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Ask Ant is my way of turning an inbox of nightmares into useful content for you. Each question is taken from my inbox, and identities are always kept private. If you’re wondering how to ask a question, sign-up for this thing. I send out weekly notes with personal, honest training reflections and tips, book reviews and suggestions, and the most recent blog posts from my personal email address. All you have to do is hit reply and type away.
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How much lifting do you recommend if my goals in order of priority are:
- Do amazing things with my body (gymnastics/tricking, specifically going for an aerial right now)
- Not get fat (I’m fine staying where I am in terms of body body composition)
I’m terrified of cutting back on lifting because I’m afraid that my body will think “ha ha! I don’t have as much heavy things on me so I can send calories to fat instead of muscle now.” But I worry that lifting doesn’t have a lot of direct carry over to tricking and gymnastics and may impede my ability to do awesome because it makes me not as fresh/more inflexible.
First, the only way strength work would make you more inflexible is if you stopped training for flexibility, or are generally stiff from being sore or tired.
Second, you’re right to question the carry over. Strength, beyond a certain point, is counter productive insofar as training for it simultaneously with tricking or any other fits of acrobatic fast-twitch fits of rage. Realistically, beyond the trite double bodyweight squat and/or deadlift, extra strength isn’t going to help you trick all that better. Tricking is a skill, and to get better you have to trick. You seem to know this, though.
Third, for the fat issue, this one’s simple: don’t eat like you’re trying to build muscle. Your partitioning can be a world of anus, but if you aren’t giving your body the absolute excess to throw to fat cells, it won’t have anything to throw to fat cells.
And with that, don’t be afraid to forego muscle building training. The most muscular people in the world don’t train for muscle year round, and that’s something to learn from. Training different things keeps you motivated and keeps your interest piqued. It also makes your actual muscle building stints that much more powerful and meaningful.
What I like to do in the summer: lift more frequently, but with less…care? In a sense? I guess?
See:
Of course, these are barbell-centric programs and require a leap of faith if you want to make your own sorta thing. I’m doing a mash up of both programs right now, but with strictly front squats and snatch-esque deadlifts for the lower body. The upper body is all gymnastics training: handstands, planches, levers, one arm chin-ups, weighted chin-ups, weighted dips, handstand push-ups, straight arm handstand press work, L-sit junk, ring complexes.
Sounds like a lot, but it’s not. It’s 1-2 sets of squats and deadlifts, 2-3 sets of 2-3 of the gymnastics bits, and then I’m out. Never train to strain. Tempo is higher than usual, too. I find myself going into sets a bit more winded than I find comforting, but I’m not trying to make it metabolic work or anything. Always leave fresh.
It’s a nice change of pace and something you’ll probably become addicted to. Because, well, you tend to get stronger, feel healthier, and are fresh for just about anything you want to do otherwise.
You’ll also train your body into a better work capacity. Instead of crying over lifting zapping your energy for tricking, you’ll build up some steel down there so that they can handle a bit more work.
Nutritionally, I prefer a more relaxed approach during all of this. I’m unlike most people in that I really don’t care about external appearances. My body is for me, and it’s my own vehicle for Quality. Summer is laden with parties and birthdays, and I’d drive myself insane trying to be super strict. I find myself just mitigating the damage as best I can by setting 2-3 days up in “extreme” fat loss mode, knowing that at least one or two days per week will include some alcohol, and another one or two will include me making a more robust dinner.
All in all, don’t be afraid of trying something new or regressing in some domains if it means progressing in others. It’d be nice if we could level up our entire being all at once, but it doesn’t usually work what way. I will say, though, that going through a period of less will surprise you. It’s worth the dabble.