While up in the mountains of Vermont at Spartan Race HQ I did a whole lot of training with the crew I was with.
We cranked early an AM bodyweight / Navy SEAL inspired workout with Joe De Sena at his farm that pushed us both mentally and physically.
Joe De Sena’s Farm
We did a 2.5 mile “quick sprint” up the Spartan Race HQ mountain that ended with a run back down back to the bottom in an insane down pour of rain that left us absolutely soaked.
I’ll NEVER forget the time I had while there running down that mountain!
Great stuff.
Doing that type of training outside of the gym is critical in my mind to keep you on your toes.
Lots of us get too stuck on training in the gym and sticking to the rules all the time.
While the type of training I do is far from normal, I make sure to get myself outside a lot to keep it fresh.
Either way, on the final day before I left, Zach and I found a bit of time to fit in an extra special “Underground” inspired strength circuit.
This circuit blended together the use of kettlebells and a heavy stone.
This was like the icing on the cake if you ask me…
If you’re not yet familiar with underground style workouts like this, it’s time you get yourself acquainted.
In the video Zach and I go over the main details of the set up plus a few different ways on how you can use it.
Just note that it’s definitely NOT an easy circuit, but it wasn’t meant to be easy 😉
If you want easy, you’ve come to the wrong place my friend.
Time to grab yourself a couple of kettlebells and a heavy stone and get after it!
In part 2 I wanted to get into another type of E.M.O.T.M. style of training that involves increasing your time intervals to more than a single minute.
When you do this, you can change up what you’re training in a bunch of different ways since it then allows for a bit more recovery time.
For this set up, I like going with these intervals:
E90secs = “Every 90 Secs”
E2M = “Every 2 Mins”
E3M = “Every 3 Mins”
These work best when you’re trying to really focus in on more strength or if you’re doing some higher skilled movements within your set ups.
For example, this is what I’ve been cranking for the last 4 weeks:
E2M x 12 Mins:
First 2 Minutes: Barbell Front Rack Walking Lunge x 10 / Leg ***Week 1 Load = 135, 165, 185 ***Week 4 Load = 185, 205, 225
The Second 2 Minutes: Unbroken Muscle Ups ***Week 1 – 10 reps ***Week 4 – 12-13 reps if possible
The goals here were to go UNBROKEN on both the movements plus stick to the planned time periods.
I wanted to work on being able to crank out muscle up when I was fatigued (which the lunges do a fine job of making this happen).
This. Was. BRUTAL.
I HATED it and I dreaded it every week, but I know this type of training would get me better for sure.
I know it worked because the lunges, although they were getting heavier were getting easier to crank out each week.
As for the muscle ups, I’m getting pretty darn comfy with 10 rep sets now even when I’m tired.
Week 4 was down right nasty and I’ll admit that I was NOT able to complete the 3 sets of each movement within the 2 minute time periods. I went outside those just a bit and by the 3rd round, it turned more into an “Every 3 Minute” interval set up.
Either way, this type of “interval training” definitely works and there a number of ways you can use it.
Here’s some other examples of how I’ve liked to use these longer E.M.O.T.M.’s:
E2M x 10 Mins Full Clean and Jerk x 6 ***Strength and Power Focus
E2M x 12 Mins Odd Minute – Deadlift x 3 Even Minute – Shirt Shuttle Sprint OR Light Sled Push / Pull ***Strength / Conditioning Focus
E2M x 12 Mins Odd Minute – Power Snatch x 5 Even Minute – HSPU x 10 OR Submax ***Power / Skill Focus
E3M x 24 Mins Odd Minute – Back Squat x 5 Even Minute – OH Press x 5 ***Strength Focus
E3M x 30 Mins (This got very interesting) Complete 1 Rep @ 90-100% 1RM Of Each: a) Squat b) OH Press c) Deadlift ***Strength Focus
E2M x 20 Mins 7 Strict Pull Ups 12 Thrusters @ a challenging weight ***Strength, Conditioning, and Mental Toughness Focus
And there you are.
More tactics to help transform yourself into a BADASS.
Just note that these E.M.O.T.M. set ups are NOT for everyone.
They get tough and are not meant for complete beginners.
Questions or Comments on the tactics given here?
Please drop your comments below.
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