Most of don’t have the desire to do what it takes to become an extreme fitness athlete. Good lord, have you seen David Goggins?
Yet, we all inherently want to be in shape. To feel strong. To run or swim or bike for an extended period of time…at a good clip. To have strong bones and joints and hearts.
To be flexible, and let’s not kid ourselves, to look great naked.
On this page are a variety of resources. Reviews of home extreme fitness programs like P90x and Insanity. The best extreme fitness videos on the Internet superhighway. Fun workouts to get you inspired. Profiles of the world’s most extremely fit athletes.
We’ll keep updating this page with new content as it comes our way. In the meantime, don’t be an armchair fitness junkie. Get out there, and get fit!
SMART Goals: Extreme Fitness Style
I’ll let you in on a little secret.
There’s a reason so many of you aren’t seeing the kind of results you’d like to see.
You suck at fitness goal-setting! Understanding human psychology (and what motivational drivers keep you focused on long-term and difficult tasks, like staying in shape) will better position you to see much stronger results with an extreme fitness program.
Not sure why your goals aren’t up to snuff? Perhaps you’re not being SMART.
S – Specific
Is your extreme fitness goal specific?
You can’t just say, I want to lose weight. You have to commit to a specific number. You need a goal that you’ll be able to track. You need a number. For example – you don’t want to get in good cardio shape. You want to train to complete a three-mile run in under 25 minutes. Big difference. First and foremost, your goal has to be specific.
M – Measurable
Along the same lines, but diving a little deeper, you need performance metrics to measure along the way. Don’t be afraid to get creative here. Your measuring stick doesn’t have to revolve around speed, like in the example above. It could simply be the number of times you do something, like going to the gym at least ten times per month, or completing one hundred consecutive push ups. Or losing 15 pounds.
A – Attainable
When it comes to SMART fitness goal-setting, this is where most people tend to make mistakes. If your extreme fitness goal is to lose 30 pounds in one month, that’s both unrealistic and unhealthy. Likewise, if you’ve never run regularly before but set out to run a marathon with only 2-3 months of training, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Be realistic with yourself and your body, and work on setting fitness goals that are challenging but attainable.
R – Relevant
Honestly, I think this one of the most important facets of SMART goal setting. Ask yourself, Why am I setting this goal? What’s the end-game here? Don’t set fitness goals for your friends or your family. Do it for you. Make sure that you’ve got a strong mental framework going into a new fitness regimen, and make sure that the goal is relevant for where you’re at right now in your life, and what your biggest fitness priorities might be.
T – Timely
Finally, you need a deadline. This is fundamental human psychology, folks. Without a timeline, you won’t be nearly as motivated to stay on track, and you won’t hold yourself accountable for missing a day or two of training. For example, if you want to be able to run a marathon, say that you’ll do it within X days. If you’d like to lose 20 pounds, give yourself X months to do it. Set a specific date by which the goal needs to be completed. If you don’t hit it, learn from your mistakes and set a new goal.
Top 7 Extreme Fitness Videos
Need to hone your at-home extreme fitness techniques? Looking for a new workout routine? Want a little inspiration to get back in the gym? Look no further. The below seven videos are sure to light a fire under your bum.
1) Mixed Martial Arts Kettlebell Workout
There’s a reason MMA fighters are some of the world’s most extreme athletes. In this video, Funk Roberts shows us an insane Kettlebell interval workout. One minute of skipping followed by one minute of the Kettlebell exercise. This kind of workout is one of the most efficient ways to boost cardiovascular endurance.
2) 44 Best Bodyweight Exercises
Need a quick extreme fitness routine? Bodyweight exercises are the easiest place to start. You don’t need a gym. You don’t need equipment. And for many of these exercises, you don’t even need shoes!
In this video, you’ll see Muay Thai push ups, triple clap push ups, hanging wipers and many other creative (and ridiculously difficult) bodyweight exercises.
3) Hannibal for King: Insane Calisthenic Workout
And now we’re going to “the next level” with (extremely fit) Hannibal of the international calisthenics workout group, Barstarzz. Hannibal walks us through part 2 of his calisthenics workout in the park.
Brownie points to any of you readers who can perform just one of his exercises.
4) D.C. Bar Brothers Calisthenic Workout
Like the Barstarzz above, the Bar Brothers are a calisthenic workout group based out of Washington D.C. In this short clip, you’ll get a sense of how ripped you can get with just a pull-up bar. It’s hard work, but the rewards are fruitful. I also love how creative some of the exercises are. Makes working out more fun, more of a challenge.
5) Frank Medrano Calisthenic Workout
Frank Medrano has been doing calisthenics exercises for years…and it shows. His goal, like many other calisthenic bodyweight professionals, is to motivate people to build muscle in a creative, low-cost way. Calisthenic workouts challenge the body, and as you might imagine, some of these exercises take months (or years) of practice. Frank is a beast!
6) The 60-Second, One Rep Workout
We highly recommend warming up before tackling this workout. Each rep involves a few challenging exercises, strung together in a way that’s sure to fatigue even the most extreme fitness athlete. A full workout looks like this:
- 60 seconds of you performing the 5-exercise rep
- 15 seconds rest
- Rinse and repeat, for five total rounds.
Kudos to you if you can make it through five full rounds. For a guy that ripped to be sweating so much…well, you’ll just have to see for yourself how tough it is.
7) Olympic Gold Medal Wrestling Strength & Cardio Workout
How do you build strength and cardio at the same time? That’s what extreme fitness is all about. Check out Olympic gold medal wrestler Justin Burroughs’ workout regimen, which involves serious strength training combined with…obstacle racing? You read that right. Ropes, box jumps, shoulder presses – this is a great inspiration to those of us wanting to take our workouts up a notch.
- An Anatomically Correct Nut Tool for Climbers - 5 June, 2015
- Obstacle Race Training Guide - 4 June, 2015
- Using Night Vision in Extreme Sports - 25 March, 2015
