Training Advice...

[tkizzle05]

Het, I Need som serious advice from u guys. I've been reading lee and oyama and researching workout methods... And its overwhelming, I even start to cry out of frustration, because I want to be at the PEAK of human strength and conditioning, I KNOW its possinble, I just need to find the BEST rout to get there, not the easiest, nbut the best. What type of workout regime, would be best geared for survival, martial arts, and pure strength/power. I dont care for looks, I figure if I do something hard, my body will take shape. Right now im 205, athletic build and I want to drop to 185-190 for base weight. Ive been in football my entire life so my body was geared more for that, plweas ehelp anyone if they can. I need the most intense training, I really want to be beyond the NORMAL human strenght standard. Thanks

 

[Nomad]

This is a tough question, because a lot of what will work best for you depends on you.

When you talk about the "Peak of human strength and conditioning", it's a great ideal, but what is your current starting point?

Personally, I've found that HIIT (high intensity interval training) and P90X type workouts have been very successful for me (though I'm still a long way from the peak of human strength and conditioning).

If you really want to reach your physical peak, it'd probably be a good idea to invest in a good personal trainer who can better see your holes and provide customized workouts to help fill them.

 

[tkizzle05]

Ah, well My GF has the P90X system, I looked through it and seen a few things I liked, namely the Plyometrics and stretching, but even the workouts he has in there looks more like body bulding routines, he's trying to isolate muscle groups. I always prefer full body, or a split upper/lower. Like I said, my goal is STRENGTH not size, Power and explosiveness. HARD DENSE Muscle, Super dense muscle. Thanks for the post man.

 

[Archangel M]

Crossfit

 

[searcher]

CrossFit is the only way to go. If you mix that with Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength, you cannot go wrong. I suggest you start with the mainsite WODs and go from there.

Make sure you get your dietary under control as well. I would suggest Zone, Primal, or Paleo.

 

[tkizzle05]

THanks for the replies guys, I checked out the crossfit stuff and it seems like its geared more towards what im trying to attain. That plus the 5x5 seems perfect, mix those up with the ab ripper, plyometrics and stretching from P90x and it seems like a deal. With all of those combined, my martial arts should improve dramatically, the only thing I have to worry aout now is overtraining. Thanks guys!

 

[Mr. Freebody]

Www.70sbig.com is a great website for lifting advice. If you want strength and power, do Olympic lifting and powerlifting. Crossfit isn't really geared towards lifting heavy, it's more an endurance thing. Not that there aren't some awesome lifters there.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

For strength gains it is hard to beat Strong Lifts 5x5. This program will increase strength and lean muscle mass. The nice thing abou the program is that depending on your diet, you can bulk up or cut depending on your goal.

Workout A:

Squats 5x5
Bench press 5x5
Bent row (or T-bar row) 5x5
Dips 3 sets to failure

Workout B:

Squats 5x5
Press 5x5 (this is a standing overhead press in front of head)
Dead lift 1x5
Pull up and/or chin up 3 sets to failure

The idea is to start light enough so that 5 full sets of 5 reps each can be accomplished with good form. Then add 5lbs to the bar per workout until you can squat 1.5 times your body weight. A good bench mark for the bench press is 1 to 1.25 times your body weight and .75 to 1 times on the press.

If you stall at a weight then stay at that weight up to 3 workouts then increase as per normal i.e. 5lbs per workout.

No other workout has every put so much muscle on my legs, particularly the outer sweep of the thigh.

Couple of tips:

Make sure you start light enough to be able to complete 5 full sets of 5 full reps. Especially if you're not use to squats. This way you can work on your form, which is more important than the starting weight! The weight will come quickly enough, make sure the form is spot on to avoid injury. Also, make sure you are going below parallel. This is critical! Squatting above parallel puts more stress on the knee than below parallel because it doesn't call on the hamstring as much which affects the alignment of the lower leg bones. You don't have to squat ATG (***-to-grass) but it does need to break parallel.

Keep your chest 'puffed' out to help keep your upper back straight.

Don't look up high while squatting, rather look straight ahead or preferably look down at a spot about 6 feet in front of you.

To keep your weight over the back of your foot (rather than on your toes), lift your toes up while pressing the weight back up. Takes a bit to get use to but quickly becomes a habit and really makes a difference.

If you get sore, that's okay. You may feel after the first (or second) squat day of the week that you can't get in that second (or third) day because your legs are so sore. Trust me, I've been there! You may think,'there's no way I can squat today...it hurts just getting out of bed'. Again...been there! But by doing a good warm up on the legs you'll be getting blood and oxygen rushing into the legs to get out the muscle waste and limbering them up. And believe it or not, you can get your 5x5 in and it will actually feel good....well maybe not 'good' but it will help them be less sore. And it helps your muscles get use to the demand placed on them and then they grow. Don't skip the day due to soreness!!!


Get some glutamine powder for your pre-workout shake and again at bedtime. It really does help with the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).