We are in our final week of workouts designed by Dan John. With a background in track and field, weightlifting, and Highland Games, and having worked with elite athletes for years, Dan knows what it takes to make someone fast and strong.
Three new workouts from Dan are posted each week, starting on Monday. They can be done on any day you have available.
To learn more about Dan, read our feature interview:
Part 1: The State of the Fitness Union
Week Three – Consisting of Three Days of Lifting
Daily Warm Up:
I suggest you use a Kettlebell or a Dumbbell when you warm up. I start off with a series of walks, easy squats, some planks, and then move up to some lifting movements like the Row and Push Up. If you need to do additional mobility work, do it here, but reserve things like Static Stretching and Foam rolling until after the workout.
- Waiter Walks/Suitcase Walks
- Light Goblet Squats / Hip Flexor Stretch “Make Space”
- Plank (Superman and One Leg Variations)
- Windmill Movements (Get Up Series)
- Pushup Position Planks (Superman and One Leg Variations)
- Scap or Horizontal Shrugs “Relax into Stretch”
- Three Point One Arm Rows
- Alligator Push Ups Tic-tock-tic-tock…(Do a Push Up, move a hand forward, Push Up, Move other hand forward…a walking Push Up)
- Half Turkish Get ups using the elbow as a lever
Workout:
5-10 x 4 (Increase weight after each cluster)
Front Squats
Bench Press
Hurdle Walkover
Deadlift
This is a high volume day. Now, the Deadlift is going to be much lighter than you think and the sheer number of Front Squats is going to take its toll. This is a hypertrophy workout, but it also seems to set the athlete up for a pretty good strength test in the upcoming weeks.
Remember: most people don’t do nearly enough reps to learn how to do movements. I know it takes 10,000 hours to master the violin and 10,000 discus turns a year to master the discus, so I don’t mind thinking that it might take a few reps to master the Front Squat.
Note: For Hurdle Walkovers use a flight of ten hurdles, and just march “High Knee style” over them each minute; it is a hip mobility drill and a bit of a rest. You can sub in High Knees Marching as a variation, if you don’t have all the hurdles.
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