Dirty Dozen from Synergy Athletics
In my garage gym tonight, it is getting to a point now that I have enough equipment in there so that I can avoid going to a commercial gym and just get on with what I want without interruption. Had some AC/DC cranked up loud and away I went. I needed to tonight as it was bloody freezing in there, -5 degrees C outside so I thought I’d better get my arse into gear to keep warm!
Today I decided to use a training session devised by somebody else. it is always good to learn from others, whether it is another idea of how to apply what you know or something completely different.
My friend from across the pond, Joe Hashey from Synergy Athletics knows a thing or two about designing programs and being a bit off the wall in his training methods, so when I saw his idea for the dirty dozen training protocol as I pondered on a training session a few weeks back I thought that I had to give it a go.
Now the premise is simple, pick 12 exercises and perform 12 reps of each exercise, sounds easy right? well you would be wrong, the first time I tried this it kicked my ass, I was completely gassed. Lucky for me my general physical preparedness (GPP) is at a level where I can recover quickly between rounds. After 3 though I had had enough.
The program is designed to alternate between strength and conditioning exercises. Of course it isn’t an out and out max strength program and lends itself more to conditioning and strength endurance, but it makes for one hell of a training session. As Joe says, “it is more a method of training and is designed to be short, flexible with the equipment available and what you want to get out of it”.
Which Level?
Your fitness level will define the amount of rest you take. By splitting it up into 3 levels of difficulty it allows you to have your rest defined in advance so you know when to grasp some extra air.
Beginner
1) Strength
2) Conditioning
REST 20 seconds and repeat 6 more times
Intermediate
1) Strength
2) Conditioning
3) Strength
4) Conditioning
REST 20 seconds and repeat 3 more times
Advanced
1) Strength
2) Conditioning
3) Strength
4) Conditioning
5) Strength
6) Conditioning
REST 20 seconds and repeat 2 more times
At the end of the 12 exercises, Rest for 90 seconds and repeat for 2-5 rounds depending on your fitness level. Make sure you push hard!!
My Sub Zero Dirty Dozen
With it being -5 degrees C in the garage gym tonight there was no excuse to go slow, I have to keep moving to keep warm!
I fired in an intermediate session with the following exercises, I have got a shiny new weight vest and decided this was the day I was gonna christen it. All the exercises were done wearing the vest:
- Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Squat
- Dumbell inverted strap row
- Lunge jumps
REST 20 seconds
- Pushups
- Burpees
- Alternating Dumbbell Rows
- Squat jumps
REST 20 Seconds
- Dumbbell squat thrust to RDL
- Med Ball Slam
- Dumbbell Curls
- Full Jack knife (V sits ) sit ups
REST 90 seconds and repeat for 4 rounds
Man that weight vest made a BIG difference, totally blasted me away, but was an awesome work out. Remember you can make this method up with any 12 exercises that you want. I got the session on my flip cam but made a hash of it with it being in a confined space and static on a tripod. I might throw it up on you tube later, it probably makes for a better clip since my head is missing through out 
Thanks again to Joe hashey at Synergy Athletics for allowing me to share this with you here.
Be strong, stay healthy
Dean
Weekend Training Madness
Having had a very busy week work wise, I have had little time to put together any substantial training sessions. However, just because there is maybe little time, doesn’t mean you cannot train.
Today’s training session comes courtesy of my garage gym. It’s not big, but it’s functional and has everything I need to push the envelope and come out drenched with sweat and drained of whatever energy I went in with.
Make no mistake, you don’t need a commercial gym to get a solid workout. My aim today was an alternative total body strength session, none of the usual weight exercises here, although I did use dumbbells I also used other training modularities.
I added a mix of upper and lower body exercises to cover all bases and was still done in 45 minutes, no chit chat, no waiting for equipment to be free, no distractions.
If you are serious about training and getting fitter and stronger, then start thinking outside of the box and have fun…..well if you can call it that! I always enjoy myself no matter how hard it may be.
Here is my Weekend madness, I covered upper and lower body with an alternative strength session and ended with a tabata finisher and core work to round things off…..
Warm up
Started the warm up with some upper body work with a bungee and light shadow boxing. Just stretching out and warming up specific areas I am looking out for.
I moved onto minute drills of boxing/punching a maize ball and skipping for 10 minutes, no need to go all out, the aim is to get thoroughly warmed up for the session ahead.
Strength Session
Heres the session…
1a) Dumbbell Snatch
1b) Kettlebell swing
I completed 2 warm up sets and then 2 max sets, the a and b represent that the exercises follow straight after each other in a “super set”. Keep the rest period after each superset to no more than 60 seconds.
Then a complex of….
2a) Weighted Chin ups.
2b) Weighted Push up*
2c) Weighted Strap Row
2d) Weighted Squat
6 rounds of the above circuit. I was going for numbers within an amount of rounds. I made sure to stop 1 rep short of failure to try and keep some in the tank. Although I tried to give myself a minute between each to make sure I got the best of every set, I wasn’t stringent with that rule, I rode the fatigue meter. If I felt ok I went in less time, if I needed a little more for recovery then i did it. The complex doesn’t have to be 4 exercises, you could just start with 1 or 2.
* – Vary the push up style in each round. I did normal, close grip and walking push ups to add variety. There are many other variations that you can choose from.
Finisher
To stoke the metabolism I added a finisher based on the tabata protocol (20 secs training, 10 secs rest for 8 rounds) to the session for good measure…..
3a) Burpees
3b) Medicine Ball Slams
Core Circuit
To finish off I hit 3 rounds of…
4a) Hanging leg Raise
4b) Hanging knee twists.
4c) Ab wheel roll outs.
Again, don’t go to failure, perform an exercise until you know you have a rep left and then stop.
The End
Remember this, there is always time in a day to train even if it 20 minutes. And you don’t need to drag yourself to a gym, train at home and before you say you have no equipment, it is still no excuse, your bodyweight is an excellent tool, use it!
Do you have any great alternative circuits? if so, fire some comments in for everyone to read.
Stay strong.
Dean Coulson
Heavy Bag Conditioning
Ever used a heavy bag or punch bag for conditioning? Unless you have a martial arts or boxing background I doubt many people would have. However you don’t need to be a fighter to use one, they are an excellent conditioning tool and a great alternative should you wish to add another dimension to your conditioning arsenal.
For Everyone
As long as you have access to a heavy bag, then this tool really is for anyone. I get people saying to me that they cannot punch. How else to learn but to do it? you are not trying to be a boxer here and for a lot of conditioning drills, two straight punches are my favoured techniques for simplicity. don’t forget you bag gloves!
Keep it interesting
I never get bored using a heavy bag, I can play around with one for ages. There are endless ways to keep this activity interesting. You can keep the training session light and fluid or you can dig in and go for big power shots. You can mix it up, drill for speed or power. You can even add other exercises into the mix such as skipping or burpees or squats in between rounds. One thing is for sure, if it is used right this training tool will wipe you out.
Plan your session
If you are going to do a conditioning session on a heavy bag then decide before you start what your goal is. Is it muscle endurance? speed? power?
Work it in rounds and decide how many you are going to do, how long each round is going to be and what you are going to do in each round. A perfect tool for timing your session is a gymboss interval timer. I recommend you get one for all your conditioning work so you don’t have to worry about watching a clock or counting rounds.
Many people think of Three minute rounds when you think of boxing, but it doesn’t have to be on a heavy bag. It would be practically impossible to go all out for 3 minutes, even 2 minutes. If you ever watch boxers in a ring, there is a lot of inactivity interspersed with short periods of activity, even elite boxers cannot sustain long bursts of exertion, your body cannot sustain energy release that quickly for long periods.
Push through Fatigue
This type of exercise is anaerobic, the body relies on energy stored in your muscles (ATP) as this can be broken down the fastest. This however is short lived as there is only a finite amount stored there. This type of energy is designed for short bursts, Ideal for this type of exercise. Training in this way can teach you how to push through fatigue, get your body used to the discomfort so that over time you will be able to go for longer periods and reap the rewards.
I always recommend a thorough warm up of the muscles and joints before commencing this as they will take a lot of stick. As I said before, this doesn’t have to be fancy if you are new to it, stick to straight punching, always keep your hands up (which places extra stress on the shoulders) and elbows down before and after executing a punch.
Here are some examples for you:
Example 1
Round 1 – nice and easy warm up round.
Round 2 – Hands at a faster pace
Round 3 – heavy power shots
Round 4 – Hands at a faster pace
Round 5 – Heavy power shots
Round 6 – all out, mix it up fast and powerful shots.
Each round lasts 1 minute with 30 seconds of rest in between. Don’t pace the round, give it everything!
Example 2
- light fast
- power shots
- speed drill
Use the above as a template. Pick a number of rounds, for example 12 and do the exercise in rounds of three
Example 3
One Minute on the bag, followed by one minute skipping rope. Go straight from one exercise to the other without stopping. This really hits the shoulders, upper back and arms and builds good muscle stamina. This doesn’t have to be skipping rope, it could be squats, push ups, pull ups, burpees etc, use your imagination!
Example 4
For those of you that understand the different punching techniques, you can use the following on a bag to keep it interesting. Aim for 12 rounds of 1 minute, each round with a different combo.
NOTE: Because this is only for one minute, it should be all out, no slacking or resting in the minute, keep your work rate up. Give yourself no more than 30 seconds between rounds, challenge yourself to have minimal rest!
- jab/Cross
- hooks, 2 body, 2 head
- jab, cross, hook, cross
- hook, hook (same hand), cross
- jab/cross, jab/Cross
- rapid 16 straight punches is fours
- Double Jab/Cross
- 2 hooks body, 2 straight to the head
- Jab/Cross/Hook
- 2 hooks to the body
- Jab/cross. Jab/Hook
- All out, anything goes!
Please feel free to add to this post with your comments and ideas. I want this to be a good flow of information for everyone to voice opinion or follow.
Thanks
Warrior Training
I am a big believer in thinking outside the box, doing away with convention and finding another way, a better way, an even harder way of doing things. If it doesn’t make you
A True Warrior
uncomfortable, even fearful, it isn’t worth doing. It is these boundaries that you must push through to grow.
I see too many people at commercial gyms who do nothing. Sure they are there, but what are they really doing? Getting fit and strong? I doubt it. They justify it to themselves that they workout 3, 4 or even 5 times a week because they go to a gym. But what that really equates to is that they go to the gym that many times. Do they put the work in? Not really, they go to meet their mates or sit on a stationary or recumbent bike for an hour, achieving very little and wondering why they are still out of shape. I was talking to someone last week who trains weights in the morning and does classes in the evening. No program to speak of! WTF? From what they were saying they could take it down to a third of what they are doing now and be better off and get better results.
Get in, Get out!
People need to get off their arses and start putting some effort in. My motto for training is “Get in and get out”. If it is a strength day I will be looking at least 2 or even three personal bests to be broken, if I don’t I am really not happy with myself and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will drive me to push harder the next time. I want to get in there spend quality time in there and get home with the job done.
If it is conditioning then I am looking at one more round than the previous week or Jumping higher, faster or longer than I have before. Doing this shows me I am improving. Whether it is one of the strength factors (maximal, speed, explosive) or Conditioning via GPP, HIIT or tabata protocols, I want to see improvement.
Time Limit
If I achieve that before the cortisol starts kicking in at around 45 minutes then I am a happy man. I always aim for max effort in the shortest time. I might feel tired straight afterwards, but it doesn’t last long as my recovery these days is pretty good. Why? Because I am consistent and I don’t shy away from difficult training, I embrace it.
Praise indeed
I was training not long ago, doing a burpee pyramid, when one of the guys in the gym commented that you can get the measure of someone when they train alone and do burpees by choice. I am not trying to show how great I am, what i am trying to emphasis is simply this:
Get in there, Do the hard stuff and get out to recover.
Be a warrior, push the envelope.
