El Ruso FAQ

Who is this program for?

  • If you are on a long hair job or otherwise have a desire to keep a lower profile;
  • If you are stuck in a FOB, on vacation or otherwise living out of a bag;
  • If you are busy with family, shiftwork, projects, life or otherwise short on time;
  • If you are a bit on the shy side or uncomfortable around people.  Or if you have other misanthropic tendencies;

El Ruso may just be the perfect fit.

One of the things that makes our Fugitive Fitness programs unique is we assume that you are unable to make it to the gym, and may be on the run (busy, travel, etc). We build our programs around the ideas of minimal equipment, and the most effective use of your time.

How long is the program?

  • The base El Ruso Program takes 40-50min per day
  • We suggest a minimum of 3x per week, but anything is better than nothing
  • The standard program is made up of eight (8), six (6) week phases with an option for a hypertrophy phase at the end (6weeks)
  • With that said, you are given enough information that at the end of the program, you will know how to run it again for another cycle with a different focus. Literally you could use different variations of El Ruso for years and continue to see improvements.

What will I need?

  • Consistency
  • Desire to improve
  • Body weight
  • Resistance bands
  • Some type of suspension trainer (eventually) — easily made at home

Why do we advocate resistance bands?

  • Easy to travel with
  • Affordable
  • Less risk of injuries
  • Resistance can be adjusted (somewhat)
  • Provides a smooth increase in resistence
  • Can be used slow or with speed

What if I am not in very good shape?

El Ruso was designed from the ground up to be easily adapted to everyone from:

  • My five year old daughter
  • Your teenage son trying out for the high school wrestling team
  • A friend serving their country at the highest level
  • My elderly grand-pappy that wants to not be weak or broken

The leverages can be adjusted, and the bands come in different sizes, and weights.

We also show you how determine the number of reps you should be using to start.

How do I determine my reps to start?

Example
Hands elevated push ups and body weight squats.

Let’s say you can do 40 (in a single set) of each before your form breaks down in a set before before your form breaks down.

40/2 = 20

In your first workout in this phase perform:

  • @00:00 you perform 20 clean push ups
  • @02:00 you perform 20 clean bodyweight squats
  • @04:00 you perform 20 clean push ups
  • @06:00 you perform 20 clean bodyweight squats
  • @ 08:00 you perform clean push ups until 2 reps shy of failure
  • @10:00 you perform clean bodyweight squats until 2 reps shy of failure

Let’s say in the 3rd set of you were able to do 35 as an example:

You total the number of reps per exercise,and then divide by 3, in this case:

(20+20+35)/3 = 25

Continued assessment:

Your next workout you would do set your goal as  3 sets of 25.

If on the 3rd set you have a few more clean reps in you, you add them.

Say you were able to do 28 on the 3rd set

25+25+28/3
=26 as the goal for the next session.

What if I can’t do a push ups off of a coffee table?

  • Use a kitchen counter if you need to for a phase, then move your hands lower or add a band for a phase.

What if I can’t do that?

  • Use just a light band, and from a seated position work your pressing, see video video.
  • There is no shame; you want to improve yourself, and we are all about helping those that want to improve.

What if the gap between hands elevated, and the floor is too difficult?

  • Use a band to increase the resistance of your hands elevated push ups and work that for a phase

 

What about Mobility?

  • Mobility is without a doubt the most neglected piece in most training programs. Below is what we do:
  • Yoga, we prefer hot yoga
  • Joe DeFranco’s Limber 11 https://youtu.be/FSSDLDhbacc
  • AthleanX warm up https://youtu.be/7dT4KHtMM-A