What workouts have surprised you in how effective they were? I was thinking about re-arranging my bike training the other day because I have nowhere near enough time to do more than 3x rides a week, and I remembered how fast I got and how quickly riding 10 miles each way to the gym for bjj one summer, so you figure 30 minutes each way for 3-4 hours a week. No intervals, hr monitor, no nothing, just a 30 minute tempo ride with the occasional stoplight.
Maybe it was the right workout for the right time in terms of duration and recovery?
kettlebells
EDT
Interval's on the rowing machine.
My cardio has increased ten fold since using that machine.
2 things have been like this for me:
Working with my clubbell; I bought a bruiser (45 lb. clubbell) after playing with some home-made lighter versions. I used it very frequently for a couple months, then had people start saying stuff like "wow, you got strong!" for the first time in my life. I gained maybe 10 pounds of quality muscle, too, but I was 18 and skinny.
(I don't think there's anything magical about clubbells, but I know clubs in general have a long history of use in grappling/wrestling conditioning; I can see the relevance after using it for a while).
High-rep calisthenics. I used to work in an uninsulated warehouse printing t-shirts; we were usually drenched in sweat and didn't have to interact with customers, so my friend and I regularly did 100's of reps of calisthenics during our shift.
At the start of the day (7-8am), we would draw up a list of what we'd shoot for, then knock them out in small increments throughout the day. A regular day might be something like this:
200 pushups (regular, close-grip, hindu, etc etc)
20 one-arm pushups<br
50 pullups
1000 squats/lunges (free squat, hindu, or explosive lunge)
20 one-leg squats
Our work output actually increased, so our boss didn't mind.
We'd do this 4 or 5 days a week (we'd either take wed off or do a half-volume day). I loved it because as soon as I got off I could go home, take a shower, and just call it a day. We kept it up over a summer break (about 2 months), it was one of the most productive training cycles I've ever had.
I wasn't training martial arts very often during this time (just sparring once every week or two), but I had good gains in muscle endurance (predictably). The thing that surprised me was how much it improved my conditioning, as none of the sets were very long (though occasionally I'd knock out 100 or 200 squats at a time, which perhaps explains it).
My punching power improved quite a bit, too, and I gained a good bit of mass on my legs, arms, and shoulders.
Edited to add: I'm giving this type of training a shot right now with some running thrown in(mostly just for a change of pace, I want to see how it fits in while I'm trying to get back into boxing), it's been kind of nice. I'm a fair bit heavier than the last time I tried it (I was maybe 150 back then, I'm 175 now), and I'm curious to see how it will affect my weight/strength levels.
Crank up the resistance so high on your versaclimber that you can barely move it without stopping. now move it for 2x20 minute rounds. :-D
the "300" workout, ouch.
K.I.S.S.
;)
Perhaps not a workout, but a definite philosophy.
Steve Harvey;s workout...look it up im dead serious
Rowing intervals definitely have a big payoff.
Bull_in_chinashop - Crank up the resistance so high on your versaclimber that you can barely move it without stopping. now move it for 2x20 minute rounds. :-D
i love Joels stuff for conditioning :o)
simple cardiac development work works wonders too
BrutalMedic - K.I.S.S.
;)
Perhaps not a workout, but a definite philosophy.
+1
Just walking in and doing nothing but power clean singles and doubles for 45min. Got into the mid 30's. Surprisingly got progressively EASIER the further I was into the workout.
But the next day? EVERYTHING felt sore. Triceps, lats, calves, serratus, even my neck was sore lol... I couldn't imagine if I had done the Jerk portion as well.
thanks Wiggy!
Seul, your calisthenics workout sounds very interesting. I'm going to try stuff like that.
Deadlifting & wrestling grizzly bears
I've only just got into deadlifting and it is amazing.
Can see it being in my top 3 of favourite lifts.
"Just walking in and doing nothing but power clean singles and doubles for 45min. Got into the mid 30's. Surprisingly got progressively EASIER the further I was into the workout.
"
Jeebus, that sounds rough. I've tried high-rep cleans with my 2 1.5-pood KBs (about 105 pounds altogether, my max powercleaan is about 165), but they're easier to clean han a barbell of similar weight. I want to try this next time I go to the gym.
NeoSpartan - Just walking in and doing nothing but power clean singles and doubles for 45min. Got into the mid 30's. Surprisingly got progressively EASIER the further I was into the workout.
But the next day? EVERYTHING felt sore. Triceps, lats, calves, serratus, even my neck was sore lol... I couldn't imagine if I had done the Jerk portion as well.
thanks Wiggy!
+1
Ah, Yes! The phantom neck soreness! I've been getting that as well.
I went to train at my weightlifting club and was having trouble with my snatch technique, so I spent an hour snatching, usually failing, and finished it up with a half hour of front squats. That was seriously one of the most horrendous workouts I've had in a long time. My quads were sore before I left the building and the next day I was a curled ball of aching muscle.
Seul -
"Just walking in and doing nothing but power clean singles and doubles for 45min. Got into the mid 30's. Surprisingly got progressively EASIER the further I was into the workout.
"
Jeebus, that sounds rough. I've tried high-rep cleans with my 2 1.5-pood KBs (about 105 pounds altogether, my max powercleaan is about 165), but they're easier to clean han a barbell of similar weight. I want to try this next time I go to the gym.
I don't like cleaning KBs in the traditional way. Try dead cleans from the floor and instead of racking them the way Pavel teaches, do a high pull to sternum height and punch through into the rack position. The traditional way to rack them is to manipulate the arc so that they naturally fall into position behind your hand. Pulling them up and punching through from a dead start requires much more explosiveness.
-1 of Deadlifts/Cleans/Squats/etc for 45 mins.
-frequent 120-150 bpm cardio at start of training course/prep block.
-time based sets (30-45s) 50%-70% intensity for hypertrophy.