Journey, Not A Destination

She's not of the type who likes to go out with a bunch of catty women, drink, gamble and go to bars. But it sounds like she made the best of it. Actually seemed like she had a bit of fun.
Ok so I knew she was Ok because well she married you... but damn the above makes me like her all the more...

Supposedly he had a lot to show though, haha.
beer goggles make every bigger :)
 
So I've decided to change my training around completely. I've been training for strength and size for years now. It's been fun but I'm never going to be some behemoth of a man and I've been blessed with really good genetics for athletics. I was a state-sprinter in high school and now, about to turn 27, I'm just as, if not faster than I was then.

I've decided to put strength and size on maintenance, which means dropping the volume of that sort of training, and really bumping up speed, power, agility, reactive and metabolic conditioning.

How I'll structure this I do not know yet. I'd like to start sooner than later.

It will probably be circuit oriented outside in the field behind my house. I believe a few of the local high school wrestling coaches will be running through it under me so that they can run their wrestlers through it once they come in for off-season conditioning.

Items to dig out of my closet and or buy include:

tractor tires
sledge hammer
cones
speed ladder
med balls
kettlebells
plyo boxes
jump rope
sled
bands

I think it's time to switch things up for now and build up the other side of the athletic spectrum. I have a great foundation of strength. I've always been lax on the other side simply b/c it came easy for me. Now I figure why not see what I can do if I apply the things I know. I'm going to train myself just how I would train any other athlete preparing for sport, but it will be more general conditioning for explosive reaction and speed than anything else.
 
I'm doing this so my 'ability' to be athletic doesn't decline as much with age. If you don't use it you lose it and I haven't trained for sport in years. I don't feel it so much yet but I don't want to hesitate going out and all out sprinting or cutting.
 
I went to try and workout with friend of mine who fights MMA and we tried to do a tire circuit. It whipped my ass. I have no idea how he did it. The sledge hammer and tractor tire thing has gotten very popular around those gyms in the last year or two. I don't remember the reps and distance but it went sort of like this:
Hit the tire x reps right handed
then left handed
Drag tire with harness to other end of lot behind gym
hit it some more right and left
then flip it end over end back

I had to rest several times for 1 circuit. I think he usually does six, with a short rest in between.
 
hey everybody,

my name is Julia and I'm new here. I just wanted to say hello and tell you that I think it's awesome how much everyone supports one another.

I don't want to go against any rules, but I found some free info from a site that doesn't have anything for sale (at least right now) - hope this is fair game. i really like the info and wanted to pass it on... would love to hear what you think.



it's a free video just for going - for this reason, i'm pretty sure it's fair to share with you. anyway, i loved the video and couldn't wait to show you!
 
Steve, I have a question for you. What do you know about Tabata Intervals? Are you familiar with them? Pros/cons?
 
I went to try and workout with friend of mine who fights MMA and we tried to do a tire circuit. It whipped my ass. I have no idea how he did it. The sledge hammer and tractor tire thing has gotten very popular around those gyms in the last year or two. I don't remember the reps and distance but it went sort of like this:
Hit the tire x reps right handed
then left handed
Drag tire with harness to other end of lot behind gym
hit it some more right and left
then flip it end over end back

I had to rest several times for 1 circuit. I think he usually does six, with a short rest in between.

They're definitely ass-kickers, but a lot of fun too. It seems like circuits have gotten much more popular among the masses ever since that 300 Workout hit the web, which is sad. People are mistaken what the purpose of these sorts of circuits are for; namely a metabolic effect as well as some other nifty things with speed, agility and power assuming you throw that sort of stuff in there.

I'm doing this with high school wrestlers so I'll have to match the metabolic demands of that sport. Probably intense work for 5 minutes... so maybe a minute per station for 5 stations.

I haven't thought it through completely yet, but I'm more interested in agility and muscle endurance than anything else. I'll focus on these things and gradually work in more power stuff.
 
Well 300 is definitely visually motivating to say the least...I watch it for 5 minutes and I'm ready to get my butt up and moving
 
hey everybody,

my name is Julia and I'm new here. I just wanted to say hello and tell you that I think it's awesome how much everyone supports one another.

I don't want to go against any rules, but I found some free info from a site that doesn't have anything for sale (at least right now) - hope this is fair game. i really like the info and wanted to pass it on... would love to hear what you think.



it's a free video just for going - for this reason, i'm pretty sure it's fair to share with you. anyway, i loved the video and couldn't wait to show you!

I'm sure you're just spamming but if not....

That link has gimmicky bullshit written all over it. If the creator of that site is actually interested in earning respect from his/her peers in the fitness industry, I'd start over. If they're trying to fit in with all the other gurus out there interested in making a quick buck at the expense of the ignorance of the masses... than he/she is well on his/her way.
 
Well 300 is definitely visually motivating to say the least...I watch it for 5 minutes and I'm ready to get my butt up and moving

Oh I agree, I really enjoyed that movie. But throw hundreds of lean, muscular guys on screen and then have some circuit style training videos used by the actors* spewed all over the interwebz and various magazine and you have a recipe for disaster relative to the decisions your average gym-goers make about how to train for a particular goal, namely physique.

*It's important to realize that the circuit training that's been shown all over the place wasn't the only source of training. It's just what many bought into because they like the idea of toning the muscles.
 
Oh I agree, I really enjoyed that movie. But throw hundreds of lean, muscular guys on screen and then have some circuit style training videos used by the actors* spewed all over the interwebz and various magazine and you have a recipe for disaster relative to the decisions your average gym-goers make about how to train for a particular goal, namely physique.

*It's important to realize that the circuit training that's been shown all over the place wasn't the only source of training. It's just what many bought into because they like the idea of toning the muscles.

Steve come on...seriously...can't a girl just play out a fantasy of hot sweaty muscular men in the heat of battle without you going all technical on me :blush5:
 
They're definitely ass-kickers, but a lot of fun too. It seems like circuits have gotten much more popular among the masses ever since that 300 Workout hit the web, which is sad. People are mistaken what the purpose of these sorts of circuits are for; namely a metabolic effect as well as some other nifty things with speed, agility and power assuming you throw that sort of stuff in there.

I'm doing this with high school wrestlers so I'll have to match the metabolic demands of that sport. Probably intense work for 5 minutes... so maybe a minute per station for 5 stations.

I haven't thought it through completely yet, but I'm more interested in agility and muscle endurance than anything else. I'll focus on these things and gradually work in more power stuff.

Ahhh I hadnt seen the 300 workout. There was a training video of Fedor Emiliananko a few years ago working out in the snow in Russia doing the whole sledgehammer thing. That was the first time I saw it and then it started popping up in every MMA gym. So I thought it was from him. I guess the movie came out at about the same time though.
 
Ahhh I hadnt seen the 300 workout. There was a training video of Fedor Emiliananko a few years ago working out in the snow in Russia doing the whole sledgehammer thing. That was the first time I saw it and then it started popping up in every MMA gym. So I thought it was from him. I guess the movie came out at about the same time though.

I was talking about circuit training in general. The 300 movie brought a useful tool in certain athletics into the spotlight. People don't like to use logic or reasoning anymore so if they see a clip where the actors where doing a ton of metabolic conditioning and then they see a lot of abs and big muscles they somehow deduce that metabolic conditioning = abs and big muscles.

Stupid.

I'm not sure where the whole sledgehammer thing came from, you could be right. I trained like that in highschool athletics though which was a while back. Just not with a sledgehammer. I'd have a giant piece of oak and I'd repeatedly hit it with an ax over and over, switching sides and from different angles. It built muscle endurance, speed strength and power of the upper body in multiple planes. The sledge is no different... I think people have been doing it for a while.
 
I am familiar with tabata intervals. Give me some context... pros/cons for what scenario?

Well it is a little warm in Alabama these days and is just going to get worse. I am looking for a short workout that I can do indoors and have had someone suggest Tabata Intervals.I have been jogging 3 days a week but between the heat and the time it takes I would like to find an alternative. I am trying to blast off the last 10 or so lbs of fat I need to lose and just raise my overall fitness level.

Here is the program I have been given:
* Jump Rope (High Knee jump rope style, sprint in place)
* Pushups
* Squats
* Chinnies

This workout will consist of 4 separate Tabata Intervals (20 sec. max -10 sec rest), each consisting of 4 minutes. The total workout will last 16 minutes. You can perform this workout indoors.


I am also trying to think of an alternative to the chin-ups to because I don't have a bar and I am pretty bad at them.
 
Well it is a little warm in Alabama these days and is just going to get worse. I am looking for a short workout that I can do indoors and have had someone suggest Tabata Intervals.I have been jogging 3 days a week but between the heat and the time it takes I would like to find an alternative. I am trying to blast off the last 10 or so lbs of fat I need to lose and just raise my overall fitness level.

Here is the program I have been given:
* Jump Rope (High Knee jump rope style, sprint in place)
* Pushups
* Squats
* Chinnies

This workout will consist of 4 separate Tabata Intervals (20 sec. max -10 sec rest), each consisting of 4 minutes. The total workout will last 16 minutes. You can perform this workout indoors.


I am also trying to think of an alternative to the chin-ups to because I don't have a bar and I am pretty bad at them.

Tabatas are just another form of HIIT. People tend to apply them to other modes of training more often though, such as you are here with your squats, pushups and chins. The problem I have with that is when you're doing high intensity anything every for 20 seconds every 10 seconds, fatigue is going to set in without a doubt. When it does, form is going to break. When that happens, potential for injury rises. Guys do Tabatas with a loaded bar for front squats, cleans, etc. That's just asking for an injury with a side of frustration.

The original Tabata research was done on a bike. When fatigue sets in there, form doesn't break as it does with your typical resistance training exercises.

Now when there's no pre-existing conditions AND you're only using bodyweight, I don't have as big a problem with this.

Any interval session is merely a method of cramming more work into less time.

Anytime I've wanted to do metabolic, calorie-wasting stuff without actually running, I've always opted for things like the circuits we talked about above or complexes with a barbell. If you don't have the equipment though, you're shit out of luck. For complexes all you need is a bar with some weight, but not everyone has that lying around.

Bottomline, mixing the fatigue associated with metabolic conditioning with technical exercises is a bad idea. Tabatas were not designed for that. If you want to toy around with some bodyweight stuff... ok.

Why don't you get a pullup bar? Do you really think you'd be able to do that many pullups?
 
No, I could never do that many pull ups. I was thinking I may do medicine ball slams instead. I was definitely intending to do the squats with just body weight. I see what you are saying about form etc. Like I said I am looking for something to do inside and preferably quick because working inside bores the crap out of me.
 
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