There isn’t a festival celebrated on earth that Hollywood hasn’t covered in a movie or two, but my favorite festival is Halloween and it is clearly reflected in the genre of movies I love; horror of course. My other most favorite thing is working out and so this list of workouts is inspired by my favorite horror flicks in honor of Halloween.
Halloween (1988)
Honoring the Michael Myer within You:
All hail Michael Myers for making the knife slashing action so smooth and effortless.
Since any devotee of combat sports will agree that that kind of movement actually demands a lot of core strength, and landmines are one of the best ways to build that.
The real challenge in doing landmines is to avoid cheating and using your lower back precisely like you are supposed to. Make sure to squeeze glutes and abs. Keep scapula retracted and elevated to keep pressure off shoulders. Flex lats to retain stability. Don’t go too heavy on this one!
If this is your first time or you don’t know how to program landmines, just play it safe and start off with weight that you could use for about 12-15 reps and starting off with three sets of 10. If done right, this alone will leave you plenty sore!
PumpkinHead (1988)
Give that Pumpkin what it deserves!
It is Halloween and just walking through the pumpkin patch isn’t enough. You have to drag those humongous jack-o’-lantern’s home, and that means hauling a few 20-pound behemoths back. For this too you need to practice and there is no better exercise for this kind of activity than the farmer’s walks.
No other movement can match up to the efficacy of building core, grip, and traps like the farmers walk. However, even the best of gym rats don’t always do it right, so here are a few pointers of getting it right.
Remember the phrase “different strokes for different folks”. Choose your loads according to what you are exercising for. For speed training choose lighter loads. They won’t tax your core or grip.
No need to jump hoops-meaning don’t pick your feet up too high. This will simply exhaust you, slow you down and throw you off balance as well. Walk while keeping your feet as close to the ground as possible, taking small steps in quick succession.
The biggest mistake people make during the walk is allowing the weights to swing. Prevent this by keeping your core as tight as possible. Also pause after you pick the weight up and before you start walking. Let the weight to settle before you start walking, otherwise the weights will start swinging even before you start walking.
Trick ‘r’ Treat (2007)
Burning off 1000 calories of Halloween candy:
Did you just polish off the entire stash of Halloween candy on your own? Well you’ll have to pay off this indulgence with the Prowler pushes and here’s the way to do it:
Load the sled to a weight you are comfortable with, but heavy enough that you cant run with it. Now walk about 50 meters forward, while squeezing with your glutes and hamstrings and driving through your heels. Make it a slow, controlled push. Switch to low handles and sprint all-out back to the starting point, driving through your toes and keeping your feet moving the entire time.
Zombieland (2009)
For escaping zombies:
During a zombie attack, you’ll need to run darned fast to stay alive – and running fast enough to escape the living dead is bound to place a lot of tension on the hamstrings. If yours aren’t up to par, then get ready to be devoured otherwise, start strengthening those hammies.
Nothing strengthens those hamstrings like hopping onto the seated leg curl machine. This way the hamstring is forced to work differently when the hip is in extension and flexion. Most hamstring movements keep the hips in extension, so it’s important that you perform some seated curls to train the muscle in both.
So there you have it- the full on Halloween inspired movie workout. Almost all of the equipment you might need for these training sessions are easily available in gyms or online. Another added benefit of Halloween is that it is the doorway festival of the Festive Season, so just about every brand and product is on sale. Check out RDX Sports for inspiration (a brand famous for premium quality combat sports and fitness equipment at extremely affordable prices). So get in there and kick some spooky ass. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do every year.
