[IaStatePaintBalla]

Ok so I'm starting this thread so I can get people's opinions on some workouts and lifting regiments for a tournament player. I'm 20 years old playing in NCPA. I try to stay in shape by running about 5 times a week but I'm just curious what other tournament players do to stay in shape for paintball. What are some exercises or weight lifts people do? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[m4ndark]

running is like going to the gym and doing leg exercices, you should do like every day in a row. Also try to avoind doing cario and lifting weight on the same day... biological reasons
Heres what i do for Paintball/Football:

Monday: Heavy Run 15-20mins
Tuesday: Back / Back part Shoulder and Biceps
Wednesday: Chest / Triceps / Front and mid part Shoulder
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Active Day Off - STRETCH / Easy Run 10mins
Saturday: Active Day Off - Football Practise
Sunday: Active Day Off - Paintball Practise

Remember, there are TONS of exercices ways and schedule, like 3 months ago i was doing one that i work one single group per day, like chest on monday, back on thuesday and so on. I suggest you to go to a physical educational profissional and talk about it, and see what fits best for your needs.

[AgainstAllEnemies92]

I don't think you need to lift personally. Bulk in paintball isn't desirable, I aim for lean, fit, and athletic. That being said, P90X is a good program to just jump into. I am studying to become a personal trainer and look to sell my services to paintball teams. I concentrate on body weight circuit training. I use a TRX system 3x a week and do small home workouts on off days, mostly cardio, pull-ups, push-ups, and planks. As for running, I find sprint intervals more useful in paintball training. Hit me up if you have any questions. (also, diet is almost more important than the fitness side, eat well, work out, succeed)

[bestpaintballreviews]

I disagree, lifting does not equal bulk.

Get on a weight lifting program, preferably that includes compound lifts. Squats, Dead lifts, Bench, Military press for strength.

Also incorporate cleans and Plyometrics for acceleration and fast twitch muscle fibers.

For cardio do high intensity interval training (HITT), or some sort of sprint training. For example - sprint 30 seconds, jog 30 seconds, repeat x 5. Try to increase the number of sprints you complete each time.

[Xdanisx]

Originally Posted by bestpaintballreviews

I disagree, lifting does not equal bulk.

Get on a weight lifting program, preferably that includes compound lifts. Squats, Dead lifts, Bench, Military press for strength.

Also incorporate cleans and Plyometrics for acceleration and fast twitch muscle fibers.

For cardio do high intensity interval training (HITT), or some sort of sprint training. For example - sprint 30 seconds, jog 30 seconds, repeat x 5. Try to increase the number of sprints you complete each time.

This. HIIT is so much more beneficial then straight jogging. Extended cardiovascular exercise (jogging) is catabolic. Not only is HIIT not catabolic, but your V02 max will be significantly increased. It's hard a f*ck, though. At the time I was running 6 miles every day, I switched to HIIT and found I could barely do more then 12 intervals of 20 second sprint x 10 second walk.

Get on a Starting Strength Routine and if you want mass eventually taper that out to a 3 day split. If you want pure strength without getting too yoked, stick with a high weight low reps routine.

Just so you know that if you are serious about this you will need a good diet. Otherwise you will most likely not make any progress beyond newb gains. IIFYM, google it. Eat 500 calories above maintenance to gain muscle/strength, and then taper down to 500 calories below maintenance for fat loss.

And for the love of God, please don't do Crossfit...

[Short Round]

Originally Posted by AgainstAllEnemies92

I don't think you need to lift personally. Bulk in paintball isn't desirable, I aim for lean, fit, and athletic. That being said, P90X is a good program to just jump into.

^this

[Xdanisx]

Originally Posted by Short Round

^this

HIIT beats p90x any day.

[VertStyle]

Cardio cardio cardio

[KYhillbilly]

Heres what works for me, awesome 80s music is key

[Paper_Cut]

I made a thread about this but it never got stickied. Here it is though:

Originally Posted by Paper_Cut

I saw the other workout thread, and it had some good tips, but I noticed it never covered the most used muscles in paintball, the longissimus and iliocostalis thoracis(back muscles) and the muscle group in the anterior femoral region(top of the upper part of the leg, specifically the sartorius muscle).
These two muscle groups control how quickly you can stand up and how long you can remain squatted.

Most workout routines don't cover these muscles because they are hardly used and are most difficult to target. So, you can do all the situps and leg presses you want, the growth of these muscles will be very slow.

A word of warning though, the three muscles are very long and thin, and there is some risk with these workouts, however, if you don't work them out and instead push them too hard playing paintball, it is even more risky. Above all, you don't want to "push them" as hard as you would any other muscle group there is no other muscles to support them and injuring them is really bad.

The first is the sartorius muscle, normally all this muscle does is rotate your foot outwards, so it isn't a very strong muscle, you need to change that: What you will need to do is squat down like you're in an "air chair," then spread your legs as far to the side as you can while still keeping your balance. Then shift your weight without moving your legs over top of each leg, then shift back to the other leg. You want to remain squatted the entire time and keep leaned forwards, no need to keep your back straight, basically remain in the same posture as you would if you were actually playing behind a bunker. The cool thing about this exercise is you can practice switching hands at the same time. Just move slow and steady, the sartorius is a very long and thin muscle and if you go too quickly or work it too much, it could do more harm than good. If you're doing it right, you should start to feel the pain on the inside of your leg just above your knee. As soon as your legs start to shake, stop for the day, if they aren't shaking, do some more reps until you think you've done enough(the shaking is very bad, don't let it get to that point). You're growing a small muscle, so it's going to take awhile, so don't try and push yourself super hard or expect to see a difference in 3 days.

The next is the back muscle, these are the ones that you don't want to use when lifting boxes, however, they are the ones that pick your chest and head up when popping up to play snake. Normally, these are bad to work out, because these are the two muscles that lead to back pain and if you push them too hard, that is what you will get.
However, you increase your risk if you just work these muscles out during normal play, so, it's good to work them out slowly in a controlled environment.

The exercise you want to do is kind of a reverse situp. Lay face down on your bed with your torso hanging off your bed and get someone or something to hold your feet down. Now, bring your chest up until you're back is straight, be careful not to lift too high, your spine isn't supposed to bend any further, and won't appreciate you forcing it further.
Another way is to do like you would in snake, squat on the ground sitting on your shins with your legs spread as wide as possible. Then pop up like you would if you were shooting over the snake segments, then go back down, over and over.
Again, take it slow, and don't push yourself too far. After you're done, lie on your back for a few minutes to let the muscles rest.

[joshsmithers]

Originally Posted by Xdanisx

And for the love of God, please don't do Crossfit...

What is wrong with crossfit?

[Welmore00]

People that never tried it or can't do it talk **** about it. I went from the typical globo gym rat to Crossfit 2 yrs ago and I would never set foot back in that globo gym again.