Old School Training for Conditioning If you ever watch a strongman competition you will see it takes more than being strong to kick ass at these events. It requires these large men to be physically fit and able to move huge loads quickly and for a good amount of time. These events are often call Medleys and you can see that when they are finished with a medley they are sweating bullets and breathing like a race horse! The medley is two or more events strung together, and often the last event is the hardest one! They require grip strength, power endurance, strength endurance and exceptional cardiovascular conditioning. Let s take a look at how we can create our own medleys for phenomenal conditioning and strength and power endurance. First thing you want to do (which I learned from CJ Murphy of www.totalperformancesports.com) is to create a medley with a goal in mind specific to the athlete s needs. Create a time / reps / sets program that will best prep them for their sport or job requirement. My focus is combat athletes. These athletes often have bouts of explosive activity lasting 15 25 seconds followed by bouts of active rest where they might be in a clinch or in the guard or on their back setting up moves which lasts another 15 25 seconds. We can create a medley that resembles these timelines using various old school implements. On the flip side, it is fine to train other energy systems to work the body from various angles. The only thing I am not a fan of is training the aerobic energy system primarily. We want
athletes who can exert themselves for explosive bouts repeatedly, just as is required during their matches and fights. Let s use the following tools for our medley: Sled 2 sand bags heavy dumbbells, kettlebells or any farmer walk implement heavy log or Keg Place both sand bags one on top of the other. Next to the sand bags keep the farmer walk tool you will be using, and next to the farmer walk tool place the keg or log. On the other side (100 ft. away) place a loaded sled. Let s start! I will outline this medley in steps to make it easy to follow: 1. Carry both sand bags to the end of your marked distance, place them both on the ground. 2. Now Grab only the top sand bag and run it back to the starting point. 3. Pick up the farmer walk implement and carry to the end point where the sled awaits you. 4. backwards drag the sled to the starting point where the keg or log awaits you. 5. Two choices with the keg / log: Carry it down and back as quickly as possible, or, shoulder the log or keg as many times as possible in a 20 second time period. Shouldering is when we don t put the keg down at all, but we maneuver the keg from one shoulder to the next. This movement requires some squatting and cleaning techniques with rotation. It is a great move. You can also use the sand bag military press as the last event if you do not have a log or keg. Below are a few variations of the log carry
Above is the bear hug carry Above is the curl position or zercher carry
shouldering the log while carrying this pic is a hybrid of shouldering and carrying This medley can be done at the end of a traditional strength workout for 1 3 rounds, resting 1 2 minutes between each round, or, you can perform an entire work out of medley s performing a certain number of sets (possibly 5 or 6 total) or as many sets as possible in a 30 minute time period!
These medleys are great for training groups as well because each tool can be brought to a certain area where the individuals must rotate from area 1 to area 2 and so on. Remember, it doesn t take much to get this equipment for free. A few logs, tractor tires, kegs and sand bags will cost you close to nothing so be proactive and go get yourself some old school equipment and start kicking ass! Zach Even Esh is a Strength & Performance Coach located in NJ. For more information on old school and strongman training visit www.undergroundstrengthcoach.com