Unconventional Training Tools: DIY Tire

and Drag Harnesses

By Jake Saenz
The tire and drag harness is probably the cheapest and most effective training
tool in our arsenal. It’s simple design and execution allows athletes of all levels
to train 3 distinct types of fitness and is a great substitution exercise for injured
athletes.

Unlike barbells which are expensive and require more technical instruction and
practice, an old tire and a $25 dollar trip to Home Depot can have even the least
experienced athlete sweating hard with about 20 minutes of work with no
technical instruction.

Besides being able to train strength, anaerobic capacity and aerobic capacity,
the tire is a great tool for athletes that struggle with running. Athletes that carry
an excessive amount of mass can really do a number on their lower body joints
when doing long slow runs. The great thing about the tire is there is little to no
impact, but it keeps the heart rate high. My heart rate ranges from 140-150bpm
during a moderately paced drag. So if you are a heavy hitter that avoids running
because it hurts, now you have no excuse.

For athletes going to the mountains, this is a great way to train the legs
concentrically for extended periods of time to mimic a long ascent. Add in some
jumping lunges and jump squats after and you’re getting the eccentric portion of
a descent. I’m currently working through a 5-week program that revolves around
this training tool in preparation for a month long elk hunt and it’s no joke. The
first long drag was such a humbling experience that we actually now use a 2000
meter drag as punishment in our gym. Needless to say it usually only takes once
to get the message across.
What You’ll Need to Build a Rig

 1 Old Tire Made for a 16” Wheel

 3” Eye Bolt with Large Washer and Nut

 Carabiner or Snap Link

  6 Feet of Light Chain

 12 Feet of Seatbelt Webbing, Tow Strap, or Fire

Hose

 Something Heavy

Putting it Together

1. Drill a hole in between the tread of the tires.

2. Insert the eyebolt, place the washer and nut on

the inside of tire and snug down.

3. Take the tow strap and connect the ends using

a water knot or make two overhand knot loops on
the ends.

4. Connect one end of chain to eye bolt with

carabiner then run the other end through the
loops of the strap.

5. Connect the other end of the chain to eyebolt

and carabiner.

6. Add weight.

Training Sessions Using the Tire and Harness

Below are 3 different training sessions with just the tire and bodyweight. Each
one trains a different fitness attribute – Stamina, Strength and Work Capacity.
For unfamiliar exercises check out our Exercise Library on Atomic Athlete.

Stamina Session

 Warmup: 3 Rounds

 300 Meter Run

 10x Squats

 10x Pushups

 5x Hydrants Each Side

1) 1000m Tire Drag

  Load Tire to 45lbs

 25lbs Vest / Pack is Optional

2) 2 Rounds

 Jane Fonda Complex – 20 Seconds Per

Movement, Per Side

 50x Shoulder Handjob Each Side – 2.5lbs

Comments: The pace of this is meant to be a slow walk, very similar to walking
uphill under load. The dragging surface is very influential in how fast you are
able to drag – look for a smooth, gravel free surface. The Tire drag alone should
take 20 minutes per 1000 meters, more fit athletes can take this up to 2000
meters if they choose. The second part of the session is durability designed to
increase shoulder and hip stabilizer strength. If you are a soldier or a hunter we
suggest carrying a sledge hammer to mimic carrying a rifle.
Strength Session

Warmup:

 1 Mile Run

 Movement Prep Complex

1) 6 Rounds

 50 Meter Tire Drag – Increase Weight Until

Difficult But Doable

 3x Jumping lunges Each Side

 3x Mantis

2) 6 Rounds

 5x Pullups – Any Grip

 10x Dips

 15x Pushups

 15 Second Instep + Quad Stretch Each Side

3) 6 Rounds

 8-10x Tire Thrusters

 3x Burpees

 20 Seconds 3rd World Stretch

Comments: The drag during part one should be slow and heavy. Find what ever
you can to increase the load. Small children work fine if you are a family man.
Part 2 is bodyweight upper body strength. If you don’t have a dip bar folding
chairs work fine. Part 3 will make you breath heavy by design. You should feel
fairly rested each round so take an additional 30-45 seconds rest if needed. Tire
thrusters are just like barbell thrusters except the head will go in the tire in the
bottom of the squat.
Work Capacity Session

 Warmup: 4 rounds

 10x Pushups

 10x Squat Jumps

  200 Meter Run

 3x Dynamic Instep Each Side

1) 8 Rounds

 50 Meter Max Effort Tire Sprint – 45lbs

 30 Second Rest

Rest 3-5 Minutes

2) 5 Rounds for time

 10x Burpees

 25 Meter Run

 10x Squat Jumps

 25 Meter Run

 10x Pushups

 25 Meter Run

 10x Jumping Lunge – 5 Each Side

Rest 3-5 Minutes

3) 3 Rounds

 30 Seconds Situps

 30 Seconds Flutter kicks

 30 Seconds Hello Dolly

 30 Seconds Front Bridge

 30 Seconds Rest

4) 3 Rounds

 30 Seconds Glute Leg Lift

 30 Seconds Y+L
Comments: Two hard efforts back to back followed by some core and durability.
Part 1 utilizes the tire in an interval format and Part 2 is a rounds for time format
with all bodyweight exercises. On the tire sprints rounds 1 and 2 can be done at
moderate pace to warmup but each subsequent round needs to be max effort.
These intervals should leave you gasping for air. If you see a large decrease in
output go ahead and adjust the rest to 45 seconds, if you are still suffering then
take it to a full minute. For part 2 I recommend starting out a little slower as well
to get a feel for the pace then cranking up the intensity as you work through. The
standard for this is sub 10 minutes. The core circuit is meant to be done with all
the exercises back to back – it’ll take 2 minutes exactly. Take a short rest then
hit it again. Finish off with some durability.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Jake Saenz is a former Special Operations soldier that

lives and coaches in Austin, Texas. His gym, Atomic Athlete, is a performance
based strength and conditioning company that focuses on making athletes
stronger, faster and harder to kill. Their training focuses on outside performance
and uses well thought out programming and periodization to get athletes of all
types to elite levels of fitness. As a partner gym of Military Athlete, Jake has the
opportunity to travel across the nation assisting Rob Shaul in preparing soldiers
for combat deployments and missions.

DIY Gym: 8 Pieces of

Equipment That Will Get
You Strong & Save You
Money
Editor’s Note: In response to my call for suggestions for manly crafts
(and in response to a couple of reader emails-by crafts I wasn’t
referring to stuff like carpentry and blacksmithing, which are of
course quite manly-but to specific DIY projects that men could take
on), Tom Pehrson wrote me a great article about building your own
fitness equipment. Tom lives in Alaska, reads AoM, and works out
with fitness equipment he built himself. Now there’s a man.
There’s nothing manlier that working out in your garage. In fact,
many men have relinquished their useless globo gym’s
memberships and used that money to buy equipment for their own
personal garage gyms. This saves time, and instead of paying some
jerk’s expensive car payment, you keep the equipment.

Get a good weight set, a bench, and hopefully a squat rack, and
you’re halfway there. There are several other components to the
home gym that make it even more functional and can help you take
your fitness to the next level. Below are 8 pieces of equipment that
will increase your manly strength and save you money in the long
term.

Plyometric boxes

Nothing builds explosive strength like jumping on a plyo box. 

However, plyo boxes from most fitness distributors are extremely
expensive. We’ve got some good instructions on how to make a 3-
in-1 Plyometrics box here at Art of Manliness.

Sandbags
Sandbags are an extremely versatile piece of equipment. You can
do cleans, carries, snatches and strongman type loading with them.
The best part is they cost next to nothing to make. All you need are
an old duffel bag (preferably an army/navy rucksack), contractor’s
bags, and some pea gravel. Double-bag the pea gravel in the
contractor’s bags, and tape them up securely. Each smaller bag can
be at the weight you think is prudent for loading.

I have one large Navy sea bag and I made 5 different 25 pound
small sandbags that fit into the large Navy bag so I can alter the
weight as I see fit.

Another great exercise is to take your sandbag and some additional

45 pound plates and load up your trusty wheelbarrow. Quickly walk
100′, make a quick turn and head back to the starting point. Who
needs shrugs when you got this exercise?

Lifting Platform
If you’re a fan of the Olympic lifts (and who isn’t) you need a lifting
platform. This is a handyman’s project and a little too complex to
detail here. Here’s how to build a weightlifting platform.

Pulling sled/tires

Pulling a sled is one of the best exercises for increasing work

capacity and general physical preparedness. This piece of
equipment will make good use of your welding skills.  It requires a
length of 1.25 square steel tubing (approx. 13″ long), an 18″x 24″
piece of  steel, and a towing strap.

First, take the 18″x24″ piece of 1/4″ thick sheet metal and bend a 2″
lip bent to 45 degrees at one end. Next, drill a hole through the lip for
the tow rope. Then, take the tubing and cut (3) .25″ pieces off. These
will be the spacers that the weight plates will sit on. Weld the piece
of 12.25″ long tubing into the center of the flat steel surface. Finish
the piece by welding the spacers equidistant from the pole in a circle
so that your weight will sit on them in a stable manner.

N E V E R MI S S A N U P D A T E
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**This is a very manly sled, but if you don’ have a welder (or the
skills) you can use the tow rope on a large tire and pull that around.

Listen to our podcast on being a garage gym athlete:

Kegs

Kegs are another implement that we’ll use when doing strongman
type exercises. You can clean and press, distance carry, or do
loading exercises with them. (Side note: loading exercises require
the athlete to take a heavy object and place them on a surface that
is head height or higher. The atlas stone is probably the most
popular of these types of events.).

Giant Tractor Tires

Although you don’t construct anything, just having one of these

around the house gives off an aura of manliness. Also, they’re
usually F-R-E-E, but you’ll have to use your moving skills to
transport it home. I got my tires from Les Schwab, but check any tire
yard or heavy equipment shop and they’ll likely be more than happy
to give you one. Both Even-esh and Elliot Hulsehave their athletes
flip tires on a regular basis.

The prime exercise is flipping these beasts, but you can also attach
your tow rope to the lip and use it for pulling as well. Additional
exercises include the farmer’s carry (stand inside the tire, lift, and
walk a predetermined distance) and glute-ham sit-ups (sitting on the
tire with your feet inside the hole, hook your toes inside the lip and
lean back to parallel and up again).

Slosh Pipe
Don’t let the easy design of this piece of equipment fool you. Work
out with one of these and you’ll feel the abdominal equivalent of 100
crunches and 50 military presses. Take a 5 -7′ length of 2′ pvc pipe,
fill it up to 2/3 with water, and cap the ends. You can do cleans &
presses, overhead carries, drags or deadlifts with these for a very
intense, short workout.

You can’t lift what you can’t

grip
Tire Training Guide: 13 Tire-
Based Exercises And One
Killer Circuit Workout!
Tires do more than just make cars move. Use these tire-
based exercises and complete circuit to add strength, size,
speed, and agility to your entire body!

Contributing Writer
January 15, 2019 •  8 min read
Summer might be winding down, but that doesn't mean you have to
kiss outdoor workouts goodbye. There's no better way to push
yourself while enjoying the fresh air than with a tire workout. This
one, basic piece of equipment offers up a ton of workout variations.
Plus, tires can be acquired rather easily and are great for
challenging your power, strength, and conditioning.

I have an NCAA D1 background in volleyball and track, and I like to

keep sports performance and functional training in my regimen.
While I currently train for a balanced and well-conditioned physique
to compete as an IFBB bikini pro, that doesn't mean I need to let my
athleticism suffer. Tire workouts are the perfect way to get physique
and performance benefits in one stop.
Where To Get Your Tires
I purchased my giant tire from a local shop. Not sure where to get
yours? Do some research online to scope out a tire dealership or a
place that sells farm tires. In most cases, they'll be pretty cheap
(between $20-100). Otherwise, drive around with your eyes peeled
for a free junkyard tire.

The next step is to consider the weight you want to use. For women,
I suggest anywhere from 100-300 pounds, which will vary depending
on your strength and goals. (I weigh 105 pounds, and my tire is
roughly 200 pounds.) For men, 300-500 pounds is great to kick your
workout into high gear.

Keep in mind that, if you want to rep it out, you can still have an
effective workout with a relatively light tire. Safety is top priority, so
stick with a size that's realistic for you.

Hit The Road

Once you've got your weapon of choice, you can throw any or all of
the following exercises together in a full circuit-style workout, or you
can do them individually. Again, consider what's most realistic for
you and how you like to train. The weight of your tire will help you
determine the reps and sets in your program.

Below are some of my favorite exercises and their benefits. Check

them out!
Tire (Box) Jumps
Lay your tire flat on its side like a box. Face the tire with your feet
shoulder-width apart. Squat down slightly, as if you're going to jump
straight into the air. Your arms will naturally swing backwards and
return forward as you leap onto the tire. Both feet should land softly
on the tire. While the tire has some give to it, landing too heavily can
hurt your knees upon impact. Consider this practice.

Benefit: Tire jumps are a functional exercise that can help improve

your explosiveness for running and increase your vertical jump. As
your vertical jump improves, test yourself by gradually increasing the
height of the object you're using.

Triceps Dips
Facing away from the tire, place your arms behind you. Rest the
palms of your hands on the tire with your arms fully extended. Place
your feet approximately half of your body length in front of the tire.
This will be your starting position. Bend at the elbows into a 90-
degree angle while lowering your body slowly until your bottom
almost touches the ground. Return to a straight-arm position. This is
one full repetition.

Benefit: This exercise is the same as a bench dip—it's a slow,

controlled movement to work your triceps. If the movement is too
easy, add a plate to your lap or use it as an "active rest" in between
other tire-based exercises.

Decline Push-Ups
This exercise really takes floor push-ups from beginner to advanced.
Facing away from the tire, place your hands on the floor slightly
wider than shoulder-width apart. Place both of your feet on the tire
behind you and raise yourself up into a plank position. Keeping your
body straight, lower your upper body toward the floor by bending
both arms at 90-degree angles. Next, push up until your arms are
fully extended again.
Benefit: This will primarily work the upper pectoral muscles, in
addition to the lower pecs and core.

Lateral Jumps
Begin by standing upright and parallel to the tire. Next, squat slightly,
bending your knees in a way that distributes your weight evenly.
Avoid curving your back or bending at the hips. Jump sideways
(laterally) onto the tire, and land in a half-squat position. As with a
box jump, you want to land softly to lessen impact. Step (or jump)
down from the tire and repeat.

Benefit: Lateral movements—jumps, in this case—are a great way to

develop power and agility through explosiveness while improving
strength in your lower body (hip abductors, adductors) and stability
in your ankles, hips, and knees. Performing a lateral jump includes
squatting, a great lower-body and core exercise.

Toe Touches
Stand facing the tire. Drive your left knee up and touch the tire with
your toe. As your left knee drives up, your right arm will swing back,
similar to a running stance. Return your left foot to the ground as you
drive your right knee up, your left hand back, and your foot to the
tire. Repeat. The key is to move as quickly and swiftly as possible.
The lighter you tap the tire, the quicker you can switch feet.

Benefit: This exercise focuses on acceleration and foot speed and

develops your hip flexors. Weak hip flexors can affect your stride
length and overall speed.
Step-Ups

Face the tire and place your left foot on it. Use this platform as a
foundation to push off the step. Push through your heel to explode
vertically. While in the air, your legs will naturally meet again side by
side; switch your opposite leg to rest on the tire as you come down.
Land softly on the ball of your stable foot so you can promptly
explode back up to repeat.

Benefit: This exercise trains the legs and hips with the quads and
glutes. The intent is to explode from the tire in a speedy manner,
and this explosiveness can be transferred into many sports
activities.

Broad Jumps Over Tire

Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Drop into a squat
as you swing your arms back. As you explode into your maximum
jump, swing your arms through, using that momentum to thrust your
hips forward and land as far forward as possible. You should land in
a controlled squat position with both feet. A strong core can help you
land properly.

More advanced broad jumpers can perform this one leg at a time.
The key to a broad jump is to jump as far forward as possible from a
static position, and to land balanced. The momentum should not be
generated with a prestep or hop before the jump.

Benefit: This is a great exercise to develop explosive power and

improve the fast-twice muscle fiber reaction; it requires your leg and
core muscles to quickly contract to create maximum force with each
jump.

Pop Squats
Lay the tire flat on the ground. Stand in the hole in the center of your
tire. Bend your knees slightly and hop upward to land on the tire in a
90-degree squat with both feet on opposite sides of the tire. Hop
upward again, returning to a standing position within the hole of the
tire. This is one repetition. Repeat.

Benefit: Pop squats target your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core.

Do enough of these at a relatively fast pace and you'll also improve
cardiovascular endurance.

Tire Flips
Start with the tire flat on the ground. Place your fingers under the tire
while it is in this position. Your hands and feet should be shoulder-
width apart. Squat down deep, bending at the knees. As you return
to a standing position, pull the tire up. Make sure to use your whole
body—especially your legs—to avoid lifting solely with your back.
The momentum you create should allow you to change your hand
position from a pull to a push. Push the tire forward. Once it is flat,
repeat the process.

Benefit: Tire flips cover all the bases—your core, back, legs, arms,
and shoulders. Just be careful when you bend to pick the tire up.
 Leave your ego at home! If you need a lighter tire, make the switch.
You can risk serious injury if you are bending at the hips and using
your back instead of bending at the knees and using your full body
and engaged core to lift and push.

"Tire flips cover all the bases—your core, back, legs, arms, and shoulders."

Advanced Moves
If you're very comfortable with the above exercises, then I
encourage you to try some more advanced tire workouts. How do
you know if you are ready? Use the following as a gauge:

 You weight train frequently and are familiar with pushing and
pulling twice your body weight (or the weight of your tire).
 You do exercises such as box jumps, broad jumps, or other
sports performance training regularly.
 You often train with HIIT-style workouts.
 You can do 10 or more tire flips continuously (with the size of
tire you have available).
Back And Forth Tire Flip
This is a three-step process (two jumps and a flip). First, you jump
into the hole of the tire. Second, you jump forward (out) of the tire,
landing on the opposite side you came from. Lastly, you turn to face
the tire and prepare to flip it in the direction you came from. Repeat
for 8-10 flips, or as many as you can before you need to rest.

Benefit: This is a power and strength exercise from head to toe. As

an added benefit, it also tests your cardiovascular system!

Tire Pushes (Partner Exercise)

The tire should be standing upright. You and a partner will each face
one side of the tire and stand about arm's-length apart. Prepare your
foundation with a staggered stance; plant one foot slightly ahead of
the other at a distance that feels good for you. Place your hands
(palms facing forward) in line with your chest, and push the tire back
and forth. Your elbows should be slightly bent, so you can receive
the tire with a cushion, and then push the tire back to your partner.

Benefit: Similar to the bench press, this movement engages your

chest as you push, and your arms as you receive the tire from your
partner. You also need strong legs and core to withstand the weight
of the tire. This is a fun way to work on your upper-body strength.

Tire Flip To Sprint

Have a friend time you as you complete tire flips for 20-25 yards.
Once you finish flipping— from start to finish—turn around and sprint
back to the start. Take a 1-2 minute rest as your friend completes
the same exercise. Complete two more rounds, and try to beat your
time each round.

Benefit: This strengthening exercise also incorporates explosive

power from sprints.
 Burpee + Lateral Jumps
Lateral jump from one side of the tire, onto the tire, and then onto
the other side. Complete a burpee. Jump laterally back onto the tire,
then jump onto the other side. Do a burpee. Repeat. One burpee on
each side of the tire is 1 full repetition. Complete 10 reps in each set.

Benefit: Burpees and jumps alone can get old fast. This is an

unconventional way to take regular exercises to another level. Is the
tire necessary? Not really, but it's a fun one to try with a partner, or
alone to really get your heart pumping.

The Workout
Now, let's put it all together! Here's a glimpse of how I would
combine the exercises we just discussed. Warm up with a 10-minute
run/walk followed by dynamic stretching. This is crucial; don't forget
to stretch!

I have the circuit broken down into three groups of three exercises.
All nine exercises equal one round. You may take a rest after every
third exercise, if needed. If not, power through until you complete
one full round. Then, take 1-2 minutes rest.

Tire Circuit: 3 Rounds

 Box Jump (On Tire) 20 reps
 Decline Push-Up 10 reps
 Toe Touch 15 reps each leg, optional rest
 Broad Jump Over Tire 15 reps
 Triceps Dip 15 reps
 Back-and-Forth Tire Flip 6-8 reps, optional rest
 Pop Squat Jump 20 reps
 Step-Up 15 reps each leg
 Lateral Jump 10 reps each side, rest 1-2 minutes
Finishing Move
Looking for that little extra push? One you've finished three rounds,
try this gasser. Complete a 20-25 yard continuous tire flip to one end
of the street; then sprint back to the start. Have your partner time
you. Rest for 1 minute and repeat 3-5 times, trying to set a PR each
time.