Workout Routine.

[Fish Tank]

So I'm on day 4 of the "Navy SEALs workout" and it blows lol.

I was wondering if anyone here can give some of their personal experiences on a few things:

How to reduce muscle soreness after a workout.

How to condition myself to running longer distances at a faster rate.

Clothing/footware which would be better to workout in.

Any supplements (legal supplements only) that have helped them in their workouts.



Also if anyone is interested n doing this; I would love to have some input on their progress. Weight loss, muscle gain, body fat percentage etc. As well as what you eat and drink on a daily basis.



THE U.S. Navy SEAL Workout:


First 9 Weeks:

Week 1
o Running: 2 miles, 8:30 pace, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pushups: 4 sets of 15 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 4 sets of 20 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 3 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 15 min. 4-5 days/week



Week 2
o Running: 2 miles, 8:30 pace, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pushups: 5 sets of 20 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 5 sets of 20 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 3 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 15 min. 4-5 days/week
.

Week 3
o Running: No running
o Pushups: 5 sets of 25 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 5 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 4 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 20 min. 4-5 days/week



Week 4
o Running: 3 miles, 8:30 pace, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pushups: 5 sets of 25 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 5 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 4 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 20 min. 4-5 days/week



Weeks 5-6
o Running: 2 / 3 / 4 / 2 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr
o Pushups: 6 sets of 25 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 6 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 2 sets of 8 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 25 min. 4-5 days/week

Weeks 7-8
o Running: 4 / 4 / 5 / 3 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr
o Pushups: 6 sets of 30 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 6 sets of 30 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 2 sets of 10 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 30 min. 4-5 days/week

Week 9
o Running: 4 / 4 / 5 / 3 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr
o Pushups: 6 sets of 30 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 6 sets of 30 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 10 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 35 min. 4-5 days/week


Second 9 weeks:

Week 1 & 2
o Running: 3 / 5 / 4 / 5 / 2 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr/Sa
o Pushups: 6 sets of 30 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 6 sets of 35 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 3 sets of 10 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Dips: 3 sets of 20 dips, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 35 min. 4-5 days/week


Weeks 3-4
o Running: 4 / 5 / 6 / 4 / 3 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr/Sa
o Pushups: 10 sets of 20 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 10 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 4 sets of 10 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Dips: 10 sets of 15 dips, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 45 min. 4-5 days/week


Week 5
o Running: 5 / 5 / 6 / 4 / 4 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr/Sa
o Pushups: 15 sets of 20 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 15 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 4 sets of 12 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Dips: 15 sets of 15 dips, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 60 min. 4-5 days/week


Week 6 & Beyond
o Running: 5 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 4 miles, Mo/Tu/We/Fr/Sa
o Pushups: 20 sets of 20 pushups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Situps: 20 sets of 25 situps, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Pullups: 5 sets of 12 pullups, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Dips: 20 sets of 15 dips, Mon/Wed/Fri
o Swimming: Swim continuously for 75 min. 4-5 days/week

[Dr. Mobius]

No thanks. I have neither the time nor the will to kill myself right now.

As for muscle soreness, acetaminophen and ibuprofen seem to work well enough for me.

[Sparrowhawk]

A gunshot to the temple.

[Dr. Mobius]

Let me rephrase that: I have neither the time nor the will to kill myself his way.

Your way, I have plenty of time but I still lack the will.

[Jayelle]

Soreness,etc. can be relieved by starting out slowly! If you suddenly start running all the time when you haven't before, you're going to get sore.
If you want to get faster, start slow and work your way up.


The body doesn't like extreme changes.

[Claire]

Bananas are supposed to help with soreness.

[eriador]

^- potassium -^

[ValentineNicole]

Drink water beforehand and throughout the workout. Make sure you're drinking enough throughout the days - that will aid in the soreness.
Also stretch! I cannot emphasis this enough. That will make a HUGE impact.
I have this gel that is for muscle soreness - Elemis makes it, if you're interested. They also have a massage oil that does the same thing. It works remarkably well.
Make sure you're getting enough vitamins and nutrients. As was said before, potassium plays a big role. Keep your electrolytes up! I know gatorade sounds like simply sugar water, but you'll be surprised at how well it helps if you're low..
As for shoes, it depends on how much you're willing to spend. My best recommendation is just to go into a store and ask specifically for long distance, endurance, running shoes. They'll help you find something in your price range that will work for you.
Check your body fat using a calipher, not a handheld device. Calipher's aren't necessarily THE most accurate thing on earth, but it will really give you the best idea on improvement. I've found the handheld devices underestimate in comparison to caliphers.
If you need to, build up slowly on the running. If you time yourself everytime, you WILL see the improvements. Keep fighting the little battles. Say you run a 9 minute mile now. In 2 days, try for 8:50 or even 8:45. Keep striving, and don't give up if you fail. Eventually you'll be right where you want to be. (I don't know your physical condition at all, so forgive me if I'm grossly over or underestimating. I'm just picking random numbers.)
Make sure you're eating enough to maintain your workout, but don't over compensate by eating loads of junk because you're working out. To see the best improvements, aim for a balanced diet with minimal junk food and yet an average number of calories (2000ish). Remember, carbs are best midday - they provide energy. Protein is best at night - it builds muscle mass.
I've taken every supplement you can think of. Trust me when I say, they won't help. You'll get false energy, yes, but you may have health complications and/or shortness of breath type symptoms. You're better off sticking with good old fashion nutrition, water, and had work.
Good luck!
I'd try this out with you, but I don't think I'm in the shape anymore to jump straight into something that will have me running 6 miles in 6 weeks. The first week, no problem - but I'd probably need 2 or 3 first weeks to really get me ready to keep going :-p If that's alright by you, I may check it out, haha.

I'm roughly 120-125, 5'4, and just under 20% body fat. (18.5% I believe?)
And I severely lack in muscle mass. I really would like to build up my upper body strength.

**edit** Oops, I read that wrong. Apparently, it's running 6 miles after 15 weeks, technically, since it's divided into 2 nine week sessions. That I might be able to pull off Mind having a chick join you?

[Fish Tank]

I have been drinking almost too much water lol. What exactly is the gel called and where would I get it?

Right now I am taking fiber and a multi-vitamin. I'm drinking chocolate milk, and milk shakes. I was told it was good for an after-workout drink. Any thoughts on that? Or do you think I should just go for sports drinks?

Right now I'm running about a 7-8 minute mile. I'm in ok shape but a little too skinny. Im eating about 2500 calories. I'm about 9 percent body fat. Had a full physical before I started doing this. Just to be safe. I'm 6'2'' and 158.3 lbs. I hope to gain about 20 lbs by the end of the 18 weeks.

But whoo I haven't ran in about 5 months and my thighs and butt are super sore.

It's always nice to have another person to keep up your motivation. If you wanna give it a start try to start next Monday.

[ValentineNicole]

Hmmm, I'd try a protein type of smoothie over a milkshake or chocolate milk. From what I've read, that much dairy wouldn't be the best thing right after a workout. That said, my boyfriend is addicted to chocolate milk and he's right around your area, height and weight wise. I guess that's really your judgement call. The sports drinks - I pick those up when I'm feeling particularly weak, not all the time. They have a lot of sugar, and you get more nutrients from a smoothie. Milk is great in general, of course thought - I'm not bashing it by any means. I would just add that in mid-afternoon or something, or later at night, as opposed to post-workout.
The gel is called Elemis Instant Refreshing Gel. I pick it up at spa's in Europe, but I'm sure there are other places that carry it. It works really well for muscle tension - it sort of cools and numbs the area for a bit. I have a lot of issues with my lower back, so I use it a lot.
Protein powder shakes might be good for weight gain as well - you might want to look into that, because it'd be a lot healthier than just milkshakes.
7 minute miles are great! I run about an 8 minute mile on average, I would guess - I don't think I've done faster than 7:20 in a looooong while.
You may want to consider adding in some extra weight lifting on the days off, for strength training and toning, if you have access to some machinery or free weights.. You'll be shocked at how fast your muscles tighten, and it might be good to balance out the cardio if your aim is to gain weight.
Funny, your goals sound a lot like my boyfriend's when he's working out. He's a bit of a gym nut at times. He loves powerbars, if you'd like to keep those in mind as a healthy snack. I keep a couple bars around as well (though lighter, female oriented ones - and organic if I can) for emergencies. Nuts also work well after workouts, because they have lots of good fat, protein for muscle building, and nutrients.
Your goals are a bit different from mine, because if anything, I'd like to maintain my weight but gain muscle tone and lose body fat. I think, being female, I wouldn't want to go below 12% body fat, but somewhere between 12-15 sounds good to me.
Caffiene has been known to assist in muscle pain, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend caffiene as an amazing beneficial thing to add into a diet That's, of course, your judgement call though.

[Eaquae Legit]

Milk or chocolate milk will not replace the lost electrolytes in your body. You need to replace the potassium, sodium, and other mineral salts that you sweated out.

But mostly, listen to JL. Start slowly. You can't just jump into things like that. It's horribly unhealthy to do so.

[Firegirl]

Fish Tank, Are you interested in becoming a Seal or do you just want to get in shape? just out of curiousity. Either way best of luck on it.
Gatorade will help you replace your elctrolytes after exercising, try that as plain water will not do that.

I not sure about the weather in your area, but as far as I know for clothing try cotton based fabrics or moisture wicking fabrics. As for clothing that does not cut off the circulation is best.

Ice is good for reducing soreness, also heating ricebags in the microwave and applying them to the sore areas help, too.

[hive_king]

If its cold enough for a coat, I reccomend wool. Wool is an amazing fabric for moisture.

[Fish Tank]

Yeowza lots of response.


To VN: Yeah dairy = lactic acid which is supposedly bad after workouts. But protein bars and shakes are bleh. Maybe fruit smoothies? What type of sports drinks? Like gatorade? I eat as normally as a vegetarian does lol. Any take on soy products?

I'll look into the gel, do you think general nutrition places would carry it? Guess I could call around a bit.

What about peanut butter instead of nuts?

Tonight I ran despite being sore lol my first mile was 7 minutes 13 seconds, my second was 8 minutes 53 seconds. Which is just barely meeting the requirements.

I do drink pop daily.

To EL:

I do eat normal meals and as most Americans I intake too much sodium. Suppose I should start eating bananas.

To FG:

If I could do what the workout says at the end of the 18th week I would consider going through actual nSEALs training.

Gatorade again? lol

As for weather in my area, it was 11 degrees when I ran tonight.

As such I would prefer heating my sore muscles rather than icing them.


To hk:

It certainly is cold enough for a coat, but by the time Im done running the first mile I'm too hot to wear one.

[Eaquae Legit]

I said nothing about normal meals. I'm not sure what you're responding to in my post.

The electrolytes can be balanced again by sports drinks like gatorade. Or salt in your koolaide. I've heard mixed reviews of the latter, though.

If you're a vegetarian, make sure your protein intake is good (40-80 grams/day, more or less). Also keep on top of your vitamn B-12, which is dangerously low in most vegetarians and even in meat-eaters.

[locke]

rather than off day heavy lifting, I would suggest crossfit - www.crossfit.com which is designed to challenge people on a military/police workout. it should dovetail very nicely with navy seal training and the folks on the forum there will be enthusisastic and very helpful. Heavy lifting doesnt' really build functional strength like the seal training and crossfit will.

[locke]

for clothing you want material that will wick away moisture, that means mostly artificial materials and never anything cotton, find some non cotton (probably wool) socks and your feet will be much happier from all that running. REI is a great source for good quality but you will pay for it. however the best investment I made prior to skiing the first time was buying one of their undershirts on clearance, I'm going back to get pants/longjohns before I go again, the stuff is seriously awesome and makes an unbelievably huge difference.

of course you could always just go commando in gym shorts and avoid having to worry about buying fancy underwear, but get some non cotton workout shirts, you will be amazed at the difference. Cotton holds moisture like a sponge and you don't want that.

---
Diet advice can hardly begin to be addressed here, do a lot of research for that or stick with SEAL recs. Just don't go too low on fat, most diets will try to put you a 20% fat diet which is very low fat, 30% is more normal but probably still a little low. Limit your portions and try to avoid seconds. eat food, not canned/jarred/boxed food-like products, smaller portions (to hit calorie goals), and diversify what you eat, don't just eat four foods, (wheat, sugar, rice and chicken) and I'm not kidding when I say there are people out there who eat little more than that.

edit: you may be eating too few calories to bulk and add lean mass, especially with the amount of activity you're doing. I would move up to the 3000 calorie range at least, but don't take my word for it, do the research.

Adam

[locke]

let's bracket the dairy question for now and get to pop.

stop drinking it. high fructose corn syrup and carbonic acid are not happy combinations for your innards. Diet is no better, the artificial sweeteners teach your confused body to store more energy as fat. The more refined sugar you consume the more tired you will be, with greater muscle soreness and slower muscle recovery. yeah it provides a temporary boost to carbs but it overworks your pancreas and the process of digesting high fructose corn syrup is working counter to your goals.

Also, your body is designed to digest sugar in concert with other micronutrients and macronutrients, sugar, whether fructose glucose or sucruse needs other elements for it to be digested. If those don't come with the sugar - such as when it's refined - then your body hits the stores of those in your bones and muscles to process them. Eating sugary stuff saps your body. oh and in my mind powerbar = sugarbar, shudder.

Read every label! if you see High Fructose Corn Syrup, put it back right away, don't buy it.

As for milk, if you're caucasian you're probably okay, since you're clearly not lactose intolerant the raw/pasteurized makes no difference (raw milk naturally contains the enzyme lactase which will break down lactose during digestion, part of the test for successful pasteurization is the complete destruction of enzymatic activity in the milk, meaning lactase is gone and many people can't digest it). But milk and milk products as whole foods have a lot of benefits. I wouldn't recommend milkshakes or icecream because they have a lot of sugar, but I would encourage you to drink whole milk (not non fat or 2 percent) with protein shakes (if you like) or on it's own. If you can get non-homogenized milk, even better. homogenization forces the milk with high pressure through a very fine sieve that breaks apart the fat globules damaging the chemical structure and integrity of the milk--in other words its harder to digest and more likely to trigger an allergy later if you consume it regularly.

[Fish Tank]

At the end of week 2 and I can't feel my legs lol.




Indeed I have stopped drinking pop for the time being. Yeah I never did eat those "power bars" or "power drinks". I do have whole milk here so I suppose I could switch from chocolate.

I do have wool socks but my feet get too hot. I wear cotton shirts and pants though. I would change it but I havent worked up a sweat yet. Hard to when it's 11 degrees outside, neh?

Yeah diet advice is more personal. Was really just asking for suggestions on what you do. To see if it works for me.

Right now I'm eating about 3500 calories a day. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Dinner, snack. I usually workout an hour or so after dinner. Hard to get high calorie intake without eating meat and junk food though.

[ValentineNicole]

Nuts, peanut butter, any nut butter really, cheese, whole milk, trail mix, granola, bagels, dried fruit, potatoes, and if you eat eggs, then omelettes are all examples of foods that can be helpful when trying to gain weight because they are more dense in calories than most foods and yet are still healthy.

Ensure helps you gain weight. I avoid the stuff like the plague, but I have my own reasons :tongue Anyway, if all else fails, it's there.

[Jayelle]

Fish Tank: Why are you doing this, exactly? Are you torturing yourself for no reason or do you have a goal?

...this just seems like a bad idea to me.

[Fish Tank]

VN: Yeah lol right now eggs and cheese probably make up 80% of my diet.


Jayelle: I want to get my six-pack back. That's one of my goals. lol it's not torturing myself. I do enjoy doing it. If I didn't enjoy it I wouldn't do it.