Drastic improvement with time deadline

yahu · Post by **yahu** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:38 am

I have a physical test coming up roughly within two months and need to improve my endurance and strength substantially. The test will last 10 minutes, constantly running and pulling heavy weights. I'll admit I'm not in good shape for this right now and haven't exercise for very long time.

I used to do;
12 pull ups, 60 push up non-stop & run 3 miles

Now;
5 pull ups, 35 push up & run 1.5 miles

So,
1. Should I run everyday or every other day to improve the endurance?
2. What kind of exercise would improve my strength vastly within short amount of time?

I don't belong to any gym but have some equipments at home to work out. This is a pass/fail test with a time limit and I really need to be the top shape to pass the test. Any input, suggestion and exercise routine will be greatly appreciated.

Post by **stuward** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:42 am

You should be able to train endurance everyday. Get occasional rest days. You may want to cycle the intensity of the workout throughout the week. Try to make the workout as specific as possible. (i.e. stick to 10 min runs but run hard, avoid too much long distance running.) Assuming your strength is OK now, you should be able to get your endurance up in that time. Do a lot of stuff like sled dragging and HIIT. Take a look at Crossfit for ideas. Most of their workouts are about 20 min duration not counting warmup.

yahu · Post by **yahu** » Fri May 18, 2007 5:19 am

Thanks for your reply.

Actually I'm little more concerned about strength part. I only weigh around 150 lbs and one part of test requires me to pull 170 lbs weight for short distance during the later part of the test. I'm planning to do a lot of squat or lower part exercise to increase my strength but not sure that'll be enough.

daniel4738 · Post by **daniel4738** » Fri May 18, 2007 6:07 am

It sounds from your description as if something like Crossfit will help you. Try going to www.crossfit.com for a little more info, thye have a 'workout of the day' which you could possibly add to. Another useful link for 'crossfit style' training would be the the gym where the actors for the 300 film trained at here are a couple of links

www.gymjones.com
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35
http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=36

and finally if you cant be bothered to read all that and want a quickie
http://www.gymjones.com/video.php
and look at the 'captain' video.

Hope this helps.

Post by **TimD** » Fri May 18, 2007 7:28 am

IMHO, Stuward and Daniel have the right idea. Crossfit is what you want to prepare for a PFT. They do all kinds of stuff over there that will carry over for what you want. A lot of Police, Firefighters and military use it for just that reason. My favorite site though is over at Brandxmartial arts. The head Fred over there takes the crossfit WOD (workout of the day) and scales it down for the various fitness levels he mightencounter in a group. Big Dogs, Pack, Puppies and Buttercups.
http://forum.brandxmartialarts.com/viewforum.php?f=16
Tim

Post by **TimD** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:06 am

Speaking of scaled WOD's, here is a good one that's scaled back, and doesn't require a great deal of equipment,
http://mensjournal.com/healthFitness/06 ... nutes.html
Tim

Post by **stuward** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:19 am

Those are 10 excellent workouts. Just rotate through them 3 days on 1 off and you'll do fine. You will get a good dose of power, endurance and strength. Try to better your time or reps every time you repeat a specific workout. Make sure you keep notes.

An important point that this article left out is the Crosfit Warmup (CFWU). It consists of 3 rounds of Overhead squats, situps, back extensuions, pull ups and dips. Do 10-15 reps of each. Don't worry about time but don't waste time either. This will give you the foundation to benefit from the workouts. It normally takes about 20 minutes. There's probably a better description on the website Daniel gave you.

yahu · Post by **yahu** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:00 am

Lots of great information, guys. I'll try them see how it goes. Thanks alot.

Post by **TimD** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:05 am

One note about the warmup, if the daily workout is going to be intensive in pullups and or pushups, I might leave them out of the warmup, and may use a complex to warm up. The idea is to just get you warmed up, not knock the stuffing out of you before the workout. As an example, for the workout 2 of pullups, pushups and squats, I woud delete the pushups and chins and maybe add in muscle snatches to the warmup,
Tim

yahu · Post by **yahu** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:52 pm

****Follow-up****

I've been doing crossfit training and running for a while, mostly following Tim's suggestion.

http://mensjournal.com/healthFitness/06 ... nutes.html

I have few more questions if I may.

1. Shin Splint
Always suffer from this and it came back again. I try to do calf raise/reverse calf raise to strengthen my lower leg muscle. Is there some other exercise that I can do to alleviate/reduce the shin splint pain?

2. Pull Ups
I've noticed all around improvement in my exercise routine except pull ups. What other exercise other than bicep curls to improve this department?

3. Resting
During crossfit training, how long is appropriate to rest between each routine? I rest anywhere between 45 sec to 1 min.

4. Alternate Choice
I don't have weighted medicine ball so I skip the routine with ball exercise. Any good alternate choice?
Can I substitute deadlift with squat?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Stephen Johnson · Post by **Stephen Johnson** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:07 pm

1 - Shin splints are almost always the result of the impact from running. Getting better footware or changing your running surface is more likely to bring relief than strengthening exercises

2 - If your bodyweight pull ups are limited, the best exercise is some sort of assisted pull up, either with a partner helping or resting your feet on a chair or bench

4 - Squats and deadlifts are somewhat interchangeable, although squats work the quadriceps more while deadlifts work the hamstrings more

Ryan A · Post by **Ryan A** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:21 pm

For shin splints I wouldnt do more weight calf stuff. I would try

(1) walking on your heels with your toes pointed in, straight and out. 10-15meters should be enough distance.

(2) you can do toes taps either seated or standing, just tap your toes as fast as possible with heels firmly on the ground for a set number of reps that is challenging.

(3) walking down a hill backwards, hill shouldnt be too steep, probably around 10-15 degrees.

Post by **stuward** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 5:07 pm

A couple of other ways to help your pull ups is using a bungy cord or bands to take some of the weight or do jumping pull ups.

Post by **TimD** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:17 pm

Pullups, most of the crossfitters do "kipping" pullups, ie they jump themselvesup, gives momentum
Tim

Stephen Johnson · Post by **Stephen Johnson** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:33 pm

Talk about kipping pull-ups piqued my interest - I was looking for a way to cheat my way past my PR of 13

Thanks