So I got a story and little bit of “therapy” to share with you…
“Aggressive Therapy” that is. More on that in a bit…
The story’s about today’s Thursday Throwdown…
I decided for today’s throwdown, since it called for some extreme conditioning that I would grab my 70 lbs Skull Kettlebell and head on down to the track.
Summer time is in FULL EFFECT as when I hit this throwdown, it was already 82 degrees out at 7am…
So I went to the track and while I was pulling up I noticed there was a parking space right in the front where the track entrance is.
The track is surrounded by a 8 foot tall fence to keep people out and there’s a small opening at one end which serves as the only point of entry.
So, as I was pulling up, I thought to myself, “Damn, I got this 70 lbs KB so I should probably park here so I don’t have to carry it too far…”
Long story short, I purposely parked almost two full blocks away for that very reason…
I have my 70 lbs Skull kettlebell to carry so I might as well get in a little more work right?
I’m all about looking for simple ways to add a bit more to my training sessions and this definitely did the trick.
Once I carried the KB to the track it was time for a serious warm up.
I hit up a 10 min dynamic mobility warm up and then hit a few short sprints just to make sure I was ready to go.
Today’s Throwdown went like this:
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1A) The “Buy In”
1 Lap x 1A Kettlebell Single Arm Farmer Walk – Switch arms every 100m or go AFAP
2A) 5 Rounds each for time:
a) 200 yard Shuttle Sprint
b) 5 Burpees
c) 10 KB Sumo DL High Pulls upon completion of shuttle
***Rest 1 Min Between Rounds – Keep work time the same
***Score is TOTAL time + weight of KB or DB used
4D) The “Cash Out”
1 Lap x 1A Kettlebell Single Arm Farmer Walk – Switch arms when you have to
Now this may look easy on paper, but it turned out to be hell!
I would take a 1 min break between rounds and repeat, but by the end, that minute rest felt like 15 secs.
My legs and lungs were on FIRE!
It’d be safe to say that this counted towards a conditioning session for sure but more importantly, it tested my mental conditioning more then anything.
It’s not as easy as you may think to carry around a 70 lbs KB around a track especially when you’re gasping for air, it’s a whole different world.
The 200 yard shuttles just plain sucked.
No way around those as all you focus on doing is going as fast as possible.
I focused on keeping my strides as long as possible then turning and switching directions quickly.
The worst were the high pulls at the end after the burpees.
No easy way around these as you just got to push through to get them done. This is where that “go switch” needs to be kept on.
Don’t let your mind convince you that you need a break – just go!
This is the point that you want to be at.
This is where you get yourself better.
The real challenge comes in is when you’re tired and already fatigued.
This is when you dig in and either get better or just get by.
You got to take yourself past that barrier of feeling comfortable and push into the hurt zone.
This is what separates people in the end.
This is where the MIND comes into play.
I was happy when I finally got through my 5th round as that was a killer.
And with the Nebraska heat and humidity…
Hands down, I know I got better today with this throwdown.
How do I know? I can look at myself in the mirror and say I gave it all I had…
When I was in the hurt zone, I pushed a little bit further.
It would have been easy to rest a few secs, but how will that get me better? How will resting when I know I need to be going help me improve?
These are things only YOU personally know the truth to at the end of a training session.
Did you push your hardest or did you let off the gas just a bit?
Sometimes I let off the gas and when I do, I know.
At the end of a training session there has been times when I know I didn’t reach for that extra bit…
But, other times I step on that gas pedal and just go.
You ALWAYS know whether you do or don’t.
This day was a good day…
I know I got better.
Moral of this story… Make sure you’re able to honestly tell yourself, “YOU GOT BETTER TODAY”.
I hope you enjoyed this little story and Throwdown. I like to call this a little
bit of “Aggressive Therapy”.
Livin’ Aggressive and Gettin’ Strong!
PS – There’s a NEW phase starting up on July 1st within TrainAggressive.com
Become a Solider within the Aggressive Strength Army and start taking your training results to the next level!