Onnit Academy Wants to Totally Change the Way We Train
At Onnit, they don't just train with conventional methods. One corner of the Austin gym has a client crawling on turf while in another broad-shouldered man wobbles on and falls from a balance board near the SkiErg machine. The director of sports performance Jeremy Hills yells over Drake blaring through speakers as he pushes NFL free agent Jamaal Charles doing lunges with light kettlebells to improve his game!
A hallway away, Sam Pogue, a sports-performance coach instructs his CrossFit athlete on flawless handstand form. This isn’t the kind of training you expect to see at your local gym— let alone one located in an office park ten minutes from downtown Austin. Instead it counts NHL stars Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith as clients along with Philadelphia Phillies ace Jake Arrieta and Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas amongst others who train here too. Why? Apparently not because they want their athletes sweating buckets while bench pressing huge weights but for more technical skills like perfecting that elusive handstand!
Onnit isn’t like your average fitness company. They don’t believe in always lifting heavy and they have a whole slew of tools that are used for training, including maces and battle ropes which many people wouldn't think to use outside the gym. Onnit also claims you will feel better after using their products because it's not all about barbells or dumbells--they want to try new things with different exercises so there can be more variety than just building muscle mass by lifting weights over time. The founder had no idea 5 years ago what his company would become when he started selling supplements exclusively before expanding into workout gear halfway through 2014; but now as an established name in equipment sales today, Joe Rogan is one of
Onnit CEO Aubrey Marcus wanted to add a fitness arm, so he reached out the veteran trainer John Wolf who was running his own gym in California. Over the past three years, they have been establishing Onnit as a haven for unique training ideas—some of which are worth integrating into your own workouts. Most certified trainers are schooled with triplanar philosophy: these trainers use this idea that you should work on all planes (frontal plane meaning straight ahead and lateral side or right left) during each exercise.
Onnit has established themselves over time by taking risks when it comes to their workout routines because not everyone agrees completely with what is considered an “established norm” such say doing 20 repetitions instead of 10-12
This says your body moves in three planes: out in front of you (walking), out to your sides (lateral shoulder raises), and with your upper body twisting. Wolf, the main architect of Onnit’s approach, talks about a different concept altogether called rotation. To him, either create rotation or resist all rotational movement during any exercise—from a plank that is famous for its anti-rotation challenge to pullups where only subtle arm movements are used--and watching how someone manages their rotations reveals his/her weaknesses.
“We’re looking at these asymmetrical patterns, asymmetrical loads and using those to highlight what may be deficient. If we address your weakest link then the whole system is going benefit." This is the advantage of training with maces. Unlike dumbbells or barbells you typically use, clubs are heavier on one side creating an offset load; imagine a deadlift where ten pounds only on its left side - grip it as if there was weight in both ends but keep it parallel to ground like I showed you before. Deadlifts often focus too much attention on how people lift from their knees up into hip extension rather than focusing more about keeping that back flat while standing which will help stabilize weights better off-centered for good form
If you want a challenge that will make your body work from every angle, try out some creative exercise routines. You can start by trying the move listed above- it'll fire up those obliques and get them ready for other more intense exercises! A mace or club is also an excellent tool to use in order to have only one side of your arm working at any given time, which should help with rotational movement as well. If you're looking for something else challenging but without weights involved then simply do 45 seconds of planks on each side while alternating arms; 3 sets are plenty to see results in just about anyone who tries this workout routine.
But that’s not your only option, thanks to those maces and clubs which not only add core challenge but also make lighter weights feel heavier. Why? You’re lifting something different from normal. Apart from the physical benefits, it keeps workouts fresh by adding a new element of variety into an exercise routine - "It's an opportunity to excite yourself with something other than just the increase in load as a measurement of success," says Pogue- being able to lift things like heavy bags or even turnips can really change up one’s workout!
The exercises found in this article will help you use muscles that are often ignored during a typical workout. You can do these movements by using just dumbbells instead of barbells, or if one is feeling particularly daring try holding the medicine ball against your chest when doing lunges. If Wolf had his way, we would also take time to rest and recover which helps lower our heart rate as well as relax those hard-working muscles after an intense workout session!
Your fast-paced life can stimulate your sympathetic nervous system, which accelerates heartbeat and quickens breathing. Such a state wears you down if sustained; but even so, fitness has embraced recovery ideas such as foam rollers or mobility drills that finish CrossFit workouts. Onnit focuses on recovery with the greatest force of all--they are dedicated to teaching "durability" classes consisting mainly of exercises for restoring mobility in joints and muscles after exertion from other activities like running or weightlifting.
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Wolf often spends 20 minutes of an hour-long session doing joint mobility and activation moves before getting into the primary workout. Spending that long warming up or cooling down isn’t always practical, so do what you can. If you have five minutes, Plascencia says, take time to move your spine by rolling around on the floor like a gymnast would during warmups. Yes really! Rolling is part of being healthy just as much crawling or crouching in everyday life too." That's why I love this drill: lie on your back then slowly roll over onto one side and then switch it up again next go round."
Next, get on all fours and crawl. Such movements may seem basic but in a society that spends most of its time sitting and walking they're not."Being able to do something so simple" says Plascencia "is a great indicator of how well we truly move". If you want an extra challenge grab the two changeups from Onnit!
Try: Offset Z-Press
Use your legs to do a downward motion and then press the weight overhead, keeping it level. This is so difficult because you are fighting two forces of gravity in opposite directions! Keep trying though -remember- one day this will be easy for you.
Try: Club Front-Lunge Press
With your right arm held at the hip, and club head pointed up in hand-to-hand position with a light club. You then lunge forward on to your left leg while simultaneously pressing the ball down towards you from its straightened arms. Repeat this ten times per side for 3 sets total of 10 reps each time!