Has anyone every used his complex training material? Specificlly, his Levels 1-8?
I don't think many of the people here are dull enough to give him that much money.
John is a favorite subject of a friend of mine and I. He is quite an enigmatic fellow, and gets a bad rap quite a bit (which I feel is unwarranted).
A few stereotypes have been attached to him and Renegade Training that are untrue and kinda unfair. Some of his stuff is pretty expensive, but he runs sales quite often, and you can get a lot of his stuff pretty reasonably. Buying at retail, though, is something I'd probably have a tough time doing.
I've talked to him (on the phone and via email) and I'll tell you this - he's one sharp dude. Much moreso than a lot of people give him credit for...and not just in the realm of S&C.
His programs, if you can get the gist of how he designs them (which isn't that hard, really) are really good programs, and can be used to get some pretty great gains. Like anything else, there are certain little tweaks I'd make here and there, but you could do worse.
Anyway, about the complex training programs - I received all 8 programs as gift. They are very good. I've used variants of his "Bear" in my own training with great results. A training buddy of mine actually did all 8 phases a few years ago (took almost a year to do them all).
He's told me that he was as strong as he ever was on those programs, felt "springy" all the time, and felt as if he could do maximal work at virtually any time with little to no warmup. (I know that he's corresponded quite a bit w/John, and at one time - before John had some serious injuries...and he was probably in his 40s at the time - John claimed that he could literally get out of bed and power clean 300. My friend met him in person, and he believed it.
It's not uncommon to see John do bottom position squats w/225 or cleans w/225 in his training videos. And from what I've been able to ascertain, John is at least 50. Not to shabby.
Trust me - the guy gets a lot of crap, but he knows his stuff, and his programs work.
Wiggy - www.workingclassfitness.com
Thanks for the reply's guys. And Wiggy did you ever use all 8 of the programs? Or just certain ones? And how did you fell they advanced through the phases? And could one do them in a small room with minimal equipment?
Thanks Wiggy.
Hey LCSULLA:
I am Wiggy's "friend in question" he mentioned above.
They progress very nicely from one level to the next. It builds up to a pretty substantial workload but if you do them in phases as they are meant to be done your strength/fitness/GPP levels will advance accordingly and you be able to handle it.
The complex training, perhaps moreso than some of John's other programs even, are ideally suited to minimal equipment because most of the primary work is all done with barbell and plates. So long as your space had high enough ceiling for overhead work like push presses and push jerks you would be fine.
At the price he is charging now, its an incredible deal for picking up a fully periodized years worth of training.
If other questions just ask.
Regards
Andy
Thanks ash1!
I asked John about the equipment and he said medballs and xvest. So you need a barbell,huh?
And I guess my next question is can you give an example on how it improved your GPP or anything else like that?
I guess what I am looking for is a program with min. eqip. for getting into great shape. I do BJJ so something that improves my S&C for that would be best.
Otherwise I'll just join a Crossfit gym.
LCSULLA - not to be a shill or anything, but have you checked out my MMA Workout Programs? I've got it on sale now (for roughly the same price as one level of the complex program), and it will prepare you just as well or better than the complex program will.
Only basic equipment is needed, and I'm not exagerating when I say that you'll get A LOT more info from my books than you will John's programs.
I'm sure Andy (and others here on the forum) will vouch for the fact that they're very good programs, and if you ever have questions, I'm always here on the forum.
Just sayin'... ;-)
Wiggy - www.workingclassfitness.com
Wiggy: No prob being a shill. :)
What equipment do you need for your program?
And can you tell me what it involves ie:stages, that sorta thing.
I think his programs are over priced, but as stated before, he has a lot of sales. One thing about John is that he is an amazingly sincere and friendly guy. Have a problem with his stuff? He'll be sure to address it for you.
LCSULLA - Wiggy: No prob being a shill. :)
What equipment do you need for your program?
And can you tell me what it involves ie:stages, that sorta thing.
Anything you'd find in a normal gym (or even a nice home gym) - bars, DBs, bench, rack, pullup station, etc. Nothing "exotic" necessary (though you can sub it in if you like). If you have a problem, I'm more than willing to help you through it.
As far as what's in the program, I'd have to defer to the ad copy on my site. Everything is there. But, it does start you out with strength and basic conditioning work, and peaks you out with maximum output power/power-endurance, cardiovascular conditioning, GPP, and work capacity.
And the Championship Edition explains how to put together your own programs, too.
Wiggy
Thanks Wiggy.