Hail to the Dinosaurs!
As North American readers know, we're
right in the middle of a Polar Vortex -
meaning a super blast of frigid arctic
air has departed the North Pole and
blanketed the continent, bringing
record lows and intense cold.
It's 20 degrees below zero across much
of the country - and with the windchill
factored in, it's down to 40 or 50
degrees below zero.
Here in balmy Louisville, where things
are usually pretty mild in the
winter, it's currently holding at
one degree below zero.
That's with the sun shining brightly,
folks.
And it's not counting the wind-
chill.
So imagine my reaction when I got a
training about hot weather workouts!
It's from a reader in Oz - as in,
Australia - and their seasons are
the opposite of ours. So it's winter
here, and summer Down Under.
He loves to train hard and heavy on the
basic, compound exercises - but the
weather in Australia is brutally hot
right now, and it's hard to justice
to three or four heavy exercises in
one session.
So he wonders if ultra-abbreviated
workouts would be a good idea for
someone training in (his words) "a
harsh, dry, oven-like environment."
Like I said, that's a heck of a
question to find in the in-box on a
day like today!
Anyhow, it's a good question - so
here's the answer.
Ultra-abbreviated workouts are great
for hot weather training.
One of the pioneers of ultra-
abbreviated workouts was a man named
William Boone. He worked 10 or 12 hours
a day digging water wells in Louisiana,
Texas and Arkansas - which is about as
hot a job as you can find anywhere.
After work, he would train - out in
his backyard gym.
He did ONE exercise. He trained TWO
times per week.
His one exercise was the split style
jerk, taking the bar from a set of old-
fashioned squat stands positioned on his
homemade lifting platform.
He started light, and did a series of
progressively heavier low rep sets.
Mostly triples with the lighter
weights, then doubles as the bar
got heavier, and then singles with
his top weights.
How did it work?
Well, he worked up to 420 pounds on
the jerk - back when the official World
Record in the clean and jerk was less
than 400 pounds.
That's not bad for a man who works a
hard, hot, tiring job and then goes
home and trains in his backyard.
So that's one approach to ultra-
abbreviated training. Choose one
exercise, and hit it twice a week.
Note: squats would work well. So
would deadlifts or the clean and
press -- or push press -- or jerk.
Another way to do it would be to
choose two different exercises and
hit each movement once per week.
Example:
Mon - Clean and press
Thurs - Squats or deadlifts
Or, you could train three times per
week and do a different exercise in
each session:
Mon - Squat
Wed - Press
Fri - Deadlift
Work gut, grip and neck work in as you
can.
Ultra-abbreviated training also works
great for older trainees - for those
who work long hours at work or school
(or both) - and for those who are
trying to pack on strength and muscle
mass. Almost all of the classic weight
gaining and mass-building programs
from the 30's, 40's and 50's were
abbreviated or ultra-abbreviated
programs.
So there's your hot weather training
program - on what's not exactly a
summer day here in the USA.
As always, thanks for reading and
have a great day. If you train today,
make it a good one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more information on ultra-
abbreviated training, grab a copy of
STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses
are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Stay warm,
and do squats!" -- Brooks Kubik
