General conditioning

kingQuez

Hey Folks,

I spend plenty of time swimming/cycling/running, but I dont do any real strength/conditioning unless its to avoid a specific injury i've had. I've never stuck out going to the gym when I've tried (its just a bore).

Has anyone here gone to bootcamp or the crossfit setup in sandyford? Or does anyone have any suggestions on how to stick out adding in 1-2 strength/conditioning classes/sessions that will be a bit of fun? I like the look of crossfit but it works out pretty expensive (17quid a class if you go for two a week for a few months). The main thing holding me off a bootcamp is that theres a lot of running/sprinting added in, which I get enough of elsewhere...

I'd like to throw something new for all-round strength into the mix for two-three months but im not quite sure what

Cheers -

RacoonQueen

Crossfit is meant to be excellent.

Would you consider going to a personal trainer/strength and conditioning coach to get a specific programme made up for you? It means you have to use your own willpower to fit them into your schedule. When you're paying €60 or so for a programme it guilts you into fitting it in.

elephantz1

Train at home - Buy a pull-up bar - do pullups to failure - do pressups to failure - squat the legs off yourself and thow in some burpees. 10 mins a day doing this and you can dramtically improve overall strength.

Ryder

some dumbbells and an exercise ball. During the winter I do 2-3 sets of; clean and press, push up, single arm rows, single leg squat and bicycle crutches. 10 - 15 reps

Zuppy

Get a coach. But I am biased towards clubs and coaches.

Crossfit sounds good and looks good but I need to see some science showing how endurance events stack up with the traditional Lydiard style versus the 'met-con' principles. But it doesn't sound like your going to switch to a crossfit all or nothing plan. But for the conditioning sessions of regular training plan it would be very beneficial.

If you already know your weak areas and you muscle imbalances it is relatively easy to plan a maintenance routine. But if your looking to build strength nothing beats a group or a training partner. As self motivation will only go so far for us mortals.

firemouth

pilates is the business for your core!

Notwitch

"going long" has a section on strength training. It focuses on relevance for masters/novices. I did 3 months of their strength program last year - i fell into both categories - about eight exercises 3 times a week before christmas.

Coming away from it I reckoned 3 months of good form squats with the right set up stance would probably be worth while again but not much more. I couldn't manage any other high high intensity running or cycling when i hit the max strength phase, but it was worthwhile to highlight my weaknesses.

If i was sacrificing the rest of this season to be ready for an ironman next year - from now(July with ironman next july) i'd do 3 months of squats/leg presses/lat pulls/ham curls/knee extensions/straight arm pull downs/ etc but be finished by October to get focused on swim/bike/run.

but i'm only learning...

noeleoreid

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16625

kingQuez

Thanks for the ideas folks, think im going to defer doing anything strength-wise until the next few races are done and dusted, but I'm going to use the time to find someone to train with when the time comes. Crossfit is just too expensive to do with the group, but I hadn't realized there was a significant difference in approach between them and more traditional stuff (met-con vs lydiard). As for pilates, that stuff is evil.. did a few classes in college that were run by the physio when I was finishing up in college a few years ago. Evil evil evil