6/4/2012
Finally made into one of the “ultimate” classes at the UFC gym: Daily Ultimate Training, also known as the DUT (gotta love that acronym). I was at the gym about an hour before the class started, didn't want to do a full on workout before hitting the DUT so I did some light exercises instead. About 15 minutes on a treadmill, a few core exercises, and about 20 minutes on a bike. Just wanted to get the blood flowing and warm up the muscles. I've heard stories that the DUT is full on craziness so I didn't want to get tired before it began.
When the class started we did a few warm up exercises. All dynamic stretching movements to get moving and loosen up the muscles. My least favorite was the side-lunge walk only because my hips are really tight. I don't move well that way, which probably means I should do it more. The funnest one was the spiderman crawl. It reminded me of a jiu-jitsu drill and it's just cool to imagine yourself as a superhero.
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| My spidey-sense is tingling...oh wait, no it's the DUT |
The class itself consisted of 5 exercises stations. Perform each exercise as much as you can for 1 minute then rotate to the next station, repeat for 6 circuits. So that's what....sorry gotta do some math here...5 times 1, times 6, carry the 2...30 minutes of non-stop workout. Sounds awesome! Here's what we did in the order I did it.
The first station was about a 20 meter
sprint followed by a backward run to return to the starting point.
Touch the ground at each endpoint. The second station utilized the
TRX cables. We did bicep curls and followed by a back exercise (don't
know what it's called) while suspended at a 45 degree angle from the
floor. Third used a medicine ball. We got into a push-up position
with our hands on a medicine ball, did 5 mountain climbers (aka bring
your knee to your chest) followed by 1 push-up. At the fourth station
was a 25 lbs weight, hold the weight with both hands and basically
move it in circles around your head. When your arms get tired switch
directions...as weird as it sounds that actually did help. The fifth
and final station was box-jumps...well technically tire-jumps since I
jumped onto a giant tire fit for a monster truck, maybe about 2 and a
half feet off the ground.
When the workout began I was in it right away. I did well with the sprints because I'm a fairly good runner. Only thing was the distance was so short that when I started to speed up I was already at the end and had to stop to run backwards. So instead I focused on starting quickly, really had to pump the arms for that. Good stuff. The hardest thing for me was the medicine ball push-ups because my wrist gives me problems so I had to stop for a second or two a few times to shake it out.
At the 4th station there was
an option to use a 25 lbs plate or a 35 lbs plate. On the second
circuit I used the 35 lbs plate. When the coach walked by and saw it
he said, “all right! Going for the 35!” to which I replied, “yep,
and I think it was a bad idea.” It was hurting a bit. The coach
then said, “No it's not, it's a good idea. You don't want to be the
guy doing the light weight and go home knowing you took the easy out.
You wanna go home knowing you pushed it.” Good point, but I went
back to using the 25 lbs plate for the rest of the circuits.
Around the 3rd circuit my
lungs started to burn. I knew I was working hard and reaching my
limit. After the sprints I had to run to the water fountain for a
quick drink. Good thing they were nearby so it only cost me about 5
seconds to get some water. I think next time I'll have a water bottle
so I can grab a drink while transitioning between stations. Anyway, I
was feeling the burn and reached the point where will power comes
into play. This is where the real workout and test in fitness begins
because here is where you have to push your body further when it's screaming
for you to stop. I noticed I was breathing really heavily and
grunting at times. I haven't done a workout that pushed me like this
since Insanity - how y'all doin?...bring it! - if
you read my Insanity blogs you get this.
I lost
track of how many circuits we did and I had just begun the 5th
station jumping onto the monster tire when the coach said, “last
one, keep pushing.” So I dug deep and determined to go the rest of
the minute non-stop. No half second rests to take a breath or shake
out my legs, just give all I have left and jump non-stop. When the
minute was over I heard the coach yell out, “switch!”....what!?
I thought we were done...nope, what he really meant by “last one”
was that our last circuit was next. I admit, my heart sank a little
knowing I just used all that was left in my gas tank to jump onto
that dang tire and now I have to do an entire circuit again. Okay,
take a deep breath, let's see if I can push through.
It was
tough...really tough. My lungs felt on fire after the sprints and I
was grunting with each exercise afterward. But I made it. 30 minutes
of non-stop action. It was a good DUT! One thing I liked about it is
that we moved from station to station with the same group of 3 to 4
people. Even though my group didn't say a word to each other it still
triggered the competitive part of my mentality and I pushed to keep
up with or out-perform my workout partners. I'm not out to actually beat
them it just helps me push that extra bit when I reach my limit and
would gas-out otherwise. The DUT was good fun (don't you just love
the acronym). Props to everybody who made it. I'm looking forward to
doing it again especially since I heard each coach has their own
circuit so each DUT is different. I'll be DUT-ing it up again in a
couple days.
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