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Physical Fitness (Jogging, Diet, Cardiovascular, and Strength )

Al101 said:
I was looking for more of a personal opinion on how I'm going about things.

Without knowing you, it's difficult to say what is the best personal fitness routine for you.
You may wish to add yours to the Physical Fitness (Jogging, Diet, Cardiovascular, and Strength ) mega-thread.

Good luck on your CFAT re-test.
 
Gotcha.

Thanks very much. Just posted there.

Apologies if I made this thread in the wrong place.
 
Al101 said:
Hey guys,

I wasn't exactly sure where to put this... I thought of making a thread on the "Recruits Only" but I figured making a thread somewhere else, where people with over 250 posts can reply to, would help me out better.

Anyways. I'll get to the point. I'd like to show my workout routine, as well as my studying stuff just to get some advice to see if I'm doing something wrong or if I could do something different, maybe better. I have recently changed it up, so some of these are relatively new to me, so I'm not exactly very good at them just yet. Allow me, then!

My personal feeling is you're trying to do to much without a specific goal in mind.  You need to understand the difference between training and exercise.

Exercise is defined as:  activity requiring physical effort, carried out especially to sustain or improve health and fitness.

Training is defined as:  to get oneself into condition for an athletic performance through exercise, diet, practice, etc

Now the two meanings are very similar; however, they are different as one is general and the other is specific.  You will get in better shape exercising, there is no question; however, is it necessarily the shape you want to be in?  This is where training comes into play.  A pushup is an exercise, doing a set number of pushups in a circuit for time is training.  In essence, training is a prescription with the aim of achieving a certain affect.  In your case, preparing you to enter the military as an infantry NCM.

So how would I rate your program?  As an infantry officer I would say it needs some work.  I stand by my statement that you are doing too much without enough prescription and at the end of the day you're turning the wheels really fast but not getting anywhere.

Let me elaborate:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday - Weights at the gym. Adding 5lbs per week until I can't no more. My routine below:
Squats - 5x5
Bench Press - 5x5
Overhead Press - 5x5
Barbell Row - 5x5
Deadlift 1x5

Ok your weightlifting, what are the numbers you're putting up.  You could be doing 5x5 but I can't evaluate your program if I don't know what you are actually lifting?  I also need to know how much strength you have gained from where you started to where you are now? 

Also, those people who told you not to do all those exercises in one day are right and the reason you shouldn't is because you aren't optimizing your maximum lifting potential by doing so.  5x5 is a good program, I've used it before myself but you need to split up the workouts to achieve the maximum benefit.

You should be doing an A/B split

Workout A:

Squats
Bench Press
Rows (Really should be doing Powercleans but I know they are difficult to learn)

Workout B: 

Squats
Overhead Press
Deadlift

You altnernate between A/B workout to give your muscles maximum time to recover, otherwise you are going in circles.  if the purpose of your training is to get stronger, doing every single lift in one day is not a good idea and I highly doubt you are making big gains in terms of strength.  If you are making gains it's because your a novice lifter which we like to call the novice effect in weightlifting, i.e. you'll get better no matter what you do but again this is training and not exercise so you need a prescription to achieve the best results.

Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday - Bodyweight exercises. It is quite simple but I've added some variety there. This is also a newly, improved routine. My routine below:
10 Reg Push Ups, 2nd Inverted, 3rd Diamond, 4th Inverted, 5th Explosive
10 Jumping Jacks
10 Burpees
10 Reg Squats, 2nd Lateral Lunges, 3rd Reg Squat, 4th Lateral Lunges, 5th Reg Squat
10 Crunches, 2nd Circles, 3rd Single Leg Lift, 4th Single Leg Circles, 5th Pulsators
30sec Reg Plank, 2nd Star Plank, 3rd Reg Plank, 4th Star Plank, 5th Reg Plank

That's one set. Complete 5 sets in total. Increasing by 1 rep each/5 sec every week until I see fit to stop.

So by doing this type of workout every Tuesday/Wednesday/Saturday you've basically nullified any potential gains in strength you would have made had you simply used the day to rest the muscle groups you are targeting because you already stressed them out to the maximum doing 5x5 the day before.  Doing squats again after you've already done heavy squats the day before is a really dumb idea tbh.  if your going to do that than there is really no point in even lifting weights as your weight workout is basically becoming an endurance workout and again is it the right kind of endurance?

A better idea would be to add pushups, chinups/pullups and core after your strength workout.  In weightlifting we call these accessory exercises as they aide in your strength progression by targeting specific muscle regions in a different way to create a stimulus.  It's this stimulus and confusion that allow your muscles to get stronger.

My suggestion would be to drop your Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday program and add some accessory exercises to your weightlifting program.

A common way to do this would be:

Workout A
Squats
Bench Press
Rows
Pushups 3x to Failure
3x12 Reverse crunches (you can look this up)

Workout B
Squats
Overhead Press
Deadlifts
Chinups/Pullups 3x to Failure alternating every workout
3xPlanks 60sec to start.... increase a little every workout

Now you are doing what you just did before only you are leaving time for proper recovery which is going to make you stronger.  The stronger you are, the better you will be.  If you can lift 2x your bodyweight 5 times, you'll be able to crank off pushups, squats, chinups like nobodies business.

Now you may notice I do not have any actual RUNNING. That's when advice would go well. I realize we'll be doing lots of running, but I can't help to notice I'm doing quite a hell of a lot of cardio which is not just stationary cardio, but rather moving the entire body, much like running. Also, I do not have any Pull Ups. That would be because I do not have a machine, nor is there a park around here with anything for me to hang on, and I'm just making up excuses. I hate pull ups. I will fix it. I will add them to my program.

Keep in mind, I've been doing these for some time now, and I am in no way exhausted by the end of the day. I mean, yes, I'm sore as should be expected, but I could keep going. I don't believe I am overtraining as there hasn't been any signs. Please let me know if this workout routine is good enough, and what should/could be changed, if necessary. I am also eating healthy every day, not to worry!

Here is the thing, as an infanteer, you need to become the jack of all trades.  You need to be able to benchpress two plates with ease but you also need to be able to run and have a high level of cardiovascular endurance.

RUNNING is a necessary evil of the profession so you need to start doing it and learn to love it because you will be doing a lot of it.  Now there are different ways to train for running.  When people think of running, they think of going for a long, slow jog usually.  This is one way to train but is it the most effective?  In my experience not really. 

There are two types of exercise when we talk cardiovascular fitness, anaerobic and aerobic.

Aerobic literally means "relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen"  while anaerobic literally means "living without air"

Now how does this relate to training?  There is a saying I've often heard in the military that "if you can run 5km, you can run 20km" now this isn't necessarily true; however, what they mean to say is if you can muster up the energy to run 5km you can probably run 20km albeit at a far slower pace.  Decreasing the time it takes for you to run 20km is where anaerobic fitness comes in. 

Anaerobic fitness is basically short duration, high intensity exercise designed to force your muscles to push themselves for longer periods of time.  In the military you need both anaerobic and aerobic fitness although we as an institution, much to our detriment, tend to only focus on the aerobic side of the house. 

I noted that you're skipping, skipping is great exercise and also great for both aerobic and anaerobic fitness.  You can also get creative with it by doing double-unders, crosses, different foot patterns, etc... so I would stick with it; however, I would shift your skipping to days you aren't lifting weights.  Maybe skip for 5 minutes as a weight warm up to get blood flowing but no more on those days.

I also wouldn't do it every single cardio session you have.  A great way to get in shape cardiovascularly is with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).  An example would be going for a 5km run and sprinting 200m, jogging 200m, and keep that up for the whole 5km.  It doesn't take long and you will stimulate both the aerobic and anaerobic systems at the same time.

You could also do sprints on a track 200m sprint, jog 200m, repeat 10x... etc...  I personally hate running, but am actually very good at it mostly because of all the HIIT I do. 

You need to be doing this sort of exercise if you plan on being in the infantry.  This is the type of stuff you will be doing.  Doing a Section Attack is much like high intensity interval training.  You also need to do a better job programming your training.  Most people have a tendency to want to do everything but you need to realize that you can't and you need to program accordingly.

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 
The above post is good the only part I disagree with is his split layout. You shouldn't be doing squats on the same day as bench as you will not get the best benefit out of one or the other, also doing back before press will lower your press numbers.

Full body workouts are fine for a beginner, otherwise you can either do Upper/Lower split or more preferably Push/Pull/Legs. I personally do Upper/Lower split because it works for me, you need to find what works for you, but I suggest Push/Pull/Legs.

Workout A:
Bench Press/Variations
Overhead Press
Dips/Pushups
Any chest/tri/shoulder accessory you want

Workout B:
Squats
Any accessory leg movements you want to do

WorkoutC:
Deadlift (Stiff/RDL if you do front squat, otherwise conventional fine)
Rows
Pullups
Any Back/Bicep accessory movements you want to do
 
RelentlessTsunami said:
The above post is good the only part I disagree with is his split layout. You shouldn't be doing squats on the same day as bench as you will not get the best benefit out of one or the other, also doing back before press will lower your press numbers.

Full body workouts are fine for a beginner, otherwise you can either do Upper/Lower split or more preferably Push/Pull/Legs. I personally do Upper/Lower split because it works for me, you need to find what works for you, but I suggest Push/Pull/Legs.

Mark Rippetoe, Bill Starr, Mehdi and other prominent strength coaches would surely disagree with you but I digress.  Squat is the building block of all lifts, your legs also make up roughly 50% of your body so you should work them every lifting workout.  We aren't working out to look good after all, if your doing it for those reasons, this isn't the thread for you.

In any case, OP should try to get as strong as possible then harden himself up with a healthy dose of HIIT and some austere physical training.  Think Rope Climbing, Rucking, Tire Flips, Jerry Can Carries, etc.... 

I won't get into a debate on this thread about what peck deck you should be doing/not doing/ how many curls you can do.  It's truly a waste of time.  Plenty of gym monkeys have made truly crap infantry soldiers, seen em with my own eyes and commanded a few. 

I agree with your point though that you need to figure out what works for you.
 
Hello!

RoyalDrew and RelentlessTsunami, thank you for your advice.

I have fixed my workout schedule, hopefully for the best. I'd love some new insight into it, and I do apologize if I blatantly just copied it outright.

Power Yoga in the morning.

55 Handgrips each side, each hand. After waking up, and before bed.
1st – Both hands top
2nd – Both hands bot
3rd – Right Hand top then bot
4th – Left Hand top then bot

Monday/Wednesday/Friday, alternating A/B/A, B/A/B.

I walk 3km to the gym there and back, and I also stretch before leaving the house and once I change in the gym. I figure that’s enough to get me warmed up.

Workout A
Squats, 5 sets of 5
Bench Press, 5 sets of 5
Power Clean, 5 sets of 5
Pushups 3x to Failure
Reverse Crunches 3x12

Workout B
Squats, 5 sets of 5
Overhead Press, 5 sets of 5
Deadlifts, 5 sets of 5
Chinups/Pullups 3x to Failure, alternating each workout
Planks 3x60sec, increasing by 5 seconds each workout

Monday-Friday
Morning – Yoga
Afternoon – (M,W,F) 5x10 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 10x 200m sprint, 200m jog back.
Afternoon – (T,T) 5x10 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 30min Jumping Rope.
Evening – (T,T) Regular 5km run.
Saturday
Morning – Yoga
Afternoon – 5x15 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 30min Jumping Rope.
Evening – 5km run sprinting 200m, 200m jog, repeat until finished.


Now, I'd hope this seems like a better, more realistic routine. You didn't mention anything about the Yoga, or chopping wood, so I'm guessing those are alright. However, I'd like to ask... for the pushups/planks, am I able to perhaps implement some sort of variety? For example, Star Planks are great. I hate them, but they're great. As well as different variations of the pushup.

Also, you said throw out the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday routine, so I assumed it would be best to just do cardio instead. Regardless, please let me know how this new routine fares.

Thanks very much!
 
Al101 said:
Hello!

RoyalDrew and RelentlessTsunami, thank you for your advice.

I have fixed my workout schedule, hopefully for the best. I'd love some new insight into it, and I do apologize if I blatantly just copied it outright.

Power Yoga in the morning.

55 Handgrips each side, each hand. After waking up, and before bed.
1st – Both hands top
2nd – Both hands bot
3rd – Right Hand top then bot
4th – Left Hand top then bot

Monday/Wednesday/Friday, alternating A/B/A, B/A/B.

I walk 3km to the gym there and back, and I also stretch before leaving the house and once I change in the gym. I figure that’s enough to get me warmed up.

Workout A
Squats, 5 sets of 5
Bench Press, 5 sets of 5
Power Clean, 5 sets of 5
Pushups 3x to Failure
Reverse Crunches 3x12

Workout B
Squats, 5 sets of 5
Overhead Press, 5 sets of 5
Deadlifts, 5 sets of 5
Chinups/Pullups 3x to Failure, alternating each workout
Planks 3x60sec, increasing by 5 seconds each workout

Monday-Friday
Morning – Yoga
Afternoon – (M,W,F) 5x10 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 10x 200m sprint, 200m jog back.
Afternoon – (T,T) 5x10 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 30min Jumping Rope.
Evening – (T,T) Regular 5km run.
Saturday
Morning – Yoga
Afternoon – 5x15 each side Chopping Wood, followed by 30min Jumping Rope.
Evening – 5km run sprinting 200m, 200m jog, repeat until finished.


Now, I'd hope this seems like a better, more realistic routine. You didn't mention anything about the Yoga, or chopping wood, so I'm guessing those are alright. However, I'd like to ask... for the pushups/planks, am I able to perhaps implement some sort of variety? For example, Star Planks are great. I hate them, but they're great. As well as different variations of the pushup.

Also, you said throw out the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday routine, so I assumed it would be best to just do cardio instead. Regardless, please let me know how this new routine fares.

Thanks very much!

Dude,

You don't need to do exactly what we tell you, just do some strength training mixed with a healthy dose of cardio and you will be fine.  Again, try not to do too much and make your workouts actually achievable.  I personally don't know where you find all the hours of the day to do all of this???
 
Hiya.

Alright, will do.

Basically, I do it a while before work, afterwards and at night. I don't have a girlfriend anymore, and I live in a different city than before, so I've got more time than anything.
 
I just do StrongLifts 5x5 with light warmup cardio (M,W,F) and on non-workout days (Tu,Th,Sat) I do my heavy cardio (5km run, I've gone from 46 minutes to 32 minutes in 2 weeks).

My workouts never take more than an hour.
 
LunchMeat said:
and on non-workout days (Tu,Th,Sat) I do my heavy cardio (5km run, I've gone from 46 minutes to 32 minutes in 2 weeks).

Congrats on your improvements, you are on the right track. Be aware, however, that 5km is not "heavy" cardio, and is probably the shortest distance you'll run for PT after joining the CAF.

32 minutes would be a lot slower than you will be expected to run for a 5k. What is your exertion level like when running a 32 minute 5km? Would you say you could run and have a conversation at that pace? Sing a song? Or exerting yourself so hard you could barely put two or three words together at a time between breaths?

5x5 stronglifts or "starting strength" programs are excellent strength programs to begin.
 
ballz said:
Congrats on your improvements, you are on the right track. Be aware, however, that 5km is not "heavy" cardio, and is probably the shortest distance you'll run for PT after joining the CAF.

32 minutes would be a lot slower than you will be forced to run. What is your exertion level like when running a 32 minute 5km? Would you say you could run and have a conversation at that pace? Sing a song? Or exerting yourself so hard you could barely put two or three words together at a time between breaths?

5x5 stronglifts or "starting strength" programs are excellent strength programs to begin.

I should have elaborated, I do a 5k first thing in the mornings and HIIT later in the day. I have never been good at distance running and having been on many "Army 5k" (A.K.A. 10k) - I suffered greatly. A recent workplace injury didn't help me either and set me back over the last few months, but getting down to 32 minutes and not gasping for air (able to carry a conversation). I hope to be at 25 minutes by the end of the month.
 
LunchMeat said:
I should have elaborated, I do a 5k first thing in the mornings and HIIT later in the day. I have never been good at distance running and having been on many "Army 5k" (A.K.A. 10k) - I suffered greatly. A recent workplace injury didn't help me either and set me back over the last few months, but getting down to 32 minutes and not gasping for air (able to carry a conversation). I hope to be at 25 minutes by the end of the month.

Last year I read the book "The Triathlete's Training Bible," by Joe Friel, a famous book amongst Triathletes. I've probably went cover to cover on it 3 or 4 times since then if you add up all the times I've read random parts. Anyway, one big thing I finally took the plunge on is training with a heart rate monitor, and it's made a big difference.

However, you don't need a heart rate monitor (although I'd recommend it). If you are running at a "conversation pace" then that's perfect. Keep doing that. By doing so you are working on your "base" endurance. However, I would say that instead of running for a certain distance and hoping to improve your time, I would say run for a certain time at that same intensity (conversation pace) and work to increase the time you spend running at that intensity. The slow-twitch muscle fibres don't recognize distance, they only recognize time. If you start coming down from 30 minutes to 25 minutes you are actually not helping your endurance (you are helping "speed" but that's a whole other topic). If you go from 30 minutes to 35 to 40 to 45 to 50 etc ... then you are building up endurance.

Speed (which is just the efficiency of movement) will actually increase as a bi product just from logging all the miles, so your 5km time improve anyway, but that's just a bonus.
 
ballz said:
Last year I read the book "The Triathlete's Training Bible," by Joe Friel, a famous book amongst Triathletes. I've probably went cover to cover on it 3 or 4 times since then if you add up all the times I've read random parts. Anyway, one big thing I finally took the plunge on is training with a heart rate monitor, and it's made a big difference.

However, you don't need a heart rate monitor (although I'd recommend it). If you are running at a "conversation pace" then that's perfect. Keep doing that. By doing so you are working on your "base" endurance. However, I would say that instead of running for a certain distance and hoping to improve your time, I would say run for a certain time at that same intensity (conversation pace) and work to increase the time you spend running at that intensity. The slow-twitch muscle fibres don't recognize distance, they only recognize time. If you start coming down from 30 minutes to 25 minutes you are actually not helping your endurance (you are helping "speed" but that's a whole other topic). If you go from 30 minutes to 35 to 40 to 45 to 50 etc ... then you are building up endurance.

Speed (which is just the efficiency of movement) will actually increase as a bi product just from logging all the miles, so your 5km time improve anyway, but that's just a bonus.

Interesting, I'll keep that in mind.
 
RoyalDrew said:
Mark Rippetoe, Bill Starr, Mehdi and other prominent strength coaches would surely disagree with you but I digress.  Squat is the building block of all lifts, your legs also make up roughly 50% of your body so you should work them every lifting workout.  We aren't working out to look good after all, if your doing it for those reasons, this isn't the thread for you.

And the bulgarians don't train the way westerners do, and olympians train a lot different than almost anyone, pudzianowski has a program no one here would be able to follow, and California Strength/West Side Barbell have unique styles of lifting. Crossfitters will disagree with a lot of common training in a cult like manner.

Working out isn't absolute and there is constantly new research coming out supporting different claims, getting rid of old found trusted knowledge and pointing to stuff people use to label as "silly".

Also people who commonly do big compound lifts multiple times a week do days of varying intensity (Heavy, med, light) following different percentages of rep maxs and eventually lead up to a deload week.

edit: If you're going to tell someone to do multiple heavy exercises a week you should probably point them to an actual program (As it is not hard to find a link to any of the aforementioned programs. (I.e 5x5, 3x5, 3x3, Madcow) This will give them the tools they need to actually calculate their RM% and do the program properly. This will ensure they see the best gains as well as hopefully avoiding injury.
 
RelentlessTsunami said:
And the bulgarians don't train the way westerners do, and olympians train a lot different than almost anyone, pudzianowski has a program no one here would be able to follow, and California Strength/West Side Barbell have unique styles of lifting. Crossfitters will disagree with a lot of common training in a cult like manner.

Working out isn't absolute and there is constantly new research coming out supporting different claims, getting rid of old found trusted knowledge and pointing to stuff people use to label as "silly".

Also people who commonly do big compound lifts do days of varying intensity (Heavy, med, light) following different percentages of rep maxs and eventually lead up to a deload week.

Pudzilla?  You mean the the Polish Can Crusher?  Hardly a guy I would hold up as the pinnacle of what an infantry soldier should look like.  Don't get me wrong the guy is strong but is he really that athletic?  Not certain he has the type of athleticism I want soldiers emulating.

He got whooped by a fat and out of shape Tim Sylvia after all and the only thing Tim Sylvia crushes nowadays are cheeseburgers and beer cans.

2d71gn.jpg


If you want to talk about Eastern Europeans someone else taught us that you shouldn't judge strength by looks....


fedor-emelianenko-2_crop_340x234.jpg


Yep, if you're an infantry soldier, you should be aiming to move and act like Fedor, Pudzilla is the last thing you want to be.  For the record, Fedor would break Pudzilla in two.

Also, I'm not a crossfitter.
 
I don't really understand why you would use MMA as a reference. Roy Nelson would break most infanteers in half, however I don't think that's a level of fitness you should be emulating.

Considering there are medals of honors awarded to extremely slim, snake-like cardio machines: I hardly think using body shape and fitness is the absolute best value to look to for "pinnacle of what an infantry soldier should look like".
 
RelentlessTsunami said:
I don't really understand why you would use MMA as a reference. Roy Nelson would break most infanteers in half, however I don't think that's a level of fitness you should be emulating.

Considering there are medals of honors awarded to extremely slim, snake-like cardio machines: I hardly think using body shape and fitness is the absolute best value to look to for "pinnacle of what an infantry soldier should look like".

My point is the infanteer needs to be good at everything but is a master of none when it comes to physical fitness.  Using Fedor Emelianenko as an example is perfect valid for this purpose.  The OP asked what training he should so to give him a better chance at being successful as an infanteer.  Telling him he should be seeking to emulate Marius Pudzianowski is not what I would call giving good advice. 
 
RoyalDrew said:
Telling him he should be seeking to emulate Marius Pudzianowski is not what I would call giving good advice.

I don't recall ever saying that. My post was directed towards you showing that everyone has different methods of training. There are a lot of people who do 5x5 and ignore cardio to get the most out of their gains. You can do the same program for different purposes. I wouldn't post a picture of a fat powerlifter who squats multiple times a week to discredit your point, because it holds no weight. My point was simply that it's ignorant and foolish to hop on a bandwagon and just discredit other programs. To each their own.

Also if you really want to make sure his program is designed specifically around being fit for a Soldier, why not just link him the Special Forces training manual that is readily available? It gives you a complete breakdown of workouts and rep ranges on a day to day basis and even auxiliary information.

edit: https://www.cfmws.com/en/AboutUs/PSP/DFIT/Fitness/Documents/JTF%20Pre-Fitness%20Manual%20ENG.pdf

 
I certainly appreciate that Manual. I'll have a look.

Thanks again, everyone.
 
Keep in mind you need to be at a certain fitness level to start that training. I believe there's a test day right at the start to make sure.
 
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