As I get on in years – I can hear you chuckle at a 28 year even whisper words like that, so I say it sheepishly – I begin to see fitness not as how you look, though I’ve never really seen it as such, but what you can do. As a man, I think it’s even more important to make that distinction because of our responsibilities in life.

There would be nothing worse than to be unable to come to the aid of your loved ones, even another human being, a stranger, because you’re not fit enough, or strong enough to do so. Forget about courage for a second, think purely in terms of ability. Fitness enables you to do a lot more in life, including helping your fellow men. Thus, a man must train with that in mind, and he must train, period.

Recently I’ve been brining the conditioning side of training back into my regimen. Along with more frequent trips to the boxing gym, I’m adding intense finishers to my workouts that end up being just as long as the “main portion” of the workout. Today, I’ll show you 5 such finishers. First, however, the workout…

Perform an upper/lower, strength-focused workout, like the ones we have in Strong Like a Warrior. Add the finishers that are to come, and others like them, to the end of a strength-focused workout. It’s important to focus on strength and not endurance or lean muscle gains with finishers like those that are to come, because of the rep difference. Strength programs are at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to weight and reps. You need these heavier reps to maintain strength, but also muscle.

Can you perform these finishers on their own, without the strength program? Yes. But you’re not going to get much stronger. Strength programs are designed to get you stronger. Endurance-focused workouts like these do nothing for strength. So if you want to be optimal, and perform optimally as a man and as an athlete, use these as finishers, not as your full workout. For that, stick to a weight lifting/training routine like the one previously mentioned.

Another awesome workout to pair with these finishers is the Man Workout, that you have the option to add on to The Man Diet (for Man Diet Members only).

5 Brutal Workout Finishers

Finisher 1

2 rounds of 1 minute max effort for each exercise :

• A1. Frog Jumps
• A2. Inverted Rows
• A3. Push-ups
• A4. Bicycle (abs exercise)
• A5. Burpees
• 60 seconds rest coming after each of the exercises have been completed.

If needed, take 15 seconds rest in between each exercise. But try and move through them consecutively, without taking a break.

Finisher 2

Complete the following for 2 rounds :

• A1. 25 pull-ups
• A2. 10 burpees
• A3. 400 m run (as fast as possible)
• 60 seconds rest coming after each is completed.

Note: If you can’t finish 25 pull ups consecutively, perform to failure, take a minimal rest, then perform to failure again. Repeat until you’ve finished 25 reps.

Finisher 3