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Aaron Fry, the son of Team Edge Fitness and Performance owner Bob Fry and a personal trainer at the facility—where I had spent several grueling, humbling days in April—devised a workout for me to take back home. (Perhaps it goes without saying, but no one should consider attempting all eight of the exercises below in a single session.)
Aaron, a former football player with mountainous shoulders and softball-sized biceps barely concealed by an oversized t-shirt, says the ideal workout is three-quarters conventional weight room and one-quarter mental toughness.
If you think you've got that sort of toughness, add one or two of the following to your training regimen; the benefits carry over, quickly and quantitatively, on to the playing field. And besides, when's the last time you really chopped wood?
[Print this out for reference.]
Farmer's Walk
Pick up a moderately heavy weight (dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, or even buckets filled with water) in each hand and walk briskly back and forth for 40 yards, keeping the weights low at your side.
Tire Flip
If you happen to have a spare tractor tire lying around, have at it. Bending down low so you're lifting, as you've always been told, with your legs and not your back, flip the tire end over end for 40 yards.
Lunge Walks
With moderately heavy weights at your side (dumbbells, kettlebells) or sandbags yoked across your shoulders—one apiece tied to the end of a pole or two-by-four with a towel beneath for "comfort"—lunge forward with one leg until your trailing knee touches the ground, then the same motion with the alternate leg, for 40 yards.
Tire/Sledge
Take a 12-pound sledge and hammer away on a tire for three rounds, one minute each, swinging from both your left and right side. The key is to maintain control of the sledge throughout the entire motion of the swing. (Splitting, say, a cord of wood with a maul is a close approximation to this exercise.)
Wheelbarrow Loading/Unloading
The idea here is to gradually fill a wheelbarrow with weight (shovel gravel or simply use weight plates) and briskly walk 45 yards without tipping. Then, unload the wheelbarrow, race back to the starting point, reload, and do it again. Five times.
Medicine Ball Throws
In an open field take a 30-pound medicine ball or similarly weighted object and, with your two feet firmly planted, throw it using both hands from your left and then from your right side, using a heave-ho motion. Run to the ball and do it again, alternating throws from the right and the left, with a set of five from each side. Great for strengthening your back.
20 Grip
Take four 10-pound weight plates and place two pairs together, their smooth sides facing out. With one pair in your right hand and one in your left, simply stand with the plates at your side, squeezing and holding on for as long as you can. If you can work up to a hold of three minutes or more, chances are good that you'll see another ten yards or so on your tee-drive.
Truck Push
For the true believers who own or can get hold of a pick-up truck and have access to a safe place to push it around. Ask a friend or workout partner to take the wheel in order to steer you out of trouble, put the truck in neutral, get behind it, and start pushing. Roll the truck 40 yards and call it a day. Or a week.
