The Punishment Workout
Description Truly extreme fitness workouts are rare and far from each other. Most training programs don’t even have a clue about extreme fitness and are often designed to convince weaklings that they are working harder than they actually are. These mimic training is common among personal trainers who are concerned that their clients might hurt themselves while under the care of a so-called professional. There’s a safety valve right in the programming for liability purposes. The rationale behind this is, “Don’t give them extreme training, or they might hurt themselves.” Pansies. On the other hand, there are some workouts that you can’t skimp on – some where you can’t put in half the effort. There is no room for maneuver in program design. If you are going to complete this type of workout, you will be working your tail – and it will not be enjoyable. Extreme Fitness – Pray for Mercy Workout – Printable Version Here’s a tough workout that will make you mentally beg for mercy. The workout is simple in design so you can stay focused on the task at hand. You will need every ounce of concentration you can muster to get through this. A fancy training protocol is not needed to induce adaptation. Simple and hard work. Anyone can do it anywhere. No equipment is required, and no excuse for not being able to even try to do this (for those with medical approval). It goes without saying that no one should try to do an extreme workout like this one unless recommended by their doctor. Please read the medical disclaimer here. Also, this option is for the home gym – not recommended for the gym or other densely populated areas where extreme fitness is frowned upon. Note: I highly recommend that you surround this workout with a thorough joint mobility warm-up and recharge with lots of vibration exercises along with an appropriate compensatory exercise sequence using Prasara Yoga. Get serious about your pre-rehab and recovery workouts, or you’re more likely to get hurt or worse. You can also schedule 3-5 days of complete rest after this session. Do yourself a favor and load up your optimal meals in advance, and plan your post-workout meals in advance (if not already ready). After your joint mobility and a special warm-up (1-2 low repetitive “training” sets of each exercise), follow this pattern: -Maximum set of squats with body weight. To be clear, the max set of squats is the one where you literally fall on your butt because you can’t do another rep. Your legs may shake like crazy for the last 10-20 reps. Keep your shape. -Rest 1 minute -Maximum set of push-ups immediately followed by a maximum set of knee push-ups. When your arms are weak, start pushing up from your knee until you fall again. At this point, you will be wondering if tears are mixing with all the sweat you drip. -Rest 1 minute -Maximum set of walking lunges (or alternating forward lunges). Set a mental goal for yourself to do twice as many reps as usual. If you usually give up at 50 because you are “tired,” try 100. -Rest 1 minute -Maximum set of pull-ups, immediately followed by jump-ups, immediately followed by negative reps. This will be the easiest set, and most people will hit the fewest reps compared to other exercises. This is not a reason to skimp on effort. Don’t be surprised if your arms feel like jelly and your elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle in the vise, like pain after this set. If you can’t find a place to do the pull-ups, replace the burp – which will be a pretty strong incentive to find an even harder place to do the pull-ups after those squats and push-ups! -Rest 1 minute -Maximum set of spinal stones – any variation (replace V-ups with strong exhalation for flexion if you don’t know spinal stones). This set should take a long time – maybe a few minutes. With a little training under your belt, you could potentially do hundreds of reps. It should feel like rest compared to other exercises. -Rest 2 minutes This is one circuit. The workout consists of this circuit performed 3-5 times. 3 times in a row gives you the right to say that you did it. 5 times through awards you with a gold star and a little respect. Bragging rights come with high numbers in your 5th set.
Here’s an example of a max bodyweight squat set (no, you don’t have to watch all of this to get the idea, but there are some fun and interesting things if you choose to sit through this) * Notes: What I find most interesting of this video is the regression of my breathing technique. I started the set using flow level breathing (exhale while contracting while squatting and inhale while expanding while standing). After a while, I moved on to breathing at the level of discipline (exhaling with effort). Further, my breathing deteriorated to a style of power breathing (gradual exhalation with effort with intra-abdominal pressure during each repetition). There have been several permutations of the above, and some attempts to restore discipline and breath flow levels, but this goes to show that breathing is a skill that is directly related to your overall performance potential. I would also like to mention that with a trainer, I would be more aware of my confused technique (you noticed unnecessary neck lengthening when standing), and I could just finish that last 2% of performance – or maybe it really was more like on 10%. The world will never know about it. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Pray For Mercy Extreme Fitness Workout – Weight Versions (Abbreviated) Warm Up Joint Mobility Repeat the exercise 3-5 times, 1 minute rest between exercises, 2 minutes rest between circles: Bodyweight Squats – Max Reps Pushups -> Knee Pushups – Max Reps Walking lunges or alternating front lunges – Max. repetitions Pull-ups -> jump-ups -> negative pull-ups – max reps Spinal Rocks or V-ups – Maximum Reps Prasara Yoga Recharge Not very similar if you condense it on paper, does it? ____________________________________________________________________________________ twist Every good story needs a twist! Let me ask you something. Did the above workout feel odd, bizarre, or over the top? Did you find the video excessive? Or have you been hypnotized by groans, sweat and endless possibilities of enduring pain? Ask yourself, “what was my reaction?” To be honest. There is no right or wrong answer here. I bet most people will view the above workout as atypical, a little over the top, but also very intriguing. Most people will probably look at the above “shorthand version” and think, “I wonder how well I could do this. How difficult can it be? ” Now let me ask you one more question. Did you pay attention to the warnings too? You know, all those warnings “don’t really do this crazy workout.” … name: pray for mercy, extreme fitness workout weaklings, pansies it will not be very pleasant do not do this without your doctor’s advice see medical disclaimer you can’t do it in public you will need 3-5 days of complete rest you may start crying while exercising hands in a grip like pain etc. Maybe you’ve read all of these warnings, but they didn’t really warn you. I would not be surprised to hear that these statements even spurred you on. And this is the problem with our culture. We’ve become so obsessed with the pursuit of extreme fitness and super-specialized performance that it’s literally ruining us. As we do more sets, more reps, more frequent workouts, lift heavier weights, lift weights faster, and increase the volume and intensity of our workouts, we are losing touch with the inner person who desperately needs an abundance of physical expression. We have turned the preservation and development of our innate physicality into work. We have lost sight of any semblance of bodily enjoyment. This is why we train.
The above training could be called an act of insanity – disguised as an exercise in a blatant attempt at self-torture. It represents the extreme approach to “fitness” that we have nurtured in our culture. It doesn’t have to be fun or even remotely enjoyable. If you get any pleasure from it, then only after you finish it (if you can), and the only happiness you will experience will be that you survived, not because you really enjoyed yourself. … Either that or you’re a fitness masochist, which isn’t as rare as one might think in the health communities! The moral of the story Now I will tell you a little secret. Although I did this workout several times a few years ago (one caveat: I did use squats instead of spinal stones), I have absolutely no intention of exposing myself to anything so physically extreme ever again – at least in my physical preparation. In fact, I do not recommend anyone even try the pray for mercy exercise, and I suggest that you immediately put it out of your head. It’s just a terrible test that you have to endure with no purpose behind you. Let me show you what I mean. You see, I used to exercise to the extreme. I’m used to doing things that no one else would do. I used to push harder than I ever thought I could – over and over again. And for what? More reps? More satisfaction? More results? Pathetic. The only things I got were some impressive workout numbers, a lean body, and a little respect (read “fear”) for being crazy. At the same time, I lost my health, mobility, functionality, and a healthy outlook on exercise (perhaps the most costly loss). A paltry reward for so much work and a high price to pay for so little benefit. And how wrong I was, thinking that these things can only be bought at such a steep price. Oh no, no, no, no! You can have impressive talent, a lean, muscular body and respect from your peers – not only because of what you can achieve, but because you achieve so much with very little visible effort. This is just the beginning. The exercise should develop the whole person, and not just his individual qualities. Don’t settle for scraps when you can have “top-notch rib fitness” for the rest of your life. Take Home Items I wrote this post with the desire to address these points:
Our culture is steeped in this tough, authoritarian fitness mentality, which is not only terrible for us on multiple levels, but is rapidly changing our true potential. There is much more to be gained from fitness than a lean, muscular physique and impressive physical talent. Physical practice is literally the gateway to one of life’s most valuable assets, which is empowerment through the experience of realizing your potential. While there are long-term results that can be obtained from maximum training that leaves you completely exhausted and figuratively disabled, this is a bad idea for most of us. This leaves you vulnerable for hours, if not days afterwards. If you are really training to be useful in this world, then leaving yourself vulnerable is not an option. Maybe you have a concierge who handles all of your personal affairs and Security to keep you and your family safe while you recuperate or otherwise enjoy your “day off”, but for the rest of us, we must be at form to be useful around the clock. The lesson here is that training should not only help you achieve your goals, but also leave you feeling better than when you started. This is what we should expect from our teaching, but it goes against the conventional wisdom. At the same time, most people do not even come close to maximum training intensity in their training programs. I would be completely deceived if I thought I was getting close to my maximum of around 40 or 50 reps in the above video of bodyweight squats – even though I felt tired. The point is, most people can work much harder without even getting close to their true maximum potential. And in most cases, working a lot harder is exactly what people need to achieve their goals. Why not expect more from us? The body is capable of much more than we attribute to it. I am not talking about simulating your workout after the intensity shown in the video above, or incorporating the Beg For Mercy extreme fitness workout into your program. But I am saying that perhaps you could put in a lot more effort than you were, and it is a good idea to check with yourself from time to time about how hard you are really working. On the other hand, you might be thinking, “Sure, this workout looks difficult, but I could do it.” you may be tempted to try it because you are used to training hard on a regular basis. For you, I suggest you reevaluate how hard you have worked and ask yourself if it really helps you achieve your goals. Are you 100% injury free? Are you feeling healthy? Can you perform various movements without pain? Do you quickly learn new movement skills? Last but not least, do you enjoy training in the present (not just the reward or satisfaction you get after training)? If you can answer “yes” to all of these questions, then keep on doing good work. Wrap We know for sure that vigorous (not maximal) physical movement and exercise is extremely beneficial for the body. There are so many benefits that it would take a whole volume of encyclopedias to cover them all. We also know that in order to get the most out of it, you must work hard. You must sweat and get dirty. This does not mean that you have to overcome reasonable boundaries over and over again with maximum effort training. This means that you train as hard as you can safely recover. If you’re looking for a health workout program that is primarily similar to “beg for mercy” workout, but which also fits the “return home points” above, then check out my review of the TACFIT Commando bodyweight workout program. This system has been formulated by experienced trainers to only take you to the edge of a safe load, and no further, using a “surge recovery surge” strategy. While there is a lot of “hardcore style tough guy” marketing for this product (which I’m not a huge fan of), the program is not extreme by any means, and it does what it promises in a safe and sustainable manner. As part of general physical practice, it can be a great addition to the strength training component. To read more about why I recommend TACFIT Commando, check out my review here: TACFIT Commando Bodyweight Workout Program Overview
If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and tweets: Share KNT, KNT-KS IN LAW-KPP P.S. If you really want to play with the above workout, I suggest limiting your load to 60% of your maximum the first time. After a few reps at moderate intensity, gradually build up the effort, but do not exceed 80% of the perceived maximum effort. Maximum intensity training certainly has its merits and there are legitimate reasons to do it under certain circumstances. But for most of us, high frequency MIT is not necessary – by no means. So, if you are an athlete with specific physical needs that can be met by doing the above workout, then by all means do it. If you are preparing for a military physical training exam and want to improve your performance, then start counting. If you are a CrossFit fan and love not remembering “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” after your workout – you know what to do! But if you are not in one of these situations, then it might be time to rethink your view of extreme fitness.
tristian –
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