General Fitness

[Woodbutcher]

I'm a cyclist by heart and during the warmer months spend 4-6 hours a week on the bike. This usually keeps my body fat % down (not as much as I would like). The problem is that this requires me to eat a lot of carbs (yummy) and I don't have as much time for free weights as I would like.

I was wondering if someone had a routine they do to keep them in balance....that doesn't take a lot of time?

 

[bushidomartialarts]

The trick is sustainability.

I have my workout routine, which I enjoy and from which I derive benefit. It might bore your socks off.

Pick up a book called 'Body for Life'. I don't necessarily recommend the exact workouts it describes, but it provides an excellent example of how to build an effective, sustainable workout regimen. It also provides some of the science behind why it works, which means you can use it as a model.

For reference, here's mine:

3 days a week: 20-40 minutes of cardio, alternating between running, biking and swimming. Some days I'll do two or all three.

3 days a week: half an hour of strength training: right now it's calithstenics and yoga. four months ago I was doing weights, and sometime in the future I'll be doing them again.

3 days a week: 2-4 hours of martial arts training.

random: actively playing outdoors with my son.

Good luck!

 

[Woodbutcher]

Now that is do-able! I tend to get a little over zelious with the weight training in that I'll only do 2 muscle groups, but hammer them (chest/tri's, Bi's/Back, etc). Then I'd try and eat a ton of protien to get the muscle mass on which prompts me to eat more carbs to allow for proper digestion of the protien which ends up packing weight (good weight AND bad weight) on.

It's a balancing act I haven't quite gotten ahold of.

 

[jks9199]

Another good book is The New Rules for Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove. What I like about it is that it's oriented around movements, not body parts, and Schuler dares you to read it skeptically. Even if you don't follow the workouts -- the principles seem pretty sound...

 

[mook jong man]

I do a routine of kettlebell , pull ups and hanging leg raises that doesn't take long as well as my martial art training. With the free weights I seem to spend a lot of time changing plates around because my wife uses them as well .

 

[jeff5]

I have to agree on Body for Life as a good starting point. Like the other poster I don't follow the routines to the letter, but they provided a good starting point for me not only for working out but for eating as well. What I like most about the Body for Life method is that you can work out 20-40 minutes a day, and as long as you eat right, be in relatively good shape and health.

I think the balance between cardio and strength work is important. They really do feed on one another. I don't see the same results when I neglect one or the other.

I'll also say that doing the shorter anaerobic, more intense cardio routines that body for life recommends have given me the best results. Shorter cardio also seems to feed my aerobic cardio, as I'll occasionally do 40+ minutes or 4 miles etc., and I have no problems and have more endurance than I ever had. And it's also more applicable to Martial Arts.

I agree that the real key is sustainability. My goal is to work out (and do Martial Arts) for the rest of my life. So completely burning myself out for a year or two then stopping isn't something I want to do. I dont think it's sustainable for most of us to work out 2-3 hours a day.

 

[Riaan]

If you are looking for a great way to get fit in the least amount of time I would suggest CrossFit. I am currently combining that with rigerous MA training and the results speak for themself. I am not only becoming physically harder, but mentally as well.

 

[jarrod]

here's the approach to strength training i'm doing now. it's kinda weird but it works for me.

i keep a list of exercises & each workout i write down the lbs, reps, & sets i did, then write down if i need to adjust weight or reps up or down. i have two days a week designated for strength. one day is whole body, the other day is arms. i'll do some extra grip training throughout the week, just because i like grip training. then each work out, i make sure i get 12-15 sets, which ever exercies i do. this way i can pick & choose which exercises i do in case i get bored or have to train around an injury. keeping track of progress is absolutely crucial imo. it's the difference between training & hacking around. here's the list as it stands now:

back & chest:

one-handed clean & jerk
turkish get ups
1/4 get ups
farmer's walk

so i might do 3-4 sets of each exercise, or i might just do 6 sets of turks & 6 sets of farmer's walk.

arms:

chin ups
dips
curls
overhead tricep extensions
hammer curls
tricep cross overs

(isolation work isn't popular with a lot of folks but i like it)

another thing: i noticed you said you get over zealous with free weights. i have that problem too. what helped me a lot was i just got some cheap resistance bands from wal-mart, then whenever i feel like lifting more than i know i should i just crank out some high-rep exercises on the bands. my muscles still get a good burn & light resistance bands are fairly low risk for injury. hope this helps.

jf

 

[Phoenix44]

I agree with jks9199. I just read The New Rules of Lifting (women's version), and I just started the program. Well written, with very sound guidance for weight training and nutrition.

 

[Glycerine0160]

I'm a cyclist by heart and during the warmer months spend 4-6 hours a week on the bike. This usually keeps my body fat % down (not as much as I would like). The problem is that this requires me to eat a lot of carbs (yummy) and I don't have as much time for free weights as I would like.

I was wondering if someone had a routine they do to keep them in balance....that doesn't take a lot of time?

If you reallly REALLy want, I could dig through my sources and find them.


Here is a simple notion which many people know/do.
If you want to be quicker and leaner follow this.

HIIT- high intensity interval training


Take your cycling and warm up for however long it takes you 5-10 minutes.

Then cycle as fast you can for 30 seconds, then cycle at a moderately fast pace for 30 seconds. Then back to as fast as you can. Do this until you are dead. I am not sure how long you can last on a bike, but when running, you can last about 5-10 cycles.


The proofs that I could source IF YOU REALLY WANT, I'd really have to dig man.

1.) Bruce did this, his body fat was immutable.
2.) Compare the body of a sprinter to that of a marathon runner. Sprinters have a lot more muscle because their bodies require it to push them at fast momentum. Marathon runners have a lot less muscle, muscle weighs them down and is not as useful. (I gave you the radicals here to accent the difference.)
3.) HIIT burns 7 times the amount of fat as regular paced cardio.


Not sure if these are the results you are looking for, but that is what HIIT can achieve.


My regards.

 

[suicide]