The Dice Of Destiny 🎲

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I. Rolling The Dice 🎲

When you're away travelling, whether it's for pleasure or business, it's understandable that training can often take a back seat. Firstly, it might be nice to enjoy the break and if that’s the case, go ahead and enjoy it. But if you do want to keep up your exercise routine, things can be tricky.

You're away from your usual routine, rarely have access to a good gym, and if travelling for work, you often have a tight schedule. Plus, jet lag can be a royal pain.

So, with normality out the window, it’s helpful to have a simple go-to training plan. For me, the "Dice Of Destiny" is a great plan to have in your back pocket. You don't need a fancy gym or loads of time. All you need is a dice and a dash of effort.

Enough to make you Superman? Heck no; but it's enough to keep you ticking over for a week or two.

In its simplest form, you'll be focusing on just ONE exercise for a specific number of repetitions, determined by a dice roll. The dice roll adds a fun element of unpredictability to your training. Some sessions will be a breeze, and some will be a bit more challenging, but either way, it's a programme minimum for those busy times.

How to get started.

Step #1: Let's start by selecting ONE exercise to concentrate on. For hotel rooms, it's great to choose simple bodyweight movements like push-ups & squats, but there are plenty of other options to explore.

Step #2: Now, it's time to do the confidence test for that exercise. This will help you determine your desired rep range for your dice rolls and the MAXIMUM number of reps you'll perform per set.

How to perform the confidence test.

→ If you can complete TEN solid reps with almost perfect form, congratulations, you are at level 1. You should do sets with a maximum of five reps.

→ If you can complete TEN* solid reps and then rest for 60 seconds or less before performing another TEN* reps with near-perfect form, great job, you have reached level 2. You should do sets with a maximum of ten reps.

→ If you can complete TWENTY* reps with near-perfect form in one set, excellent work, you have made it to level 3. You should do sets with a maximum of fifteen reps.

DICE ROLL	One	Two-Three	Four-Five	Six	Max Reps
Level 1	35	50	65	80	5
Level 2	40	60	80	100	10
Level 3	45	70	95	120	15

Quick Example

Exercise: Push-ups

Confidence test: Level 1

Max Reps Per Set: Ten

So if I roll a THREE that’s 50 push-ups, and these should be done in a max of 10 reps per set.

These could be done in one sitting or spread out across the day. For example Twenty-five reps (10,10,5) in the morning and Twenty-five (10,10,5) in the evening.

Things To Remember

1. Aim for 3-4 sessions per week.
   

2. You can’t roll the same rep range twice. For example, if you roll a THREE on day one and a TWO on day two; roll again to hit a different range.

3. Own every rep - as you get tired it gets tempting to speed up, do half reps or any other methods of cheating. Don’t. Take longer breaks if needed but own each rep.

II. Push-up

Using the example in the D.O.D., you have the option to do either full or modified push-ups based on your confidence score.

To get the maximum benefit from each repetition, let's avoid the Roadrunner reps and focus instead on a controlled tempo. A slow lower, a brief pause then drive back to the top.

III. Dad Joke to ponder

What do they call a pushup in Paris? A French press 🤣

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie