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Other/Mixed Workout plan for remote workers

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Dan1982

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Like many people during the pandemic, I now work full time from home every day. Thinking of doing a GTG program everyday as it breaks up the monotony of work and gets the blood moving. I have a few questions:

1. Thoughts on using a KB? If so what exercises?
2. Goal is to improve strength but aesthetics as well. Aside from diet, sleep, etc. any additional exercises or things to do to improve body composition? (i.e. sprints, walks, biking, etc.)

If anyone has a different protocol to follow I am all ears! Need to get work on this doughy "dad bod"!!
 
GTG in my opinion is perfect for skill acquisition. A lot testimonials of people using GTG to work on bodyweight skills e.g. planche.

In regards to aesthetics i find this one really difficult as what is deemed aesthetic will differ person to person. So ideally we would need to know your goal, your metric of what an aesthetic physique is.

But generally speaking the bodybuilding community has been decades ahead of the scientific community to acheive what is an aesthetic physique (in accordance to bodybuilding standards).

So you would be served well by training in accordance to bodybuilding principles.

However...this doesn’t mean that you use high level bodybuilding protocols. They build up to that and everything is orientated around their PED protocols.
 
i'd suggest this if you're wanting to improve your kb press

Chinese Food for Rapid Pressing Gains | StrongFirst

I've used this with a 24kg kettlebell (5ish RM) and brought up my 28kg from 1RM on the right side only to 3RM on both sides. Planning on running this during the summer with the 28kg when I have the time again!

I don't know if this will help the "doughy dad bod" though! ROFL But for press strength, I can't praise it enough!
 
I did this last year, and it was great. It really feels EASY, but helped my hips a lot by breaking up the constant sitting. I also added in GTG one arm pushups and pistols (I followed the progressions from Naked Warrior and worked up to them over several months). Due to the short work sets, I did both of these in addition to S&S while in a calorie deficit as they don't stress the body too much when done in small doses.
 
Light prying goblet squats into haloes 2-3x a day is a great preventative dose against the effects of prolonged sitting.

30 minute walk checks many boxes. It’s too easy to move <2k steps a day it working from home.

I do 044 style swings a few times a day most days: 5 reps on :30 x 4, rest to top of last minute plus 2:00, repeat on other side (that’s 2 series), do that 2-3x over most days for a nice little jolt.

Hang :30-:60 from a pull-up bar, then do a pull-up or two (or x).
 
LCCJ, Victorious, S&S, C&P, KB-SF, TGU have all worked well for me in a 20 to 30 minute lunchtime window.
Be careful to watch your posture immediately afterwards though. I now stand up for at least 30 minutes after my practice.
 
Thoughts on using a KB? If so what exercises?
Ive worked from home for since 2016.

My personal favorite programs have been S&S and Armor of War (bodyweight routine). I've also done Geoff's Kettlebell Burn 2.0 which is a great option of you really want a hard workout. But it seemed to take out more than it gave for me. Something to do every once in a while, not as a default. The idea of DuCane's Strength Snacks were also pretty great for me.
Goal is to improve strength but aesthetics as well. Aside from diet, sleep, etc. any additional exercises or things to do to improve body composition? (i.e. sprints, walks, biking, etc.)
Walks are great and I often do them when doing research (audio books) or thinking through a problem. Getting 7k plus steps throughout the day will do wonders. The throughout the day part is key. Doing everything in the morning all at once doesn't have the same benefits IMO.

Another thing to do is to keep things seperate to train yourself to do that activity and only that activity there. So work station for work. Exercise station for exercise, sleep station for sleep. (CGPGrey's Spaceship You is a great reference for this, although it is pandemic oriented, it applies to working from home in general.)
I now stand up for at least 30 minutes after my practice.
This is a really good point. I think in one of the earlier Pavel works he mentioned a coach having athletes read for a half hour laying on their stomach after a hard workout to protect posture and prevent injury.
 
Like many people during the pandemic, I now work full time from home every day. Thinking of doing a GTG program everyday as it breaks up the monotony of work and gets the blood moving. I have a few questions:

1. Thoughts on using a KB? If so what exercises?
2. Goal is to improve strength but aesthetics as well. Aside from diet, sleep, etc. any additional exercises or things to do to improve body composition? (i.e. sprints, walks, biking, etc.)

If anyone has a different protocol to follow I am all ears! Need to get work on this doughy "dad bod"!!
I don't work at home, but I do a lot of my training in mini-sessions throughout the work day during breaks in my office. I can often accumulate quite a bit of volume over the course of a day or week without it getting in the way of my work schedule and without ever breaking a sweat. It's a great way to train if it fits into your circumstances

If I am working a specific program, I just spread the work out during the day. For instance, lately I am usually doing a structured program for C&P and doing Q&D for ballistics. So I'll just spread out my total sets or total time for the C&P program on days when I do that, and I'll do Q&D in blocks of 1-4 series at a time (I will sometimes do more than 5 series, occasionally substantially more, in the course of a day).

Two dimensions that this kind of training is missing are sustained repeated efforts and low intensity sustained cardio. So that's what I usually do on weekends. For instance, I might do some combination of an hour on the NordicTrack skier, Q&D snatches with 015 timing (10 x 10 starting a set every 3:00), and clubbell swinging.

I don't really think of training in short sessions as greasing the groove. That I consider more of a specific training method where you focus on one or a couple of exercises. I just think of the short sessions as "spreading out the work" (SOTW ©), and it can apply to many types of programs, although not necessarily with exactly the same effects as doing the programs in a longer continuous session.

I'm at a point where logistics and maintaining continuity of the training process trump all. Once I'm done with my work day, I'm pretty mentally and emotionally spent, and if I don't get my training in during the day somehow, I'm probably not going to do it afterward.

"Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are" (attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, but he himself attributed it a Bill Widener of Widener’s Valley, Virginia).
 
The Bioneer put out an interesting video on this today. Here is the link if you wanna check it out.

 
Really hard to beat GTG pullups, pushups/dips. I'll do GTG sets throughout the day, one set will be (pullups, pushups, goblet squats, ab wheel rollouts), done as a slow circuit. Sometimes I'll take a break and do a few sets in a row. Sometimes I'll set a total volume target for the day and every few hours take 5-10 mins for a set or two until hit the target. I've even taken the volume target and waved that 20% from workout to workout, just for some variety.
Just today I took a lunch break and hit 7 two hand swings EMOM for 15 mins. There's so many things you can get done in a 15 min mini-break. I'm working from the office more and more now, I've thought about grabbing a light KB just for my office, as I'm used to small sessions throughout the day.
 
Like many people during the pandemic, I now work full time from home every day. Thinking of doing a GTG program everyday as it breaks up the monotony of work and gets the blood moving. I have a few questions:

1. Thoughts on using a KB? If so what exercises?
2. Goal is to improve strength but aesthetics as well. Aside from diet, sleep, etc. any additional exercises or things to do to improve body composition? (i.e. sprints, walks, biking, etc.)

If anyone has a different protocol to follow I am all ears! Need to get work on this doughy "dad bod"!!

I suggest using the pomodoro method where you set a timer for 25 min of work or whatever and then a 5 min break.
You then make up a circuit.

1. one strength movement like a GTG one arm pushup progression or an easy strength style pressing program. Upgrade Your Strength with the Soju and Tuba Press Program | StrongFirst Any program where rest periods don't matter.

2. Then choose an isometric hold (one arm pushup plank, hollow body hold) or a skill to work on like an L-sit progression.

3. Then choose a high rep supportive exercise that would help your main lifts like grip work or calve raises etc.

4. Finally finish with a bit of mobility work that we all tend to neglect. Calf stretches, wrist, thoratic opening etc. Jefferson curl lightly loaded. Elephant walks, etc.

Every 4th break do some type of movement or balance practice. martial arts kata, weapons form, one leg balance with eyes closed. Juggling practice! whatever. Something to stimulate the brain that is not too difficult.

Make a little 4-5 min circuit. The variety will keep it from getting boring. Of course, any combination of what you need and enjoy would work. This is based on my goals.

If you have specific goals then GTG throughout the day. However, I started with strength only, and it was not enough of a break, so I changed to a circuit like this.

Time for a circuit.
 
I found I could do almost any program if I just split it up into many “micro” sessions of 5-10 mins while WFH.

GTG fits well as you don’t need to warm up for each set and it’s already set up like this. But don’t be afraid to try out other programs too just splitting the movements/sets up throughout the day too (warm up as necessary).
 
If i were you, I'd look into doing Original Strength in the morning. A 10-20 minute session will do amazing things for you, especially if you're going to be sitting all day.

If you only want to work out in the evenings, I'd do Simple and Sinister. If you want to work out throughout the day I'd do Naked Warrior + GTG pull-ups.

But it kind of depends on your goals.
 
@Adachi has experimented with very interesting ways of KB swings, snatches and press in GTG style.
Here is his log: My Busy Dad protocol - a GtG success
And his current set-up: Kettlebell - Do you need to press?

Personally I was inspired by "Strength Shortcuts 2.0" by @Geoff Neupert and for a while I did my S&S swings in one bout (10-20 minutes) and TGUs later that day, often times with very generous rest while cooking or doing other stuff. Worked great.

Basically micro-sessions thoughout the day. I sometimes do the same with aerobic work, similar to what @Steve W. describes.
 
@Adachi has experimented with very interesting ways of KB swings, snatches and press in GTG style.
Here is his log: My Busy Dad protocol - a GtG success
And his current set-up: Kettlebell - Do you need to press?

Personally I was inspired by "Strength Shortcuts 2.0" by @Geoff Neupert and for a while I did my S&S swings in one bout (10-20 minutes) and TGUs later that day, often times with very generous rest while cooking or doing other stuff. Worked great.

Basically micro-sessions thoughout the day. I sometimes do the same with aerobic work, similar to what @Steve W. describes.
If you're trying to hit the Timed standard, I'd recommend at least one S- and G- session each week - which is only 16 minutes long.
 
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