What's next?

[Trick Nasty]

Just over a year ago I started my fitness training.

At first I just went to my gym and did whatever. I had a basic understanding of sets and reps and such.

Then I got well into the Bill Starr 5x5 program. That went well and I saw gains.

I kinda faded out of weights for a while.

I lost some gains, then jumped back into weights. I stopped shortly after that and have been training bodyweight strength skills like the planche, front lever, muscle up, and such.

Now... I am thinking of doing another 5x5 program or this Olympic lifting training program (the MSU Experimental Training Program 1.0). (http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting.html)

My goals are pretty much just general fitness. Although, I certainly would like a few inche son my vertical jump. But just fitness, really.

What do you think?

[bwhite55]

i think general fitness is the best goal to have, especially for a MA(this is just my opinion, i'm not a martial artist so don't kill me if i'm wrong.). you don't have a freaky look of bodybuilder(unless you want that), you get great strength and flexibility, overall cardio level goes up, etc.

as for workout program, i think you should set short term goals(weight loss, fat loss, weight gain, strength, endurance etc), do research to see what you think the best way to achieve them are, accounting for access to what equipment you have, your body type, past experiences, etc. there's nobody who has the same genetic makeup as you and there's really nobody who's gonna get the exact same results(altho there might be people similar) as you do on a given routine, so do research, experiment, rest, eat proper.

seeing a nutritionist wouldn't hurt as well to see your specific caloric needs, and as your goals change, your nutritional needs might change as well, and the best way to find out is check out w/ a good nutritionist.

besides that you might be able to do a mixed training routine like i'm doing now to increase overall everything at the same time, but you stand a higher risk for overtraining if you don't get proper nutrition and sufficient rest(i get about 8 hrs every night and take in about 5-6k cal a day.)

hope that helps.

ps, as for the vertical, the only thing i can think of is just jump. go w/ weighted vest if you want. i don't know proper mechanics of a jump as i've never been taught or anything, and mechanics are everything. i do know that calves, hips, and thighs need to be strengthened. i'm not very knowledgable about functional training(ie sprints, verticals, etc) but am trying to learn more about that cuz i'm workin on those myself.

[blessed_samurai]

Olympic lifting is good but until you have a coach that can work the mechanics out for you, then you'll plateau.

[Trick Nasty]

Olympic lifting is good but until you have a coach that can work the mechanics out for you, then you'll plateau.
=/ Don't think I could do it on my own? How do I find a coach/experianced lfter?

[blessed_samurai]

=/ Don't think I could do it on my own? How do I find a coach/experianced lfter?

It depends on what you want to do. I really like the Olympic lifts, and I believe they work. However there are many other ways to work on increasing power production that are less technical in nature.

Teh other thing to consider is you will invariably somewhere develop bad techniques that will compromise your numbers increasing. It wasn't until I found a coach that I realized how bad my technique really was (albeit it wasn't bad bad, but it was bad enough I had to unlearn some things I had learned.

But if we're not going to be competitve Olympic lifters, then that point might be mute.

p.s. my coach is actually teh coach that coached Shane Hammon.

[Trick Nasty]

It depends on what you want to do. I really like the Olympic lifts, and I believe they work. However there are many other ways to work on increasing power production that are less technical in nature.

Teh other thing to consider is you will invariably somewhere develop bad techniques that will compromise your numbers increasing. It wasn't until I found a coach that I realized how bad my technique really was (albeit it wasn't bad bad, but it was bad enough I had to unlearn some things I had learned.

But if we're not going to be competitve Olympic lifters, then that point might be mute.

p.s. my coach is actually teh coach that coached Shane Hammon.
Maybe you could check out my "Sholders" thread in Injuries too. :D

Think I should bail on the Olympic lifting or give the program a week or so?

[Achilles]

Westside For Skinny Bastards III (http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/articles.htm)

Good program.

[Knight_Errant]

If your goal is general fitness, and you're already fit enough to handle it, might I suggest:
http://www.crossfit.com ?

[blessed_samurai]

Maybe you could check out my "Sholders" thread in Injuries too. :D

Think I should bail on the Olympic lifting or give the program a week or so?


I like the WS4SB III program. I used the Olympic lifting program you listed modified slightly. I had good success on the program but invariably stalled eventually.

Now I don't think a week's time is ample enough to determine success or not with a program.