We are often asked questions about physical fitness routines.  While we are not experts, below are some thoughts, opinions, and examples from Dan.  There are plenty of guys who are faster and stronger, so please collect input from a variety of sources and do what makes sense for you.  We also recommend that you check out our friends at Atomic Athlete for guidance.  It is always a good idea to start modestly and work diligently to build up over time.  Below are some ideas.

 

Cardio:

I’ll start by saying that I have never been a runner.  I’ve always been naturally thin, and mostly stayed in shape by focusing on weight training.  I used elliptical machines regularly to help keep my body fat low (around 7% when I was in my mid/late 20s), but did not run consistently and never for more than a couple of miles.  I started running more regularly when I got into RNG, which was at about age 40.  Given the nature of RNG courses, where most running intervals are less than 2 miles, I focused almost exclusively on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and basically zero on what actual runners would do most of the time.  Following a surgry on my Achilles at about age 45, I have spent the past few years varying my cardio training more and not pushing to such extremes as the routines described below.  Anyway, here is what I was doing when I was regularly among the top runners at most competitions, especially those where the total distance was closer to 5 miles than 7+.  I did this consistently for about 3 years.  I’m not saying I necessarily recommend this to anyone for any length of time; but I knew that if I could do these without dying, then I would do well in competitions. 

 

Monday Runday:  What a way to start the week…  This routine is done with a ZFO Sports 20 lb. weight vest.  I actually removed a couple of the little weight bags near my lower ribs so that it would fit better, so it weighed about 17 lbs.  I mostly weighed around 157 at that time, so this represents approx 11% of my body weight and also roughly what my RNG kit would weigh after a few shooting stages.  I did this indoors on a treadmill.  Each running segment would take my HR to over 180 and I would be about dead when it was time to recover with a walking segment.  It was a great proxy for the course at WTF.

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Thursday Run:  This routine was done without the weight vest, and indoors on a treadmill.  It was pretty exhausting for what was my “easy day” and burned a ton of calories.  The 20 min jog at a slight incline really helped me get my head around making it through the long road section at Pawnee.  It is important to note that I never used my hands to hang on or touch the treadmill.  I see too many people at the gym hanging on and leaning back when using incline, which completely defeats the purpose.  The walking part of this routine is pretty intuitive, since incline changes by 2.5% every 2.5 minutes.  The 5 minutes spent at 15% is pretty intense.  I would sometimes throw in a 90 second sprint at 5.5 mph at 7.5% or so on the way down.

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Weight Training:

I have always gotten the best results from a relatively low volume and medium/high intensity format, with an ample amount of rest between sessions.  Tons of volume or lots of days often proved to be counterproductive for me.  I prefer a basic bodybuilding program for a “hard-gainer” that focuses on multi-joint movements.  When I was doing the above cardio stuff all the time, I backed off on the weights / intensity of the weight training a little, since I was really focusing my energy on the running.  Consequently, my bodyweight stayed constant at 155-157 lbs.  Lately, I have been pushing the weights/intensity a bit more and going to true failure on every set where it can be done safely.  This is primarily on push-ups, pull-ups, and (almost) on dips.  I had a few lower back injuries in my 20s which occassionally flare up, so I do not go crazy trying to lift 1000 lbs on stuff like squats and deads.  This program has produced good overall growth of muscle and strength in the past few years as I have increased the intensity, and I am now about 170 lbs. at almost 50 years old.  I can still run pretty well in compeition, but I’m not quite as fast as I was 5 years ago. Getting older probably doesn’t help, so I would recommend avoiding that as much as possible.

 

Tuesday:

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Start with core, push-ups, and air squats to get the blood moving.  This takes me about 15 min or so.

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Weighted Dips:  I use a high-quality belt that allows me to attach plates.  I am strict about form and careful not to blow myself up doing this.  That being said, I can perform this movement with more weight and less chance of injury than most any other pushing/pressing exercise.  Just the way my body is built, I guess.  I go pretty close to failure on the heavy sets and try to add 2.5 lbs. per week when I am ramping up.

• Set 1 – 10 reps with just body weight

• Sets 2 & 3 – 10 reps per set with near maximum weight.  (My best is 80 lbs. for 2 sets, when I weighed 160 lbs.  So, half my body weight.)

• Set 4 – 10 reps with about 25 – 35 lbs.

• Set 5 – 10 reps with just body weight

 

Pull-downs:  I like to use the cable station where you sit on the little seat with the blocker that goes across the thighs to keep you in place.  I don’t use a wide grip like most of the guys at the gym.  I prefer the hammer-style grip handle where your palms face each other and are close together.  I do 3 sets of 10 reps with 115 lbs. or so.  This is not necessarily to failure, but is close enough after I’m fried from doing dips. 

 

Squats or Deads: I do one or the other of these, depending on what equipment is in use at the gym and how long I want to wait for stuff to become available. 

• Squats: 3 sets of 10 reps with 45 lbs. per side.  Nothing fancy and not trying to go heavy.  Just trying to get good reps with a very safe amount of weight. 

• Deads: I use the trap bar (aka: hex bar) for this.  I don’t know what the bar weighs, but I would guess somewhere around 60 lbs.  3 sets of 10 reps with 45 – 55 lbs. per side.  Again, nothing fancy and not trying to go heavy. 

 

Incline press:  I developed rotator cuff issues years ago by doing too many inclines with free weights.  So, while I generally prefer to avoid machines, I make an exception for the Hammer Strength Incline Press machine, which I really like.  2-3 sets of 10 reps with 45 – 55 lbs. 

 

Low Rows: I use the cable machine with the station designed for this movement.  Again, I prefer the hammer-style grip handle where your palms face each other and are close together.  3 sets of 10 reps with 115 lbs.

 

When I have the time, I also throw in some additional abs or maybe some chamber bar bicep curls, but the above hits most of the stuff I need to hit.

 

Friday:

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Start with core, push-ups, and air squats to get the blood moving.  This takes me about 15 min or so.  I do this routine at home.

 

Weighted Push-ups:  I used to use my youngest kid for this, but she kept growing and eventually got too heavy.  So, I traded her in for a backpack full of gravel.  She is well aware that she was traded (evenly) for a bag of rocks, so I’m sure her future husband will have years of therapy sessions to fund…  My pack weighs about 65 lbs.  I do these on carpet, as I prefer to be up on my knuckles.  Every set is to absolute failure.  It is safe, so you can really push beyond what you think you would with any other exercise and just lay down when you are spent.  I do 4 sets.  On a good day, the rep count looks like this: 10, 10, 8, 8.  I’m not shy about taking a couple of minutes to rest between sets of these.  Done with strict form and to failure, they are exhausting.

 

Pull-ups:  I really try to use proper form and not use kipping, momentum, or other tricks.  This is not cross-fit.  True military-style with full control both up and down.  I basically do sets of as many of these as I can until I get to 30 – 40 total.  A good set is 10 reps.  Most are closer to 6 reps.  Toward the end, I will change to the little grips that allow your palms to face each other, just to add a bit of variety.  All sets should be to true failure.  Even a partial rep is better than quitting with anything left in the tank. 

 

TRX / rope rows:  Basically, this is a row where you are on the floor under the bar and using some kind of TRX or other ropes to pull yourself up.  The key is to stay in a rigid plank position and position your body so that the weight/strain is appropriate.  I like to get my chest under the bar, but you can make this easier by moving your feet back and changing the angle.  3 sets of about 10 reps.

 

TRX / rope tricep extensions:  These are skull-crushers, but upside down.  You are facing the floor and executing the motion that you would normally do with a small barbell if you were laying on your back.  The position of your feet will dictate difficulty level.  You can make these pretty intense. 

 

TRX / rope bicep curls:  These are sort of like the rows, but you are standing up and leaning way back with your feet as close as you can manage to a spot below the bar.  The position of your feet will dictate difficulty level.  You can make these pretty intense.  Make sure to execute the full range of motion and really squeeze at the top.

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Given the intensity of the first few exercises in this routine, there is not a lot of fluff here.  I usually don’t add in anything else.