Training and Nutrition Regimen

Exercise:

I have a lot of physically-oriented goals this year, since I finally find myself in a good place to start moving forward again. My training (I don’t ‘work out’; I train for specific goals) regimen will largely based on past successes.

Sunday: Rest Day (Church)
Monday: Daily Seven, Treadmill
Tuesday: Daily Seven, Powerlifting A/B
Wednesday: Daily Seven, Elliptical Trainer
Thursday: Daily Seven, Powerlifting B/A
Friday: Daily Seven, Stair Climber
Saturday: Daily Seven, Powerlifting A/B

The real core of my training is the ‘Daily Seven’, an idea that I’ve borrowed from my days in the United States Marine Corps. There, each duty day starts with a workout, and every workout starts with a ‘Daily Seven’–any seven calisthenic exercises, done for a specified number of repetitions at a four-count cadence. Form and control, however are not emphasized.

For my training, I am using a system of progressive calisthenics based on both my military and law enforcement training requirements, and the book Convict Conditioning. You can see the specific exercises listed in my yearly and monthly goals; since this is not the only workout that I do, I plan on progressing quite conservatively. A few more reps each month, with the intention of moving up one level of difficulty each year.

For cardio, I have a routine that is highly influenced by the Furman Institute’s “Run Less, Run Faster” program, although it is not the same. I do no outside running, except for PT tests. I have replaced “Key Run #3” with simply 45 minutes on the treadmill, increasing by .1 mph per month. This year, I train at 1% incline; starting January of 2016, that will be 2%. This is my Monday run. On Wednesday, I do my version of ‘Key Run #1’, consisting of a 30-minute HIIT run on the elliptical trainer, rotating between 30-90, 30-60, and 30-30 routines. On Friday, I do my version of ‘Key Run #2’, consisting of 30 minutes of steady-state cardio on the stair-climber.

For actual ENJOYMENT, I do powerlifting. My preference would be to use the ‘Bigger, Faster, Stronger’ system (which would really replace everything in my program), but since no place in town has squat boxes, I am adopting the exercises and set/rep scheme of Mark Rippetoe’s excellent Starting Strength workout. I should make it very clear that I am not DOING ‘Starting Strength’, because I have ‘added to the program’.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I also have a Gracie-Barra Jiu-Jitsu (sic) class, and on Sundays I will spend time on the shooting range, practicing rifle and pistol.

Nutrition:

So, I really need to start losing a significant amount of weight. This is the simple result of having two jobs with highly-randomized work schedules, and a weakness for a particular brand of cola. Like my exercise regimen, this will be based on past successes.

My breakfast every day shall consist of a drink made from the following:

8 ounces of aloe vera juice, 1 tablespoon of brewer’s yeast, 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder, 1 tablespoon of high-vitamin butter oil, .5 tsp bone powder, .5 tsp cal/mag powder, and .5 tsp virgin cod liver oil. On any day that I weigh more than my monthly weight goal (which drops by five pounds every month or two), this is my only meal for the day.

As long as I weigh at or below my goal weight for the month, I also eat dinner, consisting of 15-16 ounces of animal protein (Fish on Monday and Friday; Offal on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; Eggs and another meat on Sunday and Wednesday) plus a green salad or berry dessert. For every pound of weight below my goal for the month, I get an additional snack of fresh vegetables or fruit, to a maximum of five meals per day.