This post is simply a re-post from my training journal on IGX. [If you wonder what “IGX” is, don’t ask.]. This training template will make you a jack of all trades and a master of none. It is the exact opposite of training for a specific goal with a timetable. It’s training for life. You avoid boredom, don’t get overtrained and maintain balance. This truly encompasses the idea of being process oriented vs goal oriented. Show up and do it. The more you show up, amazingly, the better you get. The intensity is built on a base of consistency. It’s virtually a program that forces consistency but is varied enough so you won’t be doing exactly the same thing over and over. 

Take a look and enjoy. 


Donnie Williams was an original Black Karate Federation member with Steve Saunders [Mohammed], Ron Chapel and Cliff Stewart. Donnie was a trainer for Isaac Hayes. Donnie laid out the training template very simply. 
“One day we run. [endurance] One day we lift. [strength] One day we do karate. [flexibility/mobility/skill].”

Of course you never get good at anything, but you put in the hours, build consistency and stay within striking distance of a short term goal. 

In a discussion with CQC10 [an online friend] about how he was training,.. he was following a similar template. He had a full time job, Bagua practice, Systema practice, 5 children. So training was limited to around 25 minutes for conditioning. 

3 Day Template-
Day 1 — Heavy stuff

Day 2 — Medium Stuff in Multiple Planes w/ ROM & Stretch

Day 3 — Aerobic . . light day 

Day 4 (repeat) — I don’t take days off usually
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A. So what is heavy stuff?
1. For 1 month it’s- 
Deadlift, Weighted Pistols, Weighted Pullups, Heavy Barbell Jerks maybe . . . . kind of whatever I feel like.

2. For another month it may be-
Lots of Swings, lots of Heavy C&P w/ KBs, Assisted One-Arm Pullups, etc (ETK kind of stuff w/ pullups).

3. For another month it may be-
Pistols, One-Arm Pushups, Hand-Stand Pushups . . .all with weighted vest

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B. So what is medium stuff?

Keeping ROM and flexiblity is important. 

1. Do bridging, some Scott Sonnon Prasara stuff . . .sometimes a little FlowFit . . . I have a series of key yoga moves I do.
2. Do hindu pushups, hindu squats. I might do some plyometric jumps onto my brick mailbox. 
3. Do lots of Sonny Puzikas types of drills on these days. 
4. Find weak links, stretch things out, flood my muscles with blood and build some endurance. 
5. Go through a number of kung fu drills I know. (A few Lying Tiger type drills . . . some from Baji / Piqua) 
6. Work some JS Band stuff. I think you get the picture. 
7. Some TRX type stuff I’ll do too. 
8. Some of the complexes Dan John uses. (100 pound barbell with series of snatches, cleans, OH squats, bent-over rows, good mornings, etc) 
9. Farmer walks with kbs . . 
10. (Oh . . and I LOVE heavy saber KF work for the ultimate wrist, elbow, and shoulder joint-mobility routine and a very heavy staff form too . . . metal bar or heavy wood done to a Long Fist staff form)
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C. So what is light stuff?

1. Run while practicing Systema breathing. (I run barefoot year around typically) 
2. Jump rope . . . . 
3. Extended game of tag with my kids with lots of sprinting . . . 
4. Iots of footwork practice 
—–I don’t lift anything . . I just want blood flowing and heart racing.
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1. I don’t typically have any of these days go past 25 minutes. 
2. I change stuff every 3-4 weeks. I just go by the feel of it. Does it work for me? It seems to.

I can press a 70 pound kb 10x without much problem. 
I can do a pistol with a 70 lb kb.
I can hold wrestling bridges with my nose on the ground and no hands. 
I can flat-footed jump onto a 44″ mailbox. 
I can do weighted pullups with a 60 pounds vest on.
I want “integrated supple strength”. 
I want longevity. 
I want to have full ROM in all joints, and more than adequate flexibility in my body.