We're well into week one of the new year and that means that your your sights should be locked on your goal(s)... besides winning, do you have any specific goals? No matter how much someone can harp on you to eat right, train hard etc. it is really all misguided and pretty well useless without having clear direction of where you want to go. What I have found is that people typically have a hard time admitting to what their goals are or are unable to figure out what a good goal should be.
"Winning the contest" doesn't cut it. You need real, tangible goals so that you can use your results to see how close you are to achieving them, or how much you have exceeded them.
Looking at losing some body fat? I suspect this is on the list, but as a general rule of thumb the way I look at it is if you are a dud and your BF% is over 10% then you should be making this a priority and keeping it there until you are below that 10%. Sound crazy? Maybe, but it is realistic- for everyone. The timelines will vary from person to person and so will the training and nutrition protocols to get there. Good thing is- the earlier in the game it is the more generic the Rx is.
Generic Firefighter Rx for losing fat and gaining strength:
Food:
Protein- 1g of protien per lb of body weight.... do it. (1oz of lean meat = ~7g of Protein)
Carbs- Hit veggies as main source of carbs, for all meals and snacks (try to max out at like 100g of carb a day). You want results? Then do it first and ask questions later.
Fat- It's required, so eat it. No need to get crazy though- a bit at each feeding will do, preferrably from avacado/coconut/low omega 6 varieties.
Training:
Get strong. As your muscle mass goes up so does:
- metabolism
- testosterone
- insulin sensitivity
- ability to prevent injury
- stamina
- .....the size of your muscles.... this definitely equates to better before/after pics
*Basically BF goes down and muscle goes up= more healthy
The problems that come with the "cardio + starve" diet (as I see them):
- decreased muscle mass (note what an increase in muscle mass did for you)
- increased estrogen in your system.... no, that isn't very good
- increased rates of injury
- increased tendency for body to hoard body fat as fuel
*BF goes up or stays same and muscle goes down = less healthy, and less effective at kickin' a@# on the fire ground.
SO how do you get strong?
Learn to Squat and Deadlift- these are the money movements to get where you want to go.
Each workout you do,, I would start off by doing some squats- sets of 5 are a great place to start- build until they get tough then do 2 more sets at that wt.
Then, do a couple big upper body movement: Bench Press & One Arm DB Rows, or Pullups & Shoulder press- again sets of 5
Then, do some deadlifts (build to 3 mod. heavy reps that are perfect) or this is where you could add some sprint type intervals.
*Intervals- These should be high intensity and for short bouts. If you are going for more than 1.5-2 mins then pick up your nickers and go faster. Intensity is the key here. Keep em' breif and hard and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank!
Learn to Squat and Deadlift- these are the money movements to get where you want to go.
Each workout you do,, I would start off by doing some squats- sets of 5 are a great place to start- build until they get tough then do 2 more sets at that wt.
Then, do a couple big upper body movement: Bench Press & One Arm DB Rows, or Pullups & Shoulder press- again sets of 5
Then, do some deadlifts (build to 3 mod. heavy reps that are perfect) or this is where you could add some sprint type intervals.
*Intervals- These should be high intensity and for short bouts. If you are going for more than 1.5-2 mins then pick up your nickers and go faster. Intensity is the key here. Keep em' breif and hard and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank!
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