I’ve been training with Wayne Thompson and it’s been awesome. For me, cross training is about mental strength as much as it is pushing through the physical limits. Wayne definitely pushes me and that is the adrenaline rush that I seem to need and crave. He is all about plyometrics and resistance training using bands.
As competition season is approaching quickly I have to make sure that I don’t over train in one single sport so cross training is a great way to even out my muscles. My life seems to keep getting busier so I’ve learned I need to work smarter instead of longer since I don’t have as many free hours. Quality over Quantity! Even though I have been training for multiple hour a day still, I feel like I have become more efficient when I train with taking small breaks and listening to my body.
The thing I value with cross training is that it’s so hard and completely shocks my body. It makes me do things that I’ve never done before and challenges every parts of the body and mind. I love doing all the new drills. They are huge challenges and it really pushes me. I think that a good attitude and having fun with it makes it a lot easier. Well, kind of…
Wayne worked me hard with explosive drills through jumping. This is awesome not only for sparring but also for my Javelin. There is a correlation between how far you can jump and how far you can throw.
The fact that he keeps switching the drills quickly makes my body get tired quicker since there is a very short time for recovery.
Last night we worked on leg strength. Mr. LeGrow was holding me back using a belt around my waist. Wayne had me going back and forth doing different motions. Sometimes it was with my knees up high and sometimes it was going sideways. It’s important to strengthen all the muscles for balance.
Having the resistance while doing the ‘Bear Crawl’ was really tough especially since Mr. LeGrow is so strong and so much bigger than me.
For more explosiveness Wayne had me jumping vertically over shields, as soon as I landed, I had to jump into a high knee tuck, and then down into a burpee and then back up. I had to do this eight times in a row. I started with only a few shields. As the amount of shields increased, the number of times I had to do the set decreased. It felt so amazing when I finished since I really didn’t think I would be able to jump that high.
Using a tiny rubber tensor band he had me go through some of my TKD kicks and it was brutal since the resistance was so intense. My legs were burning. Wayne had no sympathy and would just laugh and then push me further 🙂 Thanks Wayne!
Just when I thought I had done enough leg lifts with the ‘Fire Hydrant’ drill he pushed me even further making me pump up and down between his hands. Of course we had to the other side. At this point I was looking for a fire hydrant to put the fire out of my butt! It was burning sooo bad 🙂
Wayne showed me the hardest sit-ups that I’ve ever done before. Each one takes about 50 seconds since there are so many steps in it. It’s all about control and using the entire core. Doing one of these sit-ups is more beneficial than doing 100 crunches. I will never do another normal crunch again haha. I want results and I’m sure this will do it. Having a strong core is crucial for all sports and a general ‘well being’.
Wayne is excellent at explaining which muscles are being worked during each exercise. I find that helpful so I can visualize what’s going on inside my body and then I know if I’m doing it right. I love how excited he gets about fitness and it’s contagious!
Can’t wait until the next session….