Attaining ultimate emergency athleticism
Intra-Exhaustion Training

 By The Sensei


Recently, one of my students made a comment that made me think. I was conducting a group seminar, and a new trainee asked the question:

 “What’s the best way for The Urban Warrior to train for fitness?"

 At which point another student chimed in;

 “Just do any type of aerobic exercise. Cycling, rowing, running. Just buy a book and learn how to do it."

 I spent the rest of the session straightening out these guys, because this is a dangerously bad attitude to take to your fitness. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong!

 Don’t misunderstand me. The Urban Warrior can learn a lot from contemporary training methods. Running in particular has a lot to offer, but even then, not the way most people do it—only if it’s done properly (see the Urban Running section of The Urban Warrior’s Bible for full details).

 Urban Warrior fitness work must be different from most run-of-the mill training routines. Why? Because most normal training sessions work on the linear intensity principle. That is to say, they start off easy and get progressively harder throughout the training period, until the trainee stops. For example, a jogger may jog for two miles. The intensity may vary during the jog—he or she may go up and down a hill, for example—but on average, the trainee is least tired at the beginning of the session, and most tired at the end. The same can be said of most fitness methods; rowing, cycling, circuit training, etc.

Funtional Psychophysiological Qualities
Functional psychophysiological qualities

 This is all well and good if you are training your body for a competition. A race, for example, follows the linear intensity principle mentioned above. But it is how NOT how you want to train your body if you are preparing to cope with a crisis or a disaster. In a disaster scenario, becoming exhausted will leave you incredibly vulnerable. Especially if you are attacked or otherwise in danger. External threats don’t stop coming just because you are exhausted!

 Whereas most athletes train to gradually deplete all their energy by the end of an event—they don’t require it after the event—The Urban Warrior trains to be able to train until exhaustion, and then have another bank of energy, a second, deeper well of fitness he can draw from.

 At first sight, this theory might sound contradictory. How can you be exhausted, then have another well of energy? In fact it is not contradictory. Physiology explains this phenomenon. When most people become exhausted, they have only used the preliminary layers of glycogen (muscle sugar) in their muscular system. When this occurs, the subject feels as though all energy is depleted; strenuous movement is impossible; the heart pounds; they feel out of breath and are trembling. They may feel sick or even experience affective states such as fear or anxiety.

 In fact this first level of exhaustion is an illusion. It’s what endurance athletes call “the wall”. Your body developed during an era when energy was at an absolute premium. This is your body’s way of tricking you into thinking your energy is gone. However, hidden within the muscle matrix are deeper cells full of as yet untapped energy. If you have the grit and determination to push past this barrier, you will find that—almost out of nowhere—a second well, a “reserve tank” appears.

 Most people have heard the expression “second wind”—the idea that somebody can be tired and suddenly some new energy kicks in from somewhere. This is the body working on this same principle.

 But there’s a proper and intelligent way to train to unleash that reserve tank. I’m not advising you to keep on running and running until you collapse. The proper way is called “intra-exhaustion training”. In a disaster scenario, you might have to cope with any number of events which leave you feeling exhausted. If, when you are exhausted, a second crisis occurs, you need to be able to unlock your body’s deeper stores of energy. Your training drills must mirror this.

 For this reason, intra-exhaustion training works on two different levels. First, you deplete your superficial reserves of muscular glucose as quickly as possible, and secondly you practice intense training methods designed to allow you to more easily delve into your “reserve tank” in the future. Regarding the first level, the best way to burn the glucose over your entire body quickly is by callisthenic circuit training using a handful of exercises which hit the entire body. Unlike other methods—like running or cycling—this will ensure that the entire body becomes exhausted, as all muscle groups are hit. You can use any exercises you like, but I recommend the following circuit:
  1. Full squats
  2. Tuck jumps
  3. Push-ups
  4. Burpees
  5. Jumping jacks

Do ten repetitions of each exercise, if you can. Immediately move onto the next exercise, and then repeat the circuit as many times as you are able. The key is continuous motion. If you rest in-between repetitions, exercises or circuits you will ruin the overall effect. Believe it or not, even fit people start to collapse at about five circuits when they train this way.

 For those advance athletes amongst you who can manage ten circuits of this kind of torture—i.e., a hundred push-ups, a hundred burpees, etc.—before becoming exhausted (and there are fewer of these people than you might think), make the exercises more intense by adding resistance. All kinds of equipment exists for this, from wrist and ankle weights, to special vests. But the most realistic (and cheapest) method is to make your own weights pack. Just wear a rucksack—anything from cheap, school-type one will do—add weight to it and cinch it up tight on your back. The weight added can be anything—preferably something uneven, like tins, bricks or books. I personally like using large water bottles—this gives you a chance to add a little water every time you train, and thus progress. This all adds to the weight you are shifting while doing push-ups, squats, etc., making things a lot harder. A weighted rucksack can also throw off your balance too, if you are not used to using it, which is good for your focus and co-ordination.

 Once you have reached exhaustion—by which I mean you literally can’t continue—your primary layer of glucose will be burned up. Now it’s time to start working on the secondary layer. In this regard, the two innate ways to deal with an extreme threat are to either confront it, or run away from it. This is called the “fight or flight response”, which you’ve probably heard of. Immediately after completing your circuits to the best of your ability, utilize this response by either going for one-minute rounds on a punching bag (or sparring), or by sprinting—distances of about one hundred meters. At first, doing these activities will require enormous willpower, because your body just isn’t used to utilizing its second layer of body chemistry. It won’t want to do it! But after a few sessions you’ll find that things become easier; almost as though a switch gets flipped and your physiology has worked out what it’s supposed to do. Your goal should be to work at your maximum limit; really slamming the bag like a maniac, and sprinting as fast as your legs can go. If you are incredibly well conditioned and two one-minute rounds or a couple of sprints become easy, add volume. Do more. Ideally, you should mix these two up; one session do the punching bag work, another session do the sprints.

 For easy reference then, here’s an example of what an intra-exhaustion session should look like:
LEVEL ONE: Training to exhaustion (primary energy depletion)
                                1.    Full Squats       10 repetitions
                                2.    Push-ups          10 repetitions
                                3.    Burpees           10 repetitions
                                4.    Sit-ups             10 repetitions
                                5.    Jumping jacks   10 repetitions
Do circuits to failure.


LEVEL TWO: Training beyond exhaustion (reserve energy depletion)

Immediately after Level One:

                            Either:      Punching bag    1 minute round

                             or

                            Sprints    100 meters (approx.)
Do two-to-three maximum effort rounds or sprints.


Obviously you can add in your own techniques and mix things up, provided you follow the principles I’ve outlined. Keep a note on your performance and, as with all aspects of your training, try to improve.

 These workouts will get you incredibly fit in a very short space of time, but beware; they are extremely fatiguing. They are painful and nauseating and require a high level of motivation. Don’t try to do more than one intra-exhaustion workout a week, and if you haven’t been training regularly, don’t even try them. You have been warned! It’s an intense method but seriously elevates athletic ability when used properly.

 If you think you are ready, try this type of training on a regular basis. Forget average methods. They will make you an average athlete.

 The Urban Warrior must be superfit.