F45 has been rising in popularity these last couple of years since it provides a unique training experience for its members that seems to be working for a lot of them. Instead of the typical and somewhat boring gym routine where you have to come up with your own workouts, F45 does that for you so you don’t have to worry about it. With over 50 different workouts that are all different and unique, you’ll never feel bored or demotivated to train since you’ll constantly be experiencing something new. One of these workouts is called the F45 Piston Workout, what is it about? How is it performed? And is it worth it?
The F45 Piston workout is a resistance-based routine that consists of alternating between upper and lower body exercises as well as push/pull movements just like a piston.
In this article, we’ll talk about what the F45 Piston workout is all about, if it’s hard, and some examples of how it’s performed.
Table of Contents
What is the F45 Piston Workout?
Do you know what else F45 Training does best? Besides the fact that they have a lot of unique and innovative workouts that challenge your body, they also manage to come up with the best names for these workouts.
The team behind selecting the names always does a great job of choosing something cool and eye-catching. You have things like The Joker, Renegade, Empire, Varsity, Wingman, Special Ops, Quarterbacks, Triple Threat, and of course, The Piston.
It’s true that sometimes, these workout names don’t really have any significant meaning and they’re selected just because they appear cool or they represent a certain city like the Moon Hopper Workout, Docklands, Miami Nights, Tokyo Disco, Noho, Socal, and so on.
However, the majority of the time, the selected name gives a slight hint of what the workout will entail. And the Piston workout definitely falls into this latter category.
If you didn’t know, a piston stands for a sliding piece moved by or moving against fluid pressure which aids in the transformation of heat energy into mechanical work and vice versa.
But what does this have to do with the workout? Well, just like the movement of a piston, the F45 Piston workout is a resistance-style routine that will have you alternating between upper and lower-body exercises as well as push/pull movements.
It consists of 12 different stations in total with 3 laps around the room that will have you doing 1 set in each.
The first 2 laps are 35 seconds of work with 25 seconds of rest and the last lap is 40 seconds of work with 20 seconds of rest.
Since it’s a resistance workout, you’ll be using all kinds of equipment including dumbbells, barbells, REVO bars, kettlebells, sandbags, and so on.
Here is everything you need to know about this workout:
- Stations: 12
- Pods: 1
- Laps: 3 per pod
- Sets: 1 per station
- Timing: 35/25, 35/25, 40/20
F45 The Piston Workout Examples:
Here are two examples of what an F45 The Piston workout will look like (keep in mind that this may look different depending on your studio).
Workout Example 1:
Format:
- Lap 1/2 35/25 seconds
- Lap 3 40/20 seconds
Exercises:
- Station 1: Good Mornings
- Station 2: Incline Chest Press
- Station 3: Foot Tap Sit-Ups.
- Station 4: Trx Row
- Station 5: Dead Ball Squat
- Station 6: Racked Step Ups On Soft Box
- Station 7: Row
- Station 8: Side Lunge With Dumb Bells
- Station 9: Spider-Man Push-Up
- Station 10: Dumbbell Deadlift Squat
- Station 11: Shoulder Press, Bicep Curl
- Station 12: Russian Twists
Workout Example 2:
Format:
- Ultimate timing: set 1 – 35 work / 20 rest, set 2 – 35 work / 20 rest, set 3 – 35 work / 35 clean / move
- Normal timing: 40/20 3 laps
Exercises:
- Station 1:Sandbag Bent Over Row Neutral Grip Tempo 4-0-1
- Station 2:Swiss Ball Dumbbell Chest Press Alternate Arm
- Station 3:Suspension Trainer Bicep Curls
- Station 4:Barbell Upright Row
- Station 5:Ybell Single Cross Halo Transition
- Station 6:Ybell Single Russian Twist
- Station 7:Revo Shoulder Press
- Station 8:Kettlebell Unilateral Row Pause
- Station 9:Dumbbell Bench Flat Chest Fly
- Station 10:Soft Box Plate Reverse Fly + Hyper Extension
- Station 11:Dumbbell Tricep Extension Pronation
- Station 12:4 Point Hold + 180 Turns
Is the F45 Piston Workout Hard?
As you probably already know, the majority of F45 Training workouts are a mix of intensity and fun. It’s the whole reason why the fitness center is becoming popular.
And the F45 Piston workout is no exception. Because you’ll be alternating between upper and lower-body exercises, you’re gonna find a little bit of difficulty adapting to the change, especially during the first couple of minutes.
In addition to that, this routine in particular is pretty fast-paced which gonna get your heart rate up in no time.
Conclusion:
If you’ve never done an F45 Piston workout before and are not sure what to expect, then I hope this article made it more clear for you. Just remember that if you find it too difficult or too easy, you have full flexibility to go lighter or heavier depending on your physical ability. And if you’re not sure how an exercise is done, just ask the trainers there and they’ll be glad to help.
All that matters is that you have a solid workout and push your body to its fullest potential.