These are 18 exercises that you have to be doing in preparation for your high rocks race. And why 18? Because there are a total of 9 movements that you have to do at the high rocks games. And I'm a nice guy so I'm going to give you 2 different exercises on each of those 9 movements. Let's get into it.
Now I need to clarify, these 18 exercises won't be done in every single training session, nor will they be done in 1 week. However, what they must be done is in a preparation over an 8, 12, 16 week block of training in preparation for your high rock space. And this is the stuff we use inside our own online coaching platform for high rocks athletes.
We teach athletes how to get aerobically fit, build conditioning, strength, power, speed, and at the same time, build an incredible looking physique. And if you want to know more about that, then check out the application form in the description below. So nine overall movements in high rocks.
First up is running. Here are two exercises to help you with that. Exercise number one is the back squat.
What program wouldn't be complete without it? You can do high bar. Or you can do low bar. And if you struggle with mobility in the ankles or hips, you can elevate your heels and do heels elevated back squats. Back squat in a light or moderate weight can help you with your running by improving your tempo runs and your longer runs.
And improving your one rep max back squat, your overall maximal strength, can improve your ability to absorb forces into the ground which will help you at faster speeds. I would recommend doing six sets of six if you're intermediate to advanced and if you're a beginner simply doing four sets of eight. Now I will mostly always put the back squat after a jumping plyometric exercise or a weight lifting exercise especially when you're about eight weeks out from your competition.
Exercise number two is the tibialis raise. Now when you're running your foot will hit contact into the floor. If you can strengthen the tibialis, the muscle down the front of the shins, it's going to help you absorb more forces so that you aren't slapping the floor.
hard which will prevent injury in the knees it can prevent injury of the Achilles and the calves and shin splints now I would highly recommend you do two three sets of high reps 20 30 40 50 repetitions at the beginning of your workout or at the end of your workout that exercise is fantastic for anyone with knee pains or ankle stiffness or ankle pains After you've done your first run, you then transition over to the SkiErg. The third key exercise is the deadlift. And I know most of you will be saying, I can't deadlift, I've got lower back pain, or I get lower back pain.
But I'm telling you, you have to be doing the deadlift. If you want to be a good athlete, if you want to have stronger legs, a better jump, better upper body strength, better pushing, pulling capability, You have to be deadlifting. It is incredible for you. It's going to help you develop crazy levels of strength, power, and speed.
You can do three, four, five, six sets of three to five reps and it will help you develop raw maximal strength. And if you can't deadlift from the floor, reduce the range of motion and rack pull above the knee or below the knee. And if you want to get fancy you can even play with the grip position and go to a snatch grip. Now obviously start light but over time get lower and lower and work towards the bottom position do it on the floor that's when you're going to get the most bang for your buck and it's a deadlift guys so please make sure you pull from a dead stop once you put it on the floor take a second or two and then pull the bar back up make sure you have a deadlift in your program once every two to three phases and the fourth exercise to help you with that ski erg is the tricep dip Now this is a must for developing upper body pushing power. Now if we think about the SkiErg in the bottom position of the SkiErg, we go from here and we drive down into the position.
Massive, massive component. of triceps to finish that aggressive pull. Really important that we develop that on here, not just bench press work.
Now I love doing five sets of five, and then maybe on that last set or two, doing a high rep set, 15, 20, or even max effort sets. Now I would recommend using the dip in your B series after the first big exercise, or towards the back end of the program. However, if you are someone with unstable shoulders or just generally weak shoulders, really, really important that you strengthen the rotator cuff.
with rotator cuff work, trap three work, rhomboid work before getting stuck into these with heavy loads. Now these are really good in a hypertrophy phase where the goal is to build mass, muscle mass. We can build really good solid big triceps and lower pec fibers.
You'll then do another run and then after that you'll transition over to the sled push, another run then the sled pull. So exercise five, six, seven and eight are going to be combined together to help you with your sled push and your sled pull. Next up is the reverse sled drag. This will do wonders for your knees, your lower back and your hip strength.
Now if you're someone with knee pain make sure you do this three times a week from at least 10, 20, maybe even 30 minutes guys, 30 minutes right. Really going to do you wonders for these muscles around the knees, the VMOs. I specifically learned this from Charles Poliquin. before knees over toe guy took over it and popularized it but i've used it successfully with myself i ruptured my quad tendon by about 50 and i did this three to five days a week for 10 minutes before every single training session and i healed my knee now it's an exercise that will really jack that heart rate up and you could do light loads or even heavy loads and it won't make you too sore because it's a very short range of motion that your knee goes through and it's very concentric dominant not much eccentric contraction so it won't make your central nervous system too fatigued Exercise number six is the Poliquin step down.
Now this exercise will specifically target your VMO, the vastus medialis oblique. This muscle is really, really critical for knee health. It crosses and helps stabilize that knee joint, the only quad muscle that crosses that knee joint by itself.
Now runners typically have very weak VMOs in my experience. Really important that you work on this exercise, 15, 20, 30 reps, because it's a very short range of motion, you wanna do those high reps. Don't increase the step height too high. You want to work about four to six inches in range of motion, because that's where that VMO is going to be most activated.
Very the exercise with dumbbells, cables and barbells. Exercise seven to help your sled drags is a seated rope pull. This is really going to do you wonders for your grip strength.
And because you're sitting on the floor, there's no use of the lower body. So it's very upper body dominant. It will help you build good torso strength, forearm and bicep strength.
Exercise number eight is a must if you are competing in the high rocks and it's a neutral grip chin up. The neutral grip on the hand will put more tension through the biceps and the forearms. Critical for good successful sled pulls.
Let's move on. So after you've smashed all the sled work, you do another run, you then move into burpee broad jumps. Nothing will smoke your legs more than the burpee broad jumps. So it's really, really important that we build good levels of strength and endurance in our quadriceps. And one of the best ways to do that is slowly exposing ourselves.
to jump in. Exercise number nine are hurdle hops. Now hurdle hops can be done high, low, fast, slow, for more distance, whatever you do just make sure you do it properly, you focus on the stability component of it and that you're not all over the place.
You're going to learn coordination, timing and just become a better athlete. You could do three sets of five on each leg and I recommend doing that at the beginning of your workout before the rest of the workout starts. Exercise 10 explosive push-ups.
Now a big part of doing a good quality burpee broad jump is making sure you're explosive coming out the bottom position. There are ways to make that easier, use a band to get assistance, or there are ways to make it harder by elevating your feet or using band tension. Another run, then you're onto the rower. Exercise number 11 are front squats.
Now, a lot of you guys haven't even tried the front squat, and if you have, you think you can't do it. But I'm telling you, if you want to improve your rower, the front squat has to be a staple. Now, you've got to think, in the bottom position of that rower, where you catch the bottom position before you pull, it's a really deep, triple flexed position. That's why the front squat will do you wonders, because it will not only build mobility, strength from the bottom position of that squat, squat power leg movement, but it will really help strengthen your lower back and your abdominals, which core really, really important for the row as well.
You can do anywhere between three to eight sets of three to six reps. Start light and if you need to work on the position and the mobility, simply add a pause in the bottom position and then drive back up. Make sure you front squat every one to two lower body workouts. Exercise number 12 to help you with your upper body pulling is the dumbbell row. Now use this dumbbell row in your B-Series to develop single arm strength.
Really, really important part of doing a solid pull on the rower. You'll get a pump in your arms and your back. And if you use it in a hypertrophy phase, you'll develop some really good solid muscle. Another run, then you're onto the farmer carries. So exercise number 13 is really going to help you develop good grip strength and help you get comfortable with holding a static posture when you're doing the farmer carry.
And this is the farmer carry. but with a heavy weight, single arm. Now, the key is to use a heavy dumbbell and keep your walk as natural as possible. Two options, hand can go here or the hand can go here, as straight and as controlled as possible for anywhere between 30 to 60 seconds. Actually, this is quite good as well, walking backwards.
It's really gonna do you wonders for your grip, posture, your back strength, and your core. So when you go two dumbbells, it's gonna be way easier. Another incredible exercise that you can do to help your farmer carry and strengthen your grip is the back squat.
is the snatch. Now the snatch is a fantastic global athletic exercise. With the wide grip it will really help you develop good grip strength but also develop strength and power throughout the whole body.
Now you have a few options. You can do a power snatch, you can do a full snatch or you can do a hang snatch depending on your level of athlete that you are and your experience in the gym. Hell you can even use a dumbbell snatch or a kettlebell snatch if you don't have adequate levels of mobility and shoulder health. I would recommend doing anywhere between four to six sets of one to three reps. We are almost there. After that penultimate run, we then have the sandbag lunges.
Now, this is an incredible exercise to help develop unilateral strength, improve mobility, and single leg strength and power. It's the front foot elevated split squat. Really, really going to do wonders for building unilateral strength and balance between both legs. Really important for running, but like I said, really important for those sandbag walking lunges. This is something that I program for all of my athletes, whether they're high rocks or other sports.
Now you can scale the front foot elevated split squat by both feet flat on the floor or rear foot elevated or raising the front foot higher using tempos, using pauses, using quarters. Exercise 16 is a dumbbell walking lunge. Now this makes total sense.
You've got to get used to doing dumbbell walking lunges if you're going to have a sandbag on the back of the shoulders, which is why having a barbell and going heavy will do you wonders. There is a big difference between having dumbbells in each arm and having a bar on the back of the shoulders. The bar on the back of the shoulders is going to tax your posture and make you have to work a lot, lot harder. So make sure you practice those. Finally, you've made it to your last run.
You then move on to the final station of your high rocks competition, the wall balls. Now, before we get stuck into exercise 17 and 18 to help you with your wall balls, I've got a bonus exercise for you right at the end. So stay tuned and make sure you watch. right to the end.
So exercise 17, it looks really, really technical. It looks really difficult and a lot of you may not want to do it, but you have to. It's the clean. If you want to be a good high rocks athlete, you want to develop strength, power, speed, timing, coordination, and develop your skill and mobility, the clean has to be in your program. Now, obviously, you don't have to start heavy, just start with the bar.
But as you develop your mobility and your positions, start lifting a heavy weight. It's going to do you wonders for your overall athleticism. Now, if you can't do a full clean. do a power clean or do a hand clean, even do a kettlebell or a dumbbell clean. Now I would recommend doing this first in your exercise priority order because it requires lots of strength, lots of power and lots of coordination.
Now exercise 18 to help you with your wall balls is the push press. Now that can be done from the front and it can be done from the Now because you're using a counter movement from those legs, it's going to help you develop power from the legs through the core, through the trunk and out into the upper body, which is critical for a good successful wall ball. Now I would recommend doing three to five sets of three to five reps, trying to work as heavy as you can and combine front and behind over a 12 to 16 week phase. Now it's not common for high rocks athletes to train their posterior chain, the calves, the hammies, the glutes, the lower back, but this bonus exercise is a must. It's the Harrop curl.
Now the ankles are locked in which is going to create a lot of tension in that lower limb. The knees stay exactly where they are and we hinge and pivot from the hip. This is what we call an integrative exercise.
The hamstring is working statically from the knee, whilst dynamically from the hip. Really, really important for not just running, but every single station that you're going to go through to prevent hamstring tendinopathies, hamstring strains, calf and Achilles issues, and lower back issues. This is a must. Sounds like torture.
Do people pay for hyrox training? Believe it or not, people are actually paying for hyrox. There's over 150, 250,000 people competing.
They're all crazy. Use all 18, 19, including the bonus exercises in your training plan over at eight, 12, 16 week preparation for the High Rocks comp. Now, if you are interested, I do online coaching.
I do all of this sort of stuff, programming, periodizing for high level athletes all the way down to amateur level athletes and High Rocks athletes. If you're interested, check out the application form below, fill it out, get in touch, just book a call. and then i'll help you get to the other side of becoming a quality hyrox competitor