July 8, 2010
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Gym routines are changing
Not a lot of people lift heavy anymore.
At least not the people that I know. Part of it could be because of our line of work, but even looking at magazines such as Men’s Health, the workouts they show are less about getting big muscles, and more about losing weight and developing functional strength and high stamina (most people call these CrossFit workouts, but since that is a copyrighted term, I will refere to them as CrossFit-like. Also, I have no other term that I can think of for it, other than circuit training). Outside of CrossFit, you see other programs like Military Athlete and Mountain Athlete.
About a decade ago, when working out started to become mainstream again and gyms were popping up ll over the place, every workout you could find was centered around bodybuilding, e.g. 6-8 reps for 3 sets, lift to failure, bulk up, look big and sexy. It seems that in the last 2-3 years, there has been a movement away from that. Now it’s all about functional strength, stamina.
There are a handful of people at work that are all about the heavy lifts. The muscles look great and all, but 8 flights of stairs, or any excercise where the rep count exceeds 10, kill these guys. There is also the issue of bulk, something I’m currently fighting. The heavier you are, the more weight that you have to move. Personally, I would like to drop 5-10 lbs . For comparison, I’m 5’9″, 184 lbs. Georges St-Pierre is 5’11″, 170 lbs. However, I may also have a high bone density, which can’t be changed, and has caused issues with my swimming (lack of bouyancy).
A couple of years ago, I began the transition out of heavy lifting, and started to work for stamina building and increasing my strength-to-weight ratio. Initially, I added spin classes to my regimen twice a week, in addition to workouts using supersets, targeting antagonistic muscles, three times a week. I was still in the army at the time, so running was always there, also.
After leaving the army, my workout schedule was hectic and random. I still did strength development workouts, but the weird work schedule I had really killed things. About a year ago, when I was restarting a steady workout program, I did P90x. I found it to be an excellent program, and was a good way to get back in the rhythm of things.
In case some of you are wondering, my current workout has three crossfit-type workouts and two strength development workouts. Those are done in the morning. The evenings have spin class once a week, swimming once a week, close quarters combat training once a week, and I am looking to re-add running once or twice a week. No workouts on weekends or vacations.
Personally, I would definitely recommend a bodybuilding-type workout regimen for any beginner lifter, for anywhere from 6 months to a year. It has nice, controlled, and defined metrics; I feel there is a lower chance of injury (when compared to the high intensity of CrossFit and plyometric type workouts); and it allows the individual to develop some strength and form before moving onto the advanced exercises.
I think the next post or two will be dealing with some stuff in the gym.
