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
Awesome Intervals
I always look forward to a conditioning session, call me masochist but I need to be pushing my limits every training session. To get anywhere in life you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. There is no growth in comfort, so if you are not going to put in 100% effort when you train and push the envelope you are not going to get where you want to be.
Mix it up
There are an abundance of exercises that can be used with different goals in mind. I enjoy the challenge of creating new routines, with different training protocols such as Intervals, Circuits, Tabata etc. If I do stick with a routine it is because I am getting a measure of progress, say if I am measuring endurance or power, whether my work capacity is improving or if I want to achieve a certain level of conditioning.
Awesome Intervals
Check out this interval circuit I tried out today, my focus was on power and endurance. This is as tough as you make it so I suggest you dig deep, bite the bullet and get it on!
- Lateral Burpee Pushup
- Explosive Step ups
- Dips
- Box Jumps
- Med Ball Slams
- Skipping rope (Double Unders)
- Med Ball Squats
- Narrow Push ups
Inverted Rows – Finisher
Although a standard definition of an interval is performing an exercise then performing rest, I have enhanced this protocol by grouping the above exercises as one unit and so performed 30 seconds of each without rest until the circuit is complete. Then I rested for a minute. You can judge your work capacity this way by seeing how quickly you recover after completing each round of exercises. I performed six rounds of this interval circuit and man it was a killer.
I finished the session off with bodyweight inverted rows, a great way to hit your back in an explosive fashion, in this instance I set a rep range so I could push more out before reaching failure.
A little over 30 minutes and you are done. Of course if you are pushed for time or if you are just starting out you can cut the amount of rounds or reduce the amount of exercises to suit your needs. Just don’t do it to make it easy!
To get a great overview on why conditioning is so important, get over to straighttothebar.com and check out my article.
I haven’t listed exercise descriptions here, but if anyone is unsure about how to perform the exercises then drop me a comment below.
Be 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
Animal Training for Warriors
A while Back I visited a wild animal park with my Family, it was amazing to see so many animals, in particular the Big Cats. They are the epitome of what we should strive to achieve on a fitness level. These beasts are awesome, I stood there and watched as a 25 stone tiger climbed a telegraph pole effortlessly to get some meat. It was truly incredible.
These amazing animals are in phenomenal condition, they exude power and conditioning by the bucket load. It was good to see the keeper being inventive and keeping them in shape by making them climb telegraph poles! Can you imagine climbing a pole at 25 stone especially as gracefully as these beasts?????
We can learn a lot about animal training from creatures such as this. For one, the only thing they use is bodyweight, no trips to the gym for them, just hunting food and surviving in the wild. Granted they are pretty well equipped to do so!
Although it ain’t sound practice to go live outside in the wild and go killing things to eat to get into awesome shape like these animals, sometimes it is worth looking at mammals and to emulate them in training.
The next time you are going to do some conditioning, think about adding the following into your training……
Bunny Hop
Start in a squatting position, hands behind your head and hop around.
Bear Crawl
Walk on all fours with your butt in the air, move left hand and left foot together then right hand and right foot at a brisk pace.
Crab Walk
Again on all fours, but this time with your stomach facing upwards. Walk forwards backwards and sideways.
Frog Jump
Start in the squat position with you hands on the floor in front of you.Jump forward and land on your hands and feet at the same time.
Inch worm
Start with your feet shoulder width apart, bend forward until your hands reach the floor. Walk your hands forward as far as you can without your stomach touching the floor, then reverse the process, walking your hands back to their starting position.
Kangaroo jump
Begin in a squat position. Jump forward and upwards at the same time, fully extend yourself during the jump. Make sure to land back in a squat position and repeat.
Alligator walk
go into the bottom position of a push up with your arms by your sides and without your torso touching the ground.Move forward left hand and left foot then right hand and right foot.
Get to it
The beauty of these exercises is that they can be done anywhere. The next time you think about doing sprints or shuttles, try doing them this way, I guarantee that you will immediately feel the burn.
in fact try the following shuttle complex….
mark out 25 metres, pick 4 of the exercises above and do them without rest. Rest 1 minute and repeat 8 times.
And before you say it, who cares what people might think or say when you are seen doing these movements. Who cares!!! Get them down doing it, I guarantee they will soon shut up!
Train hard, train strong!
Dean Coulson
