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The Völsunga Dragonslayer Workout
60 TO 75 MIN · 6 MOVEMENTS + WARM-UP · STONE · SANDBAG · BARBELL · KETTLEBELL
I · THE SAGA
The Slaying of a Dragon... from a ditch
In the Völsunga saga, the dragon Fáfnir guards a cursed hoard on Gnitaheath. Sigurd (Siegfried, if you grew up on Wagner) doesn't win with a the typical duel. He wins by digging a trench across the path Fáfnir crawls to reach the water, crouching in it, and driving his sword straight up into the belly as the wyrm passes overhead.
Before that, his foster father Regin forged him two swords that shattered on the first swing. The third, Gram, was reforged from the shards of his dead father's blade, and it split Regin's anvil in half. Then an old one-eyed stranger (Odin, obviously) showed up with the best coaching cue in Norse literature: dig more than one trench, so the blood drains away instead of drowning you.
Strip the myth down and the dragonslayer's program is brutally physical. "Dig" (Mudvayne reference). Hold the bottom position under load. Drive upward with everything. Climb out of the hole. Haul the gold. Carry it home. Raise the sword. This session is built around what movements reflect these feats of Sigurd.
The Wanderer, Odin in disguise. Arthur Rackham, 1911.
II · THE RATIONALE
Six movements to slay one dragon
The order: heavy, skill-dependent work first while you're fresh, odd-object grinding and conditioning in the middle, and some swordplay at the end.
A · ZERCHER SQUAT
Holding the Trench
Bar in the crook of the elbows, deep in the hole, paused squat. The position of a man crouched in a pit waiting on a dragon.
B · CLOSE GRIP BENCH
The Stab From Below
A dead-stop press straight up from the chest. Triceps and lockout strength, the exact line of a blade driven up into Fáfnir's belly.
C · TURKISH GET-UP
Rise From the Ditch
Flat on your back to standing, weight locked overhead the whole way. Sooner or later every dragonslayer has to climb out of the hole.
D · STONE TO SHOULDER
Hauling the Hoard
After the kill, Sigurd loads Fáfnir's gold onto his horse Grani. Awkward, heavy, lapped and hoisted.
E · SANDBAG CARRY
Fáfnir's Path
The road between the lair and the water, walked under load.
F · BARBELL FRONT RAISE
Raising Gram
Front delts that can hold a sword out at arm's length for the victory shot. Controlled, no swinging, all the way to failure.
Warm-up
8 to 10 min
Light sandbag bear hug carry, 2 × 40 m
Goblet or bodyweight squat, 2 × 10
Light get-up practice (no weight or a shoe on your fist), 2 per side
A
HOLDING THE TRENCH
Zercher Squat
5 × 5 to 10
0 to 1 RIR
Rest 2:30 to 3:00
3 second descent, 1 second pause at the bottom.
B
THE STAB FROM BELOW
Close Grip Bench Press
4 × 3
1 RIR
Rest 3:00
1 second pause on the chest, explode up. Grip just inside shoulder width, elbows tucked.
C
RISE FROM THE DITCH
Turkish Get-Up
3 × 2 per side
Rest 90 sec
Slow and controlled. Reset at the bottom between reps. Pick a weight you'd trust over your face, but make it heavy.
D
HAULING THE HOARD
Stone (or Sandbag) Lift to Shoulder
EMOM 10 min
1 to 2 reps / min
Lap the stone, then stand it to shoulder (alternate shoulders). Use a sandbag if no stone. Quality over load; stop the set if your lap position breaks down.
E
FÁFNIR'S PATH
Sandbag Carry
4 rounds
Rest 90 sec
Bear hug carry, 40 m. Shoulder carry, 20 m per side.
F
RAISING GRAM
Barbell Front Raise
3 × 8 to 10
0 RIR
Rest 2:00
Resist the urge to swing the weight. Keep these nice and controlled.
III · THE SESSION
The workout
MoonFit · Train Heavy. Think Deep. Jam Hard
Illustrations by Arthur Rackham from Siegfried & the Twilight of the Gods (1911), public domain, color-treated by MoonFit. Ornaments and runes are original MoonFit artwork.