Reviewing Ross Enamait

[liero]

Hey Guys and Girls,

I have been a big fan of Ross's work for a long time now.

I tried some exercises in his sample programs after finding my intensity and endurance had limited my performance, impressed but wanting more I have decided to go for it and try his products.

As I know there are alot of fans of his theories here on the forum and more than one person has asked about his stuff so I want to review it for you.

If this is wrong section please move ;)

ok...Here goes.

There are alot of products so I will have to review them seperately, I'd also like to report back to you on the strength and conditioning exercise programs. Two, fifty day training plans which are included in his products...That will be done later

Having to do a report back on how the exercise programs go will give me that little bit of incentive/pressure to complete the program as well.

Ordering The Product

I live on the other side of the world to Ross, Postage was a bit expensive so I decided I could order two of his three products.

Not being able to pick between them I ordered all three!

They arrived in seven days, which I consider to be quite good time to get it all the way to me in Australia.

What the hell did I buy

There are three products.

Full Throttle Conditioning

This is Ross's latest product, Its a 90-Minute DVD with examples of Ross's programs, destriptions of exercises using bodyweight and simple tools. There is a 90 page companion manuel which goes into more detail.

Never Gymless

The cover of this one looks more impressive than the other 3 items due to the lack of a cheesy photo's of ross, and is 232 pages of Bodyweight exercises and programs.

This book is all about negating a normal gym, and looks to have a plethora of stuff in, but as its the only item I havnt looked at I will have to review it last.

It includes a 50 day challange workout by ross

Infinite Inensity

This 250 page book claimes to be the ultimate low-tech/high effect program for maximum developement of speed, endurance and strength.

This book is different to the never gymless product but it also incorporates gyms and resistance training with weights etc.

It also includes a 50 day workout challenge.

I plan to start this challenge first, but need to finish the book so I know what I'm doing!

Will post in depth review of the Full Throttle DVD and companion soon.

[cloudz]

cool, looking forward to hearing more about them :cool:

[slipthejab]

Working my way through Infinite Intensity now myself. Chock full of information and inspiration. Will be using a fair bit of his training methodology as I prepare myself for my next fight in Dec. - I guess some of that is going to be the real litmus test of his methods.

[liero]

full throttle conditioning

I first watched the 90 minute DVD as I knew it would be the easiest thing to get through, then read the manual. As they both follow a similar order I will review them together. on the DVD Ross spends about 10-15 minutes reviewing his conditioning philiosophy, which basically is a high intensity low complication routine.

He stresses the need for a head to toe conditioning program rather than emphasising one specific element, and in both the film and the text uses his often repeated example of a boxer who needs to train the whole body and not just the arms.

He also emphasises a need for competition or motivation, somthing to strive towards and have a reason for conditioning training.

two elements that I feel are emphasised in the book are that all his training routines etc are to be tailored to individual needs, and he never tries to say one size fits all.

The other thing that he emphasises is that no matter how much you like a certain routine or exercise, you are not training that specific exercise but in fact using it as a tool to make your conditioning better for your fighting skills. As such he emphasises that you need to mix up and vary your training significantly.

Ross also outlines different methods of conditioning training. This particular product focuses on conditioning rather than strength training, which apparently his other programs provide info on, and I will review later.

Ross explains various types of interval training involving running, sprinting and body weight exercises.

He then outlines Enhanced interval training and the theories behind it. Also looks at different conditioning plans such as minute drills, density training and finishers.

in the DVD Ross shows some demonstrations of the interval training he does which is usefull to show the intensity and style that you should approach them with and I found very usefull

The DVD also has sections which have examples of different workouts, the first is jump rope and Ross explains how to 'jump like a pro'. I find this particular set of info to be the most useless of the whole DVD and Manual combo. I think any athlete considering buying ross's products should already know how to do the exercises.

Following this Ross shows various dumbell exercises and then proceeds to show some exercises using common and uncommon training devices including: Resistance bands, medicine balls, sandbags, kegs filled with water, water balls (swiss gym balls filled with water), and some others.

The exercises he shows are the ones which he then turns into some routines and demonstrates to you.

I particularly like his idea of scriptless training. Get some different exercises and perform them at a high intensity for a timed roung (e.g. 5 mins) but without worrying about sets/reps, just working through them as you want to.
examples include ground and pound a bag, medicine ball throws, up downs, bag punches etc.

The DVD also goes into some discussion about routine creation and how often you should do it and then ross talks about traditional running (not so good for fighters you might be suprised ;)) then he heads outside for the final section of the DVD to show some outdoor unorthodox running drills.

The Manual has alot more information on program design and putting the exercises together which is quite excellent. There is also a whole chapter on tapering which answered alot of my questions and was almost worth the cost of the entire DVD combo IMO.

The last chapter is various examples of all the types of interval and other training that I mentioned above, with different exercises for each.

As I complete them all I will post them up and tell you how I go with them.

final rating

Pro's

Good simple rundown on conditioning training for combat athletes.

cheap, $25 US for a 90 min DVD and 100 page book, which is much more cost effective than alot of other stuff on the market.
You get a visual aid other than a still picture, which is good to notice subtleties in the exercises and see how intense each exercise should be.

There are lots of parts where ross works out, which is AWESOME, including about 5 mins of exercises at the end which are just randomly put in. Gives me something to strive towards
Cons
Poor production quality. Ross made the tapes himself and you can kind of tell. the audio sometimes echo's and there isnt alot of editing. But its still good considering the low price and there is nothing that you cant just look past to get the solid info.

Doesn't have any focus on strength training. Ross recommends never gymless for this information, which wouldve sucked if I ordered this product all the way from the USA without buying the other ones as well. Luckily I got all three and I can have a look at it all later,

overal rating

DVD: 4.5/5
Manual: 5/5


I will have to update spelling etc for this a little later and put in anything I forgot, just in a bit of a hurry to get to training ;)

any questions?

[liero]

never gymless

I have just started reading this book as it seems to be the easiest to implement new exercises into. I can train at home with minimal equipment and I dont have time for the gym

This book is Ross's second on bodyweight training and conditioning.

Interestingly He devised it for himself when his wife fell pregnant. Knowing that he might have to stay at home alot more often to care for the child, and not being able to get to his gym; The goal of this program was to gain elite fitness using only bodyweight exercises.

He used the 9 months of her pregnancy to devise a hardcore routine which he tests on himself to use while the baby is young. This book documents the sucesses of that program (or at least it will in the later chapters)

This is particuarly relavent for some of our new Mummies and Daddies on the forum (Dougbug for one), who have posted about fitting training around a newborn's schedule.

Ross seperates himself from other advocates of either bodyweight only or weights only individuals. he is particularly critical of certain "guru's" and their overemphasis on the harms of weight training and the overblown potential of bodyweight exercises.

The information after which presented is similar to some of the information from Full-Throttle conditiioning, about giving the body adequate time to recover, and mostly about maintaining emphasis of intense exercise.
...

All I have read so far.

[liero]

Pulling and Pushing

The next two chapters in the never gymless book are pulling and pushing respectivley.

Ross identifies that most people have done some sort of pushing exercise as part of training (pushup and benchpress as examples)

He says that a minority train their non-mirror (cant see them in the mirrow) muscles of the upper back which are integral to athletic performance.

The bodyweight exercises that Ross demonstrates to isolate these muscles are mostly chin/pull up type exercises on a bar. Ross identifies several at home methods of doing chinups and also recommends some usefull products.

Included in this chapter is simple begginer exercises for pulling strength including different recommendations for working through plateaus.

the one that I think will be usefull for myself is pyramids. I cant really get past 7 reps of a chin up, sad I know, but comes with being a WTF taekwonder ;)

The idea of pyramid training is to reduce the number of reps below a maximal set but increase the load e.g.

1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1... do this 3 times. As you can see its not hitting my max of 7 but I'll be doing much more work!

It's raining something severe today but I'll try this exercise 3-4 times a week for the next 2 weeks and work through my strength plateau to let you guys know how I go.

The chapter also has several other workout ideas for pulls including using ropes and rings to work on grip strength.

Ross also shows some more advanced pull up exercise variations to challenge the more advanced athlete, these included types of plyometric pulls and one arm pulls.

Ross also includeds a progressive training model to work up to a one arm pull up. And conversly for an individual looking to get their first pull up rep he has some introductory exercises to work on such as bodyweighted rows.

The pushing chapter has more exercises and starts with traditional pushups.

Ross identifies different ways you can fit pushups into a conditioning workout, such as putting a set at the end of a sprint, which makes the whole workout more intense.

He also mentions that many trainors will move their athletes away from pushups to develop maxmial strength and explosive strength. Ross claims that bodyweight pushing exercises can still target these areas of strength training effectivley.

Many of the early variations of exercises ross shows I think most people with martial arts/fight training experience would be familiar with. these include diamond hand pushups and medicine ball pushups.

Ross does however show even more complex movements, starting with the standard plyometric pushup and moving into more complex variations using knuckles, fingertips, resistance bands and concrete bricks to increase intensity and target different areas than the standard pushup.

Ross like the pulls chapter gives a program and series of exercises to help achieve a one armed pushup, and then gives another series of more intense unilateral (one arm at a time) exercises for when one arm pushups are no longer challenging...which I find to be a riduculous concept, as clearly I am not as beastly as Ross (yet ;))

Ross also shows other pushing exercises including dips and dip variants and then explains how to work towards a full free handstand pushup.

The important thing that ross reiterates with all his high performance bodyweight techniques (e.g. one armed pull ups/pushups and handstand pressup) is that the athlete is not training specifically for these exercises. There is no point sacrificing your technical fighting skill to be able to do a one arm chinup. The exercises should slowly be intensified as simpler exercises are no longer challenging, but should be supplemental to skills training!

So far this book is a high grade, well researched piece of information and it's probobly the best resource on bodyweight training I have read.

[d0ugbug]

Thanks for the reviews liero ive not gone ahead and ordered a copy myself :)

[TaeKwonNoob]

Awesome man, I just posted a reply to a different thread asking if anyone has bought any of his products and if they are worth the cash...

I think I will definitely buy one of his books soon due to your reviews. I was interested in his Infinite Intensity book mainly. Have you started that one yet?

Thanks a bunch for the info!

[liero]

I'll post the rest of the never gymless review in a few hours...I'm 5 days into the sample plan from that book but I'll try to have a look through Infinite Intensity and post a reply...

I know Slip said he was working through it so perhaps you can ask him about it while we wait for me?

[liero]

isometrics

Simply ross defines isometrics as exerting force against a stationary object.

Ross identifies that isometrics are effective when incorporated into an existing strength work out to help push through plateus. Although it can be difficult to measure sucess of isometrics you can measure strength though gains in other movements.

Ross outlines how to overcome boredom through maxmial effort isometrics and explains how often to use them and when they are usefull.

Particularly noteworthy is the static dynamic protocal in which isometrics followed by dynamic exercises increase the gains in strength. E.g. hold push up positions and then plyometric pushups...This goes against what our forum buddy Van Zandt says about stretching for high kicks so I might like to get his feedback on this theory.

Ross outlines isometrics to improve overhead press (such as for handstand pushups), punching isometrics and even isometric exercises for the neck, which he claims is the safest way of strengthening the neck muscles. The chapter ends with some simple tools to use for Isometrics.

I found this chapter not the most clearly readable of all of them, but have incorporated isometrics into my training, doing static holds on a chin up bar at various ranges of motion before my pyramid set...not sure how much more effective it will make me but I could definatly feel the resistance.

core

I think you have to be a bit silly not to understand the benefits of a powerfull core for both fighters and in general day to day activities.

Ross's core training outline tries to look beyond just the "six pack abs" and really target all muscles including the lower back.

Starting with simple situps and moving onto advanced moves using resistance bands and medicine balls ross again compliles an excellent variety of core exercises to keep you interested in training.

Ross also shows how he sets up core workouts. I tried one and it was pretty effective and intense

conditioning

this chapter is about specific conditioning exercises and is similar in information as the full throttle conditioning program in the exercises it describes, however, only bodyweight exercises are used. examples include: burpees, sprints and explanations of enhanced interval training, integrated circuts and finishers.

for more info about these concepts, see above posts ;)

nutrition

I dont want to get into this section, but Ross lives by a VERY healthy organic preservative free diet. Most of the things he said I have heard before, but he is highly critical of dairy products, any processed goods and mass market meats and fishes.

Although I find the things he says to be important to think about when I buy food, I did find the extreemist attitude towards most foods a little alarming. However, in this age of obesity epidemics and so much fast food, I think this sort of information might be what some people need.

...

Next post Will be about program design and the 50 day conditioning program in the book...I am tired so will have to write it up later.

Thanks guys for letting me know that your actually reading this. It is taking a good amount of time to put this stuff up so if you think it should be a bit more amended or you want more detail etc just let me know!

[PASmith]

Cheers for this...I've just knocked my gym membership on the head (no time anymore) and have "Never Gymless" on the way. Sounds like I made a good choice. :)

[axelb]

good reviews here, I'm thinking about getting the never gymless book! no time in the evenings for the gym, and usually struggle in the week to get to the gym at lunch times so sounds like a good purchase.

[liero]

Thought I would give some feedback to the program...

I started the 50 day sample workout with 100% intensity. the days are broken up into

1) Integrated conditioning workout (there are 10)
2) Max strength day
3) Enhanced interval Training (5 workouts so do each one twice)
4) Explosive strength day
5) rest day

there is a back off cycle days 20-25 and 45-50, there are also scheduled ab and isometric workouts, as I was training TKD almost every day I only did the major workouts.

The 1st 20 days I completed religiously. The conditioning workouts and interval sessions are intense! I had some severe muscle soreness after the strength workouts, probobly just due to not being used to the exercises.

the back off period (days 20-25) coincided with the beggining of my uni exams and i decided to do the back off with a day of rest in between each workout...which turned into me lazily taking about 2 weeks off to complete my exams etc...insert excuses ;) now I'm back on the ross training program and at the last work day (day 34) of the 7th cycle.

So what have I noticed?

My first goal was to work on my chinups. Both strength days called for chinup variations, and as my reps have been so low, I just alternated between standard pull/push ups, one interval session also incorporated timed chinups along with other exercises (60 secs. 45, 30, 15)...Often I was using the pyramid sets that I mentioned in an above post. Now as far as improvements go, in the 35 days (not including the exam break) I've had improvement in reps.

1st session: 5, 4, 2, 1 (4 sets)

yesterdays session: 7 pullups , 8 chins , 8 chins , 7 pulls (4 sets)

"yesterdays session" was not maximal, I have cranked out 12 pullups, which is near double what I could do a month and a half ago, which I think is pretty substantial gains. I also attribute some of the gains to doing Isometric holds on the bar at various angles. My hold time is better and i can controll ascent and descent alot better.

I've seen some physique improvement, muscle tone etc, but I have been making sure I'm not putting weight on, I'm at the top of my weight category.

In terms of aerobic/anaerobic fitness I have noticed differences. Although the circuts are always challenging, I've noticed that when I've been doing martial arts training and sparring I can train harder, longer and at a more intense pace.

The other thing that this workout schedule has helped with is performing while fatigued. Some points in either the workouts or martial arts training I'm getting fatigued to a point where I wouldve stopped or slowed before, however the feeling is becoming a bit easier to work through, its not easy but its getting there.

The training drills also really simulate the way that I feel during actual fights in terms of that really out of breath "puff puff puff" feeling that comes from explosive movements performed repeitively. most of the conditioning drills take place for about 15-20 minutes, which is just over what a comp fight would be. they also often incorporate rounds, or timed breaks. Which simulates fight recovery time. It really is a program that is geared towards develeoping fitness for fighters.

There are a few negatives of never gymless that I have noticed.

The 1st is the reliance on outdoor training. I dont have a pull up bar at home, and some of the circuts rely on running distance along with other things (400m 50m), so I have to travel to a nearby park. I dont have a problem with this but A few times I have had to put off the workouts due to rain, and covering my clothes and hands in dirt is becoming a common event. The other issue is that we had a heat wave of 40 degrees celcius for a week or more, and this made outdoor training worse than wet training.

2nd. Call me a wimp, but I find the program perhaps to be TOO intense. The program, if completed with the extra ab and ISO workouts is 2x workouts a day 6 days a week, and the recovery day is always on a different day. I try to train sport specifics 3-5 times a week and 17 workouts a week, full time study and working to make money is stressfull and painfull.

That being said. I will continue and complete this 50 day program, it will take me more than the actual 16 days as I will not do a workout on Xmass or NYE NYD and a few days inbetween as I'm going away. As soon as I finish this challenge I will move onto the Infinite intensity 50 day workout and outline the differences between the two modalities of training and make my judgement on which of the two books is a better resource.

Finally once that is complete, I will try to create my own workout plan incorporating as much of the workouts as possible in a more sport specific context and put it up for criticism/revisals from you MAP people. My 1st comp will prob be late feburary or early march so I will have a chance to complete both Infinite Intensity and Never Gymless, and then I'll be able to see how well the fitness gains carry over to the ring...

If you made it this far, I applaud you and thanks for taking the time to read my ranting, I hope it was helpfull