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Can You Handle the Green Mile?
Me beating the hell out of a tire
I've never been the captain of a ship and I don't have a kid or a pet, so I don't have many opportunities to name anything.
That changed yesterday at the Missoula Underground Strength Training Center when Mike (the owner), Jason (my web guy), Chelle (my girlfriend) and I sat down to plan our "Conditioning Sunday."
We call it the Green Mile because...get this...my last name is Green. Clever huh?
But more on that in a minute.
Conditioning Sundays serve a few purposes:
- We get to train in a group setting. (Nothing is more motivating than competing with your friends and having them yell at you to keep going.)
- We're burning a shit-ton of calories.
- We get to do cool "unconventional" training like tire flips, sledgehammer swings, farmer's walks, kettlebell swings, and the popular Lie-on-the-floor-and-try-not-to-vomit.
-It's a nice break from traditional strength training we do throughout the week.
-It's over pretty damn quickly.
If you want a challenging workout, a change of pace, or just want to gather a few of your friends in one place to see which one of them will pass out first, I recommend having a weekly conditioning day. (You can also check out some cool complexes on TMUSCLE .)
The Green Mile
100 pound heavy bag carry (cradle in your elbows like a Zercher squat) for 40 yards
200 pound Farmer's Walk for 40 yards (100 pound dumbbell in each hand)
15 Overhead Medicine Ball throws against a wall (the heaviest medicine ball you have)
10 strict pull-ups
10 push ups on blast straps
10 kettlebell swings (the heaviest kettlebell you can find)
20 sledgehammer swings (alternate 10 on each side)
The whole thing takes about 4 minutes. Do one set, rest 4 minutes, and repeat two more times.
12 minutes of work equals about three hours of feeling drunk.
What you got, Slick?
What's your favorite conditioning workout? Let me know in the comments and I may just try it this week!
Comments for This Entry
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Nate, I haven't heard if there are any beaches in Missoula but this can be done wherever there is a pool or track near. The swim at the end is crucial and tops this off as the hardest shit ever. I go to the beach and perform an adapted circuit... it comes from when I used to be a beach lifeguard.
1/4 Mile jog on the shore
12 pull ups
15 squats w/ 40 pd. sandbag
12 kettle bell swings
repeat 4 times and end with a swim to a 50 yd buoy and back (100 yds total)
throwing up is certainly not frowned upon... it may even be encouraged prior to the swim to ease the dizziness and to lessen the chances of drowning. ENJOY -
Nate,
Damn, sounds killer. And you're looking jacked!
My "weapon of choice" for conditioning lately has been sandbag complexes.
Also, 5x5 tire flips with partner. The "I go, You go" method for time. 50 total flips (25 each) and trying to beat the week befores time. Saturday we finished in 3:57. I then layed on the pavement delirious for 10 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9izPf76cUQ
Good times! -
Looks like an A$$ kicker Nate! Will have to give it a try when I feel like puking... haha Currently I've been doing barbell and dumbbel complexes and they seem to be doing the job. Hope all is well!
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My favorite conditioning workout is a bodyweight conditioning circuit and I have to give credit to Ross Enamait (http://www.rosstraining.com) because I got this off his website.
First Round
Burpees x 60 seconds
Pull-ups x 60 seconds
Squats x 60 seconds
Pushups x 60 seconds
Second Round
Burpees x 45 seconds
Pull-ups x 45 seconds
Squats x 45 seconds
Pushups x 45 seconds
Third Round
Burpees x 30 seconds
Pull-ups x 30 seconds
Squats x 30 seconds
Pushups x 30 seconds
Fourth Round
Burpees x 15 seconds
Pull-ups x 15 seconds
Squats x 15 seconds
Pushups x 15 seconds
No rest between circuits! Try it Nate! -
Lately I have been conditioning 2 times a week with sand bag and barbell complexes. Also, I've been doing some 20-minute density sessions using the following template:
Explosive/Olympic x 3-5
Knee Dominant x 6-8
Upper Push x 6-8
Upper Pull x 6-8
Core/Ballistic Movement x 10-12 -
True Grit! Why only one pic?
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I'm with Chase on this on. I just started doing sandbag complexes. I made my own that goes from 25lb. to 150lb. in 25lb. increments. You can get pretty creative, and I never get bored.
Strongman training in general is awesome for a change up. A guy (or chic) can only do so many traditional exercises before getting bored. Plus, it looks really cool (read: chics dig it) when you're flipping a 400lb. (or more) tractor tire. -
You're looking good Nate!
Nice workout, I might give it a shot some time soon. -
Nate, are you sponsored by Under Armour?? If that is the case then, "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOOOUUUSSE!!!"
100 jump ropes
30 Medicine ball slams
16 Plank Rows with 53lbs KBs (alt. arms)
12 burpees to pull up (high bar = max jump)
10 clap push ups
Rest AMAN
3-5 times
or
Any complex created by Dan John is sure to steal your soul.
or
5 Sets power clean for heavy doubles (85-95% 1RM)
4 Sets of 10 Snatch Dead Lift (Speed)
3 Sets of 10 Scissors Jumps (emphasize height)
2 Sets of Wall Sits for 90 sec.
1 Set of Glute Bridges for 2 min
AFAP
Foam rolling is recommended after all workouts... -
Nate,
This one may not even qualify, it's not fun, not group friendly and you'll probably hate me, but-
12x250 sprints on the Concept 2 indoor rower, 45-60s rest (ie: begin at 45 and then move to 60 if power output drops too much)
Note- sprints are sprints. A guy your size should be able to keep his splits under 1:50/500m at the bare minimum. -
Picture isn't showing.
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Looking HUUUIUGE Nate, i pretty much look up to u because im23 5'9 and lookin to be the same size as u. Im about a stone off(no idea what that is in American terms sorry!!!!) How big u wanna be in the long run?
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Looking HUUUIUGE Nate, i pretty much look up to u because im23 5'9 and lookin to be the same size as u. Im about a stone off(no idea what that is in American terms sorry!!!!) How big u wanna be in the long run?
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I thought you were doing the I, Bodybuilder program now?
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@Dean
Haven't started it yet.
May be a change of plans in terms of going to Colorado for 12 weeks, but I'll still be doing the program. They're putting a lot of work into it.
-Nate -
Hey Nate, does the competition increase your chances of sacrificing form to increase speed?
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@ Michael
Not really. We're not really doing highly technical lifts like cleans or snatches, so the form isn't usually a problem at all.
-Nate -
I found that a combination of 3 things can he bth myself and any taiig partner hurling in 40 mins or less depending on how hard you wanna push!
This ones great for group work as youre always doing something and never fully resting -
Everythings done to a 2 minute timer with a 15 second change over
Task 1- Flat out on the boxing bag - mix of power and speed not jst focusing on one or the other
Task 2 - Same amount of time doing press ups on the blast straps and vsits. Maximum 10 reps then switch exercise and repeat
Task 3 - Flat out sprint on the rower with medium resistance
Task 4- (My Favourite) Nicknamed the bears. Performed with a light weight barbel. I use 40k bar and that it
Clean and press into a back squat and press into a front squat and press and finish, Repeat without letting go of the bar. The lack of weight is soon forgotten with the high reps you perform in the 2 minutes, the fact that you beast everywhere and then the cumulative effect of the previous sets.
With 4 of us working we try to get 5 sets by which time were shatterd andthroughly enjoy a proper sunday dinner! -
Hey, Nate I'm 18 yrs old, 5'9, 175lbs, and I'm pretty new to strength training and working out in general. I'm thinking about starting a sledgehammer routine. Any suggestions? Your looking big man keep it up!
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Hey Nate try this one:
3 Rounds; No Rest
5 Hang Cleans
10 Dips
10 Pull Up
21 KB Swings
10 Burpees
or if you're into tires and sledge hammers: try mine from last Friday:
Flip a tire then jump into the middle and then out to the front. You then perform 20 decline pushups (feet on the tire), followed 15- 20 full sit ups on the tire. Thats 1 rep. Repeat 2 sets of 5. Follow that up with 3 sets of 1 min. sledge hammer swings.
If you can't tell; I'm into Crossfit, Olympic Lifting, and what I call stupid Friday. It's a great way to end my week and go into the weekend -
"What's your favorite conditioning workout?" As a cyclist I do what I would like to call a bi-centennial run 1 Sunday a month. It involves a 200 mile ride running for about 10 - 14 hours or so including the stops which are frequent. I use it too as an excuse to visit friends along the way.
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
J.C. 11:25am Sep 7, 2009