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Unleaded: Old School Strength Training by Mark Hatmaker

 


I open with the vanity & rationale behind using my own photos as “the proof most oft in the pudding be found.”

·        The photos are from one day before my 55th birthday after a post-cliff jump/kayak session.

·        And…peeling a wetsuit off post-manatee dive one month later.

·        The first set is in the midst of a training cycle, the second set is after one week of zero training while on vacation with no appreciable loss of gains.

·        I will call your attention back to the photos in a mo’.

My historical combat studies have led to some mighty interesting adjunct revelations in the area of physical training [PT from here on out.]

The early boxers, wrestlers, pugilists, rough ‘n’ tumblers did not have memberships to Globo Gyms, frequent your local Box, or clear out their log cabin garages to fill with Rogue Fitness gear.

More often than not, the “fitness” gains were part and parcel of the life lived without conveniences, and the choice of occupations that lacked “ease-of-use” technology. The average frontier matriarch of the sodhouse, log cabin, or trekking Conestoga wagon did more in physical exertion terms per day than any hyper-scheduled rigidly calculated professional trainer approved routine.

With it in mind that conditioning was not a mere App away, or a One-Click Order of a Peloton via Prime, often what was performed as conditioning over and above the standard workday relied more on the body itself and what was readily available in all environments.

It is this “above and beyond” work that we will address.

[I refer to the photos again, beginning June 1st 2020, I put my own body into the experiment of playing only with the tips, tactics, and tools of these historical methods.]



Self-Quarantined Ready

This stripped down, rough and ready approach is ideal for the current state of the globe.

Gear Required

·        You

·        A pull-up bar, tree branch, sailing boom, clothesline cross-brace, anything at all that will support your weight.

·        One medicine ball, or moderate size stone, cinder block, or any other stand in for moderately heavy tossing.

·        One wall for vertical surface work.

Time Allotment

25 Minutes per training day.

·        I have timed out all of the various training packages and they come in between the 19 to 27-minute range.

 

This 25 minutes includes…

·        3 Shock Exercises per Session [Think of this as the forerunner of what we now call plyometrics.

·        1 Core Package Per Day [Trunk, torso, abdominal girdle.]

·        And 1 choice each from the revolving 6 Guns.



The Shock Packages

·        A selection of exercises for each of the 3 body sections: Explosive Core, Explosive Legs, Explosive Upper-Body.

·        3 Sections of 12 Exercises

The Six-Guns

·        Thigh & Hip Strength [The Revolving Four]

·        The Big Pull [The back “The front’s for show, the back’s for go!”] [The Revolving Eight]

·        The Big Push [Chest] [The Revolving Seven]

·        The Shoulders [The Revolving Four]

·        The Small Pull [Biceps] [The Revolving Four]

·        The Small Push [Triceps] [The Revolving Four]

The Revolves kybosh staleness by always changing up the package.

Each targeted/goal exercise has a “Till you’re ready” option, some more than one “Till you’re ready” as some targets are Tough with a capital T.

Scheduling

Some old-timers had hard and fast rules for workload, and I have found these mighty useful for rest, recovery, and rapid gains. We’ll cover…

·        Packaging Order

·        Six Gun Sequencing

·        When and when not to train your targeted sport in relation to your strength training.

·        When to add suppleness work.

Auxiliaries

So far, we’ve covered what can be accomplished in 25 minutes.

If we desire to push it further we can add any of the additional 3 packages.

Old School Grip

·        10-strict minutes of forearm hell performed only twice a week.

·        All that is required is you, a pull-up bar, a sledgehammer or ax, and for the advanced athlete one climbing rope [that you need not mount as you won’t be climbing it.]

Old School Neck

·        Vital for strikers and grapplers, optional for other athletes.

·        5-minutes twice per week.

·        4 neck exercises that I expect you can imagine but…

·        There are 4 additional exercises that do not look like neck exercises at all that will wake up the “root of the neck” and make you scream with the burn.

Old School Calves

·        6-minutes twice per week.

·        10 exercises for strength, stability, and rapid rebound.

Beyond the Horizon

Likely you will find the 25 minutes will take care of even your basic “cardio” needs but if you are in need of exceptional “bottom” [the old-timer’s word for stamina] …

·        We offer 50+ Rough ‘n’ Ready Stamina Challenges with none lasting longer than 5 minutes.

·        As a matter of fact, 5 is the strict cut-off. Trust me, you’ll be huffing and puffing long before the cut-off.



Also examined…

·        The commonalties of old school “nutrition.” [The particulars are all over the map, but the commonalties are mighty useful. I refer you to the photos, not one meal skipped, not one calorie counted, not one pie left unharmed or a single baked potato left unbuttered.]

·        Thoughts on old school suppleness/flexibility.

·        Some weighted exercises for those who simply can’t quit the iron addiction cold turkey

·        And much more.

This will go book form, when?

Not sure, pandemic and all that…

But, we will be releasing the material in beta form for our RAW Crew/Black Box Subscribers throughout the next year.

For more info on The Black Box Project or togo ahead and jump in feet first…

[For techniques, tactics, and strategies of Rough and Tumble Combat, Old-School Boxing, Mean-Ass Wrestling, Street-Ready Frontier Scrapping & Indigenous Ability culled from the historical record see the RAW Subscription Service, or stay on the corral fence with the other dandified dudes and city-slickers. http://www.extremeselfprotection.com

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