BW Strength Workout

Pull / Push / Lower Body Format + Accessory Work
( X reps depending on Training Goal- Endurance 20-25 reps , Hypertrophy 8-12 reps , Strength 4-6 reps , Max Strength 1-3 reps)

Exercise Selection would have to match desired Intensity which i.e. force you to be in the 4-6 rep range for Strength goals ex.. or easier variation to be in the endurance or hypertrophy ranges )



Pull Variations (Pull / Chin ups etc..)  2-4sets x X
Body Rows   2-4  sets x X


Push Variations (One Arm Push ups , Divebombers etc..)  2-4 sets x X
Pike Press or Handstand Push up    2-4 sets x X


Lower Body ( Squats / Lunges)  Variation   2-4 sets x X
Glute-Ham Raise / Hamstring Curl     2-4 sets x X

Accessory  Work
Calf Raises  2-4 sets x X
Abs ( Knees to Elbows , Toes to Bar etc , Atomic Crunch, Hello Dollies ( Hip Abduction)  2-4 sets x X

Different Reps for Different Goals

I'm big fan of body weight training due to many benefits and relatively no worry about spinal loading which happens when doing heavy squats and dead lifts which tend to compress the spinal disk. Below I have listed some ways using different rep ranges to tailor your exercises to your goals. Obviously these rep ranges can apply to Body weight or Resistance exercises.

You can tailor your workouts depending on how many reps you can get on the 1st set of an exercise i.e. if your only getting 5-6 reps on let's say pullups  than shoot for 25 reps ( strength endurance)  , if it's 10-12 reps shoot for 50 reps ( endurance - hypertrophy)

Hypertrophy - 35 reps per exercise
Endurance - 50 reps per exercise
Strength -  15 reps per exercise
Lean - 25 reps per exercise

Light: a weight you could lift 20 to 22 times
Medium: a weight you could lift 10 to 12 times
Heavy: a weight you could lift 4 to 6 times
Superheavy: a weight you could lift 2 or 3 times


Below I have variables posted from another source with parameters on Intensity and Set - Rep ranges based on  training goals  ( Note some of the reps may not fall exactly in line with what is posted above i.e. really high reps 50-100 are not listed but the general concept is still the same)

(X = exercise)

Power : 3-6 sets between 1-10 reps at 30-45% 1RM or 10% BW  
(i.e total reps 6- 30 depending on X)
Strength: 3-6 sets between  1-5 reps at 85-100% 1RM                
 (i.e. total reps 6- 15 )    
Hypertrophy: 3-4 sets between 8-12 reps at 70-85% 1RM          
  (i.e. total reps 32 -36)                      
Endurance: 1-3 sets between 12-25 reps at 50-75% 1RM          
    (i.e. total reps 25 - 36 )  

Push + Pull + Lower Body Strength + Mass BW Routine

There are 7 exercises in this routine and you are to do each exercise for two sets with 1-2 minutes in between. Each routine is to be done 3 times a week. There should be no less than 48 hours in between the training session. This means that if you have worked out on Monday, the next time should be on Wednesday. In terms of the number of repetitions you should do ½ of your maximum on the first set and a full set to failure on the second set.

Here’s the catch you are to choose one pushing exercise, one pulling exercise and one leg exercise to be done to failure. There are two of each exercise in leg, pushing and pulling category, so one will be stopped before muscle failure. Abs are thrown in at the end.
 Template of a possible routine  ( 1-2 Legs , 3-4 Pulling , 5-6 Pushing , 7 Core )

1. Squat Jump
2. Step Up
3. Pull Up or Chin Up
4. Reverse Push Up ( Body -weight  Row  ) feet elevated to same height as hands at rest
5. Dips
6. Push Ups Elevated or Pike Press
7. Hanging Straight Leg Lift or  or Knees to Elbows 

Brief Exercise List

Legs

• Body weight Squats
• Lunges
• Calf Raises
• Explosive Step Ups 
• Knee Tucks 
• Glute- Ham Raise 
• One-Legged Squat 

Pulling

• Towel Pull Ups 
• Rope Climbing 
• Body Weight Row 
• Side-to-Side Pull Up 
• Rope Pull ups 

Pushing

• Diamond Pushup 
• Ball Pushup 
• Fingertip Pushup 
• Knuckle Pushup 
• Dive-bomber pushup 
• Ring Push Ups

Core

• Lying Hip Swing
• Rotational Chop 
• Ab Wheel Rollout 
• Flag 
• Neck Bridge 
• Superman 
• V-up

Protein Myth

How much protein do we really need , many supplement companies will try to convince you that you need 1gram of protein per lb of body weight or more which is close to 2.0-2.5g / kg of BW.  The average diet already exceeds upper limit of known protein requirements.  The adult RDA for protein is about .8g/kg of BW however for athletes who participate in high intensity endurance activities  the RDA can be raised to 1.2-1.4g/ kg of BW this is still lower than what supplement companies suggest that you consume.

To convert you BW in lbs divide by 2.2 to get your BW in Kilograms.  In our example a 200lb i.e 91kg male consuming 200g of protein falls in the 1 gram/ lb of BW or 2-2.5 g/kg of BW. His RDA is 72 g of protein assuming the .8 g/ kg , if he is an athlete 135g of protein , how much protein he gets from average American diet about 150-200g.

Bottom Line the average protein intake exceeds  1.5g/kg of BW per day , more than enough to cover the higher protein requirements.  The excess protein consumption just becomes wasteful , and can be stored as fat if glycogen stores are already topped off.

Exercise and Seizures

"There is one rare type of epileptic seizure that has been shown to be induced by exercise per se. These are tonic (continuous motor activity) seizures, which have been reported to occur during a variety of sports activities. Fortunately, this type of seizure can be controlled in most instances by anticonvulsant drugs.........

 "As for other types of seizure disorders, physicians remain divided in their opinions as to whether exercise increases the risk of seizure occurrence. A report by Gotze et al.  suggests that exercise does not increase the risk of seizures in epileptic children or adolescents. In fact, Gotze  argues that exercise appears to reduce the incidence of seizures in epileptics by increasing the threshold for seizures. In support of these claims, reviews on epilepsy and sports have concluded that there is a reduction in the number of seizures during exercise" Page(s): 482, Exercise Physiology , McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Factors Related to exercise , hypothesized to increase risk of seizures

• physical fatigue
• hyperventilation 
• hypoxia
• hyperthermia
• hypoglycemia
• electrolyte imbalance 

There is a division in the medical community , in this topic and therefor a case-by-case decisions should be made.

The Importance of Sleep

 Since for me school is literally right around the corner and combating sleep fatigue is something that is always an issue I'm going to talk about it. 


According to the NIH- Getting enough sleep is essential to our health and well being. A lot of things can affect how much and how well we sleep, such as drugs, alcohol and medication. Mental or physical illness can have an impact on quality of sleep, and so can stress or doing shift work. Some people have sleep disorders like sleep apnoea (or apnea), where their breathing is interrupted during sleep, or restless legs syndrome (akathisia). Some people have to get up several times in the night to go to the toilet. The average adult sleeps less than 7 hours per night.  Most healthy adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best.  






Below I have a link to a website which will help calculate ideal sleep times based on what time you plan on waking up.

http://sleepyti.me/

How to treat "Runner's Knee"

I read online that 42% of all overuse injuries affect the knee joint and one those injuries is patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), or simply "runner's knee," which is the most common overuse injury among runners. It occurs when a mistracking kneecap (patella) irritates the femoral groove in which it rests on the thighbone (femur). 


At the first sign of pain, cut back your mileage. The sooner you lessen the knee's workload, the faster healing begins,  As you rebuild mileage, use a smaller stride on hills


Below are some quick tips to improve your knees by concentrating on the muscles affecting your knee. Quads, Hamstrings, Calves. 

•  Foam Roll the outside of your thighs 
•  Direct soft tissue work (massage) of the outside muscles of your thigh 
•  Improving general quad strength (via quad sets i.e tensing your quad muscles and doing isometric hold for about 5- 10 sec, leg extensions and TKE = Terminal Knee Extensions ) Youtube/Google any of these to get a better description.  For Sets and Reps about 3 x 12 
•  Improving the control of your butt muscles ( via Hip Bridge aka Supine Bridge ) doing both two leg version and single leg version for about 2 x 25 
• Stretching the quads and calves ( via Standing Quad Stretch , and Standing Calve Stretch) doing 2 sets of 30sec holds for each leg 

Another useful stretch is the Standing Hamstring Stretch , do this for 2 sets of 30 secs for each leg

Another Exercise to strengthen your thighs and butt is the Lying Straight Leg Lift , perform 3 sets of 10 reps each leg , if you want more of a challenge work up to 10 sets of 10 reps each leg.  

The above tips should help strengthen those muscles and loosen those that are pulling your kneecap into a compromised position. One more tip for those who want to try something radical try running barefoot some people have noticed the pain completely disappearing when running barefoot / using minimalist style shoes i.e Vibram's 5 finger shoes.  Good Luck :) and Cool Running's