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How to do weight training properly! (supposedly)
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Maverick00
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- Joined: Mon 21 Apr, 2003 5:23 pm
- Location: Essex/Loughborough
Well, from my point of view, one after the other -- not at the same time, and not starting out with the pure strength training.
[i]To think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just another attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand the question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action; fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man -- Thucydides[/i]
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Maverick00
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- Posts: 379
- Joined: Mon 21 Apr, 2003 5:23 pm
- Location: Essex/Loughborough
Well thanks for all the advice, even if it did take a while to read. I agree completely with Maverick's comments on core strength and I think this is a very important aspect of training that many people ignore. I will also take your advice of doing the unstable exercises first - seems to make sense.
I'd have to say that I'm really not trying to lift lots of heavy weights, what I'm doing is sets of 20 reps and 4 sets for each exercise. In an average week (when I'm not injured as I am now - broken metatarsal) I'd use weights twice (Tues & Fri), circuit training at least once (Thurs and maybe Mon), 5-a-side football once (Tues), press ups, chin ups, dips and sit ups pretty much every day and running (mixing interval training and longer runs) about 3-4 times a week. I've been doing this for quite a long time now (about a year) and the only thing that seems to injure me is playing football - as is the case at the moment.
I've also been doing weights on & off for about 4 1/2 years (although only recently have I really tried to find out more information about it) and training with the Royal Marines as my goal since I was 13 - over 7 years now.
I don't think it would be practicable for me to concentrate just on weights for a period and then concentrate on running as I need to maintain both strength and cardiovascular fitness at all times. Normally when I go to the gym I'll spend about an hour doing weights, then another hour doing running & using the cross trainer, then do a few more press ups, chin ups & dips before leaving.
Thanks again. I'm off to the gym.
I'd have to say that I'm really not trying to lift lots of heavy weights, what I'm doing is sets of 20 reps and 4 sets for each exercise. In an average week (when I'm not injured as I am now - broken metatarsal) I'd use weights twice (Tues & Fri), circuit training at least once (Thurs and maybe Mon), 5-a-side football once (Tues), press ups, chin ups, dips and sit ups pretty much every day and running (mixing interval training and longer runs) about 3-4 times a week. I've been doing this for quite a long time now (about a year) and the only thing that seems to injure me is playing football - as is the case at the moment.
I've also been doing weights on & off for about 4 1/2 years (although only recently have I really tried to find out more information about it) and training with the Royal Marines as my goal since I was 13 - over 7 years now.
I don't think it would be practicable for me to concentrate just on weights for a period and then concentrate on running as I need to maintain both strength and cardiovascular fitness at all times. Normally when I go to the gym I'll spend about an hour doing weights, then another hour doing running & using the cross trainer, then do a few more press ups, chin ups & dips before leaving.
Thanks again. I'm off to the gym.
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Langarotti
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- Joined: Wed 24 Sep, 2003 8:53 pm
- Location: Isle of Wight
If anyone is worried about their lower back's ability to carry out pure strength training. Then check out this link for back strenghtening.
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do; ... 9-training
This is an excellent site for weight training advice, you should find any information you need here.
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do; ... 9-training
This is an excellent site for weight training advice, you should find any information you need here.
You really don't lose a noticeable level of cardio fitness when you go on a strength regime. In saying this, I presume that before you went on the strength routine you had been doing the cardio stuff and had been doing the circuit weight training -- which, by the way, will have prepared your back for the strain of strength training with a weight belt.
Strength training is a very focused thing. It's all about being able to lift a lot more than you could before. Because you do it with squats, benches and deadlifts and maybe leg presses, you hit lots of muscle groups which is actually better in the long run for overall muscle conditioning than circuit weight training that tends to concentrate on specific muscles. This is especially true of circuit weight training done on machines, which restrict the range of motion.
If you did only strength training for a long time, this would be against your best interests. But a shift to strength training for, say, four to six months, during which time you lay off the cardio, is not going to hurt your cardio fitness because it takes years to degrade it unless you're really beating yourself up through steroids or other drugs.
If you're worried about the cardio impact of strength training, one easy offset is to take a brisk walk for 40 minutes a day. You get 90% of the benefit of running. Most people don't realize that, but it's true. I'm not saying you should do strength training -- that's up to you -- but there's no reason to be afraid of it. I'm very glad I learned about it and did it.
Strength training is a very focused thing. It's all about being able to lift a lot more than you could before. Because you do it with squats, benches and deadlifts and maybe leg presses, you hit lots of muscle groups which is actually better in the long run for overall muscle conditioning than circuit weight training that tends to concentrate on specific muscles. This is especially true of circuit weight training done on machines, which restrict the range of motion.
If you did only strength training for a long time, this would be against your best interests. But a shift to strength training for, say, four to six months, during which time you lay off the cardio, is not going to hurt your cardio fitness because it takes years to degrade it unless you're really beating yourself up through steroids or other drugs.
If you're worried about the cardio impact of strength training, one easy offset is to take a brisk walk for 40 minutes a day. You get 90% of the benefit of running. Most people don't realize that, but it's true. I'm not saying you should do strength training -- that's up to you -- but there's no reason to be afraid of it. I'm very glad I learned about it and did it.
[i]To think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just another attempt to disguise one's unmanly character; ability to understand the question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action; fanatical enthusiasm was the mark of a real man -- Thucydides[/i]
