Whoops, sorry, didn't see this until just now. I would personally separate deads and squats. Do deads with hamstring work/pulling work. If you're going for muscle endurance maybe cluster sets with about 50% of your max. So for example, you would do maybe 3 reps, rest 30 secs, then 3 reps again for 10 sets. On deadlift days you could supplement with good mornings, pull throughs, db or pendlay rows, and pull ups. I actually like separating my squats from the rest of my leg workout and grouping my squats only with my presses, although that's just something that happens to work for me and I don't know too many others who do the same. In other news, no more squatting until saturday, thank goodness.
Started working out last week for the first time in my life. Everyone I've talked to has had a lot of success with P90X so I figured I'd give it a serious shot. Grabbed some weights and protein and went at it without slacking. At 5'9", I'm a lean 150 lbs. I want to have a nice tone by Summer and hopefully put on some healthy weight. I have no prior knowledge of proper exercises or lifts which is the #1 reason I never went to the gym, I literally would not know what to do and wouldn't be comfortable. P90X so far has been a great way to start out and Tony Horton actually makes it kind of fun. Me last summer for an idea of where I am starting out: Spoiler
Myself and a group of guys are all planning on doing the Warrior Dash here in a few months. Since this was kinda my idea and I roped everyone into it, I want to try and come up with a little training regime to help everyone get into at least reasonable shape for the event. What I had in mind is some circuit running training since there is a 2 mile path that runs circular around our work building. My initial thought is to run 1/2 mile, stop and do some sort of body weight resistance exercise, run another 1/2 mile another exercise... repeat until we've run 4 miles. My question is that I'm trying to come up with enough different exercises that will give me both a nice variety of movements and also will condition the whole body. Off the top of my head I can think to do prison squats, pushups, situps, mountain climbers and maybe burpees. Any other suggestions? Thanks.
Please stop using the word "tone". You're wanting to add muscle. You're a skinny guy whose body is craving lean muscle tissue. Provided you follow p90x to the letter and don't eat like shit, you're going to gain muscle quickly. When you reach your plateau you'll need to pick up heavier weight.
Here's a video with plenty of cools examples: . If you've got access to a patch of grass you can do most of them. Depending on your level of fitness/agility, I would try to incorporate rolls (forward or backward), bear crawls and head/hand stands. You can also use your partners: walk while holding them on your back, do fireman carries, go for a double leg takedown and pick them off the ground, etc.
One thing I make my team do is a 600 m circuit. You won't be able to replicate it exactly, but find and area (school, park, etc) that has some hills and some open space. Our circuit: Sprint up big hill (about 30 degrees and 30m run) Jog to small hill Sprint up small hill (about 50m and 15 degrees) Jog to open area Do Up & Backs* Jog to jungle gym Do pullups (as many as possible) Jog back to big hill and repeat *Up & Backs set up 8 cones in a straight line, 5 m apart Start at cone 1 Sprint to cone 3 backpedal to cone 2 drop to your gut get up and sprint up two cones backpedal one cone drop an hit your gut get up repeat until the end Your circuit is only limited by your facilities and your imagination.
Just wanted to agree that if you're eating to gain muscle (aka a lot, and a ton of protein), you'll probably gain a little bit of fat too. It's one of those things you gotta live with.
I've done two warrior dashes. The obstacles are not remotely difficult (or they weren't to me anyway(outside of a flat cargo net)). You need to practice running up hill in mud. Both of the ones I did in Ohio last year (Im assuming you are doing one here also) were on mud trails that went straight up hill then down hill. Then uphill again. Also if you are doing the one in Logan you need to learn to swim fairly well. There is a (deeper than 7 feet) pond you have to swim through that is probably 40 yards long. In that you have to swim over telephone polls. It is slowwwww if you can't swim. The hardest part for me (outside of the mud covered hills) was a flat cargo net that you had to crawl across. I puked through it. Outside of that you had to do the following: Climb up and back down a 15 foot tall cargo net. Climb up a flat wall with foot holds and a rope. Run though tires. crawl through a tunnel type thing (maybe 50 feet). Run 40 yards though 2 feet of water. 30 foot balance beam that was on an up then down then up then down incline. Climb through bungie chords. Climb over a triangle /\ type thing that was plywood on one side and like a pallet on the other. Climb over and through junk cars. Jump over fire. Crawl though a mud pit on your stomach. You cant stand up because you are under barbed wire. I will post pics sometime. The obstacles did not match up to what the website claimed would be on the course. Let me know if you want any more info on it.
Thanks, I appreciate the info. We are doing the one in Logan, so this helps out a lot. I figured there would be some hills to worry about, but it's good to know in advance what to expect so I can start training. Another question, not specifically just for you Frebis, but anyone who might have experience here; I do a large portion of my running/lifting in Vibrams (a picture of what I'm talking about is below) and am wondering if it would be at all feasible to do this in those, or if I'd be better served to just buy a cheap pair of sneakers for a one time use type of event like this?
I do not know much about the shoes so take this with a grain of salt. My friend lost a sneaker in the mud pit. It was never to be seen again. If the shoe can come off your foot I wouldn't wear it. A normal sneaker can. I have a feeling vibrams stick to your feet a little better. I wore an old pair of sneakers, and did not lose them (I tied them up really good, and then duck taped them). I washed them after and you couldn't even tell I was in the mud with them. Also I dont know how the vibrams do on trails. Keep in mind you are running a dirt trail that is full of tree roots, rocks and sticks. I know they would be good for the swimming part. My shoes were soaked after that, and really heavy for the next half mile or so.
I haven't done warrior dash, but I've been working out in VFF's for about a year and a half. The concern I would have is how you'll respond to the rocks in the mud digging into your feet with no cushioning, if you've got the treks you should be fine, but if not it could be an issue. Do you regularly trail run in VFF's or is it usually inside and/or on a flat controlled surface? If you've already conditioned your feet to handle it, you should be good to go. So it probably depends on how comfortable you are with them, I doubt I would have done well without treks when I first got them, but I just did a ten mile hike in them this past summer and it was great.
I have the KSO's pictured above, not the Treks. I'm used to running in them, but it's only either on a treadmill in the gym or outside on the road/sidewalk, nothing too abrasive, so I can see your point about rocks and other potential hazards. That being said, I have been looking for an excuse to get a new pair since mine are kind of beat up. Maybe a pair of the Trek's is the way to go. Thanks for all the input guys, I appreciate it. Thankfully I'm still a few months out and have plenty of time to get prepared.
Vibram just came out with another five finger called the spyridon. It's more specifically for trail running. Here's a link to them. http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-SpyridonLS-Mens.htm
How good is the information on this site: http://stronglifts.com/ I ask because I can't squat with any effectiveness due extremely poor flexibility in my shoulders, and this site addresses the exact problems I'm having and provides measures to correct them. Edit: Did a search and saw a couple of people who referenced the site in other posts, so I'm guessing the information is good. Guess I answered my own question.
Again, anyone who's got issues with flexibility, check out <a class="postlink" href="http://www.mobilitywod.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.mobilitywod.com</a> KStarr talks a LOT, but it's SO worth it.
Stronglifts and Starting Strength are the two main routines suggested to newbies to lifting, for good reason. Both focus on compound lifts and form. I would still suggest you pick up a copy of Rippetoe's book. He has a chapter dedicated to each exercise (form, physics, and tips), and unlike the Stronglifts website he doesn't have a vested interest in selling you stuff.
I posted this on instrength, too. Trying to cast the net wide: Shot in the dark, but here goes: Anyone have any superfantastic ideas for a spasming psoas muscle? Chiropractor and sports PT have both treated me. Chiro has more success getting rid of the pain (cracks my back, then puts the laser & those electrical things on the area affected), but it comes back. Physio hasn't really been able to get rid of the pain (ultrasound, electrical things and putting my lower back in traction). He says that the muscle - left side - is 'in tone,' and he TWICE checked every vertebrae in my back. He can find no pinched nerve, no out-of-alignment bone and no bone disease (i.e. arthritis) that could be causing this. He flat out told me that if I'm not finding any improvement by the next session, then I don't have to come back because he doesn't want me wasting my money. I trust both of these guys to know what they're doing, so hence my question. Any ideas? He has me rolling out the muscle on a tennis ball/lacrosse ball, using a heating pad and stretching in an exaggerated lunge, and nada. WTF causes this, does anyone know? And why only the one side?
I have this exact same shit, on the same side no less. No idea why. It starts tweaking in between sets when I'm squatting, and usually nags me through the rest of the workout.
Mine started off as low back pain about 18 months ago, came and went for awhile, and as of Christmas spread to my hip. Now it's almost a constant ache that flares up horribly if I walk for more than two hours (or less, if I have heavy boots on). I can't find any solution that isn't temporary, nor can I find a cause.
OK, maybe it's not the same then. I usually get spasms in this region: There's apparently a bunch of muscles that crossover in that region, so I'm not sure which one it is.