Summer Workout Plan 2008

posted Summer 2008

Monday: Spinning followed by 30 minute chest/back or leg workout

Tuesday: Long easy run 50 minutes at 65-75% of max. then golf in afternoon

Wednesday: Spinning or a chest/back or leg workout

Thursday: recovery

Friday: Intervals either spinning or running; then lifting

Saturday: Golf only

Sunday Recovery run in AM golf PM

Not splitting routine and cardio, so the days I spin and lift my calorie burn is around 1000 in about 1 hours 30 minutes.

On lifting days when I don't spin then I do some cardio...court intervals, etc.

Holding weight at 180 and 13-14% bodyfat

Building some strength...not much...mostly maintenance.

Two days of chest/back and one of legs...following week 2 legs and 1 chest. Varying sets/reps/weights each time. 4 sets of 6 heavy; 3 sets of 10 medium; 2 sets of 15 light. Rotating each time.

Chest back supersets:
Pushups regular 15; on medicine ball hard; toes pointed on swiss ball medium
Seated row.

Pushups on the ball: elevated on platform; 65 or 55 mm ball
Pullups on lat pulldown machine.

Curl to press with one leg raised
skull crushers or cable pull downs

Legs superset:

Step ups
Side step ups

One leg squats: hard on bench with weights; easy on floor; medium bench without weights.

Leg curl machine

Hanging leg raises: hard with straight legs; easy 10 knee lift; medium butt lift

Warming up with foam roll...on hard leg days rolling out legs after.

NO cold plunge or hot tub. Yamuna once a week. Massage every 2 weeks.

Eating gluten and dairy free. Soreness is minimal. Left shoulder "pops" when I do curl to press. No back issues.

Workout Intensity

posted Fall 2008

As for the question about intensity of workouts, seniors naturally are concerned about the risks of doing any exercise. Risk versus reward needs to be measured. The risk of premature death is much higher for out of shape people whether they exercise or not! The lower the fitness the higher the risk. It's more a function of fitness than age. Clearly a fit young person can function at a higher intensity than a fit older person. There are many examples of fit seniors who train as intensely as their younger counter parts. We just do it at a lower heart rate.

Intense exercise (interval training) is the most effective way to burn fat and build power, strength, and endurance. It's the most effective way to increase V02 max. It is safe and effective for any age under the following conditions:

1. Build an aerobic base over several months.
2. A heart rate monitoring based system is used
3. No prior injuries or health issues that prevent the training.
4. Adequate active rest.
5. Proper supervision and education. This is not for the ignorant!
6. Limit intense cardio exercise to 2 times a week for not more than 45 minutes.
7. Do a week of active recovery only every 3 months.

The risks of intense exercise are the same for all ages. Snow shoveling is INTENSE exercise and has resulted in many heart attacks, strokes, and deaths. However, this is usually the result of out of shape people performing intense exercise. The sudden deaths we read about (marathoner in Chicago, and world class runner in the NYC marathon) are usually the result of some other issue. The runner in Chicago had a diagnosed heart problem. The NYC runner had an enlarged heart.

To display a six pack men need bodyfat levels to drop below 11%. That is a very challenging task considering the typical pro athlete from the 1960's had about that same level. But it's a great goal to strive for!

How Long Does It Take To Get Fit!

posted FAll 2008

Starting from many years of being "sedentary":

1. Strength and muscle development: Muscle tissue renews itself completely over course of about 6 months. As we train new cells are forming everyday. Those new cells will be stronger than the ones they replace. Increases in strength will occur slowly in the beginning, but within 6 months of starting resistance training there will be significant improvements in muscle tone and strength.

2. Aerobic endurance (VO2 max): it will take 6-12 weeks of preliminary base building before meaning full results. The average person should be able to run a mile by the end of this period without stopping.

3. Body metabolism: The rate at which our body burns calories at rest begins to adapt to change with new exercise and eating habits. We begin to burn more calories while resting. That change is immediate...slow but immediate. It took me about 12 months to see a dramatic change.

4. Weight loss: People who are 40-60 pounds overweight should expect to lose 50% of that within the first year. If they don't then they are doing something wrong. The ideal formula is to lose 2 pounds a month until the desired weight is obtained. However, 3-4 pounds a month in the beginning is not unusual. I dropped about 40 pounds in the first year (240 to 200); 15 in the second year; and 5 more the 3rd.

Heart Rate Monitoring

posted spring 2008

We've discussed the heart rate question a number of times, but it's always good to see the new material on various internet sites. The information is becoming very good. Plus research is also expanding and being posted on-line.

Here's a site to help you calculate training zones, but it's based on age and resting heart rate.:

view link

I think this site is a bit conservative, probably due to the potential for legal action against Polar USA.

My maximum calculates at 161. 3 years ago I tested to 167 max. with a VO2 max of 44. Take away a few years and now my max. is around 162...point is that this calculator is pretty good.

Here's another really good site that discusses the age relation to Maximum heart rate (MHR) and suggested levels for athlete's, elite, and by different type of exercise. It's more aggressive, but frankly I think it's on the money.

view link

I exceed 170 when doing all out anaerobic threshold training... intervals by racing the length of a basketball court 4 times in about 26 seconds then rest 44 seconds and repeat 5 times then rest 3 minutes. That's the toughest cardio workout I try and I only do it about 5 months out of a year for about 25 minutes including rests and warm-ups two days a weeks.

I have no prior history of heart issues. My resting HR is 45, and my recovery time is very good. Today I checked my recovery from 136 in two minutes my HR drops to 72 from 136. From 160 it will drop to 130 within 1 minute. A 20 point drop from peak is average, 25 or better is considered very heart healthy.

Back to Plyometrics

posted April 2008

After 4 days of rest back at it this week with a new routine designed to prep for golf season. Power drills including medicine ball tosses against a wall and floor are the biggest change. Combining this with lifting and cardio for a challenging workout.

Only issue is amount of time it takes...over 90 minutes not including cardio which has to be split out.

The program is as follows:

M. Dynamic Warm up, basic elastic drills, Power (ball throwing), Strength (weights basic strength...bench, pull, ups, squats...upper body 2 days, lower 1 day alternating by week).

T. Hard Cardio for 30-40 minutes.

W. Same is Mon...first week do 2 chest focus, 1 leg....next week 2 leg days, 1 chest/back.

Th. Recovery easy run at 65%

Friday Same as Wed. add 40 minutes spinning at medium to high depending how I feel

Sat. Recovery

Sun Rest

Pumping up

posted February 2008

Calories burned last two weeks over 10,000...and feeling great. Little if any soreness...

Seems that between Gluten and dairy my body spent most of the time fighting off the effects of the inflammation leaving me sore from most any activity. Another issue might have been tomatoes. When I cut out tomatoes from my diet my sinus congestion eased dramatically.

Friday's workout: Spun for 40 minutes at AT 1/2 of that....then immediately to heavy weight routine. Highlight was 270 lb. deadlift after about 1 1/2 hours of work. Doing Russian twists 12 reps at 45 lbs.

Prior day did 2 sets of 15 reps pushups with feet on ball. First 15 toes down...

Only issue is that I'm hunger more than usual!

Gluten and Dairy Sensitivity

posted January 2008

"It's recommended that you completely remove dairy and gluten from your diet." HOLY COW! No pun intended... I took the lab test and that's what was found. I'm way over the limits on dairy and gluten reaction. I have celiac disease. Wow....

That is what has caused my sinus problems among other things. Better late than never to have found out. It all makes sense now.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.....