7 of the Hardest Forms of Exercise on the Planet

These 7 exercises and routines are sure to blow you away.  Undertaking a serious training regimen involving any of these is not for the faint of heart.  If you want that super-cut, well defined look for the summer, start incorporating these into your life now!

In no particular order…

1. Hill Sprints – These will destroy your lower body.  Try doing 5-7 100 yard hill sprints.  When you get to the top, walk back to the bottom backwards.  Keep a good pace on the way down, but take your time so you don’t fall over.  Doing hill sprints several times a week will really develop the muscles of the calves, upper legs, and butt….not to mention the cardiovascular improvements that come with it.

2.  Erg Workouts – Rowers are some of the most highly conditioned athletes on the planet.  Hop on an erg machine to see why.  Great workout would consist of 40 minutes non-stop of roughly 20 strokes per minute.  Aim to increase your SPM by 10% each week of training.

3. Tabata Training – Featured on the blog many weeks ago, Tabata training is intense and will make serious impacts on all aspects of your health and fitness.  This is the training method used by Olympians, marathon runners, and professional athletes.  The fundamental of Tabata training is to train at 100% intensity for a short period of time, then sink back to about 75% for a few seconds or minutes before turning up the dial again.  Try this with weight lifting, running, swimming, biking….literally anything can be given the Tabata touch.

4.  Crossfit – Crossfit is a great training workout that incorporates various strength and cardio exercises into a workout.  Often times the workouts are under a time constraint, so you are really forced to push through extreme exhaustion.  If you think you are in great shape, give one of the more advanced Crossfit “Workouts of the Day” a try and see if you can even complete it…let alone how fast.  Take a look at this advanced routine…

1. 110 minutes: March, optionally with 50 lbs rucksack.  2.  15 minutes: eat, hydrate, stretch, change clothes if necessary.  3.  60 minutes: Run at half marathon pace.  4.  60 minutes: Complete 1000 walking lunges.  5.  30 minutes: 5 rounds: ring dips 1:00, rest 1:00, ring pushups 1:00, rest 1:00.   6.  60 minutes: Run at half marathon pace.  7.  15 minutes: Eat, hydrate, stretch, change clothes if necessary.  8.  15 minutes: Sprint 10x100m with 1:00 rests.  9.  15 minutes: Complete 100 burpees.  10.  30 minutes: 4 rounds: 50 squats, 5 muscleups.  11.  30 minutes: 500 situps.  12.  10 minutes: Run 1 mile allout.

Yes…that’s almost an 8 hour workout…and yes…people actually do this…

5.  Cross Country Skiing – Don’t worry if you don’t have snow nearby, a cross country ski machine is almost as good.  The benefits of cross country skiing are immense.  It works almost every muscle in the body, while providing a difficult cardiovascular test.  All this without the pounding of the joints like running would cause.  Have you ever watched a cross country ski race?  Probably not, because it’s only a hair more exciting than staring at a wall, but the guys that make it to the finish line look like they are mere seconds from death.  One of the best ways to tax the entire body for an extended period.  Work your way up to a 50km session, which is the “marathon” of cross country skiing in the Olympics.

 6.  Boxing/MMA –   Try punching a heavy bag as hard as you can for 3 minutes.  Now imagine if that bag was alive, with arms and legs, coming at you, for 12 3-minute rounds…….you get the point.  Boxing and MMA style fighting is a great way to get in shape.  Boxing/MMA clubs are popping up all over the country; just do a simple google search to find one nearby.  This is the ultimate full body workout.  You think you know sore?  Try a full length sparring match and rethink what you thought you knew about being sore.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to ruin your pretty face to do this…all training studios will provide gloves, facemasks, and institute a light strike policy for those who simply want to train.

7.  Circuit Power Lifting – You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to fully experience this hellacious training regimen.  The idea behind this is to lift at 80% of your max in a variety of power moves.  Try bench press, dead lifts, squats, clean and press, leg curls, weighted crunches, and shoulder press.  Perform low reps (~5) for each exercise and move from one to another with great speed.  Aim for 5 circuits to start, with a 3 minute jump rope session between each circuit.  Training like this will produce great muscular strength and size.  The circuit aspect will also greatly improve your cardiovascular endurance.  Happy lifting!

You want something along these lines, but specifically tailored to you and your fitness level?  Check back at Share It Fitness in 2012 to connect 1-on-1 with our pro’s who can incorporate all of these 7 insane routines into your personal fitness plan.