Help and advice needed

[Nel04]

Hi,
I have just recently passed my entrance tests and have been accepted into the armed forces as an infantryman.I want to gain as good an all round fitness as I can before I reach basic training.I do my cardio in the mornings and I do 5-10 mile runs three days a week, two interval sessions which one is sometimes substituted for a hill sprint session.I use free weights on mondays and tuesdays(last for an hour) and I go to circuit training on wednesdays(1 hour). I also swim 3 days a week(I swim for an hour with no rest).I am 5ft 11 and weigh 185llbs and I generally eat what i like.

Mondays free weight lesson I attend a class called push and lift which we exercise chest, back,shoulders,tri-ceps,bi-ceps, abs,obliques,thighs and calves. In this class we do 3 sets of over 20 reps for each exercise and we rest for 30 sec in between each exercise. I no this may sound silly but what sort of training is this?

Tuesdays(just started yesterday)I do an all over body workout doing 3 sets- 8 reps of 90% of my max(on everything except russian twist, jacknife on exercsieball and exerciseball crunches). I do Dumbbell press, chest flies,bent over dumbbell row,dumbbell shrug,dumbbell deadlift,exerciseball bridge, exercise ball dorsal raise, arnold press,lateral raise, frontal raise,bent over raise,cable raise,dumbbell curls,hammer curls,dumbbell kickback,dumbbell extension,tricep pushdown(machine), tricep overhead extension,weighted lunges,leg press,leg extension,side bends,jacknifeon exerciseball,crunches on exerciseball and russian twists. I don't rest in between exercises I pick two of the exercises and do one set of the first then one set of the second, then the second set of the first exercise and the second set of the second exercise etc. Once I finish the two exercises I move straight onto the next two, it takes me just under an hour.What sort of training is this.

My main aims are to increase my press-ups, sit-ups,pull-ups and just to get all round strength, which in turn will help with my running form and technique and will help me with swimming aswell. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions and comments on how to attain my goals and what sort of food I should be eating, as can be seen its not the lack of effort or determination although I am lacking in the knowledge. Below is my training schedule for the next two weeks. I have been gradually upping my training since march 25th of last year and so my running is nailed down and my swimming is coming along, my press-ups are at 40 in one minute and then my arms start to fatigue for the last minute resulting in my pb being 52,I want to be hitting say 65 in the next 3 months within the two minute time frame. Thank you for any responses.


Week One
Monday　- General Swim,3 sets of 30 press-ups and 50 sit-ups and Push and Lift- Completed

Tuesday　- Standard warm up, run 6 x hill repeats. Find a hill that is fairly steep and at least 100 meters in length. Run up the hill at a pace that feels like 5K pace. Run 20 meters past the top of the hill and jog back down. Repeat this 6 times.Gym- 3 sets of 8 reps all over body workout - completed

Wednesday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides,3 sets of 31 press-ups and 51 sit-ups, General Swim and Circuit Training

Thursday　- Standard warm up. Run 5 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 4 x 200 meter repeats at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging

Friday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration stride and finish with plyometric training for 30 minutes and General Swim,3 sets of 32 press-ups and 52 sit-ups

Saturday　- Rest Day

Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 8 miles-3 sets of 33 press-ups and 53 sit-ups

Week Two
Monday　- 3 sets of 34 press-ups and 54 sit-ups General Swim and Push and Lift

Tuesday　- Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. 3 sets of 35 press-ups and 55 sit-ups, Pilates, gym- 3 sets of 8 reps all over body workout

Wednesday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides,3 sets of 36 press-ups and 56 sit-ups, General Swim and Circuit Training

Thursday　- Standard warm up. Run 6 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Then run 1200 meters at 10K pace. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging

Friday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides finish with plyometric training for 30 minutes and General Swim

Saturday　- Rest Day

Sunday　- Standard warm up. Run 10 miles-3 sets of 37 press-ups and 57 sit-ups

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by Nel04

Hi,
I have just recently passed my entrance tests and have been accepted into the armed forces as an infantryman.I want to gain as good an all round fitness as I can before I reach basic training.I do my cardio in the mornings and I do 5-10 mile runs three days a week, two interval sessions which one is sometimes substituted for a hill sprint session.I use free weights on mondays and tuesdays(last for an hour) and I go to circuit training on wednesdays(1 hour). I also swim 3 days a week(I swim for an hour with no rest).I am 5ft 11 and weigh 185llbs and I generally eat what i like.

Mondays free weight lesson I attend a class called push and lift which we exercise chest, back,shoulders,tri-ceps,bi-ceps, abs,obliques,thighs and calves. In this class we do 3 sets of over 20 reps for each exercise and we rest for 30 sec in between each exercise. I no this may sound silly but what sort of training is this?

Tuesdays(just started yesterday)I do an all over body workout doing 3 sets- 8 reps of 90% of my max(on everything except russian twist, jacknife on exercsieball and exerciseball crunches). I do Dumbbell press, chest flies,bent over dumbbell row,dumbbell shrug,dumbbell deadlift,exerciseball bridge, exercise ball dorsal raise, arnold press,lateral raise, frontal raise,bent over raise,cable raise,dumbbell curls,hammer curls,dumbbell kickback,dumbbell extension,tricep pushdown(machine), tricep overhead extension,weighted lunges,leg press,leg extension,side bends,jacknifeon exerciseball,crunches on exerciseball and russian twists. I don't rest in between exercises I pick two of the exercises and do one set of the first then one set of the second, then the second set of the first exercise and the second set of the second exercise etc. Once I finish the two exercises I move straight onto the next two, it takes me just under an hour.What sort of training is this.

My main aims are to increase my press-ups, sit-ups,pull-ups and just to get all round strength, which in turn will help with my running form and technique and will help me with swimming aswell. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions and comments on how to attain my goals and what sort of food I should be eating, as can be seen its not the lack of effort or determination although I am lacking in the knowledge. Below is my training schedule for the next two weeks. I have been gradually upping my training since march 25th of last year and so my running is nailed down and my swimming is coming along, my press-ups are at 40 in one minute and then my arms start to fatigue for the last minute resulting in my pb being 52,I want to be hitting say 65 in the next 3 months within the two minute time frame. Thank you for any responses.


Week One
Monday　- General Swim,3 sets of 30 press-ups and 50 sit-ups and Push and Lift- Completed

Tuesday　- Standard warm up, run 6 x hill repeats. Find a hill that is fairly steep and at least 100 meters in length. Run up the hill at a pace that feels like 5K pace. Run 20 meters past the top of the hill and jog back down. Repeat this 6 times.Gym- 3 sets of 8 reps all over body workout - completed

Wednesday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides,3 sets of 31 press-ups and 51 sit-ups, General Swim and Circuit Training

Thursday　- Standard warm up. Run 5 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than your 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Run 4 x 200 meter repeats at full but controlled pace. Jog for 100 meters between repeats. Jog for 800 meters between the two sets. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging

Friday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration stride and finish with plyometric training for 30 minutes and General Swim,3 sets of 32 press-ups and 52 sit-ups

Saturday　- Rest Day

Sunday - Standard warm up. Run 8 miles-3 sets of 33 press-ups and 53 sit-ups

Week Two
Monday　- 3 sets of 34 press-ups and 54 sit-ups General Swim and Push and Lift

Tuesday　- Standard warm up. Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 10K pace or 15 seconds per mile slower than 5K pace. Jog for 800 meters between repeats. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging. 3 sets of 35 press-ups and 55 sit-ups, Pilates, gym- 3 sets of 8 reps all over body workout

Wednesday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides,3 sets of 36 press-ups and 56 sit-ups, General Swim and Circuit Training

Thursday　- Standard warm up. Run 6 x 800 meter repeats at 5 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. Jog for 400 meters between repeats. Then run 1200 meters at 10K pace. Cool down with 800 meters of jogging

Friday　- Run 5 miles easy. Run 3 acceleration strides finish with plyometric training for 30 minutes and General Swim

Saturday　- Rest Day

Sunday　- Standard warm up. Run 10 miles-3 sets of 37 press-ups and 57 sit-ups

Congratulations on your acceptance to the Armed forces , I didnt see you post a location..that info would be nice considering the base standards for US military are different from the Canadian forces and the base for each is really low and ramps up quite fast each week.

I am 1 month out from starting basic training in Canadian Forces Leadership & Recruit School in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec.

My trade is Naval Electronic Sensor Operator -

I have been training specifically for this basic training with very serious intentions for the past 6 months my previous training experience was not nearly as adept as the past half year has been.

The thing is I cant suggest alot due to not knowing which Country you are in , the rules for supplementation in Canadian Forces is very strict during basic training the consumption of Protein powder is prohibited ! & don't even think about Creatine or Anything else! They expect you to eat a well balanced diet so make sure you choose you food wisely when in Mess!!!

As far as training is concerned you are certainly on the right path , personally I have been doing a training routine that uses my body weight only and lots of it along with running each day , you get weekends off so doing a routine monday to friday will get your body accustomed to what they will be prescribing to you.

I started doing small sets of Push ups and sit ups and chin ups & dips as well as running 2 miles each morning ( All PT will be preformed for 2 hours each morning Mon-Fri )

I started off small , 5 sets of 25 for each exercise and gradually increased them along with running distance and intensity-

I am eating around 2800-3200 calories each day , and as of the moment I am supplementing with a whey protein powder , creatine & Animal Pak M stack + a Solgar Multi Vitamin - the meals are split 7am - 12 pm and 5:30 pm , protein shake with 50g whey protein after the morning workout and in between my meal of lunch to dinner - I will be forced to stop supplementing Feb 27th ... not looking forward to not getting my sups but I dont think its gonna make that large of a difference.

As my current testing I do a 2 minute test for all exercises I listed

Pushup's 2 minute test : 84 consecutive , Wait two minutes and preform it again 65*
I do a third set to get a minimum of 200 pushups but I am useually able to pump out another 50 to break well over the 200 mark within a set period of 6 minutes total time under muscular tension -

For Situps the test has no time limit but I like to place it there as a motivator , for the test I hold a 8Kg medicine ball against my chest with my elbows pointing outwards I secure my feet and make sure my legs are on a 45 degree angle , back to the floor / up / elbows touch my knee's and back down to count as 1-

Current capability is 70 situps in 2 minutes , I preform 200 of these each workout ( try my damnedest to not utilize my hip flexors or legs into the motion or move my buttock as this is not allowed during the test and will cause the rep to not count )

As for pull ups I do them with palms facing towards me for 50 reps , I can only do around 20 in a row at the moment , so I break it down 20 / 15/ 15

Dips I preform 200 , I break them down doing sets of 40 / 30 / 20 /20 / 20 /20/20/20/10

As far as running I do not have access to a gym track , but I live outside of the city and Have used the odometer on my car to mark out 1 mile stretch -

Wearing Boots & two backpacks loaded with cans and other things I could find that = 70 lb's , 35 pounds in each bag , strap one to the front side of my body and wear one on my back-

Run 3 miles like this , at the moment I can do it in around 18 minutes , I am having issues getting my running times faster... but I think I am doing decent and will continue to progress -

I Think that my workout efforts will help , I have a few close friends who have been or are currently in service and they say that with my current fitness level I shouldnt have any physical issues -

By the sounds of it , neither will you ~
I think you should keep exercising and eat big , gain as much muscle and strength as you can now so that you can physically keep up / excel that way you can learn what they teach you on field exercises cause you wont be very tired and will be able to concentrate on paying attention.

Remember
-It's bad to be 'weak' but worse to be a 'blade'. Try to be the best at everything but never by selling out your coursemates in any way. Your team is the student body, vs the team of instructors

Good luck !

[Nel04]

Im joining the british army mate, and I don't use supplements because they have never served me well in the past im just concentrating on a good diet and eating little and often. Im just starting to up my protein intake and I am taking multivitamins to make sure I get all the right stuff. Im considering buying protein tablets instead of supplements but I don't know any reliable brands. Im not worried about my fitness as it's quite good, however as you said I wanted to make sure that I could concentrate 100% on the lessons and instructors rather than nodding off due to fatigue. So just wanting to build overall strength while loosing a few pounds.

[IvanTheTerible]

Originally Posted by Nel04

Im joining the british army mate, and I don't use supplements because they have never served me well in the past im just concentrating on a good diet and eating little and often. Im just starting to up my protein intake and I am taking multivitamins to make sure I get all the right stuff. Im considering buying protein tablets instead of supplements but I don't know any reliable brands. Im not worried about my fitness as it's quite good, however as you said I wanted to make sure that I could concentrate 100% on the lessons and instructors rather than nodding off due to fatigue. So just wanting to build overall strength while loosing a few pounds.

Well one thing you can do is avoid caffeine intake until you start your training , when your body has been off of it for a while a coffee in the morning gos along ways as far as providing more alertness / endurance

if your looking to loose weight but still gain strength its possible... you need to make sure you are creating a calorie deficit but making sure to provide your muscles with fast acting proteins & some simple carbs post workout to drive that protein to the muscles needing repair - use the sites http://www.muscleandstrength.com/too...alculator.html and then subtract -500 calories from that , try to maintain what you are doing exercise wise... you should end up with some lean gains of muscle & strength as well as some fat loss!

Regarding protein pills , i think you are referring to an Amino blend they can certainly be helpful , I will try to find you some from the sites store as well try your local supplement shop unless the stop is completely horrible they should have somebody who is a lifter working in the store who should have some info regarding supplements.

[Nel04]

Yeah I have just found out that I should be eating 3,744 calories a day and from the start of this week I have been eating roughly 2000 calories, I think i'll up this with 500 calories of carbs and protein. Thanks for the advice and yeah I just want something other than a bar or shake that will give me my extra protein etc. I'll do the caffiene suggestion aswell see how that goes.