Ian Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Hello fellow nerds! For the last few months I've been following a basic weight lifting program three days a week. I've been making steady progress, which is all kinds of awesome. At the same time I'm slowly but consistently improving my diet. Frankly I'm feeling pretty good.But I'm starting to wonder. My goal is not raw strength, it is not weight loss, it is overall athletic ability. I want to be *capable* of anything. So what should I do? The difficulty with trying to learn anything about fitness is that there is at least as much marketing bull, buzzwords, and fads, as scientific information. So where can I go to learn about how to be athletic - faster, stronger, more agile, greater endurance. Rather than simply how to be strong?Thanks,P.S. crossfit is interesting, but I want to understand enough to build my own program, rather than blindly follow someone else's and hope... Link to comment
BarefootDawsy Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 You may want to look into athletics and body weight exercises. The Assassins guild has a heap of resources.Some great reads are Convict Conditioning, The Gymnastic Body, and You Are Your Own Gym.Apart from this, maybe a sport is what you're after? BAREFOOT DAWSY Scout Commander (ret.) Link to comment
LessJos Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I agree with Dawsy and I am right where you are. Just starting and looking for the same. Come on over to the assassins!I just started "you are your own gym" this week. There is a thread going in the warrior section, check it out. And I can recommend capoeira. Martial art but with lots of acrobatic elements. Endurance, strength, agility, power, balance, speed! pre-AssassinClear eyes, full heart, can't lose!Twitter Link to comment
Church Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 I'm new here as well and the Assassins guild has tons of useful information. After all, it's built around parkour and you need HEAPS of functional strength, as well as power, endurance, agility, balance, dexterity and grace to do any of this stuff.That being said, I'm still new as can be and can only manage a roll most of the time. I also know that the Scouts are all about general all round conditioning: swimming, running, biking, etc. there's probably also someone over in the Monks Dojo who can point you towards a solid path, and the Warriors as well. Personally I've had solid success with compound movements that make heavy use of the Bosu ball as well as the five basic movements: dead lifts/squats, pull ups/rows, pushups, planks/side plank pushups, and lunges, as well as interval training. There's a whole bunch of different ways to reach any goal, ask around and anyone who can will be happy to help. The Rebels are all awesome like that "Oh, fear not in a world like this, And thou shalt know erelong, Know how sublime a thing it is, To suffer and be strong." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Battle Log - MyFitnessPal - FitBIt To get something you've never had, you have to become someone you've never been. Link to comment
Relic Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Here's the shorthand to programming your own crossfit (to use as guidelines, not laws)pick 2-4 movements (compound weighted stuff, calisthenics, or gymnastics)pick a rep/ set schemedo it for timetry to keep it under 20minuteskeep the intensity up (short rest breaks)keep workouts variedthere's a lot more to it than that, but if you start there and take a little time to regularly learn something new you will go far. To find piece with myselfI must first find a piece of myself Link to comment
SirEarl Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 +1 for Capoeira. Super fun, bursting with culture, and it requires quite a high level of athleticism once you really get into it.The best thing though, is to just go out and do stuff! Wanna jump like a basketball player? Start playing some b-ball! Etc etcAthleticism starts with having a good body, but ends with knowing how to use that body! "You don't life for be sad, no?" Link to comment
161803398874989 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Build strength first. Then worry about coordination, agility, speed and all that.Strength is will take the longest time to acquire and everything else is based on that. If you have a good strength base, you will be less injury prone, you will have greater capacity for endurance, you will be able to practice skills without tiring (because they are easy strength-wise)... in my opinion a beginner should always focus on strength.That is not to say you cannot have fun, but atlethicism starts with strength. Quare? Quod vita mea non tua est. You can call me Phi, Numbers, Sixteen or just plain 161803398874989. Link to comment
BarefootDawsy Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Build strength first. Then worry about coordination, agility, speed and all that.Strength is will take the longest time to acquire and everything else is based on that. If you have a good strength base, you will be less injury prone, you will have greater capacity for endurance, you will be able to practice skills without tiring (because they are easy strength-wise)... in my opinion a beginner should always focus on strength.That is not to say you cannot have fun, but atlethicism starts with strength.I wish someone had told me that years ago...I've only learned it recently and it's so true. BAREFOOT DAWSY Scout Commander (ret.) Link to comment
aj_rock Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 At it's most basic, there are five areas of fitness which need individual work: strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and co-ordination. A decent strength program coupled with reasonable cardio and stretching hits pretty much all those bases Why must I put a name on the foods I choose to eat and how I choose to eat them? Rather than tell people that I eat according to someone else's arbitrary rules, I'd rather just tell them, I eat healthy. And no, my diet does not have a name.My daily battle log! Link to comment
Trad_Climb Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Squat, bench, Overhead Press, Row, pull ups, lunges, dips, dead-lift, snatch, clean & jerk. The only lifts you'll ever need in a strength program to be physically fit, anything extra is for fine tuning. Warrior LVL 3 STR: 16.75 DEX: 4 STA: 4 CON: 2 WIS: 8 CHA: 3 Current Challenge: http://www.nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?17857-Trad-s-Don-t-drop-that-dun-dun-dun Current Maxes (lbs): Spoiler Squat: 380 Front Squat: 300 Bench: 265 Overhead Press: 155 Deadlift: 455 Clean & Jerk: 225 Snatch: 155 Link to comment
Waldo Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 At it's most basic, there are five areas of fitness which need individual work: strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and co-ordination. A decent strength program coupled with reasonable cardio and stretching hits pretty much all those bases This.Couple a strength traing program, any from (PLing, 5x5, brobuilding, calisthenics/gymnastics, etc...)With a cardio program, any form (wind sprints, distance running, biking, swimming, etc...)With a flexibility/aglity program, any form (Yoga, martial arts, parkour, etc...)And you are good to go. currently cutting battle log challenges: 21,20, 19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 don't panic! Link to comment
Ian Posted June 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Thanks for the replies everyone. I've decided that the short term plan is going to be to continue the weightlifting unchanged, but add C25K for endurance, and try to do more stretching after sessions. At the same time I'm going to have to get some books and start reading, it seems abundantly clear that I have a *lot* to catch up on. Link to comment
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