This week’s Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week:

• 8 Pull-ups
• 8 Burpees
• 8 Mt. Climbers (left + right = 1 rep)
• 8 Jumonji Squat Jumps
• 8 Dumbbell Swings (4 each arm)

Complete 8 rounds as fast as possible.  Rest as needed.

Jumonji Squat

Jump!

Modifying Your Workout

Conditioning workouts are supposed to suck.  No doubt about it!  They push your body to its limits and increase mental toughness.  However, they should be approached incrementally, especially if you are not used to them.  In this particular workout, I’d recommend that beginners cut the volume of repetitions in half.  If you still find you are struggling, increase the rest period between rounds; try not to rest in between exercises, if you can help it.   Additionally, you may perform 4 rounds to start and work your way up to 8.  As you gain confidence and begin getting stronger, you can increase the number of repetitions and rounds, and decrease the rest periods.  Change one variable at a time so you are not forcing your body to adjust too rapidly.  Remember, injury is not the goal!

Notes: Make sure you warm-up with brief joint mobility session prior to the workout.  Remember that when you sign up for our mailing list you receive a free sample chapter on Joint Mobility from my Warrior Fitness book!

For further information on the Workouts of the Week, please see our User Guide here.

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #2
2. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #1
3. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #3

Special thanks to guest author, Alan Livelsberger for this insightful post!

I have a secret to share with you; I used to carry a few extra pounds with me.  Almost fifty, actually.  But that’s not the secret.  Anyone looking at me could have told you that.  You’ll have to keep reading to learn my secret. 

Several months ago, I decided to do something about the extra weight.  It wasn’t easy and I am certainly not perfect with regard to adherence to my weight loss plan, but I’m halfway to my goal weight.  One of the reasons I am so far along is the Warrior Fitness blog and my access to Jon.  The blog keeps me motivated and Jon is great for keeping me honest about working out.  He’s part of my support system that is so crucial to success and I urge you to make him part of yours.

This brings me to my secret, “Looking thin is cool, but being thin is awesome.” It is a hard feeling to describe, almost like waking up from a drug induced stupor.  The best way that I’ve found to describe it is that it’s like when you’re not getting enough sleep.  Any parent knows what that is like with a new born in the house.  Months of getting up one, two, or three times a night.  You’re grumpy, you can’t focus and then . . . you get two great nights of sleep in a row.  All of a sudden you notice how you are supposed to function and what you have been missing. 

Well that is what losing 20 pounds of fat is like.  You have more energy.  I used to struggle to finish my Muay Thai class.  Now, not only can I finish the class, I can jump rope or lift weights afterward.  You can think more clearly.  I feel I am retaining more of what I read and also making those connections among seemingly unconnected data pieces.  I’ve also noticed that I have more confidence and less aches and pains. 

One of the most surprising benefits is that you feel like a winner.  You are literally piling up victories.  Every time you forgo an unapproved food or get a workout in, you are instilling a culture of winning within yourself.  Not a bad thing to have in life, for sure.

Those are some great benefits to dropping a few pounds, and I urge you to examine how you feel each and every day.  If you think there is something more to life, there is – go find it.

About the Author

Ever since being inspired by Kung Fu Theatre, Alan has been a martial arts enthusiast.  Over the course of 20 years, he has dabbled in Judo, BJJ, and Russian Martial Art.  He is currently an Instructor Candidate in ROSS and a Muay Thai practitioner.

No related posts.

You do not have to be Catholic to benefit from Father Corapi’s thoughts on fitness.  In fact, his words transcend religion and get to the heart of being human.  As he says, if you know there’s action you can take to improve your health, such as diet and exercise, you must do it. 

Stay healthy and strong!

Want to know more?  Check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness for Kids!

It doesn’t take a genius to see that America has become a nation of over weight, physically lazy, comfort-seekers.  The saddest part is the effect this perverse attitude has had on our children.  How can we call ourselves responsible parents when our kids consume more McDonald’s than broccoli, and watch more TV than play outside?  What happened to running, jumping, playing tag, climbing trees and fences, or riding bikes as fast as you can just for the sheer thrill of it?  Has watching Sponge Bob and playing video games replaced playing outside from the time school lets out until dinner is ready?  I remember my mother having to shout for my brothers and me almost on a daily basis to call us home for supper.  And, in the summertime, we were playing outside until well after dark!

What Can We Do to Reverse This Trend?

To me, the answer is simple: Lead from the front!  What impetus do your children have to eat healthy and exercise if you do not?  You, as a parent, must set the example for your kids.  My daughters constantly see me exercising, whether it’s stretching, working on the technical details of an exercise, practicing martial arts, or a full-blown conditioning routine, I’m setting an example for them on a daily basis.  Coming home from work and sitting on our butts in front of the television while we “relax” and “unwind” is more than just detrimental to your health.  It sets up a poor pattern of conditioning that you’re children will follow for a lifetime.

Train With Your Kids

Want to spend some quality time with your kids and help them become fitter in the process?  Workout with them.  Make it fun, not drudgery.  That means stay out of the commercial gym and away from the damn treadmills!  You’re people, not hamsters.  One of the ways my oldest daughter and I spend time together during the warmer weather is to go on walks after dinner, while the sun is still up.  But just walking around the block is boring, so we found a couple ways to spice it up:

• Pick a landmark – mailbox, telephone pole, tree – and race to it.  Recover by walking a little bit, then race again.
• Leap like a frog until you get tired – see who gets tired first!
• Crawl on hands and feet (be careful of the terrain), then get up and run.
• Let your child ride their bike and you try to keep up, or you ride a bike and let them keep up!

These are just a few examples of how you can change a simple walk around the block to a fun workout for you and the kids.  Shhh… don’t tell them they’re doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)!

As this series continues, I’ll be sharing more ideas about how to workout with you kids in ways that are fun and effective for both of you.  Additionally, I have workouts that I’ve designed for my 9 year old daughter that I’ll be sharing here as well – stay tuned!

How about you?  Do you workout with your kids?  What are some of the things you do to help keep them inspired and keep going?

Related posts:

1. Tabata for Kids!
2. Top 10 Things to Look for in a Kid’s Martial Arts Class
3. User Guide to the Workouts of the Week

Commando Pull-Ups

This week’s conditioning workout will push your anaerobic threshold to the max.  Endurance is defined as the ability to resist fatigue – how resistant are you?

• 10 Commando Pull-ups (switch grip every 5)
• 10 Burpees
• 10 Lateral Jumps (jump over medicine ball or other small obstacle)
• 10 Fudo-ken (fist) Push-ups

 How Do I Do a Burpee?

Burpees are a great, whole-body conditioning exercise that will really challenge your cardiovascular fitness.

Begin in a standing position.     Drop down to a squat on the balls of your feet.  Place your hands down in front of you and jump your legs back to the lowered portion of a push-up.  Jump your legs back to the ball of foot squat, then leap into the air as high as possible.  Repeat rapidly!

Burpees -Squat down from standing

Burpees - Jump back to push-up

Burpees - Leap as high as possible!

Modifying Your Workout

Conditioning workouts are supposed to suck.  No doubt about it!  They push your body to its limits and increase mental toughness.  However, they should be approached incrementally, especially if you are not used to them.  In this particular workout, I’d recommend that beginners cut the volume of repetitions in half.  If you still find you are struggling, increase the rest period between rounds up to 2-3 minutes rather than the prescribed 60 seconds.  Additionally, you may perform 3 rounds to start instead of 5.  As you gain confidence and begin getting stronger, you can increase the number of repetitions and rounds, and decrease the rest periods.  Change one variable at a time so you are not forcing your body to adjust too rapidly.  Remember, injury is not the goal!

For more information on the Warrior Fitness Workouts of the Week, please see our User Guide here.

Want to know more?  Check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts!

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #5
2. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #1
3. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #3

The Workout of the Week section is designed to give you insight into the Warrior Fitness training method.  We will cover topics such as joint mobility, high intensity interval training (HIIT) and the Tabata Protocol for conditioning, strength endurance, explosive strength, core work, yoga, and martial arts. 

1.  How often should I do the Workout of the Week (WOW)? 

This depends on the intensity level of the prescribed workout.  For example, if the WOW is an illustration of a yoga compensatory routine, you can do it daily, but if it’s a high intensity conditioning workout, you may only be able to perform it 2-3 times a week, depending on your recovery levels.   These workouts are short; usually, under 30 minutes.   You should have plenty of time to squeeze them into a busy schedule!

2.  Should I change my workout every week to correspond to the WOW? 

Not necessarily, no.  The workouts change weekly in order to showcase various aspects of our training methodology, but that doesn’t mean you need to change it up on a weekly basis.  Workout programs should be designed with specific goals in mind and crafted to meet individual needs.  Your body needs time to adapt to your exercise selection for it to elicit the planned response, usually about 4 to 6 weeks.  If you find a something that you like, stick with it.  If you have a more detailed question about how to program a specific workout, or even a series of workouts, let me know.  I can help you.  That’s why I’m here.

3.  What if I already have a workout program?  How can incorporate the WOWs? 

 If you currently have a training regimen that you are happy with, but want to give one of our workouts a try, you can definitely do that.  Simply replace one of your conditioning days with one of our conditioning workouts.  Or, add in our joint mobility exercises as a warm-up.  Remember, you receive a sample chapter on joint mobility  from the book, Warrior Fitness, when you sign up for our mailing list.

4.  I am just starting to exercise, can I still use the WOWs? 

Absolutely!  Start slowly.  Begin by doing our joint mobility exercises on a daily basis to prime your body and help you regain lost range of motion.  Each of our workouts contains instructions on modifying the workout to scale it for any level of conditioning.  Also, if you have further questions about modifying workouts, or programming workouts, contact me.  I’ll be glad to help you.

5.  Will I lose weight with these workouts? 

 Yes!  Our conditioning workouts are designed to turn on your body’s metabolic furnace and torch unwanted fat, while building lean muscle. 

6.  How can I find out more?

My ebook, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts, is available for direct download.  It contains the background, philosophy, and methodology behind Warrior Fitness, as well as an ample exercise selection and a chapter on program design.

Want to know more?  Just ask!

 I hope this has been a helpful introduction to the Warrior Fitness Workouts of the Week.  What other questions do you have?

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #5
2. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #2
3. A Case for Mini Workouts

Chin Up

 

• Chin-ups
• Hindu Push-ups
• Jumping Jacks
•  Ichimonji Jump Squats (can be replaced with non-jumping squats as fatigue levels rise)

 

Hindu Push-up

 

Ichimonji Jump Squat

Do them in any order for any number of reps at a time as long as you continuously move for the full 15 minutes.    

Modifying Your Workout

Not quite ready to jump into the full 15 minutes yet?  This workout can be modified depending on your current level of conditioning.

For example, you may break up the 15 minutes into 5 rounds of 3 minutes each and include a rest period of 1 to 2 minutes between rounds.  As your conditioning levels increase, begin increasing the length of the rounds and decreasing the rest period.  Remember, the goal is to exercise for 15 minutes straight.    

Additionally, if you do not have a chin-up bar, you can try  towel pulls instead.  Wrap a towel around a pole in your basement, or around both door knobs of an open door, sit all the way back until your arms are straight and pull yourself forward.  You can make this exercise more difficult by grasping the towel with one hand which also provides a great grip workout to boot!

Enjoy!    

Notes: Make sure you warm-up with brief joint mobility session prior to the workout.  Remember that when you sign up for our mailing list you receive a free sample chapter on Joint Mobility from my Warrior Fitness book!

For further information on the Workouts of the Week, please see our User Guide here.

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #2
2. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #5
3. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #3

The problem is that things will never be different unless you actively do something to make them different. You want to lose weight? Start now. You want to be in better shape? Start now. You want to improve your athletic performance or martial art skill? Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t let those excuses become so entrenched in your psyche that you actually start believing them. Start now.

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1. Do You Know the Enemy?
2. Top 5 Mistakes When Starting an Exercise Program
3. Goals for 2010