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We all love the Apex to the point that for some of us it's a perverse lifestyle choice, but lately I've been giving attention to a few other drill from TB2 that really "reward" the trainee.

On Thursday I did "Oxygen Debt 101," which keep in my mix regularly. I like to use this drill when I'm on the market for a very uncomplicated session; I don't have the time/inclination to lug a giant kettlebell around, I'm going to be at an open field anyway while my kids are practicing soccer, I want to get my workout in on campus during my lunch break, etc. It's super "easy" -- you just get to the track/field and start clipping out 200s. It has the the added benefit for me that I absolutely hate doing 200s. I always have. I find with "Oxygen Debt 101" that I get a killer workout, but very little trouble in terms of recovery. The next day I'm always good to go for my strength work. I don't find that to be the case with a tough Apex session, which I always put the last day of my week, just before a day off.

This morning, for my sins, I decided to give "Meat Eater" a try instead of my usual Saturday Apex workout. I have long loved "Meat Eater II", but I haven't spent time with it's elder cousin. My calf has been bothering me a little, so a break from the hills was in order while still getting my heavy swings on. I thought "Meat Eater" would be relatively easier, but that assumption was wrong, very wrong. This drill is horrible. I'm not sure why it kicked my ass so badly. Maybe it was doing 20 swings instead of 10 at the end of the sprint. By round 8 my grip was starting to give me trouble. My calf tightened up a bit on the 9th sprint, so I did the 10th as a 50yd bear crawl followed by the regular 20 swings. That was a real horror show. (I might try something like 50yd bear crawl + 20 swings x 10 next week.) If you don't have a hill available, I don't think you are giving up too much by doing "Meat Eater."

Finally, if you haven't, I recommend giving "Speed Endurance Ladders" a try. First of all, I've found the advanced version to be a real challenge -- I've only been able to complete the ladder (up and down) x 2 in a single session. Second, if you add up the numbers, you will find that you can end up covering a lot of ground in this workout. I think it has great carry over to my 5K time.

Great post, Jim. I've done both Apex and Meat Eater.

For Meat Eater, I did 10 swings Instead of 20. Still an ass kicker.

Great points Jim. I too prefer using 10 crisp swings instead of 20.

On a related note, since there are posters here that run team PT, I'll add that for group training Bloody Lungs works well as an alternative to Apex.

Meat-Eater is the 100m sprints + swings right?

If so I usually change it up. 10 swings with a heavy bell, and 20 swings with a light bell on days I want a little more SE thrown into the mix.

Thank you J-Madd. I only wish I can get back to sprinting soon to get taste of it. Even if it is bloody sweaty one

Barkadion wrote:Thank you J-Madd. I only wish I can get back to sprinting soon to get taste of it. Even if it is bloody sweaty one

Sprints make me feel alive..

Balaclava wrote:

Barkadion wrote:Thank you J-Madd. I only wish I can get back to sprinting soon to get taste of it. Even if it is bloody sweaty one

Sprints make me feel alive..

Hear ya.. Waiting for my hams to heal. Will wait another block and hopefully get back to it before snow comes.

Great post Jim; the Bear Eater sounds grueling!!

lennarn wrote:Great post Jim; the Bear Eater sounds grueling!!

"Bear-Eater" I think you may have coined a new HIC... Or perhaps it's "Jim; the Bear Eater"

I know a lot of folks like Fobbit Intervals, but I hadn't tried them until this morning. I only had about 30 min to get something done here at my house before our full day of youth soccer mayhem began at 8:00 am, and I also didn't want to do any sprinting because I really hammered a hill hard on Thursday. So I dragged a couple kettlebells out to the alley and did the 120 sec slow jog in the street. FI is a great drill. It gives the knees and ankles a bit of a break (compared to sprinting HICs), but still delivers a great workout. I got into a nice rhythm with the swings and snatches, and I got much more "zoned out" (in a good way) than I usually do for HIC. Many people seem to like FI primarily because it works really well on a treadmill when the whether is bad. I now think this drill has a lot more going for it beyond making a concession to Mother Nature.