Start off with the walking swings, to do this perform a normal 2 handed kettlebell swing and as the bell reaches the top of the movement, step forward. Repeat until you reach the end of the 8-10 metres, put the bell down and then perform alternating leg walking lunges back the way you came. Then finally drop down and bear crawl back to the kettlebell, to do this keep your hips low and move your opposite arm and leg. Start again with the swings and keep this routine going for the full 10 minutes. The aim is to complete as many repetitions as you can over the 10 minute round, performing swings, lunges and bear crawls once counts as 3 reps.

Tips:

: Use a kettlebell that you normally perform 3 sets of 8-10 swings with. If your starting out then I would recommend women using 6kg and men 12kg.

: Focus on perfect technique throughout the 10 minutes. If you start to struggle then take a rest before continuing or end the challenge.

: Make sure to fully warm up and cool down before and after the challenge.

Aims:

: Start out aiming for 30-40 reps and then see if you can progress to the magic 50 plus. Over 50 and it is time for a heavier kettlebell.

1. : 

In this post I have outlined the whole body circuit that we did during week 2. Rob will alternate from week to week between this workout and the other whole body session that I recently posted.

Since this is week 2 we have progressed the programme so now Rob will be spending 40 seconds on each of the aerobic exercises and only resting for 1 minute 45 between circuits.

Whole body workout:

2 Handed kettlebell high pull: 15 reps

TRX single leg lunge: 10 reps per leg

Double leg squat thrusts: 40 seconds                         

Single arm dumbbell snatch: 15 reps per arm

Single leg Swiss Ball Bridge: 10 reps per leg (Lie on your back with one foot resting on the ball and the other leg straight and held in the air. Lift your hips and raise your bottom off the ground. Return to the floor and repeat).

Medicine ball straddle jumps: 40 seconds (Stand with your feet either side of a low step. Bend your knees and rest the ball on the step before jumping up and landing softly onto the step. As you jump up reach over your head with the ball keeping your arms straight. Jump back down to the start position and repeat).

Perfect press-up: 15 reps (Press-ups using the perfect press-up rotating pads).

Powerbag reverse lunge: 6 reps per leg (Hold the bag on your chest and step backwards into a lunge alternating legs).

Lateral step jumps on and over: 40 seconds (Stand next to a low step and perform a 2 footed side jump onto the step aiming to land softly by bending your knees on impact. Jump off the step landing on the opposite side before jumping back over the step to the start position).

Abdominal circuit:

At the end of the 3^rd circuit I took Rob through a 3 exercise abdominal circuit. We completed 3 circuits with a 90 second rest in between each one.

Swiss ball jack-knife: 15 reps

Swiss ball crunch: 15 reps

Swiss ball plank: 20 seconds hold

I use fitness challenges with my clients as one way of monitoring progress and as a way for them to see firsthand the improvements they are making. Once a client has completed a challenge then their score will be recorded and then 4-6 weeks later they will attempt to improve on it. I have found the challenges a great way to get people to push themselves to their very limits. We all have a slightly competitive edge, whether it is trying to beat our own score or that off a training partner or fellow gym goer. The challenges help to bring that out in people often resulting in very intense and extremely effective sessions.

Challenges you will find in this book range from short 5 minute ones, through to ones that will take up an entire training session

While most of the challenges can be tailored to meet all levels of fitness some of them are very intense and not for the faint hearted! For each one I have included a part that recommends what level of fitness the challenge is best suited. Whether that is beginner, intermediate or advanced. I have also included targets for each of the challenges to give you something to aim towards; these are from both personal experience (I like to put myself through all the challenges to see what my clients are experiencing!) and from what my clients have scored.

I have included the first part of this e book below. If you would like to receive the entire book for FREE then simply contact me at resultspt@hotmail.com and I will forward it over to you. Enjoy!

Contents:

1. Introduction

. Rate your fitness level

. Challenge selection

. When to do a challenge

1. Bodyweight

#1 THE BIG 3

#2 BURPEE HELL

#3 10X10

#4 BODYWEIGHT BLASTER

1. Powerbag

#5 POWERBAG

#6 POWERBAG 2

#7 POWERPLAY

1. Barbell

#8 CLEAN AND PRESS

#9 300

#10 3 ROUNDS

#11 FOURWAY FUN

1. Kettlebell

#12 KETTLEBELL 660

#13 3 WAY PLAY

#14 SNATCH TEST

1. MMA Conditioning

#15 GROUND AND POUND GAUNLET

#16 SPRAWL AND BRAWL

#17 JUMP TO IT

#18 PUNCH OUT

#19 TABATA PRESS UPS

#20 TABATA BURPEES

1.  Other

#21 WEIGHT PLATE WORKOUT

#22 SATURDAY MORNING CIRCUITS

#23 CRAZY 8

#24 KILLER KICK SHIELD

#25 TOTAL SET

#26 TRX 40/40

#27 5X5

#28 DUMBBELL 9

#29 GYM TRIATHLON

#30 CARDIO CRAZY

1. 1.      INTRODUCTION:

Welcome to my Results Conditioning “Big book of challenges”. In here you will find a whole host of fitness challenges that will test your aerobic and anaerobic fitness, muscular endurance and stamina as well as pushing you to your very limits.

I use fitness challenges with my clients as one way of monitoring progress and as a way for them to see firsthand the improvements they are making. Once a client has completed a challenge then their score will be recorded and then 4-6 weeks later they will attempt to improve on it. I have found the challenges a great way to get people to push themselves to their very limits. We all have a slightly competitive edge, whether it is trying to beat our own score or that off a training partner or fellow gym goer. The challenges help to bring that out in people often resulting in very intense and extremely effective sessions.

Challenges you will find in this book range from short 5 minute ones, through to ones that will take up an entire training session. I have split the challenges down into sections; you will find ones that use just your bodyweight while others will use equipment such as Powerbags, kettlebells and barbells.

While most of the challenges can be tailored to meet all levels of fitness some of them are very intense and not for the faint hearted! For each one I have included a part that recommends what level of fitness the challenge is best suited. Whether that is beginner, intermediate or advanced. I have also included targets for each of the challenges to give you something to aim towards; these are from both personal experience (I like to put myself through all the challenges to see what my clients are experiencing!) and from what my clients have scored.

Many of these challenges you will find already on my website at www.resultsconditioning.com under the Results blog. Here you will also see short video clips showing the challenge in action. For those who visit my site regularly will find many more challenges in this book to enjoy that are not yet on the site.

RATE YOUR FITNESS LEVEL:

For each of the challenges you will see they have been rated beginner, intermediate, advanced or a combination of the 3. If you are not sure which of these you fall under then use the chart or workout below to help you decide.

The chart below is just a rough guide as there are many different variables in terms of rating somebody’s fitness level such as past exercise history, injuries, age, weight etc.

Beginner: I would normally class a beginner as someone who I have been training for up to 6 months and who has been doing some form of training at least 3 times per week.

Intermediate: For this I would class anyone who has over 6 months worth of training behind them.

Advanced: I would normally start using advanced challenges with clients who have at least 12 months of regular training behind them.

If you want another way of rating your fitness level then try this simple challenge below. Perform all the exercises listed with a 30 second rest in between each one. At the end check your score on the chart to see where you rate. The challenge is designed to test your upper and lower body strength as well as your core strength and cardio fitness.  

Press up: Perform as many repetitions as you can of a full press up. Take 2 seconds to lower yourself and 2 seconds to push back up to the start position. Once you reach fatigue and cannot perform any more reps with perfect technique then record your score.

Plank: Lie on your front and support yourself on your elbows and toes. Maintain a flat back and keep your abdominals tight and hold this position for as long as you can up to a maximum of 60 seconds. The length of time you hold it for is your score for this exercise so if you hold it for 30 seconds then give yourself 30 points.

Wall squat: Stand with your back against a solid surface with your feet hip width apart. From here lower yourself into a squat position so your bottom is parallel to the floor and your knees are over your ankles. Hold this position for as long as you can up to 60 seconds maximum. Again turn your time into points.

Burpee: Bend down and place your hands onto the floor then jump your legs back so your body forms a straight line. From this position jump your legs back in and stand back up.  Perform as many of these as you can within 1 minute and record your score.

Crunch: Lie on your back with your knees bent and rest your hands behind your head with your elbows out to the side. Crunch up so your shoulder blades leave the floor. Return to the start position and repeat, completing as many reps as you can within 1 minute.

Jumping jacks: Stand with your feet together and your hands by the side of your body. From here jump your legs out to the side and raise your arms to shoulder height. Return to the start position and repeat, completing as many reps as you can within 1 minute.

Once you have completed all 6 exercises add up your scores and see how you rate on the chart below.

Beginner: 140 points or below

Intermediate: 141-264 points

Advanced: 265 Points or more

Challenge selection:

When it comes to choosing a challenge make sure you pick ones that uses exercises that you can perform safely and correctly. For example I would only use Ketlebell challenges with people who have been training with this piece of kit for a good few months regardless of fitness levels, and had perfected the techniques of all the exercises used within that challenge. Another point concerning technique is to make sure you perform all exercises with proper form throughout the entire challenge. Even though in many of the challenges you are trying to complete as many reps as you can or perform a certain amount in your quickest time make sure you do not lose form whilst doing so.

When to do a challenge?

Since the idea of a challenge is to get the participant to work at their maximum intensity you do not want to be doing them every week as this can lead to burn out, injuries and diminished results. Normally once a client has completed a challenge then they will not do this one again for at least 4 weeks although normally it is closer to 8 weeks. In between they may do a different challenge but they will usually have at least 2 weeks off from doing any kind of fitness challenge.

When it comes to structuring a challenge into a clients session this will depend largely on what the rest of the session is going to involve and the length of time of the challenge. Some of the shorter challenges that take only 5-10 minutes may be done either at the start or end of a session. If the challenge is mainly cardio based then I may do it at the end of a resistance workout. For any challenge that will take longer than around 25 minutes are normally done by themselves. For all challenges make sure you spend 5-10 minutes warming up beforehand and around 5 minutes cooling down and stretching at the end.

As always spend 5-10 minutes warming up before starting this session and cool down and stretch at the end.

Single arm swing with switch: Perform one full swing and then on your second rep switch hands at the top of the movement. Do the same on the other arm before switching back. This counts as one rep. Complete 10 reps

Press-ups x25

Squat to press x20 per arm

Alternating leg front lunge x20 per leg

Single arm high pull x20 per arm

Burpee x20

Snatch x20 per arm

Crunch with legs up x25

Figure of eight x10 (Start with the kettlebell in your right hand and take it around your body. When it returns to your right hand this counts as 1 rep).

Tip:

If you’re starting out with kettlebells then I would suggest women start off with 4-6kg and men 8-12kg.

Below is a short video showing all of the exercises within this workout.

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For today’s session we would be focusing on superset training, which involves performing 2 exercises back to back without any rest. Again we would concentrate mainly on the major muscle groups of the chest, back and legs but would pick exercises that would also target his shoulders, arms, core as well as his heart and lungs. Below are the supersets, which we used for this session as well as a short video showing Sam performing the last set of each.

Superset 1.

TRX Atomic press-up: Not only does this hit the chest but it is also a killer for the abdominals.

Kettle floor press with leg up: By lifting your legs this gets you using your core more to help stabilise the body as well as helping to place more emphasise on your chest.

Superset 2.

Double kettlebell swings

TRX Rows

Superset 3.

Powerbag squat with shoulder-to-shoulder press

Reverse lunge with powerbag upright row: By reaching forward with the bag as you lunge will force you to use your core muscles to help to stabilise your body and prevent the weight of the bag throwing you off balance.

Superset 4.

Press-ups with handclaps: (Not shown) Sam got into a press-up position and I knelt in front of him. He performed one press-up and then lifted his right hand of the floor and clapped my right hand aiming to keep his body still by engaging his core muscles. He then repeated with another press-up followed by left hand clap.

Medicine ball V-up.

Medicine balls: 1-7kg

 TRX:

Kettlebells: 4-24kg

Powerbags: 7.5-25kg

Boxing equipment: Punch bags, focus pads, gloves, kick shield

Resistance bands:

Free weights: Large selection of dumbbells, barbells and weight plates

Cardio equipment: x-trainer, spin cycle, rower

Slosh pipe: Large pipe filled with water that’s great for core training

Sledgehammers and tyres:

: 

4 exercise circuit:

High pulls

Double kettlebell squat and press

Kneeling resistance band row

Walk over press-ups on a low step

Abdominal exercises:

Reverse curl and medicine ball combo:

For this exercise lie on your back with your legs in the air and hold a medicine ball above your head. Contract your abdominals and lift your hips and bottom slightly off the floor. Return to the start position and then crunch your shoulder blades off the floor and reach towards your feet with the ball. This counts as 1 rep and we performed 3 sets of 10.

Medicine ball oblique twists:

Lie on your back with your legs up and knees bent and hold a medicine ball just above your chest. Extend your legs forward and back one at a time as if you were cycling. As you do this rotate the ball across your body towards the knee that is coming towards you aiming to keep your shoulder blades off the floor for the entire set. We completed 3 sets of 20 reps.

1. : 

Look out for the next part to this training blog when I will be taking Sam through some superset training.

Workout A:

Incline bench press: 1 warm up set of 15 reps with lightweight then 3 x 8-12. (1-minute rest between sets)

Clean and press: 1 warm up set of 15 reps with lightweight then 3 x 8-12. (1-minute rest)

Press-up: For this exercise we started with the basic press-up and aimed to do 3 sets of 12. We then progressed up to 20 reps and once this was comfortable we used a harder variation such as using the “Perfect press-ups” or doing an atomic press-up on the TRX. (45 seconds rest)

Kettlebell single arm snatch: 3 sets 8-12 reps per arm. (1-minute rest)

Chest press machine: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Upright row: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Close grip bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Workout B:

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