5 hardcore challenges: 100 reps in 100 sec

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T NATION | Issue 636

hab ich gerade gefunden, als ich ein bisschen nach martin rooney gesucht habe. klingt alles ganz spannend und ich werde das ein oder andere mal ausprobieren. wird sicherlich spaß machen

100 Reps in 100 Seconds: 5 Hardcore Challenges
by Nate Green

Building a chiseled, resilient body requires more than lifting heavy weights—there's good nutrition, proper rest and recovery, and taking super-supplements at the right time to help boost muscle growth and strip body fat. But on the physical side, one of the most underrated methods for building a true warrior body—and perhaps one of the most effective—is short-burst work at maximum intensity.

If you need a label, you can call it intervals, HIIT, complexes, or circuit training. Martin Rooney, trainer to some of the top combat athletes in the country, simply calls it hard work.

Known for getting his athletes into top physical and mental shape in record time, Rooney is a master of torture and results. His most recent favorite method, something he's dubbed "100 Reps in 100 Seconds," is exactly as hard as it sounds and will help you build a more rugged body (if you don't wuss out).

This Isn't Hard Work For Hard Work's Sake

This method translates into actual physical results.

"I came up with the idea when I started working with Colton Brown, one of the top judo players in the country," says Rooney. "When he first walked in to my gym earlier this summer he weighed 182 pounds. Now he's a monster at 198."

Rooney attributes at least part of Brown's muscle gain and superb conditioning to this new protocol.

"I believe if you can take a light weight—sometimes even your bodyweight—and pour all of your energy into five exercises for a total of 100 seconds that you'll hit more motor units than you would even touch with a regular weight-training session," he says. And according to Rooney, it's a great way to rapidly drop body fat and increase mental toughness.

"When my guys are on the mat they can't give up," says Rooney. "This method increases their work capacity, strengthens their connective tissue, and gets them leaner and tougher quicker than most methods I've tried."

Now there's nothing magical about the timeframe or even the reps. Rooney is the first to point out that "100 Reps in 100 Seconds" is more of a challenge that is to be done once per week instead of a stand-alone program. It should be part of a regular weight-training program.

But if you want to challenge your body in a new way—and reap the muscle gain and fat loss that goes with it—you'll want to try one of Rooney's five challenges below the next time you hit the gym.

Challenge #1 - Full Body Barbell

Grab your stopwatch and set it for one minute and forty seconds (100 seconds). With this method you're going to load a barbell with a relatively light weight—Rooney suggests starting with 95 pounds—and perform the following exercises one after another as fast as you can with good form.

Bar Push-up* x 20 reps

Stiff-Leg Deadlift x 20 reps

Military Press x 20 reps

Back Squat x 20 reps

Bent-Over Row x 20 reps

*To do the Bar Push-up, simply put your hands on the bar and get into a normal push-up position. Bring your chest down to the bar and explosively push back up.


Isn't 95 Pounds a Bit...Wussy?

It may seem light at first, but you won't be thinking that for long. "Try holding that sucker for 100 seconds and you'll see how heavy it can get," says Rooney. That said, Rooney suggests choosing a weight you think you can get all the reps with. If you use 95 pounds the first time you do it and beat 100 seconds, try bumping it up to 100 pounds or more the next week.


How Long Do I Rest?

Rooney suggest resting three to five minutes before moving into another Challenge. "Ideally you'll have another guy with you timing you," says Rooney. "So after he goes, you'll go right after and that'll be his rest period. Once you finish, he'll be getting ready to start his next challenge."

Challenge #2 –The Gun Show, aka The Bodybuilder Killer

This pure upper body challenge will fill out your shirtsleeves and leave you gasping for air. But be warned: by then you're only halfway done.

10 Chin-ups

10 Dips

10 Biceps Curls

10 Overhead Presses

10 High Pulls

Repeat one more time without rest in order to make 100 reps.

How Much Weight Should I Use?

Rooney suggests starting with a barbell that you can curl for 12-15 reps and using that for your curls, overhead presses, and high pulls. Oh, and don't bother adding any weight to the chin-ups and dips. Trust us.

Challenge #3 - The Lower Body Torcher

Although Rooney and his MMA athletes hang two twenty-pound chains around their necks before doing this tough lower body challenge, he suggests you start off with just bodyweight (unless you have some chains lying around). You can also wear a weighted vest.

25 Squats

25 Good Mornings

26 Alternating Side Lunges (total)

24 Alternating Front Lunges (total)

If you didn't make the 100 seconds the first time, Rooney is sympathetic. Not many people do. "This is the toughest Challenge to conquer in a minute and 40 seconds," he says.

Challenge #4 –The Gut Check

Got a pull-up bar hanging in your doorframe or a tree with a low branch nearby? Then get out of your chair and try this bodyweight challenge right now (then come back and report your time).

22 Push-ups

21 Ankle-grab Sit-ups*

21 Sit-outs**

21 Bodyweight Squats

15 Chin-ups


Why the odd number of reps?

Since Rooney hasn't seen many athletes get over 15 continuous chins, he won't ask you to do 20. To make the 100 seconds, you'll have to get through those chins without letting go of the bar once.

* To perform the Ankle-grab Sit-up

Begin by lying on your back with your hands stretched overhead. In one motion bring your arms and legs together while sitting up and grabbing your ankles. Reverse the movement before repeating.

**To perform the Sit-Out

Begin in a pushup position with your feet wide. Shoot the left foot under your body and out to your right side while lifting the right hand so that your body is supported on the left hand and right foot as shown. Then bring the left foot back to the original position before shooting the right foot under the body and out to the left side while lifting the left hand as shown. Keep repeating. Your hips should be turning side to side as you are reach each foot out.

Challenge #5 – The Two-Hitter Quitter

A quick warning from Rooney: "This is not as easy it looks. "My first try I did it in 101 seconds, but some of my guys completed it in over 150 seconds," he says. "Prepare to be humbled."

10 Pushups

10 Ankle-grab Sit-ups

Switch back and forth between both exercises as fast as possible and complete for five sets one after another. Throwing up is optional.


Important: The Crucial Warm-Up

Although these challenges seem like something you can just waltz into the gym and perform, you have to prepare your body. "You'll get gassed even faster if your adrenaline is pumping and your body isn't warmed up," says Rooney.

Before you do any of the challenges, quickly go through this warm-up written by Rooney.

A1) 10 Jumping Jacks

A2) 10 Seal Jumps (Similar to a Jumping Jack but bring your arms in front of you and "clap".)

3 sets with no rest in between

B) 50 Pogo Jumps (Act like you have a jump rope and quickly bounce on the balls of your feet.)

3 sets with 20 seconds of rest in between

C1) 10 Bodyweight Squats

C2) 10 Push-ups

C3) 10 Ankle-grab Sit-ups

3 sets with 30 seconds of rest between each circuit.

After finishing the warm-up, rest 3 minutes. You should now feel loose and ready to move into the first challenge. (If you feel worn-out, you're about to be in big freakin' trouble.)

"Oftentimes guys can't even get through my extended warm-up when they first come through my gym," says Rooney. "But after a few sessions it's a breeze."

A Few Final Tips From Rooney

• On the challenges that use barbells, make sure to select a weight where you don't compromise quality for intensity. Then again, don't use a bar that's too light either. "You'll have to do these a few times to get a feel for it," says Rooney.

• Start with one challenge per week and gradually build up to doing two or three challenges in one day. "Do it right and it'll be the longest 200 or 300 seconds of your life," says Rooney. "Two sets will kill most people."

• Make it a competition. "Grab a group of guys and a stopwatch then hit the gym," says Rooney. "Trust me, if you're by yourself the urge to stop halfway through will be intense. With a couple of training partners watching and ridiculing you, you'll make sure to finish."

• Attack every single rep as fast as you can with good form. "Don't slow down or hold back. You're going into the gym to better yourself, so make sure not to cheat or give up. You'll only be letting yourself down."

• If you don't make it in under 100 seconds, don't start crying. Just beat your time the next week.


Martin Rooney is the COO of the Parisi Speed School and author of Ultimate Warrior Workouts: Fitness Secrets of the Martial Arts. He has trained champion athletes for the UFC, NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, ADCC and the Olympics. Find out more at Parisi Speed School

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und hier ist noch ein interview mit ihm. T NATION | Weight Training and Conditioning Around the World


Weight Training and Conditioning Around the World
An interview with Martin Rooney
by Nate Green

Some things are just unacceptable, like dating your third cousin, reaching for the big piece of chicken when you didn't even cook the thing, or not knowing about Martin Rooney, Renaissance man.

A world-class strength and speed coach, Rooney has more credentials and letters after his name than I can list. But he's not just one of those "academic" types; he gets his hands dirty.

A former member of the US Bobsled Team, one of the top NFL-combine preparation coaches, and consultant with the world-class Renzo Gracie jiu-jistsu team (he trains with them, too), Rooney likes to be in the action just as much as he likes to study it.

That's why when he told me he just returned from a two-year stint of traveling, learning, and training with some of the world's elite athletes for a new book he was writing, I knew it was time to introduce him to the TMUSCLE readers.

TMUSCLE: Two years in traveling through Holland, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Brazil, and the States, huh? What were you looking for?

Martin Rooney: Perspective.

Everyone knows that sushi in Wisconsin isn't the same as in Japan. And the acai berry shit they sell in the US as the cure-all miracle elixir is vastly different than actual fresh acai berries. Things are often better when you get to the source, and I wanted to see if that held true for training.

Like, if you want to learn how to use kettlebells, how cool would it be to go to Russia and learn from the best? If you want to learn cool bodyweight exercises for combat, why not go to Japan where Judo was invented? If you want to learn how to make your body a suit of armor, why not got to Thailand, get kicked in the stomach a few thousand times, and learn some new abdominal exercises?

What I found in all these countries over the past two years is this: there's a lot less conservatism and a lot more creativity as it relates to training. Most of these places didn't have the luxury of the beautiful gyms and all the equipment we have here in the US, but they do have something most of us lack: hardcore work ethic.

I'm also a proponent of the idea that you've got to try everything and see what you like before you subscribe to anything people try to ram down your throat. And until you've been kicked in the rib cage or taken a straight shot in the gut and feel your organs bash into the back of your thorax, you don't get to talk about it or teach other people how to be in "fighter shape."

It was a liberating experience and gave me more understanding of how the body should be prepared and trained. There are some people who sit behind a keyboard and talk a big game, but I didn't want to put myself out there until I spent some time actually putting the work in.

TM: I like it. But why am I talking to you? I don't mean that in a bad way, either. Here at TMSUCLE we're interested in making our muscles bigger and stronger to look good and perform better. What can guys interested in their physiques learn from combat athletes?

MR: It's a good question. Due to the popularity of the martial arts and UFC, people are using "fighter" methods to get stronger, leaner, and more powerful, even if they don't want to get punched in the face.

For one thing, combat guys know how to get a ripped physique. They put in more training sessions per week, at higher rates of intensity, and since they want to be as massive as possible at the smallest weight, they really work at their nutrition.

Plus, the bodyweight conditioning exercises these guys use can help you develop technical strength, power, and just get you in badass shape.

I'm of the philosophy that you can learn anything from anybody and apply it to your own situation.

TM: Fair enough. What do you mean by technical strength?

MR: I think there are a few different kinds of strength, two of them being technical and angular. Here's what I mean. When I was in Japan I stayed at a top Judo Univeristy and lived with the athletes.

Now, I could crush these guys in the gym. I could squat and bench more and jump higher. But as soon as they put their hands on me in Judo practice, I knew I was in trouble. It's like they turned into a silverback gorilla. These guys can just roll you into a pretzel because they know how to use their muscle mass in a coordinated, controlled way. I just wasn't there yet because I didn't have the technique and didn't know how to get my body to work as a whole.

So bodyweight strength training was the best way I found to build those qualities. And they didn't just do regular ol' pushups, either. They had upwards of fifty different kinds of push-ups and even used crazy creative partner drills. They were hanging off each other, doing reverse-hypers and crunches.

I started doing partner drills and more bodyweight exercises with my athletes when I got back home, and some interesting stuff happened. We got more hypertrophy. We went back to the bench press and everyone got stronger. We got leaner.

No one talks about this stuff because it seems too "simple." But it works. And everyone feels better. Out of my two years I never saw anyone with rotator cuff injuries or any of the other crap that plagues most guys in the gym.

TM: So how would someone like me add bodyweight moves into my training? Just replace a workout day with some bodyweight stuff?

MR: You don't have to replace anything, Nate. Just incorporate it. For example, last Monday was an upper-body workout for my UFC guys. But before our main workout we do a warm-up, and our warm-up looks like a freakin' workout.

We'd run a sprint and then do twenty push-ups. But not just regular pushups. We'd do crazy ones, ten and ten of each. Then we'd do forty sit-ups. And we did that five times, for a total of 100 pushups and 200 sit-ups before we even do our regular workout.

There was a new UFC dude training with us that day and he couldn't even get through the warm-up.

TM: But wouldn't all that bodyweight training be detrimental to the weight workout?

MR: It depends on what your goals are. I bet most guys reading this want to be more powerful and muscular and want to look better; they want the full look-like-a-warrior package. For them, it's perfect.

If you've got a powerlifter or a guy who's only goal is to step on stage, then sure, I don't think it's the greatest idea. But like I said earlier, I'm seeing hypertrophy in my guys. When they get to the actual weight training, they're able to use more weight for more reps after incorporating some bodyweight stuff. And they're burning more fat and getting leaner at the same time.

TM: Cool. Care to share a push-up you learned?

MR: Sure. Get in a regular push-up position. Lower yourself while keeping your elbows to your sides and your abs tight.

When you press back up, kick one leg up to the opposite hand. Return the leg back to the original position and repeat on the opposite arm and leg. It's hard as hell.

TM: Let's talk about some of the specific countries. Do Russians really have a love obsession with kettlebells?

MR: The only cult following is the one here. We all know the experts who use only kettlebells and claim it's all you ever need. Well, I wanted to investigate and what I found was interesting. In Russia, the kettlebell is definitely used, but it's still just a tool. It's not a fad or a new-wave type of thing. They use barbells and dumbbells and their own bodyweight, too.

Another thing: these guys aren't using wussy weights. The guys I trained with were tossing 70-pound kettlebells ten feet over their head. It was amazing to watch. There were no light kettlebells in any of the gyms, either, definitely nothing less than 70 pounds.

But the most interesting thing was how they were doing a lot of traditional moves like overhead presses, rows, curls, and even lateral flys with them. It seems like people here are trying to get too fancy and aren't using enough weight to put muscle on or build power.

But I guess you don't learn that from a 1500-dollar two-day kettlebell course, huh?

TM: Guess not. A lot of trainers and lifters get a hard-on when they talk about the Eastern Bloc methods and all the science behind it. What did you find out?

MR: It's funny because a lot of it wasn't scientific or in a lab. It was just hardcore, old-school lifting with big weights. And these were some historic gyms, like Dynamo sports era, Lenin-approved facilities.

Are the Eastern guys precise? Sure. But people can take an idea and turn it into legend. Once you go, you realize it's been sensationalized.

TM: Was it hard getting over some of your own prejudices? You told me earlier you did some long-distance running and thousands of crunches.

MR: Yeah, but I quickly adapted. I told myself I was going to do everything the guys I was training with did.

Let's take the idea of abdominal training. Yeah, six-packs are cool, but the guys in Thailand and Holland talked about "building body armor." They trained abs in the morning, during their regular kickboxing sessions, and in the evening. They'd stand there and kick each other 200 times on each side of the stomach and then do a few hundred crunches. They were tempering their body to take some heavy shots.

And guess what? They all had six-packs.

It's just funny how quickly we shun different ideas once someone reads a study, interprets it the way they want and scares the piss out of the entire country. Just look at fitness in the States: sit-ups turned to crunches turned to planks turned to stand there and hold your breath and don't do anything.

But the results these kickboxers got were undeniable and I didn't see any lower back problems or neck problems.

I felt like I was challenging current conventional wisdom, the black and white mentality of training. We have to understand that we don't get to say what's right or what's wrong for everybody. We're all individuals and respond to different training.

TM: What's the craziest thing that happened to you during your travels?

MR: I went to a Russian Banya, which is a huge bathhouse where you lay there naked while people beat you with wet, hot branches covered in aromatic oils that are supposed to help you recover. The branches get so hot that they're scalding your ass. Then they chase you outside and make you dive in to a frozen pond of water. You gotta try that at least once.

We were also pulled over at gunpoint in two countries and were in an all-out Karaoke competition in Japan. You have no idea how crazy it is until you see how seriously the Japanese take their karaoke. They'll bust out Beyonce in perfect English but then can't say a damn word to you after.

TM: You told me earlier you picked up some great advice from the Russians. What was it? Something about vodka?

MR:"Always be a little hungry."

They were always hungry to train and learn more, but they were also just plain hungry for food. When they ate, they wouldn't fill their plates. They felt it was best to always be craving.

I think it's pretty damn smart. I think we evolved to always be a little hungry. It probably helps us think and react more quickly than the guy who pounds his food and has to sit down before he passes out.

Something else I learned: there are a lot of people working a hell of a lot harder than you could ever imagine, whether you go to Thailand and they're doing three sessions a day in 100-degree heat or head to Japan where they do eight hours of Judo per day. It opened my eyes to another level of capacity to what the human body can endure.

When you move with the guys who've devoted their lives to training you realize you have no business standing there with them. I imagine it's like standing on stage next to Jay Cutler if you were a recreational bodybuilder.

In the end, I got the shit kicked out of me for this book, but I wanted to make something I was proud of. But I mainly wanted to show what else is out there. We're all prisoners of our own thoughts, and the most important anatomy you can have is an open mind.

TM: Excellent point. Thanks for the interview, Martin!

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http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...KhC5DHKxb6QjSg

und hier eine interessante ppt-präsentation zum thema funktionales training bzw. strongman training für den athleten

[technetium101]

Naja, die Challenge 01 würde ich auf keinen Fall machen. Ich finde Deadlift und Squats zu riskant um die Übungen so schnell wie möglich auszuführen.
Ich persönlich bekomme da schon immer Schiss wenn ich unsauber werde mir was kaputt zu machen.

Ansonsten nette Idee, kann man ja mal austesten.

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ich denke mit etwas erfahrung kann man das schon machen. es ist ja auch empfohlen mit einem leichten gewicht zu trainieren.