Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6375 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
vision-master wrote:
alokin wrote:
by a hoe and a shovel
or axe and hand saw...............
I may be a little bigger than you but I ain't big, a little under 6' and maybe 180# and just a few years older. I did the gym thing back in the day and never really accomplished anything except muscle strains.
My fitness suggestion agrees with the quote: do constructive work and strive for endurance at tasks you think might be valuable in the future. The benefit is not only increased physical endurance but perhaps enduring improvements to your physical location.
As for lifting things, the best muscle to use is the one between your ears. _________________ Make a plan and work it:
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
Pops wrote:
As for lifting things, the best muscle to use is the one between your ears.
- Agreed!
I just moved a 600lb steel cabinet, mostly by myself. The guy I bought it from said "I'm 6'2" and 210 lbs, and I could barely move it!" But I mostly used the muscle between my ears. I brought along my dolly, some straps, four escrima sticks, and our Northern Tool "Hefte Hauler" hand-pulled wagon. First I strapped the wagon onto the side of the cabinet. Then I used the dolly to tilt the cabinet onto the wagon. Then I used the wagon to move it over to my trailer, with a bed just a little higher than the wagon top. We unstrapped the cabinet and lifted the leading edge enough to get it onto the trailer, then started putting the escrima sticks underneath as we pushed it onto the trailer. It rolled on the escrima sticks until it was completely on the trailer. Then we used the dolly to pick the back end up so we could pull the sticks back out.
My wife and I did the reverse to place the cabinet at its destination. I'm only 5'10" and 175, but the weight lifting, and using the muscle between my ears, sure paid off!
BTW, the cabinet is a flammables cabinet made to hold two 55-gallon drums. What do you suppose that's for?
Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 3972 Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
Pops wrote:
vision-master wrote:
alokin wrote:
by a hoe and a shovel
or axe and hand saw...............
I may be a little bigger than you but I ain't big, a little under 6' and maybe 180# and just a few years older. I did the gym thing back in the day and never really accomplished anything except muscle strains.
My fitness suggestion agrees with the quote: do constructive work and strive for endurance at tasks you think might be valuable in the future. The benefit is not only increased physical endurance but perhaps enduring improvements to your physical location.
As for lifting things, the best muscle to use is the one between your ears.
Yeah, cut and haul some 8' oak logs out by hand. Saw em and split em by hand and them stack em. Beats the hell out of a gym workout.
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
If you want to get stronger compound lifts are the only way to go, these include deadlifts, squats, standing presses, bench presses...
I used to be plagued with back, knee, and shoulder pain but since I started weight training these went away.
The majority of people have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to weight lifting. If you're serious about it then you have to educate yourself using good sources(not message boards).
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
kjmclark wrote:
[ There are lots of good exercises you can do to strengthen the rotator cuff, and most of them use dumbbells. This site has some pretty good explanation.
I'm doing the exercises at that site you gave and they feel right...I get the "right" kind of pain/fatigue from working muscles, not from stressing tissues..
I think that those exercises, in conjunction with the many other fine suggestions here, will get me where I need to be.
Now, if I could just find a stand of oak trees to fell, drag out, chop and stack...
Joined: Sep 17, 2005 Posts: 148 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:19 am Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
Cashmere wrote:
But I don't agree with you that doing fewer than 5 reps ever makes sense.
And i'm not saying you should only do low rep heavy weight workouts. You have to change your workout every few months. High rep, low rep, light weight, heavy weight, whatever. But saying doing less than 5 reps NEVER makes sense is bullshit.
I'm not talking about steroid using bodybuilders or weightlifters. A normal human body can also do a 1RM on a deadlift. As you state it the person will drop dead doing so.
Quote:
If you're a 270 pound pro bodybuilder taking huge amounts of steroids, sure, doing 3 rep sets probably makes sense.
Okay, who are you kidding? Never gotten that stereotype bodybuilder out of your head? Steroid using bodybuilders also do sets with 8 to 12 reps, so it probably won't be good for 'normal' people right?
Quote:
There is no difference between "getting stronger" and "bulking up."
? 'Bulking up' is gaining weight. Getting stronger is getting stronger.
Quote:
Most bodybuilders, go figure, are on the low end of the IQ scale.
Well, most bodybuilders go to bed at night and wake up in the morning, i guess us normal people shouldnt do that either...
Quote:
I lifted diligently for many years, and I understand the basic mechanisms of what is happening in muscles.
I see, then you must know the absolute truth to bodybuilding!
I've never lifted weights. I just guess all this crap.
Quote:
Very simply, you lift and create small tears in your muscles, and your body responds by "repairing" them, which makes them slightly bigger.
Really simple.
There is no making the muscle fibers you have stronger - not after an initial conditioning period.
There is only making more muscle.
If you make a lot, you get bigger and stronger.
If you make a little, you get a little bigger and a little stronger.
But you can't have one without the other.
Damn, what knowledge, thanks.
Quote:
Finally, I have never seen any evidence that doing low rep sets - as in fewer than 5 reps - results in greater muscle growth than doing 10 rep sets.
There is no evidence.
And there *is* evidence low rep training does no good?
Quote:
If you think there is some, please link to it, as I'd love to have a reason to start doing 3 rep sets - it would cut my workouts by a third.
heheh, 'cut your workouts'? It wouldnt, doing low rep training would increase the amount of sets you do and time you rest in between. Sorry kid. _________________ The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Joined: Jun 23, 2007 Posts: 93 Location: Australia
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
If your shoulder is hurting you stop aggravating it, give it some time to mend. Focus on endurance like bike riding and jogging but remember to keep a high carbohydrate intake otherwise your body will sacrifice its reserves and other muscles not in use.
Endurance is more important in SHTF scenario.
mental and physical _________________ This story will be told for generations!
Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
like_the_dinosaurs wrote:
Endurance is more important in SHTF scenario.
mental and physical
wise words...
I am trying to maintain a mix of different types of exercise/workouts, also emphasizing prevention/minimization of injuries...esp. in hiking, where I have little experience.
the cycling here is good AND challenging (lots of steep, long hills), so there's really no reason not to be able to keep in shape in a balanced way.
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
Im 46 with all kinds of joint pains from overworking my body for years,so last Sept when I decided to start getting my strength back after the house was pretty much finished,I needed a routine that was unique.I needed results fast.
But at this point,I have to say that I had it once,so all I had to do was get it back.
I didnt want to spend a lot of time training because I didnt want to put stress on my joints more than necessary.
I did all that 8-12,3-6,18-25 reps in my younger days and knew it wasnt what I was looking for this time.
Heres a link for you and I hope it helps.Its helped me get back a lot of my strength and some of my weight.
As a matter of fact,Im now lifting pretty much the same weights at a lighter bodyweight,so Im stronger.
I dont follow the daily routine in the link but I do use the rep and set scheme.
I usually go for 6-8 week cycles.Every 20 days or so I do a one rep max.
I pay special attention to overtraining.I will lift 3 days a week,sometimes 2,depending on how Im feeling,but my workouts have intensity.
I also try and keep my protein/carb intake balanced (even though my wifes mousaka throws me off a little).
You have to eat if you want strength.
Enjoy
Printable Page
Did you know?
Dipping Bars are parallel bars set high enough above the floor to allow you to do dips between them, leg raises for your abdominals, and a variety of other exercises.
People need to believe that existing training regimens really do work and that life does not have to be that complicated. Today I will share with you the tried and true 5x5 program. Yes it does work.
Over the years training has become more and more complicated. Show the average modern day trainee a simple and effective training regimen and they will look at you like you are dumb enough to buy a time-share. They just cannot believe that simple training programs work.
They want to believe that training is a complicated progress so that they can spend more time planning workouts than doing workouts. This is not surprising, as many people tend to complicate everything in life these days. So it is not surprising that the masses feel that complicated training regimens are a necessity.
The bottom line is that standard training regimens that have been tried and tested over the years are hard to beat. One such program is the well-known 5x5 (five sets of five) program.
It was the favorite of Reg Park who just so happens to be one of Arnold's idols for a very simple reason. The program rocks and when applied correctly builds a tremendous amount of size and strength.
With all of the thousands of training regimens to choose from the 5x5 program remains as one of the most effective programs for packing on size and strength. It has just the right amount of intensity and volume to build strength and size without inducing burnout and over-training.
In this article, I am going to go over what the 5x5 program is and how to apply it. Then, I am going to go over several ways to take the intensity up a notch for further gains in size and strength.
If you are tired of complicating programs that take more time to plan than execute, then you are going to love the 5x5 protocol. Let's get started.
What Is 5x5?
The 5x5 program calls for doing five sets of five reps per exercise. To illustrate, lets use the barbell deadlift as an example. Do two warm-up sets to get the groove down. Then load the bar up to your working weight and do five sets. When you can do five reps on all five sets, increase the weight by five pounds.
Barbell Deadlift.
Click To Enlarge.
For a focus on strength, take three-minute breaks in between each set. For a focus on size, try ninety-second breaks in between each set. Finally, for the middle path, try two-minute breaks in between each set. To design a 5x5 program you can either do a split routine in which you do the upper body one day and lower body the next training session.
Or you can do a full body workout 2-3 times per week. It will take some experimenting to determine which option is best for you. Regardless, of which option your choose, focus on compound exercises for each workout such as bench presses, squats, deadlifts, weighted dips, barbell rows, etc. Some isolation work is acceptable, but do not get carried away.
Focus on exercises that give you the most bang for your buck. Now you could do the same exercises frequently such as bench presses three times a week 5x5 style. Or you could try Louie Simmons conjugate approach to switch things up.
Louie Simmons, One Of Only 6 Lifters To Total Elite In 5 Weight Classes.
For example, do bench presses on Monday, weighted dips on Wednesday, and incline presses on Friday. You will avoid overuse injuries and the exercises are similar enough that you will make progress on all three and build overall strength. Here are two sample 5x5 programs:
Option One (Full Body Routine)
Monday
A-1: barbell bench press
A-2: bent over row
B-1: barbell squat
B-2: stiff legged deadlift
Turkish Get-up 2x5 l,r (left and right)
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday Option 1.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday Option 1.
Friday
A-1: incline press
A-2: renegade row
B-1: front squat
B-2: glute/ham raise
Saxon side bend 2x5
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday Option 1.
Renegade Row
Click To Enlarge.
View Video Of Renegade Row:
MPEG (841 KB)
Windows Media (546 KB)
Do each pair back to back. For example, do one set of A-1, wait ninety seconds, and then do a set of A-2 and wait ninety seconds before going back to A-1. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the sets and reps. For the midsection work, take two minute breaks in between each set.
Option Two: Split Routine
Monday & Thursday
A-1: barbell bench press
A-2: bent over row
B-1: barbell curl 2x5
B-2: skull crusher or triceps pushdown 2x5
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday & Thursday Option 2.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday & Friday Option 2.
Do each pair back to back. For example, do one set of A-1, wait ninety seconds, and then do a set of A-2 and wait ninety seconds before going back to A-1. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the sets and reps. For the midsection work, take two minute breaks in between each set and for the arm work take one-minute breaks in between each set.
Variations Of 5x5 For Accelerated Increases In Size & Strength
Now once you have gone through a few cycles of a standard 5x5 regimen, there are several things to manipulate to intensify the program and to fine-tune it for various goals.
Different Exercise Breaks At Each Session
Lets say that strength and size is your goal. One thing that you could do is apply variations to the exercise breaks. For example, one day take one-minute breaks to focus on hypertrophy. At the next session, take two-minute breaks to focus on strength.
The breaks would be applied to antagonistic sets. Thus, you are essential getting two-minute breaks on the first option and four minute breaks on the second option. Here is an example of such a program:
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday (Thirty Second Breaks In Between Each Set).
Decrease The Exercise Breaks To Increase The Intensity
Another option is to change the breaks at each session as a way to increase the intensity. For example, do five sets of five on barbell squats with 315 with three-minute breaks. Instead of increasing the weight at the next session, decrease the breaks to two-minutes and thirty seconds.
Once you can complete five sets again, go down to two-minute breaks. Once you nail five sets again, go down to ninety seconds. When you get down to one-minute breaks, increase the weight by five pounds and start at three-minute breaks again.
Using this format, you start with a strength focus on gradually shift gears to a hypertrophy focus as the exercise breaks decrease. Then you shift gears once again back to a strength focus.
This is a great way to cycle training intensity and keep training fresh and challenging.
5x5 On Steroids: Enter Cluster Training
No I am not talking about using steroids on the five times five program. However applying a concept called cluster training to the 5x5 regimen is like adding rocket fuel to a car. I learned about cluster training in Charles Poliquins excellent book Modern Trends In Strength Training.
Cluster training is essentially a combination of rest pause training and standard training.
Here is how it works. Take 90% of your one-rep max and do one rep. Wait ten seconds, and do another rep. Keep going until you have completed five reps in rest pause fashion.
Once you have completed all five reps, take a three-minute break and then execute another cluster set. Each sequence of repetitions equals one set. Thus to apply this concept to the 5x5 protocol, you would do five sets of five rest pause sets.
What Is The Advantage Of Applying Cluster Training?
For one, you get to train at a significantly higher training intensity. Thus, if strength is your primary goal, you will love cluster training. Regardless, the volume is the same as a regular 5x5 program making the 5x5 cluster training program an excellent option for hypertrophy training as well.
To further induce hypertrophy, just decrease the breaks in between each cluster. For example, instead of taking three-minute breaks, take two-minute breaks in between each cluster. As effective as cluster training is, it takes some time to break into it. If you have never done rest pause training before, then check out the rest pause article that I wrote for t-nation.com a few years ago and start with the program in the article.
Once you are comfortable with both 5x5 and rest pause training, try marrying the two and apply cluster training 5x5 style. Now cluster training is very intense and three full body workouts will be too much for most trainees. Try doing two full body workouts per week with at least two days off between each session.
Or split up the upper body and lower body days and try four workouts per week. Upper body on day one, take a day off, and then lower body on day two. Take another day off and do the upper body workout again etc.
Also, I would recommend that you choose exercises for Cluster training that do not require a lot of set-up time.
For Example,
Bottom position bench presses are better than regular bench presses in which you have to rack the bar after each rep.
Here is a sample Cluster training 5x5 program:
Day 1 & 3
Bottom position bench press
Weighted pull-up
Barbell curl
Take three-minute breaks in between each cluster set and two-minute breaks in between each exercise. Stick with cluster training for four to six weeks and then cycle back to a regular 5x5 regimen.
Adapting To High Volume Training:
Start With 5x5
Finally, you can use the 5x5 protocol as a platform to build up to high volume training. Once you can complete five sets, stay at the same weight and add another set.
Once you can complete six sets, add another set. Keep going until you are doing 10x5. Once you can complete ten sets, increase the weight by five pounds and start back at 5x5.
This is an excellent method for working up to high volume training and cycling high volume training. More importantly, you build confidence for high volume training.
If you have never done ten sets before, then you are not conditioned to handle the volume. By increasing the volume gradually, you prepare your mind and body for the hard work ahead in a systematic manner. You cannot beat that.
Wrap Up
Like many things in life it is much easier to get excited about doing something than it is to get off your ass and do it. What are you prepared to do?
Are you going to test drive the 5x5 program and get bigger and stronger or continue with complicated training regimens that take two hours to complete? Start with a standard 5x5 regimen and then apply some of the intensity enhancers to stay on the road to gainsville. Shoot me an email with your feedback.
About The Author
Mike Mahler is a strength coach based on Marina Del Rey, Ca. For more info on Mike, go to www.mikemahler.com
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Up Your Strength With A 5 X 5 Program! _________________ ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: Re: Fitness in the toolkit: small weights training?
After spending from 13-21 working out every afternoon I would have to admit that weight lifting / strength building has its ups and downs. I would suggest manual labor over Weight lifting as it serves 2 purposes instead of one . Oh yeah Digging will probably build more endurance than anything.
What is your motivation on gaining strength? I would suggest some sort of martial arts if it is for defense but mostly in defense it is 100 percent mental. You have to train your mind in fighting. When the old heartrate increases and you get that adrenalin rush strength does not last very long beleive me. You get the shakes even if you are not scared. Your mind can't concentrate everything goes to hell. I would say get a gun also if it is for defense but you better have the mind frame for it otherwise you will not hit the broad side of a barn.
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- Agreed!
