Lifting 101

[BarrettRC8]

You're wasting your time if you're lifting weights for OCS.

That's interesting because I rarely ever did a pushup or any other bodyweight exercises yet I was one of the most physically prepared guys in my OCS platoon. I did spend a fair amount of time in the gym though.

It may not be completely necessary, but it will help to a large degree when combined with moderate running. And it's far from being a waste of time.

To the original poster, go check out T-Nation.com. They have a great deal of legit lifting, conditioning, dieting, etc... type articles.

 

[feddoc]

Any weight belt is bullshit...unless you are lifting at 95% of your 1RM. Using a weight belt constantly is not doing justice to any of your trunk muscles and will most likely cause those muscles to atrophy. Much better to do exercises that strengthen those trunk muscles, and those muscles surrounding the spine. Your lower back is already predisposed to bending (towards your stomach). It makes much more sense to work your abs and lower back muscles (hyperextensions) in order to provide support where it is needed.

Buy any and all books by Mark Rippetoe and realize why you SHOULD do all of the following:

Throw out your "lifting gloves".

Hold your breath during the concentric part of the lift.

Only use a weight belt that is the same thickness all the way around. Belts that are thicker in the back are bullshit.

Isolation lifts are bullshit without doing a baseline of compound lifts.

 

[Spekkio]

That's interesting because I rarely ever did a pushup or any other bodyweight exercises yet I was one of the most physically prepared guys in my OCS platoon. I did spend a fair amount of time in the gym though.

It may not be completely necessary, but it will help to a large degree when combined with moderate running. And it's far from being a waste of time.

+1 to lifting being not a waste of time. Lifting like most people do is a waste of time. By that I mean doing one set every 2-3 minutes, doing low rep sets, and doing lots of isolation exercises. Might work for making you look big, but it's generally not good for overall fitness and won't prepare you for the onslaught of endurance and cardio training you'll be doing at OCS.

Crossfit supplemented with 2 mile runs 4 days a week or focusing on 3-4 12-15 rep sets with 30 sec rest inbetween (kudos if you can throw a set of abs in there...or do what an MMA guy at my gym on LI would do and jump-rope between sets) and a good running program, on the other hand, would work very well.

 

[jtmedli]

Any weight belt is bullshit

Agreed...what good is doing a squat/DL if you're not using your whole body to do the lift?

When I first started crossfit, 185 was heavy to me on the deadlift. I 15-rep'd 250 last week. 155 was a heavy squat. I did 5x3 at 225 yesterday. Those aren't rediculous numbers by any means, but considerable improvements definitely. I only weigh about 150-155 if that says anything.

Look up "starting strength" and do the research. It's a book by Mark Rippetoe from Crossfit and lays out a pretty simple A/B day workout routine. FWiW, I'll do the lifts and then go do running and bodyweight stuff after. For instance, one thing I like to do is: 1pullup, 2dips or squats, 3pushup and then pyramid up 2,4,6....3,4,5..etc It doesn't sound like much but when you get around the teens it starts getting interesting!!

 

[BarrettRC8]

+1 to lifting being not a waste of time. Lifting like most people do is a waste of time. By that I mean doing one set every 2-3 minutes, doing low rep sets, and doing lots of isolation exercises. Might work for making you look big, but it's generally not good for overall fitness and won't prepare you for the onslaught of endurance and cardio training you'll be doing at OCS.

Low repetitions (6-8) and heavy weight is generally the type of lifting I ascribe to. Contrary to popular believe there is nothing wrong with it.

 

[C420sailor]

Low repetitions (6-8) and heavy weight is generally the type of lifting I ascribe to. Contrary to popular believe there is nothing wrong with it.

Agreed. There is also this belief that low rep/high weight will make you bulk and pack on tons of muscle while the opposite will make you lean. False. Unless you have an incredibly slow metabolism or simply eat like a f*cking pig, this won't happen. In the end it still comes down to calories in versus calories out. If you want to get big, you HAVE to eat big.

 

[Spekkio]

There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not going to prepare you for OCS as well as other weight lifting routines.

 

[BarrettRC8]

Agreed. There is also this belief that low rep/high weight will make you bulk and pack on tons of muscle while the opposite will make you lean. False. Unless you have an incredibly slow metabolism or simply eat like a f*cking pig, this won't happen. In the end it still comes down to calories in versus calories out. If you want to get big, you HAVE to eat big.

Exactly.

There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not going to prepare you for OCS as well as other weight lifting routines.

Right, so leaving to OCS doing 35 pullups, over 100 pushups and 150 situps in 2 minutes without ever doing unweighted pullups and any pushups/situps to prep was of no help.

/sarcasm

Look, I'm not trying to push heavy lifting on everyone, I'm just saying that people shouldn't shy away from it. Experiment with different routines and go with what you enjoy and feels benefits you most.

 

[BigJeffray]

Heavy lifting for low reps and lighter weights for higher reps are both useful tools. Ideally you would incorporate both into your workouts. For instance, you may want to do core compound lifts for heavier weight (like deadlifts, squats, bench, rows), and then do something else of that body part for higher reps (some isolations exercises maybe, or bodyweight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips, etc.) Then after a few weeks, flip it around, switching it up is important. Along that same line, switch up the exercises every few weeks. Use a barbell for a few weeks, then maybe switch to dumbells. Use overhand grip, then switch to underhand. Also something I've found to be good for overall fitness is to do bodyweight exercises (I prefer pushups) while running. Stop every 1/2 mile - 1 mile and do a set of pushups (or whatever else you like) and immediately start running again.

 

[Krafty1]

I wouldn't say there is anything wrong with lifting before OCS, I did, just don't over do it and use proper technique. If you haven't lifted in awhile I would either stay away or ease into it just for the sake of staying healthy prior to OCS. OCS workouts even on strength and conditioning are generally cardio based/circuit training and use body weight as resistance. When I did lift on my own before OCS I focused on low rest cycles, high reps, and low weight but to each their own.

Whatever you do make sure your workout routine includes A LOT of cardio.