New Warrior Gear! AND, Workout Inspiration from the Gods
I spent a couple of hours late this afternoon absorbed in a project I’d been working on for some time–creating a PVC pipe and rope ladder. After some tweaking of both the spacing of the rungs and the setup to hang the ladder I was satisfied with my work–happy with what all that focused energy had created. Look for photos of the ladder in use soon.
In the meantime, I wanted to share a workout I did last week. THOR’S ANVIL is in honor of the Germanic god of Thunder and his favorite weapon. In this particular workout we used sledgehammers for almost all of the exercises (with only a couple of exceptions).
1. Thor’s Walking Lunges: Walking lunges while holding the sledgehammer with a wide grip and rotating (almost like hammering) while stepping. If you hold it left-handed for one set, change the grip and the rotation on the next. A great exercise for your legs, your rotational core control and your balance. Plus, it just looks powerful.
2. Tire Whack: one of my old favorites.
3. Sledgehammer Balance Squats. I’ve created a balance board of sorts by nailing a piece of plywood to a six-inch diameter log. Stand with feet about shoulder width (or slightly more) apart. Hold the sledgehammer with the head up and as close to the bottom of the handle as possible. Hold the sledgehammer about a foot or so away from your body. Squat slowly and don’t let the sides of the balance board touch the ground.
4. Decline Sledgehammer Flies: work the chest on a decline board with a hammer in each hand.
5. Backpack Atomic Push-ups: Another favorite with the added challenge of a weighted backpack.
6. Tire Whack: Too much fun to not do again…
7. Thor’s Shoulders on Balance Board: You’ll be doing three exercises in succession–no rest. Take an athletic stance on the board. First, Punches: hold the sledgehammers six inches to a foot below the head and alternate punching out with each hand. Then, side lateral raises. Finally, front raises.
8. Log Bench Rows: I’ve built a high bench and added some handles to a heavy log for this. A reworked version of an old college rowing favorite.
9. Decline Sledgehammer Crunches: Just like it sounds. Do a set on one side, then the other–emphasize the slight torso rotation.
10. Sledgehammer Sled Drag Bear Crawl: So, I built a sled that my training partner could sit on while I dragged it. This time, I was on all fours with a sledge hammer in each hand.
11. Tire Whack: what better way to finish up the workout.
Now, get to work and tell Odin that I sent you.
Kip Koelsch Author 