Training for Krav

[Zamudio]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to find a decent workout routine and diet to help me improve my strength, fitness, agility, stamina, flexibility etc you know all of the criteria I'm sure. I read in another thread that alot of you guys recommend CrossFit. The only problem I have with that is I work out at home because I can't afford a gym membership aswell as Krav lessons.

Here is a list of my equipment:

Bench - flat/incline with stands for bench press which I also use to squat
Sit up bench
About 70kgs of various weight plates, looking to get more very soon
2 x 5ft Barbells
4 x Dumbbells
1 x EZ Curl bar
1 x 5kg EZ Grip plate (I use it for crunches)
1 x 12kg Kettlebell
Chin up bar
Pull up bar
4ft Punchbag
Skipping rope

...and I think that's about it.

I don't have a bicycle which would be useful for cardio but I do live in a city with plenty of places I could run around, parks etc.

To give some idea of how my time works out at the moment I'll write up what a normal term time week is like:

Monday: Uni in the day, work in the night
Tuesday: Uni in the day, Krav in the night
Wednesday: Uni in the day, See my father in the night
Thursday: Uni in the day, Krav in the night
Friday: Uni in the day, Work in the night
Saturday: Sweet FA, nothing to do on Saturdays
Sunday: Work for 5 hours

So as you can see I'm usually pretty busy but if anyone can help me find a viable method of working out I will do my best to work around it.

Thanks in advance guys.

[unstpabl1]

You had the answer with crossfit....free daily w/o's, minimal time and equipment...all frree on the net

[mara_jade]

I don't do crossfit so I can't help there. I do use Kettlebells though. My center introduced me to them and they give a great workout. I'm currently using Art of Strength Clinic which is a great set.

If you're looking for free alternatives, try these
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html

This one has a free mp3 workout
http://www.liftkettlebells.com/Worko...l-Workout.aspx

Art of Strength has an archive of videos showing KB exercises
http://www.artofstrength.com/minute-...ength-126.aspx

For other training aspects, I do Cardio or K.O. bag at my center instead of at home.

Best wishes on your training

[Zamudio]

Originally Posted by unstpabl1

You had the answer with crossfit....free daily w/o's, minimal time and equipment...all frree on the net

I'm having trouble working out how Crossfit works for now. Dynamic exercises are good but a whole days workout being just a few things seems strange. I'm trying to read up on it but it seems there are no straight answers.

So far it seems like I can do better circuit training at home to be honest.

Originally Posted by mara_jade

I don't do crossfit so I can't help there. I do use Kettlebells though. My center introduced me to them and they give a great workout. I'm currently using Art of Strength Clinic which is a great set.

If you're looking for free alternatives, try these
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html

This one has a free mp3 workout
http://www.liftkettlebells.com/Worko...l-Workout.aspx

Art of Strength has an archive of videos showing KB exercises
http://www.artofstrength.com/minute-...ength-126.aspx

For other training aspects, I do Cardio or K.O. bag at my center instead of at home.

Best wishes on your training

Thanks alot :)

[Peterako]

Crossfit is designed as a supplementary workout to other physical activity. Depending on how many times a week you have Krav lessons, CF would be enough. You should also understand that the CrossFit workouts should be very intense, and you should be pushing yourself to unsustainable levels.

[RFC]

It seems you have all the basic exercise equipment...

I find it helpful to define my goals and to figure-out how to keep myself motivated. Pants/clothes that fit too tight, getting winded after a few flights of stairs or, an unsatisfied feeling when you see yourself in a mirror are all good things to consider when defining goals. Once you get past that, you can refine things by taking note of how many sets of exercises you can do or, how much weight you can comfortably lift etc...

I also think it's important to learn about proper nutrition and eating habits. Knowing about how food relates to calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, sugars, fiber, proper hydration etc is very interesting and helpful for proper fitness. Equally important is knowing how/when to exercise/stretch and when to take rest days for muscle recovery.

As for motivation, my most vigorous workouts are at the various fitness class at my Krav studio. Its more inspiring for me when other people are around. At home, I just tone-up as time permits with resistive exercise (dumbells and a used bowflex machine) and do 15 minutes of basic warm-up, flexing/stretching and calistetics every morning. A couple times a week, I jog 5km.

I also mix things up once in a while by placing emphasis for a couple weeks at a time on some particular area such as cardio, weights, flexibility etc...

Like others said, there are great resouces on the Internet but, be careful not to get suckered into purchasing gadgets and gizmos. I think a daily vitamin tablet along with some protein powder and glutamine before/after a workout is beneficial. Forget about all the whacky potions and pills -and for heaven's sake, stay away from HGH, steroids and the like (unless of course you have easy access to a heart transplant).

Define what you want, break it down into smaller pieces and (sensibly) work on it. Basically, fitness is a lifestyle -not a chore or task.

Good luck...

[unstpabl1]

Originally Posted by Zamudio

I'm having trouble working out how Crossfit works for now. Dynamic exercises are good but a whole days workout being just a few things seems strange. I'm trying to read up on it but it seems there are no straight answers.

So far it seems like I can do better circuit training at home to be honest.



Thanks alot :)

]


Then do that....or pick a day and work on strength. next day on sprint work, next day yoga, power yoga, stretching, next day bodyweight w/o, next day go for a hike..its quality or intensity not quanity thats important. keep the body guessing


Oh and there is so much free info in crossfit and so many forums with trainers to ask questions that if you can't get a straight answer..well your just not trying


www.rosstraining.com buy his book worth every dime, also has a forum

[Zamudio]

Originally Posted by Peterako

Crossfit is designed as a supplementary workout to other physical activity. Depending on how many times a week you have Krav lessons, CF would be enough. You should also understand that the CrossFit workouts should be very intense, and you should be pushing yourself to unsustainable levels.

I understand that they should be intense, but I could have a workout based on similar principles at home and make it a bit longer so I can get more in. I don't have much spare time so when I do work out I make it count.

If there was a Crossfit center near me I would go along and try because people think so highly of it but there aren't any nearby :(

Originally Posted by RFC

It seems you have all the basic exercise equipment...

I find it helpful to define my goals and to figure-out how to keep myself motivated. Pants/clothes that fit too tight, getting winded after a few flights of stairs or, an unsatisfied feeling when you see yourself in a mirror are all good things to consider when defining goals. Once you get past that, you can refine things by taking note of how many sets of exercises you can do or, how much weight you can comfortably lift etc...

I also think it's important to learn about proper nutrition and eating habits. Knowing about how food relates to calories, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, sugars, fiber, proper hydration etc is very interesting and helpful for proper fitness. Equally important is knowing how/when to exercise/stretch and when to take rest days for muscle recovery.

As for motivation, my most vigorous workouts are at the various fitness class at my Krav studio. Its more inspiring for me when other people are around. At home, I just tone-up as time permits with resistive exercise (dumbells and a used bowflex machine) and do 15 minutes of basic warm-up, flexing/stretching and calistetics every morning. A couple times a week, I jog 5km.

I also mix things up once in a while by placing emphasis for a couple weeks at a time on some particular area such as cardio, weights, flexibility etc...

Like others said, there are great resouces on the Internet but, be careful not to get suckered into purchasing gadgets and gizmos. I think a daily vitamin tablet along with some protein powder and glutamine before/after a workout is beneficial. Forget about all the whacky potions and pills -and for heaven's sake, stay away from HGH, steroids and the like (unless of course you have easy access to a heart transplant).

Define what you want, break it down into smaller pieces and (sensibly) work on it. Basically, fitness is a lifestyle -not a chore or task.

Good luck...

Yeah that's what I've done. I have goals set and times by which they should be attained. I don't workout in a set way on a set day at the moment I am listening to my body more to decide what I need to do and so far that seems to be working well.

I find interval training helps alot to confuse the body. In October I will be required to do a maximal fitness test or "bleep" test in University so I am going to be using the HIIT to improve my V02 max. There is a lake in my city which is almost exactly a mile around so it's a good measure. I walk, jog and sprint for time intervals which vary throughout the run. I find it confuses me so it must confuse my body haha!

Also I want to do conditioning workouts because I have found myself getting too tired towards the end of a Krav session. What I base it around is my punchbag, after warming up I do rounds of 2mins, 3mins, 5mins, 5mins, 3mins, 2mins. But each round has an exercise in between. For example 15 kettlebell snatches with each hand/20 push ups/25 burpees etc then a minute break with some water, then back to the bag.

So there is no lack of intensity in my workouts. One thing I would like to learn more about and improve is flexibility. I hame been looking around for a good book or video of stretches to improve flexibility for martial arts and things like that. My flexibility definitely needs to improve so does anyone know anywhere good to look?

Originally Posted by unstpabl1

]


Then do that....or pick a day and work on strength. next day on sprint work, next day yoga, power yoga, stretching, next day bodyweight w/o, next day go for a hike..its quality or intensity not quanity thats important. keep the body guessing


Oh and there is so much free info in crossfit and so many forums with trainers to ask questions that if you can't get a straight answer..well your just not trying


www.rosstraining.com buy his book worth every dime, also has a forum

I do that when I don't have much time in a day, so I just do a quick stretch and bodyweight session. Also I go out and run around my local park using the HIIT method so I can use the jungle gym for the monkey bars and hanging leg raises and upside down crunches etc.

Nobody near me does Crossfit but with further reading I have come to understand it better. Thing is alot of it I cannot recreate at home. I have nowhere to row, I can't just decide to run 5k one day or decide to run on the beach etc because my schedule just doesn't allow that kind of thing. I wish it would!

[unstpabl1]

I finally got it.....you don't need to join a crossfit center, thats a new twist. Crossfit was designed to do at home with minimal equipment. The workout of the days are posted on the main site as well as affiliates have their own versions sometimes. Plus, if you don't have the equipment post for an alternative. Crossfit started with one site posting free w/o's for all to do at home and a concept to improve conditioning.

Forget about rowing machines and set 5k runs, adapt it to your schedule. There are also scaled back versions and alternatives. WOD are guides not law. The xfit police aren't gonna come for you because you ran a mile and did some windsprints, instead of a 5k]


Brandx Martial Arts, google it. Its in Ramona CA, I think. Gardawg on this forum runs it. They have like 4 scales of versions of xfit WOD'S, plus a forum. Plus Gardawg is a Krav instructor. The 15-20 minute w/o are the ones that will get ya. Intensity not length

good luck

[Reaper1]

I think HIIT works the best for cardio.

Maybe try the beep test? I'm not sure how effective it is though I just started using it today.

http://www.topendsports.com/testing/...20mshuttle.htm

[tech94]

P90X is my workout routine.comes with a great nutrition plan and encompasses resistance training, incredible cardio and other routines like yoga thats great for flexibility and plyometrics which is great for agility explosiveness lower body and cardio. i started the program before but stopped bc life got in the way but i started again on Sun Aug 2nd and i have lost 17lbs since then. im on phase 2 of the program now and couldnt be happier with it. its very time consuming with workout running atleast an hour/day. As an RN i only work 3days/week so i have quite a bit of time on my hands and on my work days i split the routine and do half hour before work and half hour after. tried doing entire routine before work one day and entire routine after work another day to see what worked best for me. the 1/2 before and 1/2 after fit me the best. doesnt say anywhere that you should split the routine like this and i've definetly seen some strength gains and defintion and waist down to a tight 34in from tight 38 jeans. im down from 208.5 to 191.5 as of this passed sunday. my goal for my frame with muscle definition is about 175 (i'm only 5'6")

[tech94]

was crossfit designed by tony blauer? or does he just use it and endorse it? just curious. that guy is pretty ripped for his age ( probably 40's i figure)

[unstpabl1]

Originally Posted by tech94

was crossfit designed by tony blauer? or does he just use it and endorse it? just curious. that guy is pretty ripped for his age ( probably 40's i figure)

Nope

[tech94]

guess he's either a cert trainer or just a practioner. i was under the mistaken notion that it was his system like his spear

[leejam99]

your workout should be:
1. always varied - don't do the same thing/movements/exercise routine. You need to be good at ALL type of movements through all time range short and long. Change it up as much as you can. What, when, how, etc.

2. functional - no isolation exercises.

3. do it at your top intensity - you don't need to train longer to "get more in". If you train at your top intensity, i promise you that you won't want to go longer


Tony B. is a CrossFit Affiliate like me.

hope that helps.