Prepare your body for the X? What the hell is this guy talking about?
Well within the military community, especially special operations, you’ll commonly hear the phrase ‘get off the X’. The X represents ground zero when engaged in combat or a fight for your life. In the military, we were trained to do whatever it takes to get off the X quickly so that we reduce the chance of casualties and injury. However, while you’re on the X, your body needs to be able to deal with the stress and chaos of the moment. You may need to navigate obstacles with 60+ pounds of gear, carry a wounded brother or traverse an unknown distance to get to safety.
Outside of the military, you can think of the X being a street fight, home invasion or active shooter situation. Whatever the situation your body needs to have the strength and stamina to deal with it, create space and break contact (aka run). With strength comes confidence and that may be just enough to get you through. The purpose of this workout and some of the other routines I perform are self-preservation, longevity and having the strength and ability to kick someone’s ass if they attempt to harm myself, my family or those around me.
This routine with the 45lb iron weight is very similar to the cinder block amrap I featured a few weeks ago. All I did was adapt the workout to the round 45lb Olympic plate. Here is a breakdown of the exercises and what I do as a ‘finisher’ to the workout.
- Standing overhead press
- Standing bicep curls
- Around the World
- Push-ups
- bent-over rows
Once I’ve run through the above routine I finish it off with some dips and core stuff. Dips are a great compound exercise as they work the shoulders, chest and triceps.
- 15 bar dips
- 15 bench dips
- –10 second rest–
- 10 bar dips
- 10 bench dips
- –10 second rest–
- 5 bar dips
- 5 bench dips
- –10 second rest–
Repeat this twice
End the workout with 100 reps of your favorite ab exercise. For me, that is flutter kicks. If I’m feeling pretty damn good, I’ll throw in a 2 mile run for cardio.
On a side note, hydration is very important, especially if you’re working out outside like I do. I typically will drink a 32oz bottle of water first thing in the morning and then take another full water bottle outside with me to drink throughout the workout.
