Introduction

Yes, that's right ... I've developed a kick-ass training game. It's fun, it's addictive, it will help get you stronger & fitter, and it's not LAME like other fitness-oriented games (e.g. Wii Fit).

Background

Before I get into the game-play, I need to explain a little about where I got the idea for the game. A few months ago, I started a different kind of training program/way-of-training that's based around biofeedback & PRs (Personal Records). I don't pretend to be an expert on this style of training, so if you're interested in finding out more about it then you need to talk to Mike T Nelson or Adam T Glass ... both have been using biofeedback/PR based training for a while & know all the ins and outs of the system. And did I mention they're both awesome strength & fitness coaches ;) At any rate, I loved the style of training so much I came up with a game that's based on one of the concepts ... hitting PRs.

The Game

The game board is jut an A3 sized sheet of paper. Over here you can download a few board options (one with the exercises that we use, and also a totally blank one where you can write in your own exercises). All you need to do is download it, laminate it, get some fine-point white board markers, stick it up on your gym wall, and you're ready to play :)

The Layout

The game board above has all the main movements I train for strength & conditioning down the left hand-side. As you can see I use Barbell, bodyweight, kettlebell & strongman exercises. (And yes, I do use other stuff, but these are the basic movements I really want to get better at).

You'll also notice I have two rows of numbers along the top section of the board. The first row in red is weight in kilograms. There's also a gold square marked VOL—that refers to volume per workout (the combined weight of all the reps done on a specific exercise per session).

The second row of numbers has a yellow square marked Max—that refers to maximum reps of a specific exercise for one set. There's also blue squares numbered one to twenty—they are different time intervals measured in minutes. And there are gold squares numbered eight to forty-eight—they are the different weights of kettlebells I have (well, actually we only have 8s, 16s, 24s & a 40 but I include 32 and 48 because we've got two 16s and two 24s).

Along both the left-side and top are black squares labeled 'flags'. These have different functions depending on whether you're playing single player or multi-player, but they're to do with PRs.

There's one other yellow square in the lower right hand corner. Like the 'flag' squares, this has a different function depending on whether you're playing single-player or multi-player.

How do you Play by yourself: Single-player mode

The simple goal is to see how many PRs you can get—the more the better. If you get a PR in a given exercise, at a given weight/interval etc., you mark your PR in the appropriate square. Along with this you add one to the appropriate flag squares. The flag squares keep track of how many PRs you've achieved. The Gold square at the bottom right hand corner keeps track of how many PRs you've achieved across all the exercises, all the weight intensities, all the intervals etc.

Here's an example ...

Let's say you come into the gym to do some squats. Now you decide to do some high volume/low intensity lifts. So you go for 100kg lifts and you hit 20 reps—a PR ... all you do is write 20 in the square thats aligned with the 100 column and squat row. Along with that you'd put a one in the square that's aligned with the 100 column and the top left flag row, because you've got a PR using 100 kg of weight. AND you'd also put a one in the square that's aligned with the right/top flag and the squat row, becuase you've got a PR doing a squat. Along with that you'd also put 2 tonne in the Volume column (all though you might want to just make a note of that until after you completed all your squat lifts for the session ... you're not gonna know if you hit a PR on volume for the session until you finish doing all your squat sets.)

Moving on ...

After that PR you're feeling pumped and you think you can do better at that intensity. You have another crack at it and this time you get 25 reps—awesome, another PR. That means you replace the old PR of 20 with 25, you also add another one to both associated flag squares (that brings your total to 4 flags for the day, and then you add another 2.5 tonne to the Volume column (that brings your volume for the session up to 4.5 tonne).

So you might keep doing squats at various intensities for a while, and maybe do a few other exercises etc. Anyway, at the end of the session just tally up your flags and change the number at the bottom right to reflect how many PRs you've done.

Good times :)

How do you Play Against Others: Multi-player mode

It's similar to the single player game in that you mark down any PRs you get on a given exercise. However, you are competing against others for the PRs. This means each player uses a different colored marker. The flag squares in multiplayer mode are used to show which player has the most PRs in a given column/row (the flag squares are just shaded by the winning player using his color. At the end of each session the number of flag squares per player is added up and the one with the most gets to shade in the bottom right hand square with his color.

Here's an example ...

Let's say you and your training partner come into the gym to do some kettlebell snatch intervals (we always use 24kg bells for that). Let's say you got the most reps, 100, over a four minute interval (and it's a PR).  All you do is write 100 in the square thats aligned with the 4 minute column and snatch row. Along with that you'd put a one in the square that's aligned with the 4 minute column and the related left flag row, because you've got a PR using a 4 minute interval. AND you'd also put a one in the square that's aligned with the related right flag column and the snatch row, becuase you've got a PR doing snatches. Along with that you'd also put 2.4 tonne in the Volume column (all though you might want to wait on that until after you completed all your kettlebell lifts for the session. You're not gonna know if you've got a volume PR until you've finished all the snatch sets in the session).

Now let's say you and your training partner do two more intervals, one at five minutes and one at ten, but this time your partner beats you and gets two PRs in the process (125 reps at five minutes & 250 reps at 10 minutes). This means he gets to write his PRs down in the related squares. It also means along the snatch row, you've got one PR at 4 minutes and he has two PRs, one at 5 minutes and 10 minutes. That means he gets to color in the right flag square for snatches, because he's got the most PRs in that row.

You might keep doing this, trying a few other exercises etc. for a while. At the end of the session just tally up each players flag squares. Whoever has the most squares shaded gets to put his color in the lower right hand square.

Good times :)

Conclusion

Pretty cool game, huh? Hope you enjoy playing it as much as we do. We'll be coming out with a computer based version shortly. And I've also ordered a cool DVD that outlines and explains in detail the style of training I've been playing with (more details here). I suspect that may lead to a revamp of my ideas and a 'version 2' of the game. Also, special thanks to one of the young ladies who trains with us, Claire Sharman ... i originally wanted to do the game on a whiteboard, she come up with the laminated poster idea—way cooler ;)