Challenges:

The fitness challenges that we do at the Results studio are designed to push you to your very limits. Whether you are aiming to set a fast time/high score beat a previous score or better a friend or fellow gym goer, that competitive edge we all have inside us really comes out in these challenges  resulting in some seriously tough sessions. Here are 3 of the toughest that I have done myself and made many clients do over the last couple of years.

3: Kettlebell 660.

After doing this challenge with a 16kg bell I was left lying breathless and feeling slightly sick on the gym floor!

http://www.resultsconditioning.com/archives/651

2: Ultimate 10.

This is a very tough challenge that took me a little while to recover from and left me with very shaky legs!

http://www.resultsconditioning.com/archives/1116

1: Fantastic four.

This challenge had me hanging out the gym window gasping for air towards the final set. Not looking forward to doing it again and trying to beat my time!

http://www.resultsconditioning.com/archives/1228

Circuit training:

Here was one of the first workouts I posted on my site; it is an old one but a good one.

http://youtu.be/_A5uJNUXoV4 _

MMA Conditioning:

The MMA conditioning programme is based around the fitness training done by professional mixed martial artists who are some of the fittest athletes around. 5X5 minutes of circuit training mixing plyometrics, ground and pound drills and resistance exercises  always guarantees a tough session. Below is an example of one of these sessions.

http://www.resultsconditioning.com/archives/1106

Sprint intervals:

Here is a tough workout that was provided by the good people from Derby Runner.

http://www.derbyrunner.com/

3 sets of 4×400m all ran in under 4mins/mile (59s);

 60s rest between reps and 4 minute rest between sets.

So why not get involved and e mail or post your hardest workouts on here and share the love (or pain)!!

The aim of the challenge is simple, complete as many sets of the below 8 exercises within the 20 minute time limit.

Circuit:

Press ups x20

Sit outs x20

Rear roundhouse kick from orthodox stance x10

Rear roundhouse kick from southpaw stance x10

Medicine ball explosive get ups x5

Ground and pound x20 strikes

Sprawls x10

Jab, crosses on bag x20   

Below is a video showing a sample circuit of the challenge

1. : 

Scoring:

Your score is based on how many complete and partial sets completed. So for example if you have completed 6 full sets and are on the medicine ball get ups of the 7^th set then your score is 6.5 (6 complete sets and on the 5^th exercise of the next).

Aims:

First target should be to complete at least 6 full sets. See if you can work up to 10 sets so that your completing a set every 2 minutes.

4 Bag routine:

As the name suggests this routine uses 4 powerbags. I have been working with bags weighing 10, 15, 20 and 25kg but this can be changed depending on your own fitness levels. The routine mixes 4 strength exercises alongside lateral jumps that will help keep the heart rate elevated throughout. The 4 exercises I used are as follows.

10kg bag: Reverse lunge with upright row

15kg bag: Clean and press

20kg bag: Bent over rows

25kg bag: Deadlift

The aim of the session is that after completing 12 reps on each exercise you perform a set of lateral jumps over the bags. You jump down the line and then back before finishing at the bag your about to work with. Once you have completed all the exercises you can either take a rest or start again from the beginning. Depending on the session this routine has been repeated 1-3 times to form a single set. I would then perform 2-3 sets with either 1-2 minutes rest in between or use the time in between sets to work the abdominals or do some rounds on the focus pads, again depending on aims and goals, fitness levels etc.  

1. : 

2 bags:

This exercise uses 2 Powerbags although you could substitute the bags for step boxes. This one movement combines press ups with a dumbbell bicep curl and shoulder press along with a burpee. Start in a press up position with your hands on the dumbbells, from here place your hands on the bags and perform a press up. Walk your hands back onto the dumbbells and jump your legs in landing with your feet either side of the 2 bags. From here stand up and perform a curl to press before squatting down and placing the weights on the floor. Kick your legs back out and repeat from the beginning. Again I would perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps of this exercise.

1. : 

3 bag drag:

For this routine I used bags weighted 15, 20 and 25kg. Ideally you need a space of around 8-10 metres. Start with all the bags lined up next to each other. From a press up position crawl backwards dragging the first bag with you. Once you reach the end of the room then bear crawl back to the next bag and start again. Once you have finished with all 3 bags then either take a 1 minute rest or spin around and drag the bags back to the start position. Again I would normally get clients to complete 2-3 sets of this drill.

1. : 

Warm up:

For this session I used a mixture of bodyweight exercises such as squats and lunges alongside different shuttle run drills such as high knees, lateral jogging, heels to bottom etc.

For each round I performed the circuit twice through with no rest. At the end of the round I rested for around 1 minute.

Round 1:

Recline rows x20 reps

Box jumps x10 reps

Lateral jogs x30 seconds: I placed 2 step boxes about 4-5 metres apart. I jogged sideways between the boxes bending down to touch them each time.

Medicine ball crunch with legs up x12 reps: 3kg ball

Alternating squat thrusts on punch bag x30 seconds: I placed my hands on a punch bag on the ground. From here I performed squat thrusts aiming to bring my knees up to touch the bag with each rep.

Round 1 was fairly tough going. After the second lot of rows I could really start to feel my back and arms working. My abdominals also were starting to feel it especially on the squat thrusts as I used them to maintain good posture throughout the exercise.

Round 2:

Press ups with feet on low step x20 reps

Alternating front lunge with medicine ball press x12 reps: I used a handled medicine ball that weighed 6 kg. As I lunged forward I pressed the ball overhead.

Lateral jogs with burpee x30 seconds: Same as above but each time I reached the step box I performed 1 burpee.

Medicine ball Russian twists x12: 3 kg ball

Knee switches on punch bag x30 seconds: I placed one knee on the bag and the other leg was off it. From here I switched which knee was on the bag as quickly as possible.

On round 2 I really started to feel my upper body working. After the press ups I could really feel my shoulders and upper chest on the lunges with press. The knee switches were tougher than I expected and my legs felt like lead by the end of the round!

Round 3:

Powerbag clean and press x10: 25kg bag

Lateral lunge with medicine ball chest press x12 reps: Again I used the 6kg ball. As I lunged I pressed the ball away from my chest.

Squat to step jumps x30 seconds: I stood with my feet hip width apart and with the 2 low steps either side of me. I squatted down and then jumped up bringing my feet out to land on the steps, as I landed I squatted again before jumping off and repeating.

Crunch with med ball between knees x12: I placed the ball between my knees and kept my feet apart. With my legs up I crunched my shoulder blades off the floor while squeezing my thighs together to keep the ball in place.

Lie down to side jumps x30 seconds: I started lying down on my front next to the punch bag. From here I scrambled to my feet and jumped over the bag. As I landed I dropped back down on to my front and repeated.

This was a tough round, the powerbag felt heavy and the clean and presses got me blowing a little. The squat jumps helped to carry on where the knee switches had left off meaning I was certainly on shaky legs by now!

Round 4:

Tricep dips x20 reps

Medicine ball stand up to kneel down x10 reps: Holding the 6kg ball at chest height I placed one knee down followed by the other. From the kneeling position I stood back up and repeated.

Lateral jumps x30 seconds: I placed the step boxes around 1 metre apart. I stood in front of one of the boxes and then jumped sideways aiming to land in front of the other step before repeating. The aim is to land soft with knees slightly bent and with your feet hip width apart

Medicine ball get ups x6 reps: From a crunch position holding the 3kg ball at chest height I threw my legs back over my shoulders. From here I brought my legs back onto the floor and immediately powered up to a standing position. Return to the floor and repeat.

Burpees on punch bag x30 seconds. I placed my hands on the bag and performed a burpee. As I kicked my legs back I brought my chest down to the bag.

By the end of this round I was well and truly worked which didn’t look good for doing the challenge at the end! The side jumps were tough since my legs were by now very heavy. By the last couple of get ups I was struggling to find the speed and momentum to stand up.

Round 5:

Check out the bodyweight challenge. http://www.resultsconditioning.com/archives/1123

I was trying to get my time down to 1 minute 40 (100 seconds) but didn’t feel confident by the end of the 4^th round. I set off at a good pace but ran out of stream by the squat thrusts and they seemed to take an age to complete! I finished it in 1 minute 48! Still 8 seconds off but faster than my first attempt so getting there!

Verdict:

This is a tough circuit workout, after the 4 rounds I was pretty tired but the challenge finished me off and there was nothing left in the tank by the end of it. It left me lying on the studio floor for a few seconds to catch my breath after I finished it! If you want an effective circuit workout that will hit the whole body and burn plenty of calories then give this a try. Even without the challenge this is an effective workout that can be done in around 30-35 minutes. Add the challenge and push yourself to the limit to really see the results!

The workout is made up of 4, 5 minute rounds with each round having 4 exercises in it. The aim is to move continuously between exercises completing 5 reps of each one. Once you have completed al the exercises you then work your way back through them and keep this going for the full 5 minutes. So for example for round 1 you start with squats before moving straight onto bench hops. After the hops, drop down into press ups before rolling onto your back for 5 crunches. As soon as you have finished the crunches you go back to the press ups then the hops and finally the squats. Keep repeating this for the 5 minute round.

Below are the 4 rounds along with a video clip showing each one in action.

Round 1:

Squats

Bench hops

Press ups

Crunch with legs up

1. : 

Round 2:

Burpees off step (Place hands on floor instead of step for a harder version)

Box jumps (Perform step ups for an easier version)

Bench dips

Pup and down plank with close hand press up combo (Perform without the press up for an easier version)

1. : 

Round 3:

Side lunge right

Lateral jumps on and off step (Perform step over’s for an easier version)

Side lunge left

Russian twists

1. : 

Round 4:

Single leg squat right

Ice skater onto step box

Single leg squat left

V-ups

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At the end of the circuit you get to rest but again you can score yourself some more points. You can decide to rest for between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. Take only a 30 second rest and score 30 points, 1 minute will get you 20 points, 1 minute 30 will score you 10 or you could take a full 2 minutes and score 0 points. So again if you complete all the reps in 9 and a half minutes and only rest for 30 seconds you would have scored 320 points (260+ 30 + 30). After your rest start the 2^nd circuit following the same rules as above. Again after the 2^nd circuit rest for as long as you need up to 2 minutes and then start your final circuit. At the end of this cool down and add up all your points to give you your ultimate 10 score.

Example:

Circuit 1: All of the reps completed in 9.45 and with only a 30 second rest scores 305 points.

Circuit 2: All of the reps completed in 9.55 with a 1 minute rest scores 285 points.

Circuit 3: All of the reps completed in 10.15 will score you 260 points.

Challenge score: 760

Ultimate 10 Circuit:

Press up x20

Barbell clean and press (Women 5kg per side using a Bodypump bar, men 10kg per side) x20

Burpees with a jump x20

Recline row x20

Medicine ball v-ups (Women 2kg ball, men 3kg) x20

Side jumps (For this I used a kick shield stood on its side to jump over) x20

Wall squat (Stand with your back against a solid surface and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold this position for a maximum of 60 seconds)

Dumbbell curl to press (Women 5kg, men 10kg) x20

Plank with weight plate side (Start in a plank position with a weight plate by your right arm. Grab the weight with your right hand and slide it over to your left hand. Use your left hand to slide the weight to the left side of your body. Reverse the movement and bring the weight back to its start position. This counts as 1 rep. Women 2.5 kg weight, men 5kg weight) x10

Double leg squat thrust x50

Aims:

Your first target should be to complete all of the reps for each of the 3 circuits which would give you a score of 780. Once you have achieved this then try to increase your score with time bonuses and reduced rest periods.

Basic press-up:

The most common version of the press up involves placing your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and whilst on your toes in a prone position lower your body towards the floor by bending the elbows. If you find this difficult to do to begin with, then start of with a kneeling press-up where you do the same thing but with your knees resting on the floor. The closer your knees are to your hands the easier the exercise becomes. Another easier variation involves placing your hands on a wall and pushing yourself away. The further the feet are from the wall the harder it becomes.

Below I have listed some variations of the basic press-up that will work you in different ways and have also included a video showing them all in action.

Staggered: By placing one hand slightly further forward than the other this will result in more work placed on your core as well as placing slightly more load onto one arm.

Spiderman: As you perform a press-up bring one knee up towards your elbow. Again this will help to place more emphasise onto your core.

Close hand: By placing your hands shoulder width or closer this will place more emphasise onto your triceps.

Walk over: Start with both hands on the step and then take one off and onto the floor and perform a press-up before returning to the other side and repeating. This exercise can be performed explosively as well which can help in improving your body’s explosive strength and power as well as having some aerobic benefits. This exercise can also be done with a medicine ball for a harder variation which will place more emphasise onto your core and stabilising muscles around the shoulders.

Drop press up: Starting with each hand on a low step placed slightly wider than shoulder width. Drop your hands off and onto the floor before rebounding back up and onto the step. Again this is an explosive exercise that can have great benefits in improving power.

Explosive: As the name suggests this is another plyometric exercise to help with explosive strength and power. Start with your hands either side of a low step and lower your chest down towards it. From here explode back up jumping your hands off the floor and landing onto the step.

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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 the workout and 5 minutes cooling down and stretching at the end of the session.

Overhead medicine ball slams: Hold a ball at arm’s length above your head. From here drive the ball as hard as you can into the floor. Catch it on the rebound or squat down to pick it up if you are using a ball that does not bounce. 20 reps.

TRX Jump squats: Hold a TRX suspension trainer with both hands and perform a basic squat. As you stand up explode into the air. As you land, bend your knees and immediately drop into your next squat and repeat. 20 reps

Lateral jumps: Place 2 objects on the floor such as powerbags, low step boxes, low hurdles etc. Make sure there is space between them for you to jump into. Start on one side and perform a 2 footed side jump over the first object. Land soft and then immediately jump over the 2^nd object. Return to the start position by jumping back over the objects. 10 reps

Split jumps: Stand with your feet around hip width apart and place 2 low steps either side of you (make sure they are both the same size). Jump up and out so you land softly on the steps. Jump back off and repeat. 20 reps

Dumbbell burpees with shoulder press: Hold a pair of dumbbells and squat down and place them onto the floor. Keep your hands on the handles and jump your legs back. Bring your legs back in and stand back up, as you do lift the weights to your shoulders and then press them above your head. 10 reps

Basic Burpee:

This is one of the easiest versions of the burpee but is still a tough exercise particularly on the legs and heart and lungs.

: Begin in a standing position

; Squat down and place your hands on the floor

: From here jump your legs out behind you to full extension

: Jump your legs back in and stand up back to your start position.

Burpee with press up:

This exercise will also work the muscles of the chest, shoulders and back of your arms. Perform the exercise as above but this time as you jump your legs behind you perform a press up. As you push yourself back up from the press up jump your legs back in and immediately stand back up to the start position.

Burpee with press up and vertical jump:

This version is very demanding as it adds another explosive movement at the end of the exercise. Perform it as above but this time rather than standing back up, jump into the air has high as possible.

Other variations:

Easier option: Squat down and place your hands onto a step box in front of you and perform the burpee from here without the press up or jump. The higher the box the easier it becomes.

Harder options:

Burpee to pull up. Perform a full burpee under a pull up bar. As you jump up grab the bar and do one pull up before dropping back to the floor and repeating.

TRX Burpee. Perform the exercise with one foot in both the foot straps of a TRX suspension trainer. This will test your balance and stabilisation and work your core harder than a normal version.

Single leg. Stand on one leg and perform a full burpee keeping the other leg off the ground throughout the entire movement including the press up and jump. Again this will test your core and balance more than a normal one.

Sample workout:

Here is a bodyweight circuit that uses the burpee. Complete 10 reps of each exercise and at the end of the circuit rest for 1-2 minutes and then repeat.

Burpee

Single leg squats (10 per leg)

Wide hand press up

Double leg squat thrusts

Lunge (10 per leg)

V-ups

Squat jumps

Superman’s

Burpee Hell challenge:

Once you have mastered the burpee then why not give this simple but very tough challenge ago. All you need to do is complete 100 burpees in your fastest time. If you can perform 100 full burpees complete with press ups and jumps in less than 10 minutes then you really are a fitness challenge warrior!!