Power Lifting

I've been on a three-day lift schedule here. I concentrate on a few exercises that work large muscle groups, working a few sets of limited repetitions. I always do pull-ups, incline presses, and leg presses, and usually also add some seated rows and dips. I sometimes will throw in other exercises, such as curls, shrugs, or vertical rows, but my concentration is on raw strength. I eat dinner after my first lift session. Later in the evening, I'll work my lower back, obliques, and abdominals.

I want an attractive, defined body, of course, but my priority is power. We fortunately haven't been in a serious tick in quite some time, but when those happen, I usually seem to end up doing a sprint with a can of ammo that weighs over 60% of my weight on my shoulder, and shifting a mortar and bipod that weigh 180 lbs.

I am afraid that my back may have suffered permanent injury last year, but I can only imagine how much worse my situation would have been when we were returning fire if I hadn't been putting in the gym time. As it was, I was usually only very sore for a few days after each fight. I did learn a valuable lesson, though- don't exercise close to muscle failure in a combat zone!