Intensity, and How To Bring It…

How are your workouts going? Are you reaching your goals? Is your time in the gym paying off? If the answers are “eh,” “not really,” and “nope,” then something has to change.

Let’s face it, we all know that you have to switch stuff up in order to keep progressing. But, before you scrap your current workout plan, ask yourself another question; How hard am I working? There’s a simple way to know. If you can easily talk while you are working out, you are not working hard enough. If you can talk during your workout, but your breathing is labored, you are heading in the right direction. If you cannot form a complete sentence, and you are doubled over gasping for air, then you are bringing the intensity! Let’s face it people, it’s called “working” out, right? If you want to achieve dramatic results, then at the end of your workout, your ass should be KICKED! It should be all you can do to get dressed and go home. Here’s the good news though, if you are working that hard, then you can get away with only working out for 15-20 minutes.

So, the next question is; “How do I bring it?” The simple answer is, “just move fast.” But, that doesn’t really help, does it? Nope. Here’s a couple of ways that I like to do it:

Count Downs & Ladders

If you are one of my clients, or have been reading my blog, then you are very familiar with count downs & ladders. Here’s what you do; pick two or more exercises, perform each exercise back to back for a certain number of reps (say 10). Then, repeat that circuit again, doing only 9 of each. Repeat the circuit again for 8 reps, then 7, then 6, all the way down to zero. Rest one minute, then start at 1 rep, and work your way through the circuit each time, adding a rep until you get back to 10. Here is a sample bodyweight workout:

10 jump squats, 10 pushups, 10 tuck jumps
9 jump squats, 9 pushups, 9 tuck jumps
8 jump squats, 8 pushups, 8 tuck jumps
7 jump squats, 7 pushups, 7 tuck jumps
6 jump squats, 6 pushups, 6 tuck jumps
5 jump squats, 5 pushups, 5 tuck jumps
4 jump squats, 4 pushups, 4 tuck jumps
3 jump squats, 3 pushups, 3 tuck jumps
2 jump squats, 2 pushups, 2 tuck jumps
1 jump squats, 1 pushups, 1 tuck jumps

Rest 1 minute, die a little bit

1 jump squats, 1 pushups, 1 tuck jumps
2 jump squats, 2 pushups, 2 tuck jumps
3 jump squats, 3 pushups, 3 tuck jumps
4 jump squats, 4 pushups, 4 tuck jumps
5 jump squats, 5 pushups, 5 tuck jumps
6 jump squats, 6 pushups, 6 tuck jumps
7 jump squats, 7 pushups, 7 tuck jumps
8 jump squats, 8 pushups, 8 tuck jumps
9 jump squats, 9 pushups, 9 tuck jumps
10 jump squats, 10 pushups, 10 tuck jumps

Got it? Good. Depending on your fitness level, it should take you between 10 and 20 minutes. Now, when you finish that, go home. You’re done! No I’m not kidding. You just performed a total of 330 reps. That is enough. GO HOME.




CARDIO INTERVALS

Jump on the stair master. Ride an easy level for 2 minutes. If your stair master tops out at level 20, start at level 5. At 2 minutes, go to level 20 (yes, 20) and run that shit for 20-30 seconds. Back it down to level 1 or 2, recover for 30 seconds, then back to level 20 for another 20-30 seconds. Do that 8 times.

If I only have 20 minutes, and in that 20 minutes, I have to have time for a shower, that is what I do. The workout itself is barely 12 minutes long. It is SAVAGE.

Since I am fortunate enough to work at a gym, I have access to a stair master. The stair master is my favorite piece of cardio equipment. The beauty of cardio intervals are that ANY machine works. Just follow the protocol.

Brining the intensity is not for everyone. I promise you this, if you give it a shot 4-5x a week for a month, you will physically and mentally reinvent yourself.

Now go and wreck some shit!

It's 2010! Here, have an update!!

Well it has been awhile hasn’t it? Miss me? I missed you. Lately I’ve been extremely busy with kicking hot asses, so my blog time has suffered. Hey, I’m not complaining. I do what I love, and love what I do.

For those of you who have not heard, I am now a certified instructor through the American Kettlebell Club. I am proud to say that I was certified by Catherine Imes, who is one of the top kettlebell lifters in the country, if not world. I look forward to eventually competing in kettle sport, and running some KB groups at the gym.

Also, I will be doing more writing. 2010 will be a year that I will spend more time expanding myself professionally. Writing helps me do that. So, look for future articles, and “Daily Sweat” posts. For now please enjoy my first article “Intensity and How to Bring It..”

Stay awesome!