Seminar prep -vs- substantial fat loss

Hi All,

Firstly it's nice to be back from my extended absence. I am back to full health, and keen to get stuck in.

With the proposed Mallorca seminar in mind as a target, in the fall, and bearing in mind I have not been able to train for the last 18+ months (and gained a little weight as well) ...I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for scheduling my 'recovery' training:

1. What would be the basic level of strength (i.e. static holds, skills, dynamic/ring movements) and flexibility that would allow me to get the most out of the seminar. I imagine that Coach Sommer and other attendees would be best placed to answer this. That way I won't waste time/recovery on elements that I don't need at that time and can work on afterwards.

2. Considering that I will be losing a further 30lbs over the next three months, how would that affect training structure. Mainly in terms of joint health. Maybe I should focus on mobility/flexibility, core strength and wrist/elbow/shoulder prehab while losing the bulk of the weight?

All input gratefully recieved.

Cheers,

George.

PS: Weight loss projected using past experience and progress to date.

George, being a guy starting from the low end of the strength scale, i was doubtful how it would go at the seminar, but i'm just the kind of person that doesn't let that stop me.

Honestly, there is no special requirement for the seminar other than the desire to improve. It is structured in a way that anyone at any level can do it.

With that in mind i wouldn't make any special adjustment to your training just for the purpose of attending the seminar.

It sounds like you know how to handle the weight loss part.

For the training, its starting from scratch with the FSPs as outlined in the seminar, and maybe a Kilroy70 style program for the first 6 weeks or so, plus some low impact, high intensity work to jump start the metabolism.

Mr. Brady said it!

Thanks guys - that's a relief!

Still running through a bit of a testing phase at the moment. It pays to know your starting point and destination when deciding on a good route. It has surprised me that I have become so weak in some areas, and yet not really gotten worse in others!? I have (happily) already surpassed some of my old mobility/flexibility issues - yay for Kelly Starrett's Mobility WOD ...and boo to lacrosse balls!!

Yes. Weight loss is going great. The plan is the same as always, Paleo plus short hard met-con and strength work. I have known this for a long time, however during my down time I have done some additional research on changing habits and increasing compliance, since most of the 'diet' books don't really cover this. I am also experimenting with a few (non-drug/medication) tricks I have come across to maximise this loss in the short term. I will post some info on those later.

I figure I have got time for maybe three training cycles before the fall, so the first will mainly be concerned with keeping focus on fat loss and doing some good work prepping elbows and shoulders ready for the FSPs, etc. Expect a training log to appear within the next week.

I am not sure that I'll be brave enough to go with the before/after shots ...at least not until I have got a good after shot!

Cheers,

George.

I didn't take 18 months off but I did take 7 weeks and at first I seemed pretty weak to myself. I'm still weaker than I was last year at the same time feeling more wear and tear on my shoulders and ankles.

I would propose working on the FSP WU drills/skills and just mobility and HS and a very scaled back WOD. Focus on doing the movements correctly than for speed/power at this point.

Weren't you a big guy like over 6 feet? When I say big, keep in mind I'm just over 5 feet so I'm rather short.

For the weight loss, I'm currently looking into adding fasted cardio to my mornings and hoping to get swimming in besides drinking lots of water.. However, my technique is poor so it kicks my butt quite thoroughly but I can recover from either pretty well besides the fact that I've been walking typically at least a few miles a day for months now. 3-5, with sometimes my backpack which weighs 20-30lbs.

Cool, thanks.

Yes - although I am the runt of the litter, I still sit at around 6'2", and my target weight still brings me in at 195lbs ...plus any additional muscle I happen to put on. That will still be at 15-18% BF, though. I'll save going for the six-pack for another day, if I can be bothered.

Re: fat loss - I am almost reluctant to mention it, since there is a strangely included non-fitness section in the middle, but a lot of the ideas I am trying out (successfully for the most part) come from Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body. I only looked at this because it was reviewed favourably on a number of blogs I follow, and contains expert advice from people I'd heard of and agree with. Here are a few of them:

• - Brian MacKenzie
  - Charles Poliquin
  - Kelly Starrett
  - Mark Bell
  - Pavel Tsatsouline
  - Terry Laughlin

Bear in mind a good chunk of the advice in the book is not meant to be sustainable, but the fastest way to achieve the goals outlined in each case. I don't recall if it was in the book, on his blog, or an interview, but for ongoing health and longevity he seems to pretty much be pro-paleo. Also, the book is meant to be a push in the right direction for people to experiment with what does, and doesn't, work for them.

Having purchased it, I have to say most of it is pretty good. If it wasn't for the "section", I would probably have gifted it to a few people. Suffice to say that another of the experts listed in the book was Nina Hartley!?

Cheers,

George.

Check out Charles Poliquin's article and blog. Lots of good stuff in there. I went through it last week and there were some very interesting things.