[xcskier]

There are supposed to be 2-3 max strength session per week (with 48-72 hours
of rest in between).

Is there a benefit to doing just the “killer core routine” as a part of other
training sessions (on other days than max strength) or is that too much and it’s
better just to stick to twice a week?

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on August 13, 2018 at 8:58 am #11153

Typically we only recommend 2 max strength sessions per week to allow 72 hours between. If you are doing hill sprints or other max power type training then substitute that for one day of the max for the legs as thy are the same kind of stimulus.

We normally use a core routine for the warm up for max and other strength. We do this because the core muscles are predominately slow twitch and highly fatigue resistant. For this same reason you can do core training more often because those slow twitch muscles recover faster than FT muscles.

Scott

[LeftEdge]

LeftEdge on May 23, 2019 at 7:27 pm #22427

Hello Scott, any chance that I might be able to get you to expound on this, please?

I’m a 56 yo male. I spend close to half the month in a hotel. I have a very irregular sked that doesn’t often lend itself to getting into a gym.

I’ve been doing body weight exercises in my room most days. A combination of pushups, planks, generic core stuff, and most recently your “Killer Core Routine” has been added to the mix.

I typically do sets of pushups to failure, or close to it. My core doesn’t get worked quite that hard. My goal is nothing but general fitness and to keep the gross tonnage off.

Any thoughts, please, on just how frequently I should be doing all of the above? And if it’s not every day, any suggestions, please, as to how I might want to break some of this up so that I can have an exercise routine for at least 6 out of every 7 days?

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on May 28, 2019 at 7:51 pm #22641

Lefty:

It sounds like you have a rough schedule and anything you do is going to be some sort of compromise. Body weight training is great and big gains can be made with it, especially if you have some apparatus like a pull up bar and dip bars. In your hotel maybe you can push to chairs close together and do dips with one had on each chair seat and legs stretched out on front. For pull ups you can do inclined pull ups using the edge of a table with your body planked out under the table. Box step ups on to a firm chair can be added as well.

As for core The killer core routine was developed to be used in hotel rooms while athletes are traveling. Minimal props are needed. Ultimately you will need to progress the training load or you will stagnate and even regress. The easiest ways to add load are increase the resistance which has the effect of making you stronger or to increase the duration which has the effect of building endurance in those muscles. Both are good and it depends on what you want.

For core work you can get away with 3-4/week even if you are pushing pretty hard because the core muscles are largely comprised of slow twitch fibers and recover pretty fast. For the other workouts, even with body weight you may want to limit yourself to 2-3 days/week to ensure good recovery.

We work with lots of folks who travel frequently for work. Most hotels have mini gyms that are sufficient for maintenance work. If you can include time on a treadmill or stair machine for sustained aerobic work you will be able to keep those extra pounds under control better than by using only strength training. It all about calories in versus calories out.

Scott

[Jo]

Jo on June 6, 2019 at 11:42 am #23063

Hi LeftEdge

I also have an erratic schedule and spend a ton of time in hotels working. I bought a portable TRX that I can been hooked across a door. Doesn’t allow all the same things a regular TRX would as the door gets in the way of some things but I’ve gotten good use out of it esp for core workouts and inclined pull ups etc.

I also resorted to bringing a 10lb kettle bell with me on my last trip. Have pondered using water bottles in a backpack to add resistance as well.

And lastly running is the one thing I’ve found I can take with me pretty much anywhere, which I’m sure you know.

Not sure if this helps but thought I’d share as I also face the same issue with work getting in the way of my fitness goals!