It’s perhaps not quite the metaphor former Melbourne based trainer Dan Kennedy had in mind when he was looking for a challenge that would test both his physical and mental toughness. But in choosing to complete a 24-hour charity sled push for Beyond Blue, for the second year in a row, he has set himself a task that’s certainly Sisyphean in its enormity and its difficulty.
What about its futility you might ask? The truth is to complete it he may need to mix this mythic metaphor by drawing on Herculean strength and endurance.
“It symbolises what going through hardship can be like,” said Olympian Michael Klim of the challenge, after completing the challenge last year with Kennedy, in which they took turns to push a sled weighing 80kg, 30m for 24 hours. Adds Kennedy: “With the sled push it’s you against the load, not only physically but mentally. It’s really symbolic of the dynamic around mental health issues.”
Kennedy will take turns with his mates to push an 80kg sled for 24 hours at KB Performance, a Melbourne gym owned by Western Bulldogs star Katie Brennan, from 6pm Dec 7 to 6pm Dec 8. Along the way he’ll be joined by friends and volunteers who’ll jump in for 30min slots. All funds raised will go to Beyond Blue.
"This is obviously the second year of running the event and last year we reached our goal of $10,000+," said Kennedy ahead of this years effort. "This year we hope to reach our goal of $15,000!"
To prepare for this years mammoth push, Kennedy is hitting the gym, hard. He took time out of his preparation to share his leg workout, and holy DOMs is it rough.
Warm up
- Foam roll
- Mobility
- Glute activation (using therabands is an easy way to fire up the glutes)
Main Session
1. Barbell Romanian deadlift 3 x 6-8
2. Barbell box squat 3 x 5
3A. Barbell hip thrust x 10
3B. Dumbbell walking lunges x 20 total
4. Theraband pallof press 3 x 10 each way
5. CONDITIONING: SLED PUSH 10 x 20 seconds max effort (HEAVY), followed by 40 seconds complete recovery/rest
Cool down:
-Static stretch
-Foam roll
