Thursday, 22 March 2012

The hills have eyes and the prowler never lies


Whether you're an athlete, soccer mom, weekend warrior, samurai or built like a Greek God, there are some things that you cant go without.  Conditioning.

Its these things that will break down the weak, and build up the hard.

Strength to conditioning is like orgasms to sex.  You cant have one without the other, or you can, but the results are never good.

I love this side of training as much as a seven year old loves broccoli. When my coach puts me on the prowler, I don't just suffer from prowler flu, I endure full blown bitch flu, I fall off the wagon straight into radical pneumonia.

However at the same time its that physical stimulation of pushing yourself beyond your last session that freaks like me thrive on.  Now when we talk building lung capacity, building endurance, putting the body under stress, increasing your speed and cardiovascular fitness, we talk conditioning.

Your strength is useless if you run out of gas.  If you are training you must be conditioning.

If you want to be faster, stronger, more efficient and look hot in spandex,  for ultimate conditioning you want to push prowlers, pull sleds, battle ropes, smash the skipping rope, tackle those hill sprints and fight the building stairs.

Why?  Because these are the shores upon which the weak are broken

The prowler is probably thee most effective training tool, I am no expert but I have spent the last 2 years on
the prowl.  I have learnt that this simple piece of equipment builds your lungs, your hips and your legs and leaves you wanting to throw up a body part.  There is little room for wear and tear on the knees, shins and ankles and the gains I have experienced surrounding my level of conditioning are irremovable, whether you are a beginner, an athlete or a world class sportsman the prowler should fall in as part of your workout.
Walk into any garage style facility and you are going to find some powerhouse out of breath, red in the face and grunting like a troll.  Its not about looking fabulous its about getting results.  Battling ropes build muscular endurance, increase lung capacity, works your grip and is an invaluable tool for speed and endurance.

When does your body start adapting to the stress? Never ever.

Hill sprints and stair sprints are probably the most lethal in my books, making your strong, fast and lean while building your mental strength.  Another great exercise that only requires the outdoors, that target your legs and your lungs while attacking your mind.  As South Africans we have no excuse to be indoors staring into the screen on the treadmill, adjusting to an incline while your personal trainer barks "pick up the pace" from the side lines, this gets you results like McDonald's salad gets you nutrition.

These tools and this knowledge are not going to just make you hard, but make you hard to beat.

You have to make time for conditioning or make time for failing.