Great Tire Workouts for Conditioning!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Tires can provide you with some great conditioning options - whether you're using large tires (e.g., tractor tires) for tire flips and sledgehammer strikes or you’re using smaller tires for something like a sled pull. Also, they are generally free; it costs money to recycle tires, so if you contact a tire dealership, you can typically get a tire or twelve for free.

With this in mind, let’s cover a few easy-to-implement conditioning options - although not easy to do, mind you - that involve tires and sometimes a few other simple tools. You’ll see these options in action in the included video as well:

Option 1
5-10 rounds:
30 sec tire flips (as many as possible)
30 sec rest

Get a tire that’s heavy and challenging to flip and flip it for as many times as you can in 30 seconds. Then rest 30 seconds. Repeat this process for a total of 5-10 rounds.

Option 2
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5 left, 5 right)
100 ft sled push (50 ft down-back)
1 minute rest

You’ll need a sledgehammer for this workout, and if you don’t already have one, you can easily get one at your local hardware store. You’ll also need a sled (or prowler) to push. If you don’t have a sled, you can drag a small tire instead (see Option 3).

For this option, perform 10 sledgehammer strikes - 5 from the left side and 5 from the right side - and then push the sled a total of 100 ft (50 ft down, turn around, and then 50 ft back). Then rest 1 minute. Again, repeat this for 5-10 rounds.

Option 3
10-20 rounds:
50 yd tire drag (25 yd down-back)
1 min rest

To drag a tire, insert a few eyebolts into a small tire, hook a tow recovery strap up to the eyebolts, and then place some weights inside the tire. You can drag the tire by walking forward or backward.

Scaling Up
Over time, you can increase the difficulty of any of these options by doing one or more of the following:

  • Using a larger tire for tire flips

  • Adding weight to the sled (for sled pushes) or tire (for tire drags)

  • Reducing the rest time

  • Increasing the number of rounds

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger - or at least better conditioned - and live better.

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Week 2021.06.07

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This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2021.04.05.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2021.03.15.

Option 3
1. Work up to a heavy single on the axle clean-and-press (i.e., ground to overhead).
2. 5 x 100 ft Zercher carry (50 ft down-back). Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2021.02.15.

Option 4
Outdoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
50 yd sled push, 100#/50#

Indoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
100 ft sled push, 250#/125#

Push sled slow for recovery. Score is slowest row.

Compare to 2021.02.08.

Week 2020.12.28

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Reminder: Below are the hours for New Year’s week (i.e., this week). You can also find these on our Location & Hours page and on the whiteboard at the gym. Any days not listed retain their normal hours.

Thursday, 12/31/20: Regular morning hours; closed in the afternoon/evening
Friday, 01/01/21: Closed
Saturday, 01/02/21: Regular hours

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2020.10.29.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2020.10.05.

Option 3
Outdoors:
10 rounds:
25 yd yoke carry
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
10 rounds:
30 yd yoke carry (15 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2020.09.07.

Option 4
Sandbag-over-bars
Set yoke at #33 for women or #35 for men.
1. 1 minute AMRAP
2. 5 rounds of 2 reps every 2 minutes (speed!)
3. 1 minute AMRAP

Weights
Female under 40 years
140 lbs and under: 75 lbs
140.1 lbs – 185 lbs: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 150 lbs

Female 40 years and over
140 lbs and under: 50 lbs
185 lbs and under: 75 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 100 lbs

Male under 40 years
185 lbs and under: 150 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 200 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 250 lbs

Male 40 years and over
185 lbs and under: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 150 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 200 lbs

Compare to 2020.08.31.

Week 2020.06.15

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New videos on the Testify YouTube channel:

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2020.05.04.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2020.04.20.

Option 3
Outdoors:
10 rounds:
25 yd yoke carry
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
10 rounds:
30 yd yoke carry (15 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2020.04.06.

Option 4
1. 5 yoke carries @ 30 yd (15 yd downback) – work up to heaviest carry
2. 5 rounds of 5 reps on the axle “clean and press away” – work up to heavy set of 5

Compare to 2020.03.16.

Week 2019.08.26

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This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2019.07.15.

Option 2
Bike/row:
5 min on
4 min off
4 min on
3 min off
3 min on
2 min off
2 min on
1 min off
1 min on

Record distance for each interval and add for total distance.

Compare to 2019.07.01.

Option 3
10 rounds:
25 yd yoke carry
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2019.06.17.

Option 4
1. 5 yoke carries @ 30 yd (15 yd downback) – work up to heaviest carry
2. 5 rounds of 5 reps on the axle “clean and press away” – work up to heavy set of 5

Compare to 2019.05.27.

Week 2019.03.04

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