I came across this little gem today while reading Mens Health, their Fitness Director, B.J. Gaddour calls it the "Squat Jackup." Now while the name needs some work, the actual work out is not bad, and I may find myself using it on those particularly cold mornings in January. I've come across more than a few traceurs in my time that aren't fans of running.
While I maintain that running is a fundamental tenant of our art form and something that would behoove you to get better at, perhaps this little workout with some alterations can help build up your cardio endurance before you take to the streets. Gaddour says this of his creation,
“Your heart rate will go up and up every minute, which is what you need to burn calories and get in great shape”
Here’s how it works: perform a movement for 5 to 10 seconds, and immediately flow into the next exercise. Do this for 2 to 3 minutes straight, and then rest one minute. That’s one round. Do 5 to 10 total.
The video below shows Gaddour doing it himself to provide a visual guide which is helpful, but how would today's traceur adapt this workout?
Keep the pushups cause those are important, however keep your elbows closer to your sides for maximum triceps/chest recruitment. Keep the squats cause there's no better no-impact workout for your legs, but do them shoulder width apart instead of spread out like in the video. Finally, cut out the jumping jacks completely and replace them with tuck or chambered jumps instead. I'd go for max height on each for high intensity.
If you really want to rev things up, you could also substitute precision jumps for the jumping jacks, or standing back tucks in place for those skillful enough, that'll really get your heart pumping. Keep the time intervals the same.
If you end up trying this let us know how it works out in the comment boxes below, and if you'd like a video of a traceur performing this for visual aid also comment on that as well.
Happy Training.
