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
Conditioning Accumulator
Hey there everyone, hope you are all having a great day!
Just had a great conditioning session and I thought I would share it with you.
I always like to challenge myself with new routines to keep things fresh, Sometimes you have just got to think out side the box and change things up every now and then. The principle for this conditioning session being an interval accumulator.
What the hell are you on about I hear you cry? well it is simple. Pick an exercise that you want to focus on (in this case I used the heavy bag, but it could just as well be any exercise), but to break it up add or “accumulate” more exercises in between. So after every round keep adding another exercise to it to make it harder and to push you that bit further. It is too easy to pick easy exercises and not push yourself. Remember the harder you go the more rewards you will reap.
This is the conditioning circuit I did, The heavy bag conditioning accumulator. Not everyone has access to a heavy bag, so it could easily have been push ups or squats or burpees. But please remember that it is this exercise that you will do the most of. For me I wanted the session to move fast with big body movements and get plenty bag work in.
Lets get on with it, here it is…..
Heavy Bag Accumulator:
30 seconds per exercise with 10 seconds between exercises (this is really to just get into position so it doesn’t cut into your interval time for the next exercise).
Start with Heavy bag, you could keep the bag work the same or mix it up to keep it interesting. I like to add speed work and power punching, basic movements but are still gruelling and then do an “all in” round where anything goes. Then add an exercise after it and so on.
i.e.
- Bag, Rope, Bag, lateral burpee, (Rest 30 secs)
- Bag, Rope, Bag, lateral burpee, Bag, Rope, (Rest 30 secs)
- Bag, Rope, Bag, lateral burpee, Bag, Rope, Bag, Squat, (Rest 30 secs)
- Bag, Rope, Bag, lateral burpee, Bag, Rope, Bag, Squat, Bag, Med Ball Burpee, (Rest 30 secs)
- Bag, Rope, Bag, lateral burpee, Bag, Rope, Bag, Squat, Bag, Med Ball Burpee, Bag, MB Squat jumps, (Rest 30 secs)
As you can see the intensity of the session increases as you go on and it requires you to push through your fatigue to keep on track.
The whole thing can be completed it 20-25 minutes, so there are NO excuses for lack of time!
Stay strong
Dean
20 Rep Shuffle
All you need
Hey there, just wanted to post up my training session from today.
You don’t need much equipment to put yourself through a gruelling training session. As you can see from the picture, a box, med ball, a pair of dumbbells and something to jump over is all I used, hell you could get away without any at all, your bodyweight would take care of the rest.
Today was a conditioning day and so used a modified version of the conditioning circuit I gave my class last night, they rocked it and I missed out, so not to be out done I swapped it about and changed the rules using repetitions instead of being against the clock.
The difference between reps and time is that depending on time limits, reps can be harder, no clock saving you, you just gotta rep it out!
I picked 10 stations, 20 reps per station and no rest until the circuit is done. By completing 5 circuits it gives you 100 reps per exercise!
- Box jump – Standing jump on and off a box, bench etc
- Dips – Off the box or bench
- Frog Jumps – Squatting down palms on the floor and jumping up
- Dumbbell punches- Light dumbbells, arms moving in and out in front of you
- Prisoner Squats – Hands behind your head, squatting down and up
- Med Ball Slams – Pick a med ball above your head and slam to the ground fast!
- Dumbbell Lunges – As you lunge down, press dumbbells into the air
- Lateral Burpees – Perform burpee, jump sideways over an object and repeat
- Pushups – Different variations (Wide, Normal, Narrow, Pike, Divebomber)
- Skipping rope – High knees, keeping a fast cadence
So 20 reps per station, with the exception of 2, You ain’t gonna get much from 20 dumbbell punches and 20 rope turns, so I upped them to 100 each.
Train Hard, keep lean!
The beauty of the 20 rep shuffle is that it is versatile, exercises can be changed, number of reps or number of circuits. But remember… IT IS MEANT TO BE HARD….. No shirking off!
This is a great way to burn fat, save lean muscle and build explosive power and build a high level of stamina, muscular endurance all in one simple workout.
I would love you to drop me a comment about this workout or anything else you want to know
So there you have it the 20 rep shuffle…….With a twist
Stay strong, stay fit and I will speak to you soon.
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
Circuit Training Variations
I have been playing around with different circuits to keep things interesting and thought I’d share this cool conditioning circuit.
Using the “integrated circuit training” principle, I created a 10 station circuit using a combination of body weight and weighted exercises. The premise is simple, each station lasts 30 seconds before immediately going onto the next exercise, this continues until the 10 stations are complete.
Make no mistake this is tough, it is meant to be, pushing your body through fatigue increases your general physical preparedness (GPP) and allows your body to adapt to train further during fatigue as well as decreasing your recovery time.
I aim to to 5 circuits with 1 minute rest in between each one. However if you feel you need more rest then take it, however I’d advise to keep it as minimal as possible.
Here’s the circuit:
- Body weight squats (with or without 5kg dumbbells)
- Body weight Lunges (with or without 5kg dumbbells).
- Heavy Bag Punching.
- Elevated Push ups.
- Burpees.
- Squat Jumps.
- Dumbbell Alternating shoulder press (high tempo).
- Bench Dips.
- Skipping.
- Heavy Bag punching.
In this circuit I emphasise “doubling up” on upper and lower body exercises until station 9 and 10. I wanted to create more fatigue on the same muscle groups with a combination of exercises. You can just as easily make it upper/lower. The exercises are not set in stone either, there are plenty substitutes if you don’t have a heavy bag, Shadow boxing with a pair of light dumbbells would suffice.
The key here is that the circuit is continuous. It is possible to play around with the amount of stations, the time at each station and of course the exercises.
Don’t forget an interval timer such as a gym boss is an excellent training tool here, it takes care of the time so you can concentrate on the training.
Stay sharp and train Hard!
- Dean Coulson
