Last updated 20:26, Thursday, 17 July 2008

AS I CONTINUE on my search of the best strength and conditioning videos that Youtube has to offer let me first ask you a question.

What’s the best way to get a toned flatter stomach? Crunches, sit ups, using that funny looking contraption in the gym? Sorry, you are wrong. The best and only way to gain the look of a washboard is through strength and conditioning.

For a long time now the word fitness has been long associated with everything gym related or outdoor specific. Let’s get rid of the word fitness now and start using the terms strength and conditioning. At the end of the day this is what makes you fitter and gains you the results you need. It also comes with a very powerful message, work your butt off for less time and get the results required.

This leads me nicely into yet another video that promotes the world of strength and conditioning.

Sean Sherk is yet another UFC fighter and is known for his sheer power and determination to ground opponents. If you type in ‘caveman training’ into Youtube search engine you will find the video and prepare to be in awe of the workout. The workout is described below:

Train twice a week with this workout.

5x5 minute rounds with 1 minute breaks.25 minutes in total.Heart rate goal: 185 – 190 beats per minute.

ROUND 1: 1 min tyre flips, 1 min cable crawl.1 min chop station,1 min bear crawl and 1 min rope pulls.

ROUND 2: 2 min aerodyne bike, 30 sec gorilla drills, 2 min UBE machine and another 30 sec gorilla drills.

ROUND 3: 30 sec mount punches. 30 sec med ball slaps. 30 sec plyometric push ups and 30 sec ab wheel.Repeat the cycle.

ROUND 4: Same as first round.

ROUND 5: Same as round 2.

The training here is very functional and almost childlike in motion. When we were kids I’m sure we all hanged from trees and climbed from branch to branch - that’s very similar to the rope pulls and cable crawls. Obviously we can’t go back to our childhood but this workout is almost identical to one I discussed last week.

Twenty five minutes is more than enough to blast the body from every direction. Round 1 provides the power and explosion. Bear crawls give you a lower centre of gravity so it’s harder to work through. The chop station is again using a sledgehammer which really hits your core after 1 minute. Round 2 is the cardio endurance. Aerodyne bikes are good machines but use the versaclimber if your gym has one, if not the rowing machine is an adequate replacement. Round 3 uses the core muscles again and not even a crunch is site. The next two rounds provide a test of endurance and determination, try and fight through it here.

I always look at it from a time point of view, you have 10 minutes left and that’s it you can go home a relax. Imagine if you were in for an hour.

I know there’s exercises here which you might not have even heard of, it’s important though to consider the alternatives. Look at the article I produced last week for similar alternatives. My advice is to make your own circuit up, follow three simple rules. Think power, plyometrics and cardio in 25 minutes.

MMA, UFC and other martial arts are a tough sport, the training that goes with it is based all there conditioning and aims, never go into these workouts light hearted, build up gradually then hit them. Forget about the hour in the gym you aren’t gaining any benefit apart from an hour to yourself. If you look at the heart rate goal, it’s very high in fact when you think of 25 minutes of that you might be put off.Don’t be, Sean Sherk doesn’t start off with his heart rate like that, after each round you build it up. You will start off low to medium and at round 4 you should be close to 180-184.

Next week prepare yourself for Ross Enamait, one of the best websites out there at the moment and a guy who has the knowledge and skill to back it up.