You’ll learn:
An exercise that will turn your legs into pistons, render your core solid as steel, and make your grip a vice.
It will improve your rucking, running, hiking, walking, cycling, lifting, and your ability to do “life stuff” like carrying kids and gear.
It may also help you live longer. Stronger legs and grip are two of the best predictors of longevity.
I’ve included a video and tactics to add the exercise to your life.
Housekeeping:
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Audio/podcast version
The post
Fridays are always reserved for our signature posts.
The first Friday of the month is our epic Burn the Ships workout.
The second Friday of the month is Gear Not Stuff.
Third Friday: The Expedition (my favorite to write because it nourishes my ADD brain).
Fourth Friday: AMA.
But, four times a year, we find ourselves in months with five Fridays. These rare Fridays also need a signature post.
Enter All Killer, No Filler Fridays.
Here’s what the All Killer, No Filler Friday posts does:
Features ONE THING that’s improved my life recently.
These posts will be quick and to the point.
They will be, as it were, all killer and no filler.
This fifth Friday, we’re featuring the best d*mn leg exercise on Earth.
How it started
I started doing a version of this exercise as part of a larger program to prepare for 33 days in the Arctic for The Comfort Crisis.
The Arctic is extreme—some of Earth’s roughest and most rugged country.
The place is especially hell on your legs. The tundra is like a half-frozen, endlessly hilly mattress.
The mattress is comprised of either dirt that exists in an ice-cream-like state, spongy layers of dense moss, mucky swamp, or partially-frozen moving water. These soft layers sap energy from each step—making each step more difficult (picture walking on beach sand).
I needed legs like pistons—legs that could power across the mattress for days on end, all while I wore an 80-pound pack.
And thanks to that pack, I also needed a torso like a steel cable: able to hold weight and flex when necessary but never break.
Enter this exercise.
Some lower body exercises only work your legs. But this one also bulletproofs your upper body—it works your back, abs, obliques, shoulders, arms, and grip with each rep. It also helps you build resilience in the vulnerable position where you’re most likely to get injured.
In that sense, it’s also like a longevity pill—a data set of nearly 2 million healthy people showed that those with the strongest grip and leg strength were 31 and 14 percent less likely to die, respectively, according to a review of the research.
I recently started doing this exercise again after visiting the good Doctor Doug Kechijian at his home in Connecticut (check him out if you live in CT, NJ, or NY).
After some testing, he suggested I reacquaint myself with this exercise. And, I learned, he’s since added a wicked tweak to the exercise that makes it even more powerful.
I’m now doing it to prepare for an upcoming hunt in a particularly steep and deep part of the Rocky Mountain West.
This is not your typical lower body exercise. You’ll see that it has some complications that make it harder. You’ll hate me in and Doug in the short term, but you’ll thank us when:
Your rucking improves.
Your knee pain goes away.
You can power up mountains on your hikes and trail runs.
You can ruck with heavier weight.
Your legs and assets look better.
Etc, etc, etc.
So let’s dive in.
All Killer, No Filler: The best d*mn leg exercise on Earth
The exercise is:
