There is a 53 year old man that has trained almost every day of his life. He rarely uses weights. His training consists of ultra high rep push-ups and sit ups. He also sprints regularly. To top it off, he is a vegetarian and eats one meal a day, dinner.

Show this daily regimen to anyone who trains and they will likely tell you this is a recipe to win the Mr. Puniverse contest. Then ask them if they know who Herschel Walker is.
Above is the daily practice of Herschel Walker. No joke. While Herschel may be a genetic freak, there is something to be said about his methods. He breaks all the traditional “rules” of fitness and has achieved results that are unbelievable. I am sure he was questioned about his odd training by “people in the know,” but the results speak for themselves.

When I started training outdoors I was anchored by a lifetime of reading bodybuilding and fitness magazines. I was filled with preconceived notions of what a training program should look like. I was told you can’t do any conditioning because it will cannibalize your muscle. You need to eat astronomical amounts of protein to build muscle. You need to eat every three hours, and so on….It was bad.

When I was 17 I used to take this liquid amino supplement that looked like runny snot. Seriously, I gagged with every spoonful. The Supplement industry is so poorly regulated, who knows what was even in the bottle.

I have experimented enough and seen first hand that “facts” or “truths” are BS.

In the past several months of training outdoors I have started training every day, eating twice a day, doing full body workouts, using high reps, and only using bodyweight exercises (sometimes I do use a weight vest). That is a lot of change. Many of the things I do now would be shunned by the “experts.” There are no experts, there is just practice and trial and error.

I compiled a list of 11 ideas to break the traditional rules of fitness. Maybe they will work for you? All have worked for me. Give them a try or create your own list.

Train everyday.
Sprint 3 times a week
Do low intensity conditioning for an hour at least 3 times a week. This includes biking, hiking, brisk walks, etc.
Eat one ingredient foods, whole foods. For example, the ingredient list shouldn't identify more than one word.
Don’t train to failure, always leave a little in the tank.
Treat training as a practice.
Change training activities with the seasons. For example; sprint in the summer, Mountain bike in the winter.
Be inefficient to burn more fat. For example, when I cycle 3 times a week for a few months, my cycling efficiency goes up as my body adjust to the workload. As a result It takes more time or increased effort to burn the same amount of calories. To combat this I am switching up conditioning exercises every few weeks.
Train with someone in better shape. My fastest cycling years where when I rode with guys that were faster than me.
Don’t sit for more than an hour without doing something physical.
Race or compete with friends. I have been timing my 400’s to compete with another buddy who is fast.

Take action! Break the rules and try something different. You may be pleasantly surprised.