i am currently in the military and i have been trying to train on my own. as a beginner, i am sure you can guess that my efforts so far haven’t been all that well. i have had my superiors all try to help me but evidently my body structure and my metabolism is not giving anybody a set standard.
lets get down to the numbers:
6’4"
200 (and fluctuating)
seems to be lower body heavy and upper body moderate.
my goals are staged:
to fat burn then
to make my core stronger
then to make lean muscle. i have no desire to get “ripped” or “huge”
the overall goal is to condition for general martial arts with striking in mind (no not akido or the the typical strength based arts. think speed)
at this point i am beyond frustrated. i took a look at the beginners section and i understand the concept of keeping what muscle you already have and that meaning some sort of heavy lifting. and i know that some cardio is necessary.
what i don’t understand is for my type of build, what should my work out schedule be on a monthly outlook. i want to develop a workout that i can just work up to and maintain. but i have no experience making one. if somebody is willing to go through the hassle for this young specialist, i would be much appreciated.
A few things. First, what are you currently doing training- and diet-wise? How long have you been doing that and what kind of progress have or haven’t you seen? What do your lifts/PFT results look like? Without knowing where you are it will be hard for people to help you.
Second you seem to think that your “body structure” and “metabolism” are somehow unusual and require some sort of special training program. This is highly unlikely. Any reputable beginner’s strength and conditioning program should work for you if you follow it consistently and back it with proper nutrition (assuming you have no significant injuries/conditions etc). No program is going to cause you to “accidentally” get “huge” and “ripped”, trust me on this. Whatever your goals, you will benefit from building a decent strength base as it will make you better at everything else. You accomplish this by picking up heavy shit and putting it down, preferably in some sort of logical progression. WS4SB, 5/3/1, Starting Strength, these are all well respected programs. There are others as well. Pick any one and follow consistently it for at 3 months while eating properly and you will get stronger. You will not blow up and get “huge”.
Another consideration, as you are military, I assume that your fitness testing is centred around running, push-ups and pull-ups and sit ups. As such I suggest that you might want to train for these. Push-ups/pull-ups can be done daily, broken up into small sets whenever you can fit them in. Recon Ron is a pull-up progression that many people swear by. Some people also swear by adding weighted pull-ups 2x/wk to boost max reps 1-200 push-ups divided through the day is fairly easy to fit in and I suggest an equal number of stretch band pull-aparts to keep your shoulders healthy. An intelligent running program should include a mix of speed and distance work, but it really depends where you are now. As I understand it military PFT’s are based on 1.5-3 mile distances, so 10k/marathon training is probably not really the most important focus. I would be reluctant to train sit-ups regularly due to the risk to your back. here is a link to a good core training article:
Regarding your goals, You have fat loss as priority one. At 6’4" 200, depending on your bone structure and body composition you may or may not be all that fat. I would suggest that you train for your performance goals, eat a decent diet (meat, vegetables, fats and starches in reasonable proportions etc) and let your body fat sort itself out. Here’s a basic nutrition article. I don’t know how much control you have over your food choices day to day but it provides some guidelines:
As for striking speed and conditioning, intelligent bag-/pad-work and sparring and to a lesser extent general joint health and mobility are going factors IMO. All other training is a distant second as far as this goes.
So, a sample program COULD look something like this:
-Eat
-5/3/1 Mon/Thur split as per this article: 5/3/1 Reloaded
-Running program 3-4 days/wk (I like running in the morning)
-Recon Ron Pull-up Plan as per your ability daily - takes about 10 min
-1-200 push-ups 100 band pull-aparts daily (sets of 10-20 every few hours)
-Include some rucking/farmer’s walks/sled pushes and/or drags either on 3 non-lifting days or as a “finisher” following your 5/3/1 sessions as your recovery allows
-Fight classes bag-work etc as scheduled
-daily mobility/foam roller work
-Eat
All of this will need to be tailored to your current fitness level and recovery abilities. With this type of volume you need not fear that you’ll get too huge. Of course, I’m just some dumb-ass on the internet, so take all of this with a grain of salt.
batman730: here is the thing, i understand the basics of what you described. our gym is pretty slim however. lately i have just been using the machines for basic cardio and some back work. i don’t really hit the biceps or triceps. ill hit you up with details. thanks.
My rec:
Eat healthy, and go with Dan John’s 40day workout program. It will get you proficient at some basic lifts and its simple, requires little in the thought process.
I got out of the Army about 5 years ago so I understand your situation. I wouldn’t really about certain muscle groups and go with a total body workout every other day. Keep it simple with a upper body push, upper body pull, and a squat or deadlift variation. Don’t worry about trying to lose weight. If you are a little chubby, once you start lifting that should take care of itself.
This should give you enough time to do some running, rucking, bag work , etc.
From personal experience I know that the food they give you in the chow hall is crap (at least where I was). Most of it is not very “clean” and you don’t get nearly enough to eat in there if you want to put on any size. I lived in the barracks so I picked up a blender, foreman and hot plate at the PX. Some of the best purchases I ever made. Food at the commissary is dirt cheap compared to regular grocery stores. Take advantage of that. I would eat a few healthy options in the chow hall a day and then supplement with food that you can cook up in your room or wherever.
You need to be more serious about individual goals. You haven’t even set any solid goals for yourself, just a vague idea of what you want to do. That’s the first thing you need to decide, what EXACTLY do you want to accomplish? Strengthwise, Speedwise, etc etc. I’m currently in the Marines and deployed, so I certainly understand having to deal with less than ideal circumstances.