The Rich Man’s Gym (WOD) Workout Of The Day: Under Pressure

For the WOD (Workout of the Day) today at Rich Man’s Gym, we included three drills. This workout, which I’m calling Under Pressure: 45-minutes of suck, involves a circuit of 3 drills performed for time. It’s also a creeper workout, which means it’s not all that bad in the beginning but as you progress, the suck factor goes through the roof. The purpose of this workout of the day is to get you practicing pushing though, staying in it, and becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.

The main inspiration behind this workout of the day comes from Jesse Itzler’s book, Living With A SEAL. If the book, they do a workout where they practice a fireman’s carry. Well, what do you do if you don’t have a partner and 30 yards? Simple, insert the Double Kettlebell Rack Hold.

Workout Of The Day: Under Pressure: 45-minutes of suck!

Double Kettlebell Rack Holds :30 seconds + :15 seconds of rest
Flutter Kicks :30 seconds + :15 seconds of rest
Push Ups :30 seconds + :60 seconds of rest

Repeat this 15 times. That’s right. 15. Hense the term, 45-minutes of suck…

Workout Of The Day: The Breakdown

Make sure you get nice and warm. I jumped rope for 10 minutes t get loosey goosey then did a very light stretch routine. From here I set up my interval time on my phone to 15 rounds of the above. That was when I realized I was in or 45 minutes. *sigh*

Here’s what you can expect. Rounds one to five are not that bad. Fatigue starts in around round six. By the time I got to round nine, I was having serious doubt I could finish this. My cardio was there but the muscle fatigue was kicking in hard and the heart rate was pretty high. Keep in mind, I’m on a ketogenic diet, so fatigue is really different than when you’re using sugar for fuel. I’m burning fat and ketones exclusively. At round eleven, it’s all grit and will for the next and final four rounds. The 15-second breaks is really just to change positions. The minute rest periods get significantly shorter with each round

Double Kettlebell Rack Hold: Gentlemen should use two 24kg bells and Ladies should be doing 12kg bells. You want a weight that has you breathing “under pressure” and that forces you to keep tight. Keep your quads flexed, lats tight, pressurize the abdomen and keep the glutes tight as if you’re trying to crack a walnut. Maintain this for 30 seconds.

Flutter Kicks: Set the bells down, lay on your back, arms behind the back for support, legs straight and start kicking for 30 seconds.

Finally, you have push-ups. Flip over and get after it. 30 seconds of as many push-ups as you can. Go hard and try to stay active the whole time. You’ll probably rep out. I know I did. Every time.

You get a minute to grab a sip of water, catch your breath and then convince yourself this is still a good idea and then repeat. 45 minutes later you’ll find yourself smoked and proud. Question: Will you try it? If so, come back and leave a comment, would love to hear how if goes.