Because I plan on staying in the military until 20 (as long as I feel like I can still contribute/am providing value), my training must augment my job. My family comes first, my job comes second, and my training doesn’t interfere with either. Like anyone else here, I am still trying to become a better version of myself. However, I am not going to push the limits where I am so sore I can’t function at work or home. Plus my wife enjoys taking long hikes each weekend, and I am not going to miss time with her because I am too sore from squatting/I don’t want it to affect my squat/deadlift. That being said, I am now 31 and have been training regularly since I was 14 years old. Powerlifting and bodybuilding have always been my passion; however, conditioning has become a larger component of my training during the past 7 years. It is not easy to balance both and I have injured myself several times due to pushing both too hard. I now feel I have a good grasp on the balance of both. I am not a good runner, but I have been able to score high enough on the PRT to be waived from the second one. My goal is to continue this throughout my career. Please provide any inputs or share your experiences if you have similar training goals.
Height: 5’10
Weight: 210-215lbs
First Training Cycle of 2019
1 Jan 2019
Squat
230x5
265x5 300x16
Calves/Abs 3x25
1 mile run
4 Jan 2019
Bench
165x5
185x5 215x15
DB Incline
70x15
70x15
DB Row
4x15 with 75
1 mile run
20 minutes elliptical
*I have not run in a few months due to hip pain, but I am starting with short runs followed by low impact elliptical to build back up. I will be doing the PRT and PFT this year, so I need to be ready for the 3 mile run (not to embarrass myself since I am in my first green side tour and have orders for another green side tour already!)
Deadlift
225x5
275x5 315x13 (stopped well shy of failure maybe had 4-5 more without killing myself…but i just started running again. Need to leave room for conditioning at the end)
Leg Press
2p x 12
3p x12
4p x12
5p x15
Calf Press 3x20
Machine Sit Crunch 3x30
Jog 800m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
*My joints are cooperating with me! It is amazing what happens when you program your maxes lower. I spent the last year doing the routine above with more of a max effort style pushing heavy triples and doubles…which led to my joints hurting significantly. Now I need to push the conditioning a little more because of PRT and PFT season. Even if I gain a modest amount of strength over the next 6 months I will consider this is a HUGE win.
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Running is still easy. I have 4 months to prep. My best 1.5 is 10:15. Not setting any speed records, but I would be very happy to run under 10:30 at my current strength level and body weight.
Jog 800m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Jog 400m
Walk 400m
Jog 800m
Walk 400m
Notes: Running is still at a nice and easy while my body gets used to the pounding at a heavier body weight. I was 190lbs this time last year and topped out at 217lbs recently. Squats felt really good though. Still leaving a few reps in the tank on all of my sets.
Jog 1/2 mile
Walk 1/4 mile
Jog 1/2 mile
Walk 1/4 mile
Jog 1/4 mile
Walk 1/4 mile
Notes: Tendinitis in my chest is healing finally. Running is starting to feel better as well. I am going to swap to a lower frequency and start doing everything once per week. I will probably swap back and forth between PPL 3 days per week and Upper Lower 2 days per week depending on my schedule/recovery.