So what is this outduros thing?

SO, WHAT IS THIS THING REALLY ABOUT?

Around 5 years ago me and my buddy João were sitting in his bedroom trying to decide a name for this outdoor training thing we had just started. After going around in circles with many failed attempts one of us said “outdoor dos duros!” (outdoor of the tough) to which the other replied “outduros!”, and that was it. So, the name is actually a pun between the English word “outdoor” and the Portuguese word “duro”, meaning “hard” or “tough”.

Now I always felt that the word “duros” was a little exclusive. People might think this is something only for gym grunts or very athletic people. But our definition of the word is a little different. For us “duro” means something else. We use it to described people with strength of character, reluctant to refrain from challenges, who are constantly willing to put the effort to become a little bit better each day. It’s not about how capable you are, it’s about how capable you are today compared to yesterday.

A wise man once told me “training is an act of humbleness”. Because if you’re willing to put in the effort to go out there and work hard, it means that you are conscious of your flaws as you are, and that you realize you can and should be better.

THE NAME

THE TRAINING METHODOLOGY

Because of the name itself, and frequently of the pictures of strong people lifting each other, people tend to think that the training is always hardcore. The fact is, we make it very versatile in terms of difficulty. We provide enough progressions and regressions of all the exercises, so that people can chose whatever feels more adequate to them. It’s up to you to make the session extremely hard or extremely easy. We strongly suggest people to keep it in the middle. We have two rules exactly for that:

(golden rule) Do not get hurt!

(silver rule) Do not make it too easy!

If you respect that, you’ll make the best out of every session.

The exercises are mostly based on partner resistance. As we train outdoor and have virtually no equipment, we use whatever we have available on the spot (stairs, ramps, metal frames) to do the exercises. Mostly, we use each other. If you don’t think it’s possible to do a hard strength workout without the using any gym equipment, I challenge you to come train with us.

As for the focus of training, I am a strong advocate that, unless you are a professional athlete with a specific performance goal, you should strive to become proficient in all the physical domains. Hence, in our sessions we work on developing all the main physical qualities:

Strength
Speed
Endurance
Mobility
Movement competence

All the qualities are interconnected and cannot be completely dissociated from one another. The sessions may have a slightly more specific focus on one domain, but all of them are addressed.

The goal is to become PHYSICALLY CAPABLE!

THE PEOPLE

We train for real, so the people you’ll find there are the type of people who are willing to put in a real effort. It’s not about looks, nor about who’s stronger. It’s about a group of people who voluntarily come together to motivate and challenge each other to become a little better and more capable. Whether it’s just 2 people or 20, you’re sure to feel the energy.

You’re more than welcome to join!

See you out there.

André Sousa

9 May 2019

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SHANGHAI