In the past you have read about Sergey Litvinov’s training sessions. Using a modified version of his training I have incorporated his methods into the training of my fighters as well as in my own training. To be honest this is one of my favorite training methods, especially when time is an issue.
The original Litvinov workout that he performed was front squat 410 pounds then sprint 400 meters. Repeat this three times and finish it off with a set of eight front squats and call it a day. Now we mortals will probably have some trouble getting the weight out to the track never mind front squatting that much, so in honor of Sergey there are many different variations that can be performed. Just click here to check out the different variations.
Taking this method of training and improving on it or making it more difficult is always fun. Recently you all know I had the opportunity to purchase a Prowler. The Prowler is a great training tool and I have seen many athletes lying on the concrete after it’s use. For this variation of the Litvinov, I used kettlebell swings with a Prowler push for fifty yards. I used an unloaded Prowler, as I wanted to be able to explode with it and move it fast. This variation of the swings and Prowler push will help develop lower body power and just make you an explosive combat athlete.
Well the holidays are officially upon us. Thanksgiving is only a day away and we sure have our fair share of football to watch but not enough MMA. Like many in the United States you can drown your sorrows in a nice piece of whatever pie you choose.
Every Thanksgiving for a couple of second’s, I think back to high school and being on the wrestling team. Now I was not a big fan of cutting weight back then, not that I am now, but in order to eat a lot on Thanksgiving I would do a morning run. Yeah, you heard or read me right I ran and for long distance like two miles before I would sit down to feast. I would head to the basement jump on the treadmill and go for a little jog. Now looking back at that I think to myself, “What the hell was I thinking?” Oh yeah that’s right I had no internet and access to some of the best strength and conditioning coaches so I did not know much but to listen to my wrestling coach.
So that long distance run did not do too much on the calorie burning side but it sure made me hate running long distance. Should of just stuck to some sprinting would have been a lot better.
So on this Thanksgiving I am giving thanks for the knowledge I have gained through the years. And to celebrate this knowledge I have gained I will share the end result of it with you. I am giving you a great way to burn calories for a many hours as well as build your strength, power and conditioning.
You all have seen the Litvinov workout now to take it to another level and follow Dan John’s awesome advice I present to you Litvisleds. I am also thankful for running into the writings of Dan John for he has given me many ideas to share with you. Here is the basic premise. Grab a kettlebell do a bunch of swings and then sprint with the sled attached to you. Sprint yardage will vary depending on your fitness level, 30-50 yards seems to work well. Sounds simple enough. Now if you own a sled do not load it so it takes forever for you to bust out into a sprint. Remember you are trying to develop explosiveness and not being able to sprint with the sled will not help in that aspect of the training. If you do not own a sled get out there and go find a spare tire. Drill a hole in that bad boy attach a harness and bang you have something to drag. If you do not own a kettlebell try a dumbbell.
And if you want to keep it simple try any of the other Litvinov workouts I have spoken about or just get out to the track and do some sprinting. Here is one that may work, it’s an old school sprint workout but still works wonders and it is one I picked up in my wrestling years. Sprint the 100m straightaway, jog the 100m turns, do this for about a mile or mile and a half and call it a morning then go get you turkey on.
As you will notice I am not the only one in the video this time, I am honoring former Marine and training partner Carlos Del Valle as he takes a run at the Litvisled workout!!
Another thing to look for is my Online Training Program will be going on SALE starting Friday, November 26, 2010. This sale will run until Christmas Day and will be a steal for you fighters looking to take it to the next level. And if you are not a fighter and just looking to increase your performance take a look!!
Happy Thanksgiving enjoy the day with whomever you are spending with!
When I was a kid I knew on Sunday I would be heading to church where in fact I was an alter boy. Ok all the jokes can stop there. After church we would get home and I would watch some WWF wrestling then watch football. I would like to say my Sundays have evolved from those fun filled packed church mornings listening to that God awful church music but they have not changed that much. You can still find me on a Sunday watching football. There is no more wrestling on well I am not looking for it and as far as church, I have escaped the music but the praying on some Sunday’s has remained. That is praying that I won’t throw up after a training session at the local school parking lot.
Usually Sundays for me is a rest day, but this past Sunday I had to make up for missing a training session on Saturday. So I headed out with my buddy to the parking lot with us we brought along two pieces of equipment. The first was a specially designed kettlebell created by Ryan Pitts of StrongerGrip. So yes I went from ringing the church bell to swinging the kettlebell. Let me say this thing was a monster. It was a loadable kettlebell, which we had up to 100lbs in it. Trying to handle that piece of steel was crazy. At some points in that set the kettlebell had more control over me than I had over it.
With that being said after a nice dynamic warm-up to help out my nagging groin problem we dove right into work sets. Now my friend and I love the Litvinov workout, which I have written about before here on the site. Sergey Litvinov was a hammer thrower and he had a very simple and effective way of training. He would front squat 405 lbs then sprint 400 meters. He would do this for three or four sets and call it a day. My buddy and I do a modified version, which still kicks our ass. On this gorgeous Sunday we did kettlbell swings for as many reps possible and then sprinted for about 100 meters. Can’t give you precise sprint total cause we were on a field, as you will see in a minute. We completed four sets of these and moved on to our next exercise.
Now you may be thinking what that second piece of equipment was. It was the Prowler. We pulled that bad boy out onto the parking lot and loaded it up with 200 lbs and began to push. This is precisely the moment when I began to pray again and wish I were watching Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura commentating on a nice Sunday morning. After the second set, I needed an extended rest period. My legs were burning and filled up with blood and my stomach felt as though I was drinking a ton at a rugby party the night before. I was able to recover enough to get out another set. To finish the session off we did overhead carries of the 100 lb plates back to the car.
With the institution of the Litvinov workout in my training and having the access to a Prowler now, I feel my legs getting stronger and I am getting much faster while sprinting. I urge you to try out the Litvinov workout, you will be happy with the results and they are great for fighters. And yes, I did keep the ritual of watching football on my Sunday but half asleep from the training.
One night in my search for training equipment I finally found some bumper plates that I had been looking for on Criagslist. When I arrived at the guy house he took me to his garage to get the plates. He had all sorts of great training equipment; clubs, sand bells, kettle bells, plyo-boxes and the list could go on and on. But we began to talk and he said that he and some friends get together on Saturdays and train in the parking lot of a local school and he asked me to swing by. So the training session came and went and it was great. Now I am hooked and go out to train every Saturday I can.
The last time I was able to train, he started to talk to me about a strength and conditioning coach by the name of Dan John. John is a contributor on the site T-Nation. In one of his articles he talks about former world champion hammer thrower, Sergey Litvinov. That day we did a modified version of what is called the “Litvinov workout”. Here is what Litvinov used to do. He would head out to the track, front squat 405 pounds, rack the weight and sprint 400 meters. He would do three sets and call it a training session. That’s a pretty brutal session.
So I now started to incorporate this workout into my training and that of my fighters. But this type of training needs to be adapted, for I do not recommend front squatting 405 pounds then sprinting 400 meters to start. So following the idea of Dan John, I take one exercise and have been using kettlebells to do this. Either a swing, a squat, a clean, a press. I perform the movement for the predetermined reps and then sprint 100 yards. I perform 3-5 sets and call it a session.
So this is how it would look on paper:
Kettlebell Swings 5-8 reps
Sprint 100 yards
Kettlebell Overhead Presses 5-8 reps
Sprint 100 yards
Repeat 3-5 times.
You can also modify it by adding more exercises and reducing the yards on the sprint for instance:
Kettlebell Swings 5-8 reps
Sprint 50 yards jog back
Kettlebell Squats 5-8 reps
Sprint 50 yards jog back
Kettlebell Clean 3-5 reps
Sprint 50 yards jog back
You get the point you can add more movements or add distance on the sprint. This is just another type of training to incorporate into your program or that of your athletes. Below is just a short clip of a movement and the sprint!
