Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2014 Fitness/Workout Thread

For the past 8 months I've been cycling between two weeks of decent diet and hard exercise while away at work, and two weeks of lousy diet and minimal exercise while at home. I'm a bit lazy that way. It's been interesting to see how I recover strength at the beginning of my work hitches. I'll add my full two weeks' workout this time around.

Friday: front squats sets of 10 at 185,185
Dead lifts sets of 8 at 225,225
Standing press sets of 8 at 115,115,115

Saturday: treadmill cycles: 15% 3.5 mph uphill 4 minutes, same backward walking 2 mph 2 minutes, flat run 1/4 mile at 10mph, flat walk rest at 3.5 mph. Did 3 rounds.

Today: squats sets of 12 with 225,225
Cleans set of 8 with 185,185
Bench sets of 8 with 185,185

Lots less than two weeks ago. Lots of room for more but I'd be too sore to work out for three days if I squatted full bore. That will change in a weeks time and the weights will go way back up.

Split Jerk
3-3-3-3-3-3-3
135#-155#-175#-195#-215#-225#(f)-225#

Regarding Calvin's request, his current strength level should be considered. I'd always had access to athletic weight rooms but reached a point where I was so busy I wanted to start picking up pieces and putting together my own home gym.

First item was weights and a bar. I bought a couple of "cheap" metal olympic sets so I could have up to 600lbs. First day doing cleans and the bar bends. I take it back to the store and they replace it. Second time I do cleans it happens again. Most any bar will work for squatting, benching, deadlifting, but not olympic lifts...get a good bar.

Second item was a squat rack. I build mine but you can purchase serviceable ones for fairly low cost.

Third were bumper plates and a good olympic bar. If I was doing it all again, these would have been the first thing I got. For someone who isn't big on the O-lifts maybe it isn't as important.

Here's a pretty good setup with free shipping that would cover a lot of bases:

http://www.muscledriverusa.com/Standard-HD-Garage-Gym-Package-Save-100-Free-Shipping-_p_2921.html

Front squats sets of 12 at 185,185
Dead lift sets of 8 at 225, 275, 275
Standing press 8 x 115, 6 x 135 twice
Alternating dips and chins

Yesterday:
3 Rounds for time:
Run 200m
30 situps

8:40

Today:
4 Rounds for Time

Wall Ball 2-fer-1s, 15 reps
Burpee to bar, 10 reps
Pull ups (banded), 5 reps

17:06

Here's yesterdays workout - probably too much:
2 mile treadmill run @10min pace
elevated pushups - 40
banded pull ups - 20 (time to drop the band or at least go smaller)
dips - 18
ez curls - 10 x 75lb
tri curls - 10 x75lb
hammer curls - 10 x 35lb
dumbbell shrugs - 12 x 35lb
trap rows - 10 x 75lb
standing shoulder press - 12 x 75lb
bent rows - 10 x 75lb
dumbbell lunges - 12 x 35lb
dumbbell squats - 12 x 65lb
situps - 50
hanging leg lifts - 20

With my work schedule I tend to get a late start so only get thru the routine once. There are days I can get thru it twice but not often. In another month or so I'll probably drop the arm work and add more shoulder & leg stuff. Once the weather breaks the strength stuff will decrease to 5-6 exercises.

Plan to build a step box this weekend - thinking 24" high.

Today - 60min on bike trainer

Scott- I'm sure you can find plans online, but the boxes we use have 3 different heights. Two 20" sides, two 24" sides, and two 30" sides. Might be a good way to have 3 boxes in 1. Just a suggestion.

Row 3000m
Hang Cleans 135# - 30 reps

18:10. I was happy with getting the row done in 12min flat, but a bit disappointed in the speed I did the hang cleans.

Did lower body and abs today. Warm-up on a bike, then hack squat machine, one-legged box jumps, glute machine, hamstring curls, one-legged dumbell flies on a bosu ball, ankle rotations on the bosu ball, leg raises on the floor, crunches, different squat machine with body weight squats on the bosu ball super-setted.

Yesterday: run mile on treadmill @ 8 mph, walk 1/4 mile to rest, then tried another mile but only made it 3/4 mile. Treadmills suck.

Today: squats 8 x 185,225; 12 x 275,275
Cleans 8 x 185,185
Bench 8 x 185, 185, 185 (3 year anniversary of partly torn pec - no heavy benching ever again)
Chins 3 sets of 8

Got thru my lifting routine twice yesterday, feeling it today.

1/2hr on bike trainer this morning. 1.5hrs snowshoeing this afternoon.

Was up in the mtns yesterday near Edwards CO and did a hike with the dog. Trails were icy so trail spikes were a must. Climbed up to around 10K in about a mile and a half. Here is the hike going in, we went up the ridge in the center to the main ridge at the top, and then along that for a bit. The hillsides are covered with mature aspen stands on the eastern (left-hand) sides, for scale:



Here are a few from up above, with a storm rolling in:

Yesterday tried to do three interval half miles on the treadmill but only made it 0.4 miles on the first half at 10 mph. Bagged that idea and ran another full mile at 8 mph.

Today front squats 8 x 185,205,225 then 6 x 225
Pull ups 3 x 6
Dead lift 8 x 275,275

Vek, what kind of breaks do you take between sets? Somewhere around a minute?

Tanner

My workouts have been looking similar to that one in an effort to try to build muscle and get a bit "bigger".... It'll be slow, but I'm definitely getting a little bit stronger.

Today I did a few more workouts and focused on one area a bit more than I've been doing the last 2 weeks; most days have consisted of bench, pullups, backsquats, and deadlifts with some auxilary stuff throw in.

Flat bench: 5x190, 5x190, 5x190
Incline Bench: 5x165, 5x155, 5x155, 5x155
Cable chest Cross: 6x70, 80x4, 80x4
French Curl: 8x75, 8x75, 8x75

Tanner

I try to start a set every three minutes. That stretches out to 3:30 or four when things get heavy.

Lose the cable stuff, and the only curl worth doing is strict form with a straight bar. JMO. Do some dips, and add weight to them when you can. Do standing press as well.

You are young enough to handle a great deal of volume, and could squat three days a week. There are no upper and lower body days - lift three days a week and do it all.

Tuner,

When I was your age, I was in an Academy that was encouraging me to do the same thing.

In fact, they insisted on it.

I got "bigger" but struggled to keep my cardio fitness with the extra bulk. The strength made me better at groundfighting and kicking in doors, but at a significant cost to my cardiovascular endurance.

Everyone is different physically, and has different physiology and limiters. But if you're doing this just to be better in the mountains, you might at least keep a focus on long runs, or hikes with a weighted pack. They won't help you with your "meat sculpting" but if you're anything like me, you'll be very glad you did them when the season rolls around.

Just my two cents.....

Thanks Russell... Good things to think about.

I very much agree, and if this spring/summer is anything like the last, I'll log 10-15 miles a week with a pack on.. During late May-August it was closer to 40.... But I want to have a good "base" for packing heavy loads and going for long trips on a caloric deficit.

I've not had an issue hiking a long ways with weight, or packing really heavy loads, but I figured trying to get "better" won't hurt.


Tanner

Sounds like you're doing it right. And you're still pretty young, which helps.

As you get older, the strength gains will be harder to come by and you'll find yourself becoming a slave to your body just to maintain the gym performance routine. Then you might have to make a decision.

Rx Division
10 Minute AMRAP
1 Deadlift, 165#
2 OHS, 135#
3 Squat Cleans 165#
4 Shoulder to Overhead, 135#
5 Burpee Box Jumps
6 Muscle ups (banded)
7 Burpee Pull-ups (jumping)
8 Hanging Knee Raises
9 Box Dips
10 Calories on the rower

10 minute cap

1 round + 10 reps