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HARD EARNED REGRET
Obj: Strength Endurance - Core
Warm up:
5 Rounds
10x Dead Lift - dead stop, no bouncing!
- increase wt each round: 145#, 165#, 185#, 205#, 225#
10x Anlkles-to-Bar
Training:
(1) 5 Rounds
1 minuted Kettlebell Swing @ 20kg
5 Sandbag getups each shoulder@ 105#
(2) 5 Rounds
60m Kettlebell Crosswalk Carry (30m each arm)
@ 2x 20kg kettlebells
10x Half Moons @ 45# sandbag
(3) 5 Rounds
250m Row (Sprint!)
15x Weighted situp @45# plate
Comments:
I remember reading a story several years ago about a new core/midsection training focus for the University of Texas football
team. The gist of the story was that a strong mid section gave the Texas football players a huge advantage in the trenches
during a football game.
I've come to believe that a strong mid section not only improves performance, but is also the foundation of strength increases
for the limbs, as well as a key for preventing injuries and overall durability.
Most important, mid-section strength gained in the gym is one of the most transferable training elements to the field.
My guides tell me again and again, that their new core strength has helped them on the mountain during work and at play.
I like to deploy primarily loadable, dynamic midsection exercises. Other than Ankles-to-bar, I'm not a fan of bodyweight
midsection exercises.
"Hard Earned Regret" is a great, balanced training session for training and strengthening the mid section.
It starts with the "warm up." The dead lift, of course, is a full-body lift. But it also hammers the abs, and
especially the lower-back musculature. Paired with Ankles-to-bars, we get right into it, targeting the mid section front and
back.
Same with the 1-minute swings and sandbag getups. Swings work the heart, lungs, legs, and lower back. Sandbag get ups,
especially done heavy, are a full body lift, which really stresses the mid section. I loaded myself and all my athletes heavy
for this exercise, which has become one of my all-time favorites.
The Crosswalk Kettlebell Carry can be done with kettlebells or dumbbells. Hold one high over head, armed locked out, shoulder
in the ear, the other straight down, arm at side. Switch half-way through. Carries are really functional mid-section exercises.
2x 20-kg kettlebells were all I could handle.
The 250 row-sprint and weighted situps at the end complement each other. There is an interesting lower back component
to the row, and pairing it with high rep weighted situps leads to a balanced, 1-2 pairing of exercises for mid section work.
These core-intensive sessions always leave me surprisingly spent. This isn't timed, but work briskly to finish in an
hour.
- Rob Shaul
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| Kris |
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| Halfmoon work "hidden" midsection muscles. |
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| Kettlebell crosswalk |
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| Weighted situps, simple, hard, loadable. |
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