[quote]BradyA238 wrote:
New here and looking for advice on mixing in conditioning with my weight training. I used to lift primarily for
Aesthetics, however im now concerned with function along with looks. I figure a pro sprinter, pro football player etc have desirable bodies as far as aesthetics are concerned however they train for function. So why not become more athletic while I’m building a desirable body.
Ive been following Defranco’s Westside for Skinny Bastards routine as I’m getting back into weight training after being more of a runner for a while. I’ve already gained some muscle going from 157 lbs to 173 in two months. However I have gained a little bit of fat, not enough that anyone but me would really notice but nevertheless.
Anyway, I want to add sprinting into my workout and I also enjoy using a sled. But I don’t know how to add sprinting without over-training. I was doing a crossfit football-esque routine however I burnt out rather quickly and was over-training significantly. I’m going to be doing one lower body weight workout per week and I want to keep a day for hitting the sled plus I want to do some sprinting but I’m afraid even three days hitting my legs (one lower body weights day +one sled+ one sprinting day).
How the heck do I for in sprinting without the risk of overtraining? How do I keep my conditioning on par? Even if I do one sled+ one sprint day+ one lower body weights, that’s still only 2 days where I’m conditioning.
I’d love to have a sprinter’s muscular, athletic look but I’m not sure what a sprinters routine looks like. I’m sure they do a good bit of lifting because of the muscularity but where do they fit in the sprinting and conditioning work?
I apologize if this post is long winded, I’m hoping someone with an athletic background can share some advice. [/quote]
Well, I’m sure there are people with more athletic backgrounds than mine on here, but here goes. A “sprinter’s routine” wouldn’t necessarily be of much use to you because it would be based around doing a fair bit of sprinting with the only goal being better sprint times. You seem to be looking to add sprinting in once a week as more of an afterthought to your lifting for fat loss reasons. Getting faster would be more of a bonus. An aside, fat loss has almost everything to do with what you eat and not as much to do with how you train. However, I suggest that you be careful not to hamstring your progress by getting too obsessed with bodyfat right now. BTW, how tall are you? Weights mean more when related to height.
To the point, WS4SB 3 includes what I think is not a bad speed and conditioning (there is a big difference in how you train for these) layout in the Speed & Strength Template. It calls for 1 day speedwork, 1 day prowler/sled or equivalent, and 1 day sprint-based conditioning around a modified Westside lifting schedule. You may need to scale back the intensity on the sprints a little in the beginning to avoid burnout and/or injury. Think 90-95% effort as opposed to 110%. It sounds easy enough, but it calls for a decent amount of volume if you’re generating any real intensity, so be careful and see how you feel. Pulling a hammy is no joy. There may be better programs out there, but this one is based around what you are already doing so…
http://www.elitefts.com/ws4sb/WS4SB.pdf
It’s usually not a bad idea to build a bit of a base and good mechanics doing some slower running before you push the pace too hard with sprints, IMO. However, you describe yourself as a runner so this may not be less critical to you.
Hope some of this is helpful.