Indecent Intervals

by John Berardi and Scot Prohaska



If your idea of a great interval workout is one that leaves you
on the verge of barfing up your breakfast, John Berardi and Scot
Prohaska have some programs you'll like.
If you read this T-Nation article,
then you've had a glimpse of the legendary Manhattan Beach
sand dune. A who's-who list of top pro athletes has run the
dune as part of their conditioning programs: Kobe Bryant and Paul
Pierce of the NBA; Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzales of the NFL; Tito
Ortiz and Roger Huerta of the UFC; Rob Blake and Petr Sykora of the
NHL.
When my good buddy Scot Prohaska, a top strength coach, invited
me out to the dune last summer for his "Sunday Ritual," I
foolishly agreed.
The sand dune is more than 100 yards long and 50 yards wide,
with 45 degrees of incline. Just walking up the thing can shoot
your heart rate past 170 beats per minute. Imagine what happens
when you try running it.
I surprised fellow Testosterone contributor Nate Green
with a 7:45 A.M. wake-up call, and had him meet me in the lobby of
the Long Beach Hyatt for what I said would be a "light
recovery workout." Yeah, that was mean.


Craig
(Nate's roommate), JB, and Nate preparing for a "light
recovery workout."
Scot picked us up at 8:15. On the way over to the dunes, he
outlined the workout:

First set:

Walk up dune with good form, sprint back down

Work: 60-70 seconds

Recovery: 5 minutes

Second set:

Walk up dune with good form, and sprint down backwards

Work: 60-70 seconds

Recovery: 5 minutes

Third set:

Shuffle halfway up dune sideways, switch sides, shuffle up the
other half, sprint down

Work: 70-80 seconds

Recovery: 5 minutes

Fourth set:

Timed sprint as far up the dune as possible

Work: 30 seconds

Recovery: 5 minutes

Fifth set:

Same as fourth set

Work: 30 seconds

Recovery: 5 minutes

Sixth set:

Do 20 push-ups, jog up stairs next to dune, do 20 more
push-ups

Work: 2 minutes

Recovery: 2 minutes

Seventh set:

Do 20 push-ups, jog down stairs, do 20 more
push-ups

Work: 2 minutes

Recovery: 2 minutes

Eighth set:

Walk up dune with good form, jog back down

Work: 60-70 seconds

Recovery: rest of the day
At this point, I had a nice laugh at Nate's expense. Then I
noticed that Scot was also chuckling, only he didn't seem to
be looking at Nate when he did it. I'd figure out why as soon
as I got my first glimpse of the dune.


The view from the top.
We warmed up for 10 minutes with Scot's athletes, and then
started the workout.



My legs were on fire after the first climb. Nate's legs
felt like one big muscle, with no knees.


Halfway up the hill on the second set, Nate auditions for a Kiss
tribute band.
By the end of the third interval, the one where we shuffled
sideways to the top, we knew why Scot's athletes are some of
the best conditioned in the world. But what was truly scary was
realizing we were still walking up the dune. The sprinting
had yet to begin.


JB and Scot do the sand-dune shuffle.
If you want to see what the sprints look like, click here. (And notice the
group at the top of the dune taunts the group that's
sprinting. Tough crowd.) But I can describe it simply enough: eight
of the 20 athletes training that day puked in the sand. I
didn't, but Nate did.


Nate, right after losing his coffee (vomit not
shown).
But we still had more work to do —push-ups, running
stairs, and then climbing the dune one more time.


It's all downhill from here.
The workout took just over 60 minutes, after which a dozen of us
went to a local breakfast spot to clean them out of eggs, fruit,
veggies, and whole-grain toast. Oddly enough, it was actually a
good time, despite all the vomit.
That's why I wanted to give you a chance to get in on the
fun. I talked Scot into sharing some of his creative interval
workouts. These are workouts he does with the elite athletes he
trains, to supplement their strength training, plyometrics, and
high-quality sprint work. And, like the sand-dune workout,
they're all fun and just a little bit crazy.



Workout #1 - The Petr Sykora
Sykora, right wing for the Pittsburg Penguins, has played in the
NHL finals four times in 12 seasons, winning the Stanley Cup with
the New Jersey Devils in 1999-2000. He trains with Scot in the
offseason. This is one of his favorite workouts.
He prefers to do it in the sand, but you can try it anywhere you
can drag a sled and toss a medicine ball — both of which
you'll need to do this workout.
Warm up, then grab the medicine ball, with your sled loaded and
ready for use.

First set:

Lie on your back holding the ball behind your head. Fire the
medicine ball as far as you can as you sit up. Jump to your feet
and sprint after it. Keep going for 30 seconds. Then stop, grab the
sled straps, and do forward lunges for 30 seconds. (Check out a
video of the exercise here.)

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 120 seconds




Second set:

From a kneeling position, toss the ball to your side and sprint
after it. Repeat going back the other direction. After 30 seconds,
stop, grab the sled straps, and do squat/wood chop/sled pulls
(video here)
for 30 seconds — 15 seconds to your left, 15 seconds to the right.

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 120 seconds

Third set:

While standing, toss the med ball to the side (tennis toss) and
sprint after it. Keep going for 30 seconds. Then stop, grab the
sled strap and do sideways walking crossovers (video here)
for 30 seconds. Switch sides after 15 seconds.

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 120 seconds

Fourth set:

While kneeling, toss the med ball overhead and sprint after it.
Keep going for 30 seconds. Then stop, grab the sled straps, and do
forward lunges for 30 seconds.

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 120 seconds

Fifth set:

While kneeling, toss the med ball overhead and sprint after it.
Keep going for 30 seconds. Then stop, grab the sled straps, and do
backward sled walks (video here)
for 30 seconds.

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 120 seconds
Rest 180 seconds, then repeat the circuit one or two
times.



Workout #2 — The Last Woman Standing
Scot named this one after middle-distance runner Roseline
Agboke, who has won two national championships at 800 meters.
It's been known to make grown men cry.
You'll need a stopwatch and either a track or another
surface that allows for uninterrupted sprints of varying
distances.
After you warm up:

Sprint #1: Medium

Work: 120 seconds

Recovery: 90 seconds

Sprint #2: Medium

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 90 seconds

Sprint #3: Fast

Work: 30 seconds

Recovery: 30 seconds

Sprint #4: Fastest

Work: 10 seconds

Recovery: 10 seconds

Sprint #5: Fastest

Work: 20 seconds

Recovery: 30 seconds

Sprint #6: Medium

Work: 60 seconds

Recovery: 90 seconds

Sprint #7: Medium

Work: 120 seconds

Recovery: 180 seconds
Rest 120 seconds, then repeat four or five times.



Workout #3 — The Fighter's Rite of
Passage
This workout isn't named after any particular fighter, but
instead is prized by all the fighters Scot trains. If you want to
do this workout with Scot, you have to be invited by one of them.


You don't need an invitation from Tito Ortiz to get tapped
out by the fighter's interval-training program.
No invitation? You can try it on your own to see what
you're missing.
After warming up:

Exercise #1:

Work: sprint 100 meters at 90 percent of your top
speed

Recovery: walk back to the starting line

Reps: 4

Exercise #2:

Work: sprint 200 meters at 85 percent of your top
speed

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #3:

Work: 20 squat thrusts with jump

Recovery: 15 seconds




Exercise #4:

Work: 15 side sit-ups for each side

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #5:

Work: 20 lunges for each leg, with the front foot on a six-inch
step

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #6:

Work: run 400 meters

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #7:

Work: 15 explosive push-ups

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #8:

Work: 15 one-leg squats for each leg

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #9:

Work: 15 supermans for each side

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #10:

Work: run 400 meters

Recovery: 15 second

Exercise #11:

Work: 20 push-ups

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #12:

Work: forward hops on right foot covering 20
meters

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #13:

Work: forward hops on left foot covering 20
meters

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #14:

Work: 15 step-ups with each leg

Recovery: 15 seconds

Exercise #15:

Work: run 800 meters

Recovery: 4 minutes
Depending on your conditioning level and sanity, you can either
repeat the workout or go home.



Workout #4 — The Gut Check
Scot uses this circuit with his athletes every few months to
gauge their conditioning and mental toughness. All you need is a
stopwatch.
After a warm-up, start your stopwatch, and do the
following:

10 explosive push-ups

10 fast crunches

10 explosive Hindu push-ups (or wide push-ups if you have
shoulder problems)

10 fast reverse crunches

10 triceps push-ups (your index fingers and thumbs touch,
forming a diamond shape)

10 elbow-to-knee crunches (also called bicycle
crunches)
Look at your stopwatch. When it hits two minutes, repeat the
circuit. So if you did the first circuit in 90 seconds, you get to
rest for 30 seconds. If you needed 1:45 to finish, then you only
get to rest for 15 seconds. (See a video of the entire circuit here.)
Repeat until you can't go again.
Scot pits his athletes against each other. They repeat the
circuit until only one of them is left standing. On a good day, he
says, his athletes can complete the circuit eight to 10 times.



You'll never step on the treadmill again
So there you have it: five creative interval workouts, counting
the first one on the sand dune. There's at least one good
option for any time of the day or year, and any type of indoor or
outdoor facility or location. Your only limitations are the ones
you put on yourself.
Just one piece of advice: Don't do them alone. Drag a group
of buddies out and make sure you challenge each other. You'll
give your workouts a motivating jolt, and you'll all end up in
bad-ass shape.



About the Authors

John Berardi, PhD, is a longtime T-Nation contributor and a
performance-enhancement specialist focusing on exercise physiology
and nutrition. For more information, check out his website.

Scot Prohaska is an athletic-conditioning specialist based in
Southern California who's been working with high-level
athletes for more than 10 years.



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