Other/Mixed Tips for hard-living type to be?

[Steve Freides]

There are a lot of assumptions in your post. I'd like to examine a few of them.

Training
I already decided to switch to predominantly bodyweight with swing only.

You can, but there are a number of proven, minimalist programs available here - some in book form, some in our articles, some online course, etc. - that will do what you need, which is provide a maximum of benefit with a minimal investment of time while coexisting with your busy life. S&S, done by the book, is one such program. DFW (dry fighting weight) is another, DDD (daily dose deadlift) is another, PTTP (barbell deadlift for 10 total reps plus an overhead press) is another, and the list goes on. Strength Aerobics, and more.

Currently I plan to continue with GTG-like style of training.

Why? It sounds like you'll be GTG-ing with a lot of construction tasks already - do you really need give yourself more things to do? You could S&S in the mornings and be done with exercise, save whatever stretching/reset kinds of things you want to do during the day to counteract what else is going on in your life, but those stretching/reset kinds of things shouldn't be taxing, they should make you feel better with a minimum of time and effort put in.

Main candidate is one arm pushup, naturally.

Why? It's a high-tension movement, and progressing in bodyweight exercise can be tricky business.

The main objective here is not to compress the spine unnecessarily (good bye, overhead pressing...). But...

Overhead pressing, at least the one-arm variety, isn't going to compress your spine. One of the benefits of one-sided movements, IMHO, is that there is a nice amount of subtle shift in your core as you move between the two sides.

Does it make sense to pursue strength, if I know I will be destroyed for larger part of the week?

When you put it that way, not, it doesn't make sense at all. Who wants to feel "destroyed" and then add to their misery? Not me, for sure!

I considered also the option when I will focus on stuff requiring rather skill than strength, like to finally learn one arm handstand, or to improve my wobbly tuck planche... what do you think about this? Especially tuck planche is still quite difficult for me, so I am not sure. Same hold to improving my front lever. Pavel somewhere wrote that if something does not compress the spine, then it does not put that much stress on CNS, so it is easier to recover from.

"skill rather than strength" - huh? Strength is a skill.

What are your recommendations on effective exercises which are relatively easy to recover from? I think it holds for most bodyweight exercises - am I right?

No, at least not in my opinion. I found training for my SFB (bodyweight) harder and more difficult to recover from than either the SFG (kettlebell) or the SFL (barbell).

As for the other part of training, do you know some easy&effective rehab/mobility/flexibility movements? I have implemented Pavel's Super Joints stuff into my routine and it's just great. Especially targeted for spine. My fav is cossack squat and dead hang.

Well, here I might agree with you. Do the entire cossack sequence from SJ, not just the squat. Dead hang is good.

-S-

 

[jozko]

Why? It sounds like you'll be GTG-ing with a lot of construction tasks already - do you really need give yourself more things to do? You could S&S in the mornings and be done with exercise, save whatever stretching/reset kinds of things you want to do during the day to counteract what else is going on in your life, but those stretching/reset kinds of things shouldn't be taxing, they should make you feel better with a minimum of time and effort put in.

I could be more clear here. I will not work on construction daily, I will spend most of my time continuing with my sedentary job. I plan to train only on those days or Sundays. And as @bluejeff recommended, mini-session might be a better idea.

Why? It's a high-tension movement, and progressing in bodyweight exercise can be tricky business.

Yes it is, but I have done it quite a lot in the past and I can cut 3-4 strict reps any time, even without actively working on it. I wouldn't do it now without this foundation.

When you put it that way, not, it doesn't make sense at all. Who wants to feel "destroyed" and then add to their misery? Not me, for sure!

Yes, but as I stated previously, I will not work on construction daily. Sure, there will be "hard days", which will require couple of days off or at most of light training, sometimes I will work several days in a row... I admit this should be formulated more accurately.

"skill rather than strength" - huh? Strength is a skill.

I knew someone will point this out! But I still find these two kinds of skills different. Yes, strength is a skill, and should be treated and developed accordingly. But in my eyes strength is different kind of skill than soft acrobatics. Take deadlift vs. Macaco (in tricking). There are different "qualities" you want to develop when you train either of them - primarily neuromuscular efficiency in the former, coordination and spatial awareness in the latter, although I believe there is some overlap among those.

 

[sy123]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thought I would chime in as I just spent the last 3-4 years gutting and renovating a house while working full time as a Physical Therapist.

The most helpful thing for me was swings, pull ups and presses. I was so busy and would try and do an actual program but would not get far. I would do S & S swings or clean and press along with pull ups as the meat of my training and if I had the urge would go do an Easy Strength style workout every now and then. I would also do probably one day a week of higher rep assistance work to make the joints feel happy. Luckily I work as a PT so I could do this throughout the day. The swings/cleans made my back feel great throughout the whole project, especially when spending hours in the crawl space and in odd positions. I would recommend not overthinking your training during this time.

Sauna for the win! There is nothing better than getting in a sauna after cleaning a filthy crawl space or working with concrete. I would go to the sauna at least once a week and it was probably the best self care I did.

I also had an off again/on again meditation practice that kind of fell by the wayside during this time and I wish I had kept it up as it was a stressful several years with a lot of sleep loss. I think what would have been more helpful for me would have been to keep better notes and be better organized with the project because the thing that limited my sleep was constantly thinking about what needed to get done, and in what order and how I would find the time to do it.

Don't major in the minors with as you will have lots of decisions to make with your project as well as having a very stressful full-time job. The decision fatigue will get to you and lead you to burnout. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the process.

Sam

 

[watchnerd]

Instead of doing one harder training session each day, for however many training sessions per week, I do little "mini sessions" throughout the day. I try to do them every 45-90 minutes at most. By getting 15-20 minutes of movement at those kind of intervals, it keeps me more alert and feeling better than if I just try and power through all my school work in one go. The mini sessions help to make my body and mind feel better and thus improve my concentration. It also helps to prevent me from feeling like I have no time to train. At the end of the day on some days I'll end with a 20-30 minute easy strength style session with my barbell ((5)x2 of Squat, deadlift, weighted pullup, and a press).

Covid WFH has been a miracle when it comes to mini sessions.

In my home office I have an empty barbell, clubs, maces, kettlebells, dumbbells, physio ball, door-mounted bands, and parallel bars.

During barbell season, I'll do snatch, clean & jerk drills, good mornings, squats, with the bare bar just as a movement practice, and then work in some maces, clubs, KBs, or rows, dips & LS-sits on the bars.

I've probably made more progress in the last 2 years because of this, even though my actual training days are now shorter (in and out in 60-75 min, with mobility work) than in the past.

 

[jozko]

I would also do probably one day a week of higher rep assistance work to make the joints feel happy. Luckily I work as a PT so I could do this throughout the day.

I am considering this too.

Sauna for the win!

Definitely!

I think what would have been more helpful for me would have been to keep better notes and be better organized with the project because the thing that limited my sleep was constantly thinking about what needed to get done, and in what order and how I would find the time to do it.

Good point.
Thanks!

 

[jozko]

For reducing stress or even just as a meditative activity, I recently discovered that drawing is fairly good. For a few minutes, you draw anything in front of you. You can do it with a pencil, a ballpoint pen, etc... The idea is to be accurate with what you draw (shadows, lights, volumes, etc...)

I think any artistic activity requiring attention has this benefits. I bough an ukulele some time ago, and although I am still lame with it, playing it for 15-30 mins before bed is incredibly calming.