The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [55]
Group One
Sumo deadlift high pull: This exercise requires either a barbell or dumbbell.
Hindu pushups
Pull-ups: This exercise requires a pullup bar. One-handed clean and press: This exercise requires either a barbell or dumbbell.
Wall ball: This exercise requires a medicine ball.
Burpees
Group Two
Walking Lunges
Jumping Scissors
Tuck Jump
Wall sit
Knee taps
Jump rope: This exercise requires a jump rope.
Group Three
Turkish getups: This exercise requires a dumbbell or barbell.
Burpee pull-ups: This exercise requires a pullup bar.
Thrusters: This exercise requires a pullup bar.
Medicine ball get-ups: This exercise requires a medicine ball.
Frog jumps with walkout and pushup
Box jumps: This exercise requires a plyometric platform (or any other stable object that can be used to jump on).
The Body God Intended Us to Use
Some call me crazy. Others just find what I do a little strange, simply because I do now work out in a traditional manner. I want to discuss what it is that I do, why it is important to anybody that wants to have a healthy life, what are the specifics of a workout, and finally I will give some guidance on how to take it up a notch so you too can be “crazy.”
There are many different ways to exercise or to “get into shape.” First, I want to talk about what I call functional fitness. One of the main proponents of this concept is Crossfit, which has created a user-friendly, access to all, enterprise that has been quite successful. Anybody can access their website and check out the Workout of the Day (WOD). In fact, a great deal of the foundation for the workout program I use is based upon the principles shared by Crossfit. A similar, although much more closed off and elite, version is Gym Jones. Gym Jones is literally an exclusive gym out in Utah, and they are famous for sculpting the bodies of the actors for the movie, 300.
What I have learned from Crossfit, Gym Jones, Ross Training, and others is the concept of functional strength, but how I achieve that differs in some areas. I rarely time my workouts, unlike Crossfit, as I am not worried about creating a competitive and energetic atmosphere in a gym. I personally feel that the recommendation from the American Heart Association to have my heart rate increased for a period of thirty to forty minutes is something not to be ignored. Seriously, how can you argue with those folks. Functional strength to me means that I can shovel my driveway without being crippled the next day. It means that I can haul a 4X8 sheet of 1/2 inch OSB board across my yard and hold it up while I nail it in place without having my back spasm. It means that as I age, I can still pick up my children, and eventually grandchildren, without moaning and groaning. Functional strength means that I can perform the functions necessary in life the way God intended me to. Forget OSHA requirements not to use your back and lift solely with your legs. God gave us the gluteus maximus and huge muscles on our backs. Build them! Use them!
Our bodies are meant to work as a whole. We need to train our muscles to work together, and that takes practice, especially if you have been isolating muscles your whole life. In order for muscles to work together, you brain needs to create the neural connections. I’m simplifying things here, but basically you need to train your brain to activate all the muscles–not just the big one–at the same time, in order to accomplish a task such as carrying a couch up from the basement. You don’t curl the couch. You don’t bench press the couch. You carry it awkwardly, while one foot is on a higher step and your wife is yelling at you not to bump into the wall, which is impossible since you are turning the corner and have to all of a sudden adjust the entire angle of the couch to fit through. That is functional strength. That is your body working the way it is meant to.
What I want to do is to change the way most people think about exercising. Most people will either do some weight lifting and/or some cardio. You know, “today I’m working my chest and