quote:

Hopefully I’m nice and sore in the morning but I have some doubts.

Soreness is not an indicator of anything other than you are sore, it does not mean you had a good or bad workout.

Why are you doing exercise? Not for weight/fat loss, that comes from diet/nutrition as already covered.

What fitness goals do you have? What attributes of fitness do you want?

For example; I have spent my whole adult life in the infantry. Attributes of fitness I need are anaerobic for fighting, aerobic for long movements, upper body strength and strength endurance for carrying, dragging, fighting etc. Lower body strength and strength-endurance for same. Some power for explosive pushing, jumping. Strong core to tie it all together and strong posterior chain for the above and to carry my rucksack and gear.

I have never had a gym membership, all my workouts at home with minimal equipment. Typically only 20-ish minutes 3x per week and I am in better shape (at 44 and in the national guard now) than the average active duty infantry soldier.

The last thing I would do is a classic "bodybuilding" type routine because I don't need or want extra muscle to have to carry. (I have in the past deadlifted 2.5X bodyweight, so I'm not a stranger to heavy lifting or against it.)

That is just an example using myself, my advice is to really figure out what you want out of fitness, you may be surprised how all-around fit you can be with less time and equipment.

I’ve been focusing on kettlebells, weighted jump rope (Crossrope) heavy sandbags, pull-up bar and body weight movements for ~ 3 months now, haven’t set foot in the gym, just getting it done at home or at work before going home, I’ve also been walking to work (2 miles each way) with my hunting pack loaded with 50lbs.

I’m feeling better than ever.

^^^^

Hell yeah...Get some!

I’m dropping the squats in favor of leg presses. I really wanted to stick with free weights but the knees won’t take it right now. Will have to build up the stabilizers more and then try again down the road.

Other than that it’s going gangbusters.

Do bodyweight squats then, slowly increase the range of motion until you can get butt to heels.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
Day one of the routine in the books. I wasn’t sure where I would be so today was kind of a tester.

1. 3 sets of deadlifts @205 was about right. Grip seems to be my weak link.

2. 3 sets of high bar squats but kept it light at 135. First set and a half were very very deep but my knee starting complaining so I finished them much shallower. Will probably increase weight a little heavier but stay with the smaller range.

3. Bench press was 3 easy 10 round sets at 115. I haven’t done a barbell bench press in a very long time so I was a bit worried about keeping it level. I’ll kick this up next time but I’m not sure by how much.

4. Clean to OH press, 3x10 using a preloaded 60lb minibar. I’ll jump to 80# next time and see how that goes.

5. Back hyperextension, 3x10 no weight. I completed them easily, am wondering if I should grab a 10lb plate next time. Not sure.

6. 4.5 assisted pull/ups (heavily heavily heavily assisted). These finished me off. This will be a very long road.

All in all a good workout. Took 35 minutes without the cardio, which is where I need to be on my workdays. I can’t home and had a protein shake and the muscle fatigue hit big time, a good sign. Tomorrow will be cardio only. Hopefully I’m nice and sore in the morning but I have some doubts.

I thought I’d chime in on this regarding your squats, if you can’t squat to proper depth, then back way off and build up slowly. Lots of programs even have people starting with the empty bar and adding 5lbs per workout using perfect form. I guess my opinion with squats is if you can’t do them properly, you need to fix the issues weather it’s starting too heavy or poor hip mobility. Not going to depth is actually worse for your knees due to the shear forces.

I’d rather see somebody pick up a 50lb kettlebell and do a proper goblet squat than see somebody with crappy form doing 1/4 squats with a heavier weight.

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:

I thought I’d chime in on this regarding your squats, if you can’t squat to proper depth, then back way off and build up slowly. Lots of programs even have people starting with the empty bar and adding 5lbs per workout using perfect form. I guess my opinion with squats is if you can’t do them properly, you need to fix the issues weather it’s starting too heavy or poor hip mobility. Not going to depth is actually worse for your knees due to the shear forces.

I’d rather see somebody pick up a 50lb kettlebell and do a proper goblet squat than see somebody with crappy form doing 1/4 squats with a heavier weight.

I appreciate the input...

I can squat ATG, as they say, a few times with light weight (like 1 plate per side) but the knee starts balking usually by rep 10 give or take so that eliminates high rep low weight... I can do supported squats using a TRX or similar system. That’s an option for days without a time crunch. I used to do a bunch of goblets, I’ll give those a whirl.

I think leg presses are the ticket for now. I can go heavy and deep without it bothering my knees. As the muscles build and the fat drops I expect things to improve.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:

I thought I’d chime in on this regarding your squats, if you can’t squat to proper depth, then back way off and build up slowly. Lots of programs even have people starting with the empty bar and adding 5lbs per workout using perfect form. I guess my opinion with squats is if you can’t do them properly, you need to fix the issues weather it’s starting too heavy or poor hip mobility. Not going to depth is actually worse for your knees due to the shear forces.

I’d rather see somebody pick up a 50lb kettlebell and do a proper goblet squat than see somebody with crappy form doing 1/4 squats with a heavier weight.

I appreciate the input...

I can squat ATG, as they say, a few times with light weight (like 1 plate per side) but the knee starts balking usually by rep 10 give or take so that eliminates high rep low weight... I can do supported squats using a TRX or similar system. That’s an option for days without a time crunch. I used to do a bunch of goblets, I’ll give those a whirl.

I think leg presses are the ticket for now. I can go heavy and deep without it bothering my knees. As the muscles build and the fat drops I expect things to improve.

I’ve Really liked the 5x5 programs in the past, the progression always worked well for me as long as I was able to admit to. Self that my form was slipping and that I should drop weight by 20 percent and build back up from there focusing on form. You might look into one of those programs, they get you strong quickly. For a few years I was into powerlifting and at my first meet I broke 1000lbs and the only training I’d done was StrongLifts 5x5 using their app and lifting 3x per week. Those basic workouts really work well as long as you stick to them rigidly.