While it is important for you to be able to scale up and overcome obstacles with your agile reflexes, you’ll need speed and stamina to ensure that those behind you are, well, behind you. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a short and intense workout that is aimed to improve your cardiovascular fitness and enhance your running speed.

The 30-60 Speed Training

Before beginning, please consult your doctor before attempting any workout program. This workout program should be done 3 times a week, with at least a day of rest in between for recovery.It is going to be intense, so remember to hydrate yourself sufficiently and to conduct proper warm ups and cool down accordingly.

Things you’ll need

1. A pair of running shoes
2. A digital watch.
3. An obstacle-free area to run (i.e. running track)

Conduct of Wokout

Begin by jogging on the track for one minute to get your engine started. Next, sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds. This is followed by a 60 seconds jog (passive recovery. Repeat; sprint off again for another 30 seconds, following with 60 seconds of passive recovery (jog).

Sprinting for 30secs + jogging for 60secs = 1 set

Repeat for 4 sets.

The whole workout would look like this

• Jog 60 secs
• Set 1 (sprint 30secs + jog 60secs)
• Set 2 (sprint 30secs + jog 60secs)
• Set 3 (sprint 30secs + jog 60secs)
• Set 4 (sprint 30secs + jog 60secs)

This will take you exactly 7 minutes if you are doing it correctly. Take note, there are no full rest periods between sets. Regulate your breathing as much as you can during your passive recovery period (60 secs jog) before bursting into the next set.

The Results

Be patient and consistent with your training. Start with this simple workout and as you progress, increase the intensity to 120:240.  You will run faster with much ease by the weeks. Only you can decide your way of the ninja.

The post How To Increase Your Running Speed in a Month appeared first on Way Of Ninja.

Physical fitness, muscular endurance, and stamina are essential to being a modern ninja, whose training involves parkour, martial arts, and stealth.

While there are many ways to train for your fitness, bodyweight workouts (aka Calisthenics) allows you to naturally progress towards Parkour’s conditioning exercises. Bodyweight exercises use the body’s weight as resistance for your workout. Some notable examples are push ups, pull ups and crunches.

This form of workout also allows you to build strength and endurance without going to the gym.

Therefore, because of the simplicity, you’ll have no excuses to skip a workout session, and should be able to build your cardiovascular strength fairly quickly.

Basic Workout Program by Way Of Ninja

The following program is meant only for beginners to train towards a basic level of fitness using Calisthenics workouts. The workout should be done thrice a week, with a day of rest in between (e.g. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). Please consult your doctor before attempting any exercise program.

Part 1:

There should be 10 to 15 seconds of rest between each exercise and set.

Push-ups (3,5,3)
Crunches (10)
Tricep Pushups (3,5,3)
Bicycle Crunch (10)
Touch your toes (3)
Reverse Crunch (10)
Wide Pushups (3,5,3)
Vertical Leg Crunch (10)
Cobra Stretch (3)
Dive Bomber Push-ups (3,5,3)
Prone Bridge (30 sec)
Side Bridge -static (30 sec per side)

Part 2:

Take a 10 to 20 minutes break before continuing.

The jogging should last no more than 14 minutes for males and 18 minutes for females.

Pull-ups (1,1,1)
Supine Pullups (7,7,7)
Tuck Jumps (5,5,5)
Bodyweight Squats (30)
Jogging (1.5miles)

Inspiration For The Bodyweight Workout

This workout routine was inspired by The Complete Guide to Navy Seal Fitness by Stew Smith. I would personally recommend getting his book for more advanced workout progressions. My personal workout routine before being in the military was heavily influenced by an older edition of his book.

Stew Smith was a former Navy SEAL and was featured on Fight Science (National Geographic). The new edition of his book, The Complete Guide to Navy Seal Fitness, includes a DVD that explains and demonstrates the correct way to perform specific Callisthenics exercises.

The post Training With Your Body’s Own Weight appeared first on Way Of Ninja.