I want to talk about extreme fitness and people who take fitness to the extreme. First off lot of people who do extreme fitness take special supplements if you get my drift. So, you have learned that something people do extreme fitness will not only not work for you but it will be detrimental in the long term for example the way pro bodybuilders train for someone who is drug free would cause overtraining because simply too much volume for someone who not on drugs which will stop body from recovering which means not only will stop gaining muscle and strength you will lose muscle and strength. I have talk thought out book the dangers of having not balance this is what happens when people take fitness to the extreme.
If you look at the documentary Free Solo about Alex Honnold who climb free solo which means without any ropes this very dangerous because one fall and person dies in fact in the documentary, they stated that most of free solo climbers end up dead after falling during free solo climb keep mind some of these people had been free solo for many years. In documentary it follows not only Honnold doing free solo climb but wrestling with the idea of whether to give up solo climbing.
But never the less you can learn a lot of things for extreme fitness. From Alex Honnold you can learn lot about planning, training, climbing technique and mindset but without do dangerous things of climbing without rope. With special supplements not only bad for health in long term cause variety health problems but the way someone train on special supplements vs someone who train drug free is going to be very different for due numbers factors it increase strength but also increase recovery which means they can train more were if normal person training the same way they would overtrain and might injury themselves. The reason lot of athletes take supplement is not to get bigger muscles or stronger is for recovery which means they can train harder get better quicker over time than they would be if they were training naturally. It also makes them stronger cause less fatigue which speed up their reflexes give them overall better performance than they could do natural but for long term health it is not worth it. That why steroids and other special supplements are use sports you would necessarily think of straightway such as Cycling, Triathlon and combat sports especially in the lower divisions where it looks like the guys have never touch weight in there live because there so skinny. When lance Armstrong was stripped of his titles in tour de France because of drug use the title didn’t go to anyone else because pretty much everyone else was doing drugs.
If we are talking about extreme fitness let’s talk about Eddie Hall training for year, he won the world strongest man at time he weighed over 30 stone (420lbs) or (190kg) to put it into perspective he weight about the same as Sea Lion. He had to eat minimum of 10,000 calories a day. For people wondering why he weight so much the extra body weight allow him to lift more. Of course, without training this extra weight would not have help him. He was trains for 4 hours every day in the gym , working 2-3 body parts at a time for year with no days off (I should point out at time he took rests between sets but this long time). I could be squatting 350kg-plus (772 lbs.), so I needed a good 10 to 15 minutes to recover between sets. Doing three or four sets at that weight can easily take an hour when you’re resting that much. On recovery side he was using recovery balls and foam rollers and top off that he was having on average six physical therapy sessions a week. But he said ”cost of this over 52 weeks, and it’s quite pricey. But physical therapy is crucial”
“I also have lots of recovery equipment at home so after every training session I’d do hotcold treatments for at least an hour, then eat, and if I had time afterward go into my hyperbaric chamber for 1½ hours. That’s how I lived for a year. I didn’t have any alcohol, holidays, or nights out with my wife or days out with the kids because they would tire me out too much. My family understood it was what I needed to do to be the best and left me to it. It was 100% dedication. Looking back, I don’t know how I did it. It was a massive obsession to become the World’s Strongest Man”
My point is look at all the recovery he had to do this is something we can learn from him. The important of recovery. Which includes the following methods food, sleep and other recovery methods. One thing he very lucky in not picking up serious injured training this way. But I think train this way was good for his mental motivation. I think reason he was able to train this way was because he knew once he won the wordlist strongest man title he was retiring from strongman. If he was planning on winning 3 titles, he knew he most likely wouldn’t have been able to train this way as it would not be good for him long term. This is 80/20 rule in effective. He also bet on himself the year before he came 3rd so the goal was not that far way. But sometimes you have to bet on yourself he also got someone to build the hyperbaric chamber in his garden which was bit dangerous. He also said part reason he wanted to win world strongest man than retire because training the way he was and be that heavy wasn’t good in the long term.
EDDIE hall THE ROUTINE
MONDAY: LEGS
I just did squats, leg press, and yoke. Simple. But to do those three exercises could take four hours. That may be hard to believe, but when you’re doing stupid-heavy sets you need lots of rest.
Remember, I could be squatting 350kg-plus (772 lbs.), so I needed a good 10 to 15 minutes to recover between sets. Doing three or four sets at that weight can easily take an hour when you’re resting that much.
I did the same on leg press, working up to huge amounts of weight and having plenty of rest between sets. That could take another hour, then I’d spend an hour or so on the yoke.
TUESDAY: CHEST
This day was about building my pressing power. There is always a pressing event at the World’s Strongest Man. Again, I kept it simple and had long rests between sets. I’d do flat bench and incline bench, then do triceps.
I took it nice and easy, working up to a megaheavy weight on the presses and then just doing one set on triceps.’
WEDNESDAY: FULL-RECOVERY DAY
My idea of a recovery day is different from most others’. I had something small to eat first thing, then did an hour of cardio, which could be tire flipping, sled pushing, or boxing. Straight after that, I’d have a regular exercise session, then I’d go home and eat.
I’d have a full English breakfast, plus cereal, beef jerky, yogurt, and I’d keep eating until my personal trainer arrived at 10:30 a.m. for 1½ hours of intense exercise. Then I’d eat dinner, which would be something like a huge steak or chicken and pasta.
Then I’d visit another therapist for shock wave therapy, which helps the muscles recover by breaking them down.
Then I’d eat again, something like chicken and rice, and have another 1½-hour exercise session in the afternoon, doing full hip mobility and breaking down the glutes.
I then stretched in the pool for 1½ hours and did a good 1½ hours of hot-cold treatments, which consisted of a sauna followed by an ice bath several times.
Then I’d go home, eat, and go to bed. That was my day off! It was nonstop.
THURSDAY: BACK
Again, I kept things simple. I did deadlifts first, followed by two assistance exercises, like lat pulldowns and a rowing exercise. With the weights I used, that could easily take three or four hours, no problem.
FRIDAY: SHOULDERS
I warmed up on dumbbell presses, working up to 30 to 40 reps using 132-pound dumbbells just to get some blood into the shoulders. Then I went straight into a log press and finished with some side delts.
Two months before the World’s Strongest Man, I heard viking press would be included in the events, so I switched to that. Fortunately, it requires a similar technique to log press.
SATURDAY: FULL-RECOVERY DAY
I followed the same routine as Wednesday. I also did personal appearances and media interviews on this day.
SUNDAY: LIGHT-RECOVERY DAY
I swam for an hour in the afternoon, then stretched for 1½ hours, followed by hot-cold treatments for another 1½ hours. I didn’t do any physical therapy.
