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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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

Cheap & Easy DIY Sled Drag Harness Options

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Shoulder Harness option

(If you like, you can scroll down to the end of this article and watch a video on how to make your own DIY sled drag harness.)

The sled or prowler is an extremely effective conditioning tool (albeit a rather evil one). You can get in some great conditioning pushing the sled, but you can also get in some great conditioning pulling it, so let’s cover a couple of options to construct a simple and cheap sled drag harness so you don’t have to go out and buy an expensive one.

A few notes:

  • A sled has 2 skids while a prowler has 3 skids. They accomplish the same purpose as they both can be pushed or pulled, and for our purposes, I’m going to use the word “sled” for both implements.

  • If you don’t have a sled for pulling, you don’t need to go out and put down a bunch of cash for a new one. You can construct a “tire sled” from an old tire and an eyebolt - it’s cheap, pretty quick, and it works very well for pulls (watch this video to see what I’m talking about).

Sled Drag Harness - Waist Option
You’ll need a fairly large carabiner, and you’ll also need to get an automotive recovery strap, which you can obtain at pretty much any hardware store or by clicking here (affiliate link). Each end of the strap has a loop, and we’ll simply connect each loop to the carabiner, and then we’ll hook the carabiner to the sled. Simply place the middle of the recovery strap around your waist, and you’ve now got a cheap and easy-to-make harness for walking either forward or backward while dragging the sled.

Sled Drag Harness - Shoulder Option
For this version, you’ll need to get some 1-inch climbing webbing. This is the same tubular webbing that we use for making lifting straps (see the video below) - you can find this type of webbing at an R.E.I. or a something store, or you can get some on Amazon by clicking here (affiliate link). You could probably use wider material if you want to make it more comfortable, but conditioning is not terribly comfortable anyway, and this is what we had on hand, and it works well.

Take 7-8 feet of webbing and tie a water knot with the ends to create one long, continuous loop. To tie a water knot (other knots won’t work as well with webbing), check out the video below. Feeding that loop through the loop created by your recovery strap, you have now created “backpack straps,” so simply put one arm through each end of the backpack straps, and you’re all set to go. Seeing this on video helps quite a bit, so I’d recommend watching the short “​​DIY Sled Drag Harness Options” video below (this video was the basis for this article).

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger (or at least more conditioned) and live better!

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?

Week 2018.11.26

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  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: This Saturday, 12/01/18!
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Registration is closed, but please come on out and support your fellow lifters!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Party
    • Date: This Saturday, 12/01/18! (after the meet - roughly 6:30 p.m.)
    • Location: Testify Strength & Conditioning
    • Theme: Ugly Christmas Sweater, of course!
    • Other Information: We'll provide plates, cutlery, napkins, and cups, and there is a sign-up sheet you can fill out by clicking here to bring either a main dish, side dish, or a dessert.  Beyond that, it's BYOB, and we'll see you there!

This Week's Conditioning

Option 3
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2018.10.15.

Option 4
For time:
500m row
5 x 80m sled push
500m row

Rest 1 minute after the first row and after each sled push.

Compare to 2018.09.24.

Week 2018.10.15

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Upcoming Events

  • 2018 USSF Fall Classic - Omaha
    • Date: Saturday, 11/03/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map)
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Registration ends on 10/27/18, so register soon!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help! Also, if you'd like to get a shirt but are not competing, click here to order one (orders end on Wednesday, 10/17/18).

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Regular registration ends on 11/10/18, and we've reached our registration cap the last few meets, so register soon to reserve your spot, save some dough, and get a shirt!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

View this post on Instagram

Ian, Tyler, and Millie hit up some Olympic lifting on Thursday evening in preparation for the Testify Christmas Classic WL meet in December (head to http://testifysc.com/blog to sign up). Millie PRed her clean and jerk, which is awesome...but I had pretty terrible photographic timing, which is typical. Guess y’all just have to show up in December to see her PR it all over again! #testifystrengthandconditioning #usaweightlifting #TestifyChristmasClassic # # # #squat #bench #deadlift #press #snatch #cleanandjerk #powerlifting #strengthlifting #weightlifting #startingstrength #startingstrengthaffiliategym #startingstrengthgym #lifting #training #trainhard #roguefitness #crossfit #omaha #nebraska #omahanebraska #omahastrong #nebraskastrong

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This Week's Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
10 rounds of:
Push sled 100 ft
Pull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)

Option 2
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2018.09.03.

Option 3
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 2018.08.13.

Week 2018.09.03

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Reminder:  Please note that the gym will be closed on Monday, 09/03/18, in observance of Labor Day.

Upcoming Events

  • 2018 Nebraska State Championships and Open Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 09/29/18
    • Location: Omaha Kroc Center (click here for map)
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Registration ends 09/22/18, so register soon!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil know – we would love to have the extra help!

  • 2018 USSF Fall Classic - Omaha
    • Date: Saturday, 11/03/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map)
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Early registration ends on 09/15/18, so register soon!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Regular registration ends on 11/10/18, and we've reached our registration cap the last few meets, so register soon to reserve your spot, save some dough, and get a shirt!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnH47VAB330/?taken-by=testifystrengthconditioning

This Week's Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
10 rounds of:
Push sled 100 ft
Pull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)

Option 2
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2018.07.23.

Option 3
5 rounds:
15 cal row
50 yd sled push, 100#/50#

Push sled slow for recovery. Score is slowest row. Compare to 2018.07.02.


Week 2018.07.23

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Congratulations to everyone who competed in this weekend's Cornhusker State Games Powerlifting Meet, and thank you to everyone who came out to cheer them on as well!  It was a great day of lifting, and you'll be seeing more photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook in the coming days.

This Week's ConditioningOption 1Sled10 rounds of:Push sled 100 ftPull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)Option 25-10 rounds:10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)Rest 1 minuteCompare to 2018.06.11.Option 3For time:500m row5 x 80m sled push500m rowRest 1 minute after the first row and after each sled push.Compare to 2018.05.21.