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Yesterday was a huge landmark for me as I completed 60 workouts in 60 days. And before you ask "why the hell would you want to do that"... well, there's a good reason!
Since first getting into training and hammering my dads multigym many moons ago (over 10 years!), I've always swayed more towards the bodybuilding approach of training and eating.
Individual muscle groups on specific days - somewhere between eating my body weight in food (bulking bro!) or starving myself half to death (shredding season son!).
I also did next to no cardiovascular work as I thought my muscles would literally melt off if I did anything longer than 20 mins steady state.
But a new approach entered my radar about 18 months ago when I make across a chap called Ross Edgely. Who would soon become a big influencer for me (slight man crush) with his philosophy of combining strength and endurance.
In this mans pursuit to prove both can co-exist in the fitness world, he has challenged every facet of his physical capabilities and untaken some unthinkable challenges... AND SUCCEEDED.
These include:
The worlds strongest marathon - Ross attached a car to his back and pulled it 26 miles round Silverstone race track.
Treeathlon - With a tree trunk strapped to his back, Ross completed a triathlon around the island of Nevis... I know, right!
24 pounds in 24 hours - During a 24 pound cut over the space of 24 hours, Ross set an unofficial British world record in powerlifting and ran a decent 5km time.
24 hours of non stop sport - Ross did 24 hours of non stop sport at Loughborough Universtity with the hashtag #DoMoreInYour24 to promote more people doing exercise.
Aside from these mind boggling stunts, what really inspired me about Ross Edgely was his work rate and openness to embrace every every area fitness. They guy is on a mission to push and improve his body in EVERY area.
Just a brief scroll through his instagram account (@rossedgely) and you'll see him lifting outrageously heavy weights, running marathons, swimming in Olympic pools, completing OCR events, doing SAS style training, road biking... honestly, the list goes on.
He basically does all the things he absolutely loves all the while looking like he's stepped of the men's physique stage. Ross's owns physical appearance is testament his belief that people can become extremely strong and physically fit at the same time.
As you can see I'm in awe of this young man. Last year it inspired me to make some drastic changes to my training routine and pursue some things that really interested me but I'd never taken action on.
I started increasing my cardiovascular output through running, conditioning circuits and more recently boxing. I found pushing your physical fitness challenges the body in a completely different way to weights. It's long, it's hard, but it's during those brutal sessions when every ounce of your body is telling you to pack it in, that you learn what you're not only physically capable of, but also mentally.
Last year I organised a couple of Tough Mudder events for my clients at R5, something I would have got nowhere near completing if I hadn't started increasing my cardio levels. And I absolutely loved it!! Already prepping for this years in May.
When 2017 hit I was keen I know what Ross was up to and he started the year off by running a marathon every day during January. I'd say I was shocked but nothing shocks me about what this guy is capable of anymore!
Again, I was in awe of his work rate, something I felt I could improve further myself. So... I set myself a challenge! I was going to compete 60 workouts in 60 days.
Truth be told I was already training most days, but I would normally have the occasional slip up each week due to work and lack of time. Which I really wanted to overcome.
My set up was simple:
Monday - Boxing/fitness/abs: This was usually 8-12 three minute rounds on the bag. Followed by either hill sprints, sprints on the rower, long distance running etc. Abs circuit to finish
Tuesday - Conditioning/abs: A combination of compound lifts in a circuit aims at getting that heart rate super high, breaking down muscle and frying your CNS. Abs circuit to finish
Wednesday - Strength: The setup of this session would change every week. Sometimes 5x3, 5x5. I would occasionally throw in banded work, pause reps and some explosive power movements
Thursday - Strength: Similar variations as above.
Friday - Legs hypertrophy: Quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. Loads of muscles to get through in a hypertrophy style of training.
Saturday - Shoulders & Back hypertrophy: Looking at a different style of hypertrophy every week, both super high reps but no lower than 8.
Sunday - Chest & Back hypertrophy: same as above different style every week. These included drop sets, supersets, pre/post exhaust, German volume training, giant sets, time under tension, banded training etc.
This wasn't an easy mission for me. There were some days when I only had an hour in between clients to get a workout in, get food, get showered, changed and ready. I luckily I live near a park so a fast paced 30 min run made sue a workout was ticked off the box.
There were also some days when I was super low on energy and motivation. A workout seemed 10x tougher than the day before (we've all been there!) so I might have lowered the intensity and given my body a slight chance to recover. Your metabolism also loves the occasional change in pace so it's worth throwing it in there every now and again.
This weekly setup definitely isn't for everyone but for me it's PERFECT, mainly because I understand how my mind operates. It works on 'momentum'. A couple of days off can easily turn into a week off for me, so doing something every day keeps my momentum going.
But most importantly I'm doing all the things I love. I';l probably switch things up every now and again but I'll certainly be keeping to my 7 days a week program.
If your up to the challenge, why not try just a week, two weeks or even a month. I'd love to know how you get on!
Ryan