The Naturtraining Crew

April 17, 2010. Dominik Feischl once again calls out for all his “Naturtraining-Warriors” to assemble at a seminar, this time taking place in Obermühlau, near Thomasroith at the residence of his mentor and training partner Karl Humer, best known for his rafter pull-up.

The so far largest gathering of this kind was formed by twelve athletes (Dominik and Karl not counted) who travelled long distance (two athletes from Vorarlberg, one Swiss athlete) to show up. On a sunny spring day, the perfect stage was set for an perfectly enjoyable day packed with intense training.

The seminar was split up into four parts, which we tackled after a warm-up run (including hill sprint and quadropod action) through the beautiful Hausruck spring landscape:

1. Dominik’s Tactical Strength Challenge
2. Climbing with Karl Humer
3. Toying around with tyres
4. Pressing Power and Climbing Challenge

1. Dominik’s Tactical Strength Challenge

Prior to the seminar, Dominik sent out various e-mails, containing the set-up of the Tactical Strength Challenge. Pavel Tsatsouline, inventor of the Tactical Strength Challenge advised him to adapt the set-up of his exercises to the circumstances of the event – with opened the door for a set-up completely different from the original deadlift – pull-up – snatch configuration. We matched our strength and strength endurance skills in the following disciplines:

1. Rope climbing (for distance)
2. Clean & Press a ~38 kg stone (for repetitions)
3. Parcours climbing (for time under tension)
4. Farmer’s Walk with a ~80 kg tyre (for time under tension)

Rope climbing had to be done without using the feet, pressing the stone way allowed any way we could do so, the parcours climbing demanded crossing the parcours at least once (touching a log at the far end of the parcours) and the Farmer’s Walk required constant movement.

Every single participant showed tremendous performance throughout the disciplines. The fighter spirits were high and the respective winners of the disciplines performed remarkably. Christian won the overall contest, placing first in both the Farmer’s Walk (66 seconds) and parcours climbing (~2’23” time under tension) even after dropping back with a mere 7 repetitions of the clean & press. Thomas, Harald and Lukas were very strong with the clean and press (38, 38 and 50 repetitions).

Side note: If he had competed, Dominik would have won the overall event. He outclassed all of us in the disciplines he tried (Farmer’s walk and Rope Climbing).

2. Climbing with Karl Humer

After such a ‘warm up’, things started to get hard when Karl pushed us along his newly extended parcours. Climbing horizontal ladders in various ways and reaching along logs was probably the hardest part of the whole seminar. Karl has installed six lanes that offer various challenges – including what they call the Trojan Horse, a construction featuring bars in different thickness and a stiff ascent as a finisher.

3. Toying around with tyres

After a short break our legs had to work as well. With an already sore upper body, dragging and carrying around tractor tyres was a welcome change of setting, as it mainly focuses on lower body work. We supplemented the tyre work with decent hill sprints, combined with a quadropod descent.

4. Pressing Power and Climbing Challenge

Coming back to the parcours, Karl made us do push-ups in all variations – then supplemented with dips. Following this push-up madness, Karl took out his garden hose and watered the Trojan Horse – making it more difficult to cross, which we had to do. Climbing the diagonal support poles was another difficult task. Lastly, we worked our abs with leg raises – followed by blocking, if you can. One of the last highlights of the training seminar was hanging on the Trojan Horse with tucked feet and karl throwing punches at our abs for a straight fifteen seconds. This sure was a torture that everyone felt for some time after the seminar.

For dessert, we faced another challenge: How fast can you go through the longest lane of the parcours (horizontal ladder + woodstick climbing, Trojan Horse (minus ascent) and support hold walk along the parallel bars)? Peter won this one with a breathtaking time of 17 seconds. Do I have to mention that speed is his skill?

[---]

To commence the event, we went to a nearby inn together and did what we had to do after such a exhaustive day: Eat freely of whatever feels good to our bodies.

Every seminar poses to me the question of “What did I learn?” My answers for this time:

• Janis made me aware of a dysbalance in my balance, stance and power that I have noticed but mostly ignored throughout the last years.
• The core is the weakest part of the body for most athletes. This problem is particularly striking while climbing. A weak core leads to a lack of stability which in course leads to an inefficient technique
• Companionship is by far the most important factor in a training group. People have to fit together well in order to achieve more than they would be able to do individually. I am looking forward to work on this one with my CrassFit comrades in future
• Every athlete has a very different profile of strengths and weaknesses so that every one has the chance to shine in a specific discipline as well as the chance to learn a tremendous lot in others
• Attitude is of utmost importance – your attitude not only partially decides whether or not you will succeed in all challenges
• Harald mentioned that one can only teach things that one has learned three steps down the way. There is no way one can teach the things one has learned just yet
• Kettlebell technique seems to be an issue for most people. Working with kettlebells sure is easy to learn and hard to master
• Dominik and Janis both confirmed from their experiences that most Americans do not care too much about the quality of their nutrition – even strength coaches
• Most of the participants have a reasonable attitude towards nutrition that relies heavily on their experience of what is good for them – experience seems to trump science

Furthermore, I have to congratulate all of my comrades. Some I knew from former seminars, some were new to me. Likewise they shared an utmost uplifting spirit. Some of my observations:

• Janis has a good eye for posture problems in other people. He had just returned from a Underground Strength Coach certification prior to the seminar and I am convinced he will make a greatly positive impact on the people he works with in future
• Thomas has made so much progress that it is hard to believe that he was barely able to perform a pull-up last Winter. He handled the climbing challenges with an ease and grace that is stunning. Hats off!
• Harald has impressed me with his ability to focus. To me, he is prototypical for the calm warrior – I have great respect for him
• Gregor has a most uplifting spirit he carries along with him. On most pictures I see him smiling while he performs at his best. He is one of the athletes I would consider indestructible under normal circumstances
• Peter is a tremendously quick athlete – as expected from a former short distance runner. No wonder he managed to win the speed climbing challenge. His ability to push himself farther is remarkable – it’s like he is unable to experience unbearable pain

Once again, this seminar has proven to be extremely enjoyable while being just as exhaustive. What can be better than a day with like-minded people – training hard, chatting about things that matter to you and have a great time? Few things come to my mind.

I am looking forward to see you at the next seminar held by Dominik. Make sure you don’t miss out if you’re around.

Train on and stay strong,
Simon

P.S.: It’s now Wednesday and I’m still feeling a wee soreness in my forearms, shoulders and back. The sheer training density on this day caused deep muscle fatigue, I guess.

Yesterday we assembled once more for a heavy CrassFit workout – with one thing to surprise us positively – Dominik found the time to join us again. He is a great motivator and I really feel that he is the true core of our group – the workouts overflow with intensity and motivation whenever he joins us.

After I wrote about the least crass of CrassFit, as Peter put it, I knew that it would become harder this time – but little did I know about how hard it really became.

We did the following workout:

Pre-Fatigue

Three rounds of

Ladder one up to four repetitions of the following complex

• Swing
• High Pull
• Clean
• Military Press or Push Press
• Squat

using either the 16 kg or the 24 kg kettlebell.

Paired with rope pull-ups for the same repetitions.

Metabolic Conditioning

3 rounds of
Hill Sprint
10 Burpees
Jog to start of hill

[---]

Initially, we planned for five rounds of the metabolic conditioning but cut it down to three, due to the sheer fatigue we experienced after the strength part, which really was the main part of our workout.

I brought a 24 kg competition kettlebell with me – a weight most of us weren’t used to. As for me, I have never (push) pressed it more than three times – only Dominik is used more than this. We struggled in our fight against gravity – and prevailed. Rainer used the 16 kg kettlebell and did a great job – it is high time he purchases his first one for private use

Handling a weight you have never handled before is a tremendous challenge that forces your body to progress in strength. We got together in pairs and paused in the time our partner did the kettlebell complex – a pause that we were in dire need of. As I neared the last repetitions, a stiff feeling in my forearms was the most urgent problem apart from the fatigue in my legs – especially when you do push presses, your legs are working all the time.

We talked a lot about the transfer from kettlebell training to other feats of strength and share the experience that kettlebells are a tremendous help to become a monster in regards of strength, velocity and full body stability. Just focus on the basic movements (swings, (deadlift) high pull, clean, press, snatch and squat – supplemented with the get-up) and master them.

After the strength workout, I had a hard time finishing the metabolic conditioning work. Already after round 1 I was barely able to jog my way down to the foot of the hill. If I have ever been close to vomiting during a workout, it was yesterday – a degree of intensity I have never experienced so far.

This is, what gets you further. Incorporate as much intensity into your workouts as you can possibly sustain and grow stronger than you have ever been!

Wasted but happy after roughly an hour of kettlebell madness

Train on and stay strong!
Simon

Yesterday we went for another great CrassFit workout. After a short break of one week without workout (attendees were either sick or had no time – I wouldn’t go for it all alone, did kettlebell complexes instead ) we got into gears just fine.

Unfortunately, Harald and Dominik were absent, for good reasons: Harald is back to Graz and Dominik occupied with heavy manual labor – so it was only Rainer, me and Peter.

We did the following workout:

Pre-Fatigue

5 x 5 Frog Jumps uphill
5 + 5 Turkish Get-Up (with water bottle or 16 kg kettlebell, according to level of expertise)
5 x 2 Lengths rope climbing

For the frog jumps, it is especially important to gain momentum with the right arm work. Look at how Peter is doing the jumps and what impressive horizontal leaps he can take. This is due to long training (he is an active track & field athlete). Lead the arms from down below up and forward and time the movement of the hands with the movement of the feet to achieve maximum leaps.

The Turkish get-up is one of the best exercises to train your abdominal strength but also one of the most dangerous. I highly recommend that you start training it using no weight at all. Start to add resistance only when you have learned the technique! It is important that the shoulder is resting in its socket and the arms are straightened toward the sky – and the look is always facing the hand reaching out of the clouds.

Start slowly and always part the movement into steps. Watch Peter’s form – he is doing great!

Finally, the rope climbing was the first exercise I couldn’t film due to the darkness – I will make sure that I take a good source of light with me in future to enable video capture also amid night hours.

Metabolic Conditioning

5 rounds of:
5 L-pull-ups (easier variation: tucked in knees)
16 Lunge walks
10 L-push-ups
200 meter running

The darkness and other circumstances prevented us from documenting this one. To explain the L-pull-up and the L-push-up, I will provide videos.

The L-pull-up works abdominals as well as the back and arms – it is a lot harder than a regular pull-up. Tucked in knees are the easier version that I used, due to the inability to perform an exercise this hard.

Watch this video at 3:00. Here you see a variation of a push-up with legs up the wall. This is how the starting position of a L-push-up looks like – from there on, it is like a handstand push-up: Descend like you are to ram your head into the ground and push yourself up again. Any wall or elevated platform is fine for doing this – just keep in mind to have a right angle between legs and torso.

We shortened the run a bit due to the circumstances and used it for regeneration issues. In total, this was the easiest workout of the CrassFit series up to date and will be remembered as such. The preparation was suboptimal and will be augmented next time.

Well done, night figthers!
There was nothing left to feel, when I fell into the night...

I am looking forward to next week’s workout. It will be a major test for metabolic and muscular endurance, I guarantee Hopefully, with good lighting assistance to be able to capture it properly.

Train on and stay strong,
Simon

Good morning, fellow readers!

Yesterday we did another CrassFit training session with the following program:

Pre-Fatigue

Focus: Strength + Jump Power

2 rounds of
10 knee tuck jumps
10 whole body jumps (explosive push-ups with the whole body up in the air)
5 explosive pull-ups
5 squat-clean + press (2 x 16 kg kettlebell)

During the pre-fatigue part of the workout we started to realize that it would become a harder workout than we thought Our metabolism was truly fired up by these two rounds – the explosive form of these exercises make them really hard on the body. As a rule of thumb, the metabolic stress is determined by the vertical leap of the movement and its resistance. Squat cleans (with presses) totally destroy the metabolism and if you continue with knee tuck jumps, you are sure to shoot your pulse frequency up into new all-time heights.

Metabolic Conditioning

Focus: Timed Workload (Minute Drills)

60” of

• Split jumps
• Clap Pushups
• Rope pull-ups
• Burpees

with approx. 20” rest between exercises

approx. 2′ rest

75” of

• Jump squats
• Push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Kettlebell swings 16 kg

with approx. 20” rest between exercises

approx. 2′ rest

90” of

• Squats
• Puppy push-ups
• Body rows
• Mountain climbers

With the metabolic conditioning, Peter (who designed the workout) was not 100% correct about the nature of the workout. All of the attendees experienced muscular failure before systemic failure (which is the intention of metabolic conditioning). But not too much of a problem – we did what we could. Initially, we planned the three blocks as 60”, 90” and 120” time under tension blocks but opted to reduce the load as we experienced enormous fatigue after the first block already.

Harald told me between the blocks, that time is relative, after complaining about my level of fatigue. And how relative it is These were amongst the longest seconds I have ever experienced.

Post-Fatigue

Focus: Static Holds

60” static hold of

• Body row (arms 90° flexed)
• Wall sit (30” 45°, 30” 90° leg flex)
• Push up (variable positions)

The static work was the crowning of a tremendously intense workout. The sheer intensity and density of the workouts is the reason that we were unable to do filming this time – so there is no video documentation, I am afraid Apart from the workout intensity, it gets dark earlier and earlier these days so we have to put up with training in darkness in future, I guess. At the time we finished this one (20:00), darkness was embracing us already.

Four madmen. Out in the darkness. Wasted and done.

Darkness will not stop us, for sure. The next workout session is scheduled for next Tuesday, 22nd of September 2009. This time, it’s Dominik‘s turn to design the workout. He already told us that he will take a barbell with him. What diabolic intentions he has on his mind? Stop by here in one week’s time to find out

Train on and stay strong,
Simon

Ropes are excellent tools to train with. I started off with a rope, 7 meters in length and 35 mm in diameter, only to hang it onto the branch of one of the trees on the edge of the forest near my house. Although rope climbing is an excellent way to train the whole body, the possibilities to train with the rope are not merely limited to climbing only.

Tara Scott is one of the prime reasons I first became interested in training with ropes, along with her mentor Dr. Rocannon MacGregor . Their blogs Coach Tara and Primal Nature Play are a must read for people interested in natural training – although I am not a dedicated follower of their ideas, they are a inspiration. Look out for posts about rope training. As for the rope training itself, I got into gears after a workshop with Dominik Feischl, whose blog is also highly recommended for all readers who understand German.

Versatility

Ropes can be used in various forms. While they pose a great tool to climb up to (with or without the help of the legs), they also create incredible ballistic and gravitational forces when swung or moved otherwise using momentum. The rope is a training utility that renders training fun while staying extremely effective nontheless – regardless of how you train using the rope, it always turns out to be great investment in your whole body development!

The following exercises are some few out of the vast pool of those possible.

Rope climbing

Rope climbing is the most obvious choice available. Just find yourself something to hang the rope on to, fasten it and start the climbing fun! In contrast to what most people think, ropes do not have to be hung high above ground level to become an effective tool for climbing. Interval climbs of short ropes are a tremendous exercise to strengthen your grip and pulling power – just try to sustain three to four rounds on a rope of approximately 2 meters height – good luck!

Short Rope Climbing – GMX Video

Seilklettern – GMX Video

Rope Pull-Ups

The rope challenges your grip strength – if you easily do a set of pull-ups on a normal pull-up bar you will find a set of pull-ups on the rope to be a hard task to do at first but you will gradually adapt to the more challenging grip on the rope. The less the diameter of the rope, the harder the task. I recommend ropes with diameters between 25 and 35 mm, the thicker, the easier – I am still sticking to the thickest one.

Power Rope

The power rope is an exercise which is very much fun to watch from the side – the rope lining is spinning like a helix, something you do not notice too much when doing the exercise yourself. Hold your upper arms firm and work the forearms only with this exercise. If you can go on 30 seconds without fatiguing: Congratulations! – this exercise is much harder than it looks like and very well suited to be done in circuits. Highly recommended!

In addition to the health benefits I noticed that this exercise works like a magnet when done outdoors and with people nearby. It just looks so much fun that everyone wants to have a try – and quickly find out that it is very challenging in nature!

Power Rope – GMX Video

Rope Swings

Want to feel just like a cowboy? Then do so. Take an appropiate part of the rope and swing it above your head – the longer the rope piece is, the larger the gravitational force working against you. You will feel it everywhere in your body that it has to work hard in order to sustain its stability.

Short Rope Swings

For the short rope swings you will need a shorter rope, length up to five meters. Like with the normal rope swings, swing the rope around above your head – switching hands. The advantage of this exercise is that you can vary the swing gradually in height as you go by – from above head height down to waist height – just be sure not to touch the ground with the rope. Progress with increasing the rope’s length.

Coach Tara writes about this exercise in this blog article. Be sure to read it thoroughly!

Rope Pulling/Dragging

To utilize the rope further, attach an object of varying weight and size to one end of the rope and then go about either pulling the object towards yourself with the power of your muscles or dragging the object along for either a distance or time. With both pulls and drags, you can incorporate intervals of pulling/dragging and sprinting on the other end of the rope’s reach. Three to four rounds and you should be more than well done!

—

The rope is one of the exercise utilities I was most surprised to get to know better. Normally I used to climb up the rope as the only exercise I would do but since I took the rope with me on a weekend camp with my group of teenagers I found out that the usages of a rope are tremendously versatile. I will incorporate this great training tool further in my nature trainings and am sure that both the fun and effectivity of my workouts will increase thereby.

Profit from training with ropes as well – go and purchase one. For European customers, the Seilerei Sammt is a great place to go to – places for purchases from that States will follow.

Have fun doing so!

Live the fun,
Simon