensive a list as I can remember:
Burpees (include a full push up)
Spidermans (where you walk along the floor as Spiderman would a wall)
Pushup --> jumping pull up
Burpees --> deck squat (this one is awful)
Bear walking
Power curl --> thrusters
DB squat --> power curl --> push press
Hang clean --> push press
Front squat --> push press
Alternating lunges --> military press
Clean grip backward lunges --> push press
Back squat --> military press
Jump squat --> military press
Deadlift --> hang snatch
High pull --> hang snatch
These can be paired up - try deadlift --> hang snatch followed immediately by 45s of bear crawls for example, or with:
Sprints, either on foot or some sort of cardio machine
Bodyweight exercises such as jump squats or jumping lunges. Or walking lunges. Or jumping walking lunges.
DB/kettlebell swings
GPP stuff like lift-carry-drops, sled dragging etc
Anything else you can think of.
Rest periods should initially be 1:1 (so about 90s) but try to cut those down to 60s - work on shaving the rest down before you increase weight.
I have mainly done these with aspiring tennis players who simply can't have enough power-endurance or CV capacity and so I'd just say do as many as you feel you need to improve. A session I would do myself would have about 30-40 minutes of this followed by 20 minutes of ESW and 70% MHR to take advantage of the fat-burning boost provided by all that lactic acid.
Hope this is useful to someone!