Ragnar Lothbrok Workout – Train To Battle The Earl

We all have battles to fight, but perhaps not to the extreme of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok. He trained to recover from injury and battle Earl Haraldson to regain his honor.

I’m in the midst of my own recovery and pulled together the Ragnar Lothbrok Workout.

Appeal of the Vikings

I am one hundred percent Scandanavian and even share some resemblance to Travis Fimmel, who plays Ragnar in the History Channel’s Vikings Series.

I may not have the ponytail, but check the photo.

While I started working on a new hairstyle long before I had seen any images of Ragnar, I can’t claim they got the idea from me. Just great minds think alike somewhere.

Still I’ve been drawn to the TV series. Part of the appeal of the Vikings is due to my heritage. There is something deep that is intrigued by the era of the Viking exploring warriors.

Combine that with an awesome soundtrack, some drama, cool wooden seaworthy ships, and brutal weaponry and I am all in.

The Ragnar Need For Recovery and Training

In the series Ragnar was injured – okay he was shot through the chest with an arrow and sliced deep with a sword through his thigh. He was nearly done.

But to regain his honor and allow his family a chance to survive, he had to do something dramatic. He had to recover enough to be able to take on a personal battle.

Often life is like that, we can stall and feel like there is no way out. The reality is that just like Ragnar, the truth is that our condition is often something we’ve been attempting to ignore for years.

Ragnar and the Earl knew they were at odds with each other. They each attempted to find ways to ignore the underlying issue, until it could be ignored no more.

Face your challenges, train, and conquer.

Okay … put down the hatchet, this isn’t 749AD.

Ragnar Lothbrok Workout

So here’s my take at a workout to help train like Ragnar to battle the Earl. He needed full body power and conditioning to battle. He needed upper body strength to wield weapons and leg strength to keep going.

The workout pulls out two of my DIY fitness equipment projects: the Bulgarian Training Bag and the Plyometric Box.

The workout is a superset of five exercises. Perform 10–20 repetitions of each exercise, resting as little as possible between exercises. Then recover for 3–5 minutes before repeating the superset for 3–5 times.

1. Bulgarian Bag Power Swing – this exercise is like the swing with a full extension over your head, then drive back down. Strike-Up; Smash-Down.
2. Bulgarian Bag Spin Left – The spins are essential for Viking training – they build a strong core. Stable and powerful.
3. Bulgarian Bag Spin Right
4. Box Push-Ups – Drop your hands down to the ground and kick your feet up on top of your box, then do push ups. The increase load will help build upper body strength; imagine driving forward with a shield.
5. Plyometric Box Jumps – finish the superset with a set of jumps up onto the box. Explosive power to drive up and through. Jump up, then step back down.

Take time to recover and go at it again. I made it through three rounds of 15 repetitions.

Ragnar trained, then took on the Earl in battle. Check out the clip.

Train Like A Viking

So pull out your skills and make some DIY equipment, then train like a Viking to conquer your own battles.