Getting ready for the Army

[NorwegianGuy92]

Hi and welcome to my new log

I recently competed at my last powerlifting meet for a while,( 205 - 122.5 - 200, videos are in my old log) as I now have to change my training so I can get ready for the Army. In Norway there is a mandatory year, so everyone has (in theory) to enlist in some branch of the military. I chose the special forces in the Army, and obviously that will be very, very hard. About 15-20 out of 300+ make it each year, but I'm very determined, and I've wanted this since I was in my early teens.

I've already passed the general health test, vision and hearing test. I don't have a criminal record, so everything is looking promising so far, I should get accepted for the selection process sometime in April/May.

The routine is 15 weeks long, which fits very well with the time I have.
It's composed of running, pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups and dips. Progression on everything is laid out, so I just have to give it all I have. The first few weeks are very easy, but the last weeks look insane. We'll see..
I'll try to add two session with weights, at least for the first weeks. I'll talk to John about that.

So, first workout was today, it went pretty well.

Running: approximately 3 km

Not sure of the time, my GPS was acting strange. I'll get more accurate readings on Wednesday. Felt good for not running for about 3 years.. =)

Stretching

Hamstrings, quads, hip-flexors and glutes.

[NorwegianGuy92]

I'm pretty sore today, I guess not running for 3 years might have something to do with that

[GratefulEd]

Hey: Jesus Rocks posted a training regimen for this kind of thing. Here's a link for you to check out...

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/sh...d=1#post377780

[NorwegianGuy92]

Thanks Ed, I remember seeing that before, looks pretty intense
However, I'm just going to stick with the plan I have, I don't want to deviate too far from it.

Circuit training

No rest between sets
1 set of push-ups, then 1 set of sit-ups, followed by a set of pull-ups, then repeat. You get the idea.

4 x 15 push-ups
4 x 20 sit-ups ( struggled a lot on the last set, my abs must be weak as hell..)
3 x 3 pull-ups

Was harder than I thought, no rest time really makes it harder than it looks on paper =)
But everything went according to the plan, so so far, so good.

[0311]

Looks like you're doing all the right things here. What's good about the endurance stuff is that unlike bodybuilding, ect you can work through the soreness and eventually your body will "catch up".

[NorwegianGuy92]

Originally Posted by 0311

Looks like you're doing all the right things here. What's good about the endurance stuff is that unlike bodybuilding, ect you can work through the soreness and eventually your body will "catch up".

Thanks, that means a lot coming from someone with the experience you have.
The routine is pretty good I guess, but the progression seems to be very steep, so I hope I'll "catch up" as I go on

I'll talk to John about this as well, but what is your opinion on adding regular weightlifting sessions? I thought maybe I could move the circuit training to the same days as I run, and then lift on off days, or do some lifting after the circuit training. Not much volume obviously, just some pulling and pushing movements, and a few accessory exercises.

[0311]

Right now I'm going to use a 2 day p/ week full body template I created. One full body is lower emphasis and the other is upper emphasis in regards to accessory work. The rest of the time I'll be doing the lap swimming, running, hill sprints, Prowler, ect.

I don't see any need to do more than 2 days per week. I preferred full body, but doing an upper lower is advisable as well.. Especially if you haven't done much conditioning before. I'm at the point to where it doesn't bother my lifts.

[NorwegianGuy92]

Cool, thanks. I guess I could implement some upper body exercises for one of the sessions and some lower body exercises for another session. I'll see what John has to say =)

[T.K]

Good luck, It will be interesting following this.

[NorwegianGuy92]

Thanks, glad to have you here T.K