Coach, I have a few questions before I perform the workout this evening. First, when doing the one-arm dumbbell snatch, is that 25 reps each arm? And do you do one arm at a time or alternate reps?
Second, for the farmer’s walk, should I use lighter dumbbells so I can walk for 10 continuous minutes? I used 75lb dumbbells last week and was only able to do 30-40 yards before my grip gave out. What do you suggest?
Third, I don't have a reverse hyper at my gym (we have everything else, and this is the most hardcore gym in town). What can I do in its place? I will be able to do the glute-ham raises as prescribed. Should I do leg curls or stiff-legged deadlifts instead of the reverse hyper?
Fourth, any suggestions on other exercises I can do in place of the Medicine Ball circuit (section C)? Other than that, I will be able to do everything else and am quite excited about tearing it up tonight! Thanks again!
Nate-snatch lift 25 each arm, perform 1 arm at a time. Farmers walk - do what you can to perform 10 minutes but not much more. Reverse Hyper - jump on a kitchen counter. Hey I often jump on the top of a truck cab and pound out 25+ non-weighted. Since you will be doing non-weighted perform 20. Don’t substitute anything for Reverse Hypers and do waste your effort of leg curls. Med ball alternatives is difficult, the only thing is a sandbag. I will likely burst though - you only need a 7-10 pound ball as you want to ensure speed of movement. In faith, Coach Davies
Yeah coach it would be great if you could share some insights on sprinting with the archaic program. I have some info. posted by Kato on the Omega programs Tues and Thurs running sessions for acceleration and endurance but since this is a different program I assume you’d recommend something else…
Thanks
Kelly
The archaic program can be a part of any program and is a part of the Omega program. The archaic program is a routine that we use instead of traditional weight lifting. The acceleration and endurance work is an integral part of our many programs. We have many components that constitute our different levels and phases. All of them build upon one another. In actuality the entire renegade system is a multi-year system composed of a level per year and up to 6 phases per level, depending on an athletes schedule. We called our latest program “the Omega” because we felt it was the last program we would need to make because it is the best program developed for our athletes. It would be the culmination of Renegade training. can anyone jump into the program? No, the volume alone would cause injury. That is why we systematically build volume, to prevent injury. Sorry, I’m getting off track but you seem to want to understand the entire system.
Kelly - we will need to go through some very large topics for use to jump into my most emcompassing area - speed and agility. Trust me, the article that we have planned later is huge. We are still dealing with a logistical nighmare.
Kato and Coach Davies…
Thanks for the explanations…You guys are right, I would love to understand the entire program philosophy but I’ll try and be patient!
Thanks for putting all this work together for us.
All I can say is that this workout is BRUTAL! It took me nearly three hours to complete (Yes, I did take various breaks that slowed me down. I had too! I was gasping for air!). I did not get to do every exercise and every set. I was either too exhausted or running low on time.
I did the jump rope warmup with 2 minutes of rope followed by 1 minute active rest. I did all five sets of the strength workout, but my weights were pathetic. And I thought I was going to puke by the 4th set.
I didn't do all five sets of the GPP complex (only managed three), and I could only handle five minutes of the farmer's walks. I did three sets of zottman curls instead of four.
As for the medicine ball work, I didn’t have a medicine ball, so I did various ab exercises (three exercises done in circuit fashion for three sets). I did not do the Chinees. At this point, it was approaching three hours and I was so sore and tired that I had to go home.
I sucked down my Surge and now sit here feeling ill from all the hard work. This program is not for the faint hearted. You will need to work hard and be determined. Even with determination and hard work, you may not complete the entire workout. I'm hoping that future programs will have a bit less volume and not take as much time. Because I don't think I can handle anything like this again. At least not yet. So if this is supposed to get you acclimated to next week's workout posted on T-mag, then you will have a helluva suprise coming to you!
But I am still eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s workout. So what is next Coach?
3 hours? Well you had the guts to get through it, so I am impressed. But 3 hours - kato, quick go bring out to our camp to train. I will wait others comments before posting - Please comment if you want me to tone it down. In faith, Coach Davies
Nate,
Way to go! Remember, it doesn’t matter where you start, but where you finish. I remember my first group to go through the Alpha Plan, just after I finished my mentor program, and my athletes had a hard time and were out of shape. They had been trained like bodybuilders and couldn’t handle true work. But your body will adapt quickly. You will be a beat “Nate Dogg” for a couple of weeks. When your body adapts to the work, you will feel the difference. By week 4, you’ll be a new man. You have to go to machine mode and work. No emotions, no thinking, just primal drive.
Coach Davies, for me personally, I need a toned down version. Others may be in better condition and have no problem with the workout. That was the longest workout I’ve ever had! Usually, I will not work out for more than two hours (preferably 1-1.5 hours). But I had to finish the program the best I could. Now I see how your athletes are at the top of their game! But remember, I’m not as conditioned as them. Not yet at least! So what should I do for tomorrow’s workout?
Naaaa coach! Don’t tone it down! Give us the real deal and let us work up to it. I believe Kato said on another post that it takes time to be able to complete it all anyway. I completed everything except for the Farmers Walks…after 5 minutes the weights fell out of my hands and I reached down to pick them up but my fingers were permanently frozen in the fist position…unable to open them for about 5 minutes! Someone misplaced my medicine ball so I got an empty 6 lb bucket of whey protein, filled it up with water and got some duct tape and taped the lid shut. Started to use it for a medicine ball but about 1/3 of the way through it broke…so I finished my medicine ball work with a big gymnastics type pad that worked ok. All in all I really enjoyed the pain…perhaps the overdose of Power Drive I took prior to the workout had something to do with that.
Coach Davies, how frequently would your athletes perform a workout such as the one outlined above? Do you have them in the weight room every day? What do you do on the non-weight room days?
coach or kato, should all lifts be done explosivly with little on the eccentric portion. alos im 6"1 200lbs what would be the best size kettlebels and medicine balls to get? thanxxx
Well the body count is still coming in. But heres tomorrow session. I think you will find it almost as much fun as todays.Warmup
Rope Skip
3 minute rounds
rounds 1, 2 & 3: 50 pushups
rounds 4, 5 & 6: 15 dips
Section A – giant circuit
Bench Press (shoulder width grip, widen grip with each set) x 5
Bent Press (using k-bells or sand bags preferably) x 10
Medicine ball pushup (with one hand on ball & other on floor) x 15
repeat with other hand x10
Dips x 15 – 25
Cross-over Pushup x 30 seconds
Plate raise x 15
4 total sets
Section B
~ performed in circuitous fashion for a total of 5 throws per station
Medicine Ball Stationary Chest Pass against wall or to partner
Pushups (30 seconds)
Medicine Ball Walking Chest Pass against wall or to partner
Pushups (30 seconds)
Medicine Ball Overhead Pass against wall or to partner
5 total sets
Section C – Chinees – 3 sets x 30 seconds
Now lets bring it tomorrow. In faith, Coach Davies
Coach- Just wanted to say that the first day looks killer.
Also, I like the idea of water jugs in place of medicine balls. I think that making your own equipment for functional strength is always the best (cheap too!).
Think about, the medicine balls you buy are perfectly balanced. Use a 3-quarters filled water jug instead; nice and unstable!
Also, if you want to make a sled just get a laundry basket with holes in the sides and tie a rope through it. And buy some extra laundry baskets too, loading 300+ pounds tends to cause holes in the bottom.
Coach Davies- What do you think of homemade implements, and what other things can we build?
-Tony
Tony - you and me, could make a heckuva gym. As I explained to me future training partner, Nate, the equipment I use is a lot like myself, old, beaten-up from being out all night but it still gets the job done! HEY - you all did a good job today. Remember the lessons learnt today, the battles we fight prepare us for the ultimate victory, rededicate yourself, visualize total success, crush the competition and never allow yourself to be conquered at any time, never never surrender. In faith, Coach Davies
Glad to hear some of you are trying Coach Davies workouts. The challenge is doing all that stuff that he’s prescribing you and running work as well! I play football and run track in the collegiate level so I perform it all. Dont get discouraged, keep tearing it up and before you know it,the workouts seem to get easier. Seems that once your in shape, during a workout right when you feel like your about to die you get a second wind and you finish the workout successfully. My point is, dont puss out and cut it short or quit, finish it and the result will follow. You all well be amazed at the wonderfull and quick results. Peace
Coach in section a of todays workout you have us doing med ball pushups at 15 reps on one hand and then you state to do 10 on the other is that a typo if not could you explain as i would have thought that, that would breed a muscle imbalance of sorts. Thanx FFB.
Oh as for soreness i’m actually ok today just a little bit stiff this morning but after a tempered shower i’m feeling great.
Tony i am working on an article that will be ready by the end of this week describing how to make all sorts of training stuff like sand bags, logs, grip things, farmers walk objects etc just hope that it gets published.
