This no-excuses travel workout uses the cooler you already carry for one of my favorite tough movements, the burpee box jump over: you do a burpee, then jump or step onto the cooler and over to the other side, working back and forth. Pair it with pull-ups if you can find a bar, running a descending ladder, and you have a serious session. In this Physical Friday I break down the burpee step over and how to build it into a workout.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
It is a tougher version of the burpee that uses your cooler. You do a burpee, then jump onto the top of the cooler and off the other side, do a burpee there, and come back over. If you step up and over instead of jumping, that is a burpee step over, a bit more controlled. Either way you work back and forth across the cooler.
Stand tall, drop to a push-up position, touch your chest, do the push-up, get back to your feet, and jump off the ground. That is the base movement. Adding the cooler, by jumping or stepping over it, is what makes it much more challenging.
Run a descending ladder of burpee box jump overs from 10 down to 1, going back and forth across the cooler. If you can find a pull-up bar, pair it with an ascending 1-to-10 of pull-ups. Pairing two movements like that turns a simple cooler into a complete session.
Just a sturdy cooler, like the Yeti I keep in my boat and truck, and ideally a pull-up bar if you want to pair movements. Beyond that it is bodyweight, so you can do this on the road with the gear you already have.
Because it shakes up your training and adds a movement you probably do not normally do. Turning a burpee into a burpee box jump over or step over is genuinely tough, and using the gear already in your truck means there is no excuse to skip a workout while traveling.
Yes, it is a tough movement, and that is the point. Jumping or stepping onto the cooler and over to the other side after each burpee raises the difficulty quickly, so scale the reps to your level and build up over time.
We have been talking about using the gear you already have for fishing or hunting to get a workout on the road. I wanted to show a couple of challenging ways to use that Yeti cooler so you can shake things up and try a movement you might not normally do.
Here is exactly how I build a tough cooler session around burpee box jump overs.
I almost always have a couple of Yeti coolers, one in the boat and one in the truck. With nothing else, that cooler turns a basic burpee into a burpee box jump over or step over, which is a much tougher movement. I explain the setup in the episode, so press play in the player above.
If you jump to the top of the cooler and off the other side, then do your burpee, that is a box jump over. If you stand up and step over instead, that is a step over, a little more controlled. Either way you go back and forth across the cooler. I demonstrate both in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Add a pull-up bar and you can do a descending ladder of burpee box jump overs, 10 to 1, with an ascending 1 to 10 of pull-ups. Pairing two movements turns a simple cooler into a complete session. I walk through the pairing in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Those burpee box jump overs and burpee step ups onto the cooler are a tough movement, and that is the point. Shake things up, use the gear that is already in your truck, and try something you do not normally do.
I would love to know how you are using your cooler and your fishing gear to get a workout on the road. Give the burpee box jump overs a shot. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
Tom Rowland · Yeti cooler · burpee box jump over · burpee step over · burpees · pull-ups · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
I’m Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast’s Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong, healthy, and able to do what they love for life — in short, practical episodes you can put to use right away.
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