Issue 057
December 2009
Barry Gibson is a kettlebell and fitness instructor as well as a 3rd dan black belt in judo. A strength and conditioning trainer to some of the UK’s top MMA fighters (including TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson), he is available for seminars and workshops upon request. For details or to contact him with any questions or queries, email [email protected]. Check out his DVD ‘Train Hard, Fight Easy and Win’, available from grapplefit.com.
This issue, we’ve used some tires for the outdoor work. I went to the local tire garage and took some off their hands for free. They have to pay to get rid of them you see, so they’re happy for you to take them away. The owner was well pleased, but kept trying to give me more... Anyway, here are some workouts to try with them.
Mark out a 50m course and then do the following:
Clean and throw the tire 50m (pick it off the floor and bring it to your chest, then explosively chest pass it forward, run to it and repeat)
Overhead toss back to the start (think of a kettlebell swing, but keep the movement going over your head – again, explosive is the key)
Pick the tire up (or two if you have them) and sprint to the marker and back – 100m total.
That’s one circuit. Repeat for a five-minute round, or go for a density block of 10–20 mins.
You get a lot of power endurance from this circuit due to the explosive nature of the movements. The 'clean and throw' and 'overhead toss' are great opposing drills, so you’re working the whole body. The sprints just hurt, and will blast your fitness through the roof! You get a whole lot of lactate build-up too, so your body has to work hard to buffer the lactic acid away – again, this is what you need from your training. In terms of energy systems, this is really specific.
The next circuit is as follows:
Clean and throw 50m
Overhead toss back to start
Overhead lunge 50m
Grab the tire and sprint 100m.
Repeat this for your desired timescale or a density block as above.
The overhead lunges are designed to tax your core more than your legs, but your legs will scream for mercy. The good thing about the overhead work is that you get a little shoulder stability built in as an extra – so you’re actively stretching out while performing a functional movement. And yes I still hate the ‘F’ word! But it’s true…
There are many other things to do with tires (especially heavy ones that you can flip) but these drills are some favorites of mine and can be used with smaller tires so they’re nice and portable. Next time you get your tires changed, ask for your old ones back. You’ll get some strange looks, but your fitness will be so much better for it. Who says you need a gym?
