No Prowler? No Problem!
By Adam Plagens
About two years ago, I developed an unhealthy relationship. My wife told me I
was a damn fool to get involved but to hell with her. She wasn’t me, and I knew
what I was doing. A few hits here or there. No big deal. I was completely in
control, and I could quit at any time.
Then I hit bottom this past month. After 24 months of dedicated service, my
Prowler broke up with me. I mean it literally broke. The ski came off in the
middle of an uphill push. I finished, but I have yet to explain the foot long
plow line in the street by my home.
Withdrawal was harsh and brutal. No more weekend Prowler sprints. No more
distance walks with my daughters, who lovingly talked about how weak and slow I
was (one’s five years old and the other is two). No more burning chest pain and
aching forearms. I felt weak, fat, and well, downright useless. I tried dragging
implements and even did some Strongman work, but the loss was just unbearable.
But a new hope was discovered this past week. I put a plate on the rubber
track of my school’s gym floor and pushed for 40 yards. The feeling was
euphoric. It sucked, but damn I missed this! I tried to do this outside, but
grass was easy and pavement was just too rough on the plates and hands. This
rubber surface and plate combination provided the right resistance and sucked
enough to make me start doing a weekly series of 40- and 20-yard sprints.
Because I didn’t like it, it meant the kids I coach were going to like it
even less! As the kids pushed, cried, dry heaved, puked, and crawled to the end,
true conditioning was discovered by this contingent of high school athletes. No
amount of distance runs or sprint work equates to moving a plate one tenth of a
mile.
Not content to stop there, I started using heavy dumbbells and created new
and wonderful implement drills to obliterate the physical and mental limitations
of my kids. The first one was based on Mr. DeFranco’s New Jersey hell protocols,
But due to the lack of uprights, there had to be something to do in between the
sprints. So I created the following drill to work the body in a fatigued
movement state:
Sprint 40 yards
Body weight squats, 20 reps
Rest 45 seconds
Repeat
Sprint 40 yards
Push-ups to failure (max of 50)
Rest 45 seconds
Sprint 40 yards
Burpees, 15
Rest 45 seconds
Sprint 40 yards
Pikes, 15
Rest two minutes
Repeat
This works well for large athletic teams because you simply don’t get to half
ass it. Your teammates will point you out, and the plate will simply stop if you
try and go slow.
For added difficulty, I put the following together for a few off-season kids
to get in extra work in without killing themselves. This is more of a circuit
style program that pushes you to work but not to the point of exhaustion. I
usually have my athletes perform this in a repetitive cycle so they don’t stop
for 10–15 minutes.
Rope skips, 50–100 total
Plate push, 50 steps
Medicine ball hip thruster, 15
Deadlift, 10
Hang clean, 10
Abdominal rotation, 20 per side with a 25-lb or heavier plate
Hip thrusts, 15
The key is to perform the deadlifts and the hang cleans with maximal effort
on a moderate load. My PR on the deadlift is 600 lbs, but I keep the deadlift
weight at 250–300 lbs. This is for force and speed. The same goes for the hang
clean. You can grind out ten, but I want you to pop ten out with emphasis on
form and with an explosive movement. I haven’t had a team do this yet, but I can
see the benefits if implemented correctly.
Well, that’s it. If you have wet dreams about a Prowler but no cash to buy one,
grab a plate and get ta pushin!
Adam Plagens is the strength and conditioning coach for Saline High School in
Saline, Michigan. He is completing his master’s degree in health education while
raising a family of three along with his three-lift total.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
