Excellent Sportband Conditioning Drill!! (video)
Hey Everyone:
Here’s a great sportband conditioning drill for you to try - resisted runs.These are very challenging, but you can vary the intensity simply by using a heavier or lighter resistance band.
You can use this drill as a warm-up or as a core element to your leg and cardiovascular training. It works perfectly as a circuit training element or stand alone exercise. Once you try it, you’ll see just how effective it can be. Trust me and go try it!
Give it a shot and tell us what you think. We’ll be posting another one very shortly, so make sure you check back for the next installment.
Keep training hard!
Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
P.S.: It’s very important that you use top quality bands for this drill and others like it. The Free E-Book posted earlier talks about the importance of good bands. I can’t emphasise this enough. If you want good bands and don’t have them, we recommend you get them here.
4 X 4
The Four by Four, circuit was inspired by basic military physical training. It combines a few bodyweight exercises with brief, high intensity sprints. This workout is ideally performed on an outdoor track which has easy access to dipping and chinning bars. It can also be performed at home, if one has a treadmill as well as some sort of chinning and dipping station at their disposal.
Before we are ready to workout we must first do a pre-test for both the running and callisthenic portions of the circuit. For the run we need to know your fastest time for a one mile run. The calisthenics in this circuit are Push-ups, Chin-ups, Dips, and sit-ups. Perform a max rep test for each of these movements as follows:
1. Push-ups: Maximum repetitions completed from a fully extended, top position, with a one second pause at the top and bottom of each repetition.
2. Chin-ups: Maximum repetitions completed from a fully extended, hang position, with a one second pause at the top and bottom of each repetition.
3. Dips: Maximum repetitions completed from a fully extended, top position, with a one second pause at the top and bottom of each repetition.
4. Sit-ups: Knees bent at 90 degrees with feet flat on floor. Cross arms in front of chest and place the fingertips of the hands on top of the opposite side shoulder. Curl up and raise the torso to a point where the tips of the elbows contact the knees. Maximum repetitions completed from a fully extended, bottom position, with a one second pause at the top and bottom of each repetition.
Once we have recorded the pre-test data for each of the five exercises we are ready to begin. The circuit is completed as follows. Perform one set @ 50% of your max repetitions for each of the four upper body strength movements, resting 30 seconds between exercises. Then run ¼ mile (440 yards) at 100% of your best mile speed – 10 seconds. Rest 3-5 minutes and then repeat the circuit three more times for a total of four repetitions.
This circuit is just one example of hundreds that could be created using these same five exercises. For instance you could increase the running distance to more accurately reflect the types of runs you prefer. If you currently run 3-5 miles at a time you might increase the run to one mile aiming for a goal time of 85-95% of your fastest mile time as a starting goal. If you prefer more of a sprinting challenge you may run shorter or longer sprint distances or you can increase the speed of your 440s and aim to max out on each one. The between exercise and between repetition rest intervals may also be manipulated to reflect your existing fitness level, your training goals, or both.
PAU for NOW
TAKU
Leg Conditioning Circuit
I gave this circuit a test run with a client on Tuesday morning. We started off the workout with a series of sprint intervals up a shallow hill, so she was a little fatigued going into it, but regardless, the circuit is pretty effective.
Start with one time through the circuit, taking little to no rest time between exercises. Rest a couple minutes, then go through a second time. Although you’re not trying to necessarily fly through the exercises as fast as possible, you should keep a brisk pace and be able to complete everything in under 3 minutes.
As with most circuits, you can increase the intensity by:
- Increasing the external resistance
- Increasing the speed
- Decreasing the rest time
- Any combination of the above
Give it a shot and see what happens. The Good Mornings can be completed using a dumbbell, barbell or a number of other implements. Sandbags are nice because they’re versatile and portable. I like to incorporate them whenever I can. If you’re interested in picking some up, this is the place to do it:
Keep training hard!
Jason
www.hybridfitness.tv
