Well this is probably one of the best exercises for strength endurance conditioning.

What is Strength Endurance Conditioning?

Strength Endurance Conditioning is where you take a weight and lift it continuously to gain both strength and endurance. See you get to combine 2 elements in the same workout. Also this type of training is the most fun as I will explain further in the article.

Let me first run a scenario for you:

Would you rather have the ability to bench press 500LBS for a maximum single or would you rather lift 365 lbs over 50 times in less than an hour. There was a book I read where the lifter talked about this experiment and it made a lot of sense. Typically your 500lb bench presser (at least in this example) was only able to lift it once and needed at least a half hour to recover.

Now there are many ways to train, and sometimes you cannot "have it all", but the closest to having it all is Strength Endurance Training. You can adjust the weights in the sample above for your fitness level, I just wanted to show and example.

Barrel Training is what is called "Odd Object Lifting" in the strength training world. It is a lot harder to lift an odd object, then a straight barbell.

This type of lifting has also become very popular due to the popularity of the "Worlds Strongest Man" contests. If you look at the top competitors in those events those competitors are in top condition able to move tremendous amounts of weight over a period of time.

So this workout helps give you the best bang for your buck!

So let's take a look at a Barrel Workout

Let's say your barrel (empty beer keg) is filled with sand of about 200lbs. You lift this over your head, then you drop it or place it down.

Repeat 49 more times, you may get the first 20 in a row, you will be huffing and puffing and your heart will be racing while your breathing is extremely heavy.

Don't you see how this has a cardio effect?

This first 20 reps will be done let's say in 20 minutes, and then you have 40 minutes to do your remaining 30 reps. You can only get 25? Then stay at that weight until you can get the full 50.

Now you can play with your time limits the point is to be moving fairly continuously to keep your heart rate and breathing weight up, while lifting something medium heavy.

A barrel is hard and you do not want to hit your feet, if you feel a little unsure of yourself use an army duffel bag filled with sand.