Long term plan - Critiue please

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Slindsay, Jun 3, 2007.

  1. Slindsay

    Slindsay All violence is necessary

    Hi everybody,

    I've been trying to loose weight recently and have so far managed to drop a stone in weight which is nice, I currently tip the scales at 17st13lbs if the scales are to be blieved (Which they probably aren't).

    So far I've done this by aimming to stick to a 2,000 calorie a day diet and I've been to the gym doing 30 minutes of cardio at a time when I've had the opportunity although I have fallen out of the routine for that this last week due to work constraints (It's sick I tell you, I'm a PhD student expected to turn up in the morning and do work! Whats the world coming to?).

    Anyway, the results so far have been ok and I've lost a bit of weight and I can notice, I now have some new goals though now that I'm used to eating 2,000 cal a day and have tinme on my hands, anyway, what are these goals I here you ask:

    1) Drop an additional two stone by September 7th (I think)

    This one is critical as it puts me into the next weight class down for Judo, something I dearly want to do, Sep7th is the first day back at class and I want to have some time to get used to fighitng at a fairly drastically lower size (The under 100kg category)

    2) Drop a third stone to put me in cutting range of the under 90kg category by Mid October

    We have a grading in mid October and if I can fight in the under 90kg category I think I would be sitting about perfect for my height on the weight scale.

    3) Get strong

    And by this I mean get really strong, I need some explosiveness going on in order to pull of big pick-up throws. I'm not sure what sort of lifts i can measure this by really, I guess that I should really try to improve on all the classic measurements like squat, bench, millitary press and deadlift but if anyone has any better idea's on what to do here then let me know.

    4) Get fit

    The fights I compete in last for 4 minutes usually so I guess that aimming to be able to go all out for 4 minutes and suffer minimal fatique is going to be my primary goal here. Maybe that mean HIIT trainning?

    The other thing though is that the class trainning sessions last for 1.5 hours and they really take it out of me as well, though they ar at a lower intensity. Ideally I'd like to be able to avoid getting too tired in these as well so i can make the most out of trainning, not sure what that means in terms of cardio?

    5) Get flexible

    Mainly so I can stay nice and bendy for fights and suffer minimal injury, plus it helps a lot in groundwork to bend easily. I guess htis means following a fairly strict tretching progrma but when to implement it I wonder? Should I start now or should I spend some of my time working on loosing weight the look at the flexibility stuff?

    Anyway, my idea was as follows, hitting the gym 3 times a week to follow the Bill Starr 5 x 5 program initially then follow this up with a HIIT session on the pedal bikes and then Jog home before stretching for 15 minutes or so.

    After completing the program, move on to maintainning the strength for a bit and focusing more on cardio stuff at the gym.

    Play Basketball once a week and after this stretch off at home.

    Go running twice a week followed by stretching off at home.

    I may replace one session of running a week with going climbing though, especially when I'm in better shape and I've stopped with the 5x5 stuff simply because I love climbing and I won't have any sort of muscle fatigue going on after that.

    Anyway, through all this I'd be aimming to keep my diet restricted to about 2,000 calories a day.

    So what are peoples thoughts on this, to much exercise (Particularly the combo of 5x5 and HIIT although I've heard it recomended before) Or too little ?
     
  2. Cuchulain82

    Cuchulain82 Custodia Legis

    Nice post slinds. I'm sure you'll get many responses- here's what I can tell you. I can help you most with (3) and (4), but I also know a little about weight loss. I'm a former fat boy, so I've struggled with my weight in the past, and continue to struggle today. I'm about 6'1", 240 lbs. My lightest was about 215, heaviest around 270.

    (3) Get Stong

    Bill Starr's 5*5 is as good as any program you'll find to get strong. Big, heavy movements will give you results. A few tips:
    -Make sure you're warm before doing your routine. This may seem like common sense, but the days that I'm in a rush and I don't warm up enough almost inevitably end with me getting hurt.
    -Maintain a consistent amount of rest between sets. Generally, the less rest the better (as long as you can maintain good lifts). Pick a period of time- 2 mins, 1 min, whatever- and stick to it.
    -Make a conscious effort to improve core strength. It took me a long time to realize how important the core is to overall strength and fitness. It is crucial. So make sure you do exercises like deadlifts, squats, decline situps, floor wipers, full contact twists, and good mornings. Think about your gut when you do them- pull the abs in- because this will get them stronger.
    -Since you need grip strength for judo, try doing thick-bar lifts.

    (4) Get fit

    I've recently become a fan of gymjones . I think the way they exercise there is a great way to improve fitness. They do routines that are similar to crossfit routines.
    -For me to get fit, I have to workout until I hurt. Really. That means sprints, or high-rep deadlift routines. Or the ridiculous Sparrow's Dozens routine that I post a while back. Something like that.
    -Do fitness-style routine (not your 5*5 routine) against the clock. It automatically ups the intensity.
    -HIIT is a great idea. Doing HIIT after your 5*5 routine should work well. Try doing 4 minute tabata-style (20 sec sprint, 10 sec rest) work on a stationary bike after your lift.
    -Here's an easy sprint routine I use when I'm pressed for time and can't get to the gym- start at a light jog and bring a stopwatch. Once you're warm (maybe after a minue or so), sprint for 10 secs as hard as you can. Then jog slowly for 50 secs. Do that 14 more times. That is a 15 minute sprint routine that will be very hard but will get your results.
    -One last thing- with all this lifting and HIIT, you're going to be sore. Really sore. Lifting, sprints, and HIIT are all energy-system training, and you can overtrain easily if you're not careful. Ie: if you plan to lift 3 days/week and do sprints 3 other days a week, that is actually energy-system work 6 days/week, which is far too much.

    Losing Weight

    -Losing weigh sucks.
    -Keeping it off sucks even more.
    -Do the usual stuff- eat every 3 hours, eat a high percentage of protein, monitor your calories, etc. That all really does help.
    -If you're willing to try it, the Velocity Diet on T-nation really does work. I did it and I lost lots of fat.
    -Let me warn you about one thing about a ketogenic diet (low carb, like the V-Diet)- when I was on the V-diet, it made me stupid. I'm not joking- I'm a student as well, so I have to be able to read for long periods of time, focus in class, etc. When I was on the V-diet, my studies suffered. I think it was because the brain runs on glucose primarily and I wasn't giving my body the sugar it needed. I wasn't as sharp as I should have been and I didn't get all my work done. Consider yourself warned.
    -The lightest I've ever been was when I was training to fight muay thai. I was 215 and really skinny. Now that I'm not training and am lifting again, I'm about 25-30 lbs heavier and am much, much stronger. How you train will determine how much weight you lose- this may sound idiotically obvious, but when I was training twice a day, 6 days/week in the ring, I was unable physically to lift well. I gain weight no matter how much I lifted, mostly becuase I was too tired to lift well.
     

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