Critique, Help, Feedback, anything would be appreciated. Staring March 1 (long read)

[paroot]

Whats up readers, thanks in advance if you are bothering to read this to perhaps give some advice or critique some, make some changes and whatnot to help me out. Skip to the BOLD lettering if you wanna skip the background and requirements I need to reach in as shortest time as possible.

First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Brian, 24 male, weighing 215 with probably close to 20-25+% body fat. I have access to 2 fully equipped gyms (at least they seem that way to me), one with pool and spa, the other to soon be equipped with a sauna. Also a home bench (with lat and leg extension), free weights, straight bar, curl bar, push up bars, 50lb punching bag, exercise bike, aerobic rower, 25ft long pool, and a sparing partner if needed. There is a soccer field nearby and I used to play, and have me a good set of cleats and a few balls to mess around with as needed. Not sure on the quality of the field though, if it is bad and there are rivets and dips and wholes, I rather not risk spraining my ankle. Also the p90x workout dvd's and a dog that has a ton of energy.

So my background with working out and fitness has been on and off for a while. A few years back I was 280, dropped to 210 and plateaued, kinda got into some other things and away from working out, went up to 230, and now back down to the 215. I have the NCSF CPT book and study guide as I was previously reading that and working on it in spare time. Also was a sports medicine major before I "dropped out" of college due to financial issues, so I have some knowledge of anatomy and physiology.

I applied for a job that has somewhat high physical demands back in Aug 08, and started out on a routine soon after, in Oct/Nov I was basically denied the opportunity due to my eye sight (depth perception) guess the test came out to be not "normal", but then in early Feb, I was informed that I've been selected, so between them 2 dates, I was out of town, away from the gym and the town I was in, Lawton, was so small and I didn't bother to sign up for the gym there, really wasn't sure how long I was going to be there. Ended up staying from Oct 21 to Jan 18, and now well, I have many months to make up for and not a whole lot of time to do it. Guess I should have at least stuck with what I could have done with just body weight and cardio. To late now..

Anyway, by the end of training, I am required to get a passing score on a few things, part of the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB). The following link is the details.

http://www.fletc.gov/training/progra...tery-peb.html/

I'm not exactly sure what the Min Req is, I wanna say I read it was 40% in all categories or above, but of course the higher the better, right?


SIMPLY PUT - the high points
- 1.5 mile run time needs to be reduced a lot
- Lower my bodyfat %
- Increased flexibility in my legs ( sit and reach test ) touching the toes and going further basically.
- Increasing my max press by a % of my bodyweight
- The agility test, not sure exactly what it is, but a good time is probably how it is scored

So, those are the general goals, then there are a few other things, like jump a ditch 6 ft wide, walk for 2 hours without stopping, run for 3 minutes (at an unknown speed), run across a 30 ft long beam, stand for 4 hours, stand, stoop and bend for 2 hours, Maintain squatting and/or kneeling position for 2-3 minutes repeatedly (10-15 times) throughout each two (2) hour
session and other random things.

Personally I think If I can get to the point where I weigh 185 pounds, I will be able to accomplish all of the above as required.

-1.5 mile Run
20 min warm up jog, 4.1 mph, in which I plan on increasing the speed to the point of keeping to what is bearable, probably 80% of my max heart rate. Which would be, the generic 220-24 = 196 x .8 = 156 through 176 which is 90%.

My resting heart rate around 70, but my blood pressure is normal, not sure if this is a good or bad thing in respect to what I need to accomplish. I haven't had the cholesterol checked in a while, but I'm planning on going to donate blood soon, so they will check it for me for free since I don't have any health insurance at this time. I figure I have to get up to a 5.5 mph pace to get the 1.5 mile down in 16 min, but of course a faster pace would give me the better score. Overall as my body fat and weight go down, this will become easier. But then again on a treadmill, the stride is limited, so I really just have to get to a track and time it.

Usually when running, the lateral sides of my lower leg, like right between the Fibularis Longus and Tibialis Anterior muscle is ( i think them are the 2 anyway, my anatomy is a bit rusty ), man that burns so bad. Usually within 4 minutes of starting up at a 5 mph run, I have to stop due to the burn. So reducing the burn would be nice, or some other way around that. Someone I was talking to called it shin splits, but I dunno, is that what it is?

-Body fat
Reducing the body fat is going to come with the weight loss, I know this. And the more muscle you have the more calories you are going to passively burn. The body fat is taken via the 3 site measurement, the abdominal, chest and thigh, skin fold. But then I'm looking at what i have to do for the 1.5 mile, and that has my heart rate up in the cardio zone, so I'm burning more calories, but looking at all the stuff, if my heart rate was in the fat burning zone, more of the calories would be coming from fat. So I'm up in the air here. Should I do both? Should I stick with the cardio? Should I go ahead and reach my goal with the cardio and the timed 1.5 mile then focus on doing a slower pace fat burn session, so many decisions.

Now that I was just rambling on there, I think reaching the min goal with the 1.5 mile, then swapping the cardio to fat burn, that might be the best, any suggestions?

-Flexibility
Not much to really say about this, but stretching the legs, lower back and reducing my gut will solve this. Post workout, I do my stretching for anywhere between 10-20 minutes. Was actually watching the p90x stretch x video, and did that, seemed to be informative and there were some nice stretches in there that I was unaware of. I really liked the buttox stretch. Even though I only have to focus on the sit and reach thing, I'm going to stick with working with the whole body and stretching it, nothing wrong with being flexible, is there? Not to mention part of the 3 month training program I am going to be attending, there is some grappling and whatnot, so with that, flexibility is nice to have. I don't have the sit and reach test box, but while standing, getting the palms to the ground is the short term goal, which I'm about 2 inches away from doing, and then sitting, doing the same and more is the ultimate goal. A friend of mine picked up going to the yoga classes, which is an option for me. Hows that sound to everyone? Or I can do the home p90x stretch and yoga on my gym rest day.


-Bench Press
I'm thinking this is going to be the hardest one to accomplish out of the lot, besides maybe the body fat. Both equally difficult, not sure. But muscle mass and strength doesn't just come over night. What I've been doing toward this goal is my normal heavy load, low rep press and fly. Usually rocking a drop set or pyramid set of this until failure with a low weight, fast tempo warm up until failure. After all is said and done, I'll do some negative sets with a higher weight. So far it seems to be doing some good, but I haven't had the soreness that I used to get with it, so I think I need to step it up a bit more, but then again I don't want to over train the muscle. Any suggestions at getting better results would be appreciated.

-Agility
Again, with the weight loss, and increased flexibility and increased cardio output I have gotten from the other areas and the leg strength gained from the normal workouts, I think this will fall into play. The only other thing I can think of is running suicides, doing the S thing in the parking lot between the lines for the cars. Actually doing the standard agility test with the start position and the 4 points, in and out, but that's just like the suicides with a slight turn in direction. Quick leg power would be nice, so something like plyometrics would probably help here.


Well that is what I am thinking for the categories. So I just have to incorporate each into my workout routine.


The following is what I am trying this week, see how it works out for me. Though "failure" is listed only for a few exercises, it probably applies to each exercise, and if failure is reaches, 30-60 seconds of rest is added on between each set, or weight is adjusted appropriately. If starting weight seems to easy, it is adjusted appropriately to reach failure toward the last set or 2. At the gym, I most likely wont have a spotter, so, that sucks. On the free weight exercises, my opposite arm will be the spot!!!


day1: Arms, upper Back, Chest, shoulder
Morning jog: 20-60 min (maybe)
pre-workout: 20 min treadmill warm up @ 4.1 mph (currently, eventually going to speed it up)

Flat press -- warm up, 4x8, 1x5 negative set +30-40 lbs (or failure)
Incline press -- 4x8, 1x5 negative set +30-40 lbs (or failure)
Chest fly -- 5x6 (or failure)
cable crossover fly -- 5x6 (or failure)

Lat Pull down -- warm up, 5x6
Seated row -- 5x6
one-arm dumbbell row -- 5x6

triceps rope push down -- 5x6
concentration curl -- 3x6
wrist curl -- 3x6
reverse wrist curl -- 3x6

Military press -- 3x6
machine shrug -- 3x6


10-15 min stretch



day2: Legs, abs, lower back, butt
Morning jog: 20-60 min (maybe)
pre workout: 20 min elliptical warm up @ ~50 rpm

sumo dead lift --
dead lift --
back extensions -- 5x8-10 (body weight)

dumbbell squat -- 4x6
angled leg press -- warm up, 5x8
leg extension -- 3x8
lying leg curl -- 3x8
machine adduction -- 3x8
machine abduction -- 3x8
calf raises (on leg press machine) -- 3x8

Lunges -- 20 (body weight) balance is still bad on these
cable kick backs -- 2x8 per leg

ABS -
in & outs - 10-15
bicycles - 10-15
wide leg situps - 10-15
hip rock/raise - 10-15
pulse up - 10-15
v-up / roll up combo - 10-15
oblique roll up - 15 per side
leg climb - 10-15 per leg
mason twist - as long as possible

10-15 min stretch


day 3: stretch/yoga & plyometrics or stretch/yoga & rest

day 4: repeat 1 (Arms, upper Back, Chest, shoulder)
day 5: repeat 2 (Legs, abs, lower back, butt)
day 6: repeat 3 (stretch/yoga & plyometrics or stretch/yoga & rest )
day 7: repeat 1 (Arms, upper Back, Chest, shoulder)
day _: etc...



So that's what I'm thinking. But then I need to get some more cardio in, or some fat burn something in. So maybe fit in 20-60 min each morning. I just don't want to go overboard and over train, cause that would be bad. Back in Oct, I was doing a 3 day split, no rest day and repeat, but only had a 10 min warm up in there each day, around the 140 bmp heart rate.Then like I said, I have the p90x stuff, haven't tried it, don't have a pull up bar or band, but stacking that on top of this, say do that in the morning, and this in the evening. I'd probably say that would be a bit on the over training side. Figure I would do this for 2-3 weeks, then switch some things up, to get a nice change.

[paroot]

My diet:

Right now its heavy protein, low carb, lower fat. Had my sheet somewhere, but misplaced it, It ended up being toward the 70% protein, 20% carb, 10% fat, around 2700 cal a day. Been doing this for the past 2 weeks, but haven't been doing the cardio, that I have planned. What I've been doing has been low intensity, around 120 bpm. I'm assuming I am going to need more carbs when I step up the cardio. 1-2 gal of water per day, diet soda when taking pills.

Supplements: Whey protein (48g w/ water), creatine powder, multi vit, psyllium husk, flax seed oil, ginko biloba


To many things out there to try, guess given some time, I'll figure out which works for me.

A friend of mine had some success with the Keto diet. I was going to look into that a bit, but I dunno, the whole eat fat to burn fat thing, from what I've learned in the few nutrition classes I've taken, having a more balanced diet is just healthier. My brother is working on a 40/40/20, and another friend of mine is working with a (1.5g pro * body weight)+ (.5g fat * body weight)+ 40g carb. Which ends up being pretty far below his "suggested" calorie intake for the day, but keeps him full.


Thanks again for taking the time to read this, what I only can assume will be a lengthy post in comparison to others.

Apparently I was over the 12k character limit

[spider28]

whats the question

[paroot]

I guess the initial questions, besides the overall critique / suggestions about will this help me get to where I want to be, would be as follows.

#1. Does the 2 day split with a rest/cardio day in between work well to see results or should I split it up a bit more, and exclude the rest day, but still have the 2 days rest between the muscle groups excluding cardio and what it does for the core and legs?
#2. With flexibility, the limiting factor is usually ____, and what is the best way to increase leg/butt/back flexibility for something such as the sit and reach test? Partner assisted stretching be ideal for this, somewhere I read that it's not the best, but others seem to think to get results it seems to work out better faster.
#3. In respect to the burning in the legs when running, is there anything I can do to extend the time before the hurt / burning sensation sets in? Is there a way to train or exercise to do this, etc. Is this "shin splits" or is it just the lactic acid buildup?
#4. Would some sort of NO2 supplement, vasodilator, help at all with the cardio program and getting oxygen to the legs to help out the whole feeling of the pain in the lower leg?
#5. Carbs to Cardio. Do I need to increase the amount of carbs I am consuming to fuel the extra cardio I plan on participating in?


Other than that, if there are any suggestions to maybe get some better results faster, I'm up for them. It took me quite some time to get out of shape, so getting back in isn't going to be an overnight thing, but something more rapid would be nice.