Need input on training routine ???????

[mattfish]

My goal in this post is to see if there are flaws in my training routine. If I can improve it somehow I would be happy to try. My goals are to be as fit as possible for my age.I want to focus on overall endurance. Both cardio and strength to allow me to perform at work and in the backcountry. I am 49 years old,weigh 162 lbs ,I'm 5'8" inches tall with a resting heart rate in the mid 50's. I have family history of heart disease and have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. I take 20 mg Benicar to help control it. I am currently working with a nutritionist to improve upon my diet. He measured my body fat with calipers and states my body fat is at 15%. Im not sure if all this info is necessary but it gives the picture of where I currently stand.My workout schedule is as follows.

Day 1 weight training done in some form of super sets. So two exercises followed by 1 minute rest

bench press for 10 reps immediately followed by bicep curls 3 sets 10 reps each exercise

seated military press 10 reps followed by V ups 25 reps 3 sets of each

weighted bar squats followed by bent over rows with dumbbells 3 sets of each 10 reps

deadlifts followed by dumbbell lifts for shoulders. Lift weighted dumbbells out in front then up at sides 3sets 10 reps

after lifting run 3 miles

day 2 4 sets of 50 push ups

run 5 miles


day 3 same weight training routine as day 1 at the end instead of running I do 4 sets of 25 burpees no push up



day 4 body weight training
deck of cards each suite represents a exercise

clubs: are flutter kicks 4 count = 1 rep
hearts: burpees no push up
diamonds : mt.climbers 4 counts = 1 rep
spades are push ups

after this pyramid workout:

5 sets
50 body weight squats
40 sit ups
30 push ups
20 bent over rows with dumbbells each arm

this is done with no rest between sets

day 5 same weight lifting routine as day 1 with 15 minutes of jump rope at the end

day 6 run 5 miles


My weight training routine stays the same each time I do it. I am looking for input on improving this routine if necessary. I created it myself. In my younger days I was a boxer so I favor getting strength and cardio in all workouts. I am from Pa and the elevation in the Rockies has laid a whooping on me during my first two backcountry hunts. My goal is to hunt hard through out the whole week we are in the Rockies. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions. I am strictly an archery hunter so I have tried to focus on keeping shoulders strong and leg strength cause my pack kicks my butt.

 

[mohawk32]

This is a lot to reply to because there's so much going on. What are your weights like on the bug 3 lifts? You could drop the dumbbell shoulder work and start overhead pressing with a barbell to truly make your shoulders strong. Do you add weight to the compound lifts at any point? Cutting back the mileage and doing more conditioning workouts will help too. There's a lot o redundancy between your lifts and bodyweight work.

You coul easily cut this down to 4 days a week and have more time for recovery and be able to push the lifts into more strength gaining.

That's just some rapid fire thoughts.

 

[2x4x16]

All weight training, in my opinion, should be done with lower rep range, you want to gain strength so lift to gain strength. Cut out the long runs unless you want to train for a long run race. With longer runs you will loose some of that much valued muscle mass. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is released after longer training times. We don't want cortisol!
For example I'm 44 and have gained just over 20 lbs of muscle over the last 2 years, while my conditions has improved. Tues Thurs are interval training. thrusters, chain drag, weighted step ups, weighted over head lunges, and kb swings. Weight training Mon, Wed, Fri. full body workouts with mainly the big lifts. Keep it simple and keep training to no more than 1 hr.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I would lower the number of reps you're doing.

Is your 5 mile run on pavement? Trails? Are you trying to build endurance? If so, do a pretty easy paced 5 mile run. Replace a 5 mile run with a 30-40 minute tempo run to increase your aerobic threshold.

I don't really like your day 3/4/5 setup. Too much redundancy and you're not providing recovery. I'd put something like a bike ride or a swim in day 4.

Also, I'd come up with some different weight programming. You're going to get bored as hell doing the same workout 3x a week, and you won't realize the gains you would if you were doing a different workout 2-3x a week.

 

[Cant hit em]

Bodybuilding.com has free programs to follow for anything you want to do Strength , Sport , endurance. They are usually 6 or 8 weeks long then you switch and find something new. I've done some good ones on there. For a guy like me only lifting for a year its great for structure and to learn from , it might help you as well.

 

[gsmitty]

Mattfish-
Pretty impressive regimen...

As far as the resistance training... I like what you have... Just mix in lunge movements for your legs. And don't lunge in place... Cover ground with walking lunges and / or on a treadmill with slope, weighted or not weighted. I think lunges are more applicable to backpacking than squats (although squats are still much needed for overall strength).

You might want to replace some
Of your running with other long aerobic activity. Rowing, weighted hiking, light weight kettle bell, swimming, cycling, air dyne... I have seen people who can run and lift all day; but they can't hike the high country with a load on their back. i would really try to balance your strength and explosiveness vs overall muscular endurance (FOC toward endurance).

Sometimes a strict and scheduled regimen can have diminishing returns; it's okay( and good for your body) to be random for a few weeks.

I am also a firm believer in quality rest for recovery.

Have a fun hunt!

 

[mattfish]

I really appreciate the input. Just to answer some questions. My runs are on pavement at easy paces. The weight training is done with the same weights for all sets. I like the idea of varying the routine for optimal muscle growth. My training for the first hunt consisted of running and body weight routines. I added weight training to prevent injury, add endurance , and retain strength as I age. My main focus is endurance. I lift alone so I avoid heavy weight routines as I have no spotter. The weight remains the same on all lifts with the goal being exhaustion on last lift. My main goal is endurance and overall fitness. I want to balance my fitness but due to family history I have to respect the need for cardio.By doing super sets my goal was to keep heart rate elevated throughout the workout while working on strength and endurance. I try to factor in both strength and cardio into each workout. Just to clarify Im seeking endurance for my hunts. I want to be able to hunt as hard on the last day as I did the first. I am really not focusing on increasing my max for weight training. I want to ensure I have a well rounded routine that focuses on overall fitness and endurance. Thanks for the thoughts my brain is hyper mode trying to incorporate the suggestions so far. I definitely will be adding kettlebell work into my routines. I could use input regarding varying my routines. Like mixing the weight training up a bit. I lift in my garage so all I have is barbells, free weights, powerblocks, and a bench that can be elevated. I don't have the ability to do cable lifts or leg extensions. I believe that what I have mixed with running and body weight (HIIT) routines, weighted hikes, will give me a well rounded fitness routine.

 

[S.Clancy]

Here's my 2 cents....I would focus on strength primarily for now. My reasoning for this is multi-fold. 1) Think of hunting as a percentage of your 1-rep max. If you increase your 1-rep max, through "heavy" (relative) strength training, via squat, deadlifts and lunges you will lower any given activity's % of your maximum. Aka you'll be able to perform more "reps" aka, hunt longer and harder. 2) Being almost 50, you need to train hard with weights to maintain your current muscle mass and metabolism. 3) Weights are an easy way to measure progress 4) Your strength gains will assist your cardio. If I were you, assuming a late August-Sept hunt, I would hit the weights hard until late April (maybe do incline walks on a treadmill or sprints for cardio, no more than 3x's a week). Then, start incorporating more cardio into your workouts, while keeping up with your strength training. I would continue this thru early august, or whatever 2-3 weeks before your hunt is. Then, I would first cut back on the weight training, and finally, in the week before the hunt cut back on your cardio training. Remember, "mixing up" your routines is a good way to stay fresh in training, but a very difficult way to track progress. Fresh does't cut it in the bush, progress does.

 

[Poser]

I agree with S Clancy above in Part 1. Training for sport specific/athletic purposes, almost every expert training authority agrees that heavy weight/low rep schemes are the most effective way to achieve results. I realize there are a lot of "Hunting Gym Bros" these days who are basically skinny bodybuilders who happen to hunt and also like to preach the 10-15 rep range for "muscle endurance." Step back for a moment and consider this: You might take 35,000 hard-earned and difficult steps to get up a mountain. Is doing 3 sets of 10-15 reps for a total of 30-50 reps really going to improve muscle endurance over that much time and distance?

I once a read an excellent Mark Twight article entitled "Strength for Endurance" (it does not appear to be available on his website, so not sure where it is. Mark Twight is the founder of Gym Jones as well as a Alpine Climbing pioneer). In the paper, he cites studies on cyclists and their ability to increase time until muscle failure by improving strength. If you consider it that way, improving your strength can often be the most direct and translatable way ti improve muscle endurance because the weight (bodyweight, backpack weight etc) is relatively lighter compared to your potential output. If it takes X amount of force to take one step up a steep mountain under the weight of a backpack, having a stronger pair of legs will proportionally increase the amount of time you can apply the force before muscle failure. Since training heavy in the 1-5 rep scheme (low volume/high intensity) on the basic compound lifts is the most efficient way to make the body stronger, you'll likely benefit more from this type of training. Lifting in the 10-15 rep range increases muscle endurance for lifting in the 10-15 rep range. Its just not very translatable to the mountains, but pure strength is.

Heavy Lifting Required—The why by Mark Twight:

Well-trained cyclists who added "heavy" weight training to their endurance program increased
time to exhaustion in a time trial effort at maximum aerobic power. This (cycling) study4
replicates the outcome of similar studies on runners and cross-country skiers. The bike
study used half-squats 4x4 @ 4RM (90% of 1RM) with 3 minutes of rest between sets,
three days per week for eight weeks. Athletes did between 17 and 24 workouts to achieve these
results, which translated to a 17.2% increase in time to exhaustion (62 seconds) at pretest
maximal aerobic power. In the running study5 time at max aerobic power increased by 21.3% (72
seconds) and both groups of scientists agree this results from improved movement economy
(neurological factors). ?

Strength For Endurance – Putting it to practice

The studies conclude that a modest 5% increase in movement economy translates to a 3-4x
improvement in time to exhaustion at intensities corresponding to 85–100% of VO2 Max.


For the reasons listed above, I would also not confuse your strength training with conditioning. It is tempting to want to keep moving in the gym because that's what you do in the mountains. There has also been a trend as of late that tried to turn the gym into a simulation ground for your sport. No matter how anyone tries, they are never going to turn the gym into a mountain, a football field, a combat zone etc. They can break out the Bosu balls all they want. (for that matter, bench press and curls don't simulate anything you do in the mountains but that does not mean they aren't an important part of a strength foundation). There was a recent article that I also cannot seem to find by strength coach Mark Rippetoe discussing what the gym is and what the gym is not and that a trainee should understand the difference between Strength & Conditioning training for their sport and skills involved for your sport. Basically, you build strength and conditioning so that you can apply those aspects to your skill set, which is often practcied in the actual sport enviroment (the field, the mountain, the bike etc). A football player probably never performs a low bar backsquat on the field, but, if he applies the strength gained from a low backsquatting in the gym to his football skill set, he can become a better athlete. The same would apply for a cyclist, a runner, a climber etc.

For backcountry hunting, what is a our required skill set?
-Negotiating Difficult and steep terrain
-Sustained steep ascents
-Sustained steep descents
-The ability to carry a heavy load
-The ability to perform in suboptimal (altitude, calorie deficient) circumstances
-The ability to keep going for up to 24 continuous hours
-The ability to control breath for the purposes of marksmanship

There is really nothing spectacularly complicated about the above list. You don't need to have the genetics of the best athletes in the world. You don't need an impressive amount of speed, power or excessive strength. There is really no need to overcomplicate what is a relatively simple list of required physical skills. Gimmick type training (altitude masks, bosu balls etc) come and go, but the basics have proven themselves time and time again. I would stick with what is proven.

None of this is to say that you couldn't do your above program as described and go into the mountains and perform perfectly fine, because you very well could. At some point, the question emerges as to whether or not your time spent in the gym is the most effective way to spend that time. Some of that will depend on your personalty and available time. Some people like to fill every available moment with activity because they enjoy it. Others like to be more scientific with their approach while other people have very limited time and want to maximize that time. Some people stay in great shape year around and going hunting is nothing more than putting a pack on, others lay around all year until 6 weeks out and need a boot camp to get in shape. There are many ways you can achieve the same ends.

 

[S.Clancy]

In reference to Poser's post, I especially agree with his required skill set, notably "sustained steep descents". The eccentric contraction of long, steep descents is what causes the bulk of muscle soreness and fatigue (especially while carrying loads). This is the most notable negative of running as training, there is no real eccentric stress. It is no secret that a common problem amongst good long distance trail runners (or really any runner) is the inability to navigate steep DECLINES quickly and safely. This is not do to lack of endurance, rather a lack of strength, notably eccentric strength, which can be achieved through proper lower-body strength training.

 

[mattfish]

Thanks for input guys. I appreciate your time I really do. As I said cardio is a must for me. Not an option. Heavy lifts like the 5-1 rep are not really safe option at this point either. I appreciate the well thought out replies.im grateful for your time.

 

[Clarktar]

In reference to Poser's post, I especially agree with his required skill set, notably "sustained steep descents". The eccentric contraction of long, steep descents is what causes the bulk of muscle soreness and fatigue (especially while carrying loads). This is the most notable negative of running as training, there is no real eccentric stress. It is no secret that a common problem amongst good long distance trail runners (or really any runner) is the inability to navigate steep DECLINES quickly and safely. This is not do to lack of endurance, rather a lack of strength, notably eccentric strength, which can be achieved through proper lower-body strength training.

This is very true. One only needs to talk to those who have competed in the Bozeman Ridge run and ask them what was the most difficult or taxing part. Several great trail runners and endurance runners repeatedly say it is the long steep descents that were the most difficult.

 

[Jason Snyder]

This is very true. One only needs to talk to those who have competed in the Bozeman Ridge run and ask them what was the most difficult or taxing part. Several great trail runners and endurance runners repeatedly say it is the long steep descents that were the most difficult.

The first year I ran this, I could hardly walk down stairs for a week afterwards. The next year, I trained differently, and it was better. The last time I did it, I did a LOT of strength training for my legs, and I was hardly sore by the second day after the race.