Just stumbled on to this site and I must say the immense knowledge provided on this site is extraoridnary and will go a long way in adding myself as i begin my college pursuit of a health and exercise science degree. I suppose that’s enough chit chat time to get down to my purpose.
What recommendation would anyway out there have for an appropiate training program order. Should someone first focus on losing fat, correcting postural imbalances, increasing strength levels, or just say the hell with everything else and try to accomplish as much hypertrophy as possible.
I understand everyone has certain weakness that are more apparent then others and those weakness should be a priority, but would some training goals or programs facilitate better success on future training goals.
Should a heavy intensity low volume training program geared toward fat loss follow or procede a certain training protocol, just as in the same token should some one fix any structural or muscular imbalances first before embarking on a strength cycle which in theory may or may not worsen those imbalances. Maybe just increasing ones gpp first or overall total body conditioning such as in waterbury’s osc program would be a better first step.
I am asking this rather long winded question from the perspective of someone only interested in obtaining good overall conditioning and athleticism, especially now that i am no longer a blue chip baseball prospect do to occurences of to many concussions in my playing career(typed with much anger and hostility, Lowery’s meditation article will most certainly be of use)
I would define good overall general conditioning as someone having good strength numbers across all parameters (endurance, maximal, explosive), a solid amount of muscular hypertrophy, and good overall aerobic capabilites as they would apply to explosive type events(pickup basketball, beating up the sissies using the free weight benches for tricep kickbacks etc) Thanks for any help and sorry about the length.
lol, you can leave blank lines in there dude, it makes it easier to read…
Anyhow, I’ve seen time and time again that people are of the opinion that when you are at a fairly high body fat percentage, you may as well lean out some before trying to bulk up. Basically, the lower your bf%, the more any weight you gain will be lean muscle instead of simply more fat.
I don’t pretend to know as much about the training side yet, but the answer to your question is most likely going to depend on where you are now. If you haven’t really been training recently, maybe work towards getting some high intensity interval training (HIIT, use the search engine on the site) into your routine for GPP and fat loss.
As for weights, just do something vanilla if starting out. Heck, you can almost think about doing weights and gain mass if you are just starting out. No need for fancy programs or anything like that for a beginner or when coming back from a long layoff.
Once you have chosen something and have it on the go, you should have the flexibility to assess yourself (as in the “Neanderthal No More” series) and integrate some corrective work into your routine if you need to. The key is not to go into analysis paralysis because there is so much information.
You’ll have years to figure out all the fine points and adjust what you are doing as needed.
Maybe others will have a stronger opinion on program order for you. However, the total body workout is in vogue these days, including staples such as deads, squats, chins, dips, presses and rows.
After re reading my post i feel i should have stopped after the third paragraph because i think my actual question got lost somewhere. The main focus of my post was:
“I understand everyone has certain weaknesses that are more apparent then others and these weaknesses should be a priority, but would some training goals or programs facilitate better success on future training goals.”
An example would be fixing postural or muscular imbalances, which most if not all have to some extent, before a strength or hypertrophy phase or increasing strength levels before attemtping a program geared toward fat loss and/or gpp training.
I know this is a generalized question and those dont go over to well, usually everyone post there stats first(bf%, height, weight, training age, etc.), but unless someone else a extremely apparent weakness, I dont think us “civilians” can make an accurate evaluation as to what are next training goal should be or in what order to arrange such goals.
Any insight from the strength and conditioning gods(waterbury, robertson, staley, berardi, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.
I was assuming you were on the beginner end of things, but perhaps not. Anyhow, I think it all depends on goals. Everyone is different.
Where are you at now? Where do you want to go? Nobody can set your priorities for you, but everyone will be helpful and give you directions if you give enough information.
thanks for your replies, I see now the best way to achieve the answer I am looking for is by laying out the information you suggested.
I am only slightly removed from being a college baseball player(though it was mostly at first base) so my fitness level is not of a beginner but my bodyfat has increased on me now that baseball is no longer an option.
So losing some fat would be a reasonable goal, while gaining more muscle mass, even though i am fairly muscular and vascular already especially in the arms, chest, upper back, and shoulders( 44in chest, 18inch arms)
What I really feel would be necessary or of an immediate concern would be to increase by gpp levels since they have fallen below what i consider exceptable, at the same time increasing strength levels would also be a plus.
Poor guidance in my training during high school never really allowed me to reach high strength levels in the major compound lifts(bench,squat,deads,) because most coaches wanted me to shy away from those especially since i have always been built like a horse(good genes i quess, at least my dad has been good for something)
I am really eyeing waterbury’s osc program, does anyway agree with my selection given my outlined training goals and/or has anyone tried this program
Coach John Davies used a wheel as a metaphore for the different facets we try to achieve in our training. The spokes of the wheel represent things like conditioning, flexibility, agility, coordination, power, spirituality etc. None of these qualities should be neglected at any time in our race to become a better athlete. In fact, these qualities build off of one another and aid one another. You CAN and SHOULD work at developing all of these traits at once. If you work hard enough, it CAN be done!
I am really eyeing waterbury’s osc program, does anyway agree with my selection given my outlined training goals and/or has anyone tried this program
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Brotzfrog,
I reckon you’ve made the right choice. At the very beginning of the OSC article CW mentions that it is to get the body into great condition by increasing strength, power and cardiovascular fitness whilst reducing bodyfat.
I’m planning on using the program myself halfway through next year when in training for an endurance running race. I want to limit muscle loss from doing excessive endurance exercise so I am planning to do this program for the first 7 weeks of my 10 week training program for the run. It will help maintain my strength and LBM levels whilst giving me a great cardio workout at the same time, meaning that I won’t have to do as much running training, yet still be fit for the race.
As for the program to do after OSC, it will obviously depend on your goals.
