3 Brutal Challenges for Strength & Stamina

 

Viking Day: Rope and Sled Training

by Jim Wendler |  

 

Here's what you need to know...

1. Physical challenges must be a regular part of your life. Physical challenges build a strong mind, a strong body, and keep you sharp.
2. Keep tools simple and challenging. The sled, rope, and Prowler are perfect. They're brutalizing, but require little technique.
3. PULL – Start with a rope pull. Use a thick, long rope (112') and pull a heavy sled toward you with a hand over hand motion.
4. DRAG – Second is the sled drag. Use a harness and do one set facing forward and one set facing backward, each for 50 yards.
5. PUSH – Third is the Prowler push. Load it up heavy and push it a total of 100 yards. If it takes 15 minutes, deal with it.

The Purpose of Viking Day

"Odin's men rushed forwards without armour, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were strong as bears or wild oxen, and killed people at a blow, but neither fire nor iron told upon them."

— Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241)

I was first introduced to the Viking Berserkers in high school. I had a lot of rage and testosterone at that time so I believed it was "me against the world" and I identified with such warriors.

Fast forward a few decades and we all realize we don't have to hunt our food, we have air conditioning, and we're out of the food chain – far from being warriors. However, I still believe that physical challenges must be a regular part of every man/woman's life and are a proper way to build a strong mind and body. Physical challenges help sharpen the person.

Even if you don't buy this, Viking Day training is simply awesome, especially when done with a close group of friends. Following is how we organize the day, what the challenges are, and some goals to shoot for. Remember, though, it's not a challenge if everyone can do it.

The Goal – Blind Strength and Stamina

The Viking Day consists of 3 things: rope pull, sled pull, and Prowler push. Each of these things is done as heavy as possible and as stupid as possible. While many can compare this to an events day for strongman competitors, these movements don't really require any technique or thinking. Anyone with a brain can push or pull a sled without guidance. And that's exactly what we're after – blind strength and stamina.

Challenge One – Rope Pull

Attach a fat rope to a sled and pull it toward you.

This is the easiest portion of the Viking Day, but let's be clear, it's not really easy. The rope is a thick, 112-foot long rope that we attach to a dragging sled. We lay this creature out in the street and each person has to pull the sled with a hand over hand motion.

Each athlete has to do 2 warm-up sets and 2 work sets. Each set consists of pulling the sled the entire length of the 112-foot rope. It's important that you have someone behind the rope puller that helps clear the rope out from underneath him as he's pulling it. This makes a huge difference.

How much weight you use is going to be entirely dependent on what kind of surface you're on. For example, the street outside my house is asphalt, but it hasn't been repaved in 15 years so it's rough and doesn't make for a great dragging surface. However, a recently paved asphalt street will feel vastly different. Concrete is usually easier and grass just plain sucks. So understand the weights listed are merely guidelines.

Sample Workout:
Warm-Up Sets:  2 x 112' @ 75 pounds
Work Sets:  2 x 112' @ 190 pounds

Guidelines and Tips for Rope Pull

• The hardest part is getting the sled moving. Once you've established a good pace, try not to stop. The first few pulls will be short and choppy. Get it moving.
• Once the sled is moving, work your arms fast and pull in long strides. In other words, cover as much ground as you can when you're fresh because the hardest part is always the beginning – you're not just pulling the sled but all that rope, too.
• Your arms will give out. If they don't give out, you didn't go heavy enough. We strive to challenge and burn out. Once your arms die, stand up, count to 10 or 20, and make a goal to do an additional 5 or 10 pulls per arm. Keep setting and achieving goals until you're done.
• If you've never used a thick rope before, be prepared for your biceps, forearms, hands, upper back and lats to get smoked. You'll also be gasping for breath. After you're done catching your breath and getting a drink, move on to the next challenge.

Challenge Two – Sled Drag

Harness up and pull a heavy sled – once facing forward, once facing backward – for 50 yards.

For you to use any appreciable weight that even approaches a challenge to the hips and the legs, you need a harness. The sled strap through a belt is a total waste of time. Sled dragging on Viking Day is done two ways: facing forward and back. We only do one of each for about 50 yards.

Pulling the sled, especially forwards with a harness, will probably have to be done with a Prowler or a modified sled because most sleds have a short weight post and don't allow for enough weight to be piled on them.

Sample Workout:
255 pounds x 50 yards, forward (warm-up)
525 pounds x 50 yards, forward
345 pounds x 50 yards, backward (backwards sucks!)

Guidelines and Tips for Sled Pull

• To make pulling forward easier, get as low as possible. Anyone who's ever played a contact sport knows the saying, "Low man wins." It's no different with the sled pulls. Grab the ground in front of you and make sure your hips are low.
• If you use the Prowler for your sled work, it'll probably sway from side to side. In order to avoid this being a pain in the ass, learn to pull the sled with consistent pressure and tension. You'll never completely avoid the sway, but you can stop it from being a detriment.
• Start with shorter steps with both forward and backward pulling and as soon as you build up some speed, strive for big, deep strides.
• The hardest part is to get the sled moving from a dead stop, so avoid stopping as much as you can. It'll probably be impossible but once you get moving, strive to keep it moving, even if it's a few inches at a time.

Challenge Three – Prowler Push

Push a heavy Prowler or similar sled for two sets of 50 yards.

The Prowler can truly bring people together – we can all agree it's horrible. Despite what the lab coats say, the Prowler makes you strong, helps you breathe easier in just about any activity you do, and is simple to use.

The only people who finish the last trip without stopping are people new to Viking Day or are in horrible shape – they get to choose a light weight. We've had people take 15 minutes to push the sled across the finish line on their final trip.

We do no warm-ups for the Prowler on Viking Day, but we each have to push the Prowler 100 total yards with the heaviest weight we can move. Again, the weight you use is largely going to be dependent on the surface you push on.

Sample Workout:
395 pounds x 50 yards x 2

Guidelines and Tips for Prowler Push

• As with the sled, low man wins on the Prowler. Get your ass down and dig. One thing that's important is to make sure you don't push out of your shoes, which happens for most people at some point. Wear high-top Chuck Taylors if you can. Just make sure you lace them up and tie them.
• If you're having trouble getting the sled going, lower your arms on the horns of the Prowler.
• Once you get the sled moving, push it as fast as you can. Walking with the Prowler sucks and the faster you move it, the less time you spend under the Prowler's "Halo of Horror," otherwise known to you virgins as "time under tension."
• Keep your eyes down or focused in front of you, looking at the goal. Find out what works best for you and go with it.

So set up some folding chairs, get some drinks, take off your shirt and dig in. Be as my Rollins Band shirt once said, "Part Animal, Part Machine."

 

Jim Wendler

Jim Wendler is the creator and author of 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training Method for Raw Strength and Beyond 5/3/1: Simple Training for Extraordinary Results. He is a three-time letter winner at the University of Arizona (football) and has squatted 1000 pounds in competition. 

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DeFranco Prowler Training

 

by Joe DeFranco |  

 

Prowler Drunk

The kid is delirious, that much is clear.

After the workout we see him stumbling into his Chevy Blazer. He gets in, starts it up, and backs right into the Prowler. The Prowler is fine, but his truck has a big dent.

We're laughing, thinking, "Man, the Prowler bit him even after his workout." But it didn't end there.

A block from the industrial complex where my gym is located, the kid has to open up his door to puke. That's when the cop spots him.

College guy, puking on the side of the road... the cop turns on his lights and gives the kid a sobriety test. In the end, he lets him go, but I have to talk to the cop, tell him about the Prowler workout, and vouch for the kid.

These days the cops know we're back here and they give the kids the benefit of the doubt.

I Love / Hate the Prowler

"That's cool, but I don't really need it," I thought when I first saw the Prowler.

We already did truck and car pushes in the back parking lot for the slower, strength-based stuff. For resisted running, we'd do hill runs or sprint with a standard sled attached to our waists. The Prowler was cool, but I had other options.

I ended up getting one anyway. Within weeks I got another one. With this one piece of equipment I replaced a sled, a truck, and a hill. The Prowler just does it all.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Prowler. I love it because it's so versatile. I also love the extraordinary results it produces in an extraordinarily short period of time.

The Prowler is the ultimate piece of equipment when it comes to training economy: getting the most bang for your buck in the least amount of time. Bodybuilders can use it to add extra volume and put size on. World-class sprinters can use it to get faster.

I hate the Prowler because, with certain workouts, it can be evil. Not just "difficult" or "taxing" but evil. Heavy, twenty-rep squats have nothing on the Prowler. But if you have the balls, it's one of best training tools you can ever use.

Eccentric-less Training & Restoration

For skinnier athletes who want to put on muscle, we'll use the Prowler to add volume. We'll still do the traditional compound movements – squats and deadlifts, etc. – but we'll add in the Prowler for eccentric-less training. This allows us to increase the volume without breaking the athlete down.

Most of the time we do upper/lower body splits. If we do two upper-body sessions and two-lower body sessions per week using traditional weight training, we can use the Prowler to add in extra workouts on "off" days. More volume – without crushing the athlete with eccentric training – increases work capacity and builds more muscle.

The beauty of it is, this type of training also acts as restoration. The athletes actually feel better after the session than they did before. Done correctly, you can increase blood flow, flush out lactic acid, and enhance recovery.

Using the Prowler for a Normal Workout

You've seen the videos on YouTube: the guys puking, the guys laying on the ground unable to stand. Those are all in good fun, but those are challenges, not our actual workouts.

We use the Prowler mainly for speed and power, to increase strength and boost sprinting speed. We usually stay out of that lactic environment in our normal workouts.

I do a lot of 10 to 15-yard sprints with full recovery. I've seen an incredible increase in speed and running form. The Prowler dramatically improves acceleration technique – that first 10 to 20 yards of running a 40-yard dash.

The Prowler forces the athletes to get into the proper body position for acceleration. So not only are they faster because we've strengthened those muscles in a very specific manner using the Prowler, but because it engrainsthe perfect running form into their brains.

Train Slow to Be Fast! Introducing HASDs

One of our specialties at my facility is training athletes for speed. Most speed and agility coaches are into the running drills, the ladder drills, and the quick-foot drills. Those things, alone, are the most overused and overrated aspects of speed training.

We don't do fancy running drills to get you faster; we go to the root of the problem by asking the question: why are you slow? Let's find out and correct it instead just doing more speed drills incorrectly. Those may get you in better shape, but they're not going to fix technique flaws or muscular imbalances.

Most of our Prowler workouts consist of what we call heavy-ass sled drags or HASDs. Why? Because you have to train slow to be fast!

Here's the beauty of HASDs: If you go heavy enough, you can't drag the Prowler behind you unless you position your body a certain way. That body position just happens to be the perfect acceleration angle.

Go heavy and you have to get into that position. Otherwise that Prowler's not going to move. And since athletes can't go quickly with it, I can yell coaching cues at them while they're doing it. It would be impossible to coach speed if the athlete was actually running. A 10-yard sprint takes about a second and a half. There's no way I could yell three or four coaching cues at them in that time.

You can't do the HASDs wrong, so you're engraving the proper motor programs into the athlete's brain and he's strengthening the most important muscles for acceleration (glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves) in the most specific manner possible.

Some coaches don't like it when I call this a speed drill. "It can't be a speed drill; you're going too slow!" Well, that's bullshit. It is a speed drill.

With any other sport, you slow it down so you can teach and rehearse different aspects of the game. With sprinting you could never do that, but with HASDs you can. Plus it's physically making the athletes faster.

Some people argue that this doesn't work, that the athlete just "feels faster" after he pulls a heavy sled. But I've conducted hundreds of my own experiments using the Brower Timing System. This is what's used at the NFL Combine. It's fully electric with no chance for human error. The results of my studies on high-level athletes are clear: heavy sled dragging makes you faster.

I've had guys who are already fast – we're talking top college and NFL guys, not just some untrained grade-school kid – get faster after using HASDs or multiple sets of ten yard sprints with full recovery. We're talking guys running 4.5 and 4.4 second, electrically-timed 10-yard dashes getting even faster.

If you can get a guy who's already fast in the 10-yard dash to take off a couple of hundredths or even a full tenth, that could literally mean millions of dollars for him at the NFL Combine.

"It's too slow to carry over to sprinting," some say. Complete bullshit! I've seen it happen too many times in my gym to believe otherwise. It definitely works. I've got guys who run 4.2's to prove it.

So, 90% of our work with the Prowler is done using these heavy-ass sled drags. The rest is short sprints, 10 to 20 yards with a light to moderate weight and full recovery, staying out of the lactic environment (read: no puking and passing out.)

A small fraction of Prowler training comes in the form of "challenges." And this is where it gets interesting.

Prowler Challenges

Disclaimer: You only want to throw Prowler challenges in periodically. You don't want to make these a staple in your training; they're just too difficult to recover from and too easy to overdo.

Still, every now and then in training, you have to throw the science away. Don't worry about what energy system your sport requires, just see who has a set of balls and who's tough. Find out who's going to not quit.

The challenges will tell you a lot about your athlete or yourself. A lot of great athletes can run fast and jump high, but they'll be the first to quit when the lactic acid builds up or things get tough. That's not the kid you want on your team. You want the guy that's going to last during a freak play in the NFL that lasts up to a minute.

So, there are three reasons to do these crazy challenges:

1. As a gut check: to see who's mentally tough.
2. As an extra conditioning and calorie-burning tool for overweight athletes who need to suck it up and move their bodies more. Instead of walking on a treadmill for a half-hour, we burn those calories off in a few minutes.
3. As punishment or motivation. Maybe we're maxing out on the bench press and an athlete has a mental block: he's never broken 400 pounds. I'll say, "If you don't get this rep you gotta give me two Prowler suicides." He usually gets the rep.

I'll also throw in a Prowler challenge as a "gift" during the holidays, just an extra treat before they go home and start eating big meals with their families. The now infamous Christmas Eve workout is a good example.

The Original Prowler Challenge

This was the one that started it all. The reason this challenge covers 30 yards is because that was the distance from pothole to pothole in the parking lot of my old gym!

Try this when you first get your Prowler. You have to pass this challenge before you move on to the other ones.

The original Prowler challenge is four, 30-yard pushes, as fast as possible. The Prowler is loaded with two 45-pound plates and two 25-pound plates, for a total of 140 pounds.

Start with the low horizontal handles. Sprint for 30 yards, then rest for one minute exactly. Now grab the vertical poles, sprint back 30 yards, and rest for one minute. Again, sprint the 30 yards with the low handles, rest, and come back using the high handles.

Now, to complete the challenge you have to hold your puke for five minutes after you finish. If you puke after the five-minute point, you've still completed the challenge.

Why the five-minute rule? Because it's not while you're pushing the Prowler or even immediately after, it's that two to three minutes after when the Prowler Flu kicks in. If you can survive that, you've passed the test.

By the way, 99% of my athletes can now smash this test. The old videos are a little embarrassing to them. Still, this is a great beginner challenge.

The New Prowler Challenge: Prowler Suicides

For the NFL Combine, athletes are required to do 60-yard shuttle runs, basically suicides:

run five yards, turn around quickly and run back to the starting line, then run ten yards and back, then fifteen yards and back.

Now we do this with a Prowler. A 45-pound plate on each side is standard. For advanced athletes, we add extra 10's to each side.

Start with the low, horizontal handles, push it five yards, jump through the upright handles (instead of going around it), then push it back five yards with the high, vertical poles. Now go again with the low handles for ten yards, jump through it and push it back holding the poles. Now, do fifteen yards, same rules.

It's not over yet.

Rest 90 seconds then start over and do the whole thing again. Try to complete the second round with only a five second or less drop-off from the first round.

By the way, the MMA fighters are the best at this one – better than the football players!

Bonus Exercise: Plank Rows with Prowler

When a stud athlete, a true freak, comes to you the next day and says he's experiencing deep soreness in his abs, obliques, and core musculature, that's saying a lot about the exercise that got him that way. The plank row is one of those exercises.

Get into a plank position. Reach out with one hand and grab a rope attached to a Prowler. Now, pull it toward you.

If you can do this you're going to feel it the next day, and in the long run you'll greatly enhance core stability, which will help you to remain injury-free.

Don't Have a Prowler?

Maybe a Prowler isn't in your budget right now. That's fine, just do what we did: hill sprints, car pushes, etc. But the big-time Division 1 universities and professional teams don't have an excuse.

Instead of having twenty lat pulldown machines, buy ten Prowlers. I'm shocked that every team doesn't have one yet. No money? You had money for a preacher curl machine and not a Prowler? It's baffling.

I don't have any wasted equipment in my gym. Nothing in there is just for show and nothing collects dust. I have 5,000 square feet and we use every bit of it. The Prowler is, without question, the most-used piece of equipment in the gym. That's high praise considering the amount of traffic that comes through here.

Are you up for the challenge?

Joe DeFranco

Joe DeFranco is an elite strength coach with the remarkable ability to improve strength, speed, power, mobility, agility, and sport-specific endurance. His clients includes NFL players from all 32 teams, MLB and NBA players, WWE superstars, UFC fighters, Olympic athletes, and high school and college All-Americans. 

Follow Joe DeFranco on Twitter

Total-Body Sled Training

 

17 Exercises You Gotta Try

by Drew Murphy |  

 

PHOTO CREDIT: ROGUE FITNESS

Sled training may have started with high level athletes, but today everyone is doing it, from gym newbies to special forces members and even pro bodybuilders. Why? Because sled work can do things that nothing else can.

You can pick up a metal sled just about anywhere these days, or make your own. You can even get a more portable cloth sled that's safe for gym floors. Rogue Fitness and EliteFTS sell several options.

Why Sled Work Is Awesome

1. Low learning curve. There isn't much technique that needs to be understood for many sled exercises. Anyone can do them, from pro to average Joe.
2. Low impact. Many sled dragging variations can be done at a walk.
3. No eccentric (negative) component, only concentric contractions.
4. High volume, low stress. Without the eccentric stress, the nervous system is spared. That means sled work can be done at high volumes and frequencies. A sled is a great tool to use during de-loading phases or on a recovery day.
5. Nutrient delivery. Repetitive concentric only muscle contractions deliver lots of blood and nutrients to working muscles. This makes using a sled great for warm-ups, for pump work, or for finishing any workout.

Basic Dragging Variations

Sled drags can be used to develop leg strength and power, and to build stability at the hips, knees, and ankles. A forward sled drag is great for doing precisely this, while a backward drag mutes the involvement of the posterior chain and places high emphasis on extending the knees using the quads. Forward and backward sled dragging can be done at slow speeds using heavy loads, or at higher speeds using lighter loads.

While you can't go wrong with a basic drags, there are many more ways to use a sled, ways that can be used to target and isolate certain muscle groups.

Pull Through

Facing away from the sled, grab the sled straps between your legs. Hinge at the hips and reach your arms further back between your legs. From this position, inch forward to take the slack out of the straps. Push the hips forward as you contract your glutes hard (expect the sled to move very little).

Make sure to keep the hips high and the knees only slightly bent. Too much knee bend will result in a loss of hamstring tension, and will set you up to "squat" the sled through. Done correctly, the quads should be fully disengaged. For each rep, reposition yourself so that there's no slack in the straps.

Row

Facing the sled, grab the straps and slightly hinge at the hips to establish a neutral spine. Inch away from the sled until your arms are extended in front of you with the straps taut. Drive your elbows back to perform a row. Keep your elbows tight to your side. Resist the urge to pull the sled further by engaging the triceps. Take a few steps back to reset for the next rep.

Row with Leg Involvement

Do these the same way as a sled row, but initiate movement with the legs. As you push off the ground with the legs, flow right into the row. This teaches you to properly transfer force from the lower body into the upper body, and efficient movement sequencing with every rep. The involvement of the legs will also allow you to move more weight.

Reverse Flye

Position your body the same as you would for a row. Do a reverse flye by keeping the arms extended as you pull them apart. This disengages the biceps and forces the upper back to do the work.

Extended Arm Pull

If you can position your body correctly, a pulldown can be replicated with a sled. When doing an extended arm pulldown on a cable column, the line of pull goes from high to low. Since the sled sits low to the ground, you'll need to hinge your torso down pretty far in order to produce a somewhat equivalent movement (the more upright your torso, the less range of motion you'll be able to use, and the less it'll feel like a pulldown.)

Face the sled and hinge at the hips as far as you can. With your arms fully extended, reach as far overhead as possible. Inch back to get tension on the straps. Keeping your arms completely straight, pull the sled toward you by bringing your arms to your sides. Reset for the next rep.

Press

Facing away from the sled, grab the straps so they go over the top of your arms. (This will be a stronger grab, and more comfortable than letting the straps go under your arms.) Move away from the sled until the straps get tight and your hands are positioned near the lower portion of your chest. Plant your feet into the ground as you press the straps away from you.

The straps give you the freedom to press at many different angles. The staggered foot stance is best. You'll be able to apply much more force into the ground. If you stagger, make sure to alternate your back leg with each rep. The back leg is the leg that drives into the ground and produces the force that will travel through the body and into the arms to complete the pressing motion.

Flye

Set up similar to how you would do a press, but extend your arms and bring them out to the side for your starting position. Once there's no slack in the straps, contract your pecs to pull the sled toward you. You'll be able to move your arms at different angles to target your chest differently.

A staggered stance can also be used, but isn't as necessary as when doing presses. This is meant to be an isolated pec and anterior delt movement that won't require as much weight.

Front Raise

Facing away from the sled, grab the straps and start with your arms at your side. Drag the sled toward you by lifting your arms straight up in front.

Curl

Assume the same starting position as for a sled front raise, except move further away from the sled so your arms start slightly behind you. This will place more stretch on the elbow and shoulder flexors, and set you up to pull through more range of motion. To target the brachialis, be strict about only flexing at the elbow to pull the sled (keep your humerus fixed in place). To target the biceps brachii, allow your upper arm to move forward as you curl the sled through. This will also allow you to move more weight.

Kickback

To target the medial and lateral heads of the triceps, face the sled, hinge down, and bring your upper arms up and to your sides so your humerus is parallel to the ground and your elbows are pointing behind you. With tension on the straps, straighten out your arms using only your triceps. Keep your upper arm absolutely glued in place.

To target the long head of the triceps, start with your arms out in front of you (instead of brought up to your sides). Initiate the movement by pulling the sled toward you, then merge into the same kickback motion. Aside from the triceps long head, this also involves other shoulder extensors, making for a stronger movement that'll enable you to work with higher loads.

Arms-Extended Drag

Face away from the sled and extend your arms in front of you. Stabilize your shoulders by slightly retracting and depressing your scapulae. Drag the sled behind you while maintaining this position. This variation is great for building a strong and stable shoulder girdle.

Flye Isometric Drag

Get tension on the pecs and begin walking away from the sled. Use the pecs to keep your arms as static as possible. Don't allow the sled to pull your arms further behind you as you start dragging, and don't compensate to a position of better mechanical advantage by bringing the arms forward.

Reverse Flye Isometric Drag

This variation is antagonistic to dragging while holding an isometric flye. Instead of facing away from the sled and walking forward, you'll face the sled and walk backwards. Keep your arms positioned out and to your sides. Your back muscles will work to keep your arms in place. The video shows a hybrid reverse flye and extended arm pulldown position, but it can be done with the arms positioned at many different angles.

Reverse Chop

Face the sled and take a quarter turn so both of your feet align with the sled. Grab the strap and move away from the sled until there's tension and your arms are at hip height and across your body. Brace your trunk to lock your hips in with your shoulders and move the sled by explosively pulling your arms across your body and overhead.

Allow your feet to pivot and focus on rotating your hips and shoulders through together to avoid directly twisting your spinal column. This exercise will work best with a longer strap to allow the sled to slide without crashing into you. Repeat for reps facing the other direction.

Anti Extension Drag

This appears to be similar to dragging the sled with your arms extended in front of you. To differentiate, work to stay as upright as you can, with your arms overhead as far as possible. This will shift the emphasis to resisting lumbar extension, with less emphasis on packing the shoulders. You can make this even more dynamic by making an overhead pressing motion as you walk. Don't break position through the midsection as you drag.