Taking on too much?

Strongbad

Hi all,

I'm a fairly fit person from playing football for both college and local club. The football season is finishing soon and i'm looking for something to keep me fit.

I toyed with the idea of a marathon/triathlon but am not going that far yet.
I've drawn up a list of goals i want to achieve by christmas, they are fairly varied and i'm just wondering will it be possible to achieve strength/size gains alongside longish running/swimming distances.

My list is as follows:

Push-ups(on handles, chest to floor) Aim: 50 Current: 22
Pull-ups(straight arms in between reps) Aim: 20 Current: 8

Bench: 80 kgs Current: ~60kgs
Squat: 120kgs Current: ~90kgs
Deadlift: 120kgs Current: ~? Never did much deadlifting

1 mile run: below 6mins
5km: 20min - Never did this distance timed before but i could definitely run it
10km: Sub 45mins - Not sure i'd last 10km at the moment
100m: sub 12secs - I'm quite quick as it stands prob around the 12.5 mark

Swimming: Firstly be able to swim 1km frontcrawl non-stop, no idea how long it'll take me but once i complete it I want to improve the time by about 10%.

I currently weigh 80.5kgs and am 5'11''. I want to increase this to ~85kgs with muscle.

So, do I have a hope of completing all of this? Will the cardio work effect my attempts to put on lean mass??

Apologies for the long post, any tips on helping me achieve any of these goals greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for reading

Al_Fernz

Strongbad wrote: »

Hi all,
So, do I have a hope of completing all of this? Will the cardio work effect my attempts to put on lean mass??

The strength side of things is well within your reach. IMO a 5x5 program is probably the best for your goals. Do you have any idea of how you're going to be scheduling your training week?

I can't speak about the carido times, but I can say that it will be possible for you to increase your muscle mass provided your diet is up to scratch. 5kgs of muscle tissue growth in 4 months is a lot. I don't think that it is achievable natually especially your looking to maintain or even reduce bodyfat levels. Make sure you are eating enough calories to fuel your training, recovery and hopefully growth. What is your diet like at the moment?

Strongbad

Thankls for the reply!

Excuse the ignorance but what is a 5x5 program? I've never done a regimented training routine before, it's always been training tuesday, friday with a match at the weekend!

I realise i'm going to need to draw up a programme to achieve any results but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Is it silly to do a weights session and then go for a long run? Or should I run first? Should I do low reps high weight or the opposite?

My diet is fairly clean but I probably am not eating enough to fuel a tough regime, it looks something like:

Breakfast: Bowl of weetabix
Snack: 1 or 2 bits of fruit
Lunch: Roll or sandwich with tuna/chicken, boiled egg and salad
Dinner: Whatever is cooked! Usually meat and potatoes, beans, carrots etc.
I tend not to eat dessert but might have an ice-cream or something similar once or twice a week.
If i'm hungry before bed i'll have another sandwich usually ham,cheese and tomatoe.
I go through about 3 litres of water a day too.

I know i'm probably not getting enough protein, maybe throw in a chicken fillet between breakfast and lunch?

Al_Fernz

Strongbad wrote: »

Thankls for the reply!

Excuse the ignorance but what is a 5x5 program? I've never done a regimented training routine before, it's always been training tuesday, friday with a match at the weekend!

I realise i'm going to need to draw up a programme to achieve any results but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Is it silly to do a weights session and then go for a long run? Or should I run first? Should I do low reps high weight or the opposite?

My diet is fairly clean but I probably am not eating enough to fuel a tough regime, it looks something like:

Breakfast: Bowl of weetabix
Snack: 1 or 2 bits of fruit
Lunch: Roll or sandwich with tuna/chicken, boiled egg and salad
Dinner: Whatever is cooked! Usually meat and potatoes, beans, carrots etc.
I tend not to eat dessert but might have an ice-cream or something similar once or twice a week.
If i'm hungry before bed i'll have another sandwich usually ham,cheese and tomatoe.
I go through about 3 litres of water a day too.

I know i'm probably not getting enough protein, maybe throw in a chicken fillet between breakfast and lunch?

A 5x5 routine is one where you do heavy weight exercises for 5 sets of 5 reps. Do a search for the "Starting Strength," by Mark Ripptoe(*sp?) or Bill Starr's 5x5 routine for more information. You may wish to look at buying Mark Ripptoe's "Starting Strength." I've never read it myself but I know it comes highly recommended by many posters here.

IMO you should try and structure your cardio training and weight training for different sessions - if you have the time. If not, do whatever suits you first. I would choose weights first personally. However this might not work for you and you could find that performing cardio first does not diminish your strength for weights training. Experiment man and keep doing the things that work.

TBH your diet is pretty poor you will need to eat more if you plan on training hard. Have a look a the Diet and Nutrition stickies. Try add some sources of protein for your breakfast and brunch.

Strongbad

I'll look into that book, will definitely have a look at those stickies too. Season isn't finished yet so i'm not going to start any serious lifting until then.
Ran 3 miles in 21:10 this evening, I didn't know how to pace myself properly so ended up with a good bit left in the tank.

Swam 1km last night in the pool too, not consecutively but at least I can do it!