Great Condition
![]() |
Getting Into Great Condition Using Interval Timers
Getting Into Great Condition Using an Interval Timer
Outside the programs that are designed to obtain a specific goal, such as increases in 1RM strength, or an increase in muscle mass, etc, conditioning workouts can also be an integral part of a well designed program. In my earlier days, like most western trainers, I generally ignored General Physical Preparedness (GPP)/ general conditioning when focusing specifically on an increase in strength and LBM. The more western approach to increasing strength, muscle mass, or what ever the specific goal, is to simply focus on the training that follows the goal, and generally ignore everything else. For example, if you want to be good at the powerlifts, just practice the powerlifts and so on.
That, more or less, is the classic 'old school' western model, although things have changed for the better in recent years as what worked well for western strength athletes has influenced eastern approaches and vise versa and modern coaches have rethought some of their approaches in recent years. However, most of your everyday people in the gym often fail to realize how much has changed in the past decade... One of the most successful strength coaches on the planet, Lou Simmons, is a big proponent of GPP for strength athletes of all kinds regardless of their specific sport. His article on the importance of GPP is a must read in my view.
Over the years, an appreciation on my end for GPP was responsible for the addition of my Hybrid/HIIT day as part of Brinks Hybrid Training Program, which has led to improvements in body composition, strength, and GPP/conditioning, for those who have followed it. There are many ways to go about incorporating GPP into a program, but thats not the focus of this write up; I encourage people to read Simmons article on the topic. Other very successful SnC coaches/competitors, such as Dave Tate and others, are also proponents of intelligently applied GPP. How GPP is applied depends to some degree on the goals of the person, experience levels, etc., so some research is warranted before jumping into it.
Can the intelligent/appropriate use GPP training besides the obvious benefits to health and conditioning make one a better power lifter, a better bodybuilder, a better athlete regardless? In my experience and opinion, the answer is yes.
With all that in mind, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite gizmos called the Gym Boss Interval (GBI) timer, and how I recently used it in my GPP/Conditioning day.
The GBI timer is one of those why the hell didnt I think of this?! simple gadgets, that although not essential to a program per se, adds so much convenience to any workout that involves an interval of some sort, you dont know how you lived without it.
Simply put, its an inexpensive timer that will track two separate times intervals and combine them for you into a single program. For HIIT training, its a must have gadget. However, I find it useful for various activities that involves any type of interval time between exercises, or rest periods. What follows is a recent GPP/conditioning day I followed that is a current favorite of mine, and how the GBI Timer was used.
This particular day calls for:
10 minutes of HIIT training
10 minutes of heavy bag work
10 minutes of lateral medicine ball wall smashes
I set the GBI timer for a 30 second: 1 minute interval that lasts 10 minutes long. The timer will beep after each interval, so no watching clocks on the wall or display on some machine while trying to focus on not dying during HIIT!
The three sessions for this day are done with minimal rest between them. How much rest? Till you have the ability to go onto the next one. If you can jump right from the HIIT session to the heavy bag work, go for it. I usually need a few minutes to get my legs to work properly and my breathing back
HIIT session for the day:
The HIIT protocol I use for this session goes like so: after a brief warm up 5 minutes or so on the treadmill I will use a stair stepper type machine and will do 1 minute low intensity followed by 30 seconds all out, and repeat. I will do that for 10 minutes, which is literally all I can stand. When I say all out I mean 100% intensity, nothing held back, as fast and as hard as my legs can move me, similar say to a full sprint on a track.
Quick important note here: what most people consider HIIT is not. Most people who think they are doing HIIT are not. My full comments on that can be found in my article HIIT Training, are you really doing it?
As mentioned above, the Gym Boss Interval timer is worth every penny when it comes to HIIT considering how difficult HIIT is (when done correctly!) and not having to keep track of the intervals allows one to really focus on the effort.
Heavy Bag Session:
Heavy bag training, if you have never done it, is amazingly taxing. Again, the GBI timer is invaluable to me as I just want to focus on what I am doing vs. looking at the clock on the wall. Although one can certainly alter the intervals on the timer, I like to stick to my 30 second: 1 minute intervals for 10 minutes. Im lazy I guess.
The heavy bag is 30 seconds of heavy bag work, one minute of rest, repeat for 10 minutes. Heavy bag work is not HIIT training. It is a form of interval training to be sure, but its not HIIT, nor is it recommended to attempt as true HIIT. If you have never done any heavy bag work, its probably worth getting some coaching there, looking at some vids on the net. Etc. Heavy bag work can be hard on the joints, and done incorrectly, lead to injuries to your wrists, etc. How much actual effort you put into the heavy bag during the 30 second go interval, is dictated to some degree by your experience with it, not to mention, that 10 minutes of HIIT that was just done leaves one feeling quite trashed, believe me.
My advice, pace yourself on the heavy bag. Ten minutes of that immediately following a HIIT session will be much harder then most may expect. Again, the Gym Boss Timer works great here. No watching the clock (and I dont like wearing a wrist watch when I train.) just hearing the beep, and focusing on the effort.
Lateral Move Med Ball Wall Smash:
The final third of this death march is the Lateral Med Ball Wall Smash: This one takes a little explaining. If you have worked with a medicine ball, you know they dont bounce. The med ball wall smash involves throwing a med ball with enough force for it to bounce back at you off a wall. You shove it away from you as if passing a basketball to someone using two hands. Ball close to body, shove hard forward with both hands. With a med ball, standing say 3-5ft away, it takes some effort to make it bounce back at you. As you are doing that, you are moving laterally to your left or right. Obviously, you need a length of wall to do it.
Two, the wall you use MUST be made of brick/cinder block/stone. If you try this on a typical indoor wall made of sheet rock for example, you will make big dent/whole in the wall, and owner of said wall will not be happy with youask me how I know At my gym, the building is made of cinder blocks, so as long as I am using an exterior wall, Im good to go. I usually use an empty aerobics room/studio for this.
I will go left 20-30ft, then back the other way along the wall as far as I have until the 30 second timer of the GBI timer beeps, then rest a minute and repeat. Again, when added to the last two section of this GPP/Conditioning day, this is much more difficult then it may sound. OK, maybe some of the 20 something studs reading this will blow right through this day, but Im toast afterward.
Finally, I will finish the day off one set of chin ups for 20 reps.
Thats my current GPP/conditioning day - which I do once every 7-10 days depending on how it fits into my resistance training program using the Gym Boss Interval Timer
My gym is a pretty typical Golds Gym, various cardio equipment, a heavy bag set up in a corner of one of the aerobics oriented studios, various medicine balls, etc, so none of the above requires anything very fancy. You may have to modify it a bit to fit your particular set up. There are many other ways to use the GBI timer for a HIIT session, GPP day, intervals of all kinds, etc. You dont have to use my examples above.
You could also be creative and break it up into say 5 minute section, such as HIIT 5 mins, Heavy bag 5 mins, Med Ball Wall Smash 5 minutes, and repeat.
You can also change the interval times as it suits your needs, conditioning levels, etc. The 30 second: 1 minute interval for HIIT is all I can stand, and that same interval seems to work well for the others that follow, but theres no reason one cant play with the interval times per se.
Well thats my write up of the Gym Boss Interval Timer as I use it for my current favorite GPP/Conditioning day, which for me, is incorporated into my overall program, which is focused mostly on resistance training (once a gym rat always a gym rat I guess), but currently Im more interested in an overall balance between strength, bodycomp, and conditioning, then just one of them in isolation. Additional info on the Gym Boss and more Killer Conditioning Programs Check out the BrinkZone.
See you in the gym!
About the Author
Want to gain muscle, strength, and save time and money while doing it? Find out more at BUILD MUSCLE FAST HERE See The Number One Science Based Web Site On All Things Health, Bodybuilding, Fitness, Longevity, and Weight loss: http://WWW.BRINKZONE.COM
|
|
The Great Condition $3.99 "The Great Condition" by Henry James is a classic work of literature that can be enjoyed by all. Download "The Great Condition" and enjoy another quality Digireads.com publication. |
|
|
Great Condition the $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
Used Boss Sd-1 Great Condition $39.99 In Store Used USED BOSS SD-1 GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Alesis Multimix8 'Great Condition' $79.99 In Store Used USED ALESIS MULTIMIX8 'GREAT CONDITION' |
|
|
Used Boss Me25 Great Condition $89.99 In Store Used USED BOSS ME25 GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
Used Fender Stratocaster Blk Great Condition $249.99 In Store Used USED FENDER STRATOCASTER BLK GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Schecter Damien-4 Blk Great Condition $249.99 In Store Used USED SCHECTER DAMIEN-4 BLK GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Ibanez Rg4exqm1 Quilted Red Great Condition $399.99 In Store Used USED IBANEZ RG4EXQM1 QUILTED RED GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Line 6 Pod Xt Great Condition $89.99 In Store Used USED LINE 6 POD XT GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Dean Vendetta Fr Nat Great Condition $239.99 In Store Used USED DEAN VENDETTA FR NAT GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Jet City 333 Picovalve Great Condition $174.99 In Store Used USED JET CITY 333 PICOVALVE GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Comfort Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Large Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
Condition $11.49 Condition |
|
|
Used Esp Ltd Mh-301 Red Flame Top Great Condition $299.99 In Store Used USED ESP LTD MH-301 RED FLAME TOP GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
Used Gretsch 5.5X14 Catalina Ash Snare Drum Great Condition!! $89.99 In Store Used USED GRETSCH 5.5X14 CATALINA ASH SNARE DRUM "GREAT CONDITION!!" |
|
|
Used Zildjian Titanium Zxt 20In Medium Ride Great Condition $59.99 In Store Used USED ZILDJIAN TITANIUM ZXT 20IN MEDIUM RIDE GREAT CONDITION |
|
|
The Great Condition by James, Henry, Jr. [Paperback] $20.24 He did at last fix a day, none the less, and went down; but there, on the spot, his imagination was, to his surprise, freshly excited by the very fact that there were no apparent signs of a drama. It was as if he could see, after all, even face to face with her, what had stirred within the man she had for a time only imperfectly subdued. Why should she have tried to be so simple too simple? She overdid it, she ignored too much. Author: James, Henry, Jr. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 52 Publication Date: 2004/06/01 Language: English Dimensions: 9.24 x 7.54 x 0.16 inches |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
The Condition of the Workers in Great Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union $25.28 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
The Great Condition: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition $17.54 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
Jeans: Her Mint Condition $1495 Straight leg with a tilted low front rise for that 90s look. To be worn narrow but not tight, with perfect length on the leg. Her Mint Condition is the jeans you re constantly on the look out for for in second hand stores. A perfect summer pant with a great worn look. |
|
|
The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation $7.95 "The psychological roots of authentic spiritual life, by one of the great teachers of contemplative prayer." |
|
|
Ecohydrology for Indonesia Condition $108.33 Hydrology is the main subject of water resources system planning. Basic concept of hydrology is used to design, analyze, and evaluate any project of water resources. Hydrograph is one important part of ecohydrology. Ideally, every watershed has its own particular unit hydrograph. There are many patterns to develop synthetic unit hydrograph. Such a conditional deficiency in particular, however had respectively placed synthetic unit hydrograph models to be quite great utility. Author: Montarcih, Lily Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 92 Publication Date: 2010/11/09 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.22 inches |
|
|
Marxism & The Human Condition $25.83 “One of the most committed revolutionaries and one of the most enlightened.”—Miguel Barnet “A soul mate, one of the most outstanding philosophers of liberation, perhaps even of liberation theology, considering the communion of our ideas.”—Frei Betto For the first time in English, Armando Hart’s extraordinary independent voice is brought to readers outside Latin America. A close ideological colleague of Che Guevara, Hart discusses Marxism and humanism; the ideological parallels and divergences between Marx and the great Latin American luminary, José Martí and the relevance of Marxism today. Armando Hart has been minister of education and minister of culture. Today he is the director of the José Martí Institute in Havana. |
|
|
The Condition $9.99 In the summer of 1976, during their annual retreat on Cape Cod, the McKotch family came apart. Now, twenty years after daughter Gwen was diagnosed with Turner's syndrome—a rare genetic condition that keeps her trapped forever in the body of a child—eminent scientist Frank McKotch is divorced from his pedigreed wife, Paulette. Eldest son Billy, a successful cardiologist, lives a life built on secrets and compromise. His brother Scott awakened from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job and a regrettable marriage. And Gwen—bright and accomplished but hermetic and emotionally aloof—spurns all social interaction until, well into her thirties, she falls in love for the first time. With compassion and almost painful astuteness, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies—the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings. |
|
|
Vintage 1950 Slingerland Hollywood Ace Snare Drum 14X5.5 X 7 In Great Condition $349.99 In Store Used Vintage 1950 Slingerland Hollywood Ace snare drum 14x5.5 x 7 in great condition. Please call for... |
|
|
UMD SUPERTROOPERSUMD Super Troopers PSP Great Condition Complete $22.69 Items Per Case: 30Case Weight: 6lbsCase Dimensions: 9in. x 5in. x 4in.Color: NAFormat: Closedcaptioned Color Dolby Dubbed Subtitled WidescreenLanguage: English GermanRating: R RestrictedRun Time: 103 minutesThe fine art of handing out a freeway speeding ticket gets a deviously funny twist in this smartalecky farce written and performed by the comedy troop Broken Lizard consisting of Jay Chandrasekhar Kevin Heffernan Steve Lemme Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske. These pranksters in patrol cars led by their longsuffering commander Brian Cox are little more than overgrown frat boys in a campus rivalry with the brawling Vermont bullies of the local police force and they know how to have fun on the highway patrol. This skitlike collection of comic moments clumps from one scene to another like a variety show but the gags are more hit than miss thanks largely to terrific ensemble work and inspired motorist mind games. With a nod to such 1970s comedies as Animal House and Caddyshack this boys in blue just wanna have fun farce is hardly sophisticated just clever raucous fun. |
|
|
mint condition Funny Stein by CafePress $20 Heft a cold one in this 22 oz. ceramic stein with gold trim. A great usable alternative to the trophy. Make any day Oktoberfest whether with this impressive stein on the shelf or in-hand. CheersMeasures 6.75 tall, 3.75 diameter base, 3 di Funny Stein Heft a cold one in this 22 oz. ceramic stein with gold trim. A great usable alternative to the trophy. Make any day Oktoberfest whether with this impressive stein on the shelf or in-hand. CheersMeasures 6.75 tall, 3.75 diameter base, 3 di |
|
|
Chronic Condition Warning Health Baseball Jersey by CafePress $32.5 Show your fun side and at the same time also show the seriousness of your disabling chronic condition with this Disabling Chronic Condition Warning design. Health Baseball Jersey Our 100% cotton Baseball Jersey is a sporty hit with both men and women whether you're in the game or just looking the part in great run-around casual-wear. Choose red, blue or black sleeves. 6.1 oz. 100% heavyweight cotton. Standard f |
|
|
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition $19.95 Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition provides explosive action for both online and offline players. Gamers who missed the original Lost Planet will have the opportunity to experience the epic gameplay that made the original a global hit with the added bonus of fresh new content and cross platform multi–play all at a great value price. Fans of the Lost Planet’s online action will be thrilled at the inclusion of new online modes, maps, weapons and models. |
|
|
Preexisting Condition Health Women's Light Pajamas by CafePress $39.5 Health care reform needs to happen now Show the world that you want health insurance that covers all preexisting conditions Text says: Ask me about my preexisting condition. Health Women's Light Pajamas Get your beauty rest in style with this comfy women's pajama set. These cozy pj's come with your choice of a soft pink/black or white/black plaid flannel bottom, plus your choice of black or white tee top. The custom, personalized pajamas also make great |
|
|
2br - IMMACULATE CONDITION, CLOSE TO EVERYTHING, 55+ $54 GREAT LOCATION CLOSE TO WARM MINERAL SPRINGS, 15 MIN FROM THE BEACH/ CLOSE TO RT 41 FOR EASY COMMUTE TO VENICE, ENGLEWOOD, SARASOTA, PUNTA CORDA, PORT CHARLOTTE. FURNISHED.FULL KITCHEN.ONE CAR GARAGE.... |
|
|
HUMAN CONDITION - Autism Kids Baseball Jersey by CafePress $20 Our 100% cotton Baseball Jersey is a sporty hit with boys and girls whether yoursquo;re in the game or just looking the part in great run-around casual-wear. Choose red, blue or black sleeves.6.1 oz. 100% heavyweight cottonStandard fit |



US $8.00


































































































