Jack Your Metabolism and Get Ripped During Off Days
It's pretty early, and the dew is still on the ground. Sweat pours
from your face and stings your eyes. You hear huffing and puffing all
around you. You look up and see 40 yards of open field waiting for you
to conquer. You hear the whistle and let out a primordial scream. You
take off and it feels like your legs are on fire and your lungs are
going to burst out of your chest. You collapse as you cross the finish
line. Chest heaving, legs shaking, you make it over to where your team
is gathered and you take a knee. It is the end of the first practice of two-a-day #1.
For many of us this was what high school was all about. Sprints and
lifting, sprints and lifting and some practice thrown in there as well.
As hard as it was, you were jacked and ripped. Then life hit you. You
may still be strong, but you have a little extra layer of "person" on
you. Fret not, because below we are going to show you how to get back
to that phase. We are going to show you how to get ripped.
1. Intervals: Intervals involve spurts of work followed by periods of
rest. The intensity can vary, but the concept is still the same, work
and rest. The work/rest ratio should be tailored to the type of sport
you are participating in, but for general fitness, I would recommend
30 seconds of sprinting followed by 30 seconds of rest.
Interval training can be done on an elliptical machine, a bike, a treadmill, or even a track in the
form of Fartlek runs. Intervals are like a blow torch to your metabolism. They will keep it elevated long after you step off the
track and your net caloric expenditure will be much greater than low intensity steady state cardio.
2. Lets face it; if you have a Prowler [a form of weighted sled] you know how kick ass it is in
terms of conditioning. However, if you don't have one, you
can still get into sick shape. If you have a sled or even a tire you
strap it to your waist (with a belt of course) and run sprints while dragging it.
Also, pushing an Olympic plate around the gym will also force your body to
work harder than it normally does. The angle, the weight, the work-they
all come into play when doing these. These are best done after your lower body training sessions.
3. On off days or deload weeks don't just sit around. Utilize
what is known as active rest to help your body recover and get some
conditioning in. If you lift 3-days a week, play pick up basketball,
play tennis, swim. Just be active. Not only will it keep your
competitive juices flowing, but it will also help the body to get blood
flowing which will help accelerate recovery via delivering oxygen and
other valuable nutrients to the muscles.
Simply put, there is no excuse for being strong, yet outta shape.
It’s not what an athlete does. Always remember, once in
athlete always an athlete.
Sample Conditioning Sessions:
Interval Training:
Equipment: Elliptical
Warm Up: 2 min
Sprint: 30s
Rest: 30s
Duration: 10 min
Sled Sprints:
Equipment: Sled, sled strap, belt
10 x 40yds sled sprints
Active Rest Session:
Pick Up Basketball Games x 2
Accelerated Muscular Development will show you how to build massive muscle faster than you've EVER IMAGINED.
Jim Smith, CSCS is a popular lecturer, author and renowned strength coach and
creater of Accelerated
Muscular Development 2.0. Jim is an expert contributor to Men's Fitness, and is also a member of the Elite
Fitness Q/A staff.
He speaks regularly at clinics, conferences and
seminars about the Diesel Method. His distinctive and comprehensive
training approach has helped athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all
skill levels attain their goals and "Achieve Beyond Potential". Jim is
an active student of strength athletics and is always seeking new ways
to innovate and provide a unique perspective for gaining muscle,
rehabbing injuries, improving performance and building better athletics.
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