At most health clubs and fitness facilities, symmetry is the name of the game. Weights are solid and easy to grip. Machines run smoothly and evenly. Floors are level and often padded. “In the gym, everything is kind of perfect,” says strength and sports performance coach Zach Even-Esh, SSPC, CSCS, founder of Underground Strength.
Outside the gym, it’s a different story: The sidewalk is uneven. Your duffel bag refuses to fit into the overhead compartment. Your new puppy is a lot squirmier than a kettlebell. Even if you’re a regular exerciser, real-world challenges can expose vulnerabilities that a training routine doesn’t fully address.
“Ask someone who’s over 40 how they injured their back,” says Even-Esh. “They’ll say something like, ‘I was walking my dog’ or ‘I was putting on my seatbelt.’”
To fill the gap between conventional fitness and the demands of the real world, trainers like Even-Esh turn to odd-object training.
This is a form of exercise that exalts asymmetrical loading, awkward positions, and unexpected implements, like kegs, tractor tires, atlas stones, and chains. (The sport of strongman, which has its roots in the centuries-old Scottish tradition of stone lifting, is the competitive version of odd-object training.)
You can get a similar workout using sandbags and heavy medicine balls, available in most fitness centers, or — in a pinch — using a single dumbbell.
“Odd-object training builds in-between strength,” explains Even-Esh. It fortifies not just your squatting muscles and your pulling muscles but also your side-bending muscles and your rotating muscles — the ones you need to be strong in the awkward positions that life forces us into from time to time.
“You’re training for lifting toddlers, clearing brush, doing yard work,” he says. “You’re training for life.”
If you’ve been working out regularly, even for a few months, and feel comfortable with moves like conventional squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses, the following workout, designed by Even-Esh, might be a fun challenge to test your strength.
Sub this workout in for a full-body training day once per week for up to four weeks. Or, for a full dive into odd-objects work, perform the workout three times a week on nonconsecutive days for up to four weeks.
“On the first two weeks, focus on learning technique,” says Even-Esh. “The last two, focus on breaking records” — trying to increase the resistance or reps on each movement.
The Workout
1. Med-Ball Strength
- Perform the 1A and 1B moves as a pair.
- Do a set of the first move, rest for 30 to 60 seconds, and then perform a set of the second move and rest again.
- Continue second move and rest again.
- Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed five total sets.
1A. Med-Ball Lunge
Perform 5×6 each side (note: only one side is shown in video)
- Assume a shoulder-width stance behind a heavy medicine ball.
- Squat down and grab the ball firmly.
- Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, stand rapidly, hoisting the ball onto your left shoulder.
- Take a long stride forward with your left leg.
- Bend both knees, slowly descending until your right knee almost touches the floor.
- Reverse the movement, stepping your left leg back to a shoulder-width position.
- Repeat the move on the same side for a total of six reps.
- Lower the ball to the floor, then repeat the process, lifting the ball to your right shoulder and stepping forward with your right foot.
1B. Med-Ball Floor Crush Press
Perform 5×5.
- Lie on your back with a heavy medicine ball on the floor to your right.
- Roll to your right side, hug the ball to your chest, then roll onto your back.
- Place your hands on either side of the ball and crush the ball between your hands. This is your starting position.
- Press the ball to arm’s length over your chest.
- Slowly lower the ball back to the starting position.
- Repeat for five reps.
No med ball? Perform the move with a single heavy dumbbell.
⊗ Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed five total sets.
2. Carry + Calisthenics
- Perform moves 2A and 2B as a pair.
- Do a set of the first move, rest 30 to 60 seconds, then perform a set of the second move and rest again.
- Note that the 2B move changes with each round.
- Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed four sets.
2A. Sandbag Farmer’s Carry
Perform 4×20 seconds per side.
- Hoist a heavy sandbag onto your right shoulder.
- Walk forward (or in a circle or figure eight) for 20 seconds (or 40 steps).
- Switch arms and repeat on the other side.
No sandbag? Hold a single heavy dumbbell by your side.
2B. Calisthenics
- Perform moves 2A and 2B as a pair. Note that the 2B move changes with each round.
- Do a set of the first move, rest 30 to 60 seconds, then perform a set of the second move and rest again.
- Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed four sets.
Round 1: Pushup
Perform 4×10.
- Assume a pushup position: hands and balls of your feet on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder width, body straight from your heels to the crown of your head.
- Keeping your body rigid, slowly bend your elbows and retract your shoulder blades, lowering your chest as close to the floor as possible.
- Reverse the movement and repeat for a total of 10 reps.
Too tough? Perform the move with your hands elevated on a bench or box.
Round 2: Inverted Row
Perform 4×10.
- Take hold of the handles of a TRX, facing the anchor point.
- Extend your arms in front of you and walk backward a few steps until the straps are taut.
- Keeping your upper body in place, walk your feet forward until your body forms about a 45-degree angle to the floor. Straighten your body so that it forms a straight line from your head to your heels. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your body straight, simultaneously retract your shoulder blades and bend your elbows, lifting your chest as far forward as possible.
- Slowly return to the starting position and repeat for a total of 10 reps.
Round 3: Plank With Heel-Raise
Perform 4×10.
- Assume a pushup position.
- Without lifting your hips or bending either leg, lift your right leg from the floor as high as possible, hold for a one-count, and return to the starting position.
- Repeat the move with your left leg. That’s one rep.
- Continue alternating sides for a total of 10 reps.
Round 4: Four-Count Mountain Climber
Perform 4×10.
- Assume a pushup position: hands and balls of your feet on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder width, body straight from your heels to the crown of your head.
- Keeping your body straight, alternately draw your knees to your chest — right, left, right, left. That’s one rep.
- Repeat for a total of 10 reps.
⊗ Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed four sets. (Reminder: the 2B move changes with each round.)
3. Sled Work
- Perform this section as a straight set — meaning you won’t pair the movement with another exercise. Rather, you’ll perform a different variation of sled work in each of the three rounds. (No sled? Hop on a treadmill, set the incline to 12 to 15 percent, and walk at a pace that challenges you for one to two minutes.)
Round 1: Sled Push
Push the sled for 10 to 20 yards.
- Load a sled with a medium-heavy weight.
- Stand behind the sled, grab the handles, straighten — but don’t hyperextend — your arms, and push the sled forward as smoothly and powerfully as possible for 10 to 20 yards.
- Turn around and push the sled back to the starting position. Rest 60 seconds.
Round 2: Sled Pull
Pull the sled for 10 to 20 yards.
- For the second set, grasp the sled handles and walk backward for 10 to 20 yards.
- Turn around and pull the sled to the starting position. Rest 60 seconds.
Round 3: Side Step
Side shuffle for 10 to 20 yards.
- For the third set, grasp the handles and perform resisted side shuffles — to your left on the way down and to your right on the way back.
⊗ Continue alternating movements until you’ve completed three rounds.
This article originally appeared as “Train to Move Odd Objects” in the July/August 2025 issue of Experience Life.
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