I've been keeping in pretty decent shape, and due to a need to pass a fitness test, I didn't want to experiment with fitness routines until I was done. Now that I've passed, I'm up for improving overall conditioning. Mainly I've got two issues that have me concerned. 1) Heart health. It's not terrible, but my bp "might" be high. I say "might" because I've seen it go quite low(115/73) on my own, but at the doctor's it's consistently ~130-150/85. Also, my heart rate is also a touch high, RHR is ~85. I'm assuming that strengthening my heart and lowering the RHR should help a lot in that regard. Any suggestions for achieving that goal? 2) Also, I've gotten pretty good at developing the muscles required for pushups and situps. However, I pretty much suck at anything else. I keep reading about guys doing "complex" lifts and what not...but don't really know how to put that together into a routine as I have no serious lifting experience. I've seen a couple of MMA fighter training clips but again...no idea how to put it together into a routine. Mainly, I'm not happy that I've basically allowed some muscles to become underdeveloped, and want to go for all around strengthening. What's a good way for a beginner to get started? I mean I'm actually in decent shape in terms of endurance, it's just that my strength is not at all where I want it to be right now. I'm willing to look into nasty workouts as well so any suggestions would be welcomed.
Seems like you need to work on your endurance even if you say you're ok with that. A resting heart reat of 85/min is messed up. Unless you have other heart problems besides that, try working on your cardio more. You could run ofcourse, but I hate running since I simlply get bored after 6 minutes, so I mostly stick to jump roping. After you consult your physician, try doing more cardio.
Here is a great routine for beginners: Taekwondo Guy's Beginner Routine Check with your Doctor, as has been mentioned, to make sure it is safe for you to start ANY sort of weight training. Specificly, ask about your BP and Heart rate! F.Y.I., 115/73 Bp is high/normal, real low! Square away your BP and Heart Rate issues before doing any sort of strenuous cardio. Let us know what the Doctor advises and then we can better assess your Cardio.
Another little tip for you regarding BP. Some people find that they get anxious around doctors, and this pushes their BP up temporarily. It's possible that you might be getting inaccurate BP readings from your doc for this reason.
OK let me clarify. I don't have heart or BP issues. I've recently passed a military medical and fitness test of 80 pushups, 85 situps, and a 10:30 1.5 mile run. That's why I'm saying I'm in "decent' shape. I've run up to 5 miles continuously, and can row at a 1:50 200m pace for 15 minutes...for 3 intervals. Not that great on pace, but the endurance is there. I'm not in "great" shape, but I'm not a health risk. But as far as "real" conditioning goes, I want some improvement across the board, and my current routines seem to be peaking. That's why I'm looking for other routines to improve, mainly lifting routines since my strength isn't where I think it should be. The HIIT/Tabata seems interesting as well. And yes I do have white coat hypertension.
Not sure what you mean by "real" conditioning but if you mean that you want to improve your Cardio and lower your BF then HIIT/Tabata seems perfectly suited to help you achieve your goals. I used H.I.I.T. to help my Cardio for my last tournament. 4 weeks out from the tourney I started and, come the competition, no issues. I felt like I could have gone all day.
HIIT will help you lower your RHR. There are thousands of different exercieses you can can do, but I recommend checking out www.rossboxing.com to find all you will ever need. As for basic strength. Not too difficult. Pullups Dips Standing Military Press Bench Dumbell Rows Squat Deadlifts Split these up into different workouts, and work them 3 times a week adding weight progressivly. Same exercises put 6kgs in 8 weeks on me.
If im doing 3 sets of 6 how often do I increase the weight? And what do I do if I miss a weight, e.g. the last rep causes my form to break?
I'd increase weight every time you can do 3 sets of 6. Then work you way back up to 3 sets of 6. If you cant get to 6 in your last set, keep working towards it so you can increase the weight.
Indeed NK! I plan to use H.I.I.T./Tabata 4 weeks out from every comp. I plan on sparring in. Worked wonders for my Cardio. Even helped me drop some 6lbs
If im weight lifting 3 sets of 6 with 3 exercises 3 times a week, will doing farmers walks afterwards hinder my progress?
Thanks for the responses. Yeah, HIIT sounds like exactly what i need more of. I have a few running/bodyweight routines I used to do based on that that I liked. I just never knew exactly what it did in terms of health/fitness...I just knew it brutally kicked my ass. I just want to get my RHR down low to well conditioned levels...I just think having a very well conditioned cardiovascular system would be nice. As far as what i mean by "real" conditioning, I mean I've basically focused on exercises involved in the fitness test(pushups, situps, middistance run) at the expense of anything else. So I can only do like 2 pullups, my bench is awful relative to my weight, and so on...my max strength is basically pathetic. I'd also like to improve leg strength/conditioning also, I can't kick as long in Thai Boxing as I'd like either.
Few questions: In the context of someone who wants to maximize the strength+endurance to weight ratio, what sort of lifting should I be doing? As tempting as the idea of breaking 230 on my bench is(prob doable for me too), my goal is to prepare for an everyday Physical Training schedule. So, the questions: 1) What type of lifting should I do as far as #reps/#sets? I'm sorry for the newbie-ness of this question, but I'm basically just getting started on weightlifting... 2)I can't do pullups to save my life...should I substitute flexed arm hangs or just throw on weight on the pullup machine? 3) By squats I assume you mean weighted squats? 4) I guess this ties in with question 1, but should I be doing them all at once each day, or should I split the exercises in anyway? 5) Any point to adding curls? I know biceps are "vanity" muscles, but after doing nothing but pushups, my arms actually look "funny"...to the point I actually worry about muscle imbalance. Again, your help is much appreciated. PS I read the sticky on basic strength training, with the section where it goes over the different volume types...I just don't know what I should be going for.
Since your a noob to weights, I'd definatly keep the reps in the 8-10 range. 3 working sets is fine. Keep up this rep/set squeme for about 8 weeks, to allow your body to get used to weights, and also to allow your connective tissues to strengthen. After that, you can lower the reps to around 3-5, and increase the weights to focus on strength, or do around 6-10 reps with slightly less weight to work on muscle.
