As a competitor in short sprint distance and long distance races such as tri’s, running races, and obstacle races I find the use of a playground to be very beneficial to enhance my performance. So what type of things can you do at a playground? When you get to the playground locate the monkey bars, balance beams, and the monkey bar domes (if they have them). Other things to look at are off center bars, fences, and swing sets.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aNXb3sERmg

There are many different ways to use the items and I will outline a few of them. What I want you to take away from this though is that there is no wrong way of having fun and training, except getting hurt. Some people do not go out and play since they will feel “stupid” or are worried that others will look at them. So what, tell them you’re training for a warrior dash or tough mudder.

Method 1 – pick a starting point, sprint to an obstacle, and do a specific exercise. Continue this until you have reached the desired number. Not sure on what to do, then take the mud and guts circuit and use the exercises.

Method 2- same as method one except actually do the exercise, do the obstacle, such as monkey bars, then sprint to the next one. To make this tougher, do the exercise again after you do the obstacle.

Method 3 – Sprint like in method two but no exercises and time yourself.

As you can see this can go on and on, mixing and matching etc.

Fences – Playgrounds that have tall and short fences. You can use both of these either to climb or hop over to increase agility.

Swing sets – You can do several things, swing and jump off, you see kids do this but it helps promote jumping, landing and getting use to heights. Climb the poles which teach hand strength , coordination and confidence.

Monkey bars – Do the monkey bars, change grips, speed, etc also used for doing chin ups and pull ups.

Balance beams and curbs – Walk them, run them, side step them.

Uneven bars, domed monkey bars and any other thing – Climb them, pull up on them, it doesn’t matter, just get on them and play.

Outline

This is best done with a training partner, but can be done solo.

The following needs to be done for each week.

Day 1: Technique day. All kicks or punches are done normal speed in front of a mirror.

Day 2: Speed day. All kicks, punches and or sparring combos need to be done either on a heavy bag, focus mitts, cushion or pillow. You will be making contact, but you are not hitting as hard as you can. (if you do not have a bag or mitts, think like a Marine, improvise)

Day 3: Power day. Same concept as day 2, but hitting with power.

• This is a great time to get with that friend that bought a bag, wave master or whatever and both you get in shape.

Sparring combos are all demonstrated on the website. Week one you will be doing the same sparring combo each day and the same kicks and punches each day.

Beginners: the conditioning aspect is optional but recommended.

All circuits are designed to be progressive; this means as a beginner you are doing the m/g 100 circuit, which is a total of 100 reps. Week 2 you will move to m/g 200. The kicking and punching is the same way. Sparring combos: these are progressive as well. Week 1 do sparring combo 1 25 times each side. This means jab/cross/kick, 25 times. A total of 75 hits each side. Week 2 you will do sparring combo 1, 25 times and sparring combo 2, 25 times.

The pyramid workout is also progressive. Week 2 you will add 1 to your circuit. The failure parts, attempt to go further than last week.

Here is the link to the Excel document you will need to follow.

Videos

Overview/Outline Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvOfndj_ZNI

Monday’s M&G Body Weight Circuit:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw3oIpW9aso

Sparring Combination Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG9YMqQyCms

Friday’s M&G Pyramid Circuit:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jFBFSu5twA

Bonus Stretching Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRUo6DYUg74

Bonus Conditioning Video (for those that wish to add a bit of extra conditioning in):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1SwTFMc2R8

Food

Limiting bad food is also progressive, on the website there is a list of acceptable foods, generally I follow the 90/10 approach, 90 percent of my food I cook the other 10 could be processed.

Follow the chart on the excel sheet which shows when to limit certain types of food. I do not recommend worrying about calories during this workout. By limiting the soda and junk food and cooking most meals you will probably drop weight, without the workouts.

Rule one: before each meal, drink a glass of water. Take a bite, put the fork down. Eat until you feel full, extra food is put in storage for snacks. Spouses and kids may say more food please, have them drink another glass of water, wait 20 minutes. If they are still hungry then let them have a snack. Most people eat without thinking, this is why we are fat.

Rule two: if you get hungry after 7 pm, find a low cal snack, either pickles, popcorn etc.

Rule three: plan out each meal for the week, go to the store and buy only what you need. You will spend less time in the store, spend less money and all the worthless junk will be left at the store.

Rule four: have fun, eating is supposed to be fun and good for you.

The positives: I finished the fit test after two weeks of training in 24 minutes. The book has workout programs outlined and pictures of all the exercises.

The negatives: Unfortunately I have quite a few negatives about this workout routine.

The book outlines the workouts which are good, but they are also confusing and it took two of us arguing to come to an agreement about some of the workouts.

Due to my past training I jumped into program 2, series 3 which is the hardest. On each training day I walked away sweaty and exhausted, but able to complete the workout, in fact some of the workouts I added toughness or speed to make them harder. The negative though is there are zero rest days worked into the program until right before test day.

For most workouts this would mean that different body parts were worked on different days. Not so with this workout, kettle bell clean and presses were done 3 days in a row, as an example. Often the workouts hit the same body parts to the point of over-training.

The author does point out that you may not be able to complete all days and rest may be needed. My thought is if you as an author and a trainer know this then why create a program that creates the following: over-training of muscle groups, fatigue, loss of appetite, loss of sleep and not wanting to work out the next day.

About 3 days into the workout I plainly stated that this type of routine does not make sense for long term fitness benefits, but probably works for short term.

I completed 14 days straight of the Spartan warrior workout, took the test and scored 24 minutes. After this I chose not to continue due to loss of muscle mass, strength and all the symptoms of over training.

There are two ways to approach this workout that I may consider in the future. One is to not train everyday but every other day, taking the first 14 days and making a 4 week program. The other method which I am using right now over the next few weeks is to take the Spartan fit test; there are seven exercises and doing the following. Each exercise is done for 2 minutes, trying to reach failure. Rest for two minutes while your training partner does their exercises then moving on to the next. I am doing this every other day with rest in between. I feel better and feel like I am getting stronger.

Finally, I do not recommend this workout as it is designed due to the over fatigue and stress it puts on your body. The only way to do this is to modify it, which defeats the purpose of doing the workout as is.

Overview + Wade’s Review

This is the order that the workout happened. Bench press, squat, chin up or pull up, dead lift, dips. The chin ups and pull ups were done on alternate days. The idea behind this workout was to do the maximum amount of weight for each exercise that would allow you to do 5 sets of 5 reps. If on the fifth set you can get 4 and the 5^th with a spotter then you added weight the next time.

My goal for this workout was to do over my bodyweight (180 lb) in all exercises. In the end my 1 rep max for the bench was 270. Which is 1.5 over my bodyweight. For the rest of the exercises I did not do a 1 rep max due to lack of proper equipment, I was using the weights in my basement and did not have access to a gym with a squat cage.

My final results were: bench press 1 rpm, 270, but pressing 230 as a good workout. Squats 220, dead lift, 190, dips with 45 lbs extra, chin ups with 35 lbs extra and pull ups 25 lbs extra. I did not lose any weight during this workout but added muscle mass, density, and definition. In addition to the weights ab exercises were added in between all sets, in total we did 800 to a 1000 ab exercises each session.

Food eaten during this program was lots of food. Lots of protein, carbs and fats, no soda, limited alcohol and little to no fast or junk food. Supplements taken were protein powder, creatine, amino acids and a good multi vitamin.

After 4 weeks my body was ready for a change, I was starting to feel over trained, but I felt strong and ready for more, after a bit of rest of course.

Tips: this is a great workout if you want to quickly add muscle density, size and strength. You need a training partner that knows how to lift weights and this should not be done for more than 4 to 5 weeks.

Drew’s Review

The weighted workout is an extremely long and intense workout. It averaged out to be roughly 2 hours per session, with sessions being twice a week. This meant we either had 2 or 3 days break between each session. The first thing people will say or think is “Only 2 days? That doesn’t seem like much, I would have done 3-4 days”. My reply to that is “Then you’re an idiot and you’re not lifting hard enough”. Most weighted programs can be done more than twice a week, however, this isn’t your normal weighted workout.

By stressing the muscles to their max, and always adding weight every single session, you’re pushing your muscles to their limits. They need those 2-3 days of rest just to recover in time. Most times, I was still sore from the previous session even though I had 2-3 days of rest (besides doing cardio those days).

By the end of the program, I was doing bench, squat, deadlift, pullup/chinup, and dips, all over my bodyweight (weight added). That was my initial goal. But I succeeded that goal my far in some areas, the major one being my bench. I am not ashamed to say this was my first time ever doing a weighted workout program, and my first day bench was 5×5 at 105lbs. I weighed 148 lbs at that time. By the end of the program, my bench was 5×5 at 205 lbs, with me weighing in at 155 lbs. My one rep max ended up being 240 lbs. That’s 1.55 times my bodyweight of 155 lb. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited about that.

The one thing that we all have in common is a few simple concepts.

We all were able to run, swim, climb, and march for hours at a time, get to the destination and be ready to take the fight to the enemy. We all had discipline, indomitable spirit, and the will to die for what we believed in.

We did lift some weights but our physical focus was on circuit training, bodyweight movement, pull ups, obstacle course, and weapons training. We used dumbbells like kettle bells, boxed, kick boxed, and learned muay thai and judo.

Notice I did not say “weight machines”, squat rack, or smith machine. Stay away from all of this. If you cannot master bodyweight exercises, time to move on.

All of the warriors here had another thing in common: functional fitness. Go ask a bodybuilder to run 3 miles, climb up a wall, and then go hand to hand with someone. Guess what, it will not happen. Functional fitness is what the Spartan 300 had, what Gladiators have, and it is what the elite of the U.S. fighting forces have.

Do not look for the latest fitness fad to find your military might. Do a google search and look up any of these elite forces workouts and get started. The M&G Body Weight Circuit training is an example of this. The exercises listed and how they are manipulated is an example of what U.S. Marines and Seals do to stay in shape.

Don’t buy kettle bells, straps, or machines. Get outside, grab the monkey bars, do some push-ups, and some squats. Grab a heavy bag and hit it. Just do something.

Rock climbing is an intense beast that can be so much fun to take part of. As of right now, we haven’t done any real lead climbing. However, we boulder and top rope all the time. We rock climb roughly 2-4 days per week nowadays. Wade is more skilled at the top roping while I have an advantage at bouldering, because I’m beginning to crimp and pinch off much smaller/tighter holds. Mostly it comes down to that he has better endurance which allows him to last longer on the wall when top roping, whereas I love the feeling of sending a new route that has tiny holds which I couldn’t send a week or so ago. We’re both at roughly an intermediate level, nothing special yet but we’re gaining speed fast!

The main point is that you can use sports or activities that you enjoy, to get a great workout without going to the boring gym. For instance, bouldering actually builds a ton of strength and top roping builds great endurance. We’ve even devised our own bouldering routine (based on the current wall layout at our rock climbing gym) that gives us a good cardio/endurance workout. Take a look at the video below. It shows us sending a series of routes (we stick to a particular color/route).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQnl1YEeTtI

The next video, down below, is actually the cardio/endurance bouldering workout I mentioned. This routine is done at the end of the day, when we’re completely drained and about to leave. It only takes a few minutes, but is a great finisher. It blasts the last bit of energy out of you. The trick is to pick roughly four routes that are pretty easy for you, and then one last one that is easy, but somewhat physically demanding. Start off by doing all four in a row, then the next person goes, until each has finished all four. Then do the last route, which should really pull out any remaining energy you had so you’ve worn yourself down completely. The video below shows exactly what I’ve just described, so have a look.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpByTmQLQu0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTCqQfj8lcE

The key to getting fit is to have fun, and you will notice that I am having fun. The boys are having fun. Drew also took them through the course, and added a little variation which includes what most people will think of as insane as he climbs up the swing set and goes hand over hand. Is this crazy, well not really, you will also notice both of us doing this and I will tell you that it does take a lot of hand strength and coordination. But anyone with basic fitness levels should be able to do this, yet most can’t.

So enjoy the video, and the next time you are out and about with your kids, or if you just feel like being a kid yourself go out and run around the playground, try some pull ups, do some climbing, just get out and do. I also take the boys through a quick workout. Leg lifts, pushups, crunches, squats, and calf raises. There is no correct order but the key is to do this quickly. Normally when I get up in the morning I stretch and do this circuit as I described here and I do 50 of each. It hits most muscle groups and gets you ready to face your day.

There are many different attitudes on stretching before working out. Some say stretch before and some say stretch after. In the movie Zombie Land, Tallahassee doesn’t believe in stretching out, he asks “does the lion stretch out before he chases a gazelle?” The answer to this is, no he doesn’t.

How can you or I look at this and apply it to our own lives. Well for one thing if you are in decent fitness shape you should be able to get up and sprint away from danger without stretching, or do other simple physical things without hurting ourselves. So in a way Tallahassee is correct. Generally speaking I do not stretch out before I work out, but I do light warm ups to get the blood pumping to prepare for heavier exercise. By warming up this way, it helps prevent injury.

When rock climbing, fighting, or scuba diving I do static stretching for about 10 minutes prior to the actual event. The type of stretching I do is light and easy and I start at the neck and work each joint in my body down to my toes. This warms my body up for exercise and takes out any stiffness that may exist. There are several different types of stretching that can be done and later the M&G Fitness team will be putting up videos that show you how to stretch and different types of stretches.

As an example, there are two different morning routines that I go through and I will be discussing one in a minute. There are top to bottom joint stretching that I do prior to activities and is discussed above and then there is the complete body stretch that is done after a workout that helps cool down muscles and helps prevent soreness the next day.

The morning routine that I do is done in bed right before I step out of bed and only takes a few minutes. I do this normally when I am sore from a heavy workout the previous day.

Here is what I do: I start with my toes, opening and closing them several times, then move up to the calves stretching them, then move up to my butt, then I will take several deep breathes which stretches my chest and stomach area. Then I will move to my shoulders, moving them around, up and down, my neck goes side to side and finally I will move my elbows back and forth and flex my fingers and wrist.

I do each area for a 10 second count and it only takes a few minutes. This little routine though loosens me up and makes blood flow to my body and energizes my brain. This is also a good stretch to do in general even if you are not sore just to get the juices flowing, so to speak.

It is great to talk about them but what do they mean? For one thing if you truly want happiness, then understanding what mind, body, and spirit are is one way of doing it. If anyone one of these are out of balance, then you may feel out of sort.

Your MIND

Keeping you mind sharp is key to never truly growing old. Turn off the TV,  get off the internet, unless you are doing research, and learn something new. Pick up a book, take a class, help your kids with homework but get your mind moving. The first thing I said was turn off the TV. If you are overweight to any extent I bet you watch TV daily, or spend more than 4 hours (out of work), on the internet.

This is key to being slimmer and having a fitter mind. Each moment you sit and watch another stupid TV show is one more minute you are closer to death. The average American spends 9 years of their lives in front of the TV and with the economy going down hill, this trend will probably continue to get worse.

Step 1) Get all TV’s out of the house except for one TV in the family room. Turn off the TV during all meals and have all meals at the kitchen table. If you or your kids are bored, then break out the games, go outside or just TALK. Imagine that.

Step 2) Get on with your life. I bet if you are overweight or your kids are, or spouse, then you have multiple TV’s in the house, you do not eat meals at the kitchen table and the TV is used as a babysitter.

Step 3) Get all electronics, except an alarm clock, out of all bedrooms. Bedrooms are for relaxing and sleep.

Your BODY

Doing all the above will also help your body. Scientists have proven that most medical issues in old people are the result of poor health and caring of their body when they were younger. So if you want to live a healthy life then you need to take steps now. Remember, our bodies were not meant to be FAT.

Step 1) Do everything in the section about the MIND.

Step 2) Get off the couch…go do something, anything.

Step 3) Do it daily. Find an activity that requires you to move around and do it daily.

Step 4) Feed your body. This means give it good food 90% of the time, stop drinking soda, diet soda, sweet tea, specialty coffee drinks and what ever else has sugar or sweeteners in it.

Drink water, lots of water, sip coffee, green tea, and more water.

Do not go through a drive-thru and limit both starchy and processed food.

Sounds simple right, probably not, you see you are use to getting food quick, being able to instantly eat and we are bothered when going to the counter we have to wait more than 5 minutes for our food. Remember each time you eat fast food, when you feed your kids fast food you are pushing them one step closer to death.

Your SPIRIT

Your spirit is how you feel in general. Your spirit should generally be happy and content. You should not feel hungry, tired, or even depressed. If you are feeling sickly then your mind and body are out of whack. If your general “feeling” of life is overly manic or overly “down” then you need to bring your mind and body back into balance.

Keep stress away from your body and mind and your spirit will balance out.

There are a few things that you can do to motivate yourself to follow through on goals that you have for the day or week. For example, this week I have several goals.  The first is to do the Asylum (BeachBody) workout each day this week without fail. Another goal I have is to not enjoy any beers during the week. The final goal I have is to write part of my research paper each day.

Now, yes, I am writing this little article instead of doing any of the other three but this is part of my motivation. By writing these down I have set my goals and intentions. Now all you have to do is ask yourself how do I follow through. The first thing you need to do is look at your goals and see if they are attainable or not.

Goal 1: Asylum each day.

Attainable: Yes

Goal 2: No beer during the week.

Attainable: Yes

Goal 3: Write part of a research paper.

Attainable: No

You are probably wondering why I am saying no to goal three. The reason three is not attainable is that it is vague and not clear.

To upgrade the goal I need to add this:

On Monday and Tuesday I will write up to 8 pages for research question 3 and finish it.  For research question 1 I will write on Wednesday and Thursday and for question 2 I will use Friday and Saturday.

See? Now that goal is much clearer and attainable. So today being Monday, I have question 3 open on my computer and have actually already written 2 pages. I am focused just on this question, it is attainable.

Remember most goals are attainable as long as they are clear. The reason that most goals  fail is due to the person that sets the goal not realizing that to attain the goal it needs to be reachable, have well distinguished milestones, and easy to reach.

Example of this is reaching 100 push-ups in a row. If you can do 20 right now your goal should be 100 in lets say 8 weeks. Is this attainable? Maybe, maybe not. If you say I am going to do 100 push-ups in 8 weeks, but each week I am going to do push-ups on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and each Friday I am going to test myself. You may not make 100 in 8 weeks but you will probably be damn close, a whole lot stronger, and you will have reached 8 smaller goals.

Remember, to increase motivation, goals need to be attainable, and to be attainable they need to be clear and concise.

Peace.