Full Body vs. Isolated/Targeted

tgmichelleee

Hey guys,

I decided that my back injury is well enough where I can start lifting again and I've also decided to train for my first Tough Mudder.
My current workout schedule is going to look like 3 days cardio 2 days lifting [alternating] and possibly inverting it every week (ie second week would be 3 days lifting 2 days cardio). Key word there being possibly.
I want to focus more on cardio/endurance mainly because Tough Mudder does entail a lot of running and I plan to do other races this year.

My question is: Would it be better do a full body work on my lifting days or target certain body parts (ie legs one day, back one day, etc).

Let me preface and say that my cardio will probably include circuit and HIIT, but again all this is still in the works as I'm still in the process of planning my workouts out.



Also if you've done Tough Mudder, how'd you train for it and what did you think about it?

Cherimoose

Since you're starting out, i'd go with a full-body routine. It's less stressful to each body part. After 1-2 months, you can move to a split routine if you want (an upper / lower routine like WS4SB is good for this), and also head to a playground to simulate the specific obstacles on your course (which are listed on their website). Search the forum for prior posts on Tough Mudder.

MrGonzo05

Hey guys,

I decided that my back injury is well enough where I can start lifting again and I've also decided to train for my first Tough Mudder.
My current workout schedule is going to look like 3 days cardio 2 days lifting [alternating] and possibly inverting it every week (ie second week would be 3 days lifting 2 days cardio). Key word there being possibly.
I want to focus more on cardio/endurance mainly because Tough Mudder does entail a lot of running and I plan to do other races this year.

My question is: Would it be better do a full body work on my lifting days or target certain body parts (ie legs one day, back one day, etc).

Let me preface and say that my cardio will probably include circuit and HIIT, but again all this is still in the works as I'm still in the process of planning my workouts out.



Also if you've done Tough Mudder, how'd you train for it and what did you think about it?

If you aren't fully recovered from your back injury, you should be doing what your physical therapist says.

rybo

Full body, compound movements for your lifting.
Cardio I would run since that's a big part of what you will need for hte mudder, whether its steady state or sprint intervals on occasion.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Full body, compound movements for your lifting.
Cardio I would run since that's a big part of what you will need for hte mudder, whether its steady state or sprint intervals on occasion.

This ^^^^^ but not before clearance from your doctor or physical therapist that your back is healed and fine to start training.

EvgeniZyntx

If your objective is to train for a Tough Mudder I would focus on:

- running - a program that gets you to half marathon capacity or further
- upper body dynamic and weight training - work on pull ups, rings, walls - upper back, lats, neck, arms and shoulders - strength, flex and control - your legs are probably string enough from the running training but upper body weaknesses need to be overcome.
- plyometric, balance and dynamic movements, flexibility - balance, roll, crawl and being able to do any sort of parkour type movements is likely more useful than how much you can benchpress or squat.

If weight training is an objective do it. It's great. Training for a TM probably benefits more from assessing your weaknesses and dealing with those and training for wall climbs, crawls, etc...

tgmichelleee

Since you're starting out, i'd go with a full-body routine. It's less stressful to each body part. After 1-2 months, you can move to a split routine if you want (an upper / lower routine like WS4SB is good for this), and also head to a playground to simulate the specific obstacles on your course (which are listed on their website). Search the forum for prior posts on Tough Mudder.

Sounds good. I looked up WS4SB, definitely looks like a good plan -- I'm going to try out in after getting my body used to current workouts (it looks amazing!).
And totally forgot I can search the forum for prior posts (still new on here), will do that as well

Thanks for all the advice!

Docmahi

I personally think a full body 5x5 is the way to go - if you arent scared of the volume - I think Jason Blahas really is the best

its setup to have an A workout and a B workout - since you want to lift twice a week instead of alternating ABA and BAB every week you could just do the A workout one day and the B the next - would work really well

Especially since you want to lift 2-3 times a week you should go with a fullbody 5x5 in my opinion

tgmichelleee

If you aren't fully recovered from your back injury, you should be doing what your physical therapist says.

The injury was from a car accident. I've gotten treatment (ie chiropractor, physical therapy and meds) but at this point it's beyond anything they can do at treatment (and might be chronic). I've been cleared to work out and lift weights, I'm hoping that the muscle I build will help out with that.
Thanks for the concern!

tgmichelleee

Full body, compound movements for your lifting.
Cardio I would run since that's a big part of what you will need for hte mudder, whether its steady state or sprint intervals on occasion.

Thanks for the advice!
Really trying to do lots of running (and some HIIT as recommended) and have a barbell in the back so can't wait to get back to lifting!

tgmichelleee

If your objective is to train for a Tough Mudder I would focus on:

- running - a program that gets you to half marathon capacity or further
- upper body dynamic and weight training - work on pull ups, rings, walls - upper back, lats, neck, arms and shoulders - strength, flex and control - your legs are probably string enough from the running training but upper body weaknesses need to be overcome.
- plyometric, balance and dynamic movements, flexibility - balance, roll, crawl and being able to do any sort of parkour type movements is likely more useful than how much you can benchpress or squat.

If weight training is an objective do it. It's great. Training for a TM probably benefits more from assessing your weaknesses and dealing with those and training for wall climbs, crawls, etc...

^This!!

My main focus is to train for TM (more so than weight training, not that I'm objected to that). I'm a steady track running wise (solid 6-8 miles), but since I lack upper body strength I thought I would start weight training and focus on gaining strength (as that was the first thing that came to mind).
But thank you so much for your advice and commenting! It gave me a new prospective/insight on how to train (pylo, dynamic movements, and parkour workouts wasn't even in my radar).

tgmichelleee

I personally think a full body 5x5 is the way to go - if you arent scared of the volume - I think Jason Blahas really is the best

its setup to have an A workout and a B workout - since you want to lift twice a week instead of alternating ABA and BAB every week you could just do the A workout one day and the B the next - would work really well

Especially since you want to lift 2-3 times a week you should go with a fullbody 5x5 in my opinion

Checked out Blaha's 5x5 novice program, sounds like a good plan to start into (then planning on doing WS4SB as recommended by another user and pylometrics). Volume seems doable so not to worried about that.
Thanks!

cwolfman13

You will get the most bang for your buck doing a full body program, particularly as a beginner. Also, if you're only lifting 2 - 3 times per week the most efficient way you can lift is full body. People who do splits generally lift 4-5 days per week and they have to split up body parts due to the volume (you have to give our muscles rest or you completely defeat the work you did).

I personally find splits to be unnecessary outside of being a more advanced lifter and/or having very specific lifting goals that would necessitate a lot of volume (i.e. body building).

Capt_Apollo

Since you're starting out, i'd go with a full-body routine. It's less stressful to each body part. After 1-2 months, you can move to a split routine if you want (an upper / lower routine like WS4SB is good for this), and also head to a playground to simulate the specific obstacles on your course (which are listed on their website). Search the forum for prior posts on Tough Mudder.

this.

i've done three tough mudders and will be doing my fourth and fifth this year. it is the best mud and obstacle race out there.

strength is very important, but i would rate endurance more important. you want to be able to run and run for a long time. the race is at least 10 miles long, usually longer, and very hilly. it will take you about 3 hours to complete. you want to be able to run and have the endurance to keep it up for a while. you don't want to be the one in your group holding everyone back.

people will tell you that there is a lot of stopping at obstacles. this is true. however you won't have a lot of opportunity to rest there, as you'll be going through an obstacle. sure, you can catch your breath a little, and walk it out a bit, but you'll want to start running again.

like i said, run. i'd aim to have the conditioning to be able to run at least 8 miles straight.

as far as strength goes, well, work on your upper body strength, as it will be necessary for scaling walls and other obstacles. but don't sweat it, because the whole thing is a team effort. people not even on your team will give you a hand.

chrisdavey

For the strength side of things, being that you may have a chronic back injury I'd be working very closely with your physio to get the do's and don'ts.

I would recommend full body workout if you are training twice a week. Otherwise, you would do something like upper/lower split and you would only hit each body part once a week. This "may" be enough to maintain LBM and strength but hitting it twice would be preferable.

I am all for barbell compound lifts but you also need to be aware of your injury recovery. You can definitely build strength and LBM with machines only, it just typically takes more machines to hit all the body parts.

By the sounds of your other HIIT type stuff you should be doing plenty of "functional" training there so most likely the smaller stabilizer muscles will not be neglected.

In summary, full body 2x a week with machines where required.