Workout of the Week: Different Choreography

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A sergeant performs a push-up during physical training.
Sgt. Luis Ahumada, 1st Bn., 361st Regt., “Redhawk,” 5th Armored Brigade, performs a push-up during a combined physical training session between 5th Armored and 402nd Field Artillery Brigades at Fort Bliss, Texas, April 28, 2011. (Sgt. 1st Class Brian Scott/5th Armored Brigade)

Here is a two-for-one special this week. It is essentially the same workout, just arranged differently with the same exercises to produce a different effect. We did version number 1 on a Monday, a Max Rep Set workout on Wednesday and version number 2 on Friday last week.

The workout is essentially a pushup pyramid where you run back and forth on a field, track or basketball court and do increasing numbers of push-ups each lap.

Push-up pyramid 1-20 (plus running pull-ups, sit-ups, dips)

1-5 push-up pyramid

Run 25 meters, one push-up; run 25 meters, two push-ups; run 25 meters, three push-ups; run 25 meters, four push-ups; run 25 meters, five push-ups. After every fifth set, do the following exercises:

  • Run one mile
  • Pullups max
  • Sit-ups one minute at goal pace for one- to two-minute tests
  • Dips max

6-10 push-up pyramid:

  • Go from 6-10, with 25-meter runs between each set.
  • Run one mile
  • Pull-ups max
  • Sit-ups one minute at goal pace for one- to two-minute tests
  • Dips max

11-15 push-up pyramid:

  • Run one mile
  • Pull-ups max
  • Sit-ups one minute at goal pace for one- to two-minute tests
  • Dips max

16-20 push-up pyramid:

  • Run one mile
  • Pull-ups max
  • Sit-ups one minute at goal pace for one- to two-minute tests
  • Dips max

Cooldown swim, bike or elliptical for 15 minutes

The total sum of this workout depends upon your ability to do max-effort pull-ups, dips and paced sit-ups each round. However, you run four miles and do 210 push-ups in this workout.

Here is another way to arrange this one for a completely different feel of the same type of workout. This requires a place to run like a track or road, and you could try it on a field or basketball court as well.

Run one mile, but every 40-50 meters, stop and do a push-up. You will accumulate 40-50 push-ups per mile. Then do your max-rep sets of pull-ups, dips and sit-ups for one minute. Repeat that three more times. You will get roughly the same number of push-ups, dips, sit-ups, running and pull-ups, but it is just different.

It is different because you cannot get into groove with running the short/fast runs. You can push yourself and make them faster than job-paced runs and border on sprinting. You will find you are working harder if you push yourself on the 40- to 50-meter runs than on a steady one-mile run. Regardless of the workout you try or if you do both, work hard on the runs. This workout is designed to help you with the PT/running transition issues many people have when doing PT tests.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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