Simple Sledgehammer Workout!

A Simple, 30-Minute Sledgehammer Workout

When it comes to sledgehammer training, there’s no need for bells and whistles, fancy workout gear, a whole bunch of fancy exercises to remember or a notebook to keep track of your workout. All you need to get the most out of this fitness tip is a sledgehammer, a tree stump and a half-an-hour…

Sledgehammer training is beautiful in its simplicity. Swing the sledge, hit something and repeat. You sweat, you grunt, you ache, you feel like you really accomplished something. Oh, and your neighbors think that you are stark-raving mad. But really, that can be a good thing…but my misanthropic leanings can be discussed at a later time. For now, this fitness tip is all about the sledgehammer.

This is the simplest workout that I’ve ever done, and it’s one of the most rewarding.

And my disclaimer for trying this workout is as follows: don’t do this workout if you haven’t spent at least 3-4 weeks following the “Shovelglove” workout and another 4-5 weeks working with the sledge outdoors, and have been able to complete workouts that consist of 300-400 swings – with contact – on either a tire or tree stump.

Warm up for 3-5 minutes by doing some jumping jacks and an easy jog around the block and you’re ready to go.

Grab your 10-pound sledge and whack away at your favorite tree stump or tire, taking 5 swings from both the right and left sides until you’ve completed 100 swings. This should take about 3 and a-half minutes, so you can rest 2-2 and a-half minutes before you step up to the stump again.

In the second set take 10 swings from each side until you reach 100, and use the same rest interval as the first set, as this set should take about the same amount of time to complete as your first set.

Your third set will have you taking 20 swings from each side until you reach 80 swings and then take one set of 10 swings from each side to round out your third set of 100 swings. If you feel like you need to, you can add 30-60 seconds the 2 and a-half minutes rest before starting set four.

At this point about 12 minutes will have passed.

Shoot for 200 total swings in the fourth set taking 20 swings from each side. There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself 10-15 seconds to take a few extra breaths after every 20 or 40 swings, as by this point in the workout your heart will be pumping and muscles throbbing a bit from having already done 300 swings, on your way to 500.

This set should take about 6 minutes to complete, and take 3-4 minutes to rest before starting your final set of 100 swings, taking 10 from each side. This will put you at 600 swings for the workout and should take just about 30 minutes on the nose.

A workout like this should be done once per week, especially if you are currently lifting weights during the week. This kind of high-volume workout places a lot of stress on your body, and you will need to give yourself ample time for recovery.

Swimming is hands down the best form of cardiovascular exercise and getting into the pool is the single best change that you can make to your exercise routine.

Unlike jogging or any form of machine-based cardio exercise, swimming places no impact force on the joints and connective tissue, and is an incredibly efficient, total-body exercise. You don’t need to spend hours in the pool every week in order to reap the benefits from swimming, as 20-minutes once or twice per week will do the trick.

The reason more people don’t swim is that it’s difficult, it takes effort. Unlike the Stairmaster, treadmill or any of the most popular forms of cardiovascular exercise, swimming is tough. Machine-based forms of cardio are popular because they are easy. As a matter of fact, any exercise that is unpopular – especially in a big, open gym setting – is usually more difficult, and as a result more effective, than the less popular options.

For example, in most “big box” gyms there are literally tons of leg machines (leg press, leg extension, leg curl, etc.) but usually only a few squat racks, and these racks are rarely used for squats. At the big box gym I belong to there are hundreds of treadmills and Stairmasters, but only 2 Concept 2 rowing machines.

It seems like everyone jogs and “climbs stairs” – even the people who wait to park their cars in the parking spaces closest to the entrance – but nobody sprints or does running and agility drills.

Translation; walking (except from their car) and stepping are easy, sprinting and rowing is tough.