Workout Advice

[Thunderkiss]

Greetings,

I am currently preparing for OCS. Here is what I am doing:

Monday - Friday I complete my normal power lifting routine. This consists of M/W/F upper body and Tues/Thur lower body. It is a typical workout that you would see football athletes do for strength training. Everything is calculated with percentages from my max and everyday is different so that I don't plateau. This is also the same routine I used when I placed 15th in the state of Florida for competitive weightlifting. My current Bench max is 340 and my free squat max is 425. I am weighing in at 185 lbs.

In addition to this workout I also use the guidance from the www.navy-ocs.com website for OCS preparation. After my strength training I complete the push ups and sit ups. When that is finished I run on the elliptical.

I have noticed that it is much harder to do the push ups, sit ups, and the run after the strength training. Will I still be able to get good gains from doing it like this? My heart rate is always in the 160 - 170 range during the entire workout. Also, It seems that no matter how high I set the level of the elliptical or no matter how hard I run, it always seems to have me at a 9:30 / mile pace. Is this typical for all elliptical machines? Should I switch to running around my neighborhood at a different time in the day?

Any advice to adjust what I am doing would be greatly appreciated.

VR,

TK

 

[gusthebus229]

i've had bad experience with ALL running machines... in fact, i find that elliptical machines slow you down when actually running. i play rugby and i always noticed a strong decrease in speed and flexibility when on an elliptical routine, so it's my opinion that ellpticals are terrible for PRT training.

 

[Swanee]

It seems like you are doing a lot of lifting to get ready for OCS, but how much weight lifting is actually done at OCS?

 

[red_ryder]

Dude. Elliptical machines are nothing like actual running. Get out there and beat pavement.

 

[Spekkio]

Stew Smith wrote an article called "no weights at bootcamp." I suggest reading it.

In short, if you want to continue with weights, I suggest transitioning over to a circuit training routine that keeps you moving and breathing, rather than the typical strength training regiment of 30 seconds of exercise every two minutes.

 

[Thunderkiss]

Im not really doing the lifting to prepare. It is just something that I have always done. I never want to let my body go. So I have continued doing that and added in PRT training. Still, that is everything that I am doing as a whole. Ive also noticed in the past that If I continue my strength training I am able to max out Push ups and Sit ups easier. I suppose having muscle fibers continually worked always helps.

 

[Lobster]

You don't have to let yourself go you just have to think about what is priority right now benching 340 and squating 425 or being able to max out push ups and sit ups and crank out an 8:30 run. You can still stay in great shape and train for OCS, taking a break from the weights isn't always a bad thing either, coach doesn't let us touch the weights when our season ends in march until at least the end of may or june.

 

[Spekkio]

Im not really doing the lifting to prepare. It is just something that I have always done. I never want to let my body go. So I have continued doing that and added in PRT training. Still, that is everything that I am doing as a whole. Ive also noticed in the past that If I continue my strength training I am able to max out Push ups and Sit ups easier. I suppose having muscle fibers continually worked always helps.

I used to lift prior to OCS as well.

The reason I tell you to switch your routine is because PT at OCS is very aerobic. They don't care how much you can bench.

Unfortunately, there is only enough time in the day for most people to physically train for one type of goal. You don't have to "let yourself go," but you should start training your body to do what you need it to do at OCS and beyond.

 

[chrly_dont_srf]

Hey I would decrease the amount of days you lift in preparation for OCS to 3 days a week and focus more on running outdoors. I have also noticed that I run slower on the treadmill probably due to the boredom and lack of scenery. Also with the push-ups and sit-ups I do those first before I lift weights.

 

[TrickyFish]

I haven't actually been to OCS yet, but right now I am doing a combination of running, lifting, and circuit training. I can definitely say that the circuit training has done amazing things for my running, and it really is a great stand-in for lifting. I don't like running, I love lifting, and circuit training leaves me just as satisfied as lifting. I know most guys think that gym classes are only for girls, but a good circuit training class will give back however much you put in so it's all up to you. Also, the elliptical is not a good substitute for running, unless you're using it as a low-impact alternative in between running days. I'd say even a treadmill is better than an elliptical, but a track is definitely the best.

 

[Lobster]

What do you guys usually do for your circuits?

 

[TrickyFish]

What do you guys usually do for your circuits?

Some combination including, but not limited to: bear crawls, sprints, karaoke, box jumps, squat jumps, jumping jacks, speed racers (put you hands on something that slides along the ground and push with your feet), punching bag, indian runs, side shuffles, back peddling, suicides, mountain climbers, various types of lifts (continuously for 1-2 minutes), planks, squats, lunges, and of course push-ups and curl-ups, as well as other things that I'm forgetting right now.

 

[Thunderkiss]

Tricky,

Everything you mentioned is almost the exact workouts I did during wrestling season. With an added 5 mile hop each week. I think I will have to start hitting the mountain behind my house and work on that stuff once agian.

The biggest problem I am having with sit ups is that I get the most gain if I can do them while hanging upside down. I just cant seem to find a good way to hang myself up like that without a workout partner. Any ideas?

 

[TrickyFish]

The biggest problem I am having with sit ups is that I get the most gain if I can do them while hanging upside down. I just cant seem to find a good way to hang myself up like that without a workout partner. Any ideas?

Do you do anything specifically for your obliques? I found adding that to my lifting routine helped my sit-ups a lot.

 

[feddoc]

Thunderkiss, the strides on a machine are usually far different than when you actually run. I think you should add in more running and less elliptical. I also think you would be better served by placing less emphasis on power lifting and more emphasis on lifting for endurance. A split routing might be optimal....power lifiting for a couple of weeks, following by endurance lifting for 6 weeks.