DeansRedHalo’s BodyBlog

Do this ab routine without stopping.  We are doing 20 reps on each exercise, so basically you are doing a circuit.  This circuit can be done with or without the help of a Swiss ball, personally I prefer it, but it may be helpful to just use a regular bench at first to work up to the ball.  You will need at least a 25 lb. plate for the first two exercises.

The circuit is composed of four exercises:

Weighted crunches (hold the weight to your chest)
Hands-over-head weighted crunches
Leg pull-ins
Leg raises

If you are doing this circuit on the Swiss ball:  When you get to the leg pull-ins, I would suggest "locking" the Swiss ball by wedging it up against a sturdy bench (alternatively, you could always have a partner hold the bench) and reach back and brace yourself on the bench as you balance atop the ball.  For the leg raises on the Swiss ball, position the ball at your lower back and roll yourself away from the bench until you have reached a comfortable distance and then reach your arms back and lock them under the bench to support.  Now you can balance on the Swiss ball and do your leg raises for maximum core impact.  If you need to cheat slightly, try resting your head on the bench.  Either way, these are killer.

I usually do three of these with minimal rest in between.

Again, no rest in between.  Instead of going for reps, this time we are going on time (which is far worse, I assure you).  I’ve included a description of some of the exercises below the circuit.  Now, if you’ve never done one of these, or you’re not sure what kind of shape you are in, for God’s sake:  DO NOT TRY THIS, or if you feel you must, AT LEAST cut the times for each exercise down (start for a total of 2 minutes and work your way up or something similar).  If you can do three of these circuits you can consider yourself in excellent shape.  The goal here is to work your way up to five total circuits (that’s 25 minutes of almost nonstop movement and working) with a minute of rest in between.  When you hit that goal, throw in some variables — begin extending the exercises from 30 seconds to a minute, or cut the rest period down from 1 minute to 45 or 30 seconds.  Trust me, it’ll be a while before you’re ready for that.

Here we go; bring your game face and be ready to push it.  If you start to fade or you feel like you can’t do any more reps at all, adhere to what I call the "shotgun philosophy" — that is, if someone had a shotgun pointed at your face and told you you had to do at least one more rep or you would be killed, what would you do?  Push through the pain and churn out those reps.

Punch-outs (just straight right and left jabs, snap hard and quick) - 30 seconds
High-knee choppers (keep your hands UP!) - 30 seconds
Plank to iso (switching every 5 seconds)* - 30 seconds
Mountain climbers - 30 seconds
Leap frogs* - 30 seconds
Prison pushups* - 1 minute
High-knee choppers (keep your hands UP!) to burpee* - 30 seconds
Wheelbarrow pushups (you WILL NEED a partner for these)* - 1 minute

TOTAL TIME:  5 minutes.

Rest 1 minute.

Repeat the entire circuit as many times as you can, shooting for three, hoping for five.

*Plank to iso:  Start in a pushup position with hands shoulder-width apart.  On the switch, drop down to the lowest point you can hold just before your chest touches the ground.  Keep your head up so that only your hands and toes are on the ground.  You will hold each position for five seconds.

*Leap frogs:  Squat as if you were trying to touch your butt to your heels, place your hands on the floor in between your legs and explode up into a high jump.  Throw your hands above your head and try and kick your heels to your butt at the peak of your jump.  When you come down, smoothly go immediately back into the down position and start all over.  I would really, really suggest going non-stop here if you can; it IS GOING to HURT, but if you ever stop your momentum and your rhythm, it will be 10x worse on you.

*Prison pushups:  One of my faves; start in an ordinary pushup position, do one rep.  When you come up, bring your right knee up toward your chest and then back down.  Repeat the pushup and do the same thing with your left knee.  Repeat the pushup again and then pull both feet up under you as if you were coming out of a burpee and stand up straight.  For future reference, that is ONE rep.

*High-knee choppers to burpee:  Chop your feet; focus on bringing your knees to your chest on each step.  Keep your hands up as if you were in a fight; DO NOT let them drop.  At your own pace, or when your partner or instructor calls it, drop and do a burpee rep (Google "burpee" if you have no idea what that is) and come back up and resume chopping.

*Wheelbarrow pushups:  Assume pushup position.  Have your partner grab your ankles and go up into a wheelbarrow position on your hands.  Begin walking on your hands with your partner following holding your ankles.  When you get to 14 steps, do 10 pushups with your legs still suspended.  When finished, walk another 14 steps and repeat.  Keep repeating this for the duration of the exercise.  If your area is too small for that many steps, take as many as you can and then turn around and keep going.  If you don’t have a partner, do explosive pushups (drive yourself off the ground by flicking your wrists at the top of every rep) or ordinary pushups for the entire minute if you are gassing.

Whatever you have to do, finish STRONG!

If you are instructing or manning the stopwatch for this circuit, be a hard-ass.  Even if you are the nicest person on the planet, turn into a Marine Corps Drill Instructor for that five minutes.  Push your partner within limits, of course…if he/she looks like they are about to die or are complaining of chest pain, use common sense.  

If you are training to fight, always keep your hands up on the drills where you are vertical.  This not only makes it uncomfortable and more difficult; it drives into your brain the concept of keeping your guard up no matter how tired you are.  If you’re instructing and your partner/fighter is dropping his hands, grab a sparring glove or focus mitt and lob a few looping hooks toward their head.  They’ll get the message soon enough.

When you’re all done, and IF YOU CAN, shadow box for 1 minute.

I’m posting this on my blog since it’s still pretty much a work in progress, but:

Do 10 reps of everything.  If it’s a unilateral exercise that means 10 on each side/leg/arm/whatever.  No rest in between.

Weighted chins - 40 lbs.
Medicine ball slams - 10 lbs.
Overhead DB punches - 15 lbs.
Elevated feet side planks with oblique dip - 1 sec. hold
DB lunges - 30 lbs.
Alternating leg box jumps

Rest 1 minute.  Control your breathing and try and get your heart rate down.

Do the entire circuit twice more.

Now finish with Javorek Dumbbell Complex #1 and shadow box for 1 minute.

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The idea here is to simulate a fight condition; 3 to 5 minutes of high-intensity, fast-paced movements followed by one minute of down time.  It’s very important to be able to control your breathing and get your heart rate down in the one minute rest period, otherwise completing the next two circuits are going to be nearly impossible if not devastatingly difficult.

Javorek Dumbbell Complex #1 is fantastic for adding overall strength and for also boosting your heart rate and metabolism into overdrive.  It’s more difficult than it looks.

Shadow boxing is to teach endurance and in this case, to force the person to keep moving even when they are tired.  It’s very important to always keep your hands up.