Finally reached 1.5x BW squat, what next?

[Shoke]

Thanks to stronglifts 5x5 for about 8 months, I've gone from a 135 lb. squat and DL to a 1.5x BW and 2x BW squat and deadlift ....

I'll be finished graduate school soon and landed a consulting job where I'll be working long hours (with a lot of traveling from between clients) - meaning I won't have much time to workout or peruse the forums (at MOST, I'll probably only have 1 hour max 3x a week, including warmups and cooldowns), and I want to start incorporating cardio or endurance type work.

i still want to keep lifting at the gym, but will probably have to cut rest periods down to 30sec per set. I'm also thinking of trying to superset with lighter weights, or doing triples instead of reps of 5. I've also heard of Crossfit, which seems to save time, but don;'t know anyone who actually does it. Any advice or suggestions? My goals are to just keep fit, and try to maintain as much strength and muscle mass as possible.

Thanks to all!

[ricepower]

Congratulations on achieving your goals.

If I was limited to 3 x 1hr training sessions I would specialise during that very brief time to get most bang for your buck (time in this case)

Session 1: Focus on Squat

Session 2: Focus on Deadlift

Session 3: Overhead Press & Pull Ups

Use warm up & cool down time to add fast cardio etc.

I would also mix it up with occasional strength based HIIT like 'the bear' and such complexes.
Also look for ways to involve exercise in your daily life such as bicycle to work and use stairs (take 2-3 at a time)

[MDR2]

Don't forget tabata routines. If you have limited time and want to work hard, 4 minutes of "20 seconds intense, 10 second rest" should be plenty to keep you in shape/low fat/vo2Max up.

Maybe try:
Session 1:squats and press/bench press. like ricepower says focus on squats. go for a higher volume this day. maybe 4x5 or 5x5. press/bench press should be 3x5. if you don't have time for all of this cut the volume a bit and increase speed or intensity.

Session 2: cleans and front squats and tabata. 4x2 for the cleans. work them as heavy as you can. they should not take much rest between sets. the front squats are less weight than the back squat because, well, they have to be so recovery should happen even though you are working hard. 3x3 for those. you will probably have time for tabata at the end of this as well.

Session 3: squats and chins and tabata. go for low volume and high intensity. maybe 3x2 as heavy as possible. 3 sets to failure with the chins. add weight when you can do 15 reps per set. if you have time, do tabata as well.

If the cleans are not enough for pulling you can through in a set of deadlifts as well. or heavy rack pulls instead of the full motion.

An advanced novice style starting strength/practical programming routine would work really well for you.

[FiveByFive]

I'm a newbie myself, but thinking ahead to when I reach your level (hopefully), I'd think carefully next about what your goals are and what you want out of your training. I know you said you want to keep fit and keep strength, but that could mean a lot of different things.Are you training b/c you want to increase maximal strength? Improved aesthetics? B/c you like lifting heavy things? Things like texas method, crossfit, and bb routines will give very different results depending on your goals. Good luck and congrats on hitting that squat!

[Shoke]

Thanks for all the suggestions...I will look into the tabatas and strength based HIIT.

@FiveByFive: By "keeping fit" I mean staying relatively strong (e.g. 1.5x BW squat), while developing decent stamina and endurance (e.g. be able to run 5k at a decent pace without gassing out - currently, I CANNOT do this). Maximal strength is not really a priority for me as I'm not an athlete, nor do I compete in powerlifting competitions. Improved aesthetics is always nice, but I think that fit people will usually look good =)...I'm not into the "bodybuilder" look anyways.

[FiveByFive]

Shoke:
In that case here's a couple good articles for you:
Alwyn Cosgrove: http://www.elitefts.com/documents/metab ... aining.htm
Dan John: http://www.tmuscle.com/portal_includes/ ... ining.html

They combine strength training and conditioning through complex training, as many here have mentioned. The Cosgrove article is great, don't get turned off b/c he references training for fighters. They seem ideal for somebody who already has a good strength base and has a limited amount of time. Neither will help you with your maximal strength, but that's not one of your goals!

[Amiright]

didn't read any of the responses but if you want to get stronger 5/3/1, it can fit any schedule and any amount of weekly workouts. If you want to do endurance then crossfit will treat you right and keep you doing the big lifts from time to time.

[Shoke]

thanks for the responses everyone, I'll look into crossfit....
i tried thrusters today with 95 lbs at the end of my workout...was gassed out after 3x10 lol....20s rest in between sets...i really need to work on my endurance