What I've been doing lately

[Ford Prefect]

I've made a lot of changes to my training regimen lately, so I figured I'd post some of the work I'm doing. As I continue to go out and take longer and longer hikes gaining more and more elevation, I've found the focus of my training shifting. Without a doubt, cardio-vascular endurance is the most important factor for me right now. Keeping a decent pace while climbing on a machine for 45 minutes is a lot different than keeping a decent pace over uneven terrain while climbing over the course of 4-5 hours. Where I used to sacarafice cardio in favor of strength training if I was short on time, now it's the opposite.

Strength training itself has taken a turn as well. I used to have need of great strength and explosive strength, but now I'm gearing myself towards endurance. Mountaineering also demands a lot of control over your own body, so the bulk of my maximal strength work consists of gymnastic movements and single-limb movements. I do those every day. My endurance training is split between days of bwe circuits and days of kettlebell, clubbell, and some weighted movements. I just added a couple bodybuilding movements into the mix as well because my beach muscles were fading a bit. I'm a vain ******* I guess.

Every 5th Monday, I do a personal fitness test (PFT) to assess how I'm progressing. The test consists of:

Deadlift x 1RM (work up to a 1RM)
Push-ups x Max in 2:00
Atomic Sit-ups x Max in 2:00
Pull-ups x Max
Kettlebell Snatches x Max in 5:00 (can't put down the KB)
32kg Pistols x Max (holding two 16kg in "rack" postition)
Climb 1,000 ft

The Maximal bodyweight training consists of:

M-W-F:
Planche Progressions x60 sec (Frog stand > Tuck > Advanced Tuck > Straddle > Regular)
Lever Progressions x60 sec (Tuck > Advanced Tuck > Straddle > Regular)
Handstand Progressions x60 sec (Wall > Freestand > Wall w/1hand > Freestand)
1-arm Pull-up Progressions 5x... (no assistance - free arm dangling - done to palm forward position)
32kg Pistol Progressions 5x....

Tu-Th:
L-Sit Progressions 3x30 sec (Tuck > L-Sit > V > Advanced V)
2-leg Jump 3x8
Clapper Push-ups Progressions 3x8 (1 clap, 2 clap, etc)
Hanging Leg Raises 3x8-12
Handstand Push-ups 3x8-12
Dragon Flags 3x8-12
One-leg Jump 3x8
(all done in circuit format)

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Progressions Explained:

Planche Progression: stay on a movement until it can be held for 60 seconds straight. When starting the advanced tuck, add two sets of the previous movements push-ups (ie adv. tuck hold = tuck push-ups...)

Lever Progression: same as planche but substitute pull-ups for push-ups

Handstand Progressions: same as planche w/out added push-ups

1-arm Pull-ups: Do 2x1 with 1:00 rest between sets. The next week do 3x1... Then 4x1 and eventually 5x1. Then add a rep so do 2x2 > 3x2 > 4x2 > 5x2... 2x3> etc etc

32kg Pistols: Same thing as 1-arm pull-ups. Currently working on negatives in that format.

L-Sit Progressions: Stay on a movement until it can be held for 3 sets of 30 seconds during the circuit.

Clapper Push-ups Progression: Stay with 1 clap until 3x8 can be done. Then add 2 claps. When 3x8 can be done of that, then 3 claps... etc etc

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The weighted and BWE workouts are not at all set in stone. I have about 10-15 workouts for each written down and will just select that day which one I'll do based on time and what I feel I should work on. They're done M-w-F alternating workouts. So it'd look like:

M-BWE
W-Weighted
F-BWE
M-Weighted
W-BWE
F-Weighted

and so on.

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Cardio Vascular work is done every single day for anywhere between 40:00 to 70:00. In some cases it is done twice a day. That would consist of a long-sustained effort in the mornings and then 30:00-40:00 of anaerobic intterval training in the evening. Every Tuesday and Thursday is climbing day where I'll spend the cardio duration on the stair master with a pack weight between 30-60lbs on. Every Saturday is hiking day where I'll spend 3-5 hours hiking with a 30-60lbs pack on.

That's about it. Any comments or questions?

[WinterPalm]

Holy crap!
When do you get time to train kung fu? Are you a beginner with not a lot to practice? I find with four or five forms on top of basics like footwork, bagwork, and cooridination, not to mention conditioning exercises, I have very little time or energy to do anything else. That is probably why my weightlifting is pretty eratic at best.

[IronFist]

Nice. Sounds like you're really getting into this hiking/climbing thing, which is cool.

[Ford Prefect]

WP,

I don't train KF anymore, so that could explain it! ;)

Iron,

Yeah. It's a good time. It gives me something to train for at least and a reason to get out of the house in the winter time other than driving 2 hours to pay $50 for a lift ticket.

[Oso]

Winterpalm, Ford is our local god of fitness. ;)


Ford, Why do you think it's harder to maintain pace outside?

In my late teens through about 26 or 27 I hiked a lot. Nothing extreme but at least twice a month I would do something between 15 and 20 miles. I was always able to maintain a fairly even pace between 4 and 4.5 miles an hour. For me it was kind of a zen like thing being outside and vibing off nature (daaam, I sound like a fugging hippie). This was in the NC mountains so there was plenty of elevation change though the elevations I hiked were just between 3 and 6 thousand so no major decrease in oxygen levels.

If I don't use a specific program on the stairs, then I definitely slow down as I get more tired.

I think for me the act of actaully going somewhere works better for me psychologically. In high school cross country I always ran slower on courses where you ran the same circle twice...but that's why I hated track and switched to cross country.

anyway, hope I didn't derail your thread too much but your comment piqued my curiousity.

[Ford Prefect]

Hey Oso,

I think it's the duration more than anything. When I'm training, I generally push myself to the point where if I had to go on for another 2 minutes, I'd be puking my guts out and crying like a little baby on the ground. When I get outside, I tend to go at that same pace which doesn't hold water since I'm spending about 5x as long outdoors than I do when doing stairs. I just have to learn how to pace myself better.

I agree that going somewhere is a lot better than just running in place or in circles. There is definately just something about being in the middle of woods where people rarely go. Indoors is a lot less spiritually pleasing... ;) I've blown through my DVD collection because I have a DVD player setup next to my stairmaster and bike. I'd go crazy if I was just sitting there listening to the radio or the hum of the equipment for over an hour. Outside, I coould keep trucking for hours in silence though.

[red5angel]

I do the dvd thing too ford. My wife thinks I'm crazy but I can't read when I do cardio inside and I hate just listening to the radio when all I'm doing is the nordic track.

What exactly is a 32kg Pistol?
1-2 leg jump?
WTF is a Dragon flag? I keep hearing about it but can't figure out what it is.

Starting today I'm getting on a serious bodyweight workout and probably use some of your program here. This summer I want to be able to boulder but I need to decrease my weight some and increase my overall strength.

[Ford Prefect]

Hey Red,

I hear ya. It's enough to drive a man insane.

A 32kg pistol is a one-legged squat while holding 2 16kg kettlebells in "racked" position (kind of like boxer protecting his ribs).

A Dragon Flag is done on a bench. You lay on the bench with your butt hanging off and grab the bench next to your head. You raise yourself up so only your shoulders and head are on the bench and you are nearly perpendicular with it. Keep your body stick straight with an arched back you lower yourself, so your body is again close to the bench. All the while the only body parts touching the bench are your head and shoulders. Then again keeping your body straight, you raise yourself back into start position. Repeat...

That make sense? Have fun bouldering.

[red5angel]

hmmmm, not sure I could do a pistol like that yet. I just started doing them unassisted - without holding on to something for balance.

Ok, now I know what you're talking about. Unfortunately I have no where to try that at the moment. Is it possible to get some benefit from doing it on the floor, and using your arms for support?

[Ford Prefect]

haha! No worries. I can't do one like that yet either. I'm doing negatives right now and I still lose control and falll into position after a certain point rather than controlling it all the way through.

You definately need something to hold on to for support for the dragon flag.