Although I try to limit my meat consumption (and if at all, I only buy certified organic meat!)…. – every now and then I do crave for a nice beef steak. 🙂
The other day I had such a moment, thus I fired up my gas grill, put the box with the meat on a stool next to it, the lid placed loosely on it, and then went back into the flat to prepare the last few things.
That’s when I heard it: The characteristic sound of a tupperware pot falling to the ground from a height of about 50 cm.
THE TOMCAT!!! 🐈
I know by now that a certain four-legged gentleman goes completely nuts over beef (and chicken breast), so I ran back out onto the balcony and saw the box lying on the floor; my male cat Eddie, his teeth sunk into a 350g beef rump steak, trying to drag this large piece of meat across the balcony towards the bedroom; traces of meat juice where he had dragged it behind him, walking backwards; my cat Phoebe, who apparently wanted to keep watch directly behind him in case someone came onto the balcony via the second door from the bedroom (… and she certainly also wanted her share of the spoils 😸).
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to take a photo – I had to save the steak. But it looked something like this:
Of course, both of them, caught in the act, dashed off like two flashes as I approached them and so, after carefully rinsing my meat, I was able to throw it on the barbecue after all. And since I’m not a monster, they naturally got their usual share, meaning tendons and fat. 😺
Looking back, I thought to myself that it must have been quite an effort for the tomcat to drag this big, heavy, tender piece of meat behind him… that was definitely his – unfortunately unsuccessful – coup of the (so far) year!
The sled.
The prowler (or sled) came to my mind, in particular the exercise where you pull it walking backwards.
I got to know the sled a few years ago as part of my weekly ‘functional circuit training’. That’s what it was called back then; nowadays, at least here in Germany, it is called ‘Hyrox’, and in between there was a time when people wanted to emphasise that it was a ‘CrossFit’ or ‘HIIT’ circuit training.*
The sled is a great, highly versatile piece of training equipment that can be used to train several muscle groups – in other words, ‘functional’ training. It is a metal frame that can be fitted with additional weight (usually heavy plates) to intensify the training. It is pulled or pushed over a carpet or other suitable surface and used to train muscle strength (strength-endurance, explosive strength or gentle muscle building, depending on the exercise and execution).
Another advantage of training with the prowler, especially for beginners, is that the technique is not as challenging as strength training with heavy weights to build muscle. The two most important technical aspects when training with the sled are, firstly, core stability – no matter what exercise you do, your core must be firm so that your back remains straight and your spine neutral; secondly, your wrists should be stable and not buckle (this applies mainly to the push exercises, of course) in order to protect the joint (you can also use aids such as supportive bandages here if necessary).
In our circuit training, we usually had to push the prowler, which in Hyrox is now called ‘sled push’. The cat, on the other hand, did what is called a ‘sled pull’. Here are the five most common exercises with the sled at a glance:
- Push with your hands at shoulder height / sled push: Lean your upper body into the prowler and push it in front of you.
- Pulling forwards: A rope or belt is attached to the sled and then placed around the body (shoulders or hips); now you pull it by the rope (walking forwards).
- Backward pull / sled pull: In a first variation, you stand low in the squat and pull the sled towards you using a rope. In a second variant, you walk backwards and pull it behind you, again by using a rope/strap – just like my Eddie did with the steak (except that he had teeth instead of a rope 😀 ).
- Low pushing: You grab the sled at the bottom and push, your arms are close to your body and you stay low in your legs the whole time.
- Seated pulling: Like the first variant of the backward pull, but seated.
So the next time you’re at your gym and there’s no suitable class on offer, why not give the prowler workout a try? You’ll see, with the sled you can put together a FIBER functional ‘workout of the day ’* for your whole body!
… Just like Eddie with his ‘Catch of the day’! 😺
*Side note:
Ultimately, all three terms (Hyrox, CrossFit, HIIT) – with a few differences – stand for the same type of training: They combine endurance training with functional strength training (both with heavy weights and “just” bodyweight).
The exercises are basically the same, although with functional or HIIT circuit training and Hyrox, emphasis is placed on the fact that the exercises are easy(er) to learn and therefore beginners can also take part. CrossFit, on the other hand, tends to appeal to a limited target group due to its elitist image; the exercises are often technically challenging and not suitable for beginners (increased risk of injury). With CrossFit, you train in short, very intensive intervals and focus less on endurance than with Hyrox.
The terms ‘Hyrox’ and ‘CrossFit’ are not only the names of sports, but also brand names: Hyrox is a German project, CrossFit an American company. Both organise competitions (worldwide) and here you can find another important difference between the two of them: Hyrox competitions always follow the same procedure with the same exercises, so you can prepare specifically for the challenge and track your progress. CrossFit competitions, on the other hand, are different every time and athletes often only find out on the day of the competition what their so-called ‘workout of the day’ will be.
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