Some of my training sessions last upwards of 5 or 6 hours, but those are different circumstances. Those are always on Saturdays when a bunch of us get together and train strongman events. If there are 8 of us, we usually all do the same event at the same time. We'll usually do 3-4 sets of the event, culminating in a max effort. We do this because we don't really have a choice. It takes us that long to get everything set up, take our runs, and then put stuff away and move on to the next event. It works out for us, though, because it's good practice for an actual contest which can last upwards of 8 hours. On contest days, being strong is only part of the equation. Being able to keep your focus and your energy and stay sharp while having down periods of up to an hour are a real challenge for a lot of people. Training days like this help simulate contest conditions. Normally, however, it usually takes me about 1 1/2 hours to run through my workout (including warmup, set up, and tear down). I normally do 1 main exercise of 5-8 sets and 3-4 assistance exercises and some grip work at the end. I think it takes me a little longer because as I get on in years, it takes me a bit longer to recover between sets.
So starting about a 2-3 months ago, i started changing up how I workout and my diet. I definitely saw some great results, I'm noticeably stronger and I put on about 10-15 lbs, but as happens when bulking up, I lost alot of the leanness, especially in my midsection, that I had the majority of my life. So now I wanted to cut a bit, remove the excess and get lean again, but sustainably. I'm not looking to bulk up considerably anymore, if I put on another 5 lbs of muscle in the next year, that would be grand, but I'm at a more content build. So I started reading up on Paleo, has anyone here tried it? Results? I realize its more of a lifestyle and not a cutting program/process, but I figured I would look into it as I try to strip away this excess but not taking giant steps backwards.
<a class="postlink" href="http://WWW.mobilitywod.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">WWW.mobilitywod.com</a> I'm pretty sure he addresses it.
I was really interested in Paleo for a while and approached it like it was going to be ten times better than any diet I've tried or heard of before. It works like a regular diet, I didn't cut fat at an alarming rate and I lost some muscle in the process because I wasn't eating enough to sustain what I had and I wasn't lifting heavy. I felt pretty energetic while I was doing it though, and it definitely reinforced the correlation between pasta/bread/potatoes and having crappy energy levels for me. I don't know how strict your diet is now, but i'd probably just tighten it up a bit rather than go through a whole lifestyle change, unless you're really committed. Less starch and more healthy fats is always a good way to knock the balance in your favor.
I love strength training and despise cardio in almost every form, so I focus as much on controlling nutrition as I can. I found this post interesting, so I thought I would share: The Fungus Link
No sense in reviving the thread in general discussion. I am now on my second week of Insanity. I fucking love it so far, just for the light headed buzz after each work out. It is fucking rough, particularly for people with little to no cardio/stamina. The workouts seem to fly by. Usually a 8-10 minute warm up (that is just as tough as the daily routine), 5-7 minutes stretching, then 15-20 minutes of punishing cardio. I did conditioning for wrestling in middle school and high school, the big difference is that in wrestling we used a lot of weight in the cardio as well (running with salt bags and running with guys on your back). This shit is not much easier. I am also doing P90x at night and Insanity makes those work outs seem easy.
So I'm guessing this is another "KNow what working out is and make sure you're in shape before trying this" program? Do the host(s) out-douche Sir Tony (esquire)? If so I'm there.
Actually Shawn T isn't that bad. The work out gets so intense I don't think he could come up with any good zingers if he wanted to. He does kind of have an effeminate voice and says the word PUSH kind of weird, and he uses it every other word. But the girls on the video are smoking fucking hot. Id let just about all of them sit on my face after they were done with a workout.
Does anyone here have any experience with minimalist shoes like Vibram five fingers? I'm not sure I want to try running in them but I ordered them to wear for workouts. My thought is that if they improve stability, balance, and calf strength they are worth a shot. Plus they'll make good lake shoes (the KSO). I've read a lot of good reviews for them but thought this would be a good place to get honest opinions of them. My question is, do they work? Does anyone like them/hate them? Did I just buy expensive slippers? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I just did the first day as well, and although I didn't throw up afterwards I felt like death. Hopefully I can keep it up for the whole thing, and then I'll comment in retrospective. Anyone around here finish it yet? Thoughts in retrospective?
I've expressed my love of them on here before, but check the return policy on the shoes if you ordered them without trying them on. If you're toes aren't perfectly average you will probably have a different ideal size for them than you measured out online. It costs a few extra bucks, but going to a store to try them on could save you a ton of heartache. As for running in them, I agree with the philosophy in this video (he goes on in a different interview pimping the VFF's).
I'm thinking about giving p90X a shot this year. Any suggestions as to where the best place is to purchase the DVD's? I know it's not cheap, but I'm trying not to spend way more than I should.
Just started Wendler's 5/3/1 middle of last week. I looked into a few hypertrophy-focused programs and found a lot used machines. I love complex barbell/dumbbell movements too much, so I decided to pay for the Wendler program and am doing the "Boring but Big" assistance work. It makes you anxious that you start out so light, but I'm glad because it's forcing me to finally focus on great form, especially on squat & bench where I'm tempted to use sub-par technique. As for food, I'm carb cycling w/ higher carb (180-360g) lifting days and lower (< 100g) off days. During the deload weeks I'll probably maintain a moderate carb intake. I'll be interested to see where I am in 16 weeks. Started at 176lbs 11% bodyfat by caliper, and I'm hoping I can get my DL and Squat strength up at least over that time while adding muscle & maintaining (maybe even losing) 1-2% fat w/ conditioning and the carb cycling.
If I have any advice for you on Jim's program, do NOT miss the recovery weeks. Use them as guided, and you will have bigger gains. I know a few guys that skipped them altogether and wondered why the other guys were getting a lot stronger than them.
I've skipped deload weeks in past strength programs and burned out some before the 12 weeks was up, so I'll be adhering to them here. Maybe I missed it, but do you know if I'm supposed to do the assistance work during deload weeks, or just the 3x5? I'd assume it's recommended because you're deloading for strength purposes. In the past I've used the deload week to focus more on conditioning, adding a couple more days of sprints or BW intervals, and I'll likely do lower to moderate carbs all that week as well.
Has anyone played with any of the Android workout tracking apps? Or decent web based ones for a mobile browser? I want something where I can enter my own program and just use it to track progress/record details. I've looked at a few, and done some google searching - but mostly they seem to be all about selling you some shitty program or geared for runners who want GPS plots - I really just want to use my phone as a convient place to record results and remind me what I'm supposed to be doing today. I know I could just use a google docs spreadsheet - which I probably will do if I don't find something that actually does the job - but I'd ideally prefer something with some basic features in it like calendar reminders or social network integration.
I use a notebook and a pen. There's a few pages in the back where I record all of my PRs. It works pretty swell.