borich

got a york multi gym, rowing machine and a set of weights and was wondering how many times a week i should be using the gym. Atm I do a 2 hour work out on the gym every other day, but i use the rowing machine everyday. Any tips?

Borich

ozzy

What do you do in 2hrs?

I personally wouldn't spend any more that 45mins - 1hr doing weights or strength training.

Remember it's quality, not quantity.

More importantly what are you trying to achieve?

borich

had the police phsyical yesterday and i passed the running, grip and uper body strength, but i would like to try and improve my uper body strength. I have very little body fat (im 5`11 and weigh just under 10 stone) looking to get to about 11.5 stone

Borich

milo

same as when u last asked - lots of compound moves, heavy weights and low reps. base your routine around squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, military press, incline bench etc etc.

as for time spent lifting, thats up to you (only you know how fast u recover and how long u can go for). some guys (mike mentzer) lift for like 20 mins once every 10 days and look amazing. others (arnie) lift for 2-4 hours practically every day and also look amazing. very little (if any) correlation there.

dont spend too long that you just go thru the motions - u need intensity.. but dont come away from the gym feeling that u could have done a heap more.

its all about diet tho. if your diet is perfect, u could pretty much just look at the weights (well maybe lift them a bit) and you'll get big and cut.

ozzy

If you want practical upper-body strength, then personally I'd recommend circuit training coupled with a 2-3 weight sessions per week.

Press-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups are all good ways of increasing your upper body strength and if you find them too easy, either do more reps, do them much faster or add some weights in a small rucksac to increase the resistance. They also help maintain your fitness level and will help with your running. Pull-ups also help with grip strength and circuits help if you have to chase a criminal through the streets, over fences, through gardens, etc. more than lifting dead weights will.

Having said that I'm your height, but weigh about 12st (and I'm a skinny runt ) so I'd probably suggest you try and pack on some muscle for police work. Best way of doing that is lift heavy and stick to the basic exercises.

It's all about hard work whatever training you do.

There's a couple of police officers that train in my local gym. They spend most of their time lifting weights and although they are big, they don't spend as much time as the should on CV work IMHO. Sure, they can restrain someone, but catching them in the first place maybe a struggle

So, my advice is keep the training mixed. Stick with your running, add some circuit training for general conditioning and 2-3 weight sessions to pack on some size and strength.

As Milo said, your diet plays a huge part so don't neglect it.

Good luck,

Stefan

ozzy

Out of interest, what did the Police physical actually involve? Was it a one day thing or spread over a weekend or something?

borich

ok cheers, diets going well, loads of pasta, baked potatos, fruit veg and i cut out all the crappy food!

Borich

ozzy

Good stuff, just remember to eat enough depending on your training intensity.

Ted Maul

my good gym routine is a light walk from the car park, dip in the jacuzzi, bit of sauna and then a beer in the bar.

milo

dont strain yourself with that vigorous routine. isnt there any way u could get dropped off closer to the gym to avoid the horrendous cardio of the car park walk?

milo

good to hear. u need plenty of protein too tho

super_si

Milo any advice on mental training?
Cant seem to get the mental side of things under control and causing me to fail big lifts

Cheers

Si

milo

focus.. and think about how you'll feel going home if you dont make the lift. that usually works for me.

you could try stimulants such as caffeine.

i am betting u work out evenings after a day at work/school... the mental side of things are harder when u do that.

best approach is: wake up, eat, lift, eat, nap

super_si

cheers mate. I think, sorry i know diets shocking so perhaps once im eating ill grow blah blah blah better

Si

logiclee

I joined one of our local Health Clubs a couple of months ago.

I'm on medication and under the supervision of the hospital so I'm banned from doing any resistive stuff or free weights so it's cardio stuff only.

I'm still finding plenty of variation so I'm not getting bored and while I'm working out there's at least the steam room, sauna, pool and spa to look forward too.

I realise now I should have done it years ago.
To anyone thinking about it, join now.

Cheers
Lee

Sith

Walk in and know you are going to do it and lift it. If you think about it or worry about it you will most likely fail.

It's how I approach it when lifting down at my gym. Also when I'm doing cardio, I set a time and stick to it. The closer I get to the end I think it's just a few minutes of my life, I can do it.

super_si

i dont think it is as easy as just approaching it. talking 240kg, never easy to approach

Tiggs

ozzy.....i did the test about 9 years ago. i have asthma so they wanted to put me through the test prior to anything else in case i failed it.

as i recall there was sit ups in a min, press ups in a min...thats ort of thing and a bleep test. It was a joke as everyone on our day passed yet some of the girls did only a few press ups and they were all done at 45 deg (not proper press up)

the bleep test.....i was 20 stone (body building) and asthmatic so hardly a good bleep test candidate yet after a few laps i was on my own with one other bloke.....ppl starting to go indoors as it dragged on as they got bored!

hope its got tougher...but i doubt it.

T

ps- i failed to get in bevause my spelling wasnt good enough in the statement taking test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thank god for that!!!


edit- still cant spel!

yoza

To answer the question.

One that gives you the results you require, with the least amount of effort.

Sith

Talking to it wont help. Seriously though, if you walk upto it expecting not to lift it, most likely you will fail. My mates trainer says the same thing, approach with a positive mind, you have a far greater chance of lifting. You have already almost defeated your chance of lifting because in your mind you have decided that it is near impossible.

Having watched Worlds Strongest Man etc, they always have someone with them to help gee them up, wether it a few slaps on the face or just being shouted at. Is there no one you know or train with that could help you.

Things are relative, I tried a 40kg bar curl and decided to stick with the 30kg for a while Too me the 40kg is your equivalent of the 240kg. The actual weight is irrelevent, they both represent our next hurdle. We both know that we will lift our respective targets. We just have to go and do it.

To Bob the Builder tune -

Supersi
Can he lift it?
Yes he can. (coat on)

super_si

Having training with a few, they are all very focussed. Just annoying you when i maxing with 240kg. they rep it 10-15 reps lol

NotoriousREV

My gym routine:

Pay huge joining/admin fee
Go twice (to use the jacuzzi)
Pay monthly membership until minimum contract expires
Forget to cancel membership for anoher 6 months
Realise still paying fees, go back to the gym once "seeing as I'm paying for it" and struggle to manage a workout as all the equipment has been changed since last visit
Continue paying fees for another couple of months because "I've started going again"
Finally give in to wife's demands and cancel membership
Stare forlornly at beer gut and wonder if I should join a gym.