Add a dumbbell to the squat by swinging the weight over your head when standing and between your legs when squatting. Keep your head up and your back straight.
Add a dumbbell to the lunge and swing from over your head to the outside of the front leg when in the down position.
Add to your arsenal the Kettlebell Swing and the Kettlebell Clean and Press during your outdoor workouts. These make great circuit workouts outside as shown in the workout charts and will add some variety to your workouts.
Similar to the Wood Chopper Squat (this page), explode with your legs and hips to bring the kettlebell or dumbbell above your head.
Perform a bicep curl, then press the dumbbells over your head with a military press, and go straight into a triceps extension. Repeat in reverse order to return to the starting position.
Follow MJDB #1 (this page), but add in a squat when your hands are in the down bicep position (by your hips). Images should be read clock-wise.
Follow MJDB #2 (this page) and add a squat thrust and 1–5 push-ups (five push-ups per cycle is recommended). Repeat in reverse order and continue MJDB #2.
With the barbell on the ground, place your feet about shoulder-width apart and bend down to grab the bar as shown. Keep your back straight and your head upright. Pull the barbell to your hips by standing (straighten your legs and keep your hips forward). Use the legs and hips to lift the weight, not your lower back.
NOTE: Do not perform this exercise with a heavy weight if you have never tried it before. If you are not comfortable with the Olympic lifts in this book (such as dead lift, power clean, or hang cleans), replace with the MJDB exercises or try them with dumbbells instead of a barbell.
The Power Clean is one of the most dynamic exercises in athletics. Make this movement fast and get the momentum of the barbell moving quickly from the start so that it is an easy transition with the power relay into your torso and arms. Stretch your triceps well before doing this lift in order to get your elbows high and in front of you. This helps balance the bar on your front shoulders and fingers.
NOTE: Perform this exercise with a lightweight barbell or dumbbells.
With the barbell on the ground, place your feet about shoulder-width apart and bend down to grab the bar as shown. Keep your back straight and your head upright. Pull the barbell to your hips by standing (straighten your legs and keep your hips forward). Use the legs and hips to lift the weight, not your lower back. Swing the barbell to your chest by bending your knees and dropping your waist 6–12 inches. The barbell should be stationary between your chest and collarbones, with your elbows lifted high in front of you. Drop the weight to your waist and repeat.
This variation of the Hang Clean is a great addition for all muscle groups. Lift the barbell to waist height. Explosively shrug your shoulders at the same time as you push off the ground with your feet, and immediately drop under the barbell in a full front squat position. Straighten your legs and finish the repetition by standing upright. This option is harder and requires more time to learn with light weights, but you will find that it challenges your legs, back, arms, and lungs when performing 5–10 reps.
Drop into the push-up position. Quickly drop your chest to the floor and back to the up position. Bring your feet up, stand, and jump 4–6 inches off the ground to finish the rep.
This is an all-time favorite group PT exercise and is ideal when preparing for an obstacle course because it is a great simulation exercise when mixed with pull-ups, short runs, and crawls. Starting from the standing position, drop your hands to the floor and get into the push-up position. Do a push-up, opening and closing your legs. Bring your legs under your torso, and then stand up.
Explode upward from the front squat position straight into an overhead press or push press.
You can perform this exercise with dumbbells or even a single plate. The goal is to squat and forcefully stand, using the momentum of the upward movement to lift the weight easily over your head.
The difference between Thrusters and Push Press is that you go much deeper into the squat position when doing the Thruster. The Push Press is a slight knee bend compared to the Thruster.
Slightly bend your knees and explode upward while lifting the barbell (to simulate a log) over your head in a power relay.
Note: This is not a shoulder press; use your legs to add momentum to the lift.
All of these exercises will help you with log PT, but the best log PT exercise is the Push Press. Work on teamwork Push Presses. If you can do this as a team under a log, your log PT experience will be much better.
Walk like a bear on all fours. (This gets tough after a few hundred yards.)
NOTE: You can Bear Crawl just about anywhere. Crawl in between exercise locations and build up to 100-yard crawls and eventually 400-yard to prepare for those brutally long days during Hell Week.
Find a set of stairs and Bear Crawl backwards up the stairs. This requires stronger shoulders than the average Bear Crawl and works the core much harder. Be careful with this progression as it can be potentially dangerous. Do not do this unless you are able to Bear Crawl at least 50 meters without stopping.
Crawl on your belly across the floor for 1–2 minute sets.
