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Friday 19 September 2008

Time Spent Training

I was considering how much time people spend in the gym/training. I seem to be having trouble fitting in everything I 'need' to do.


Stretching (a decent stretch routine can take 30/40 minutes I have found.)
I have also been told that to increase flexibility I should stretch 5/6 times a week. That is basically every time I train bar 1.

I generally work to the principle of about 15 minutes per skill, so I will practice a Pike Press over and over again for 15 mins.
I find this approach is better than doing sets or reps, as sometimes I can do the Pike Press every time, and other days I’m totally rubbish and can’t do a single one (well, not quite but you get my point). So 15 mins of attempting the Pike Press means the time for that exercise is kept in-check.
I try and do 3 skills per workout on off weightlifting days.

Foam Roller (ideally every session for trouble areas), I did a full body Foam Roller last night and that took about 40 mins, so I would say around 10 to 15 minutes per problem muscle.

Weight Lifting – this can take up to about 1 hour per body part.

CV - should be around 30 minutes per day, at a steady rate.

I was reading an article about gymnasts and how they train about 7 hours per day and I can see why they would need to. I Ideally would train around 180 minutes per day to be able to be able to achieve what I want. And that's for a fat, pen pushing desk monkey like me.

How does everyone else manage to cram all this into their sessions?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Its just nor fair is it? If I win the lottery, the gym will be my full time job! Only thing for it mate, you're going to have to join the circus!

Prof. Steven M. Platek said...

Holy shite, Mate! 180 minutes, by my fantastical mathematical abilities translates into about 3 hrs!!! Um, I do not, nor would I ever recommend spending 3 hours at the gym. 2 is my cutoff and that is only if I am doing a lot of CV and training.

I feel, personally, like if I maximize my workouts so that they are generally whole body, while hitting different sub muscle groups I activate my metabolism, strength, and CV all in once shot! It is also a killer. Check out: Tabata training - similar to this, but not nearl intense - that is combining large muscle group moves with rapid transitioning and set training.

There are generally two principles I try to keep in mind when training: 1) Rome wasn't built in a day. So neither does my fitness need to be spot on in as short a time as possible. Most of the really fit people (gymnasts, martial artists) that I admire most have been training for years and years. I admire them partly for their dedication to prolonged training and dedication to their fitness and sport. 2) Everything in moderation: i don't do full-in stretching, weights, moves, CV, and martial arts all in one day. Then working out would have to be my job, and heretofore, no one has offered to pay me for just working out. If I were more attractive maybe I would video tape myself working out in as little clothing as possible and watch the money roll in.... NOT! But , seriously, I try to mix it up. I feel like that allows me to incorporate the correct amount of rest and variation in my workouts.

An average workout week for me:

Sunday - yoga (stretching), CV (10-20 mins max), and some gymnastic moves (sunday i find is the best day to photograph and or vid myself b/c the gym is scarcely populated.

Monday - heavy weight/bodyweight training day
Tuesday - medium gymnastics training, CV

Tuesday - Heavy CV, some full body movements, Tai Chi

Wed - same as mond

Thursday same as tuesday with kunf fu replacing Tai chi

Fri - rest day or outdoor athletic activity such as running, hiking, climbing, basketball, even a long walk... etc.

Sat - heavy CV (outdoor running, hill running, etc), martial arts practice combined into a circuit with gymnastics and rope/suspension moves.

Each day I spend no more than 2 hours, and typically about 1-1.5 hrs at the gym. It's what seems to be working for me.

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