Flipping Tires and Building Strength

I'm always telling my clients the importance of strength training and cross training. I am a runner at heart and coach runners as well. As runners, we sometimes just want to run. I have recently begun coaching some of my clients at the track and conveniently enough, the football team has left their tires on the field. So of course, we decided to take advantage and do a little cross training.

The advantage of training outside is that you can make anything into a strength training move. Flip a tire, climb a tree, do dips on stairs. Anything is possible. Tire flips just happen to be one of my favorites.

The Advantages of Flipping Tires

• Full body strength move
• Work your quads and legs on the lift
• Increased grip strength
• Works core and back (form is important)
• Heavy cardio

How to do a Tire Flip

To begin. Squat down next to the tire and place your hands as far underneath as possible. Pull the tire upward with your arms and core strength. Use your legs to explode upwards. When the tire is standing on end, flip your hands around and push it to the ground. Repeat this to a pre-determined number of reps.

Sample Tire Flip Workout

Start with a tire you can comfortably flip with minimal strain on your back. Flip the tire 10-15 times. For more cardio work, go fast and don't take breaks between each flip. Don't want as much cardio? Simply focusing on flipping the tires more times and with more rest between each flip. For example, flip the tire, rest for ten seconds, and repeat.

The tire should just be a part of another overall workout. These moves are great when included with back or leg day for more functional training than simply weights at the gym.