The Countdown Workout

One of the overlooked aspects of training consistently over a long period of time is that, well, it can get boring. With my own training, I’m as old-school as they come, and for years I dutifully went to the gym, hitting my Schwarzenegger-style body-part splits without ever complaining. But even I, after a point, need to shake things up, and not just to keep things interesting mentally. Your body is an adaptation machine. Hit it with the same exact stimulus for a long enough period of time, and it stops having a significant impact. Taking on new physical challenges is necessary to break through plateaus, and it has the added bonus of keeping you interested, and shifting your perception of what you’re really capable of. My trainer Steve Wrona cooked up something he’s calling The Countdown Workout. It starts with a long jog on a treadmill and is followed by a few bodyweight exercises for 20 reps each. As the rounds go on, the reps and the time on the treadmill decrease, while the speed and intensity increase. He put me through it the other day and I hated him all throughout the session. Then I loved him in the end.

Click the video here to see him explain it, then go get after it. You’re gonna hate and love him, too!