Ken's Blog
Nutrition, Modeling and Sports

Glycogen depletion gymnastics & weights training schedule

Considering I’ve basically been doing the same routine for nearly three years now I figure it’s time to switch things up a little. I’m already starting a new nutritional plan to try and trigger glycogen depletion and super-compensation on a weekly basis and I need a revised training schedule to match. My plan is to do two hours of gymnastics from Monday to Wednesday while not eating any carbs. Thursday I’d start doing one hour of gymnastics followed by an hour of strength training as I switch to a high-carb diet. Saturday since there is no gymnastics class in the morning I’ll go to a park to practice parkour and follow that up with an hour in the gym as well. Sundays I rest and ear whatever I feel like to reward myself for a week of dieting and training. I feel having a cheat day or at least a cheat meal is essential in any diet in order to stay motivated and avoid cravings.

Split training schedule

  • Monday: With plenty of stored glycogen I should get the most physically demanding and explosive exercises done first. For me, that means pommel horse and floor, equating to back, shoulders and legs.
  • Tuesday: This is the first day of reduced glycogen stores. The first hour of class we usually focus on stretching so that leaves two half hours to practice tumbling track and parallel bars, equating to legs and shoulders again, but less intensely.
  • Wednesday: Glycogen should be pretty much depleted by now so I’ll focus on high bar and trampoline. High bar mainly works abs, arms and upper back. Trampoline mainly works legs but supposedly it’s one of the only ways to exercise every significant muscle in the body at once. However, it’s not as intense, which is why I usually switch to trampoline when I feel I don’t have a lot of energy or strength.
  • Thursday: This is the first day that glycogen will be replenished, which means the muscles trained today will likely get the most benefit from the rush of carbs. As such, it’s recommendable to try and train the entire body. During gymnastics this means still rings and some floor work, mainly focusing on vertical jumps. Since I’m only spending an hour to an hour and a half doing gymnastics, these two combined with some stretching should be enough. At the gym I focus on my upper back and shoulders, since the latter is what I feel I need to improve on most.
  • Friday: My goal during gymnastics on Fridays is learning something new or work on a movement I haven’t mastered earlier this week. In the gym I’ll do my favorite workout: chest and arms.
  • Saturday: Since there isn’t any gymnastics class on Saturdays, I visit a nearby park where they have some parallel bars, high bars and trees that can be used to warm-up and practice some parkour. Afterwards I hit the gym to work legs and lower back.
  • Sunday: Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest.

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