Summer Training Program

[30x30]

James,

I tried this last night and DUDE I'm sore today......

OUT OF SHAPE should be my new ID.....

[DougHillman]

You say you were given this workout. Who gave it to you?

That's WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too much lifting. WAY too much.

Lemme, state that again. WAY too much.

In case I didn't get my point across: WAY TOO MUCH LIFTING

Your muscles need a good 48 hours to truly recuperate & rebuild. You should never be hitting the same body part on consecutive days if you're trying for actual strength gains. (With the semi-exception of abs.)

Give your muscles some time to rest in between and I GAURANTEE you'll see better results than you are now. No matter how much you feel like you're getting gains from your current program, you'll get better gains with some recuperative time in-between.

I work weights 4 days a week for roughly an hour. Abs/Core on all 4 of those days, plus aerobics as often as I'm not too lazy to do. Usually 4 random days a week as well.

I'll list my entire workout schedule when I get home, but here's the quick breakdown. I actually put 2 full days between body parts. Longer than is really necessary for maximal gains, but I'm not going for Mr. Olympia here (which, technically, requires a different approach to weightlifting anyways.)

Monday/Thursday:
Quads/Hamstrings
Triceps
Forearms
Chest
Abs

Tuesday/Friday:
Calves
Back / Lats
Shoulders
Biceps
Abs

Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday are all off days.

I start with a few minutes of aerobic type stuff to warm up (typically jumping jacks if I'm by myself, or peppering with a ball if my partner is around), then a set of very light poundage of all the stuff I'm doing that day.

If I do any actual aerobic on weightlifting days it's always either at least 6 hours before lifting, or afterwards. If you wear out your muscles and use up your energy before lifting you won't be able to use as much weight and will not see as much improvement in strength. Done well before & you've given your energy reserves the time to build back up, done right after and you're gonna be burning mostly fat calories as you've used your glycogen stores up while lifting.



You're doing alot of great base all-around muscle building exercises. You're just doing too much of them. Also, the workout that you've got going seems to be designed to build mass more than anything else. If you want to be a "BEEFCAKE!" you're on the right track. Truly explosive useable strength would require a slightly different approach than this.

I'm sure you'll see some good gains with this workout. Anyone except those who have been training seriously hardcore for a while would simply because it's so intense. But you could be getting better gains with less actual work.

More is not always better when it comes to weightlifting. An hour or two with Google checking out stuff such as www.menshealth.com or any of the reputable fitness sites will back up everything I've said here.

D

[strazzere]

Originally Posted by DougHillman

Monday/Thursday:
Quads/Hamstrings
Triceps
Forearms
Chest
Abs

Tuesday/Friday:
Calves
Back / Lats
Shoulders
Biceps
Abs

Thats almost what I do... Wednesdays is my plyometric and distance run...

Then on top of it each night is 2 mile run and 50 push ups and 100 sit ups... Saturday is beach training, Sunday is day off

[NewEnglandRT]

Originally Posted by DougHillman

You say you were given this workout. Who gave it to you?

While I agree with your post. The person that gave the routine to him is/are the trainers for his international pro team. - just an FYI not insinuating that you're wrong their right or anything like that.

[james330i]

Originally Posted by DougHillman

You say you were given this workout. Who gave it to you?

That's WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too much lifting. WAY too much.

Lemme, state that again. WAY too much.

In case I didn't get my point across: WAY TOO MUCH LIFTING
D

i dunno doug...after researching more about olympic lifting, it's not rare that olympic-style lifting (which is popular in europe) is done everyday.

Since it focuses on explosive movements, utilitizing ligaments, tendons and muscle fibers more and improving range of movements, it does not require as much rest as regular isolation movements that most people do during weight-lifting sessions.

Supposedly, the goal of olympic lifting is to develop explosiveness and improve range of motion, while regular weight-lifting is to increase mass and strength.

but yah, the routine posted is hardcore. I doubt many of us can keep up with it.......

[DougHillman]

My workout:

Monday & Thursday

1C Chest
Flyes 80% +
Dumbell Press 80% +
Bench Press 50% + -
Flyes 40% +
Dumbell Press 40% +


1L Legs
Squats 80% +
Single legged calf raises body weight & extra to failure
2L Legs
Stiff-Legged Deadlift 75% +
Two-legged calf raises body weight + extra to failure


1T Triceps
One Dumbell Extension 60% + -
Dumbell Kickbacks 80% +
2T Triceps
Close-Grip Benchpress 75% + -


1F Forearms
Wrist Curls - Palm Up 80% +
Wrist Curls - Palm Down 80% +
Wrist Curls - Palm Up 40% +
Wrist Curls - Palm Down 40% +


1LB Lower Back
Deadlift 50% 8
Deadlift 75% 8
Deadlift 80% 8
Hyperextensions max


This workout has elements of Supersets as well as Drop Sets in it. I do these days in this order:
1L 1T 1L 1T 1L 1T 2L 2T 2L 2T Push-ups to fail 3-4 minute rest
1C 1F 1C 1F 1C 1F Push-ups to fail 3-4 minute rest
Lower Back (1LB) Push-ups to fail

If there are multiple excercises within a group (ie. 1C) they are done with no rest in between. Only long enough to change the weights. No more than 2 minutes rest between body parts. (ie. 1L & 1T) "+" means I go to positive failure - when I'm unable to perform the exercise with proper form. A "-" means that I then do negatives to failure - I'm unable to lower the weight in a controlled manner.

The % number is the % of my maximum possible one time lift for that movement, in theory. In practice I'm striving for failure at 10 - 12 reps for each and adjust the weight depending on what I accomplished last time and how I'm feeling that day.

I warm up with a few minutes of light aerobic and then some compound movements (bench press, squat, etc.). Roughly 20 reps at about 25% and then 20 at 50%.

Tuesday & Friday

1LT Lats (back)
Bent-over Barbell Rows 75% +
Dumbell Pullovers 75% +
Bent-over Dumbell Rows 40% +
Bent-over Deltoid Flyes 40% +

1TR Traps (shoulder)
Upright Barbell Rows 50% +
Dumbell Shrugs 90% +
Dumbell Shrugs 75% +

1D Deltoids (shoulder)
Front Dumbell Raises 50% +
Lateral Dumbell Raises 50% +
Seated Behind-Neck Press 75% + -

1B Biceps
Barbell Curls 90% + -
Barbell Curls 50% + -

2B Biceps
Alternate Dumbell Curls 70% + -
Hammer Curls 70% + -


1LT 1TR 1LT 1TR 1LT 1TR Pull-ups to fail 3-4 minute rest
1D 1B 1D 1B 1D 1B 1B (last 1B with a reverse grip) Pull-ups to fail 3-4 minute rest
2B 2B 2B Pull-ups to fail


This gets modified quite a bit from day to day. If I'm in a gym instead of at home I get in a few sets on a Lat pull-down machine. (Other than that, I pretty much stick with free weights though.) I also like to do more full-body compound stuff in a gym. I don't really have enough room to feel comfortable doing clean & presses at home. If I'm in the midst of a plyometric jump-training program (I have a KILLER one) I tend to skip the leg workout at least one day a week.

Every movement is done with an explosive positive phase. Move the weight as hard & fast as possible while still maintaining control. This is the key to building useable sports-performance type strength. I typically keep an even beat going in my head. "1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4" "1" is the hard push, with the weight being lowered in a controlled fashion on "2 .. 3 .. 4" Come to a complete stop on "4" so you're not bouncing and cheating the weight back up. (If you've been cheating for years and start doing things with proper controlled form, you may find that you've got to lower the weights you use for a while.)

My workouts typically take me about an hour. I can cut that significantly if I'm pushing really hard and stretch it out if I'm being sorta lazy. This may be more than many folks want to spend in the gym 4 times a week, but I usually enjoy the time. There are plenty of modifications which could be done to this basic routine which would cut down on the time. Particularly for beginners, even just replacing some of the more specific stuff with a compound movement would take a good amount of time off. (Beginning weightlifters will typically see better gains with general area compound movements than anything else.)

My weightlifting is normally done late afternoon. If I'm jump training, that's done Mon - Wed - Fri in the morning. If I'm not in a jump session I typically do serious Cardio a coupla times a week, in the morning if on a workout day. (If you do serious cardio right before lifting, you've used up all of your energy and can't lift as much weight, limiting your gains. If you've gotta do cardio in the same session as your lifting, do it afterwards. You'll burn fat calories instead of muscle building energy.) Ab work is done whenever I can force myself to do it (and not NEARLY enough.) Typically either at the end of a Cardio session, or in the midst of a weight workout. I'll often throw in 15 crunches or whatever after I finish a bench press set or the like. While I'm right there on the bench without any excuses.

Opinions?

D

[DougHillman]

Originally Posted by james330i

i dunno doug...after researching more about olympic lifting, it's not rare that olympic-style lifting (which is popular in europe) is done everyday.

Since it focuses on explosive movements, utilitizing ligaments, tendons and muscle fibers more and improving range of movements, it does not require as much rest as regular isolation movements that most people do during weight-lifting sessions.

Supposedly, the goal of olympic lifting is to develop explosiveness and improve range of motion, while regular weight-lifting is to increase mass and strength.

but yah, the routine posted is hardcore. I doubt many of us can keep up with it.......

If you are tearing down the muscle cells (which is the only way to make them grow) they NEED the rest. It doesn't matter if it's with a more isolated movement, or a compound one. If you're REALLY working them, there's no other way around it. And from the look of his workout, he's REALLY working.

"Olympic style" training is becoming a bit more popular here in the US lately. (Or, at least, seeing a resurgance again.) I'm all for it. Done right, the compound type movements can be all that anyone really needs.

I disagree though that "regular" weightlifting is only for building mass and strength. I do all of my "regular" weightlifting movements with explosiveness. I keep the weights down a bit so that I CAN explode through a good dozen or so reps for every movement. It's more a matter of how you approach what you're doing than a specific difference in the style. Yeah, most guys you see in the local gym are just worried about how much they can bench, so they rip off a couple of slow heavy reps and that's it. But it doesn't have to be done that way if you know better.

Please note that I wasn't criticizing that routine in any way. It looks to be a GREAT total body workout, comprised of alot of compound stuff that probably takes a good bit less time than my more specifically targeted one does. I just think that anyone doing that workout would see better gains by a little more rest.

D

[DougHillman]

Oh, and james, if you're looking for someone to help you with technique on stuff like the clean & jerk, etc., you're probably gonna hafta go to a "real" gym. You're less likely to find someone who knows what they're doing with those moves in a Bally's or typical health club. A place like Gold's or some such would likely hold out a better chance for you. Or a small hole-in-the-wall gym where serious lifters congregate instead of just "fitness" players.

Men's Health just did an article on Olympic Lifting. While I am a little skeptical of a 350 lb. dude with a 36" vertical, it's got a good overview for people who may not know about this trend. Plus a pictiral breakdown of the essential compound movements.



D

[james330i]

Originally Posted by DougHillman

Oh, and james, if you're looking for someone to help you with technique on stuff like the clean & jerk, etc., you're probably gonna hafta go to a "real" gym. You're less likely to find someone who knows what they're doing with those moves in a Bally's or typical health club. A place like Gold's or some such would likely hold out a better chance for you. Or a small hole-in-the-wall gym where serious lifters congregate instead of just "fitness" players.


D

oh yeah it's been a challenge finding feedback on olympic lifting. It seems like I'm the only one in my gym (which is huge) doing cleans, olympic squats, etc.

I'm not doing anything too heavy yet but so far, i have seen some really good results...from my vertical to overall strength, my body has responded well to this type of training. I want to get good feeback before I start doing real heavy reps.

There's a sports-training complex in town that caters to pros and semi-pro athletes and I may sign up for a couple of sessions just to get some feedback from their trainers.

[mycena]

Besides dumb bells there aren't even free weights at my gym (not that I go that often). All the bars are on the little track thingies.

The 350 lb 36" vert. guy remind me of a story my college track coach told me once. When he was 'coaching' at some world meet, the athletes for fun decided to do a sprint race between the throwers and the distance runners. So, they did a 4x400. And the throwers beat the distance runners.

I know from my old days of lifting frequently, doing cleans, squats, and bench at least twice a week, I was able to generate some crazy power. Granted we were also doing a ton of other things too, we got to the point where one plyo of jumping up and over boxes even surprised me of my abilities. I never actually tested my verticle but I am sure that it was a lot higher than it is now. Too bad it's tough to find a lifting partner who is willing to do all these crazy lifts.

Originally Posted by DougHillman

Oh, and james, if you're looking for someone to help you with technique on stuff like the clean & jerk, etc., you're probably gonna hafta go to a "real" gym. You're less likely to find someone who knows what they're doing with those moves in a Bally's or typical health club. A place like Gold's or some such would likely hold out a better chance for you. Or a small hole-in-the-wall gym where serious lifters congregate instead of just "fitness" players.

Men's Health just did an article on Olympic Lifting. While I am a little skeptical of a 350 lb. dude with a 36" vertical, it's got a good overview for people who may not know about this trend. Plus a pictiral breakdown of the essential compound movements.



D