Get Fit

Fast
Summertime is upon us. Want to get fit fast
in 4 weeks? Follow our simple, no BS plan.

The best time to start your of floor or ground. All the other
summer fitness training is in bells and whistles may be the
December. The second best distractions you want to avoid.
time is today.
Presented here is a bare-bones,
It’s a common question, espe- brass-tack plan to get you fit
cially this time of year: How do and ready for rigorous outdoor
I get into good shape as fast as summer activities, jumping in a
possible? competition or hopping into a
swimsuit.
Or: What’s the most effective
way to get in great shape in four Here are the bones: Running.
weeks? Burpees. Pull-ups. Stretch-
ing. Mix these together with
The no-bullshit answer is to cut consistency, good sleep, and a
out all the bullshit. If you have common-sense diet and we bet
one month before a 5k race you you’re going to surprise yourself.
want to do, or a 50-mile ultra, or
looking good at the beach, the The most critical part of this
answer is remarkably simple. It program is that you start today.
doesn’t require that you spend And that’s another virtue of the
a fortune on a gym membership sparse gear list. It’s a good bet
or a home training center. you have a pair of running shoes
you can use. If you don’t have
In fact, all you need is a pair of a pull-up bar in a doorway or a
running shoes, a bar you can tree branch in your backyard, we
do pull-ups from and a patch offer some ideas for your below.
3 | GET FIT FAST GET FIT FAST | 4

What You’ll Need Why Pull-Ups?

Running shoes. What you have in your closet “The best—and saf-
will work. If you want to head to the running est—exercise to build
shop and buy a fresh pair, that’s great. But not a powerful upper back
necessary. Advice on what model of running is the humble pull-up,”
shoe? Something that fits well, feels good, says author/old-school
and isn’t built like a stiletto. In other words, the fitness expert, Paul Wade.
lower to the ground the better. In his bestselling book
about old-school train-
Pull-up bar. It’s weird that a pull-up bar can be
ing techniques, Convict
hard to find at a gym. The machines take up all
Conditioning: How to
of the room. When you do find a pull-up bar at
a commercial gym, it’s not uncommon that it’s
Bust Free of All Weakness,
built into a machine. Wade argues that pull-ups
are the “oldest muscle-
Whatever your gym has in the way of a pull-up building exercise in his-
bar will work. If you don’t belong to a gym, this is tory,” the evidence stored
an easy problem to solve. You can purchase one in classical warrior texts.
for your doorframe at a sporting goods store. He adds that our penchant
for pull-ups goes back
Or you can be creative. A nearby playground even further: “For the
is usually a good place to find a bar to do forerunners of humanity,
pull-ups on. Or, as mentioned, a tree branch in pulling yourself up into the
your backyard.
branches of a tree would
have been as natural an
Bottom line when it comes to pull-ups: It
doesn’t need to be complicated.
event as taking a step is
for us today.”
A patch of space. For your burpees and yoga.
As to the latter, everything is fair game. Your The pull-up is another
bedroom. Your backyard. Your parking space. exercise that gives you
Where you are right this moment. The space Why Running? a lot bang for the buck, How To Scale Your Pull-Up
near wherever it is you do pull-ups. says Megan Beck, SGX
Don’t be afraid of this program if you Rows. Standing rows are good
You need to do cardio. Running is accessible Coach and contributor to
You can use the same space for the yoga don’t have pull-ups. Use one of the for the beginner who needs to
and delivers. When it comes to getting a solid Spartan Life. “Your pull- following scaling options.
within this schedule. If you would rather go build grip strength and fire up
cardiovascular workout in a limited amount of ing muscles are twice as
to a class, we encourage you. Any style, any the muscles that—once strength-
time, it’s hard to beat. You don’t have to drive necessary as your pushing Jumping pull-ups. Grab a bar over ened—will allow you to graduate
level. Whatever makes you happy. A nice thing
to a swimming pool or spend half-an-hour get- muscles in the body,” your head. Jump from the ground and to above options and move up
about a class is that if you have trouble getting
ting your bike gear sorted out. Just lace up the Beck writes. “These pull your chin over the bar. the ladder. Use a TRX sling or a
motivated to stretch well, having a teacher and
a class to go to means that you just need to shoes and head out the door. muscles are responsible set of gymnastic rings or just a
focus on getting yourself to the door. for basics such as posture, Single pull-ups. Grab pull up bar. Ex- long rope or strap looped to a bar
What if running is a problem? Don’t be intimi- gripping, and climbing.” ecute 1 pull up. Let go of bar. Repeat. or beam above you. Standing tall
If a drop-in yoga studio isn’t an option, just dated by this plan if you don’t run, or don’t Unload completely each rep. If you and engaging your stomach and
plan on doing some stretching. There are think you can run. Or if an injury or testy joint If you’re just starting out can adjust the height of pull up bar, try hip muscles so that you’re as stiff
plenty of great online videos to help you. No makes running painful. Running in this plan can and doing a standard and have it right at the height of your as a board, hold onto the handles
up-stretched hands. (or rings or ends of rope) and lean
need for a yoga mat. Just do your best. See be used interchangeably with walking or pace pull-up is beyond your
the sidebar for some of our favorite, most current reach, no prob- back, tipping yourself like a teapot
walking. You can boost the intensity of your
valuable yoga poses that—if you perform Hanging pull-ups. This is when you (although backwards). The stop-
walking with a weighted backpack or vest. Or lem. See the sidebar for hang from a bar and execute multiple
them on a consistent basis—will definitely get ping point is when your arms are
you can row, bike, canoe, whatever. It’s about some options on scaling pull-ups without letting go or touching
the job done. locked out. Then pull yourself up
moving across space under your own power. pull-ups. the ground. and in for a single rep.
5 | GET FIT FAST GET FIT FAST | 6

lar to the front of your mat. Stand up and ground down

through both feet, keeping both legs straight. Now lift
Why Yoga? your arms straight out at shoulder height, and hinge
forward over your right leg, taking your right hand to the
Yoga is good. Try and take a class. Force floor or a block on the outside of your leg. Shoulders
yourself to do full sessions. should be stacked, gaze on top hand. Take 5 to 10
breaths, and then do it again with the left foot forward.
SGX Coach Jeannie Gleason says that
yoga goes beyond stretching, the benefits Body benefit: Stretches and strengthens the ankles,
kicking in after a month. knees, thighs, and the groin.

6. Seated single-leg extension

“Yoga brought me opportunities for medi-
Start in seated position with your right leg extended
tative breathing and focus,” she writes.
forward. Press the sole of your left foot onto inner
“It addressed my flexibility limitations—as right thigh. Point your chest forward and drop down
my hip flexors testified the next day. After over your extended leg until you can’t reach any
about a month of hot yoga and a style further. Hold for one minute; repeat on opposite side.
called yin yoga, I realized the benefits.”
Body benefit: Stretches your calves and hamstrings.
Can’t make it to a yoga class? Lots of Stretching your hamstrings can be useful to alleviate
options. You can find about a billion yoga lower back pain as well as restore pelvic movement,
according to one Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro
videos online. Or you use the sidebar to
study.
teach yourself how to do a set of potent
yoga poses you can do at home. 7. Half pigeon
Start in downward dog. Lower your body, and as you
do so, bring your right leg forward and rotate your leg
so that your shin is parallel to the top of mat. Extend
your left leg backward with the top of your foot
pressed into the floor. Fold over your right leg, keep-
8 Power-Packed Yoga Poses 2. Crescent lunge Body benefit: Hello, explosiveness! Work your calves
ing your hips square, and hold for one minute. Repeat
Start in downward facing dog. Ease into the lunge and core with this plyometric move. Adding as little as
on opposite side.
“Yoga promotes physical flexibility and strength, by stepping your right foot forward between your six weeks of plyometric training, like hops, shuffling,
and as a side effect, also creates mental flexibility hands and keeping your left leg straight behind and backpedalling, can dramatically boost agility, ac- Body benefit: Weak hips can be a cause of a slew of
and strength to push through any obstacle,” says you. Your right knee should be stacked over your cording to one Western Michigan University study. common running issues, like patella tendonitis (run-
Brooke Easton, instructor at Lyons Den Power Yoga heel, with a 90-degree bend. Now reach your arms ner’s knee), piriformis issues, or IT band pain, accord-
in New York City. “It can also help prevent injuries straight overhead with palms facing inward. Hold 4. Airplane ing to a study published in Clinical Journal of Sports
by strengthening lesser used muscles, critical for for 5 seconds; repeat on opposite side. Start in a standing position with your feet together. Medicine. This pose helps stretch and strengthen
HIIT workout fans.” You can benefit massively by Lift your right leg and extend it backward, pivoting the hips to make them better for all that running and
Body benefit: Build stability in the front and back of forward at the hips so that your chest and right leg are
incorporating a few key moves, says Easton. Below climbing that goes hand-in-hand with racing.
the torso, as well as boost flexible strength in the parallel with ground. Bracing your core, look forward
are her favorites, which deliver the biggest payoff in
legs and hips. Stronger legs equal greater power to and draw your shoulder blades together to open your
functional mobility. 8. Bound angle pose
ascend even the toughest climbs. chest forward. Reach hands toward your back foot Start in seated position. Lay down, bringing the soles
with palms facing down toward the floor. Hold for 10 of your feet together. Let your knees fall apart toward
3. Leap frogs seconds; repeat on opposite side.
1. Downward facing dog ground, creating a diamond shape. Now close your
Start in downward facing dog. Slide your feet
Start in high-plank position with your shoulders eyes and relax, you earned this.
together so that your big toes touch, and then Body benefit: This balancing move requires you to
stacked over your wrists. Lift your hips away from
step your feet an extra foot toward your hands. work on your stability as well as strengthen your ankles Body benefit: After hitting all these poses, you de-
ground to make an inverted V shape with your body.
Bend your knees wide while looking down straight and legs. The stronger your foundation is, the less serve a little restoration. Not only does this pose help
Keeping a micro-bend in your knees, sink your heels
between hands. Jump up, stacking shoulders over likely you are to sprain an ankle. stretch the inner thigh, groin, and knees, but it also
towards the ground. Hold for 60 seconds.
wrists and hips over shoulders—you’re almost boosts circulation and relieves anxiety.
Body benefit: The perfect way to stretch out tight doing a handstand with your knees bent, with your 5. Triangle
calves and hamstrings, downward facing dog also big toes still together. Repeat for 10 reps, then rest Start in downward dog. Step your right foot forward, By Emily Abbate, adapted from her article on
boosts circulation. 30 seconds. between your hands, and turn your left foot perpendicu- Spartan Life.
7 | GET FIT FAST GET FIT FAST | 8

Why Burpees?
How To Do A Burpee Well
The burpee is not just one move-
ment, it’s. It is a squat, squat thruster, Carl Paoli, former elite gymnast and founder of
GymnasticsWOD.com, writes about burpees in
a plank, a push-up, and a squat jump,
his book Free+Style: Maximize Sport and Life
all built into one.
Performance with Four Basic Movements—ad-
dressing their true value in day-to-day life and
The burpee mixes mobility, stabil- better sport performance.
ity, strength, and agility by fusing
together a power push-up with a “It’s one of the most fundamental movement
squat thruster and a vertical jump. patterns required to understand in order to get
It’s innovative and an all-around ass off the ground,” he says. “The burpee is a great
kicker. way to practice pushing mechanics (push-ups), Executing the
hip power through flexion and extension (as 4-Week Get Fit
When in doubt, do burpees. When seen in sit-ups or leg lifts), and squatting/ Fast Plan
you only have 10 minutes, do bur- jumping landing mechanics. All of these move-
ments, if understood at the most basic levels,
pees. When you only have five min-
are transferable to all other movements such as First of all, find the right
utes, do burpees.
walking, running, jumping, landing, throwing, plan for you. You’ll see
and catching.” four different plans: Off
Burpee Form
The basic burpee looks like this. the Couch, Intermediate
1. Think about your backside Runner, Advanced and
In the upward phase of the burpee, it’s really im- the Plan From Hell. You
• You drop down into a squat and portant to keep both your legs and core in mind. can scale any of these
place your hands on the ground “When you push off the ground, allow your body plans to something that
in front of you. to naturally arch while engaging your glutes,” works for you.
suggests Paoli. By doing this, you’ll keep your
• Kick your legs out so that you are lower back in a safe position. Reps: You can break the
in the top of the pushup position.
reps up anyway you want
2. Keep an upright chest. throughout the day. For
• Touch your chest to the ground. Just like when you’re performing heavy Olym- example, on the first day
• Push yourself off the ground, land pic lifts, like a squat or a snatch, it’s important of the program, your job
to maintain an upright chest position any time is to do 60 burpees. You
in a squat and proceed to stand
your feet have full contact with the ground in can knock them all out in
to the upright position with a fully
your burpee. “Lift your chest up proud,” he one session. Or you can
extended hip. suggests. “By doing this, you’ll be able to gain break them up into three
• Jump off the ground, making sure essential momentum that can carry you into chunks of 20 performed
your jump.” at different times of the
both feet are in the air.
day. Whatever works
• Raise your hands above your 3. End where you started best for you. If you miss a
head. The last thing you want to do is start the burpee day, try and insert those
at point A and end it at point Z. If you’re far off missed reps into the rest
your starting mark at that top jump, your form is of the week. But don’t
That’s a burpee. When you’re doing likely all over the place—and you’re doing extra freak out. If yoga is not for
burpees to train, don’t just flop on work. “You want to jump and try to land in the you, just do a stretching
the ground and scramble to your feet same place and with the same stance as you session. The primary goal
as fast as you can. Check our sidebar took off,” he says. is to counter the hard
for some key tips on how to get the work you’re doing on the
By Emily Abbate, adapted from her article on exercise days with some
most out of this omnipotent body-
Spartan Life. static stretching holds.
weight exercise.
9 | GET FIT FAST GET FIT FAST | 10

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Totals Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Totals
30 90 60 60 60 60 60 300
burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
Week Week
60 30 2 2 30 30 30 Yoga 30 30 Yoga 150
Yoga 15 Yoga 45
1 burpees pull-ups miles pull-ups miles pull-ups 1 pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
1 mile 5 miles 2 miles 2 miles 2 miles 2 miles 2 miles 10 miles
33 99 66 66 66 66 66 330
Off the Couch Version

burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees

Week Week
66 33 2 1/4 17 2 1/4 50 33 33 33 33 33 165

Advanced
Yoga Yoga Yoga Yoga
pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
2 burpees pull-ups miles pull-ups miles pull-ups
2
1 1/4 5 3/4 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 11.25
miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles
37 110 73 73 73 73 73 365
burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
Week Week
73 37 2.5 20 2. 5 57 37 37 37 37 37 185
Yoga Yoga Yoga Yoga
pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
3 burpees pull-ups miles pull-ups miles pull-ups
3
1.5 6.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 12.5
miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles
45 30 30 30 30 30 150
15 burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
burpees
burpees Week
Week
30 15 1 1 23 15 15 15 Yoga 15 15 Yoga 75
4 burpees pull-ups mile Yoga 8
pull-ups mile Yoga pull-ups 4 pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
2.5 1 mile 1 mile 1 mile 1 mile 1 mile 5 miles
.5 mile miles

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Totals

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Totals
300 300 300 300 300 300 300 2100
60 60 300 burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
60 30 burpees burpees burpees Week
Week 150 150 150 150 150 150 150
burpees pull-ups 2+ 1050
30 Yoga 30 Yoga 150 pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
1 2 miles 2 miles pull-ups pull-ups miles pull-ups 1 pull-ups
Intermediate Runner Version

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 70 miles
2 miles 2 miles ? miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles
66 66 300 300 300 300 300 300 300
330 2100

PLan from hell

66 33 burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
burpees burpees
Week burpees pull-ups Week
33 33 2+ 150 150 150 150 150 150 150
Yoga Yoga 165 1050
pull-ups pull-ups miles pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
2 2.25
miles
2.25
miles
pull-ups 2 pull-ups
2.25 2.25 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
? miles 70 miles
miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles
73 73 300 300 300 300 300 300 300
365 2100
73 37 burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
burpees burpees
Week burpees pull-ups Week
37 37 2+ 150 150 150 150 150 150 150
Yoga Yoga 185 1050
pull-ups pull-ups miles pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
3 2.5
miles
2.5
miles
pull-ups 3 pull-ups
2.5 2.5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
? miles 70 miles
miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles miles
30 30 150 300 300 300
30 15 burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees burpees
Week Week
burpees pull-ups 2+ 150 150 150
15 Yoga 15 Yoga 75 Off Off Off Race
miles
4 1 mile 1 mile pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
4 pull-ups pull-ups pull-ups
1 mile 1 mile ? miles 10 10 10
miles miles miles
 What Is
Spartan?
It’s a race. It’s also a discipline, a way of training, eating,
and thinking. But most of all, it’s an agent of change that
will transform your life.

Spartan is for those willing to raise standards and work to achieve them. Then raise
the standards again. It’s a mindset. It’s a community and way of life.

Above all, Spartan is a catalyst for shaking you free from limits and inspiring trans-
formation, pressing you to go beyond what you thought was possible.

Spartan is a lifestyle company. Nothing special there.There are plenty of lifestyle

companies in the world, each standing for something different.

What sets the Spartan lifestyle apart is authenticity.

Spartan wasn’t created by branding professionals sitting around a conference table

typing up Powerpoint presentations. It was thought-up around a kitchen table after
long morning hikes carrying rocks up mountains on cold, clear days. Spartan cuts
deep, redefining how we train, eat, and think. It’s not a lean-back-in-your-recliner
experience. It’s about being active and about giving to others and being a good
steward of the world.

Our mission is to help you find yourself and unlock potential that may have been
hidden from your view. There are no shortcuts. It’s not particularly innovative. In fact,
it’s really hard, which makes it a tough sell. So instead we choose ruthless honesty:
This will be damn difficult. This will be damn worth it.

We want you to come with us. We want you to live your best life possible. Behind
everything we do is a desire to impart a philosophy that has made millions of
humans healthier and happier. We arrived at this place after a long philosophical
journey. Are you ready to join us?

For More Information

www.spartan.com