How to combine these 3 bodyweight books?

[MattofSilat]

I was reccomended a bodyweight training book, Convict Conditioning, recently by a member of MartialTalk. After researching it further, with 420 reviews and an average of 9.6/10, I knew it was a great idea to pick it up. Power is, of course, vital in martial arts. You can say that technique is the most important attribute, but fights are not decided solely on technique. Whoever has a higher 'rating' overall, taking factors such as Intelligence, Technique, Physical Size, Physical Strength, etc, will win the fight, so strength is vital. Especially with me still being at school, strength has far more value then Martial Arts technique overall, as it can be important in many of the things we do, not just combat.

So, Convict Conditioning looks great. I will start on my path to the mastery of Push-Ups, Leg Raises, Handstand Pushups, Pullups, Squats and Bridges. Covering Triceps, Pecs, Quads, Hamstring, Shoulders, Biceps, Upper Back Muscles, Abdominals and Spine Strength (More Torque), it seems pretty comprehensive to me. It also appears to come in straightforward stages which will help you towards elitest goals set, such as being able to do 100 One Arm Pushups on Each Arm, or 2 Sets of 50 One-Legged Squats on each leg.

HOWEVER. Another book got my attention from the reviews I read on Convict Conditioning. It's called 'Naked Warrior'. From what I've seen and heard, it only seems to cover Squats and Push-Ups in terms of excercise, but puts lots more emphasis on other aspects such as Routines, Motivation and General Bodily Knowledge than Convict Conditioning does. Despite only containing these two excercises, the reviewers of Convict Conditioning who gave in 10/10 commonly put this on a par, so I definitely think it's worth a pick up.

Convict Conditioning 2, although supplying us with 'less practical' muscles used every day, it seems to have reviews that boast it's equality with the first book, an impressive feat. This book has just 58 reviews, yet still retains a 9.6/10 average rating. It teaches strength training in the Hands, Forearms, Lateral Chain, Neck and Calves. It then goes on to talk about flexibility overall, how to become more flexible and strengthening joints. I believe that the Flexibility, Grip (Hands) and Forearms are important for martial arts, for almost self explanatory reasons. Flexibility because Duh. Hands because a good grip is better than a bad grip in every way, and Forearms because you use them to block a lot of the time, especially for somebody like me who does boxing.

There's also a training log for the Convict Conditioning books. I didn't think it was worth a pick up, it's only a training log, but the reviews definitely say otherwise, raving about how important this book is for success.

I'm debating dropping Naked Warrior and starting with Convict Conditioning and the Training Log, then moving on to picking up Convict Conditioning 2 when I believe I've reached a suitable stage in the first installment. Maybe stage 5/6 in every exercise. After all, those two books are bound to go hand in hand and have incredible reviews, so I'm not sure what need there is to try out Naked Warrior at first. Maybe I will later on, but maybe not. I think I'll get the books for Kindle off Amazon, because it's literally 1/4 of the price that it is for paperback, but I'm unsure if I should buy the training log physically or not.

I'm not really sure what this post was about now, as I appear to have made up my mind on what I'm doing midway through, but I'm not stopping after typing this much. I think body weight exercises are vital because not only can you do them anywhere at anytime with no equipment (Excluding Pullups), they are also more practical because you're literally doing the action and not just pulling on a stick repeatedly like you are in the gym. It also seems to be much more rewarding, as you can advance in excercises to prove your own gains, as opposed to moving up a weight and carrying on. The change in exercises should be more engaging. Finally, there's a lot less chance of injury with calisthenics, and you should be feeling more at one with the body considering that's all your using.

Well, what do you think of getting Convict Conditioning on the Kindle App of my Ipad, and then possibly getting the Training Log in reality? Is there any reason why I shouldn't get it on the Kindle App alongside Convict Conditioning? What about my progression, getting to stage 5/6 on all excercises while making sure to master the previous step before moving on, and then picking up the second book to add to my workout. I've always wanted to bulk up a bit and get stronger, I'm stronger than I aesthetically appear, but I'm still a bit of a weed.

Can you just say what you think on my idea, because I don't really know what to write now, but there's no way I'm just deleting it after all this. .

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: By the way, do you think it's worth picking up Pavel's book, Naked Warrior, at some point in time before CC2? Here's links to all of them, by the way:

Convict Conditioning Training Log: http://www.dragondoor.com/b67/

Convict Conditoning: http://www.dragondoor.com/b41/

Convict Conditoning 2: http://www.dragondoor.com/b59/

The Naked Warrior: http://www.dragondoor.com/b28/

I will get all of these books off Amazon if I'm getting them, as it's much cheaper, but it's more comprehensive descriptions + reviews made me link Dragondoor.

 

[elder999]

Why, in the name of the everloving Buddha's beard, do you need books to do push-ups????

 

[MattofSilat]

Push-Ups wasn't the main target of getting these books, but it still offers 10 types of push-ups. I know one type of push-up. It's got to be an improvement.

 

[elder999]

Push-Ups wasn't the main target of getting these books, but it still offers 10 types of push-ups. I know one type of push-up. It's got to be an improvement.

Youtube, dude. All that stuff is available (in pieces) on line, with video.

 

[MattofSilat]

Just bought the book and I've glanced through it, and you're wrong. I can't put into words why you're wrong, but if you read the book you will understand.

Basically, there's no real way of knowing when to advance to a harder variation normally, which this book gives you. If you think adding more pushups means a harder variation, that's endurance not strength.

 

[MattofSilat]

Acually, I have a pretty big question to ask. It involves how much I should work. I'm far weaker than I thought I was, so although that's a bit depressing, it makes me happy as I have tons of room to improve. I can't even pass the first stage of push-ups, out of 10. I'm at Advanced, but progression is 3 sets of 50 wheras I can only do 2 sets of 40.

Oh, back to the issue at hand. I will have a LOT of free time over the next 6 weeks, and since I have exams afterwards, I need to get as much done as possible in the coming weeks. It reccomends you only do 2 exercises, 2-3 work sets (Groups of sets) per day for 2 days a week as an utter newbie, but I think I'm capable of more than that.

The next stage, 'Good Behavior', involves doing 2 excercises a day still, but as opposed to 2 days a week with 2-3 work sets, it goes 3 days a week with 2 work sets.

Then there's the one I'm considering. Veterano. It only does one excercise per day, but does it 6 days a week (so you do all the excercises) for 2-3 work sets each. I know I will have a ton of free time, and I won't be doing anything big, so I'll have lots of rest too. I also want to get maximum gains, but I'm worried that too much work could lead to lesser amounts of gains. Do you think I am up for Veterano?

When I say 2 excercises, I mean you do 2/6 on that day, but carry on alternating. E.G. Pull-Ups and Squats Monday, Push-Ups and Handstand Push-Ups Thursday, Bridges and Leg Raises the next Monday, and so on...

 

[Buka]

Matt, I love your passion. I think passion is so important. And I wish you well on your journey, I think you're going to have a ball. But all this stuff takes time. Cramming everything in all at once is difficult and may burn you out early, so be careful. Maybe slow down and enjoy the ride more.

My first boxing trainer told me, "Boy, you there, karate boy....take it easy. You can't have a baby in one month even if you get nine gals pregnant. This stuff takes time." I was 19 at the time. His words might not have been PC, but I think he was spot on.