Thinking about starting Convict Conditioning... Need advice

[rosenfeltc]

Hey guys & gals,

I won't bore you with too much background history but basically I am now in a small town with no gym. Previously I lived somewhere where I was training Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu and weight lifting 3 times a week in a reverse pyramid type training program.

However, now I have no weights available and I ordered me a BOB XL so I can train Kickboxing. I finished reading Convict Conditioning and since I plan on training kickboxing three days a week (Tue-Thur-Saturday), it seems to me that the best option would be to follow the Good Behavior routine for Mon-Wed-Fri and have Sunday as a rest day.

I do have some concerns that I was hoping that some experienced members with Convict Conditioning could help out:

1. I am literally afraid that I'm going to lose muscle, I'm not a beast but I'm not a beginner either and the Good Behavior program just seems so low volume and frequency that I don't see how I will gain strength with it... I am trying to keep an open mind though so I would like to hear from others experience cause otherwise my mind is telling me to maybe do 3-4 sets per exercise on the Good behavior routine or perhaps do all of the big 6 in one workout and do that workout 2-3 times a week. Should I just stop worrying and stick to the exact Good behavior routine in the book?

2. Should I also follow the book advice and start at level 1 of all exercises?

3. I'm confused about the solitary confinement routine because it says 3-5 sets per exercise but if that's the case how does one know when to progress since the progression standards on most exercises are only 2 sets?

Anyways, I appreciate the help as I really just want to make sure I'm making the right choices

[Rob Drewry]

1) It is likely that you will lose some size, at least at first. It may come back to you in the later stages of CC. But what is the rush? If you read, the earlier stages are set up for people who have been away from training for a long time, OR people who have been training for sometime and have some joints that could use a break. How are your joints?

2) This question is really one of my pet peeves. You just shelled out 20 to 30 dollars for a book and you question whether to follow the advice as presented.

The book is written to produce a specific effect in a specific manner. Follow the program as written. Coach recommends that you start at Step 1 for each exercise, but knows there are those who will want to start further up the ladder. If you feel you are up to it, by all means jump ahead.

3) The best reason I can think of to answer question 2 with an emphatic "YES!" is this question. Work the less intense programs until you understand and are no longer confused.

If your sensei/sifu/whathaveyou told you "You must start at the beginner level", you wouldn't question him/her. You train and practice until your instructor thinks you're ready to test for promotion.

I think it best to apply this to CC. Start at the beginning, milk everything you can from a step for at least a month before progressing to the next step. I like how this is working for me.

[rosenfeltc]

Thanks Rob, I know I'm over-thinking some things but it's just hard to go against the feeling of losing muscle/strength that I had worked hard to obtain. But, I have decided to do the program from the beginning and after finding out and reading the Super FAQ, I am willing to try the Good Behavior workout even though I feel like it's extremely low volume. I will also be training kickboxing on tue-thur-sat so hopefully it won't interfere with progress in CC.

Are you also doing Good Behavior and how long have you been following the Convict Conditioning approach?

[Yorkshirecomrade]

60 push ups at the correct tempo certainly isn't low volume... Try it and see how you get on. I strongly recommend Good Behaviour as a starting point. You can always increase it if it doesn't suit you. I'm willing to bet you have no idea how the good behaviour program is going to leave you feeling.

[gtrgy888]

The first steps are as hard as you make them. If you slow down the movements to 5-6 seconds per rep, you might actually build muscle.

[Rob Drewry]

I'm 57 and I've been following the New Blood v2 schedule for a few months now. If you haven't read it yet, get the Convict Conditioning FAQ; the v2 schedules are in there. It's free somewhere on the DD site. I'm at Step 5 in my progressions and I'm not worried about losing anything as I'm a bit heavier than I want to be right now.

On the off days, I do something more aerobic. I was doing some easy running until I developed a case of double Achilles' tendonitis. I did too much, too soon in transitioning from regular shoes and running on a treadmill to minimalist shoes and running on hard frozen ground. Now I'm doing kbell swings while the tendons heal up.

I'm not training in kickboxing or BJJ, which I would imagine would be more strenuous than easy running. If you're jumping rope and doing push-ups, pull-ups, Hindu squats and other cals in your martial arts training, you might just want to incorporate CC into how you perform these cals and not add more training sessions. Slow the tempo on your push-ups and pull-ups, plug in leg raises in place of sit-ups, etc. Allow more recovery time and see how that works for you.

One of the great benefits I've gained by starting at Step 1 on each of the progressions is the improvement in my joints. My knees and shoulders feel better than they have in ages. I'm seeing a connection between the early steps and Super Joints. Start at the beginning and work the steps as Coach suggests. You might take a step backwards in your martial arts and muscle, but nothing in the human body is linear when it comes to change. Two steps forward, one step back, etc.

[rosenfeltc]

I just want to thank everybody for their advice. I'm just going to follow the program from the start and focus on proper technique and rhythm of the movements. I appreciate reading other people's experience but when it comes down to it, i'll never really know if it will work for me unless I give it a fair try.

[nbednar]

I think you'll find that the younger guys tend to want to jump ahead to higher steps in CC, and the older guys tend to start at step 1. Funny thing is, about 10 months into CC and I can still only do marginally more pushups than before BUT when I do them (regular full pushups) they are MUCH easier, and much easier on my body.
-Neil
http://myconvictconditioning.blogspot.com/

[Corkkettlebellclub]

CC changed the way I train, not only in terms of techniques but also the freedom of being able to train anywhere, anytime, with no equipment.

In terms of strength, since combining CC with my kettlebell routine I am at my all time strongest. If you train right and train hard then your strength will improve, not diminish. I have also put on a couple of kg of muscle.

I always recommend to my clients and friends who are starting body weight training to start at the beginning. You wouldn't start anything else halfway through, so why CC? The lower steps are used to strengthen the joints and connective tissue as much as the muscles, don't avoid them. Get out of the mind set of 'which is the hardest one i can do and how soon can i move on to the next?' and try and get all the benefits you can out of each step before progressing. This way you will progress much better and won't get stuck on a certain rep/set as much.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Ben Mattingly RKC

[rosenfeltc]

I think you'll find that the younger guys tend to want to jump ahead to higher steps in CC, and the older guys tend to start at step 1. Funny thing is, about 10 months into CC and I can still only do marginally more pushups than before BUT when I do them (regular full pushups) they are MUCH easier, and much easier on my body.
-Neil
http://myconvictconditioning.blogspot.com/

Wait, so are you saying that you started from the beginning and after 10 months of training and slowly following the progression standards, you barely improved your full push ups from what you could do 10 months prior?