Goal setting for my first challenge

[fengor]

Hi there,

 

itÅ› still a few days till the next challenge but I'm already toying with what goals i should choose for my first challenge. Maybe a little background info first. I'm a 32yo computer nerd who  works as a programmer here in germany mainly sitting around for most of the day. To counter that I started HIT-style workouts at the local gym. Had some bad luck the last few weeks (car accident etc.) but refusing to let it drag me down.

 

My current HIT workout is

Chestpress 30kg

Seated Row 35kg

Overhead Press 25kg

Pull Down 45kg

Leg press 120kg

 

Instead of taking the bus, I decided to get a bicycle and ride it to work and to the gym. So the bicycle and the Gym are two obvious choices for goals 

 

 

#1 - Continue HIT-Workouts

Continue the weekly workouts with an added lower back exercise, sicne i feel that this is missing. Every missed workout will lower the grade by one.

 

#2 - Commute to work with the bicycle

Come rain or snow the pony express... hold a sec! wrong script...  But the plan is to ride the bicycle to work everyday. Missed days will lower the grade again. Exceptions can be made under special circumstances for missing a day.

 

For the third goal I'd like somethign that involves some body coordination. so i thought about swimming once a week. Gym is on Mondays so swimming probably will be thursdays or fridays. Since i a m a really bad swimmer I will just aim for a fixed distance during the workout no matter how many pauses i'll need.

 

#3 - Swim! Swim, like your life depends on it!

Go swimming at least once a week. Aim for at least 1km per week. Missing a week will lower the grade by 1, missing the weekly total will lower it by 0.5

 

For my fourth epic quest goal i will probably choose doing my taxes... Cause I really should have done them by now!

 

#4 - Get your money back from the man.

If everything is done and sent away by end of the challenge its an A, anything else is an F.

 

So what do you fellow rebels think about the goals? And what kind of attribute points would you give to them?

 

 

[Morrigainz]

Looks good to me!

 

The only thing I noticed is...leg press? Why not squat? Why no deadlifts? You have a loooot of upper body stuff and only leg press for legs, which (IMO) is an inferior exercise to squats.

[Horsedog]

Love how they are mostly "behavioural" goals - like "swim at least once per week".   Consider adding at least 1 performance goal, though (like, increase all weights by 5% or something).  I've found a good mix of both is a great motivator!

[fengor]

@MirGSS

squats are free weights arent they? I basically started the routing to build some more upper body strength but yes i am feelign a bit lacking on the lower body. esepecially the lower back. So i am thinkign about adding 1-2 back exercises. The workout was originally patterned after what Body by Science called the big five workout. Options at this point would be

a) add 1 lower back exercise brigneng the exercise total up to 6

or

create a second routine with mostly lower body stuff and switch them a/b style every week (week1 workout a, week2 workout

 

The goal for the routine is to get some basic strength as injury proofing

 

@Horsedog

the performance goals are mostly "build in" for exampel with the swimming the plan is to be able to swim 1km without pausing but i am to unsure to really know how much time it will get me to that level. So that is why i am thinking about  once per week and 1km per week (basically 1km workout per week) for the first challenge and see how the rate of improvement is. I think my main problem with swimming is bad technique so progress can be either quite fast or excrutiangly slow.

 

For the strength part performance goals is already factored in as well. My basic routine is 1 set to failure on each exercise with a 1:30 time. Means i choose the weight so that I get to positive failure within 1:20-1:30. If i complete the set at 1:30 I get more weigth next week.

[Morrigainz]

Yep, I'd add in some squats and deadlifts (if you have access to a barbell). You don't have to use weights for squats - you can just do a ton of them. When they become easier, start squatting stuff. Children, a puppy, a bag of rice, etc.

[fengor]

hmm okay, i'll think about it and see if i can factor it in for the challenge and see what the free weight section fo the gym has. Although i have to admit i"m more comfortable with the machines so far.

[Wolfhorde]

Yep, I'd add in some squats and deadlifts (if you have access to a barbell). You don't have to use weights for squats - you can just do a ton of them. When they become easier, start squatting stuff. Children, a puppy, a bag of rice, etc.

Better ask for permission on that one!

 

You can also vary the squads, if the weight you have isn't enough you can go try Bulgarian splits or pistol squats.

[Horsedog]

@MirGSS

squats are free weights arent they? I basically started the routing to build some more upper body strength but yes i am feelign a bit lacking on the lower body. esepecially the lower back. So i am thinkign about adding 1-2 back exercises. The workout was originally patterned after what Body by Science called the big five workout. Options at this point would be

a) add 1 lower back exercise brigneng the exercise total up to 6

or

create a second routine with mostly lower body stuff and switch them a/b style every week (week1 workout a, week2 workout

 

The goal for the routine is to get some basic strength as injury proofing

 

@Horsedog

the performance goals are mostly "build in" for exampel with the swimming the plan is to be able to swim 1km without pausing but i am to unsure to really know how much time it will get me to that level. So that is why i am thinking about  once per week and 1km per week (basically 1km workout per week) for the first challenge and see how the rate of improvement is. I think my main problem with swimming is bad technique so progress can be either quite fast or excrutiangly slow.

 

For the strength part performance goals is already factored in as well. My basic routine is 1 set to failure on each exercise with a 1:30 time. Means i choose the weight so that I get to positive failure within 1:20-1:30. If i complete the set at 1:30 I get more weigth next week.

Cool beans!  On a related note, if strength is what you're after, HIIT stuff is less than ideal.  Not that it's ineffective, but it's not optimal by any stretch.  Just something to consider, if strength is the goal

[fengor]

Better ask for permission on that one!

 

 

Well it's not like i would eat the children... not more than one at least. Have to watch the figure you know...

[fengor]

Hmm why is HIT not optimal, after what i read and experienced so far it seems pretty good.

 

Edit:

At least what the invested time/effort vs benefits is concerned. My current workout time is around 10min warm up (rowing) + 30min exercises per week

[Incantor]

the performance goals are mostly "build in" for exampel with the swimming the plan is to be able to swim 1km without pausing but i am to unsure to really know how much time it will get me to that level. So that is why i am thinking about  once per week and 1km per week (basically 1km workout per week) for the first challenge and see how the rate of improvement is. I think my main problem with swimming is bad technique so progress can be either quite fast or excruciatingly slow

I think this is probably way too ambitious. If you can't already swim 1k without stopping, you are unlikely to see that kind of improvement while swimming only once a week. Consider using something like http://ruthkazez.com/Zeroto1milePreamble/pre-zero.html building up to http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html

I am working on fixing bad technique in my freestyle stroke myself, I have a thread in the swimming forum if you'd like to take a look. I'll probably set my swimming goal to 3 times a week, working through my drill program before I begin working on distance. If you force yourself to swim long distances with bad technique you are risking injury to your shoulders.

Make sure that you set yourself up to succeed when setting goals.

[fengor]

I think this is probably way too ambitious. If you can't already swim 1k without stopping, you are unlikely to see that kind of improvement while swimming only once a week. Consider using something like http://ruthkazez.com/Zeroto1milePreamble/pre-zero.html building up to http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html

I am working on fixing bad technique in my freestyle stroke myself, I have a thread in the swimming forum if you'd like to take a look. I'll probably set my swimming goal to 3 times a week, working through my drill program before I begin working on distance. If you force yourself to swim long distances with bad technique you are risking injury to your shoulders.

Make sure that you set yourself up to succeed when setting goals.

 

That is why I didnt set swim 1km without pause as the goal. The goal is to swim 1km once a week with as many pauses as needed. Focussing on technique (getting further with each stroke, expending less energy with each stroke). I can do 1km with pauses and I'll expect to number of pauses to drop but probably not down to zero.

[Horsedog]

Hmm why is HIT not optimal, after what i read and experienced so far it seems pretty good.

 

Edit:

At least what the invested time/effort vs benefits is concerned. My current workout time is around 10min warm up (rowing) + 30min exercises per week

First, because you want to do multiple sets, not just one (for a given lift) - it's much more effective than single set workouts.  Second, with HIIT, you're not allowing yourself to rest enough between sets to be able to lift heavier weights.  Heavier weight (with good form) = more stress on the muscles = greater muscular adaptation (provided recovery is adequate) = greater strength.

 

HIIT is awesome for getting the heart rate up, and I can see it's usefulness for muscular endurance training, but it's just not great at eliciting a strength adapation response.

 

Edit - not saying you shouldn't do HIIT (especially if you enjoy it ).  And you will certainly see improvements in strength if you are a beginner.  But that's not because HIIT is great for strength training, it's because you're a beginner.  As such, ANY (consistent) stress is going to elicit a strength adaptation.  That doesn't mean that HIIT is the BEST type of stress.  Simply, it's a subpar strategy for gaining strength (all other things being equal).

[Guest Dirty Deads]

At the beginner level HIIT will probably add some strength and a little muscle mass through sarcoplasmic expansion. You would eventually need heavy weight for myofibrillar growth though and it's foundational muscle whereas sarcoplasmic expansion is really just cosmetic muscle.

[fengor]

But isnt myofibrillar growth stimulated most with 80-100% RM Training? And yeah i reckon sicne i am a beginenr i can do almost anything and get a positive response

 

I'll probably stay with hit for awhile sicne i am used to it.

 

BTW: Literature recommendations are always valued. I'm a book rat

[Wolfhorde]

Uhm, you can also do HIIT with heavy lifting no problem. It's not what you do, it's the time frame and I don't see why HIIT adapted to the strength of the person is going to decrease in effectiveness at least in context that you generally have a 'fuller' w/o plan. Why only do X or Z when you can do both?

Either way, it's all about progression - be it with heavier weights or new exercises/modified ones ect.

[Horsedog]

But isnt myofibrillar growth stimulated most with 80-100% RM Training? And yeah i reckon sicne i am a beginenr i can do almost anything and get a positive response

 

I'll probably stay with hit for awhile sicne i am used to it.

 

BTW: Literature recommendations are always valued. I'm a book rat

Here's some research stuff on the single-set vs. multiple-set  comparison - http://trainingscience.net/?page_id=94

 

 

Uhm, you can also do HIIT with heavy lifting no problem. It's not what you do, it's the time frame and I don't see why HIIT adapted to the strength of the person is going to decrease in effectiveness - if you keep it the same yeah obviously but that's generally the case. Gotta get creative with what you're doing. Obviously HIIT on it's own might not be the best idea depending on your goals but I'd reckon it can be a nice w/o "supplement".

Sure, but the time frame is going to impact how heavy you can lift.  if you decrease rest times (via supersetting or whatever), you'll have less gas in the tank to facilitate heavier lifts.  I definitely use supersetting, but after I've already done my primary strength work.  Like you said, it's a good supplement...but not it's optimal for strength building. 

[fengor]

thanks for the link

[Wolfhorde]

Sure, but the time frame is going to impact how heavy you can lift.  if you decrease rest times (via supersetting or whatever), you'll have less gas in the tank to facilitate heavier lifts.  I definitely use supersetting, but after I've already done my primary strength work.  Like you said, it's a good supplement...but not it's optimal for strength building. 

 

Yeah, true - didn't think about that for a minute. I just think a holistic approach makes more sense than excluding something. (since some people - fortunately not too many here - seem to have this 'non plus ultra' approach to diet/exercise) Like obviously lifting heavy (or heavier) is the easiest way to ramp up stress but if you don't have the access/finances or just don't like some types of lifting you can also just modify certain exercises since the heightened stress is the important factor in the equation. Equally with training methods (obviously also dependant on goals as to how they're split) but if someone also wants to go for cardio, as far as he doesn't just do cardio and expect goals that don't fit that spectrum I think that's fine.

 

It's all about balance and progression depending on your goals I'd say.

[Nivek]

I've been liking the variety offered by this programming: http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/06_03_CF_Template.pdf

Very HIT focused.  Unlimited modification options.  Easy to track progress.  Days for lifting only.  Days for light cardio only.  Days for body weight exercises only (push ups / pull ups).  But the fun begins when you start pairing things up and tracking the time it takes.  Example:  Row 500m, do 20 push ups, <-- do five rounds of this timing yourself.  Another workout could be 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 air squats.  Do as many rounds of this as you can in 20 minutes (AMRAP).