Suggestions on making adjustments to Cardio Trim Program?

LionAlpha

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Guardian from Kavala, Greece
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Hey all,

Once I get rid of an annoying small cold, I'll start my training again. Thinking of starting with Cardio Trim, but I'd like to make some adjustments to it.

First of all, I want to add Pull exercises for back and biceps work, because I can't do a single pull-up. I'm thinking of adding them on the Upper Body circuit days. Since I want to build pull-up strength, I could do inverted rows, negative or chair-assisted chin-ups, and pull-ups, right? However, I don't know how many exercises I should do after the upper body circuit.

Secondly, I'm thinking of adding a 5k run on the single-exercise days. I try to run at a low heart rate to build endurance and burn more calories and fat.

What do you all think about the adjustments? Any further suggestions?

Thank you!
 

Anek

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"If the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember Cedric Diggory."
I can't comment on the upper body part, but if you want to add running why don't you do Cardio Trim Run instead? It has running already built in the program in a way that fits with the rest of the exercises.
 

LionAlpha

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Guardian from Kavala, Greece
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I can't comment on the upper body part, but if you want to add running why don't you do Cardio Trim Run instead? It has running already built in the program in a way that fits with the rest of the exercises.
I want to go through both, to be honest, haha. I want to do the simple version first due to the unstable schedule and because during this month we tend to get a lot of rain or bad weather for running. But I'll definitely do it afterward.
 

lofivelcro

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"Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today"
Personally, I would just add a set of doing your chosen pull exercise to failure at the end of the workout. Start with the easiest, build up to 5 or 10, and then progress to the next hardest.
 

Fremen

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"“Keep an eye on the staircases. They like to change.” Percy Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone."
Since I want to build pull-up strength, I could do inverted rows, negative or chair-assisted chin-ups, and pull-ups, right?
I would also add Dead Hangs and Australian pull-ups and as @lofivelcro said I would do them at the end of each set before rest :)
 

LionAlpha

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Guardian from Kavala, Greece
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I would also add Dead Hangs and Australian pull-ups and as @lofivelcro said I would do them at the end of each set before rest :)
Ι was thinking something like 4 sets of Australian Pull-Ups to failure, once I am done with the upper body circuit. And another 4 sets of dead hangs, depending on mood? What do you think?
 

Fremen

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Shaman from Italy
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"“Keep an eye on the staircases. They like to change.” Percy Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone."
Ι was thinking something like 4 sets of Australian Pull-Ups to failure, once I am done with the upper body circuit. And another 4 sets of dead hangs, depending on mood? What do you think?
Australian pull-ups, negative pull-ups, dead hang, flex hang are probably the four best exercises to learn pull-ups.
When I was training pull-ups I did a lot of low sets, this helps the body get used to that kind of effort.
I could do over 100 pull-ups in a single workout with sets of 3 or 5 reps and went as far as doing 15 pull-ups in a row but I never trained to failure.
I just "stuffed" all the down time with reps, at the end of each training set, at the transition from one workout to another, so that I never stop just doing reps, rest, more reps, like this in a single workout you can do so many repetitions without the risk of hurting yourself because they are always few repetitions each time.
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It's just a suggestion based on what I did, you need to find the way that works for you :)
 

lofivelcro

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"Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today"
Ι was thinking something like 4 sets of Australian Pull-Ups to failure, once I am done with the upper body circuit. And another 4 sets of dead hangs, depending on mood? What do you think?
Why exactly 4 sets and why 4 sets of dead hangs thereafter? If you want to do sets, I'd rather stick to the trusted 3 sets going all out, followed by one dead hang for as long as you can.
If you want to work towards pull-ups out of Cardio Trim, I would do the above during the upper body days and on the other days try for one pull-up a couple of times per day, no matter how high you get.
That's what I did. I have a bar in a door and whenever I would walk through it, I tried to pull myself up. Currently sitting at 6 pull-ups in a row, but I'm super light, so that might be a factor.
 

HellYeah

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"On the Run!"
Instead of dead hangs, you could do active hangs, which activates the core. Or add shrugs. Both movements are essential for your first full pull-ups.

In the beginning, I would also go for volume during the days, instead of one exhausted intensity workout.

For motivation you should join us.
 

Shikari

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"The wind breathes where it wills and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit"
You could do chin-ups. That's what I prefer to do.
 
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