Sledgehammer and tyre exercises

So how exactly do you integrate the two into a work-out regime? Japheth Amimo of Sigiria Fitness Experience says like most things people interact with on a daily basis, the two items remain underestimated as fitness enablers.

Boot camps

“It is possible to have full body work-outs with just a sledgehammer and an old tyre, far more than the resistance from any gym-based exercise,” he explains.

Sigiria Fitness Experience is currently holding sledgehammer and tyre boot camps every Saturday at Karura Forest accessible through the Thigiri Lane gate.

While the boot camp incorporates several other activities like the monkey bars and lifting of logs in the place of weights, the sledgehammer and the tyres remain the main feature of the two-hour experience.

“Old tyres are things that are quite common, some people have trucks that they use for their side hustles and they can be purchased easily from transport and logistics companies,” he explained.

Before embarking on strenuous work-out, you need to do some warm-up exercises to get blood circulating throughout the body.

Science

“With a tyre, you can do some body lifts, mountain climbers and even jumps to get your heart racing and stretch the muscles to reduce chances of tears during the exercise,” he says.

A body lift involves placing one foot squarely on the surface of a tyre lying on the ground and using it to raise your body then switching the foot and repeating the motions.

Mountain climbers mimic the motion of hikers but with the weight supported by your hands and toes like when doing push-ups.

“You use the tyre to stabilise the body, where you place your hands and stretch your legs as far as possible from it, before bringing the knee towards the chest in alternating motions,” he explains.

The main exercise involves hitting the tyre with a hammer. It is not as easy as it sounds. There is a whole science behind it, from how you hold the hammer to avoid it slipping and hitting your head to how to stand for the maximum stretch effects of the muscles.

Stretches

“This exercise helps you work out your core muscles as you turn your waist before hitting the tyre in a squat-like position that stretches both the hands and the legs,” he explained

At a more advanced level, you can make jumps in between the tyre hits or make it more interesting by jumping before coming down to hit the tyre with the sledge hammer.

Do-it-yourself

You can also exercise the back, arms and legs by doing tyre flips which involve lifting it up and throwing it down in repetitive sets.

There is a wide array of creative exercises to do including pushing or pulling the tyre twice across the ground before jumping in and out of the hole.

It is important to have an early breakfast at least two hours before taking part in the cardiovascular endurance and strength exercises.

At the moment, Sigiria Fitness Experience uses trailer tyres but Japheth says they are in the market for the even larger tractor tyres to increase the resistance for those exercising during the boot camp.

“These are do-it-yourself exercises that do not require a large outdoor space, you can just use the parking space after you have moved your car.  It is also not something where you can say will disturb the peace with your neighbours,” he says.

Replicate

Those who participate in the Sh1,000 boot camp can easily replicate the same in their homes after learning the safety precautions.

You do not have to use the trailer tyres, the normal 4 x 4 tyres can also be used conveniently.

“If you are using tyres from smaller vehicles, you can have them half-buried into the ground to increase their stability so that they do not spring up from the impact of hitting them,” he explained.

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