The Roadie Workout

Now roll them cases out and lift them amps

Haul them trusses down and get’em up them ramps

‘Cause when it comes to moving me

You guys are the champs

~Jackson Browne

You may not know it, but your friendly neighborhood Bodysmith lives a double life.

I’m not only a fitness professional of nearly 20 years, but I’m also a working musician with 39 years of stage experience! Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m pretty old. But I digress…

I like to create workouts that apply what is known as the Specificity Principle. Without getting too sciency, the specificity principle states that exercise that closely mimics a given function or activity will translate directly to improved performance in said activity.

For example, if someone wants to hit a golf ball farther, exercises that target mobility and power of the hips, core, and shoulders will translate to farther drives. Pretty simple, really. Now, stick with me here.

Recently my band, PetRock, played a gig in South Dakota, The venue was first class, and the gig was great, but the equipment load-in was challenging, to say the least. 

In case you didn’t know, roadies are the behind the scene muscle of the music business. These unsung heroes are tasked with the heavy lifting required to put on a rock and roll show. It’s not unusual for a touring act to have an entire crew to take care of these duties, but unfortunately, at this stage, I and the rest of the band often do most of it.

We’ve got a lot of gear to move to put on a show, and the ramp to this particular stage was exceptionally steep. This means pushing and carrying road cases (some weighing several hundreds of pounds) up to the stage for load-in and down for load-out at the end of the night. Sure, we’ve got some great roadies to help (shoutout to Jess and Shandy), but it’s still not the easiest thing to do as “mature” musicians at midnight after a three-hour performance.

So while I was in the gym on a Sunday trying to devise one of my “Sunday Funday” workouts, I had an epiphany. “Why not develop a workout to help us better load in and out of a gig?” Hence was born…The Roadie Workout.

This workout is what I like to call a grind workout. That means you are doing heavy work for an extended period. This type of activity is excellent for building strength, endurance, and mental toughness. The sled push and kettlebell carry transfer directly to hauling and pushing those heavy cases in and out of the venue.

What You Need
The beauty of this workout is that you only need a sled you can load weight on and 2 heavy kettlebells.

How to do it
You will perform all exercises in a circuit without stopping. You can take a break after each set, but the goal is to complete as many rounds as possible in the given time.

1. Sled Push 40 yards. Load that sucker up heavy. It’s ok to start lighter but add weight each round until you work hard. Shoot for a 7- 8 on a scale of 1-10 perceived exertion.
2. 2 Kettlebell Farmers walk 40 yards. These kettlebells should be heavy. For a female, try starting at 14 kg in each hand. For a male, 20 kg.
3. Sled Push 40 yards.
4. Single Arm Kettlebell Farmers Walks, 20 yards each hand.

Do as many rounds as possible for anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes.

The Roadie Workout primarily focuses on your lower body, core, and grip strength while keeping your heart rate elevated for the entire period.

Give it a try and see if you have what it takes to work for the road crew 🙂

~Coach Brad