Power Pros Forum

Cardio is not the only way to burn fat.....building muscle will help you a lot there.

What does your workout look like right now? I think I saw you stated you were 6' 0" 190 lbs, but what is your build like. 6' 0" 190 of muscle is a very nice build....6' 0" 190 and flabby is not (hopefully that doesn't read as a personal attack because it wasn't).

You can easily work your legs 3 times a week and build muscle while not getting sore. Soreness tends to come from overtraining (after your first couple of weeks of working out).

So, like I stated earlier, what does your workout look like? You could be doing a full body weight workout M,W,F with some cardio/sprint work 3 days a week as well.

I'm down to 182lbs. now, I still have a little bit of pudge around the midsection but it's getting much much better.

My general workout goes like this:
Every other day I head up to the gym, first thing I do is 10 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, warming up my body and giving it a good sweat. I then move on to one of my muscle groups (arms/shoulders, chest/abs or legs/calves) and do three sets of 10-15 reps focusing on the group of the day (yesterday I did chest/abs, did 3 sets of chest contractions @ 115lbs per arm, between those I did bicycle ab exercises and then finished off with that machine that you twist your midsection back and forth to work your sides) and then I do another 8-10 minutes on treadmill or elliptical to finish off my workout so I get a nice afterburn of calories on the way home and the rest of the day.

Okay...now that I know what your workout looks like, what are your goals?

Your workout now is set up for muscle endurance, moreso than hypertrophy (muscle building) or strength.

Also, split routines (focusing on chest/shoulders one day, back the next day, etc.) don't train your body to work in unison as one well oiled machine. You may get 'stronger' but your functional strength won't increase much. Think about how many muscles are involved in swinging a bat. All of those muscles must work in unison and your nervous system needs to be able to trigger all those muscles at the same time. A split routine doesn't really help your nervous system accomplish this.

Is your goal to be a power hitter (like in high school)?

The main reason I'm doing the workout I have now is to build stamina, so that I can further my workout to do many exercises in one session. I've been out of shape and sports so long that two months ago I couldn't even do a few minutes on the treadmill without breaking out in a torrential sweat, now I do twenty or so minutes just for the extra afterburn. I do plan on going to a total workout routine once I make it to my ideal body size and physique and build strength from there, plus I need to do some batting cage practice before too long.

My goal is to be in the lower end of the lineup (1-5) as a contact/power with good fielding abilities.

Okay.....you can build up your endurance with a full body workout as well (kill 2 birds with 1 stone). The workout I am currently doing can definitely be considered cardio and lifting in one. I have been doing the workout for several months and am in much better shape than when I started. Using this type of workout would open up much more time for you to get some BP in.

If you have the time and funds check out the book 'Mens Health Power Training.' The author is a renowned college strength coach and his workouts are great. The book could definitely be very beneificial to you

I'll check it out, maybe the library has a copy. What's your general routine?

Mine has switched to strength now so I do lower reps. Currently I am doing 4 sets of 5 reps for everything I do.

I start off with an explosive movement (clean and pull, jump squats, hang jump shrug) all of these exercises are illustrated in the book and I complete 4 sets with 5 reps for each set.

I then Superset a knee dominant exercise with a hip dominant exercise. For example, I did weighted forward lunges and good mornings on wednesday, and I did deadlifts with romanian deadlifts today.

I then superset a horizontal push movement with a horizontal pull movement. Bench Press and bent over barbell rows are 2 examples.

I then superset a vertical push and vertical pull movement. Shoulder Presses and chin-ups

I think superset a rotational core and planking core movement.

Then I collapse on the floor and recuperate for a couple of minutes...workout over

Also, the library should have a copy of it....if not, most libraries can get it for you.

Did you ever get this book?