Nathan's Athletic 9mm's

Couple years back I read an article by Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins called Athletic guns. It really is an ingenius program when you look at it and add in some factors. Using Chad Waterbury's Anti-Bodybuilding method of 10 sets of 3 to maximize strength while maintaining high volume. So in this context our best bet is to use 3 reps times the 20 minutes, which oh by the way is along the line of Escalating Density Training(EDT) by Charles Staley. Hmm see the connections coming.

For the second workout, I used my kettlebell cause that's just a more natural clean, plus I could do it outside the office during lunch instead of having to go to the gym. Probably the only time you can be hanging out outside with a pair of Addidas shoes no top or hat and an MP3 plugged in with high ranking cats all over the place and them not saying a word. Nobody messes with the kettlebell guy. They just stare and keep walking by scared of what might happen if they ask what it is.

But I digress. The above is what intrigued me. I started using the kettlebell clean+thruster(squat combined with a push-press) all the time. I could carry the kettlebell almost everywhere and knock out a workout in 20 min. I even did it on lunch break during a snowstorm once. When Matt says this will skyrocket your conditioning, he wasn't kidding. Between a couple of these sessions a week combined with MMA class couple times a week, I was unstoppable. When I went to my fire academy, I was running circles around guys ten years younger. Doing 100M sprint/jogs X10 was almost easy.

Another workout this lead to was the barbell version. 3 reps every minute on the minute for 20 minutes. Don't overload this or you won't complete all 20 rounds on time. 65 pounds is a good start. I usually leave with blood on the barbell and dripping down my shins, breathing hard and alot of funny stares from the 'pump-seekers' and cardio queens. Blood, sweat and hard work tends to get that.

Back to the original article. I'm a naturally long skinny limbed guy, so some beef on the arms is always good, but only if it's functional. These program worked for me in spades. I may not have cannons yet, but I like 9mm. It's small, powerful, high capacity and a properly placed shot will still end an aggressor the same as a Daisy Cutter.

Give Athletic Guns a try. And if you need work on your conditioning, try the kettlebell version that you can do virtually anywhere, including Viking stylez in a snowstorm ;)

The original program calls for

Workout #1

-Steep 14" Incline Bench Press
-(Weighted) Curl-Grip Chins

*alternate x 20 minutes

-DB or Hammer Curls: 2-4 sets x 8-15 reps

-Pushdowns or Lying Triceps Cross Faces: 2-4 sets x 8-15 reps

Workout #2

-1 Arm DB Clean & Front Squat x 20 minutes