[Hades]

Alrighty guys, I have spent much mental energy the last few weeks coming up with the most killer routine to get swole on a time, space, and carry-on budget.

I'm doing this because I want to strength train for rugby next year when I'm overseas. Since devising my method a month ago, I have already made solid gains on a minimal time budget of roughly 20 minutes a day.

My workout has two basic components and I recommend you do at least the first one one as a daily routine (five-six times a week). The second is optional, but do it no more than once weekly until you've built up to a max of two workouts per week.
This is not Slimfast. This is not a shakeweight. This is a man's commitment to strength.

General Theory and Background

My two workouts have their basis in Russian spetznaz and old-school American strongman training. Do you know why the Russians always destroyed Americans in Olympic powerlifting, despite their gyms looking like junkyards? It's because they never trained to failure, and they rejected the bullshit of isolation training and bodybuilding. My method teaches you strength, flexibility, avoiding injuries, and coordination.

Equipment Needed For Hades Method
1 yoga mat (optional but useful)
1 door frame pullup bar
1 towel

1 35 lb kettlebell

Books (Recommended)
Convict Conditioning 1 &2 by Paul Wade
Viking Conditioning
The Naked Warrior

1. Convict Conditioning (This is your strength training)

Convict Conditioning is a workout method devised by an ex-con named Paul "Coach" Wade who did time and had to get swole very quickly. There was no gym equipment, and they had little more than a rigid schedule, 12 by 12 cell, and three square meals a day. Paul Wade argues that modern bodybuilding techniques are bullshit and that truly strong men (like the Spartans) trained with progressive calisthenics. This is on your reading list.

CC espouses a program called the Big Six. These are as follows
1. Pushup
2. Squat
3. Pullup
4. Leg Raise
5. Bridge
6. Handstand Pushup

The idea of progressive calisthenics revolves around "banking strength". Basically, you start small, do everything slowly (2 seconds down, 1 second pause, 2 seconds up) and work up to an advanced exercise. Keep in mind that these are bodyweight exercises, and you may need to look them up on youtube or ask me questions.
The elite level strength exercises are as follows.
1. One-Armed Pushup (feet close together)
2. Full One-Legged Squat
3. Full One-Armed Pullup
4. Hanging Straight Leg Raise
5. Stand to Stand Bridge
6. One-Armed Handstand Pushup

Look these up if you're curious. I assure you, you have to be massively strong to do these, especially at 2 sets of ~25 reps.

My current daily workout is something like this. I add about a rep or so a week.
1. Full Pushups (5 reps, 2 sets, go slow and get slayed)
2. Close Squats (15 reps, 2 sets, tone the shit of out your glutes)
3. Pullups (1 rep, 14 sets. Yes, I'm a pussy)
4. Leg Lifts (6 reps, 2 sets. My abs are swole)
5. Bridges (4 reps, 2 sets, cure posture instantly!)
6. Handstands "dips" (I do small dips towards the floor. 45 seconds of handstand, maybe ten dips in that time, done twice. Working towards full handstand pushup)

FAQ
Can't do a pullup?
An old Russian secret for getting strong without being stupid involves the idea of "greasing the groove". The Russians know that strength is more than just muscle, it's also neural activation. For example, if you set up a pullup bar in the bathroom, and every time you piss, you have to struggle and do most of a pullup, you train your muscles to get stronger without putting on much mass. This gives you a training base.

To avoid hurting yourself, keep low reps (roughly six) and low sets (maybe two) until you gradually work up to no more than twenty reps and two sets. Increasing reps beyond 20 is stupid and adds no real strength. Don't forget the 2 second down, 1 second pause, 2 seconds up. Enjoy every rep.

Viking Warrior Conditioning (This is your V02MAX training)

This part is optional. Many people prefer sprinting to safely lower themselves to 6% body fat, and I'm not going to argue, because that works, provided you have nice shoes, good form, and a track to run on. However, I have a study which espouses the time benefits gained by kettlebell snatches.

Quote:

Activity

Calories Burned
per Minute

Snatches 20.2
Aerobics 9.7
Spinning 9.6
Kickboxing 8.1
Boot Camp 7.5
Curves 6.4
Power Yoga 5.9
Advanced Pilates 5.6
Wii Exercises 5.5 and less

http://www.kettlebellexercisefitness.com...bells.html

The snatch is, no kidding, an advanced exercise. You need to practice to do this safely, but the benefits are enormous. It burns twice as much fat per unit time as almost every other high intensity exercise. Start at two sets with low reps (maybe six or so) until you learn. Here is a nice youtube clip that I use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjGVdKsXOk8
and here's the typical reps/sets and intensity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwvp8i9faT0

I recommend buying a quality kettlebell and spending no less than 80 bucks on a 35 pounder. It's probably the best fitness investment you'll ever make.

You don't have to buy "Viking Conditioning" by Kenneth Jay (since it is practically out of print), though it would help with the theory and whatnot, all you seriously must do for the aerobic component of my workout is buy the 35lb kettlebell (28 if you're a woman), look up how to do snatches on youtube, and work up to the 15:15 intensity (posted in the second video).

If you still can't lose weight, consider a slightly smaller diet. Most people don't realize how much they eat versus how much they need anyway. Also, fuck supplements. Do prisoners have supplements in the big house? No. And they get swole anyway.

Tips and Tricks

You'll need about a hundred bucks investment to make this fly. The advantage is that a kettlebell is indestructable (and lasts forever), and the two books I listed are pretty good reads. You can start my basic routine on nothing but the post though.

Having a high V02MAX turns you from one dude in a bar fight into three dudes in a bar fight.

The biggest satisfaction you'll get out of this workout is when your friends, after noticing your rippling muscles (months after you said "dude, read this book I bought"), ask you why you're so swole, you can say some cocky bullshit like "I take the stairs instead of the elevator".

Do everything you can to avoid hurting yourself, and don't do 1-2 of your final reps. Training to exhaustion is a stupid technique suggested by retards. You should be ready to fight a bear after a workout. Don't worry, you will make gains.

Tense your abdomen and grip the bar, ground, or w/e as hard as you fucking can. The nervous energy in your arms and strength under tension will produce bigger gains faster.

Slowly work up to fingertip (knee) pushups and do a few of them no more than once a week. Strong hands are underrated and useful for everything I have posted.

Keep a workout journal. Write down exercises 1-6, and extra work or w/e in the comments. You must write down what you do every day. Otherwise you will likely get demotivated.

Support the authors listed and buy their books. I love them to death for condensing useful knowledge, and CC was 20 years in the making (literally). My post is insufficient compared to their wealth of knowledge.

Why Should I Care? Who the hell are you anyway?
I'm an engineer, and I solve problems. I smoke and never thought I would be fit. My problem was no money, no gym, and little time. This workout solves all three. I now have more time, energy, and sheer balls to chase whatever I'm looking for.

[WestIndianArchie]

quality post

[Hades]

Has anyone tried CC or VC?
I've been keeping up on my workout journal and consistently doing workouts despite weekend benders and homework, and I'm happy to announce that I'm still making progress as quickly as I did initially. I'm going slow, building training momentum, and making workouts a habit rather than an inconvenience (which is usually how it goes with people and their crash workouts). I want to be remarkably strong in 3 years.

At rugby practice, whenever we're told to do (for instance) 20 pushups, I can do them very easily (and I have ~50 pounds on some of the dudes who can't do them), whereas I can only do 10 of "my" slower and more deliberate pushups. The 2-1-2 mechanic is a serious ass-kicker.

Ever since doing these workouts on a consistent and never-train-to-failure basis, I'm much stronger and more agile. The active stretching brought on by tension strength exercises is much safer for joints and ligaments and bring real and useful strength, since there's a full range of intended motion. My back and neck posture is 100% corrected and I quit taking aspirin before working out since there's no joint pain. My hands and forearms are also getting bigger and much stronger, which I like.

The beauty of these front, rear, and side chain exercises is that it fills in all the holes that isolation training inevitably brings (arm curls, leg extensions, situps, leg presses, etc, are completely worthless and a waste of time in any gym. Ever wonder why you can bench 160 but inside a machine, you can bench 180? Ever wonder why you can do 100+ situps but you don't have a six pack? It's because lame calisthenics and machines are designed for pussies). I can consistently outclass bigger and "stronger" dudes in the ruck and the scrum because I have a complete musculature and my joints/ligaments aren't fucked up from handling too much steel.

If I were at ~6% body fat I'd be roughly 175 pounds (I'm 210), my one-rep max on deadlift would be considered insane at 300 pounds, and it's possible now because of the back conditioning of bridges. My legs and calves are also jacked as hell.
The bench press, the deadlift, and (sometimes) the squat are the only three exercises which require steel that are worth your time. I only do them occasionally to see where I stand against my peers. Consider moving to these only these three (including some basic dumbbell work) and you'll save time you would have otherwise wasted in the gym. Also make damned sure to breathe continuously when you lift or you risk major aortic dissection.

[T and A Man]

I've started CC two weeks ago, feels good and I expect good results. I was going to revisit this once I had a long enough time frame to comment.

[Beyond Borders]

I like this post - nice work. I recently started working out again, and this might be a good direction to take it.

Don't you find it a hassle to travel with a kettlebell and a pull-up bar though? I take it you must be putting them in a suitcase and checking it, right?

[Hades]

(02-09-2012 05:26 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

I like this post - nice work. I recently started working out again, and this might be a good direction to take it.

Don't you find it a hassle to travel with a kettlebell and a pull-up bar though? I take it you must be putting them in a suitcase and checking it, right?

Since most of my trips are less than a week (and I only do serious kettlebell stuff once weekly), I can work out before I leave and when I get back. If I traveled with it, I would probably carry the kettlebell in a bowling bag. Nobody has to know that I'm swinging steel in their swanky hotel room.

When I go to Europe next year I will try to bring the kettlebell if at all possible. If I can't do this because of airline issues, it is possible but not ideal to do snatches with an ordinary dumbbell. Any twenty dollar Walmart dumbbell ought to work.

I might end up finding a running track instead for V02 training (sprints), since losing weight is not that big of a goal to me.

The pullup bar I sort of fudge on. Whenever I am on the road I would often do fingertip pullups on door frames or look for tree limbs (weird, but it works) or jungle gyms to do pullups on. On an extended trip (like three or four days), I would definitely bring the pullup bar. Worst case scenario (no way to do a proper pullup), I would 2 sets (maybe 20 slow reps) of supine pullups on a bar straddling two chairs or something. Gotta be creative. The main idea is to maintain shape in less than ideal situations, and gain when it is ideal.

[NuMbEr7]

What are your gains from CC like? Thinking of starting it myself

[Hades]

(03-01-2012 01:28 PM)NuMbEr7 Wrote:  

What are your gains from CC like? Thinking of starting it myself

I'm a hard gainer as far as strength is concerned. Also slightly overweight.

According to my workout journal;

Code:

Code:

Jan 17 2012 (I began) : Weight 201#
Full Pushups - 1 set, 5 reps
Two-legged Squats - 3 sets, 5 reps
Pullups - 2 reps
Leg Raise - 1 set, 5 reps
Bridges - 1 full bridge (barely 2)
Handstands - 1 30 second handstand
Comments: Grip the ground with hands/toes, use Pavel's breathing technique, ab tense, sphincter lock.

I have not been very consistent because of schoolwork (though I do try), but here are my gains since --

Code:

Code:

February 29th 2012: Weight 214#
Full Pushups - 2 sets, 6 reps (for me, these take time)
Close Squats - 2 sets, 25 reps (can do one-legged squats for reps)
Pullups - ~12 pullups (Three sets. I sort of do Pavel's ladder)
Leg Raises - 2 sets, 10 reps
Full Bridge - 2 sets, 8 reps
HS Pushups - Can do 3 or 4 half handstand pushups. Again, these take much time.
Comments: Lower body and back much stronger than upper body. Somewhat leaner than six weeks ago.

My kettlebell work has been really spotty but I do throw it around at least once a week to stay in practice. Bought a GymBoss, which seems to help.

My advice on a workout schedule is to go Monday through Saturday like so

Code:

Code:

Monday: Pullups
Tuesday: Bridges
Wednesday: HS Pushups
Thursday: Leg Raises
Friday: Squats
Saturday: Pushups
Sunday: Rest

This is because these are all compound exercises and when I do them all in one workout session, I'm completely slayed and my strength gains suffer. "CC" outlines this as "Veterano" workout.
You can basically spend a whole day each week giving one exercise your all. This is my plan during spring break. I'm going to do like one work set of five to ten reps, maybe four to six times a day.

edit: I wish I could edit my original post since some of the stuff I posted is not clarified very well. The rate of the 15:15 intensity, for example, can only be determined after being V02MAX tested. There's a protocol outlined in the VC book, but I didn't understand it until the second read.

[the_conductor]

Hades, in CC Paul Wade says start from the very first exercise in each of the 6 and work your way up the ladder. I see that you've started with full pushups straight away, which is like step 5. I'm also aching to skip the first couple steps as they seem so easy (wall push ups), but in the book Paul Wade specifically advises against that saying that no matter how fit you are your progress will be faster in the end if you start from step 1. What do you think about this?

[OSL]

You can make a highly profitable product out of the intersection of travel and fitness.

You can trial test it on several nomadic traveling types and progressively show their progress pics in the various locations where they travel to.

I can see this taking off.

[Hades]

(03-01-2012 02:44 PM)the_conductor Wrote:  

Hades, in CC Paul Wade says start from the very first exercise in each of the 6 and work your way up the ladder. I see that you've started with full pushups straight away, which is like step 5. I'm also aching to skip the first couple steps as they seem so easy (wall push ups), but in the book Paul Wade specifically advises against that saying that no matter how fit you are your progress will be faster in the end if you start from step 1. What do you think about this?

Paul Wade's advice on starting at Step One with each exercise is related to training momentum. If it's not difficult to do each exercise and one sticks to a particular step until mastery is achieved, the transition is less painful.
In his CC SuperFAQ (I think it's free on the dragon door), he says that starting at Step One is essential when you have injuries, low confidence, are out of shape, or are a beginner.
However, he qualifies this with saying that while most athletes can skip a few steps, starting from the beginning is never a waste of time.

I think that starting at the beginning is still a good idea. As long as you have nothing else going on.

Even though I'm rolling with CC, my main fitness prerogative is still rugby.
I skipped the steps because I had no injuries, had some base strength, and do not have issues with training momentum because my practices are scheduled. I will also stick with each step until I master them.
I don't regret this since I would still be at half squats otherwise, and as you can see, my potential for rucking has gone up considerably. My legs and back are much stronger and more flexible than they used to be, so I'm that much less likely to get injured this season.

[the_conductor]

Thanks for your input Hades. I have another question: I have trouble performing step 1 of the squats progression: the shoulderstand squats. I can do step 2 of the squat series fine, but I just couldn't get into the upside down starting position of the step 1 shoulderstand squats, where your body is supposed to be a vertical straight line from your shoulders to your toes. I can't keep my body straight up - when I try, I lose my balance. I also find this move works on my triceps when I try to support my body in the air. Do you have any tips for this move? Thanks.

[NuMbEr7]

edit

[Hades]

(03-02-2012 03:55 PM)NuMbEr7 Wrote:  

Pretty good gains. I am going to start CC on monday but I am going to start from the most basic exercises for the big 6 even though I'm reasonably fit. Are you still following VC? Cos I'm sure that rugby would take care of your V02MAX...
I'm also thinking of doing rugby with my scholl, but it might clash with my (football) soccer practices so we'll see how it goes.
How old are you may I ask?

Thanks.
From what I have experienced, skipping the shoulderstand squat is not a bad idea. Did some googling and found out that most of the criticism towards the book is aimed squarely at the squat progression. It's sort of an awkward exercise. Otherwise the progression is great.

After about a week of trying out VC, I tweaked my shoulder a bit and found out that my snatch form is very bad and needed work. I bought Pavel's "Enter the Kettlebell" and I'm slowly working up to mastering the snatch. High pulls help a lot.

As for rugby, my current VO2MAX is not bad, but if I'm not substituted out after about sixty minutes, I start dragging ass and the team suffers. This is not a big surprise since I play lock and am very aggressive with tackling and rucking. I'm 21.

[Hades]

accidental double post, sorry

[Hades]

Alrighty, I think the "novice effect" is taking hold because my shoulder girdle/biceps/pushups have basically exploded.

Had the best workout today I have had in two weeks. Been neglecting the kettlebells because I get more than enough cardio doing kickboxing and rugby practice (which are one and three hours of running basically)

KK, here's my totals

Quote:

March 15th 2012: Weight 216#
Full Pushups - 3 sets, 10 reps
Close Squats - 2 sets, 25 reps (can do one-legged squats for reps)
Pullups - 14 proper full pullups, in three sets
Leg Raises - 3 sets, 10 reps
Full Bridge - 2 sets, 10 reps
HS Pushups - Nearly one full handstand pushup. Very hard.

Pavel's "Power to the People Routine" - recommended for rugby
Deadlift 245# 2 sets, 5 reps
One-Armed Side Press 35# 2 sets, 5 reps


Comments: Somewhat leaner than two weeks ago. Everything is getting easier and can do the reps more slowly. Drinking milk and protein until nauseous. Power to People Routine relatively easy for now. Max deadlift somewhere near 340#. Have done 2 reps 315 pounds. Laying off the deadlifts for a while.

[Ringo]

Congrats on your gains!

For you time, dedication and consideration to the people who inquired about your method:



I'm thinking of starting this method myself, as I'll probably be on the road in a few weeks. I'm a very hard gainer and if I stop exercising or eating well I lose weight unbelievably fast. I've been getting good results with Starting Strength, though. I'm 20 years old, 78kg and 1,86m.

I really curious about your workout, and if I start it, you bet I'll report back.

Good luck!

[TheBear]

So let me clarify this, are you doing one exercise per day so that you get one rotation in per week? Or are you doing all of them in one day?

I've been doing a similar rotation, but doing it all in one workout instead of breaking it up. I was training 5-6 days a week and didn't see a whole lot of gains. I backed down to 3 because I realized I wasn't giving my muscles time to recover.

I also like the idea of doing the super slow 2-1-2 thing. I usually just rep through it because I like to get the cardio in with it so I get a good workout and also 20-30 minutes of cardio. Are you trying to lose weight or just build strength? I'm 6'4/210 and still trying to lean out.

Great post by the way, got me thinking and has lots of good info.

[Rah]

Thanks for posting man, CC is everything I've been looking for in a strength regimen. I haven't been working out for months so this should be a good way to build up safely. We'll see what kind of results I can get, but if they're even halfway decent I'll be stoked. I hate gyms, and I hate being reliant on a bunch of equipment.

[slubu]

Anyone have some results to post about Convict Conditioning? I like this program above, was thinking of doing CC and tabata sprints as a combo. I tried the 5x5 program but now it's been almost a month I still can't do anything after hurting my back doing squats. Weights are sadly not for me, so I'm looking into alternatives.

[Hannibal]

The exercise progressions for Convict Conditioning were decent (I have major criticisms about the squat series), but doing only 12 reps of pushups a week and treating my body's connective tissues like they have the recovery of a cancer patient with AIDS was the wrong approach. I ended up inevitably increasing the volume to get a training effect.

I tested my training maximums with weights before and after and in about 6 months without weights, I gained some strength and some hypertrophy, although probably not as much as if I had done it with weights. However, I experimented quite a bit until I found a system that worked. Had I stuck to what worked, I would probably be pleased with the results. My strength in most of my lifts went up about 20 to 30 percent after my convict conditioning experiment, but I had not really busted my ass in the gym before I did CC.

I've scoured the Dragon Door forums for people who have gotten results with CC.

Most of them do not provide proof that they can actually do what they claim.

None of them provide photographic evidence of their before/after pics.

Just about all of them do not follow any sort of programming represented in Convict Conditioning. I've heard of people do all kinds of shit from Grease the Groove training to high volume training to weight supplementation.

Here's the best resource I have found for convict conditioning and this is what you can expect if you follow the program to the T.

http://myconvictconditioning.blogspot.com/

Tabata sprints would be a rock solid choice to go along with CC.

Back bridges should fix your back right up. I don't recommend starting at step 1 for the exercises, that shit is designed for the elderly. I understand you've probably injured yourself, so take it slow. However, I believe we have grown soft in the last hundred years; our ancestors put up with a lot more "training stimulus" than the equivalent of 12 pushups and 30 bodyweight squats a week.

Tl;DR Convict conditioning will get you stronger and bigger, but probably not as strong or big as if you were weight training. It will likely deliver results at a slower rate, as well. However, convict conditioning requires very little equipment and it's really hard to get injured.

[Hades]

accidental double post

[Hades]

(02-25-2013 07:38 PM)Hades Wrote:  

It's kind of weird to see my old shit pop up like this. Also agreed Hannibal, criticism with the squat series is justified.
My longer term recommendation for CC is to divide the workout so you are doing exactly one press or pull per day, like this. I was doing some crazy shit like supersetting all six exercises in a forty five minute workout which can cause death.

Quote:

Veterano Routine
Monday : Handstand Series
- Finish with just practicing five to ten sets of static handstands against a wall. You have to teach your
shoulders how to accomodate to this, like learning how to walk.
Tuesday : Leg Raise Series
- You can throw the ab wheel here too. There's some carryover.
Wednesday : Pullups/Chinups
- Work grip hangs as well
Thursday : Squats
- Do your money set(s) of pistols, then lots of narrow bodyweight squats
Friday : Back Bridges
- At the end, do a bridge hold and "back bridge pushups"
Saturday : Pushups
- Work fingertip pushups as well
Sunday : Rest

And adopt one pet lift to do two or three times weekly on top of this. You would keep this routine until your pet lift had progressed to level 10 (or whatever you were comfortable with). This is the lift you are most concerned with making gains with, which is why you're upping the volume.

Mine was the pistol squat until I worked up to something like two sets of eight or ten reps depending on the day. Then it was the pushup. Just keep switching them out until you get very good at all of them.

Another thing is that even if gains are going pretty well they will stall out hard and you'll have to cycle in some higher rep easier work, like horizontal pulls, or else you will never get enough training volume in to stimulate growth. Or you need to buy a weight vest and use that for bridges and weighted pushups.

That is why it is a good idea to do strictly one exercise per day, you can do like two to four sets of the harder exercise and ten back off sets of the earlier progressions to up the volume. You can also give max effort to just one exercise per day.