Saturday 16 June 2018

Strength and Conditioning

As a cross training day I have tried to add in some strength and conditioning.  I started this during the 46 day Challenge I set myself.  The good thing about the internet is the amount of videos, manuals and tips you can get on anything and everything these days. Youtube can be a fantastic tool for videos on all things fitness.  I was well versed in the above during my junior days as an amateur boxer.  Having said that I needed something that will benefit both fitness and endurance.  I wanted to find strength and conditioning for Ultra Marathon running.  With Youtube Pro's also comes the Con's.  Information and advice may not always suit what you are trying to achieve.  You need to find what you suits your end goals and tailor that information into a programme that suits you.  What I try and do is go to others that are currently doing what you want to do.  Ask questions and find references and links that way.  It is amazing the amount of information you can gather.  Not only the good references but the bad.  The "I wish I had found this before..." stories also can be used for your benefit.  What works for some people may not work for you.  So don't always go on the first thing you find.
So with the runs I am also using a garage gym.  Comprising of dumbbells, medicine ball, spin bike, punch bag and cross training push-up wheels designed for ab and oblique exercises.  The Dumbbell routine I am currently working on consists of the below:



  • Power and strength complex
  • Hypertrophy series
  • Core series
  • Conditioning complex 
Power and strength complex 
  1. Dumbbell Clean (5 Sets of 3 Reps)
  2. Push-press (5 Sets of 3 Reps)
  3. Front squat (5 Sets of 3 Reps)
Hypertrophy series 
  1. Dumbbell crush press (4 sets of 10 reps)
  2. Bent over rows (4 sets of 10 reps)
  3. Reverse lunge (4 sets of 10 reps) 10 on one side 10 on the other leg per set
Core series
Doing 4 Exercises on the right side then 4 exercises on the left side.
  1. Dumbbell Snatch (2 sets of 10 reps)
  2. Farmers Carry (2 sets of 10 reps)
  3. Get-up sit-ups (2 sets of 10 reps)
  4. Renegade row (2 sets of 10 reps) 
Conditioning complex
  1. Split stance alternating hammer curl (2 Sets of 10 reps per arm)
  2. Split stance alternating shoulder press (2 Sets of 10 reps per arm)
  3. Split switch (2 Sets of 20 reps)
  4. Squat curl to press (2 Sets of 10 reps)
Youtube Reference: https://youtu.be/l0gDqsSUtWo

In addition to the above I use a Medicine Ball Work.  Most of these I have taken from my boxing days. No reference these are just things I have either been coached or picked up at different training camps. 

Medicine Ball work out (Sets depend on what I have planned the next day)
  1. Under leg cross overs in a seated position
  2. Wall cross overs in a seated or squat position
  3. Sitted V shape sit-up
  4. Laying on my Back L shape sit-up or stretch.  (Using a wall initially to find form)
These are the 4 I would use mainly.  I also add in things like side crunches from time to time.

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