Sunday, January 15, 2017

Incorporating military style PT with weight training

I have for a long time done beginner and intermediate linear progression programs like Starting Strength or The Texas Method. This usually means lifting weights every week, three times per week, full body each session. However, for the last two years or so I have only had enough time to get to the gym twice per week, and not as much dedication in the kitchen to keep up with these tough programs. Combine that with a desire for a bit more 'general fitness', a bit of a fixation on getting better at pushups and pullups, and a bit of admiration for the crazy levels of fitness of folks in the military, and I am looking for a way to incorporate more PT in to my workouts.

In high school I did the first few weeks of a 'Navy SEAL program' (here and here), and then of course quickly stopped doing it because I was lazy. It is composed of two nine-week blocks, with a running program, and a non-specific recommendation of swimming. Doing all of that is already a lot, but by the end of the 18 weeks one is doing 400 pushups per session!

I want to keep lifting weights in the gym, so I only want to add two days of PT; one on a day of lifting, and one on a day where I don't lift. Therefore the progress should be a bit slower. And I definitely don't want to be doing 400 total pushups per session. I made a program that is similar to the first 9 weeks of the Navy SEAL program, but progresses instead over 12 weeks, and includes dips a bit sooner.

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12 week PT program - parallel with weight training - 2x per week

WK#PushupsSitupsDipsPullups
14x154x1503x3
24x154x1503x3
35x155x1503x4
45x155x1503x4
55x205x2002x6
65x205x2002x6
76x206x202x62x8
86x206x202x82x8
96x256x252x102x10
106x256x253x102x10
116x306x303x123x10
126x306x303x153x10

3x10 is 3 sets of 10 repetitions. The pushups and situps are always identical, which is easy to remember. I plan to always do it as a circuit, in the order listed pushups-situps-dips-pullups and then repeat. The dips and pullups always have fewer sets than the pushups and situps, so one should spread them as equally as possible.

Let's see how the next 12 weeks go with this. I plan to do it on Thursday and Saturday, with lifting on Monday and Thursday still.

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