Onnit 6 Durability

Who is it for?

Give us six weeks to help you move like a kid again.

Remember what it was like to be a kid? Back when you were in school, whether you were a star athlete or you barely passed gym class, you could move in all kinds of ways, effortlessly. Running, jumping, climbing, crawling… you could do it all—without pain or restriction.

So what happened?

You grew up. You stopped moving as much. You got a job where you sit at a desk all day, and when you’re not sitting there, you’re in your car, or on the couch. And a sedentary lifestyle, or, at least, one that doesn’t find you using ranges of motion like you used to, compounds over the years.

The longer you go letting your movement skills decline, the harder it is to get them back.

Maybe you do go to the gym a few days a week, and you’re still in pretty decent shape, but you can’t do all the exercises you used to. And if you tried, your shoulder/back/knee would act up.

Or, perhaps you’re still an athlete. Even one who competes at a high level, or a very fit person who takes his/her training seriously. You feel good overall, but you wouldn’t deny that you’re a little banged up. Years of hard competition and workouts have taken their toll, and you’ve racked up a few injuries.

You rest them, but they don’t seem to get much better. The truth is, most injuries don’t get better by just leaving them alone. Rest is best when you’re in the acute stages, but to get back to doing the activities you love and continue them long-term, you have to change the habits that got you hurt in the first place. In other words…

You need to move better.

When you have sound movement mechanics, the right muscles take on the stress of your activities.

You spare your joints, improve performance, and add years to your athletic career, not to mention overall quality of life.

There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to move in all the ways you have the capacity for (and that potential is much greater than you think), no matter how old you are or what your injury history. Onnit 6 Durability can help you reclaim a strong, supple body that can get you closer to doing everything you want your body to be able to do, and more.

What it means to be durable

Durability is defined as the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage. In order to understand it in relation to your body, think of an overhead press exercise.

Imagine holding a barbell in both hands, or a kettlebell in one. The exercise requires you to press the weight overhead to lockout.

If your shoulders and upper back are tight, you may not be able to press the weight straight up. You’ll find yourself pushing it slightly forward as it rises, and that hurts your shoulder joints. If your core is weak, you may start leaning back excessively, over-arching your lower back. That can set you up for a low-back injury.

Now, what if you had the shoulder and thoracic mobility to press your arm straight overhead, and the core stability to hold your spine in optimal alignment while you did it? Not only would you avoid getting hurt, your lifting would be more efficient. You’d get greater activation in the muscles you want to work, and you’d be stronger as a result.

In short, by improving your ability to move—and control your body in that movement—you’ll increase your resistance to injury, boost overall performance, and improve longevity, whether you’re an active person or a dedicated athlete.

You will become DURABLE.

Onnit 6 Durability is not:

• An easy stretching program
• An injury-specific rehab program
• A shortcut to big muscles and ripped abs

Durability isn’t like other fitness programs. The aim isn’t to lift a certain amount of weight or transform your physique by the end of it. It also isn’t your mom’s yoga class, or a doctor-prescribed treatment plan. Rather, its purpose is to make you a better mover, laying the foundation for you to achieve any fitness goal you may have more easily in the future.

Using your own bodyweight, along with the steel club, you’ll perform uniquely challenging resistance exercises that help you develop the positional awareness, body control, and mobility to accelerate progress in any area of fitness you like, and maintain your tissue and joint health for many more years.

The Durability workouts are meant to last you well beyond six weeks. After you complete the program, you can plug any workout you like best into any other training you do, customizing your routine for greater results… for life.

How is Onnit 6 Durability different from the other Onnit 6 programs?

Onnit 6 Durability is, to date, the most unique of the five offerings in the Onnit 6 series. While greater mobility and movement skills are ancillary benefits of all the other Onnit 6 programs, they’re more focused on strength, power, and overall stability. Durability, on the other hand, zeroes in on the most important first step in achieving any goal—learning to move properly and pain-free.

Our advice: if you’re looking for a program that helps you get back into shape after an injury or layoff, or you’re new to Onnit and our brand of training, start with Onnit 6 Durability. Once you’re moving well and pain-free again, choose another Onnit 6 program that best suits your next goal.

Join the Club

Onnit 6 Durability uses both bodyweight and steel club exercises to enhance movement skills. Here’s why the steel club is the perfect accompaniment.

The offset load and long lever make the weight more difficult to control, especially in positions where you’re already weak.

• The result: you’ll build greater stability and body control.

The steel club is often lifted with a swinging pendulum motion. Using the steel club like this tractions out your joints, decompressing and releasing tissues that get tight and short from conventional training and daily activities.

• The result: you’ll help reduce joint pain and restore flexibility.

The steel club is light enough to use for several exercises in succession, but provides enough load to encourage functional flexibility, similar to partner stretching. Ever do a straddle stretch while a friend gently pushed on your back to ease you in deeper? The weight of the steel club provides a safe loaded stretch that opens up your shoulders when you lower it behind your head, and your hips when you swing it between your knees.

• The result: you’ll gain greater ranges of motion.

Using light steel clubs in the way they’re presented in this program will help you master other offset leverage tools, like the kettlebell and steel mace.

• The result: you’ll become a stronger, smoother lifter when using any training implement.