How did you train before CF.com?

General Fitness
1

I think it would be interesting to hear the different methods of training that everyone used before they came to this site. I personally had no clue about how to get faster, how to periodize my workouts or how to aid in recovery and regeneration.

Years ago, when I was training for hockey & lacrosse and I would alternate between lifting and running days. I would run @ 100% effort for a good 30 sec - 1 minute and then continue to jog for a minute, then run @ 100% for a minute, then jog… etc. Needless to say, I just wore myself out and gained barely any speed. I thought I was improving because my legs were filled with lactic acid afterwards! :smiley: My reasoning was that… during hockey, you’re on the ice for about 1min shifts so you should go hard for 1min and then jog for 1min… haha :slight_smile:

I also had another workout that kinda resembles tempo. I would do 9 x 400m with 90 sec recovery between reps. I would run the 400s in around 70-75 secs(I think). This workout left me completely exhausted and I couldn’t do any quality work for the next 2 days.

My weight work was actually pretty good. I did alot of deadlifting, squats & bench. For one period though, I didn’t do any bench pressing because I “thought” that you run with your legs, not your arms… so wouldn’t that be useless… lol :smiley:

Sometimes I would use a stationary bike. 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds light, 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds light… etc. I would also run suicides all the time, thinking that they were a really good workout… :slight_smile:

2

I’ve been a personal trainer/Strength Coach for almost 10 years now so I had been doing tons of reading but there were a few areas that I changed right away.

I have the Supertraining book and used that as a bible so I trained my hockey guys to do a lot of short sprints, no longer than 8 seconds and ride the bike quite a bit but I’d have them do 30 second sprints on the bike which I don’t do anymore. I have them do their sprints, then ride the bike at low intensity but then I’ve added the tempo runs with great results.

I also used to train my abs a lot heavier. Like sets lasting no longer than 20-30 seconds. Charlie explained that abs are slow twitch not fast and to save your CNS.

I think I’ve simplified my training as well with good results. Most of the guys this season haven’t had any injuries at all which is good.

Also Charlie taught me about cross training vs sport specific training. If you want your exercies to resemble your sport so much just go play your sport. So I got rid of a few exercises and didn’t worry about having too much variety in the workouts I gave.

Lol, I actually had an argument with one of my clients who spent a few months in the NHL this season. He was complaining that my workouts didn’t have enough variety. I told him that I’m not giving him a bunch of different exercises because I don’t know more but because there’s only so many that work. He backed down and had a great off season. He’s been injury free so far as well.

3

When I told you what I did, I will get so much bad rep points, that it is shame to me to even admit what I did! :slight_smile:
Nevertless, I passed the “bad” school and learned on my errors, but the holy bible Supertraining, McGill work, Noakes work and CF.com put me on the right track, and I am very thanksfull…
Ok, here are my “methods”!

I remember while being ih high school I trained brazilian jiu-jitsu, and I was bloody good, and one day my teacher told me:
“Mladen, you should start lifting weights!”
and I replyed:
“Hell no! It will make me slower!” (1 point)

During first year of studies, I HATED the iron game, thinking that it leads to injuries and slowing down and bulking (1 point). I conducted easy slow distance runs (2 points) trying to improve my endurance.

The first sources I got on iron game were from MIKE MENTZER! So, I started going into the gym and thinking that everyone else is doing wrong and I had the knowledge. Man, how I was stupid back then. This was in 2003/2004. (3 points for stupidity). I even cursed Zatsiorsky for proclamaiting multi sets (5 point).
I avoid doing squats and any other exercises because I thought it will cause back troubles which I had back then. I even used twist machine (10 points for being a dork)

How everything started going just fine:
in summer 2004 I bought Enoka and Mcgill books. I read them. McGill even suggested reading Supertraining book. When I was back to faculty I suddenly found that some prof have Supertraining. I read it…
ENLIGHTEMENT
That year 2004, I was 3rd year and entered into strength training department, and fortunally there was one guy, who came from sport academy (similar to our faculty) in my group. His name is Jovan Buha, (jovisha at this site). He borrowed me CFTS and a lot of other books (and vice versa). Back then I was on supertraining forum, but jovisha directed me to CF! I had troubles login in (and some my pals still have). This was before exctly one year. And during that year a read a lot of books, lifted a million of tons of weight in free-weight multijoint movement (Metzner, eat yourself), have a lot of sex :D, met a various idiots in the gym that are like I was just before 1-2 year, and most importantly I made a huge leap since then… And I am still learning with hyperspeed. So, blinky thanks for starting this thread, because I am a real example how can some dork in just one year learn a huge stuff and try it, how can someone change in such short time (I had a huge knowledge foundation befor it, so this helped a lot). I recently started working in basketball, so I easily get more and more practical knowledge.
I will like to use this opportunity to say thanks to Mel Siff, Stuart McGill, Tim Noakes, my pal Jovan Buha (who know where I been if we had not met… I know you are reading this crap, and laughing you MF :slight_smile: ), Charlie and all of you guys here at the forum. I must have forgot somone, because a lot of people helped me to put me on the right track, and I will spend my whole lifew doing this same thing for others.
THANK YOU GUYS!

4

I was acutally using a low volume approach with a bit of a low high split and as focused on developing agility via sporting activity (I saw weights and other work as supplemental rather than the end in itself) etc because I believed from reading motor learning literature that this was probably the best way to go.

However, I was training far too hard in the gym all the time, was not periodising my weight training so it fitted into my track programmes (I just periodised it so i could break plateaus which were probably caused by too much overlap between track and weights).

I was also not really doing much in terms of low intensity work and nothing for regeneration.

Essentially CF.com helped me to see the big picture and how it all fits together. I’m sure there are things I am still doing wrong but it is all a lot better than it was before. I get more consistant results which is the main thing.

There is nothing (that pisses me off more) like not knowing why some people do well and others perform badly.

I think my philosophy has improved grately because of the discussion here. I don’t know anywhere else on the web where you can get so much great feedback.

TC

5

anybody may laugh, but really what i did before was intensive tempo 6 days a week! often injured and overtrained :eek: that’s what our coach told us to do. so i began training myself without any coach support and understanding, as you can guess i progressed :wink: and dropped 0,5s in 2 month after almost 3 years of stagnation, that was such an incredible feeling!
so i would like to appreciate all of you guys who shared your knowledge here, and of course Charlie and CF team for organizing this community. this is the best sport forum i’ve ever read.

6

I run sprint hard mon and tues, weds i couldnt move cause i was always in pain.

7

:eek: …Who’s the girl in your avatar ?? Come to England i’ll give her private instruction. All To help the CF.com community you understand.

With my first coaching assignment I had great success doing things quite differently to what i’d been taught at uni (http://www.charliefrancis.com/community/showthread.php?t=11696) … I got a bit arrogant and decided to rant on here about it.

Since then i’ve been schooled by guys on here (bar a few) and learnt more about R & R and periodisation in the last 3 months than really my last 4 years at Aberystwyth.

SeanJos

8

you can find some info here :
http://eng.rusathletics.com/sbo/atlet.php?atlet=1069

be sure she has enough admirers :cool: