Spec me a workout

alexakasloth

alexakasloth

alexakasloth

Soldato
Joined
13 Aug 2004
Posts
8,464
Location
England
Hi guys, i've been doing thai kickboxing once a week and i'm really enjoying it as it's very motivational and interesting, it's kept my interest and the people at the class are really cool. I've been going to the gym twice a week aswell but I don't really have a proper plan as it stands I'll cycle there to warm up then do weights (deadlift, shoulder press, rows, lunges, DB bench). So there's not a lot of structure there.
I find myself getting tired quite quickly during kickboxing, so if you could show me an example of a 2 day plan that would help increase my CV and strength I would be very grateful (and even more grateful if it included some cycling as i'd like to do the London to Brighton next year :) )
 
could make yourself some circuits up, think of a few exersizes for example.

warmup with 2min skipping 1 min stretching x 3

600 metres fast as you can on rower, jump off 30 pressups, 60 situps, 20x thrusts with 20kg

then do 450 metre on rower, 25 pressups close arm, 50 jane fondas / crunchs, 15x thrusts with 20kg

then 350 metres 20 pressups wide arm, 25 leg raises or russian twists, 10x thrusts with 20kg

this would have you hanging out no matter what fitness standard.

can replace the rower with cycler level 12-15 1200, 900, 700 metres

for 2nd day you could do a tabbata circuit, 20 sec fast as can 20 sec rest x 12 for bike, then do same on rower, then ideally on grappler if got one if not X trainer would work, can add shoulder press or squats with a normal weight into it as well but slightly harder unless someone can time you.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply Tom.
I like the idea of mixing up (supersetting?) cardio with resistance especially core compounds and you also picked one of my favourite cardio exercises too. So perhaps a day of rowing as you suggested with push ups, crunches etc and then a day with cross trainer with squats, bench, deadlift, or would that be too much? I hope not as the deadlift is my favourite lift.
 
Don't worry about doing lots of different exercises, just get the compound ones in there first. Walk before running.

Dead lifts are my favorite too :) I suck at bench pressing but can dead lift 110kg :cool: I dedicate Saturdays just to dead lifts to get the most out of them since they are the best exercise for getting stronger.
 
Last edited:
I'm the same, my bench has always been lower than I thought it should be when training in the past(if I compare to others, not that it bothers me), but when it comes to back exercises I feel like I have more power in comparison to the chest. It's probably due to genetics and/or my form.

I did the circuit that you suggested today etom and it really is a tough one, however I think for my goals I should alter it to include weight lifting, in my mind I have the idea of placing 3 weight lifting exercises (like the stronglifts 5x5) with high reps to make a full body workout with CV work such as rowing in between, and then some core work afterwards.

Do you guys think this would be overkill?
 
I'd hold off on bulking up, it's just more weight for you to push around on the bike.

Just bike for as long as you can be arsed as often as you can be arsed.
 
How tall are you? Part of the reason for me is because of my long arms making more work due to greater range of motion. I always beat my friend on any kind of pulling/back exercise and he beats me on pressing exercises due to us been a whole foot apart.

I can't recommend you a routine because your needs are different to mine. This website has some good and varied routines http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/main.html.

One thing I do know is I don't think you need to do 60 situps. Try doing crunches with your legs crossing you will feel like you have done 60 sit ups when you get to 15 reps. Then do leg raises say 8 reps. You will feel the burn of 60 situps in 23 reps. I have been doing this for 2 months now and making much more progress than doing situps.
 
Last edited:
@ billy; my aim is not to bulk up but it's to increase my strength and endurance although when I have extra time to do some CV inbetween gym days I can go on a bit of a ride.

I'm 5ft 10 and weigh 10 stone 9, on the website you posted there's a boxing/mma routine and whilst I don't wish to train 6 days a week I think the fundementals of it are high rep weight training mixed with CV work.
 
Strength rep ranges use your 4-6 rep maximum. Low volume work witha moderate frequency.

Endurance ranges anything from 12-16 rep maximum. Moderate to high volume, low to moderate frequency.

Strength & mass go hand in hand. If you're not eating enough for your body to grow properly then you don't need to worry about 'bulking' up, building muscle is a slow process. Strength should increase providing your diet is good and your training well :)

Edit: Situps are primarily a hip exercise (rectus femoris responsible partly for hip flexion but also part of the quad group) abdominals come into play but you'd be better targeting them with something like a crunch or reverse crunch. Or some other core exercises (planks, DB pull ins, windmills.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply BennyC and if I had to pick one or the other it would be endurance. I can see myself continuing the kickboxing after uni so I would really like to compliment that with the training as it stands now I get out of breathe quite quickly.

My diet in terms of what goes in is fairly good. I prepare most of my food with lots of vegetables, lean meats, wholemeal bread, fruit, nuts etc but I would estimate my calorie intake not to exceed around 2500 as my weight hasn't fluctuated by more than 3-4lbs over the last several months.
 
I'd probaly recommend some barbell complexes and circuits then. This should help with muscular endurance and also increase your VO2 max and anaerobic capacity.

You'll be able to go harder for longer, providing you're pushing yourself.

Theres a good article on T-nation about barbell complexes. Worth a read, then I'll give some C&C on what you come up with.
 
How does this look Benny?

Warmup (Cycling) - 10 minutes
Rowing - 600m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar
Rowing - 450m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar + 20kg
Rowing - 300m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar + 20kg
Cool Down (Cycling) - 10 minutes

The complex would be:

Row
Clean
Front squat
Military press
Back squat
Good mornings

From this article: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...g_performance/rebuild_yourself_with_complexes
 
Last edited:
$loth said:
How does this look Benny?

Warmup (Cycling) - 10 minutes
Rowing - 600m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar
Rowing - 450m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar + 20kg
Rowing - 300m
Complex routine - 8 reps per exercise - Bar + 20kg
Cool Down (Cycling) - 10 minutes
Click to expand...

This looks good though 600m isn't particulary far, perhaps eventually work your way upto 1000m, maybe say sprint 100 meters for every 2 you cover? See how you go with this.

The complex would be:

Row
Clean
Front squat
Military press
Back squat
Good mornings
Click to expand...

Not bad, personally I'd be more inclined to do something like:

Front Squat
Military Press
SLDL (stiff legged deadlift)
Row
Clean
Press Ups (Plyometric with claps/just power yourself up off the ground and get some air :cool:) Or press ups with the bar on the floor.

That's a bit more balanced and should be more aerobic too.

Of course you can have 3 totally different complexes if you want! I used to have one complex and I'd go through it and then do it backwards 2 minutes later. Have a play with the exercises and order and see which you enjoy the most and seem to leave you the most gassed come the end.

Other exercises you can include as part of a circuit/complex

Skipping
Mountain climbers
Jump squats
Dumbell Pull ins
Dumbell windmills
Kettlebell swings
Close grip press ups
Curls
Lunges
Planks
Crunches

Lots of variety to choose from :)
 
Last edited:
That complex does look better as I'd prefer the SLDL...I remember finding good mornings a strange lift to perform. The list looks promising and when you put it like that there is a lot of variety to choose from which will help when I feel the need to change something to keep the body guessing. Big thanks for the reply mate :)
 
$loth said:
That complex does look better as I'd prefer the SLDL...I remember finding good mornings a strange lift to perform. The list looks promising and when you put it like that there is a lot of variety to choose from which will help when I feel the need to change something to keep the body guessing. Big thanks for the reply mate :)
Click to expand...

No worries mate :)

I try to stagger the body parts so you don't have too many pulling exercises or pushing exercises in succession as you'll fatigue badly.

Yeah good mornings I'm not really a fan of, there are much safe ways to train your trunk/core.

Another idea could be to alternate a pushing/pulling complex for each session. So have lots of pulling exercises, so like SLDL, rows, cleans, raises, curls and then have some squats, military press, press ups, some tricep work etc.

Edit: don't forget about calves or forearms too!
 
Today I did this:

Warmup - Cycling - 10 minutes
Rowing - 800m
Complex (Front Squat, Military Press, SLDL, Row, Clean, Press Ups) - Oly bar only
Rowing - 600m
Complex - Oly bar + 10kg
Rowing - 400m
Complex - Oly bar + 10kg

The front squat was ok and I felt I could have done more but not for the military press so by the time I go to the SLDL on the last set I was looking forward to them! Rows were pushing me but not for failure and the clean was a good one to finish of on. But overall it gave me a good 'pump' and I enjoyed doing it.
I found out that the gym doesn't open again until the 4th :( so I will be using my bike a lot until then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom