Conditioning Drills

ATP Field Guide #004

THE PITCH

You have 30 minutes. You could spend it on your phone, or you could do one of these drills and feel better for the next 12 hours.

These are short, intense, and require nothing but your body. They're designed to be done in your room, your backyard, a park, or a parking lot. Bodyweight-only. At home, in a park, in your room — anywhere.

THE SCIENCE

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) produces more growth hormone, burns more fat, and builds more cardiovascular fitness than long, slow cardio — in a fraction of the time. A 15-minute HIIT session produces better results than 45 minutes on a treadmill.

The MetFix framework explains why: "Intensity is the independent variable most commonly associated with maximizing the rate of return on favorable adaptations." Translation: working harder for less time produces better results than working easy for a long time.

DRILL 1: THE BURNER (10 min)

10 rounds of:

• —10 burpees
• —10 push-ups
• —10 air squats

Rest as needed. Record total time. Repeat weekly and watch the time drop.

DRILL 2: THE SPRINT PROTOCOL (15 min)

Find any 50-100 meter stretch (parking lot, hallway, backyard).

8 rounds of:

• —Sprint 50m at 90% effort
• —Walk back (recovery)
• —Rest 30 sec

This is the most effective fat-burning protocol available to a teenager. Growth hormone spikes dramatically with sprint training.

DRILL 3: CINDY (20 min)

AMRAP 20 minutes:

• —5 pull-ups
• —10 push-ups
• —15 air squats

This is a benchmark workout. The goal is maximum rounds. Record your score. Repeat monthly.

Scale: Ring rows instead of pull-ups. Push-ups from knees if needed.

DRILL 4: THE DECK OF CARDS

Take a deck of cards. Assign a movement to each suit:

• —Hearts = push-ups
• —Spades = air squats
• —Diamonds = sit-ups
• —Clubs = burpees

Flip cards one at a time. The number on the card is the reps. Face cards = 10. Aces = 11. Work through the whole deck.

This takes 20-40 minutes depending on your fitness level. It's never the same workout twice.

DRILL 5: THE LADDER (15 min)

1 push-up, 1 squat

2 push-ups, 2 squats

3 push-ups, 3 squats

...continue up to 10...

10 push-ups, 10 squats

...then back down to 1

Total: 100 push-ups, 100 squats. Record time.

DRILL 6: THE TABATA GAUNTLET (16 min)

4 movements, 8 rounds each (20 sec on / 10 sec off):

1. 1.Burpees
2. 2.Mountain climbers
3. 3.Jump squats
4. 4.Push-ups

No rest between movements. 4 minutes per movement. 16 minutes total. You will not want to do this. Do it anyway.

DRILL 7: THE MILE CHALLENGE

Run 1 mile as fast as you can. Record your time.

Target times:

• —Under 8 min: Good
• —Under 7 min: Very good
• —Under 6 min: Excellent
• —Under 5:30: Elite for your age

Repeat monthly. Watch your time drop as your fitness improves.

THE RULE

Pick one drill. Do it today. Don't overthink it. The best workout is the one you actually do.

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