So simple on paper; pretty friggin’ tough, though, in practice:
Farmers Walks x 200 yards/120 lb DBs: (time for each “walk”): 3:20, 4:14, 4:37
Feet-elevated Ring Flyes: x 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10+2
Pistol Squats with 25 lb plate: x 8, 8 (each leg)
I began with a superset of farmers walks and ring flyes, then moved into a superset of ring flyes and pistol squats. Farmers walks were done in bursts of approximately 20 to 40 seconds (with as short a recovery as possible) until the full 200 yards was covered — the total time for covering the full 200 yards is noted above. In performing the ring flyes, my feet were positioned such that they ended up just above shoulder level, in the “down” position of the movement. I hit momentary failure at 10 on the last set, paused a few seconds, then hit the last two reps.
A couple things to note here. First off, notice that each burst of work here feel into a time frame of approximately 15 to 40 seconds. Again, this was not by accident; my intent today was to place emphasis on the Glycolytic pathway. For an excellent primer on energy system pathways, see this post from Phil Davies’ Sports Fitness Advisor.
Secondly, farmers walks are the most underrated exercise I know of. You want a tight core, hulking traps and Mark McGuire forearms? Do farmers walks for appreciable distance (time under tension) and with a heavy pair of dumbbells (or a heavy set of whatevers). I won’t even mention the benefit to the lower body. All the wrist curls in the world won’t come close to punishing your forearms in the way heavy farmers walks will. Low tech for sure, but functional, with a capital “F” my friends. Ring flyes with elevated feet are pretty tough on the core as well; think planks to the nth-degree — oh yeah, with the added bonus of a little bit of chest/shoulder work as well.
Right leg is catching up fast. Time to start jacking up the weight in the pistols.
Theory to Practice 