AP Fitness Challenge

The holidays have come and gone. We have all probably eaten too many good vittles and drank too much good libation over the last several weeks. I know that I certainly have. Here is our reality check:

As of today, there are 307 days until the 2020 election.

Anyone who tells me that they are ready to take on the gubmit but looks like the guy below is lying to themselves.

The coming “Boogaloo” is not going to necessarily require obscene strength. What will it require?

  1. The ability to move your body weight + the weight of your gear over, under and through obstacles (i.e. over short walls, under fences, etc),
  2. The ability to run and move with your equipment without tiring easily,
  3. The ability to move moderate distances and still have the cardiovascular endurance to hit our shots without a ridiculously high heart rate messing with our shots (courtesy of one of my favorite Youtubers, DonutOperator, here is an example of why that is important).

That is not to say that strength is overrated. As anyone who has watched the Crossfit games, there are plenty strong people with ridiculous cardio endurance. Now, we are not those people. But we can get to our own satisfactory level of fitness that will allow us to do those things listed above.

I know that for the past three years I have been doing a quasi-cutting and bulking cycle. I would essentially cut my weight by about 25lbs through the end of April. During this time, I would almost completely cut out all drinking except for special occasions (and even then, it would be severely curtailed). I would then maintain that weight through roughly August, and then once tailgate season came back around I would slowly bulk back up. I was using this method because I was primarily concerned with the amount of weight that I could move, and it did work quite effectively.

However, I am moving away from cut/bulk method. My new focus is on muscular and cardio endurance. When I lose the weight on this next cut, I will be aiming to keep it off and increase my cardio strength (which has always been my weakness). I will still have strength days, but I will also be including more Crossfit WODs and circuit training.

If you have access to a fitness center, what I often use is the premade workouts from “The Quad Guy”, otherwise known as Julian Smith. For the record, I have no stake in this at all. It was recommended to me by a gym buddy who was a former Marine and is now in the FDNY training system, so I trusted his suggestion. As someone who has a full time job and a side job, it is a welcome relief to not have to design my own workouts. His workouts swing between high rep, low weight workouts for endurance as well as low rep, high weight workouts and explosive movements. He also stresses training parts of the body that others don’t such as the neck (great for neck stability for hand to hand or even a car crash) and forearms (for grip strength). The best part – it costs $6 a month. That’s two cups of coffee a month.

If you do not have access to a gym, that is okay! There are a plethora of exercises that require either no equipment or very little equipment that, if you skip a night out , you can afford in short order. BodyBuilding.com has a great section on fitness plans.

They also have an exercise guide that includes filters for specific equipment. You would be amazed at what a kettlebell, medicine ball, elastic bands, and a cheap easy curl bar can do for you. You should also monitor places like Craigslist for cheap equipment from people who bought it for Christmas and are selling it by Saint Patty’s Day. I managed to get a great $500 exercise bike for $100 that had been used twice and have now logged over 1,000 miles on it. I make my own rucking bricks by duct taping 2.5lbs patio bricks from Home Depot. You can then get a cheap child’s sled and fill it with the bricks to practice dragging (as someone who dragged a person during a TCCC exercise, this is HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED).

The Challenge

This challenge is not against AP staff or even your fellow commenters and readers. This challenge is against yourself. Too often we set goals and do not hold ourselves accountable. Do yourself a favor and leave a comment on the article with your weight and your goals – weight goals, lifting goals, running goals, etc. Hell, it can even be a “total distance walked” or a “walking goal of 4 miles in an hour. Refer to this often and keep a journal of your workouts to track the work you put in – you will be amazed at the progress you make. On a monthly basis, I will be posting an update article with my progress and I encourage you to comment with yours. Sure, you can lie to us for internet cred, but does that really help advance your goals and the goals of our movement?

I can even post a Crossfit WOD (workout of the day) every Saturday morning for you to complete that weekend. Together, we can get into the fighting shape that will be required for 2020 and beyond.

Just remember this: push yourself, but not to the point of sever injury. Be smart. If you injure yourself, you will set back your progress and take yourself out of the fight. That does NOT mean to go easy on yourself. It means that you need to listen to your body. You will be sore in the beginning. This is GOOD. You will want to quit, but you WON’T. This is not just about our health and staying alive. This is about being ready to fight if and when that fight comes.

Patriotman’s Workout Schedule

My schedule is a two week cycle. It depends highly on what workouts are put out by Julian Smith, but it will generally follow this:

Week One

    • Monday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (Chest and Triceps)
    • Tuesday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Martial Arts training at night
    • Wednesday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (Legs; Heavy deadlifts and leg press)
    • Thursday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (Back and Biceps)
    • Friday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (Shoulders, neck, forearms)
    • Saturday: Crossfit WOD and light legs in morning
    • Sunday: 30 minutes of Stairmaster in morning

Week Two

    • Monday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (“Push”; chest, shoulders, triceps)
    • Tuesday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Martial Arts training at night
    • Wednesday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (Legs; Heavy squats)
    • Thursday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (“Pull”; back, biceps)
    • Friday: Bike 30 minutes in morning, Gym at night (body weight circuit)
    • Saturday: Crossfit WOD and light legs in morning
    • Sunday: 30 minutes of Stairmaster in morning

Patriotman’s Current Stats

    • Weight as of 12/31:
    • Deadlift: 455lbs
    • Squat: 265lbs
    • Bench: 285lbs
    • Mile: 8:42 minutes
    • Pushups in 1 minute: 31
    • Situps in 2 minutes: 40
    • Pull-ups in 1 minute: 15
    • Plank length: 1 minute 48 seconds

Patriotman’s Goals:

    • I want to drop down to 225lbs and maintain that weight.
    • I want to get a 7:30 mile.
    • I want to maintain at least a 265lb squat, a 405lb deadlift, and a 255lb bench press.
    • I want to increase my Pushup and Situp numbers.
    • I want to double my plank time.

Final Thoughts

For me, there are several videos I use to hype myself up. I included those below:

Here are some books that I recommend:

As Jocko Willick once said: YOUR EXCUSES ARE LIES.

Get at it and don’t stop. Never be satisfied.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

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About the Author: Patriotman

Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations. Brushbeater Store Page: http://bit.ly/BrushbeaterStore

22 Comments

  1. Matt in Oklahoma January 1, 2020 at 09:04

    “ready to take on the gubmit”
    Your more likely to be attacked at work by libs, driving home from someone with no coping skills, in a public place like church or a store from a melting snowflake or just plain ole bad guys taking advantage of the situation.
    Great challenge and encouragement to everyone to be the best then they can be. Just don’t bog down the mind in who the fight is for.

    • Patriotman January 1, 2020 at 10:59

      I concur brother. A lot of people do not have a realistic notion of what is coming.

  2. Rob Savage January 1, 2020 at 17:45

    Ran for the first time in a year after an injury. Long way to go.

    • Patriotman January 1, 2020 at 23:02

      That is a great start though! Once you get into a consistent rhythm other pieces will fall into place.

  3. Amateur ruckhumper January 1, 2020 at 20:43

    Current weight, 195. Gained 10 pounds in 18 months off marriage, can’t imagine where my PT time went.

    Current mile: 8:00 or so.

    Goals for the year:
    50 pushups a day, and a weekly ruck march. Sprints in the park 2x weekly. Pullups once i have the cash to install a pullup bar at my place.

    • Patriotman January 1, 2020 at 23:00

      Excellent! You sound like you have a solid plan going forward, and very cost effective. LET’S GET IT.

  4. Bad_Brad January 2, 2020 at 00:25

    Old School weight lifter. Circuit Trainers, Crossfit, feels like Disco all over again. Bench, depends on how the anti inflammatories are doing, but usually repping 315 for a 8 or so. Squats, you bet. Bent over rows with 315 for 8. Lying Tricep extensions with the building. Shoulder press 225 for 3. A mile in one minute. Duramax. My underwear is red white and blue and these colors don’t run. LOL

  5. Thisis Me January 2, 2020 at 01:19

    Love the challenge essay. I found pushuplogger.com helpful. Their deal is 7 weeks to 100 push ups. I was embarrassed how few push ups i could do when I started. Now I’m doing 350 push up workouts 3 days. Doesn’t matter how I do them really, as long as at the end of the week I pay-up what I owe from the 1050. Then throw in 3 days of 50/70, and climbing, pull ups 3 days. Same thing pay the “rep-repo-man” at the end of the week if need be, from what ever the weekly goal total is 150 to 300. Just started jog/walk/limping. LOL. 3 miles for now. Thats a round trip to my church and back. I hate running. Now time for more humble pie at the Cross Fit box. Thanks being here.

    • Patriotman January 2, 2020 at 07:44

      That sounds amazing! The bodyweight stuff is deceptively difficult.

      I may have to try and work in that pushup notion of yous.

  6. Tisis Me January 2, 2020 at 01:21

    Oh ya, 170lbs

  7. brunop January 4, 2020 at 12:58

    I wasn’t going to post goals to a bunch of strangers, but I’ll add my little $0.02 for the momentum of the group…. All goals are for September 11, 2020:

    1. 3 miles = 21 minutes
    2. 15 pull ups
    3. 100 push ups
    4. Squat 225 x 6
    5. 1-legged pistol squat

    Did pull-ups & squats Thursday. Rucking today w/ 60 lbs. for 6 miles + 800 ft. vertical gain (in the first 2 miles…).

    • Patriotman January 4, 2020 at 15:11

      Those are solid goals, brother. Rucking is so important and beneficial so I am happy you mentioned it. GET IT.

  8. Anonymous January 4, 2020 at 12:59

    5

  9. Strelnikov January 4, 2020 at 14:22

    Started CrossFit two years with Boogaloo in mind, Go 3 or 5 times per week, great varied workouts both cardio and strength. 65 now. Deadlift: 385; Squat; 285; Military press: 185. Could kick the shit out of my 45 year old self. Do it.

    • Patriotman January 4, 2020 at 15:09

      Hell yeah brother!! That is awesome. Keep at it. And to the other readers, are you really gonna let a 65 year old outlift you? :) GET AT IT

  10. Tom January 4, 2020 at 16:06

    Deadlift is high risk exercise, fuck it up at your potentially permanent peril.
    suggest hang cleans and farmer walks for more functional less risk. unless you’re planning on lifting a humvee it just doesn’t make sense to risk your back like that. also see pat macnamara CST workouts. good shit from him i think. and get your hormones right old dudes out there . contrary to popular dogma u do not want to grow a vag. no soy, no phytoestrogens and good foods like mushrooms, red meat, non soy eggs etc. See Rhino Efferding vertical diet for how to. There is a reddit thread on it and youtube entire seminar that he charges a hundo for the book. the shit works. I ruck at least an hour plus per day good days 4-6. See u in the woods commies.

  11. Anonymous January 4, 2020 at 17:16

    4

  12. shane michael connor January 4, 2020 at 18:52

    FYI, endurance cardio training only partially transfers over to other activities not specifically trained for endurance. What’s going on is; 40% of cardio endurance improvements are heart/lungs/vascular and will certainly help with anything else you do, but 60% of the adaptations of improved cardio endurance from training are muscle specific (and how used, their range of motion, speed, loads, impacts, etc.).

    IOW’s, for example, running, biking or rowing for cardio endurance training, while helpful overall, won’t improve your endurance for rucksack hiking in the hills anywhere near as much as rucksack hiking in the hills training will. We all have limited time & energy and need to choose endurance training protocols to as close to what we most want to ultimately have more endurance for.

    Bottom Line: If you want to be able to go farther & longer non-stop with a pack that’s 25-50% your body weight, then training doing exactly that is the best expenditure of your cardio endurance training time & effort you should be progressively working yourself up to doing.

  13. Barry in Arkansas January 4, 2020 at 22:39

    Going to drop 30 and keep it off. I run my hounds on foot with a 40 lb. pack 3 times a week up and down the hills in the Ozarks. It is fantastic exercise. If I didnt drink and eat a bunch of shit when I get home from work, I’d probably be in great shape.

  14. Wammenflerfer-Flaffenwermer January 5, 2020 at 10:50

    The Sarge says get your fat soft marshmallow ass in shape or it will get you killed. Carry on.

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