Help With Recovery

[skaman607]

I am on the cross country team at school, soon to be on the indoor track team, I am doing Reg Parks full body program, we do hard workouts about 3 days a week, with 1-2 days of easy running in between should I lift on the day of the hard workout or the day after, which would also probably be the day before the next hard workout. any replies would be appreciated thanks.

 

[skaman607]

just for reference the program goes something like this:

Bench Press 5x5
Bent over row 4x6
Seated behind the neck press 4x6
bb curl 4x6
Squat 5x5
deadlift 5x5
leg curl 2 to failure
abs

 

[zackdarnell]

just for reference the program goes something like this:

Bench Press 5x5
Bent over row 4x6
Seated behind the neck press 4x6
bb curl 4x6
Squat 5x5
deadlift 5x5
leg curl 2 to failure
abs

Do you do the same workout 3 days a week?

 

[skaman607]

yes and AR inbetween workouts

 

[louden_swain]

skaman607,

You are certainly a busy high school student. As an athlete, you are a hard worker and display a lot of enthusiasm towards training. I am sure you go through periods of fatigue from the result of training. It is possible to design a good routine to accomodate your needs while you participate in cross country and indoor track. Your current routine looks good, but I am a little concerned about you training each muscle group 3 days a week. You might want to try and alternate your routine. Here might be an example:

Week 1

Day 1 - Upper Body

Bench Press - 5 x 5
Barbell Row - 3 x 8
Seated Barbell Presses to Front - 3 x 8
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 x 8
Barbell Curl - 3 x 8
Wrist Curl - 3 x 12

Day 2 - Lower Body

Squats - 5 x 5
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 x 5
Leg Extensions 3 x 12
Lying Leg Curls - 3 x 12
+ Ab Training

Day 3 - Upper Body

Incline Barbell Presses - 5 x 5
Pull-Downs or Chins - 3 x 8
Seated Dumbbell Presses - 3 x 8
Lying Tricep Ext. (Skull Crushers) - 3 x 8
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 3 x 8
Dumbbell Wrist Curls - 3 x 12

Week 2 - Alternate

Day 1 - Lower Body

Squats - 5 x 5
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 x 5
Leg Extensions 3 x 12
Lying Leg Curls - 3 x 12
+ Ab Training

Day 1 - Upper Body

Bench Press - 5 x 5
Barbell Row - 3 x 8
Seated Barbell Presses to Front - 3 x 8
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 x 8
Barbell Curl - 3 x 8
Wrist Curl - 3 x 12

Day 3 - Lower Body

Squats - 5 x 5
Stiff Leg Deadlifts - 5 x 5
Leg Extensions 3 x 12
Lying Leg Curls - 3 x 12
+ Ab Training

For this type of training, carbohydrates should be the most important source of energy. Keep your protein and fat intake to moderate levels.

Good sources of energy and easy to digest:

Gatorade
Bananas
Mixed Fruit
Oatmeal

I am sure you have bouts with soreness, so be sure to:

stretch
massage therapy

I hope some of this information is useful. Good luck and keep training hard!!

 

[skaman607]

Thanks Louden, you have been very helpful, as soon as I give karma to other people I will give some to you

 

[skaman607]

do you think I should train on the hard days or on the easy days, which will probably be the day before another hard day

 

[louden_swain]

If you can, perform your strength training on the easy days. Hard cross-country training will most certainly deplete your reserves. I was pretty luck, because I was a thrower. We spent a lot of time in the gym building strength and power. We worked on our technique for 1 hour then hit the gym.

 

[skaman607]

so you're saying it is better to lift a day before a hard workout than on the day of the workout, I thought if you hit them at once they both would be able to recover by the next workout, but I guess I'm wrong

 

[louden_swain]

skaman607,

The key is to determine what works for you. Trust your instincts and experiment in necessary.