Cord and Rule Month 1 and Training Involution #129

Me and my son Robert just after finishing Self-Destruct Sequence in 30:58.

Thursday night was the first new month under the new Cord and Rule program.  We reviewed our journals to demonstrate we’d done our homework and stamped up our rules accordingly.  The thud of the hammer and the visible mark on the brass to signify your work feels fantastic.

November is Mettlecraft Month.  Time to dig deeper.

There were lots of people out sick and otherwise tied up, so it was just my son and I at the meeting.  After we stamped up our rules, we decided to step up on account of it being Mettlecraft Month and earn a big fat “Z” by completing Self-Destruct Sequence in under 40 minutes.  We did, in a blistering 30:58 (my son was done about 30 seconds faster than that — Daddy was bringing up the rear).  We almost beat my personal record from two years ago.

Members of the Richmond group — Leo, Scott, Sydney — and those of you playing the home game — Arman, James — your assignment is to get this thing done before the month is out.  I know you can do it. 

If you think you can safely finish the whole thing in under 40 minutes with no practice, by all means, give it a go.  But I know at least one person — a fitness freak and former competitive bodybuilder — who had to struggle for over a month, finally getting it done after many failed attempts.  My advice is work your way up to it for a few weeks and then take your shot.  Self-Destruct Sequence is no joke!

Week 1 Run-up to Self-Destruct Sequence: Training Involution #129

• Warm up for at least 8 minutes.  Hop from foot to foot, trot, skip and jog, and rotate all joints, and do the Fools Journey form for about 5 mins.  Then spend 3 mins doing a few reps of each exercise (see below for exercise list and instructional video).
• Complete SSM-1 of each exercise in Self-Destruct Sequence.  SSM stands for “single set max.” So “SSM-1” means you do as many of each exercise as you can but you stop on the rep just before you think you’ll probably fail.
• Shadowbox 10 mins for form.  Don’t go all out, just relax, let if flow, and work on your form.
• Cool down for 3 min. 
• Complete the Caduceus Ritual.  See Chapter 19 of the Cabal Fang Study Guide for instructions.
• Record what you did in your training journal.  If it ain’t in the journal, it didn’t happen.  “That which is measured improves,” as the saying goes.

 Self-Destruct Sequence

Zombie Squats (50)
Push-ups, diamond (25)
Jump Squats (100)
10-Count Bodybuilders (25)
Pikes/Leg Triangles (25)
Jump Squats, split (50)
Push-ups, Sit-out (25)
Bicycles (50 each side)
Burpees (25)
Twisters (25 each side)
Wall Touches (100)
Push-ups, hopping/clapping (25)

??? DID YOU KNOW ???  that Self-Destruct Sequence comes from my book The Calisthenics Codex and that, if you finish any workout from the book you can get into the Calisthenics Codex Hall of Fame?

This workout appears in my Top 10 calisthenics ebook — click here to download!