On most days you head to the gym and ‘do the right thing’. You take out your training log, follow the reps and sets, add a little more weight than last week and walk out the door feeling pretty darn good about yourself. Other days, you’re not quite ‘feeling it’ and you spend less time squatting and more time chatting up the hot chick in the squat rack.
Hey, it happens to the bet of us.
Then there are some days you just walk into the gym feeling extra pumped and super focused. Sure you could bang out your regularly scheduled training program. Hell, the way you’re feeling you could probably hit a couple of PRs. But, today, your same-old training program just won’t do. You want to tackle something tough. You want a challenge. You want to train so hard that you crawl out of the gym. You want to GET CRUSHED.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help. Each week we’ll give you a tough, one-off workout that you can try when you are looking for the ultimate training challenge of just feel like you need a break from your regular routine. But be warned, this training program will leave you totally CRUSHED.
El Diablo
I call this workout El Diablo. In Spanish it means “The Devil”—and by the end of this routine you’ll be certain that it’s the work of the Angel of Darkness. This workout consists of only one lift: the front squat. After warming up thoroughly, load a barbell with 70% of your front squat 1RM. Grab a stopwatch or keep your eye on the gym clock.
At the top of the first minute, perform one rep of the front squat. At the top of the second minute, perform two reps. At the top of the third minute, perform 3 reps. Continue adding one rep in this fashion until you can no longer complete the number of reps for that minute. If you get to 10 minutes you’re doing well. If you get to 15, you’re a demon!
Let us know how you did. Leave your total reps and any thoughts you have on the workout in the comments section below.
Dan Trink is a personal trainer, strength coach and nutritional consultant based in New York City. To find out more about Dan visit www.trinkfitness.com.
