ExRx.net

spartacus finally arrived in the german free tv. so i searched for a spartacus workout and was expecting some $h1t like all the "300" workouts or so. but this workout looked good cause it is full of more dynamic exercises and focuses much on legs.

what do you guys think about it as a workout in the soccer off season? or maybe with the whole team in the pre season?

here is the workout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9LEjEV2n1Q

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

It looks like a good metabolic workout with a reasonable strength component. The only equipment is a pair of dumbbells and it's easily scaled for individual differences. I would think it would be a good workout for a group.

I have a couple of issues with the video, but not the program.

His demonstration of the DB swing is a little off. It's a hip hing exercise, not a shoulder exercise. he's slowing down the movements for demonstration purposes but he missed that point.

I'm not crazy about the DB rows either. The DBs should hand straight down and move in a vertical manner.

The demonstrator of that video is not the originator of the workout, nor an expert on it. The program designer was Rachel Cosgrove.
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/high- ... /index.php

That was written 2 years ago and she has an updated version here: http://my.menshealth.com/workout/The-Sp ... orkout-2.0

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

thx for the advice. is this workout hard enough for muscle building and muscle strength? as for stamina i prefer making long runs for about 10 km or intervall sprints. in the 2.0 workout the author recommends that one can do this workout additional to a normal workout routine. so i think its not challenging the muscles enough for good improvement?

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

It's not a strength/muscle building workout but it will build stamina while protecting muscle, unlike your 10K run, which will consume muscle. It's on par with hill sprints and complexes, in that regard although it's also an all over conditioning workout. You could use it in-season, or on non-weightlifting days but off season you would do better with a self paced strength program.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

ok, im planning to lose some fat til the next season starts. so the best option could be a metabolic workout to maintain muscles + increase stamina in one workout. other option would be running for 3-5 times a week and make an intensive workout 2-3 times a week. maybe intensive workout is a waste of time cause it is really difficult for me to build muscles while i got a calorie deficit.

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

This workout would suit your needs but I disagree that "intensive workout is a waste of time cause it is really difficult for me to build muscles while i got a calorie deficit". This is when intensive, heavy workouts are most important, due to the catabolic nature of your diet. Likewise, the aging population (my favorite subject) needs to pay particular attention, not because the can build muscle faster, but because they can't.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

yes, i got the point! but the question is: if both workouts only "save" the muscle mass without more gains, then it would be better to combine stamina train + "saving" the muscle mass.

edit: ok, maybe my opinion about that wasn't so good: my plan last year after summer til winter was to lose some fat and i lost it, but while i was working out i hadn't good results, i almost stayed at the same strength. so i decided to stop working out in my next fat loss period, but maybe the workout and diet i had in the past fat loss period was good, cause i didnt lose strength.

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

Okay. I'm not following through here. In my books, there is no exercising or training that "saves" muscle mass. Who would want to workout and avoid muscle and strength gains? I get it, you want to lose fat, and for that high volume and low rest circuit resistance training is alright. But still, it will not preserve any of your muscle mass if your nutrition is in the gutter. Resistance training will cause muscle to harnest every nutrient it can to maintain it's storages and balances. Also some sources point to a possible growth hormone stimulation after resistance training. When your nutrition is good, you get enough protein and carbs to support recovery and muscle protein synthesis, your muscle grows and you get stronger. The fat burning is the metabolic burn that happens for several hours after the exercise. When your nutrition is on deficit, eating less of everything important, your muscle breaks down and the body has to use protein for energy. Body will reserve and save your fats if you eat too deficient. Everybodys heard of the metabolic sparing effect if you like that sort of stuff. Calorie deficit diet doesn't mean anything, you can lose fat with resistance training and the same amount of calories, just different nutrients. Plus intervals are great for fat loss also.

Point beign given:
Poor and deficit nutrition + Intensive resistance training = weight loss
Good and sufficient nutrition + Intensive resistance training = fat loss

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Prove the impossible!

yes, i see the difference. with "save" i meant not to decrease the muscle mass cause of the caloric deficit.

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali

i was injured for 2 weeks but then gave my comeback at soccer training on tuesday. today i made the spartacus workout v1 and it was killing me so hard. my legs are really hurting now :-D

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"his hands can't hit what his eyes can't see" - muhammad ali