Does anyone here have a good amount of marathon experience? I'm looking at a few of the many programs online, most notably a 16 and 18 week program, and would love some input. I have a decent amount of mileage under my belt, but have never run further than the 13.1 I did in the beginning of this year, and will be starting from a fairly low mile per week standpoint. I'm also probably gonna be doing some triathlons while training.
I routinely change up my workout routine every few months to avoid boredom and plateauing. Currently I'm doing a circuit 2-3 days a week and the other days a strength-training routine to work the muscles I miss during the circuit. This is the new routine I've come up with: stretch pulldowns 5 sets:10 reps stomach machine 5:15 bicep curl machine 5:10 exercise bike (HIIT) 20 min leg extension 3:15 leg curls 3:15 leg press 3:15 barbell curls 3:20 bent-over lateral raises 3:20 latissimus pulldowns 3:20 bent-over barbell rows 3:20 incline-bench press 3:20 lateral raises 3:20 seated dumbbell press 3:20 cable pushdowns 3:20 close-grip benchpress 3:20 yoga (cooldown) Do you think it's a bit too obscene and I'm at risk of over training? Any advice would be appreciated.
So It's 4am, I just got home, and I'm drunk...but dude, wow...that is all over the fucking place. No, just no. What are your fitness goals?
Dude you don't have a single compound exercise there (well, maybe the bent over rows—maybe). Literally every one of the things you listed is an isolation exercise or an assistance exercise. Squats, deadlifts, conventional bench press, Olympic lifts are all things you need to replace that shit with. Replace all that machine crap with free weights and calisthenics/isometrics. e.g. pull-ups instead of lats machine, planks instead of abs machine, dips instead of cable pushdowns. The 3X20 scheme is also ineffective. If you want muscle endurance you need to do endurance type exercises, not just do more reps. e.g. pushups instead of bench press, running instead of squats. EDIT: And by the way the idea of muscle endurance INSTEAD of muscle mass is also flawed. VO2 max is totally unrelated to muscle mass (unless we're talking about like how a huge upper body will start affecting a person's ability to run because their chest and arm muscles consume more oxygen than a skinny person... but I don't think that is a problem for you). If you want more muscle endurance then do crossfit circuits and more aerobic stuff. More volume/reps in your weightlifting is not going to improve endurance, it will just be an inefficient way of getting stronger—I guarantee if you do a bench press scheme of 10 sets at your 2 rep max, your 20 rep max will be higher than if you just did 3X20.
I feel like there is a place for 20 rep maxes in workouts. However, it really is dependant on what your goals are. Why do you want to build up muscle endurance? For a sport? Training for something like the Military? For vanity? All of these are fine, but need different approaches. Also, muscular endurance and muscular strength are linked together. You will have an easier time lifting 135 pounds 20 times if your max is 225, rather than 185.
My motivation is all health and vanity. I'm 5'10" and walk around at 170 lbs. I swam all through high school and have participated in some martial art (karate, boxing and muay Thai) most of my life so I'm used to having a lean frame. I want to stay lean but also build some muscle. I just don't want to end up looking like a body builder. Take a guy like Anderson Silva. He's a very lean fighter, and is a lot stronger than he looks. Part (maybe most) of the reason for that is genetics but I'm sure his training plays a big factor as well. I guess my goal can be best summarized as: Build muscle strength while keeping the mass to a minimum.
Well, the higher reps are where you're going to build the most muscle mass, a lot of pro athletes, like Silva and most other MMA fighters stay around the 1-5 rep range, where you build the most strength. Bodybuilders are the ones that go for the high rep range. Watch Pumping Iron with Arnold, I don't think there's an exercise he does less than 12 reps on. If you think high reps is the best way to gain strength, your thinking is very backwards. Muscle mass is built from breaking down and repairing muscle tissue. You break down more tissue in the higher rep range which causes muscle mass gains, which again, is why bodybuilders are doing higher reps. Raw strength is built by recruiting as much muscle fibers as possible while performing a lift. You recruit more fibers in the lower rep/higher weight range which is why power lifters and most athletes stay in the 1-5 rep range, that's where most of the functional strength comes form. Now, you've probably seen plenty of 'ripped' guys that have small muscles, do purely isolation lifts like you listed in your OP and stay in the higher rep ranges. They also probably eat a restricted calorie diet. That's because muscle building is tied to eating. You can do all the lifting you want and you won't put on an ounce of muscle if you don't eat enough for it. I'm also willing to bet these guys claim to have more functional strength than power lifters (if you can't tell yet I use to be one of these ass hats) because they can do twelve reps of tricep extensions with with a 25lb dumbbell. this is fucking bull shit, real functional strength is developed by doing compound lifts. I guarantee if you went to any gym training reputable athletes looking for functional strength without getting too bulky you'll see them doing low rep cleans, snatches, squats, deadlifts and overhead presses. you won't see a guy grinding out twelve concentration curls on a machine.
Here's the circuit I ran today: 6 run throughs, 10 reps. 1 minute break in between. chinnies pushups - hands at chest level squats - sans weight jackknives running As - running on the spot and kicking your knees to your chest burpies - squat thrusts I plan on running this circuit twice a week (possibly 3 per week once I get my cardio back up). Now I need to put together a strength building program for the other days.
I'm looking for some good core/abdominal workouts that don't require any machines (by that I mean that can be done in my house and not with weights or anything at the gym). I have a routine to go through right now but it has kind of plateaued and it's at the point where I don't want to keep increasing sets as a way to get more out of the workout. I'm looking for a few additions to my normal routine that are on the extremely difficult side as I am in very good shape currently.
What kind of core workout are you looking for? Something fast? A prolongued one for a higher workload? Here's one I love to give to people I work out with and train. It is suprisingly difficult the first few times through. If you aren't familiar with the exercise, read the instructions in the parenthesis. 50 4 count flutterkicks (Hands are under the butt, legs extended fully with toes pointing straight ahead, six inches off the ground. Move the left leg up to 45 degrees and move back down to 6 inches as the right leg moves up to 45 degrees. Left leg up, right leg up, left leg up, right leg up = 1 rep) 50 bicyles (On your back, hands interlaced behind your head, legs are bent 90 degrees at the waist, and 90 degrees at the knee. Move your left leg forward, fully extending it, and touch your left elbow to your right knee. Bring the left leg back in, extending the right leg, and touching your right elbow to your left knee. Each touch = 1 rep) 50 reverse sit ups (feet are in a situp position, you roll your knees up to your chest, put feet back to situp position = 1 rep) 50 sit ups 1:30 plank position (1 minute thirty seconds on your elbows and toes. Basically, you are in the pushup position with a straight back and legs, but on your elbows and forearms rather than your hands) 1:30 side plank left side (You are on your left elbow and forearm and the left side of your foot, holding your body straight and rigid, maintaining a straight line through your body.) 1:30 side plank right side This workout shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes and you can add more reps (or take reps away) if necessary.
For the guys that want to get bigger, do you have problems consuming large quantities of food? I can't seem to take in more than 3000 calories a day, I just don't have the appetite for it, and therefore have stopped putting on weight like I did in the first part of the year. Breakfast: bowl of cereal, a few eggs with toast = 700 calories Lunch: some type of sandwich or frozen entree, with chips and trail mix = 700 calories Dinner: stir fry or meat/potatoes or pasta dish = 1000 calories Bedtime snack: 400 calories Afternoon snack: 200-400 calories. That's about 3000, I can't seem to eat much more than that. Any thoughts?
Yes. Stop being a pussy. Eat more eggs, drink whole milk (I go through half a gallon a day on average), eat lean meat, supplement with olive oil -- literally take SHOTS of olive oil to up your calories. There is no excuse for under-eating, even if you're poor. It varies greatly day-to-day, but I am generally eating like half a dozen eggs, half a gallon of milk, a pound of lean meat, and a lot of olive oil. You need to cut way down on the carb intake and replace it with healthy fats -- nuts, olive oil, avocado, etc., and up your protein intake, I doubt very seriously you are getting at least 1gram/pound of bodyweight. I'm like 210, and I workout hard, so I'm eating a LOT.
This is an excerpt from a forwarded email I received from a friend who trains with Jason Highbarger. Best nutrition advice I ever received. ------- *To PUT ON Weight; ...20 Calories Per Pound of Body Weight. *To MAINTAIN Weight; ...15-17 Calories Per Pound of Body-Weight. *To LOSE Weight; ...Less Than 15 Calories Per Pound of Body-Weight. Dan, you you asked your question in regards to that of a 200# Male, so I will use that for my example. For a 200 pound male that wants to put on weight, based on the aforementioned guidelines by Welbourn and Wolff, they would need to consume 200 Grams of Protein a day, and a total of 4,000 Calories a day, (200 lbs x 20 calories a day = 4,000). A Gram of Protein only yields 4 Calories, thus 200 Grams will only yield 800 Calories. That leaves the remaining 3,200 to come from Carbs and Fats. If that same athlete is only consuming, on average, about 90 Grams of Carbs a day, (or 10 Blocks by Zone Measurements), that only accounts for an additional 360 Calories as a Gram of Carbohydrates also only yields 4 Calories Per Gram. So that’s only a total of 1,160 Calories a day out of the 4,000 needed. Thus that leaves a remaining 2,840 Calories that need to come from quality fats. Luckily, Fats are calorically dense, yielding 9 Calories per Gram; over twice that of either Protein or Carbohydrate. John Wellbourn is a 300 Pound Male who Strives to put on quality mass, so for him he needs to consume 6,000 Calories a day and there is no way to get that from meats vegetables and fruits. He just drinks olive- oil, for which one TableSpoon yields 14 Grams of Fat, or about 126 Calories. ...Needless to say, ...he drinks a lot of Olive Oil. And, “NO”, you DON’T count your Fish-Oil into your Fat allotment for the day. As for determining how much food you should be consuming, as I said, each of you take a little time and really think about what it is you are trying to achieve so as you can define and articulate it, and then come to me with that revelation and understanding and I will personally help you map out a template for which to follow. I would suggest starting with the basic One-Gram of Protein Per Pound of Body- Weight for establishing a base starting point answer to the “How much protein should I eat a day?” conundrum and work from there. For most people, including my professional athletes as well as myself, I have found that they function and perform extremely well, (establishing athletic dominance in their sport), on less carbs than The Zone calls for. I don’t need 15-20 Blocks of Carbs a day, and interestingly, neither do my professional athletes. Granted, their sports are largely anaerobic, explosive “power” sports. In reality, so is your profession when it comes to that of street engagements. Though as I stated, I see the same truth in clients I train on a regular basis; they perform extremely well on less carbs than The Zone preaches.
I hate complicated diets, so here is the diet I used to put on about 20 lbs of muscle in 6 weeks. (Negligible gain in body fat, and I put on muscle so fast that my shoulders and legs had fucking stretch marks.) During this period my squat went from 245 to 300, my dips went from bodyweight with 90# added to 125# (plus the added bodyweight gain, for a total gain of 55# to my dip), plus a handful of other PRs. Here's the diet: Every day: - 10 eggs - 1 gallon whole milk - 1-2 lbs meat - 1 lbs vegetables (not really for bulking, just to make sure I didn't neglect them) - 1 lbs whole grain pasta Mix/match however you want, usually I would do: breakfast: 4 eggs and bacon pre-workout meal: meat/veggies/pasta post-workout meal: meat/veggies/pasta and 3/4 gallon milk dinner: 6 eggs and either bacon or pasta (1/4 gallon milk spread throughout the day) If you can stomach all the dairy, this is a fairly simple way of getting a ton of calories without having to eat like 8 meals a day. Under the fold is a basic breakdown of the nutrition content. Spoiler milk: 2400 calories 128 grams protein 128 grams fat eggs: 540 calories 60 grams protein 40 grams fat pasta: 1400 calories 49 grams protein 10 grams fat meat (chicken breast, adjust for other meats accordingly): 420 calories 90 grams protein 7 grams fat Total daily intake: 4,760 calories 327 grams protein 185 grams fat It was ridiculously easy to keep track of this diet. This is the one I will always use to bulk, given how effective it was. The only adjustment I would make to this diet is I would include a piece of fruit with every meal, e.g. an apple or a glass of orange juice. I've started eating fruit again and noticed it helps with maintaining energy levels throughout the day. The other thing I'll add is that this is a temporary diet for bulking, not a long-term diet. The excessive protein is okay because it gets broken down into glucose, but in the long-run it will cause kidney strain. And, all the whole milk and eggs will probably not be great for your cholesterol (my cholesterol and blood pressure stayed at perfect levels but I'm unusual like that).
Not to take anything away from the advice that was given, but if you have a hard time working up the appetite for a 3000+ calorie diet I think the core issue here may be your workout routine. What does your program look like? Are you using leg presses instead of squats and deadlifts? Are you sure you're selling out every single time you lift? Are you doing a lot of concentration curls and tricep extensions instead of compound motions? I remember what my appetite was like on MBP and I think I would have died from starvation eating what your diet looks like and I was bale to lose fat on the program. I didn't even do cardio either, just the lifts made me want to throw the entire grocery store in my cart.
So I started at a new gym today and I need some advice for developing a new routine. I'm 6'1, 210 and my PR's that I set about 3 weeks ago are a 435 lb. dead lift and a 245 lb. bench. My goals are to improve strength, primarily with body weight. I'd like to cut off a few pounds of cookie dough, maintain my PR's, but I'm not trying to go much further than a 250 bench and a 450 dead, attempting to move up about once per week. I'm doing a bunch of pull ups, dips, push ups and then supplementing this with basic lifts (lat pulls, db bench, etc.) and then going to squats and deads. I have about 3-4 months to get into better shape before I have to build a gym or exercise with no equipment whatsoever. My cardio is awful and so is my stamina. I've gained 30 pounds in six months, a decent amount of it muscle...but I gas very easily. What I'd like to work on, and use to attain my goals are some more explosive, sports-based exercises that will improve my stamina, lean me out and increase overall strength. I have about an hour to an hour and a half per day, after work to dedicate to this. I'm avoiding P90X, because Tony is a douche and I'll be doing that when I don't have a gym. Any suggestions?
You sound like a pretty solid candidate for something like Westside for Skinny Bastards (p1, p2, p3) with a focus on solid nutrition. WS4SB gets great sports based results for guys with a solid level of strength going into it. I'm also more and more convinced that for cutting cookie dough, the only thing that matters in terms of work out - is that you have one. As long as you're doing something that burns calories and reminds your body that it has a purpose other than being a lump in front of a screen of some kind - nutrition is what makes or breaks body fat loss.