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If you only have two lifting days per week, going heavy on compound exercises makes sense. Also, presumably, you're working a greater number of muscle groups pe

by tdavis 18y ago

If you only have two lifting days per week, going heavy on compound exercises makes sense. Also, presumably, you're working a greater number of muscle groups per day which requires more recovery time, especially if you're doing low-weight, high-rep work. I avoided compound exercises (other than deadlifts on Back day) and was doing high-weight, low-rep, not to mention the fact that having 6 days over which to spread out muscle groups helps substantially. Combined with a high-calorie (balanced) diet and supplements, I was able to make consistent gains week-over-week for the life of the program. In the beginning it was more difficult as my body wasn't used to the work, but as time went on it got to the point where I was fully recovered in the areas I needed to be to complete the day's routine with more weight than the previous week's iteration (each day was a separate routine).

gaius 18y ago
My weights day 1 is squat, leg press, calf extension, leg extension + whatever else I feel like - sets of 5x5 or 3x8. Weights day 2 is deadlift, pull-ups, t-bar/bent over rows + whatever else I feel like. Pressups on cardio days. I plan to stick with this 'til the end of February then adapt it to prepare for a Marathon in May.
- tdavis 18y ago
  Right. See, that's an insane volume (number of sets per body type) and a really high total number of reps. You're doing 125 reps per workout at a minimum! It should be noted that even advanced trainers only have a volume of about 4-6 sets per body part, whereas you're doing 15-20 on legs alone (press/calf-ext/leg-ext + squat). Since you're preparing for a marathon it seems to make sense to focus on lower-body and mainstay complex exercises (squat/deadlift), but I am unfamiliar with that specific sort of training so I can only speculate. As mentioned, you seem to have an exceedingly high volume, especially considering the narrow focus of your exercises (at least one day 1). Your rep count (5) suggests a focus on raw strength, but the set count (5) is more common for endurance.
  - gaius 18y ago
    I'm driving my squats through the heel, so it's much more of a posterior-chain exercise and doesn't really hit my quads or calves much. If I was training like a bodybuilder with a raised heel, I'd switch the leg extensions for leg curls. My objective right now is to improve core strength and relative strength, then in the 3 months leading up to the Marathon to shift a bit more towards power-endurance (e.g. Tabata, Fartlek, weekly long run). Previously on half-marathons I've really lost my form towards the end, that's just wasting energy needlessly, especially on cross-country. This time I'm going to keep it tight all the way.

by tdavis 18y ago

gaius 18y ago

My weights day 1 is squat, leg press, calf extension, leg extension + whatever else I feel like - sets of 5x5 or 3x8. Weights day 2 is deadlift, pull-ups, t-bar/bent over rows + whatever else I feel like. Pressups on cardio days. I plan to stick with this 'til the end of February then adapt it to prepare for a Marathon in May.

tdavis 18y ago
Right. See, that's an insane volume (number of sets per body type) and a really high total number of reps. You're doing 125 reps per workout at a minimum! It should be noted that even advanced trainers only have a volume of about 4-6 sets per body part, whereas you're doing 15-20 on legs alone (press/calf-ext/leg-ext + squat). Since you're preparing for a marathon it seems to make sense to focus on lower-body and mainstay complex exercises (squat/deadlift), but I am unfamiliar with that specific sort of training so I can only speculate. As mentioned, you seem to have an exceedingly high volume, especially considering the narrow focus of your exercises (at least one day 1). Your rep count (5) suggests a focus on raw strength, but the set count (5) is more common for endurance.
- gaius 18y ago
  I'm driving my squats through the heel, so it's much more of a posterior-chain exercise and doesn't really hit my quads or calves much. If I was training like a bodybuilder with a raised heel, I'd switch the leg extensions for leg curls. My objective right now is to improve core strength and relative strength, then in the 3 months leading up to the Marathon to shift a bit more towards power-endurance (e.g. Tabata, Fartlek, weekly long run). Previously on half-marathons I've really lost my form towards the end, that's just wasting energy needlessly, especially on cross-country. This time I'm going to keep it tight all the way.