What are your specific goals? How much does conditioning affect your legs?
I’m enjoying my current approach of high frequency/low intensity leg training. Some days I throw in some RDLs because it feels right.
I am now going to do 5/3/1 Training Maximally for bench and seated OHP. After the main work, I’m doing 50 reps of OHP or DB incline. I’m picking a weight that I estimate to be about 70% and doing the reps with as few sets as possible.
I’ll try to balance the pushing with some pulling but I’m not going to stress about it.
Goals - still want to back squat 315, front squat my bodyweight (let’s call it 205) 10 times, and deadlift 405. Those are longer-term for when my hip’s sorted.
Here-and-now goals pertaining to lower body? It’s hard to have any without knowing how free weight lifting will affect the hip. Relatedly -
A lot, and positively. The running, biking, and stepmill were making my legs leaner, slightly stronger, a little more muscular/more mass, and improving my strength endurance. My stubby Scottish thighs (thanks @ChongLordUno for telling me about Highland legs, it explains that part of my anatomy) do quite well with regular bouts of low-resistance, long-duration exercising.
I don’t have an exercise bike and stepmill though, and my mountain bike is inoperable, so I have to improvise. I’m currently considering rounds of 50-yard dashes and 50-yard farmer walks - my backyard is long, sandy, and has an uphill incline. All I have to do is prep a lane.
That sounds close to what I was doing at the gym, albeit with cardio equipment. I’ll look at your recent workouts again.
That sounds like a solid approach. I’m planning to do heavy push press and bodyweight push-ups one day, then weighted push-ups and high-rep db OHP on the second upper body workout.
I like that attitude. I’ve been stressing myself again about shoving in all the balancing and accessory exercises.
Ok, I reread my goals and realized sticking with Washed-Up Meathead will directly address all the immediate goals and even make steps toward ther longer-term endeavors.
Max-effort upper body’s main lifts will be push press x 3-5 and back-off sets of 5-7 followed by wide-neutral grip EZ bar rows.
Legs will initially consist of light front squats, rounds of light deficit deadlifts and reverse lunges, and finish with calves 'n abs.
Upper body pump’s core lifts will be db OHP, towel pullups, and weighted push-ups.
Conditioning will be sets of 50-yard farmer walk, sprint, and a recovery walk.
This should be recoverable, effective, and a boost instead of a drain on my week. As long as I do the core lifts for each day, I’ll be satisfied.
The best-laid plans of mice and Zack… I decided to return to the gym. I simply haven’t been lifting in my back yard this winter, and I’m fed up with inactivity. Therefore -
Standing DB OHP
25 x 8
35 x 5
45 x 4 x 8, supersetted with
Pullups
bw x 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
I learned that progression from @OTHSteve’s log. It’s a good way of warming up and unobtrusively adding pullups volume.
Machine incline bench
70 x 5
80 x 5
90 x 8, 6
70 x 10, supersetted with
Machine supinated rows
80 x 5
90 x 5
100 x 10, 10
80 x 12
Fin. Twas a brief, non-idiotic return to lifting.
I’m keeping db OHP as my main press on the pump day and bumping the dip machine to max effort day’s accessory press. Low incline Smith bench will remain the ME lift. Leg day will probably be some mash of cardio and single-leg presses, possibly with an attempt at heavy low-rack Smith deads and/or heavy leg press.
I’m likely going to do four workouts a week at first, the two UB days, one run and bike day, and one leg day, with the caveat things are always subject to change. However future lifting goes, tonight felt great.
With the gyms opened again - for who knows how long - I feel like a kid in a candy shop; I want to do ALL the exercises. Help! I’ll burn myself out in a couple weeks if I do everything I want to -
2 weekly run/bike sessions
1 stepmill and leg machines workout
2 Washed-Up Meathead workouts with additional accessory exercises and HIIT rower and push-ups
1 backyard session of front squats, deficit deadlifts, standing long jumps, and farmer walks
That’d be six days per week of exercise. If I were 18, well, that’s what I did. But now I’m not.
I analyzed my current program for strengths and weaknesses and came up with this:
Strengths
Upper body workouts have it all - lifts addressing strength, endurance, mass, and strength balances.
LISS sessions are challenging, work well for my hip, provide natural means I progressions, address speed and endurance, and equally importantly, are very motivating. I really look forward to the treadmill-bike days.
Leg day with the stepmill and single leg press addresses remedial unilateral strength.
When the gym was last open, I was auto-regulating and recovering well.
Weaknesses
I’m not doing a hinge, weighted carry, heavy squat, or explosive movement.
No pec flyes. Srsly, this feels like it’s holding back my pressing strength.
My options are:
stay the course of what I was doing and know to work well.
drop one LISS day and do the barbell leg day at home.
exercise six days per week til I collapse or adapt.
try Smith machine rack pulls and/or dumbbell “walking deads” and broad jumps on leg day before the stepmill. Deadlift heavy with no back-off sets.
focus on what I can only do at the gym, because in New Mexico everything is subject to closing at any time, with no certainty of reopening.
I know I’m overthinking everything, but I enjoy thinking about workout routines and methods, for myself and others.
I think I gathered three cardio days and three lifting days…
For lifting, just pick your favorite exercise for each aspect. If you want to play on the machines then do it! Just don’t get caught up and do everything every day.
For the hip hinge, RDLs in the Smith work well. The fixed bar removes any forward drifting and forces the hips back which nails the hamstrings. That will carry over to deadlift.
Yep! To manage fatigue, one of the three cardio days needs to be on leg day. Your assessment is accurate and helpful.
That’s good advice. There are five! pushing exercises I want to do right now. The Washed-Up Meathead template allows for it, which is partly why I’ve stuck to it.
I’ve tried them once but long ago. I’ll give 'em a whirl on leg day this week and see how they affect my hip.
I have to have the bar close to my shins in the bottom position. If the regular version bothers you then you can move one leg back and focus on one leg at a time with a kickstand RDL.
I think if things went back to normal here and I could go to the gym without any stupid appointment shit I’d do like 3 hours of cable/resistance machines to get it out of my system LOL .
Whatever you decide to do, just soak in every rep because like you said, could change any time !!
