How can I improve this?

[black mariah]

Starting in the garage...
- Jump rope until bored (usually 2 minutes or so)
- As many pushups as possible (~15 right now. I HATE PUSHUPS. Recommend a replacement. PLEASE. :lol: )
- As many crunches/leg lifts as possible (~25 crunches, ~15 leg lifts)
- Jump rope until bored or gassed (30 seconds to 1 minute)

I then move to the backyard for my resistance band stuff. I know there are technical names for these. I'll figure 'em out later. This is how I refer to them since this is how I see them working in judo
- Slow pulls, pushes, and cross body with each arm separately
- Same thing but both arms at the same time
- Throwing motions. Ippon seoinage, osoto gari.
- Lower the band and work the legs
- Outwards pulls, inward pulls, forward and back kicks

Then it's back to the garage for...
- More rope! Until dead tired. (1-2 minutes)
- More pushups! (5-10. My upper body is WEEEEAK)
- More crunches and/or lifts! (same amount as before)
- Even more rope! Until I feel like killing someone to steal their lungs (30 seconds to 1 minute)
-------------------------

That's where I am currently. I'm just getting into the swing of things. My main goal at the moment is weight loss as I'm about 180 pounds and want to compete at 130. I've been down there before but let myself get fat again.

If anyone has some improvements I could make I'd love to hear them. Right now this all takes about 20 minutes, and I think I have a good mix between exercise and downtime with all the moving I do.

Suggestions?

[koltz]

are you a male or female ? and how tall are you?

[black mariah]

I need to start adding "BTW, I'm a guy" to the end of the first 10-15 posts I make on a forum. :lol:

I'm a guy. 5'6". Not that long ago I was down to ~130 so I know I can get there without much problem. I'm not stupid about it though. I want to be down to 150 in time for the competition I have in February, then down at 130 for the other competition my club hosts in August. I've already lost about five pounds in three weeks of judo, and that's without adding any other exercise in there, so I think those goals are entirely realistic (possibly even a bit conservative).

[koltz]

130 is a bit skinny , even for your height..... are you in weight classes?
you should look at some bodybuilding sites , and see at thier cutting diet , at this weight you can't afford to be more then 8% bf IMO

[Drunken Panda]

I agree with koltz, 130 pounds does sound awfully underweight, even for someone who is 5'6.

Yet, on the BMI scale, this weight would give you a rating of 21.0, which is a healthy weight, unlike your current weight of 180 pounds, which gives you a rating of 29.0 (overweight, almost obese)

However, the BMI index should not be taken as the only source of a healthy weight-to-height ratio. Wrestlers, rugby players, bodybuilders etc. often have BMI rating that rank them as overweight, yet the weight is from muscle, and they are very healthy.

To clarify, I would like to ask your age. This will give us a better idea of how your goals will work.

As for the routine, I'm not going to say anything comforting: you've got to learn to love pushups! They are a staple upper body exercise. If regular ones are boring you, however, they are plenty of variations on this site to liven things up. I would focus on being able to perform more than the handful you can currently do at the moment, however. The increase in body strength will enable you to move on to other more intense exercises if nothing else.

Perhaps you can add in some burpees, which are excellent for all-over conditioning. If you add pushups to the burpees, you can faze out a jump rope and pushups set for one load of burpees - kill two birds with one stone.

Just some things to think about. Let us know how things are getting on!

[black mariah]

Believe it or not, I didn't look particularly stickboy-ish when I was 130 before. Please note that I did not previously INTEND to be at that weight. That's simply where a lot of exercise put me.

I'm 25.

No, I will not learn to love pushups. In fact, I hate them more than ever. :lol: I was going to mix some burpees in at some point but I guess I'll go ahead and do that now.

Yes, we're divided up into weight classes. There's 60kg and another break at 66kg. I'm shooting for 60kg simply because I think it would be easier for me to compete at that weight. If it looks like I'll have difficulty getting to that point I'll just shift my focus to building a bit of mass as well and go for 66kg. So much balancing...

[koltz]

Normal pushups?

there nothing special , you will replace them very fast when you train for strength-endurance \ strength.

[Drunken Panda]

True Koltz, but normal pushups do give you a foundation a strength that enables you to progress to more efficient / demanding exercises. That is why I think they are important to do, especially if you can only do a handfull like it sounds black mariah can. Progression to handstand pushups, one-arm pushups etc. will only be possible when standard pushups have been mastered to a competent degree.

black mariah, don't dismiss pushups, no matter how much you hate them. You can dismiss them later when you become proficient in them, but until then, I strongly recommend sticking with them. If necessary, take a page out of Sisyphus, and perform them out of scorn!

[koltz]

You know what would be impressive about pushups?
doing a plyo pushup into a standing position , is this even possible lol?

[Drunken Panda]

You'd need an absolute tonne of explosive strength, and if you were following strict form (keepin the body straight, rather than wiggling up with your butt and hips, bending your knees etc.) a strong core.

I mean, you would need an atomic bomb's worth of explosive strength in your arms...

...I think I've found a new challenge!