We have several types of conditioning here at Burr Strength – all have a purpose.
We do many schemes for our workouts but all have a specific goal in place. They means of getting there may be rounds, or EMOTM, or AMRAPS or anything else, but workouts are not just thrown together like at most gyms that have group training. The order below is listed in most common to occasionally to rarely.
Our conditioning workouts last, on average, 12-20m. Some special workouts will be 30-45m.
Consistent Pacing & Bursts
These are our most common type of workouts – learn to pace during the ‘grinder’ part of the workouts but blow through one or two parts of the workout! These are designed to keep your heart rate at a high level then for a brief period really ramp it up.
Sprint Style
Think work really hard, then rest briefly. We like these as they keep your heart rate very high then you get a few moments to recover. It lets you keep your working period at a close to or at maximal level.
Saturday Morning Sweat
Think fun. With a lot of ‘why the heck am I here’ mixed with some ‘I signed up for this craziness?’ — usually team or small group based. Always a longer conditioning then normal.
Mental Toughness
These usually suck. They usually require multiple types of exercise (long distance with strength followed by reps.. really in any order). They test your mental fortitude. Doing these consistently will carry over well into any of our conditioning formats as you can really learn that your ‘limit’ is not your real limit.
Functional Heavy
Usually field based or carrying/pushing/using something awkward for most of your workout. Great for overall body development and exhaustion. Your core and legs are usually hammered during these due to the nature.
Skill Conditioning
We pick a skill movement and let the workout revolve around it. We wear you down and see if you can keep it up! Great for showing weaknesses and practicing movements under fatigue. We use these usually as recovery type of workouts.
Volume/Strategy
A lot of reps for a few exercises – you pick the order and scheme. These is about decision and strategy making. Knowing your weaknesses and making decisions while mentally (and physically) fatigued. This keeps your mind sharp while getting in a lot of good volume.
Strength Conditioning
Not very common here, but we occasionally like to throw in some heavy ladders/movements that will break down over time. It exposes weaknesses and lets me see where you need work overall. Moving ‘heavy’ (usually 70-85% of your max) under fatigue is great for breaking the routine. These are also used as a type of recovery from the usual ass kicking.
Endurance
We are not big on endurance but being able to move over long distances is important occasionally. Intervals & short rest periods to recover have been proven to be more effective for weight loss and muscle gain then long distance. All i have to say is — look at distance athletes vs sprint athletes. Many may disagree with me but many will agree with me!
Holiday Workouts
These are usually fun! Hard but team based and fun! It is a great time to bond with people you don’t know and push your friends you do know to go that extra rep or two!
