Issue 117

June 2023

Try conditioning king Kevin Kearns’ dynamic fluid resistance workout to take your strength training to new levels

Variety is the spice of life, it’s said. Well, when working on your strength and conditioning for any combat sport, variety should be all about the dynamic-resistance-training kind.

Dynamic variable resistance training (DVRT) has been around for a very long time, although only a few of you may have heard of it. In fact, as far back as 3,000 years ago the ancient Greeks employed it when preparing their armies for war. You see, the Greeks knew DVRT could not only offer benefits in everyday life, it could also assist soldiers preparing for battle, given they’d have to move their bodies in a multitude of directions with split-second timing just to stay alive.

A subdivision of DVRT is dynamic fluid resistance training (DFRT). This utilises the amazing physical properties of water to help build strength and conditioning cheaply and in one of the most beneficial ways possible. Remember what Bruce Lee said about H2O? Well, as the master put it: “Water is one of the strongest and most flexible things in the world.” OK, so Bruce might not have been talking about S&C training, but I’m sure the programme I’ve devised for you on these pages would have been right up his alley. The only equipment you’ll need is a ‘Surge.’ For the uninitiated, this is a tubular-shaped piece of kit about four feet long with two grip handles on it. The Surge is made of plastic and is hollow, but when you fill it with water it makes a brilliant resistance training tool.

For this workout, which I’ve called ‘Water Torture,’ you should fill up your Surge with the wet stuff. Try targeting three sets of 10–12 reps for each exercise in a circuit fashion. But while you should complete the first circuit as explosively as possible to up your cardio, for the second one I want you to keep the water inside the Surge as still as possible. And the reason? Well, since water is so fluid you must constantly adjust to keep it motionless, thus training all those prime movers, secondary movers and stabiliser muscles we tend to ignore, while building strength on a microscopic level.

1 SQUAT CURL AND PRESS Place a Surge on the floor in front of you and stand with your feet shoulder width apart. As you raise the Surge to shoulder level try to keep the water as silent as possible.

2 CRASH THE DOOR Grab the Surge in both hands and take a short side step while thrusting the Surge in the same direction as though breaking a door down.

3 SHOULDER BLOCK Grab a Surge in both hands at shoulder level and assume an athletic-ready stance. With a quick step forward, launch the Surge out in front of you explosively.

4 BJJ HIP ESCAPE Lie on the floor holding a Surge above your chest, with arms slightly bent. Now tilt the Surge to the side as you attempt a hip escape. To make things more difficult, don’t let the Surge touch the ground.

5 SPRAWL Hold the Surge in both hands at shoulder level. Push the Surge forward as you lower yourself to the ground and shoot your legs back. Return to a standing position.

6 PILE DRIVER Hold the Surge in an athletic-ready stance. Lower it vertically to the floor until one end of it touches terra firma and then raise it over your head before lowering the other end to the ground.

7 LATERAL LUNGE Hold the Surge at shoulder level. Either moving as explosively as possible or attempting to keep the water as still as you can, move the Surge sideways as you step in the same direction.

8 SINGLE-LEG BENT-OVER ROW Standing on one leg while holding the Surge in front of you at arm’s length, pull the Surge up to your ribs and then lower it down again.