Fluffy Novice jump rope for HIIT/conditioning?

[Luke Evans]

Hey Jordan,

I've got a question about your recommendations for a fluffy novice. I'm 6'2, 110kg, estimate about 35% bodyfat, (not posting a picture, you saw me in Copenhagen, I was the British guy who asked a million questions).

Reading your updated To Be a Beast article, I'm going to follow the Fluffy Novice plan. The thing is, I do have a prowler but it's back at my parents place so I'd be travelling 2 hours round trip to get there. I've got a jump rope at home I can use, but I'm not practiced/skilled enough to jump rope fast/consistently enough that I could follow a proper HIIT interval program. In the past when I was doing 5-10 mins of jump rope every morning my calves were permanently sore but not enough that it noticeably impacted my lifting.

What would you recommend? The 30 mins LISS cardio 5/6x a week is no problem, but I'm wondering how to plan/schedule the jump rope.

Thanks for your time

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hey Luke,

Great to hear from you again and sorry for the delay. I hope you're doing well.

As I recall, you're still doing a derivation of the Novice LP. I think that until you switch to a more intermediate program then I'd avoid unfamiliar conditioning efforts, as I'd be worried about negatively impacting your recovery and or contributing to overuse injuries until we have a more substantial recovery window- e.g. a week to recover on an intermediate template vs a day in the novice plan. As far as what I'd recommend in the interim, how about just 2x per week go for a walk. During this walk, eyeball a distance that's about 80-100yards and run at about 70-80% for that distance. Then return to walking for 2-3 minutes before repeating the run. Ideally this whole thing lasts about 30 minutes. On the plus side, there is no required equipment and we're getting you better at running, a fairly common human gait. The downside is that it's still running, relatively high impact (on par with jump rope), and running makes me tired. Still, I think that's probably the better option at this point.

[Luke Evans]

Hey Jordan,

Thanks for the reply and no problem, I know you're busy so I figured it was that and/or I asked a stupid question already answered elsewhere. Yeah, I'm doing well, sticking to the LP like white on rice and it's paying off. You said in CPH that you thought I could get to a 140 squat, I got 145 last session and I've got 147.5 on the cards for today. It's almost like the program works if you the DTFP? Bizarre, right?

I'm still doing the Novice LP, Squat/bench/dl A, squat/press/pc B. Negative chins on off days.

I'll try out the walking/running thing. Thanks for the feedback!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Cool man! Keep up the good work buddy :-)

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Cool man! Keep up the good work buddy :-)

[Luke Evans]

Hey Jordan,

I've got a follow-up question. I weighed myself today and it turns out I'm not 110kg, I'm 125kg. Does this affect your recommendation for the interim cardio/conditioning work?

I was very surprised by my weight. Last time I was weighed was probably late December, when I was much fluffier. Since the past couple weeks of running the program, my pants fit looser around the waist and t-shirts fit better, so I (apparently foolishly) assumed I was likely to be about the same weight, +- a couple kilos, not +15. If it helps, footage of my last training session is here, squat and deadlift.

Thanks for your time Dr. Gainzzzenbaum

[lacertosus]

that's good man! keep it up!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hey Jordan,

I've got a follow-up question. I weighed myself today and it turns out I'm not 110kg, I'm 125kg. Does this affect your recommendation for the interim cardio/conditioning work?

I was very surprised by my weight. Last time I was weighed was probably late December, when I was much fluffier. Since the past couple weeks of running the program, my pants fit looser around the waist and t-shirts fit better, so I (apparently foolishly) assumed I was likely to be about the same weight, +- a couple kilos, not +15. If it helps, footage of my last training session is here, squat and deadlift.

Thanks for your time Dr. Gainzzzenbaum

I don't think that you need to change your conditioning protocol, rather the dietary protocol needs modification. Gaining 15kg is a pretty big jump in the period of time you're reporting. Tighten it up, bud- you'll be fun.

[Bolson32]

But Jordan....you're right, that's a pretty big jump, but his waist is smaller and his pants are fitting looser. That's gotta be mostly a good thing right? Maybe this dude is just going to get really, really, really fucking strong?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

But Jordan....you're right, that's a pretty big jump, but his waist is smaller and his pants are fitting looser. That's gotta be mostly a good thing right? Maybe this dude is just going to get really, really, really fucking strong?

I don't know if I've ever seen someone gain 15kg and their waist get smaller, but I do think there's some measurement error in there. I doubt he's getting fatter per se', but still the bodyfat has likely risen slightly. I think at this point there's a personal decision on whether to go to a maintenance diet (my personal choice) vs. a caloric deficit. I don't think any more weight should be gained.