Progressive Rest Ladder "200", my new favorite way to do 200 16kg swings

Since I came home from vacation I've found myself training alone more often since a large portion of my regular students have also been away during these summer months. Most of my training gets done via leading my classes but when left on my own, well....that's when I resort back to the boring stuff. Boring can get alot of work done in a short amount of time (which is the point), but how can I help make it translatable for others not so motivated to do the boring stuff on their own?



Last week I came up with this combination of work/rest with the 16kg, a bell slightly heavier than my "training" weight, the 12kg or 14kg. This is my starting point to 200 consecutive swing reps w/16kg, and then w/20kg, and then w/24kg. I could do these continuous workloads now, but that's not the point. The point is how can I teach someone else how to do it? Alot of my routines are designed keeping in mind the cardio, strength and skill levels of my students. I am a teacher afterall, a coach, a leader, a trainer. (how cool is that?)

Most of my past routines/combinations use "regressive" rest periods w/progressive work periods, in other words the work increases and intensifies by decreasing the rest taken. Here in this workout the rest periods increase. You might wonder why if the goal is to take out the rest completely.

As I mention near the end of this video, short rest periods have become overrated, and I confess I've had my part in this style of training. I've recently started to revisit 1 minute long rest intervals much to the delight of my students! As Mark explains, longer rest periods use a different energy system, an example would be the difference between sprinting and running a marathon. If we get used to running long distances we adapt using techniques (and weights) that allow us to become more efficient at that gaol....which is fine if all we want is get good at running marathons.

You can become efficient at any intensity. You can be efficient at running 10 miles or at running 400 ft but the two use diffent muscle fibers. Running slow or jogging uses mainly red fibers, which requires less strength and speed having less potential of the powerful white fibers. Shorter workbouts and longer rest periods allow you to train white fibers. White fibers require more time to regenterate than the red fibers, and by givng yourself the proper rest, longer rest, you're going to get stronger and develop more muscle than just always going long and slow. It's not that one is bad and one is good, they just do different things and create different effects.

The goal is to do 200 continuous heavy swings with power. Not to simply "fall" into the swings, or to "survive" the experience, but to smoke it! When you take more time to rest between sets you can come back stronger, eventually completing more and more continuous swing reps, strongly, with less rest.

200 swing reps w/progressive rest ladder

40 2 hd sw, 15 sec rest
40 2 hd sw, 30 sec rest
40 2 hd sw, 45 sec rest
40 2 hd sw, 1 min rest
40 2 hd sw

200 swings 7.5 min

repeat 2x for a 15 min workout.

If you are used to doing longer workouts then use this as a warm up or a way to end your workout as I do. No need though. This is all you need to start with twice a week. We all don't have time to make training a #1 priority, but we can all find at least 15 minutes twice a week, can't we? If training to use a heavier and heavier bell always start with a weight you know you can swing for 40 continuous reps before increasing the weight.

PS I don't think I was able to finish explaining why I taped this video yesterday....I was as close as I've ever been to skipping my workout. After I taught my 30 min swing class I lolly-gagged for about 15-20 minutes whining to Mark how I wanted to stop. I knew I wouldn't, but it helped to use the video as motivation to not give in....