hi,
i'm a college student home for the summer looking to lose about 20 lbs of bodyfat and increase muscle. i am doing basically nothing all summer, which gives me as much time as i would like to work out. i also play rugby for my school, which has a ridiculously high rate of injuries, so i'd like to do whatever i can do during the offseason to decrease the chance of injury. right now, i am lifting 6x a week, with a simple push/pull split with a focus on explosive power, which i need for rugby. i also do a ton of interval training and regular endurance training. according to what i've read, this is too much lifting, although i feel pretty great and have been getting stronger. should i cut down on the lifting, and, if so, can i replace it with some other form of activity (i am willing to do swimming, pilates, etc low impact things)? thanks!

couple of things.

1. you're lifting 6 days a week with a push/pull split. can we assume then that you're doing 3 days of a push, 3 days of a pull? what type of exercises are included in those workouts? what type of reps and sets are you doing?

2. how often and how long is each of your interval training sessions?

Michael Navin, CSCS

yeah, 3 push, 3 pull. generally i do 3x15 of each of these exercises.
pull-
lunges, leg extension
bench press, fly
squat
incline bench press
shoulder press
calf press
tricep dip, kickback
hip adductor


pull-
lat pulldown
hamtractor, step-downs
row
hip abductor
shoulders- front raise, lateral raise, rear row
bicep curls
shrug
abs

i do about 30-45 minutes of interval training (varying time/intensity) each day.

try something like this (assuming that you have no injuries that would prevent you from doing any of these exercises):

Workout A

3 sets of 10 reps -superset
1A) pushup
1B) Bodyweight squat

2A) shoulder press
2B) walking lunge with a twist

3A) Prone Cobra (also known as a superman) 1 rep of a 30 second hold
3B) Russian Twists

Right after doing this, go to the stationary bike and do this interval routine:

-Warm up at a light speed for 5 minutes.
-At the 5 minute mark, bump up the resistance so that you can only go about 80-85 RPM, and stay at that cadence for 30 seconds.
-After that 30 seconds, reduce the resistance back down to a light cadence and keep at that pace for 2 minutes.
-After that 2 minutes is up, increase it back up to the resistance and the cadence of 80-85 for 30 seconds.
-continue this until you've done 6 of the high resistance/higher cadence intervals and then cooldown at a light speed for 3 minutes.
-once you've been able to do all 6 at the higher cadence and resistance, the next time you do the routine, increase the resistance 1 level.

Workout B
3 sets of 10 superset

1A) Lat Pulldown with an overhand grip, shoulder width apart
1B) Romanian Deadlift

2A) Bent over Dumbbell row
2B) Reverse Lunge

3A) Plank 1 rep of a 30 second hold
3B) Reverse crunch

Again, do the same interval routine as in Workout A

Definition of a superset: Do one set of the first exercise listed, then immediately with no rest do the next exercise, then rest 60 seconds, then do a second set of each exercise in the same fashion. for example, in workout A, do 10 pushups, then without resting, do 10 bodyweight squats. then rest 60 seconds. after 60 seconds is up, do 10 pushup again, and without resting, 10 bodyweight squats. then rest 60 seconds, and then do 10 pushups again, and then 10 bodyweight squats. rest 60 seconds, and then move on to the next group of exercises and follow the same format.

Alternate between workout A and workout B for 4 weeks, skipping at least one day between works. so you could do workout A on monday, workout B on Wednesday, workout A again on Friday, and then the next week do workout B on monday, workout A on wednesday, workout B on friday.

it should get you in and out of the gym in about an hour and covers pretty much everything to make it an efficient workout.

on a couple of your off days, find some fun things to do whether it be running around in a park, playing with the dog, taking a walk, etc.

get your eating in order and you should be good to go in a couple of months.

Michael Navin, CSCS