Compressed Volume Lower Body Circuit with Urban Finisher

Location: Woodcock Sports Centre, Aston University and the streets of Birmingham, UK

5 Pistols each side
5 Pull Ups
5 Romanian Deadlift* (110kg first set, then 100kg for rest)
5 Hanging Leg Raise

I did this circuit 5 times.

Finisher: 15-minute Fartlek on the way home, impromptu 'kill-carry' (see Natural Messiah's list of Paleo exercises) and 10 rock cleans.

Total time: 35 minutes

Post-workout meal: none - fasting until dinner.

After the savagery of the compressed volume upper body workout on Wednesday, I took three days off. I really wanted to workout yesterday, but I am continuing to explore the less is more approach. Whereas in recent weeks I was doing three sessions per week but keeping down the number of sets, I am now playing with the idea of cramming lots of sets into a shorter time but taking longer to recover - so this was only my second workout in 7 days.

I should now take at least two days rest because that workout was tough. There was 30 seconds at most between sets and I completed the 5 rounds in 15 minutes. By the last set I was willing it to be over.

The finisher was great. I did a couple of 10 second sprints on the first half of the route home (the places you can see in this post). When not sprinting I did a kind of flat-footed scuttle - not running but not walking. I guess I was trying to emulate how a hunter would track an animal. I also threw in a sustained 2-minute slog, which hurt and which I terminated when my post-pistol legs started to complain.

Finally, 500 yards from home, I found a large piece of paving stone which I picked up and carried on my shoulders the rest of the way. A dead animal? Before hurling it into an alley, I pressed it above my head 10 times. I regretted the final hurl, as it broke into several pieces and can no longer be used on future outings!

* I have realised that I do not do stiff-legged deadlift. I do Romanian Deadlift. I have ammended the deadlift page to reflect the distinction better.