The Hardcore Workout - 4 Week Program - Webinar Replay

If you missed our webinar that we did last week then you can see exactly what we went through in the recording below.

You'll get a glimpse of why we have used the weight training and fitness programs that we selected and completely understand how to utilise the hardcore workouts for maximum fat burning and fitness improvement.

Don't forget to let us know what you think and how you're getting on by leaving comments below.

Until next time,

Are you tough enough?

Andrew & Alex

HARDCORE WORKOUT - KETTLEBELL COMPLEX

Here's your latest hardcore workout.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO TRAINING OR HAVE HAD BACK OR KNEE PAIN IN THE LAST YEAR



Kettlebell training is awesome if you want to get a body of iron whilst burning fat at the same time. This complex of kettlebell exercises is a real killer workout.

Final thing - just a quick reminder that we are holding a free webinar on Monday evening (23rd March) to run through the free 4 week programme we have been giving away. Click here to sign up. If you haven't downloaded your 4 week program yet then don't worry we'll be sending you a link to download it again.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

HARDCORE WORKOUT - BODYWEIGHT E.D.T.

Just realised we haven't put any new workouts on for a while, so here's one.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO TRAINING OR HAVE HAD BACK OR KNEE PAIN IN THE LAST YEAR



In this session we're using the Escalating Density Training model (timed workout for as many reps as possible), but have used power exercises to really make you suffer. This workout will leave you struggling for air, with legs like jelly and utterly exhausted afterward.

If you are mega fit and want to make it even harder, try with a higher box or even weigh yourself down for the power lunge (light kettlebells in the rack position should do it). Don't blame me if you can't walk the next day though.

The afterburn effect of a workout like this will set your metabolism to burn fat all day.

We are also holding a free webinar on Monday evening (23rd March) to run through the free 4 week programme we have been giving away. Click here to sign up. If you haven't downloaded your 4 week program yet then don't worry we'll be sending you a link to download it again.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

Hardcore Girls

I was just checking out the Crossfit website yesterday, having attended one of their classes the night before. If you haven't heard of CrossFit, then I would get across to Cross Fit and have a read of their philosophy and hardcore workouts they're doing. Anyway, going through their website, I stumbled across this little video and was so impressed that I thought I'd share it with you:

Click here and check it out,

Now those are some Hardcore Girls !!! I'm not sure how I'd cope with those Muscle Ups and then Hang Cleans, come the 3rd set. If you bothered to watch it til the end you would have seen the final girl to finish, practically break down with the emotion of pushing herself like that. Massive respect to her.

The workout that my local Crossfit instructor put me through was the following:
Kettlebell Swing (50lb) x 5, 10, 15
Gym Horse Vault x 5, 10, 15
Kettlebell Snatch (35lb) x 5LR, 10LR, 15LR
Gym Horse Vault x 5, 10, 15

We worked in teams of 2 either side of the Gym Horse and had to do the number of vaults each time to cross over to the other side to do the other Kettlebell exercise. This was done for the quickest time possible (we raced the other teams).

I felt messed up afterward (enough said).

Let us know what you think of the ladies efforts in this video.

Are you tough enough for the hardcore challenge?

Andrew and Alex

Balancing Chest to Back - Part2

Continuing on from last time, today we’re going to look at how to address the problem of imbalanced upper body programmes.

Just in case you weren’t convinced of the importance of this last time, I’ll give you some more reasons for addressing this area. Plateaus in training can often be a result of imbalance. Your chest won’t be able to get stronger and bigger if the opposing muscles in the back aren’t strong enough to support that extra strength. If you’re been frustrated for a while with not being able to press anymore weight or gain any increase in muscle bulk in your chest, then this could be the reason. Also, if your shoulders are rounded forward, then your chest just isn’t going to look as pronounced. Whereas if you improve your posture, your chest will stand out, so there’s another reason for correcting the balance.

If you’re suffering from symptoms of upper cross syndrome, then I would suggest dropping chest exercises almost completely for a time, instead doing loads of stretching for the tight muscles and focusing on horizontal pulling exercises (Seated Row or Bent Row for example), plus exercises that focus on the rear Deltoids (Reverse Fly for example). Then, when you make some progress, I would still keep the ratio at double the amount of back for chest exercises until you have corrected your posture and really strengthened up your mid back muscles.

If you feel more balanced and decide to do the same amount of chest to back exercises, then you also need to consider the total volume lifted for each. If you’ve been doing more chest exercise than back for a while, the chances are your chest is going to be loads stronger than your back. If I did 3 sets of 10 Chest Presses with 80lb dumbbells and did 3 sets of 10 Bent Over Row with 60lb dumbbells, then the total volume of horizontal push would be 2400lb, whereas the horizontal pull would only be 1800lb. This would require extra horizontal pull work to create balance.

If you’re doing bodyweight workouts, find somewhere to do inverted rows. This is a great horizontal pulling exercise. All you need is a bar at between waist and chest height you can hang from. If you workout outdoors, keep an eye out for suitable railings, bike stands etc. (you’ll be amazed how many are around when you start looking) or if you’re in the gym, you can use a smith machine put down to the right height, or a barbell in squat rack. At home, you could purchase a chin up bar and fit it at the desired height in your doorway.

Chin Ups, Pull Ups and Lat Pulldown AREN’T horizontal pulling exercises, they are a vertical pulling exercise and focus on the Lats a lot more than the mid and lower Traps which we want to be hitting. The Lats attach to the front of the shoulder and contribute to the forward rounding symptom of Upper Cross Syndrome.

I hope that’s been really useful for you. Once you’ve got this balance right your strength, posture and effectiveness of your training will all improve and you’ll be able to train even harder.

If you’re feeling balanced already and feel like a real challenge, then why not try our 4 week Hardcore Workout Programme, ABSOLUTELY FREE !! Just ** Click Here** for your FREE 4 week Hardcore Workout and download your copy.

So, who is tough enough for the hardcore challenge?

Andrew and Alex

Balancing Chest to Back - Part1

I thought I'd spend a little time addressing one of the areas that people need to be aware of, which is the ratio of chest to back exercises (or horizontal push to horizontal pull to be more precise). Whilst here at The Hardcore Workout, we're about motivating you to push yourself to your limits, we want to ensure you do it in a way that will create a healthy, injury free and functional body. Your body needs to be able to do whatever tasks are required of it and be pain free, as well as be aesthetically pleasing, but too often people find the aesthetics govern the fitness training. I think this is particularly the case when it comes to upper body exercises.

I think guys might be even more susceptible to this problem, because one of their main aims in weight training is to get a bigger chest (large Pecs) and so they do extra work on the chest exercises at the expense of the opposing exercises for the back. Basically, they can't see their backs in the mirror so easily, and probably don't care as much about what they look like anyway, so don't consider it as important.

Another factor in this imbalance is the ease of doing press ups and chin ups as an equipment free, easy to grasp exercise. Many people are doing bodyweight exercises with no equipment. It's a great way to workout and can produce good effects (check out some of the bodyweight workouts Craig Ballantyne does in Turbulence Training) but I see a lot of press ups in these workouts and not enough back work to balance it.

I've trained in kickboxing since I was a teenager and our instructor has us do a lot of press ups. It's an easy exercise for instructors to throw at you. I then joined the Royal Marines at 19, and we would do hundreds of press ups a day. It was the standard punishment for anything they could think of, and sometimes it even seemed like it was just a way for instructors to pass the time, watching you bang out 50-100 press ups.

I think maybe another factor is that chest pressing just feels more fun to do? I don't know about you, but I find benching is just more enjoyable than doing rows.

However, in my mid twenties I started to get neck pain and really tight shoulders and eventually started to pull muscles underneath my shoulder blades because I was so imbalanced. It wasn't until I got into the fitness industry that I became aware of this concept of balance and recruiting mid back muscles to stabilise the shoulder that I realised just how unbalanced I'd been in my training over the years. I learned that I was suffering from what is termed upper cross syndrome, and needed to address the way I was training.

Upper cross syndrome is a common result of doing weight training in an imbalanced way. It can also come from having poor posture due to desk jobs, working on a computer, driving a lot, or similar activities. If you do both weight training and work at a desk, your chances are even greater. The symptoms are rounded forward shoulders, a forward head position and usually a feeling of tightness and pain in the neck and shoulders. These symptoms are a result of the muscles in the front of the shoulder being too tight and the muscles at the back of the shoulder being weaker and over-stretched.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, then you definitely need to address the balance within your training regime. Even if you're not suffering at the moment, then I would suggest thinking about the future and making this change too.

In the next post I will be talking about how to address the problem in some more detail.

Until next time,

Andrew and Alex

Hawaiian Dance Workout - Effective?

Came across this video whilst searching youtube for fitness stuff (ladies, I just typed in "fitness videos", honestly, I wasn't being creepy).



Who thinks they're going to get a good workout and burn serious amounts of calories from that?

I'm sorry to be critical, but this is something I see in fitness classes in my local gyms regularly. Loads of efforts at kidding the lazy into doing a little work. Always trying to find a "fun" way of exercising that really means "easy". As if something hard can't be fun.

Well, I'm all for getting people up and moving about if they don't exercise at all. I'm all for starting off gently and progressing steadily, minimising the risks of injury and other problems.

But what I'm against is the fitness industry propagating the idea that people are going to see any significant fat burning from following this kind of routine long term.

What we need is intensity !! Challenge, a little suffering even, if we're going to aim high and want real changes.

So, who is tough enough for the hardcore challenge?

We are offering a 4 week Hardcore Workout programme for you, ABSOLUTELY FREE !! Just ** Click Here** for your FREE 4 week Hardcore Workout and download your copy.

Until next time,

Andrew and Alex

Body Mass Index

Right, yesterday I touched on the topic of Body Mass Index and today you might have to excuse my rant, but this a topic that continues to frustrate me.

For those of you that don't know what this means, it's a simple calculation that the health services use to compare height to weight. All they do is take your weight, your height and then do a short sum, or use a table, to decide which range you fall into. The ranges are "Underweight" (below 18.5), "Normal" (18.5 to 24.9), "Overweight" (25- 29.9) and "Obese" (30+) and are used to suggest your potential health risks.

Now, these calculations don't take into account how much muscle the person has, and therefore how much of their weight is body fat. As far as I know, I haven't ever heard of increased cardiovascular health risks due to increased muscle mass. It's the fat that's the killer, right?

Most of us know now that the most effective way to burn fat and to keep it off is to increase your lean muscle mass, thus increasing your resting metabolic rate (simply put, you burn more calories, even at rest, if you have more muscle), combined with the right nutrition programme. It's inevitable that you are going to increase weight by increasing muscle mass, and the problem is that different people burn the fat at different rates. So, initially when someone starts doing weight training they might put on muscle before they lose much fat and even put on a little weight. If they persist, though, the increased muscle mass will have the desired effect of burning more fat, and often their weight will drop again (unless they're going for serious muscle building).

Now, to be fair to the health services they do state on their literature that the ranges don't take into account muscle mass. But what gets me is how many people are still using their weight as a guide to their progress.

I'll give you another example of the obsurdity of this weight/height comparison. Both Alex and I are keen Rugby fans (Alex, in fact, was a professional Rugby player earler in his career). Now, it's a sad time to be an English rugby fan at the moment, but watching those guys play 80 minutes at the intensity they manage is incredible. Their fitness is unreal. However, if you took their weight to height ratios, and used the BMI scale, I reckon 80% at least would be classed as "Overweight", whilst many of the forwards would be classed as "Obese". Admittedly, although the shape of Rugby players has become more athletic over the last few decades, some of them still carry a fair bit of fat round the middle. But even the fattest of those guys has fitness levels that would embarass most of us.

So, stop using your weight as a guide to your progress. Find someone who can analyse your body fat percentage (either a Bio-electrical impedence measurement, or Caliper measurements). Take pictures of yourself (the camera doesn't lie), or simply see how your clothes feel or dress sizes change. Test all areas of your fitness regularly and look at what you're eating. But please, don't use your weight as the only guide to how well you're doing in your fitness training.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

Relative Strength

Check out this video:



Now, that is a hardcore workout!! The core strength that guy has too - wow! Now, how many body builders do you think could do that kind of workout?

This got me thinking once again about relative strength (positive power to weight ratio)and how it's a much finer benchmark to aim for than absolute strength. I'll list a couple of reasons:

Firstly, it's more functional. By that, I mean it's more useful and transferable to everyday activities. If you only train to increase muscle size, then your ability to run or do chin ups will be decreased. What if you lift huge weights off the floor but can't haul your butt up a tree to rescue the cat or can't run around with your kids?

Secondly, and this is a personal opinion of course, the kind of body you're going to end up with is much more attractive. I'd far rather look like the dude in this video than a big and bulky meathead !! A RELATIVELY strong body is lean and ripped.

So, make sure you put bodyweight exercises into your programme (dips, chin, pull ups, press ups etc.) and use them as one of the bench marks, plus have a think about comparing your weight to what you're lifting. How soes your squat / deadlift weight compare to the scales?

This discussion also reminded me of another subject that I will be discussing in a different post, and that is BMI (Body Mass Index. I bet that guy would come out as overweight on the BMI scale, but that's just obsurd isn't it? I'll be back to discuss that later.

Until next time…..are you tough enough?

Andrew & Alex

Fitness Tests You Can Do Yourself On A Treadmill

So in the final instalment of my articles on testing your fitness I’m going to outline 2 tests you can do on a treadmill.

The first is a sub-maximal test and one that I got from the American College of Exercise.

Sub-maximal means that you need to stay with in your comfort zone and certainly do not work at a level that would elevate heart rate any where near maximum.

It then uses a relatively complex calculation to workout a predicted VO2 max.

You need to walk on a treadmill and cover a complete mile, but you will also need some values to plug in to these calculations:


VO2 max = 132.853

- 0.0769 x (Wt, in lbs)
- 0.3877 x (age)
+ 6.315 x (gender) M=x1, F=x0
- 3.2649 x(time)
- -0.1565 x (Heart Rate at completion)



The second way of using a treadmill is too run on it.

In this fitness test you need to try and run a mile and a half in as fast a time as possible.

Then simply put the figures in to this calculation:

VO2 = Distance (m) / time x 0.2 + 3.5

This will give you a re pretty good indication – there are of course errors in both tests but you should only get an error rate of around 2-4%.

Whenever you use a treadmill you should have a gradient of 1 degree as a minimum (it better replicates out door running)

Let us know which type of test you’ve tried and what your score was.

Until next time,

Are you tough enough for the hardcore workout?

Andrew & Alex

P.S. Don’t forget to pick up your free 4 week hardcore workout training program by **clicking here**

Gold Standard Fitness Test & Field Based Fitness Test (The Bleep Test)

Yesterday I told you how to do a really simple fitness test using a concept II rowing machine.

Well today you’re going to see two videos the first one depicts the Gold standard test, which is carried out in a laboratory on a treadmill with expired air samples being taken...



If you are wondering what the lady is doing, she’s taking a finger prick blood sample so that she can measure lactate responses.

And this video shows the world renowned 'Bleep' Test or multi stage fitness test which was developed at Loughborough University (where I did my undergraduate degree) and can be used in any setting where you have a 20m flat running surface....



In this test you’ll see two people running up and down as they have to continually run shuttles of 20 metres a progressively faster pace…also note the two different turning styles.

Later on this week I’ll share with you two treadmill tests you can do, one walking and one running.

Until next time,

Are you tough enough for the hardcore workout?

Andrew & Alex

P.S. Don’t forget to pick up your free 4 week hardcore workout training program by **clicking here**

How To Fitness Test Yourself

Measuring your fitness level is something you should be doing about once every three months (or more regularly if needed).

There are a number of ways you can measure your self and workout how fit you are, but what you may struggle with is what exactly does that data tell you.

Well whatever fitness test you are doing (we’re talking aerobic fitness tests here not strength, local muscular endurance or flexibility tests) you should end up with a number.

Now that number could range from as low as the teens to as high as the mid nineties (the highest ever recorded was by a cross country skier) but what does the actual number mean?

Try not to switch off here, but you are measuring the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilise as a absolute value in Litres per minute or as is more commonly reported, as a relative value.


Yeah, I know what does all this really mean? Well you can measure yourself and class yourself at a level against the general population and sports stars.

Here’s a really simple one you can do first up:

(N.B. if you are suffering from a low back problem or shoulder problem you should avoid this)

Jump on a rowing machine and try and blast through 2000m as fast as you can (world record is held by Rob Waddell from New Zealand with a time of 5:36.6

http://www.concept2.com/us/interactive/calculators/vo2max.asp put in your time weight, sex and training level.

It even gives you some tables to class yourself against.

I have my own scale:
<30 Poor
30-34.9 Average
35-39.9 Above Average
40-44.9 Good
45-49.9 Excellent
50-54.9 Amateur Athlete
55-59.9 Athlete
60+ Elite Athlete

The UK average is 30 ml.kg-1.min-1…..Just so we’re straight here Average is not acceptable. The American College of Exercise states that a score of above 40 is need to maintain the level of fitness you have now for the rest of your life (maintain that is, not improve!!)

Anyway tomorrow more on other types of fitness tests, I’ll even show you a video of the gold standard fitness test.

Until then,

Are you tough enough for the hardcore workout?

Andrew & Alex

P.S. Don’t forget to pick up your free 4 week hardcore workout training program by **clicking here**

4 week Hardcore Workout Program & Live Webinar for Seriously Fit People

Back in the middle of December, we gave away a brand new 4 week program for people to do in the New Year.

It included workout record sheets detailing everything about the session i.e. sets, reps, tempo, rest etc.

On top of that there was three videos exclusive to this programme that we released to help explain the exercises more fully.

All of this was released for free to a group of people who signed up for a world wide fitness promotion called '12 Days of Fitness’.

Well seeing as it’s been 6 weeks since we released the program and since we’ve had so much positive feedback we decided to launch it to as may people as possible.

So get over to this link and download your free programme and watch the videos now.

Also with in the next 10 days we will be holding a live hardcore workout fitness webinar (only available to those who download the programme) to talk you through any problems, issues or questions you have to get the most out of the hardcore workout and take your fitness level to the next stage.

So get over to www.thehardcoreworkout.com/hardcore4week to claim your free 4 week program and get on the VIP lists for the free webinar.

Until next time,

Are you tough enough for the hardcore workout?

Andrew & Alex

You Don’t Know Squat! – How deep should you go?

Well this is one of those discussions (well one way discussion anyway)`with in the world of weight training technique which you will either agree or disagree with - sorry, but if you disagree with us you’re just plain wrong! :-)

You see many people ask us all the time “how deep should I go when I squat?”

There is only one acceptable answer in our opinion. You only go down to a position where you can maintain good technique and posture.

Some trainers or coaches will claim that it’s not a full squat unless you get your thighs parallel with the floor. Well which part of the thigh – front or back?

Also what happens if you can’t get there?

Why can’t you get there?...Are you just not trying hard enough?

Unfortunately there is no one answer but there could be any number of places in the body where muscles are either two weak or too tight to allow you to get in the ‘perfect’ position.

You could argue that if you work hard and keep on doing it you will get there. Well I’m here to tell you will not always get there no matter how hard you work at getting strong or flexible.

Undoubtedly there are people who could get to a deep squat position if they got strong enough but there is one thing that many people over look.

The simple truth is that we are not all made up in the same way. The insertion points of Alex’s muscles will be slightly different to Andrew’s and just about everyone else. This means that there is the potential to not ever be able to get into a deep squat if you articular surface restrictions won’t let you.

Articular surfaces, purely means the joint surfaces. So if you have some defect or growth spur, say in your hip joint, that restricts the body from going into deep hip flexion then no level of stretching or weight training will help you.

So there is a reason that someone cannot get deep that has nothing to do with exercise execution or strength and everything to do with the way the body is made up.

Here’s one of Alex’s you tube videos:

Perfecting Squat Technique



Let us know what you think by commenting below.

Until next time, train hard, train smart, make every drop of sweat count!

Andrew & Alex

My Hardcore Workout yesterday

Thought I'd run you run through a beasting I gave myself yesterday. Seriously, I was destroyed at the end of it and was still sweating half an hour later.

Warm Up: 5 minutes jog on treadmill, followed by Bodyweight 300 (see earlier post)

Workout:
A1 Kettlebell(KB)Squat (2 KBs in rack position) 3 x 10
A2 Hanging Supine Row (using strapped handles, similar to TRX) 3 x 10
A3 Hanging Press Up (as above with feet raised) 3 x 10
A4 KB Swing 3 x 10
No rest between exercises and 30 sec between sets

B1 Chin Up 10,8,8
B2 BB Goodmorning 3 x 10
B3 Single Leg Half Jack-Knife (Stability Ball) 3 x 10 each leg
B4 Box Jump (24") 3 x 10
No rest between exercises and 30 sec between sets

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO TRAINING OR HAVE HAD BACK OR KNEE PAIN IN THE LAST YEAR

Unfortunately, I didn't have the video camera to hand to film it, but I will try and get another fitness video done for you all over the weekend.

Please send us your comments on this session.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

Why Sex Seems To Be The Favourite Reported Exercise!!

If you are following us on Twitter (click to see our page if you’re not already following us) you will have probably been asked by us what your favourite exercise is.

Well now that we are approaching nearly 1000 followers it is time to release the results.

By far the most consistent response was …SEX.

Yep no fewer than 17 people came back and told us sex was their favourite exercise.

Now neither of us here is any type of tantric love doctor but I think some of you are having us on…seriously how energetically do you go at it?? - if my wife gets 5 minutes out of me she’s done well :-)

In all honesty it was probably the second most stated response but it sure made us open our eyes, especially as every single one that came back saying sex was their favourite exercise were female.

Now either a) guys don’t think about sex as much as women claim or b) not too many guys want to admit sex as being there favourite exercise….especially when they are sending messages to two men!!!

So what has been the most highly reported exercise?

Well there is one common theme running through a lot of peoples answers and that is that squats seem to be the most favourite.

Not always regular back squats but we’ve had some other good ones like Bulgarian split squats with a shoulder press or dumbbell squat to shoulder press, so you can see people love to mix up there squatting with other movements to try and get the most amount of work done.

Tomorrow we’ll go over some of the basic fundamental mistakes people make when squatting.

Until then train hard, train smart – make every drop of sweat count!

Andrew & Alex

P.S. Andrew asked me to make sure you knew it was me (Alex) writing this post….wonder why!!
P.P.S. We'll try and put a video together of all our favourite squat variations.

300 Hardcore Workout - Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training

Here’s another hardcore workout. This one is from Craig Ballantyne of www.turbulencetrainingmanual.com

You’ll probably recognise the style (it was not our exclusive workout, we’re really not sure who popularised it but it was probably www.gymjones.com ), many trainers talk about and use these high fat burning workout type programs to give their clients fantastic results and fat loss.

Anyway checkout the hardcore workout session below.

300 Workout



Craig is one of the leading online providers of fitness training for people who lack time and equipment – You can see what his program is all about by **clicking here**

Until next time…..are you tough enough?

Andrew & Alex

How not to lift weights correctly!

Well we've seen some people lift weights with some really dodgy form before but this video really sums up how dangerous lifting weight can be.

It also highlights that you really should work with a training buddy, but preferably not a kid!

Out favourite clip is the 5th one involving a child lifter and their Dad!





Until next time remember to maintain good technique whenever you are lifting, if you can't then there's no point in continuing the exercise, period.

Andrew & Alex

HARDCORE WORKOUT - EDT

Here's another great workout for you to try.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO TRAINING OR HAVE HAD BACK OR KNEE PAIN IN THE LAST YEAR



This is a great method for improving your anaerobic fitness and recovery time, whilst doing loads of work in a short space of time. This means you'll have a massive post exercise oxygen consumption and burn loads of fat too.

Simply pick 3 compound exercises at a 15 rep max weight. Do 10 reps of each in a circuit, as many times as possible in 15 minutes.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

Dreaming Higher

Right, time for some more headtalk. It's January, so I imagine some of you have made some New Years fitness resolutions, probably made a start on a new programme and/or diet. Some of you may have not bothered this year, because either you did it last year and gave in a few days or weeks later, or you are fairly happy with how you are doing now and don't see the point in it.

Goals are important in achieving great things. I would say within fitness, they're as important as the quality of the programme you're working. And we shouldn't be put off by fear of failure or complacency. In fact, it's the chance of failure that is the very thing that gives us the chance to grow. Being out on a limb, in new territory, pushing the boundaries, that's where the most risk is, but also the most reward.

If you have set goals for yourself already, have another look at them. Are they challenging for you? Are you really stretching yourself? Or have you set goals that you know are easily achievable? If you have aimed high already, then congratulations, you have the "Hardcore Workout" mindset already. If not, then I challenge you to set your goals a little higher. Dare to dream.

I thought we'd show you this video of a free climber pushing the limits:



No Fear, eh? Well.......I don't know. I don't know the guy personally and whether he has had to overcome his natural fear of height or whether he is just a bit nuts and has no fear. But I want to say this. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It takes no courage to do something that doesn't scare you. It's having the fear and doing it anyway that's courageous.

So again, have a look inside and ask yourself "is fear holding me back from dreaming big, from setting higher goals?".

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex

Stories from the Fitness Trenches – Lactate Threshold Workout

Hi Alex here - A few years ago I was training a very promising junior tennis player (he played an exhibition match at Wimbledon during the Championships).

We worked on all sorts of aspects of tennis and being that he was only ten we concentrated on a lot of body weight circuits and speed, agility and quickness training.

Occasionally we would do some really fatiguing sprint shuttles and the like. Well on one occasion I introduced a really tough one to him and…well things didn’t go to plan.

The workout looks a little like this:

Set up a 20m space that you can sprint along.
You are going to be doing max speed shuttles where you turn and come back the way you have come so make sure the surface is good (we used an indoor tennis court, but I have done it outdoors).

So here’s what you do:

1. Sprint 20m – rest 5 seconds
2. Sprint 20m turn and sprint back for a 2nd shuttle – rest 10 seconds
3. Sprint 20m x 3 – rest 15 seconds
4. Sprint 20m x 4 – rest 30 seconds
5. Repeat 1-4 above
6. Repeat 1-5 above after 3 mins rest

That’s it – short but brutal (you need to make sure you are well warmed up and if you know how to do dynamic flexibility warm ups then use them).

Back to the story of the tennis player…

…we finished the final 20m x 4 shuttle sprint and as I walked towards him to congratulate him on his effort I noticed that he had started to turn a light shade of green and was very close to vomiting on the spot.

I looked in to his eyes and asked him if he was alright to which he could only shake his head.

I quickly pushed/carried him to the nearest toilet facility and just in time too, as he vomited in to the bowl just as we speed marched through the doors.

After I had helped him clean up (remember he’s only 10!) I sat him down and told him this simple truth.

I hate it when people vomit from training – I don’t think it’s smart or cool or anything I have seen some people rave about. It’s not something I want to see, but it did give me one hell of an insight into the fact that he was dedicated and willing to push him self hard.

I have never been ill from training and believe me I have been through some hellish days and weeks in my professional rugby days (and on many occasion felt I might be). Others I used to train with were violently sick before a game (mainly that was a nerves thing) and occasionally someone would be ill during training – but it was always the same ones.

Some people just react that way but as I say, personally it’s not important to me. Whilst, as I said earlier, other coaches occasionally talk about the ‘puke meter’ as a basis to determine if you have given it all your effort.

So the moral of the story is try not to puke but still push yourself hard enough that you are on the cusp of not being able to complete another seconds worth of work – in essence give it 100% all the time.


Until next time,

Train hard, train smart, make every second count.

Andrew & Alex

How Star Wars Can Help Get You Long Term Fitness Results!!!

Well this is an absolute beauty in our opinion.

Whilst it has a funny side to it there is a message behind it….





…and that is the power of the darkside, oops sorry just messing. No the serious message here is that in order to get a long term fitness results you will need some form of accountability and support.

This can be in the form of friends, family, training buddies, personal trainers, twitter or facebook groups. It’s why groups like weight management groups are so popular and do generally get good results.

What ever you can do to get some support and accountability you will have made the first step in Alex's '5 keys to success in 2009' which Alex posted on his personal blog **read it by clicking here**


Tomorrow we’ve got a killer circuit to do, we can’t film this as we don’t have the space but we’ll talk you through every part of this killer lactate threshold workout.

Until tomorrow,

Andrew & Alex

HARDCORE WORKOUT - TABATA PROTOCOL

Here's our 4th Hardcore Workout for you to enjoy.

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NEW TO TRAINING OR HAVE HAD BACK OR KNEE PAIN IN THE LAST YEAR

Created by Dr Izumi Tabata, this protocol is an intense cardio interval training method that improves anaerobic and aerobic fitness simultaneously. This is also a great method for burning fat.

In this Hardcore Workout video, we are demonstrating with the Kettlbell Swing and the Kettlebell Clean and Press, but you can use any form of cardio conditioning (sprinting, rowing, biking, bagwork etc.) or other strength training exercises.

Simply perform intense work for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds rest and repeat for a total of 8 cycles.

Are you fit enough for "The Hardcore Workout"?

Andrew & Alex