And Arlen starts training...

[Arlen]

O.K. I am settled in Idaho and about to start training for SHA. (It's been a few years since I done it but I'm all ready to get back to it.)

For the moment I have absolutely no weight equipment. ( I freecycled my weights back in Glasgow and haven't been able to get any weights here. And I absolutely cannot afford what's on craigslist or Ebay.)

I will get together with the local group of guys in November when they start back up, but in the meantime I want to just condition myself.

So... I have some heavy rocks to work with. (Two 10 lbs, two 15.5 lbs and two 19.5 lbs.)
And that's pretty much it.

So I stole Alan H's old workout and changed it up a bit... Just worked it around what I have and what I can do.

So 3 days a week I am running and doing my boxing cardio. I also have 2 hour long Scottish country dance classes on Saturdays and Sundays.
And this workout I am splitting up to do for 4 days of the week with rest.
(So upper body one day, cardio the next then lower body.)

It has worked out well so far and I am happy to continue with higher weights.



Wish me luck!


The workout:

1.) Jumps: Holding a heavy rock and from a squat, I jump upwards, clearing my feet from the floor about 12-18 times.

2.) Sit-ups, (Between 15 and 30)

3.) Vertical leg lifts (works lower abdominals) 12-15

4.) 21's. (A bicep curl doing 7 of the lower half movement, 7 of the upper half movement and 7 of the complete movement.)

5.) Sack lifts: Lifting a sack full of rocks from behind my back up till my arms are straight up behind my head.

6.) Shoulder shrugs with 20 pounds in each hand.

7.) Weighted squats.

8.) Weighted calf raises.

9.) Box jumps...no weight, up to a 24 inch box, and step down. I do this until my heart beats hard and tells me to stop.

10.) Overhead press with heavy rocks in each hand.

11.) Press-ups. (In line with the 100 press-ups challenge.)

[McMurdo]

Best of luck Arlen let us know how it goes.

[Mipi]

Don't exaggerate with weight. It's better to have more repetitions with less weight.

Take it easy.

[vmac3205]

Hey Arlen,
Take a hint from the inmates in the jail. Buckets of water make great free weights. Crunches, push ups, and sit ups are enhanced when done from a bench or stool. Oh, and they use other people to add resistance. Not very scientific or chic, but it seems to be effective.

[CelticRanger66]

Hey thats a GREAT workout!! But like we did in the RANGERS go heavy better to do fewers reps with greater weight to get strong!!!

[Arlen]

Thanks for the comments. It feels good to be training again and I am happy to have all of this great support.
I'll keep things up to date with goals and progress on the other thread!


CelticRanger66, I'll agree with that. I had a lot of success when I first done games by training with olympic lifts. It's just a matter of getting the weight!!!

I'm hoping that more weight training stuff will come up on freecycle soon but in the meantime I'll use what I've got.


vmac3205, I don't have any buckets but I might go ahead and use one of the seating benches in the yard and see how that helps out. Thanks!

Mipi, I'm going carefully and making sure to use good form and not strain anything with proper warm-ups and cool downs. As far as strength training goes, though, it's better to have more weight and less reps. It's just that line between building overall strength and power and just building muscles that look nice.

[wsk]

So I'm no expert. I don't compete. But, it seems to me that SHA aren't done with isolated muscle groups; rather, they are whole body efforts. If that's true then, using exercises that principally isolate different muscles (curls, triceps extension, etc) goes at cross purposes to your goal.

Were I considering participating in SHA, I'd be considering CrossFit. Free workouts every day (three on, one off rotation) that: last less than an hour, are random enough to overcome boredom with the same-old-workout-every-day, work the three metabolic pathways, use relatively little specialized equipment, all of which will prepare one for whatever sport-specific training you want to do. Disclaimer: I have no connection with CF except that I use it to prepare for shearing season and to stay in moderately good condition - kilts are too expensive so I want to keep my current weight and measurements.

I notice in your listed workout that you are working mostly the mirror muscles but ignore one of the largest muscle groups: your back. Pullups, back extensions, etc

[vmac3205]

You should be able to get a couple of 5 gallon pickle or mayo buckets from a local restaurant That will give you about 50# per bucket of water. They usually come with ligs so the water won't spill.

[Arlen]

It seems to me that SHA aren't done with isolated muscle groups; rather, they are whole body efforts. If that's true then, using exercises that principally isolate different muscles (curls, triceps extension, etc) goes at cross purposes to your goal.I notice in your listed workout that you are working mostly the mirror muscles but ignore one of the largest muscle groups: your back. Pullups, back extensions, etc

Admitedly, the 21's that I'm doing are more of an isolation exercise, but the rest are focusing on large areas of multiple muscles all at once. I'm not describing them very well, but I have been steering clear of isolation as much as I can.
As far as crossfit, I have done it before and I really like it. However it didn't give me the strength or explosive power that's needed for SHA. What I'm doing right now is, if you can imagine it, a cross between crossfit and olympic lifting.
You are right that I don't have enough in there for my back. Even weighted press ups aren't going to help that. I'm just trying to figure out a way to fit a decent pullup bar so I can work on those.




Vmac, thank you for that tip. There's a little place up the road where I had my wedding dinner. The couple who own it are nice so I will see what I can convince them to donate to me!

[Cynthia]

Good luck with your training, Arlen! I hope you've been getting a lot of great ideas for workouts. I'm sure it will just be a matter of time before another good deal on weights and equipment pops up for you! I sure wish we could train with you! Maybe someday we'll make it up that way, though