Training for Performance (workout question)

[Crichton]

I have a PT test coming up in three weeks. (yes…three weeks)
I’ve been working out and getting into shape for about 5 weeks now, but I want to get more specific in my last three weeks. Everything I’ve read on the web either deals with bulking up or dropping your body fat. I really dont care about either.
The test has more in it than just these activities, but these are what I need to improve on:
30 seconds of push-ups.

As many pull-ups as possible.

A mile and a half run.
I need between 25-30 push-ups, 10 pull-ups and I need to finish the run in 12 minutes.

Right now I’m at 20 push-ups, 6 pull-ups and I’m running 1.5 miles in 15 minutes.
I’m currently working out and running 3 times a week. I workout for about an hour and half doing a combination of dumbells and variaitions of the actual excercises I will be tested on. I am running 2 miles at the end of the workout. (21 minutes for the 2 mile) I’m also taking protein shakes and drinking tons of water to try and make sure my body has enough energy to repair itself.
At this point, should I keep up the three day a week routine? Or should I start working out everyday on just the activities that will be in the test? I am running a large circle on the local roads around my house and the terrain is hilly, does this mean my time on a flat track will be faster?

Any advice on how I can peak in three weeks? How many days before the test should I stop working out so that I can compete without my muscles being tired?

(no comments about how I should have started 10 weeks ago please;) )

[ultrafilter]

There’s an acronym that sports scientists love to use, called SAID: specific adaptation to imposed demand. IOW, you wanna get better at activity X, you gotta do activity X.

You probably could just take those aspects of the test everyday, and end up doing all right.

[Fuel]

stick with 3 day a week.

eat lots of carbs while training… protein is good, but carbs will have more of an impact on performance.

it would be a really good idea to actually use weights as resistance for your bench press. the extra strength you would gain would help you incredibly when you go to do your 30+ push-ups. keep in mind if you life heavy, ytou must wait longeri n between training sessions.

[Jberto]

3x/week is plenty if you are working your full body each muscle workout, since muscles need 48-72 hours rest to fully repair & build.

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/starterkit/p/3358.jsp offers some sage advice regarding workout frequency:

The amount of rest you take between workouts depends on the type of workout you’re doing (split routine vs. full body), your experience level (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and your time availability. How often will you be able to go to the gym to train? Once a week isn’t enough for continual gains. Twice is better, but 3-4 times will probably yield the best results. By training 3-4 times per week, you give yourself adequate stimulation for growth coupled with adequate time for rest and recuperation. A very smart idea is to take 48-72 hours of rest between workouts if you’re doing whole-body workouts or you can train on consecutive days if you split your workout into halves.

You might consider splitting your muscle routine - working different major muscle groups on different days so you could work out more often. This is what professional bodybuilders do to attain their strength & physique.

I do a much simpler version of a split routine - Upper body one workout, lower body the next, then a rest day or two. Splitting your routine this way, you could work out 4x a week and increase your muscle gains. However, I suggest talking with a trainer before starting a split routine.

I am running a large circle on the local roads around my house and the terrain is hilly, does this mean my time on a flat track will be faster?

My experience tells me that running on a flat surface is easier than running on a hilly/inclined (in the case of treadmills) surface, so you should run faster on a flat surface, although I couldn’t say how much faster you would run. Try running on a treadmill for comparative purposes.

How many days before the test should I stop working out so that I can compete without my muscles being tired?

Considering it takes 48-72 hours for muscles to fully repair from a weight workout, I would stop the muscle training 2-3 days beforehand. Cardio you could do until the day of the event

[Crichton]

Jberto…
To be honest, I feel that you are giving me advice on how to bulk up.

My confusion stems from High School. (not only for this:)) I played sports, but we never worked out just three times a week. Even on the track team, we ran everyday.

We split up our workouts into hard and easy workouts, but we always worked out.