Warrior Fitness » Workout Challenges

Preparing Ninja for a Mission

Jon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:09:44 +0000

My name is Ichiro Watanabe. I am a chunin, a middle level ninja of the Togakure clan. Our small village is secluded deep in the mountains near Mt. Togakushi, otherwise known as Togakure Mountain. I could tell you exactly where, but I’d have to kill you. No joke, it’s a matter of survival for my family and clan. You see the year is 1601, one year after the famous Battle of Sekigahara which brought Ieyasu Tokugawa to power uniting Japan. There is still much to do, however, and the need for the services of our ninja clan is still very great.

In the past I was one of the top operatives for my clan successfully completing dozens of missions all over Japan. I went by many names, played many roles, and brought great favor to our clan. My exploits are “legen- wait for it -dary” among ninja warriors. Today have retired from active duty and assumed a position where I am in charge of the physical preparation training of our up and coming ninja recruits.

Based on my background and experience, one of my goals as an operative turned trainer is to completely revamp our ninja fitness training program. My main concern is – What Does a Ninja Need?. What I’ve done is put together a sample training program for you to get a glimpse into my world and see how I am training the new recruits. Remember, this is just a snippet of the complete training package, based on my decades of operation and training experience that I have put together for the ninja in training. There is much, much more….

So, how does one prepare ninja physically for a mission?

Pulling and grip strength are an absolute must for scaling castle fortifications,
Anaerobic and aerobic endurance,
Burst-recover-burst ability for escape and evasion,
Not to mention power- a unique blend of strength and speed to enhance technical ability and fighting prowess should a ninja come face to face with a samurai intent on doing him harm.
Jumping ability
Agility
Core strength/activation since power is generated from core out to the extremeties

If you decide to attempt this sample workout, make sure you begin with a good warm-up.

I’ll tell you about the super-secret dynamic warm-up that we do here in a future installment. Keep an eye out for it!

Ninja Warrior Physical Prep Workout

5 Towel pull-ups

10 Rock-up Deck Squat and Leap

10 Fingertip Pushups

10 Hanging Leg Raises

Repeat as many times as possible (AMTAP) in 20 minutes (rest as needed).

Finisher – Heavy DB farmer walk or heavy sandbag carry x 3

There you go, an officaly ninja warrior workout direct from the 16th century! How well do you stack up?

Ninja Stars and Strength Training

Jon — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:16:11 +0000

Yesterday I decided to do something a little bit different in my workout. As an experiment, I wanted to look at the effect lactic acid build up in the muscles had on my ability to throw rubber shuriken (ninja stars) and hit a target. The theory being that as fatigue in the muscles increased, throwing accuracy would decrease. Seems like a solid hypothosis, right? Well, here’s what happened…

The Dynamic Warm-up

mobility work,
jogging forward and backward,
side shuffles,
high knees,
butt kickers,
bear crawls,
crab walks,
walking lunges,
bodyweight squats,
push-ups,
and leg raises

Strength in Motion Workout

The main body of the training was a fun study of strength throughout a 3 dimensional range of motion.

1) Suspension Trainer Push-ups: 5-7 reps

2) 15# Clubbell Mills: 10 reps each arm

3) 15# Clubbell Reverse Mills: 10 reps each arm

1-2 minutes active recovery between rounds:

Light jog / vibration drills
Throw rubber shuriken for target practice (hey, it’s a ninja thing!) – 9 throws each arm

Repeat 5 rounds

Both the Clubbell Mill and Reverse Mill work on rotational and angular strength at an extreme range of motion while the Suspension Training Push-ups work the hell out of the stabilizer muscles. The combined synergistic effect of these 2 exercises creates an awesome workout for strength in motion!

But what happened to the shuriken thows? As predicted, the lactic acid build up in my arms had an adverse effect on my ability to hit the target during my shuriken throws as the rounds increased.

However, the more I was able to shake out the residual tension and relax, the better my throw. But when I failed to do so my accuracy was horrible! This is a very important idea for all you shuriken throwing ninja out there!

The ability to control the balance of tension and relaxation in the body is essential for performance. Learn more about how to do it with these resources HERE!

Holiday Belly-Busting Met Con

Jon — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:37:38 +0000

If you’re like many people perhaps you’ve over indulged a little bit this holiday season. Too many great meals and even greater desserts maybe? Well here’s a quick metabolic conditioning workout to help you out. The great thing about metabolic conditioning workouts is that, unlike traditional aerobics, they stoke the fat burning furnace and keep it burning for hours after your workout is completed.

Today’s holiday belly-busting met con workout consists of the following:

5 KB Snatches each arm
10 KB Swings
10 KB Goblet Squats

If you don’t have access to a kettllebell, feel free to substitute a dumbbell.

Perform 5 rounds. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between rounds depending on your level of conditioning. If you want an even greater challenge, set the timer for 10 minutes and perform as many rounds as possible, nonstop.

Drop me a comment below and let me know how you did!

10 Minutes and a Chair

Jon — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:35:53 +0000

So here is the challenge, you have only 10 minutes to train and the only piece of equipment available is a dining room chair.

Are you prepared?

Can you rock a great minimalist workout with this limited time and equipment? Or, should you just use the chair for a short snooze?

Here’s one answer:

10 minutes nonstop get as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) of

5 Chair Dips
5 Feet Elevated Push-ups
5 Chair Step Ups (each leg)
5 Chair Jumps

Ready? Set? GO!!

What’s your 10 minute chair workout?

Warrior Fitness 4th of July Workout Challenge

Jon — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:12:43 +0000

Looking for a way to justify all the upcoming holiday weekend festive food and alcohol consumption? Try spicing up your 4th of July weekend with an intense workout or 2 to (maybe) balance it out. Here are 2 different hardcore challenge workouts that you can do pretty much anywhere with just your bodyweight and a pull-up bar. No pull-up bar, no problem – go outside and use a tree branch!

Strength Endurance Workout

100 Bodyweight Squats

100 Push-ups (break up into as many variations as you like: fist, finger tip, wrist, hindu, etc.)

100 Mountain Climbers

Conditioning Workout

10 Pull-ups (any variation you like)

10 Burpees

10 Ichimonji Jump Squats (switch sides each round)

10 V-ups

Complete as many rounds as fast as possible in 15 minutes.

Good luck and have a happy, healthy, and safe 4th of July weekend!

Hone Your Mind, Invigorate Your Spirit, and Make Fierce the Body with Warrior Fitness!

Get Beach Fit – Warrior Style!

Jon — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:19:54 +0000

Summer is coming and, hey, let’s face it – even warriors need to look good at the beach, right?! So, if you’re going to workout with the intention of getting is shape for summer, why not do it in a balanced, functional manner that syncs up with and supports your other activities rather than distracting from them? To that end, here’s a newly designed Warrior Fitness workout to help tone and sculpt that beach body!

Pull-up Pyramid

Start with 1, pyramid up to 3, then back down to 1
Depending on your fitness level, do pull-ups, chin-ups, or commando pull-ups

Push-ups

5 Downward Facing Dog Push-ups(begin in downward facing dog posture, bend arms to touch head to ground)
10 Hindu Push-ups
5 Diamond Push-ups (hands are touching at pointer fingers and thumbs directly under chest)
10 Fist Push-ups
End with a static hold mid range of the push-up position for 1 minute

Dips

4 sets of 10
Use a bench, chair, or couch

Bodyweight Squats

4 sets of 15
If too easy, make them jumping squats

Seiza Step-ups (Begin in seiza, Japanses kneeling posture, on the balls of your feet. Step up right leg, followed by left leg to half squat so legs are 90 degrees, then back down to seiza.)

4 sets of 15

Static 1/2 Squat

Hold mid range of squat for 1 minute

V-ups

2 sets of 10

Knee Hugs

2 sets of 10

Plank

Finish with static plank hold for 1 minute

Take a look at the vibration drills in this article to see how to shake out and release that residual muscle tension.

Want to know more? The strength and conditioning exercises in Warrior Fitness will not only provide a strong, functional body, but help burn fat and build lean muscle as well. When used in conjunction with the mobility warm-ups, breathing exercises, and compensatory cool-down movements in the book, Warrior Fitness is a fully balanced approach to fitness and conditioning!

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

16 Minutes of Pure Torture

Jon — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:04:01 +0000

Hope the catchy title got your attention! Today we’re going to do a fun workout based on the Tabata Protocol. If you are not familiar with Tabata, please check out the Warrior Fitness Tabata Primer found here, What’s Tabata You?

I highly suggest you warm up before doing this workout. In fact, I insist on it. What’s a good way to warm-up? I’m glad you asked. One of my favorite warm-ups is found here in my Morning Wake Up Routine. Don’t let the fact that it says morning dissuade you. It’s a quick, highly effective recharge/warm-up that can be used anytime of day.

Now, onto the workout. Warmed up? OK. Here we go -

Remember, Tabata is 8 rounds of exercise, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, for a total of 4 minutes for each exercise. Take one minute rest upon completion of each set of 8 rounds.

Exercise 1 – Bodyweight Squats

1 minute Rest

Exercise 2 – Hindu Push-ups

1 minute Rest

Exercise 3 – Pendulum Leg Lifts (side to side)

1 minute Rest

Exercise 4 – Burpees

Out of breath? Want to learn how to recover your breathing in between exercises and at the end of the conditioning session? Check out the section on restoring breath in Breathing 101.

Enjoy!

Create Your Own Adversity!

Jon — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:26:13 +0000

“Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.” ~William Shakespeare

Philosophers and sages throughout the ages have consistently extolled the virtues of facing adversity for the purposes of becoming a better, stronger person. No matter what form this adversity takes, wisdom dictates that it must be faced head-on, weathered through, and successfully beaten by coming out the other side, maybe scarred, but assuredly battle-hardened and spiritually tougher. Oftentimes, adversity comes to us unbidden simply due to the path we choose to follow, or even for no fathomable reason at all. It tends to be one of those things life throws at us unexpectedly to “help” us prove our mettle and forge our character.

It has been said that “God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable”. If this is so, perhaps creating your own adversity isn’t a bad thing at all.

The goal in creating your own adversity is to design a challenge that will push the limits of your physical strength, mental toughness, and spiritual fortitude in order to propel you forward to the next level in your training. For the warrior, this process is known as Shugyo. Shugyo (修行) may be defined as “conducting oneself in a way that inspires mastery”. These periods of severe training were usually undertaken by warriors to achieve a type of enlightening experience which opened their minds by destroying their concept of previously perceived limits. It is the same for us today.

Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido, was well known for taking his students up into the mountains for periods of Shugyo.

“Once a year, Morihei took several of his best disciples to train with him on Mount Kurama, located near Kyoto. The small group lived on rice, pickles, miso soup, and wild herbs. Morihei would rise at five AM to pray. After morning prayers and misogi, they would swing heavy swords five hundred times and then practice footwork. From ten AM to noon they trained in body techniques. Afternoon training ran from three to five PM; the disciples took turns acting as Morihei’s partner as he ran through series after series of techniques. In the evenings the disciples would review the day’s training. Every three days, Morihei would announce at midnight ‘time for night training’…”
Excerpt from “Invincible Warrior”, by John Stevens pg. 125

Now, do you have to seclude yourself in the mountains for several days in order to practice Shugyo? No. For most of us, that’s not realistic or practical, but that doesn’t mean we can’t create the same type of experience for ourselves. So, how do we do it?

Create Your Own Adversity!

Caution:This type of training is not for everyone. Before you begin, there are a few common sense type precautions you should take. First, prepare adequately. For example, you would not go out to run the NY Marathon tomorrow if you’ve never run more than 5 miles. Second, if you decide to conduct your Shugyo outdoors, let someone know where you’re going, what you’re doing, and how long you’ll be gone, or better yet, take them with you! Third and most importantly, think before you do and plan accordingly.

1. Pick a time or day that has personal significance to you – it can be your birthday, New Years Day, or the anniversary of something important in your life. Is this absolutely necessary? No. You can pick next Tuesday if you’d like, but I think tying your Shugyo to a significant day makes it more special.

2. Decide what form your Shugyo will take. This must be unique to your goals and capabilities. Choose something that is currently beyond your reach, but not so far as to make it completely unattainable. You want to focus and hone your physical, mental, and spiritual abilities, not your imagination. Some examples are:

Run a marathon
Climb a mountain
1000 cuts with a heavy bokken (wooden sword)
1000 Kettlebell snatches
1000 reps of any basic techniques or combination of techniques
Sparring 20 opponents in a row, nonstop
1000 Push-ups/Squats/Sit-ups

While any of the above would more than qualify as Shugyo, my personal preference is to plan an entire day where the whole becomes greater than the sum of the individual parts. Some recommendations for the parts are:Junan Taiso warm-up, run (distance TBD by you), practice the basic strikes, kicks, and footwork of your particular martial art, Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu for me (high reps to push your limits, of course!), weapons practice (sword cuts, spear thrusts, bo swinging, etc.), high repetition bodyweight exercise(s) or workout with weights (dumbbells, kettlebells, clubbells, sandbags), end with an extra long yoga session to wring out all the tension accumulated throughout the day followed by meditation and rest.

3. Create a training program to get you there. Let’s face it, most of the above examples are not something most people can decide to do in a day, they take time, preparation, and work to bring the goal within reach. Remember the “6 P’s”: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

4. Get to work!!

Creating your own adversity through Shugyo has the effect of focusing not just your mind, but your entire being for the purposes of expanding your potential. Push yourself harder than you ever thought possible and blow through your preconceived limitations – remember, the only limits that truly exist are those set up in your own mind – there are no limits!

“God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.” ~John Aughey