starting convict conditioning page

[primalrob]

i got a copy of convict conditioning (love it) and read through the whole book this weekend. i think today is as good a day as any to switch programs and give this a go. i can see myself sticking with this for a long time, but i have a couple of questions for those who are familiar with it:

1. this isn't anything i need to concern myself with right now, but i have a doorway pull up bar that i can't fully extended from with out hitting the floor. what do people do for hanging leg raise progressions?

2. this is the more important question, which is where to start and when to progress. i've been doing calisthenics for a couple of years now. i've recently been doing pbf, and i've passed all the levels except squats (currently doing assisted pistols) and hspu (currently at 6-7 for a working set), and have added weight to my push ups and pull ups, and been doing dragon flags (up to 10) for core work. coach wade makes a decent case for starting at the beginning (step one on all movements, new beginner schedule), but i'm not sure how much of a necessity that is for me. i don't mind starting at step one, but only if i can progress without having to wait too long. i didn't notice a minimum time to spend on each step, so should i move up once i can comfortably and confidently meet/pass progression standards, or should i wait a certain amount of time for tendon and ligament strength?
also, regardless, i think i'm going to do the three-good behavior schedule from the get-go...thoughts?

thanks, and if anyone is willing to share their routine/experience and how their fitting in other activities, please do.

[Dirlot]

1) I am in a similar situation I bought the perfect ab straps. I means I am not hanging but with straight arms but it keeps my feet off the floor.

2) I am on a hyprid program now but it is based on the one where I do two exercises. I started at step one for most things and as just moved on the next day. Pushups and Pullups I started on full because that is where I was.

My program now
I have broken the training into 5 days
Day 1 Lever pushups, eagle claw, finger pushups, finger hangs, and leg raises.
Day 2 uneven chinups, pistol squats and deadlifts,
Day 3 handstand pushups kb press
Day 4 bridge, press flag, clutch flag
Day 5 Eagle claw, static finger tip pushups, hangs, one arm hangs, inverted rows.

[Al_Kavadlo]

Start out at whatever level you can meet the minimum requirements for with each exercise. For example, if you can already do 2 sets of 10 close pull-ups, then it'ss fine to start with the uneven ones.

[primalrob]

thanks al and dirlot. i did step one for push ups and leg raises today (wall push ups and knee tucks) and think i'm definitely going to start at the beginning on each thing, give them at least two workouts, and progress appropriately. despite the ease of the exercises, i definitely felt a little burn in spots that don't normally get hit when i'm moving faster. i think the two workouts per step minimum will help me notice more, and ensure that i really got the most out of that step before moving on, the way wade recommends. plus, it'll probably be a good exercise in will power.

[Philosopher Dan]

I think you probably hit on a pretty good solution. Coach Wade notes (as you no doubt read) that one of the purposes of the progressions is to train support muscles for the later stages - particularly once one starts doing unilateral work.

Given the stats you've listed, a few weeks at the lower ends likely will be good (also useful as a back-off from previous work?). But if you are honest with yourself, fast progressions should be fine, too.

For the pullup/HLR situation, our colleague's strap idea is a good one. I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel doing one-arm work on a door-frame pullup bar, either. Is there a handy park nearby? I guess it is getting cool where you are, though!

[jfreaksho]

I was surprised at how much the slow tempo reduced the numbers that I could do.

Even now, when I'm working on half one-arm pushups, my endurance for regular pushups is pretty gone, so I have to alternate between strength and endurance workouts.

Starting at the beginning is a great plan. Every time I feel like I'm not getting anywhere, I drop back down a step or two and realize that I still have work to do there. It's a bit of an ego hit sometimes, but I'm making progress.

For the leg raises- I also use a doorframe pullup bar. I've never really noticed much of a difference in doing the leg raises from straight down to 90 degrees as opposed to from about 45 to 90 degrees. The hardest part is the top of the motion. When I bring my legs down I either tuck my feet behind me, or just keep them straight out and don't worry about hanging straight all the way down.

[OneDeltaTenTango]

A month and a half in for me. I started at level one, and looked at it as a month off from lifting heavy things, but perhaps therapeutic in terms of training muscles, nerves, etc, and wiring things up right. I agree that focusing on form and slow tempo makes things challenging.

[thompsanne]

I started on full because that is where I was.

[trippplez]

Hello, fellow 'convicts'

I have the following question - how long is the rest period between the sets? I've re-read some section from the book, also this vary useful addition (Convict Conditioning Super FAQ) to the book but I haven't found a definitive answer.

For example, currently I'm doing Wall Push Ups, 3 sets of 25 reps, with 2 min rest between the sets. I've came up with the 2 min rest period from summarizing various articles in which I saw the most common rest was indeed between 1 and 3 min. Am I doing something wrong with this rest period. What period do you guys using? Or alternatively, is it a good idea to do the sets during the day as I see fit, for example one in the morning, one at lunch break, one in the evening?


Thanks

[Dirlot]

I am on the lever pushups and one good point made on the CC Facebook page was that to help with the one arm progression is to go back to stage 1 and move through the progression but doing it all with one arm.