Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Bodyweight Training - Back Pack Training for Elite Physical Fitness


A great way to add to your training is to get a good back pack and load it up for a different type of workout. A weight vest is good but distributes weight pretty evenly, a back pack wants to move around and is always trying to pull you back, and forces your body to make adjustments; building more muscles as well as burning more fat in a faster more effective way.

The great thing about back pack training it gets you ready for real life training.

The military's special forces use back packs for long 15 to 20 mile hikes, you can use a back pack for pushups, step-ups, hill climbs, stair stepping, pull-ups etc.

Adding as little as 20 lbs in a back pack will change the way your body will respond to an exercise like pushups, an extra 20lbs will knock the number of pushups down more than 50 %, if you are not used to it.

So, why not just lift weights if you are just adding weight? If pushups will use more muscles then bench pressing how do you think your body will respond when you add an 20 extra pounds.

Anytime you force the body to work against gravity with an unbalanced load other muscles will need to respond to make up for weaker ones, this alone will build a functional base you need for real life situations.

I use back pack training to build physical and mental toughness. If you add an extra 40 lbs in your back pack and you make it where the exercise gets uncomfortable and you keep going despite the moving and the shifting of the weight over a set period of time you can build a high level of physical and mental toughness.

Every so called fit man will say he can do back pack training and the fact, if the military's special forces train this way this alone should tell you that only the elite will be rewarded. The problem everyone thinks he's in the elite category, and very few are. But this will test you, physically and mentally.

Want to build a little physical and mental toughness? Try this workout!

Load a back pack with 40 lbs, strap the pack up good. The goal is to walk 1 mile and in the 1 mile hike you will drop and do as many pushups as you can, stand up -keep walking and stopping whenever you can and do more pushups.

Here's the tough part, and get ready for your body to start shaking and straining. The goal is to do 250 to 500 pushups in that 1 mile hike and you cannot cross the 1 mile marker before you complete the number of pushups you have chosen.

Also coming out of the pushup position your knees are never to hit the ground, get right back on your feet and keep walking.

Think you can walk 1 mile and do 250 to 500 pushups in 30 minutes. Try it!

If you have the guts you'll give it a try.

No comments:

Post a Comment