Program/Goal-Setting for All-round Fitness

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I am not content with just strength and mass. I want to feel like I could do a good job in any physical task, whether that be deadlifting, running 10 miles, swimming, jumping over stuff, playing tennis, doing handstands, sprinting 100 meters, executing complex physical sequences under stress, looking good nekkid, etc :slight_smile:

So, what can I do to make this a reality? I am already doing strength/mass training and endurance cardio with bike. How to make a schedule for all-round fitness? How to set goals for it?

Time is not really an issue, only motivation is. So, training routines have to be moderately fun.

I used Crossfit as a scaffold, since itā€™s the only philosophy that I know of that espouses total all-round fitness (maybe Decathlon does too?). Anyway, Crossfitā€™s modalities and my attempt at programming/goalsetting:

Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance - training: running, swimming, cycling. Goals: X meters for time, X tempo for time, X meters regardless of time/tempo.

Stamina - training: I am guessing they mean strength endurance, so weight training complexes (with KB, for instance) as well as bodyweight complexes (ie burpees) for time or reps. Goals: X weight for Y time or Z reps.

Strength - training: powerlifting training, oly training. Goals: X weight for 1 rep in the various lifts.

Flexibility - training: various types of stretching, soft tissue work. - Goals: no idea, maybe ability to do splits or somesuch? How to quantify?

Power - training: plyometrics, oly lifting, maybe sparring. Goals: X inches vertical jump and similar, Y amount of weight in oly lifts.

Speed - training: sprints. Goals: X time for sprints.

Agility - training: hmm, maybe various agility drills like changing direction and stuff like that. Goals: no idea.

Balance - training: no idea. Gymnastics stuff? Indo boards? Goals: no idea.

Coordination - training: no idea. Juggling? Goals: no idea.

Accuracy - training: no idea. Maybe precision pistol or IPSC? Goals: no idea.

Psychology (added this myself) - training: visualizations and other personal development techniques, meditation, nootropic drugs, chess, certain computer games, doing challenging events like Triathlon, martial arts, yoga, stuff like that. Goals: no idea, become more of an organized and quick-thinking bad-ass I suppose :slight_smile:

Martial arts probably fit in with all of these modalities, except for maybe max strength.

Your input? What are good modalities? What is good training? How to set goals? What are some concrete numbers for intermediately elite status (ie somewhere between amateur sports player and Olympian)?

2

eat right, lift heavy and do HIIT? occasional long distance run? put less thought into it?

3

Sounds to me like youā€™re looking for Crossfit with some extra stuff thrown in, like agility or whatever.

If you try to work on all those things at once, though, youā€™ll have a tough time achieving your ā€œintermediate eliteā€ status in any of them. Some of your goals donā€™t exactly work together real well (ie deadlifting lots and being able to run 10 miles fast).

4

Methinks you might find the crossfit forums more useful. Not a knock at all, just that ā€˜strength sportsā€™ isnā€™t really what youā€™re talking about.

Iā€™m a strength athlete, and have no idea how you should train. You should be asking people who have accomplished what you want to accomplish. By and large, that ainā€™t us.

5

Agree with others.

If you are into OL, Pl strongman, or the throws, then you may find answers here, but you kind of lost me with the 10 mile run.

The idea of getting my a@#e kicked by a 60 year old grandma or a 8 year old keeps me away from 10klms runs, ten miles thats almost 1/2 marathon.

I think I read this in Long Strong Throwing Journal, (great mag) written by Dan John not sure if he was quoting someone, but it was when someone asked him if he ran.
ā€œRun from whatā€"

You need to work out what YOU want to do.

6

With further time to think, if you are interested in multi training, look at how decathletes train. Look at the non technique work and you still have a very full training regime.

That style of training would pretty well tick everyone of your boxes except the distance run.

A decathalte can run a 100m in 10.3s long jump 27 foot, high jump just under 7 foot but run 1500s that a good high schooler can beat.

You canā€™t have strength power and good endurance times.

Strength and power take bodyweight, whereas endurance is the domain of the skinny.

You cannot excel at both, no matter what certain philosphies may propagate.

7

Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Jack of all trades, master of none"?

Seriously, it looks like from your goals that you want the holy grail of fitness: to be elite at everything. Short of being bitten by a radioactive spider or getting bombarded by gamma rays, that is not going to happen. You have to decide which of your goals are the MOST important and then train for those. If you want elite strength, train like an Olympic lifter/powerlifter/strongman. If you want elite body composition, train like a bodybuilder, etcā€¦etc. If you want to be elite in something, you have to focus on it at the expense of other things.

If however you just want to be good (not elite) at everything and have the best of all worlds, I would say stick with Crossfit.

Good luck!

8

Strength and endurance arenā€™t completely mutually exclusive, though there are trade offs. Josh Everett from crossfit can run a 5:30 mile, a sub 20 5k, deadlift close to 600, squat close to 500, do sub 3:30 Fran, 50-60 pullups. And he weighs about 185. I doubt anybody on this board could come close to those numbers lifting at his bodyweight much less everything else. Check out the stuff he does over at performance menu. You can get really good at most things by using intelligent programming (10 miles doesnā€™t fit into anything intelligent). I do programming that allows me to be very good at almost everything. In the end, you end up nearly as good at what other people specialize in, way better than them at what you do, and better than them in things neither of you do.

Jack of all trades master of none my ass. You wonā€™t beat a very specialized high level power lifter at powerlifting, but youā€™ll beat him at everything else. And everything neither of you do. But you can still be stronger than 99% of the average joes working on one thing as long as you program intelligently, which comes by understanding things like energy systems, how to get the most out of you lifting, and proper technique. When youā€™re trashing their lifting numbers and beating them at everything else you can listen to them bitch about you ā€˜not being eliteā€™ at one thing.

9

[quote]1000rippedbuff wrote:
Jack of all trades master of none my ass. You wonā€™t beat a very specialized high level power lifter at powerlifting, but youā€™ll beat him at everything else. And everything neither of you do. [/quote]

Youā€™re still master of none. Youā€™re not in the highest echelons of ANYTHING. Simply put, you canā€™t get to ELITE levels of strength or endurance using a crossfit training style unless youā€™re some genetic monster.

The best you can get is Master of None, Better than Average At Other Shit. Please understand, Athletes donā€™t give a shit about anything outside the realm of their activity. An O-Lifter or PLer is not going to give a shit if you can outrun them.

A Triathlete is not going to give a shit if you can outlift them. Simply put, athletes have been bred to be amazing at their ONE specific activity. They are a MASTER. Crossfit is a neat concept for regular joe blow who wants to be generally athletic for life.

But if you want to be a great COMPETITIVE athlete you need more than random workouts named after people.

10

[quote] In the end, you end up nearly as good at what other people specialize in, way better than them at what you do, and better than them in things neither of you do.

Jack of all trades master of none my ass.

[/quote]

Hmmm a 5.30 mile. That equates to a 5.00 1500m more or less.

how would that 1500 time do with the old guys who run at the USA masters. Well lets check the rankings. Lets use the 2008 (check the 2008 USATF website)

if he is over 60 he is okay. That would get him 3rd or 4th. 4th was 5.00.62

if he is over 55 then he would be around 19th

if he is over 45, well the rankings only go to 25 and that was 4.42ā€¦

jack of all trades, master of noneā€¦

and I know he would kick my arse in everything he does, but who cares . I threw superweight last year 7.72m that compares with maybe 4th in the US rankings (came 3rd in your indoors and the travel kills) probably top ten globally. Now that was masters, so who caresā€¦Why would anyone in their right mind throw superweight (56lbs), because it separates them from the restā€¦

but if you think you are good I beleive you should compare yourself with the best and then work down. Donā€™t compare yourself with the bottom and work upā€¦

11

This is definitely a legitimate goal thoughā€¦ I find myself moving more toward ā€œathleticismā€ than ā€œastheticismā€ (damn clever right there haha).

Basicallyā€¦ I like running in the summer. I like climbing shit, swimming, sprinting, playing beach volleyball, hiking etc. etc.

However, I also like lifting heavy shit, chasing women and lifting little children up with my biceps. Iā€™ve come to realize that as long as my lifts keep going up, my running times decrease and my body looks sickā€¦ Iā€™m happy. Seriously. Program for funā€¦ 99% of people will make 0 money off fitness, yet they invest so much time into stupid, trivial shit like German Volume this or CKD that. Honestly - performance gains = WIN. Look to improve in whatever interests you. Lifeā€™s too short