New Year's Resolution... sort of

Hi all,

In the last two years i've stopped playing rugby and training martial arts, and swapped my job from moving concrete to moving boxes, surprise surprise i now feel really unfit.

I'm 21, 6"2 and weigh 86.5 kilos. I have no injuries and a fair idea of lifting techniques and access to all equipment and so on. My goal is to simply to increase my general fitness and as such i've started running every other day, a mile for now until i'm back into the swing of things.

With regards to weights, i'm wondering if a routine of deadlifts and squats is going to help me out, probably set out like this:

Day one: Run
Day two: Squats
Day three: Run
Day four: Deadlifts
Day five: Run
Day six: Rest
Day seven: Rest

I'm writing here as i have very little idea how to structure the lifting in terms of sets, reps etc. and would appreciate any advice.

Cheers

Not a bad fixation - squats and deads that is. Much better than wanting to do arm curls every day

I would look at changing things a bit though, as you will not get the rest and recovery you need to improve with your current plan.

Instead:

Day 1 : Squat 5x5
Day 2 : Run
Day 3 : Complimentary Core work and Developmental stretching
Day 4 : Run
Day 5 : Deadlift 5x5
Day 6 : Core and stretching
Day 7 : Rest

This plan allows you adaption time, and also has 2 low intensity training days dedicated to active recovery and injury prevention.

Thanks for your reply Cord,

In terms of complimentary core work, what did you have in mind? Or do you mean i should fill in with other core exercises - and if so, what sort of volume should I be aiming for?

You would be looking at Plank, Bridging/hip pop-ups, hanging leg/knee raises and back extensions. 3 sets of each with perfect technique will be sufficient, and also prime your body for the developmental stretching, which should all be based around the hips - hip flexors, hamstrings, lower back, glutes, quads, inner/outer thighs and ITB.

Developmental stretching is time consuming, but should not be agonisingly painfull - dont 'force' stretches, just repeated gentle pressure, always breathing and relaxing into the stretch. Much like yoga poses, by the end of the session, what you can do with ease is what was impossible at the start.

Running is monstrously hard on the legs and hips, and this attention to stretching is vital if you are to avoid injury and continue to run long term.

Sounds good to me Cord, i'll start this coming week and update on how it's all going for me.

Thanks again for your advice.

My pleasure. Good luck

First week of my new workout is over, and i'm going to share how it went for me.

Day 1 : Squat 5x5
Just brilliant, i love squats more than anything in heaven and Earth

Day 2 : Run
This morning i had serious DOMS from the previous days squats and i wasn't sure i'd even be able to run. However i took extra care with my warm up/stretching and it went surprisingly well

Day 3 : Core and stretching
Core work was okay, but you were right about the stretching time-wise. All good though and i could feel definite benefits

Day 4 : Run
DOMS had gone, everything good

Day 5 : Deadlift 5x5
For some strange reason, i've fallen out of love with deadlifts, although the workout went well. Would i see the same benefits if i squatted on this day instead?

Day 6 : Core and stretching
As above, and now my hamstrings don't feel half as tight.

Day 7 : Rest

All in all, i enjoyed the majority of it, and i look forward to doing this next week.

I would keep with a deadlift session personaly, as it addresses your grip, as well as the structures of the mid and upper back directly, making it a good exercise for posture and functional strength.
See how you go, but if you truly find it a chore and demotivating, then consider replacing it with hang-cleans if you know the technique, or failing that, a second day of squats shouldnt hurt.

I'll leave it a month or so before deciding on it, hopefully it was just a one off.

Hey Cord, after three months of this routine, i only have one complaint... my jeans are now too small for my legs.

On a serious note though, i'm looking to change my workout as my overall goals have changed. I'm thinking of swapping a run for a swimming session each week, and i think my upper body is a bit neglected.

What would you suggest? Cheers, Pillars

No problem. To incorporate upper body into the structure is easy.

On squat Day, add in Bent over barbell rows 5x5

and on Deadlift day, add in Military press 5x5.

Sounds good, thanks for your help Cord.

I'm seven months on and all is going well.

However, i've started up martial arts again (ju jitsu) and so will my workout need a rework? I only have time to train martial arts for two hours, one night a week and will I need to change when I workout?

In addition to this, I want to be able to do more pull ups, on a good day I can do two. Would negative reps help for this, and how would i structure this into my current workout?

Cheers, Pillars

Make sure that your MA training falls on a 'run' day, and dependant on how your energy levels are, either do both, or replace one of the runs with the MA session.

With the pull ups, ditch the barbell rows, and replace them with pull ups on squat day.

Negatives probably arent the best answer. Your pull ups are effectively a 2 rep max, thats ok, but it will take time to increase volume.

Instead of doing 2 reps 'all out' every set, you need to approach pull ups in the same way as you would your 5x5 training.

so, sets 1-4, start by doing just one, full, perfect pull up. Thats it, 4 sets = 4 reps, but they are absolute perfect quality. set 5, do your 2 reps.

When that 2nd rep on the last set is as crisp and perfect as the 1st, you can add a second rep to the 4th set, so it becomes, 1,1,1,2,2. When all 2 rep sets are perfect, it becomes 1,1,2,2,2, so on and so forth, then you work through 2,2,2,2,3 then eventually 3,3,3,3,4, and on and on. Its slow, methodical, but it will work, and more importantly, you will be doing proper pull ups, not half reps, kip-ups, or any other weird cheating movement that people count as chin/pull ups.

Okay, as always thanks for the advice Cord.

Hey Cord, was reading this thread http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=431762 and remembered that I'd come across bus drivers before (on a website about living a caveman lifestyle I think) and they look very functional for my kind of grappling (jiu-jitsu, I play bottom guard a lot).

Would this be the case or am I just being dumb? How could i work them into my workout?