Military Prep Workout

[frorider6]

I was fucking around with the original thread and ended up deleting it. Here it is again:

I'm trying to design a workout that will prepare me for Army basic and OCS. It has to be heavy on pushups, situps and running but I don't want to drop off a lot of lifting or any body weight. I still want to continue to add muscle and drop bodyfat (staying in my current 215-220 lb range).

As a general guidline, I'm thinking about this:

Monday
Chest
Cardio 20-30 minutes

Tues
Arms
Abs

Wed
Legs
Pushups

Thur
Shoulders/Traps
Abs

Fri
Back
Pushups
Cardio 20-30 minutes


I arranged it this way because I want to have a day of rest between each cardio session and a day of rest before I do Legs. Same for Chest and pushups, a day of rest between each session and after I work chest.

I put a day inbetween Chest/Legs/Back becasue I feel those days are more taxing than Arms/Shoulders/Traps.

I also plan to alternate each week between high reps/low weight and low reps/high weight (pushups and abs will always be to failure).


Okay, what do you guys think? Have any suggestions?

 

[3Vandoo]

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Bicep/tricep
Wednesday: back
Thurday: Shoulders and legs
light cardio for these 4 days, around 25-30min light plus abs
and increased your calories intake by a good 20-25%.

from friday to sunday, high intensity military exercises, from running, push ups, sit up, pull ups etc... to complete failure.

322

 

[frorider6]

Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Bicep/tricep
Wednesday: back
Thurday: Shoulders and legs
light cardio for these 4 days, around 25-30min light plus abs
and increased your calories intake by a good 20-25%.

from friday to sunday, high intensity military exercises, from running, push ups, sit up, pull ups etc... to complete failure.

322

You're suggesting training 7 days a week with cardio on every day?

 

[3Vandoo]

Light cardio on workout days, this mean you relax cycle and watch WWF on tv at the same time, as for the friday to sunday you go hardcore, real running. Just to keep you into the training.

 

[Prometheus]

forget weight training completely - all the army cares about is endurance and the more bodyweight you have the harder it's going to be, you'll work it all off anyway. best way to prepare is to run constantly. JMHO

 

[Prometheus]

You're suggesting training 7 days a week with cardio on every day?

yep - that's what basic is.

 

[the People's Champ]

forget weight training completely - all the army cares about is endurance and the more bodyweight you have the harder it's going to be, you'll work it all off anyway. best way to prepare is to run constantly. JMHO

exactly. why don't you try to come up with a circuit course. we did this shit in Marine Corps boot camp and since I wasn't in shape, killed me. or you could try doing some obstacle courses, (where? I have no clue. are you enlisted right now?) the only training that will really hlep you out is military training. weightlifting imho, would probably slow you down in the long run.

 

[The Shadow]

Give me till tomorrow

 

[bignate73]

if you still want to lift focus on total body exercises that will build your wind/endurance and strength. squat and press, cleans, etc.

pullups
dips
pushups
situps

will all be mandatory, do them until you cant anymore.

best bet would be to build your workouts in a circuit type fashion. similar to "meltdown" training, which would be beneficial to you for building up your tolerance to pain (hehe) and also your endurance.

you wont know what you'll have to do thats why big basics are still going to be beneficial to you. but overall its not a matter of lifting but endurance.

supersets could be good too, especially in the muscles you will need it in. legs shoulders arms...ah hell everything practically.

interval type training could be good too. depending on your setting work through a circuit and then run on the treadmill for 5 min.

all in all basic/ocs is going to be endurance and strength and they will push you hard either way but some say its like football camp if they are prepared physically. (hell it wasnt for me....)

 

[frorider6]

You guys make really good points about the type of training I should be doing. I've just worked so hard as a hardgainer to gain muscle that I don't want to sacrifice it.

I'll try to come up with a workout today based on these suggestions and I'll post it for feedback.

 

[frorider6]

Trying to come up with a workout now and posting my thought process.


Exercises I want to use:

Clean and Push Press (Do I have to let the bar drop on the return? My gym has padded plates but not a padded floor or the environment that would allow dropping. Am I risking injury by controlling the descent?)
Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Shrugs
Good Mornings
Incline Bench (as well as flat but concentrating on incline)
Dumbbell Military press

For Plyometrics, I want to use standard pushups, situps and pullups (although I hate these).

For cardio, I want to rotate treadmill jogging, interval sprinting, and outdoor running.


Just trying to come up with a good rotation of exercises.

 

[frorider6]

Keeping in mind my goal is endurance AND strength, here's what I've come up with:


(all sets of pushups, pullups, situps and leg raises will be 4 sets of max)

Mon
Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Lunges - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Pushups
Leg Raises
Interval Sprinting

Tues
Incline Bench - 3 sets of 4-6 reps
Dumbbell Bench - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Situps
Eliptical Machine - 25 minutes

Wed
Deadlift - 3 sets of 4-6 reps
Shrugs - 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Pullups
Situps
Outdoor Run

Thur
Weighted Dips - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
EZ-Bar Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps (pausing at contraction)
Pushups
Leg Raises
Interval Sprinting

Fri
Clean and Push Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Good Mornings - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Close Grip Pullups
Pushups
Eliptical Machine

Sat
Pushups
Situps
Outdoor Run

 

[Prometheus]

your workout looks pretty complete - but I would still recommend more running. every day, twice or more a day if possible. try to shoot for the 3 mi. in 18 minutes test first, and it would be good to be able to go 10-15 miles at a moderate pace without getting too tired.

if you can do the rest of the workout at the same time, great - but if you have to sacrifice something for time or whatever, run first, pullup/situp second, and lift third.

and don't try to control the descent on a clean or press if you're using moderate/heavy weight - you might be able to do them in front of a squat rack, then walk them into the rack from the clean position.

again, all JMHO - good luck.

 

[benchmonster]

If you are going into basic training, run run run, and then run some more. Do tons of pushups, situps and pullups. This is what they are going to test you on, so that is what you need to be good at.

They will not care if your able to bench 400, squat 500, or have ripped abs or striated glutes. They are going to want to see how fast you can run 2 or 3 miles, how many pushups and situps you can do in 2 minutes. That sort of thing.

Going into this IMHO is like training for an event. This will be hard, so at least for the short run, put bodybuilding on the back burner and get prepared for this athletic event. After basic when things settle down and you are not having to run night and day, then you can get back into bodybuilding.

Just my 2 cents.

B.

 

[frorider6]

Thanks for the replies.

beachmonster - I just can't put bodybuilding on the back burner. I am confident that I could handle Basic and OCS at this point, but it wouldn't be fun. I just want to reach a level of conditioning that will make things easier. I'm not out to set new Army records for running and pushups, just to be good at them. I don't want to sacrifice all my muscle gains for that.

Prometheus - I may pick up a day of running on Sunday. I'd rather just throw on a weighted pack and go for a hike though. I need to get used to that too. I don't want to run every day as I haven't been consistent in my running and I'm coming off a foot injury (arch strain). I want to take it as slow as I can but still make fast progress.

 

[bignate73]

your muscle gains will suffer when you get there anyways.

life isnt set up for regular feedings, proper protein intake and adequate rest. not to mention do they concern themselves with whether you are going catabolic or not.

the demands of the situation dictate what needs to be done. best to put your muscle gaining goals on the back burner for the time being. once you finish there, life will be much better and more conducive to the lifestyle/goals you may want to have.

 

[Big Buck]

This is a program that will take a while to work up to. Don't just jump into it, or you'll wind up injuried. I also like to go boots and utes on at least 2 days. You'll need to eat ALL the damn carbs you can find..LOL...you'll need them.


Mon
0430-run 5 miles and then (push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, and dips) [PS, PU, C, D]
1130-swim (pool) concentrate on combat swim methods, ie sidestroke, breast stroke, etc. etc.
1700-LIGHT weights (chest and tris)

Tues
0430-run 4 miles and then run through Obstacle course 5 times.
1130-swim (pool) concentrate on combat swim methods, ie sidestroke, breast stroke, etc. etc.

Wed
0430-run 8 miles or more (slow pace), PS, PU, C, D
1130-swim (pool) concentrate on combat swim methods, ie sidestroke, breast stroke, etc. etc.
1700-LIGHT weights (back and bi's)

Thurs
0430-run 4 miles and then run through Obstacle course 5 times
1130-swim (pool) concentrate on combat swim methods, ie sidestroke, breast stroke, etc. etc.

Fri
0430-run 5 miles, PS, PU, C, D
1130-swim (pool) concentrate on combat swim methods, ie sidestroke, breast stroke, etc. etc.

Sat
0600-run 6 miles in the sand on beach, and then swim in ocean parallel to the shore for 2 miles. (make sure to have a swim buddy)

Sun
REST AND EAT.


Remember to change up your mileage. You can also substitue sprints and/or timed runs for your 2 mile every other week, and ruck sack runs. You'll notice that there are no workouts for legs/shoulder. You will be hitting these bad boys enough to not need it.

DON'T SETTLE FOR JUST GETTING THROUGH, GET THERE AND DOMINATE!!!

 

[theoak01]

Keeping in mind my goal is endurance AND strength, here's what I've come up with:


(all sets of pushups, pullups, situps and leg raises will be 4 sets of max)

Mon
Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Lunges - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Pushups
Leg Raises
Interval Sprinting

Tues
Incline Bench - 3 sets of 4-6 reps
Dumbbell Bench - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Situps
Eliptical Machine - 25 minutes

Wed
Deadlift - 3 sets of 4-6 reps
Shrugs - 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Pullups
Situps
Outdoor Run

Thur
Weighted Dips - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
EZ-Bar Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps (pausing at contraction)
Pushups
Leg Raises
Interval Sprinting

Fri
Clean and Push Press - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Good Mornings - 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Close Grip Pullups
Pushups
Eliptical Machine

Sat
Pushups
Situps
Outdoor Run

im doing something pretty close to that to get me ready for the summer,minus the outdoor runs which i really should start doing

good luck when you go man

 

[the People's Champ]

fro-have you taken in to consideratoin that you won't be able to eat as much as you are now in OCS? this will affect your performance so concentrate on conditioning.

 

[frorider6]

fro-have you taken in to consideratoin that you won't be able to eat as much as you are now in OCS? this will affect your performance so concentrate on conditioning.

I have taken the meal thing into consideration. It's going to suck going from 6 meals a day to 3. I'll have to stuff myself until I'm sick every meal. It's also why I want to go in as heavy as possible. I need to have some energy reserves. Right now I'm about 218 lbs and 10%ish bf. Pretty sure that'll drop to around 205 and 5%ish bf by the time basic and OCS is over (if I'm lucky)