New Venture--Lake Barcroft Fitness

I have been writing columns for the Lake Barcroft Newsletter and have been asked to provide a way for folks to connect and network around their fitness.  I provided 3 walking (or running routes) and have embedded them in my site (for now).  I am still deciding which online software I prefer for the routing and networking.  This will all depend on how many residents respond to the article and whether we can also incorporate our efforts on the Lake Barcroft website and promote participation through Lake Link.  It should be an interesting experiment!

Pistol Squat Goal and New Kettlebell Workout

This week I am working on the third installment of the Beginner Kettlebell Workout (see below).  Additionally, I have started my training for the pistol squat (one-legged squat).  Whether I accomplish this goal is immaterial but the progression toward the goal is a great off-day workout after my walk-runs.  It doesn't require weights and I have steps that can be used for the step-up portion of the workout.  I will keep you posted on my progress and talk about this on my monthly podcast.

There Isn't Any "Magical" Food

It seems to me that everyone is looking for a food (or drink) that will magically help you lose weight.  The most recent entry in this competition is green tea.  My guess is that green tea is probably better to drink than most options, but I doubt it is what will "make or break" your weight loss efforts.  There isn't one element to a weight management program that makes it work; it is a combination of elements that make it work.  There are common elements to any weight lose/maintenance program -- burn more calories than you eat, eat balanced meals, journal your food intake -- that usually lead to success.  Additionally, each individual can find some unique ways of using these "common" elements to their best advantage because of their lifestyle, personality, motivation, etc.  It amazes me that individuals would prefer to defer this process to someone or something else rather than be accountable for what they decide to eat.  Drinking green tea isn't going to the be answer, no matter what the research.  You have to look at each decision you make and how it effects the results you want -- green tea doesn't really have much more effect than drinking water (and the cost is higher as well!) so why waste your time and money when it would be better just to take a walk?

Switch Up to Kettlebell Workouts

Last week and this week I did another beginning kettlebell workout - see workout 1 in the sidebar and workout 2 in this post.  I am finding that I need to have to do heavier weights with the kettlebells to get the cardio work I need.  There is a tipping point where the effort to stabilize the kettlebell makes the whole movement more exhausting.  My problem is that I am wary of starting with too much weight and by the time I progress to a more challenging weight, I want to move on to another workout.  So, I will take better notes and start any other program with a weight just below my ending weight from the previous program.  Since I change up quite a bit, my starting weights should end up being challenging from the beginning.  Note:  I will be posting comments I make on other forums (such as AARP, Power Bar, Fitness, etc.) to break up the tedious nature of reviewing my workouts--it bores me sometimes!  After another week of kettlebell training, I think I am going to return to complexes and make up my own to address my specific needs.

What Is It You Want To Accomplish?

Every day I watch people working out -- to what end?  If it's weight management, then some of the workouts seem ridiculous--too much machinery and gimmickry (BOSU, kettlebell, Swiss Ball, bands, etc.).  Simple body weight exercises (otherwise known as calisthenics) and some kind of moderate cardio (walking, biking, jogging, etc.) plus decreasing calories is sufficient to start.  If my personal trainer started to give me exercises that would ultimately require me to stay enrolled at a gym rather than transition to my home, I would be suspect.  The average person isn't training for a competition, they are training for life and what better way to train than with normal, daily activity?  If your interests run to sedentary pursuits (reading, watching TV, knitting, etc.) then you want to do the bare minimum so you can, at least, do activities of daily living (cooking, cleaning, dressing, bathing, etc.) and possibly respond to an emergency (climbing out of a window, running for help, etc.) without difficulty and have healthy "numbers" (blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate, etc.).  If you have more active pursuits such as gardening, weekend sports, or hiking you may need to be more specific in your workouts but not by much--all these activities are done primarily with your own body weight, so you don't really need more than that to train.  Additionally, you can use different techniques to make body weight exercises more difficult.  The bottom line is -- you have everything you need right at home and within your ability if you want to get in better shape!

Final Workout #6 for this Series-Timed Sets

Again, 40/20 work/rest for the following exercises:

• Plank Splits
• Plank Walk Up to Push Up
• Rotational Dumbbell Straight Leg Dead Lift
• Burpee
• Jump Squat
• No Tabata
• Cardio-final interval at level 12 for 10 rounds (60/60)-will begin 11 rounds next week and probably decrease rest to 45 seconds (if I can make it through).

Workout #5 Supersets-Last Time!

Staying with the Superset theme for this workout, I used the following exercises:

• Forward Lunge/Lat Pull Downs
• Bulgarian Split Squats/Push Ups
• Dumbbell Push Press/Cable Rows
• Tabata-Mt. Climbers
• Cardio-Level 12, 60/60 on stairclimber

I am doing morning and evening yoga - and some walking on the off-days.  I haven't developed my spring training for off-days yet so they are not officially structured.

Workout #4 Supersets

For the second week of workouts, I am using the other two from Men's Health (originally a 4-day workout but I modified it for my own purposes) plus my a timed set for the Spartacus Workout.  On Monday, I did the following workout (supersets, 3 sets, progression 10-8-6, increasing weights each set) + 1 finisher and then cardio intervals.

• Squat/Dumbbell Bent Row
• Deadlift/Barbell Push Press
• Inclined Push-Ups/Pull-Ups (gravitron)

Tabata: Plank Splits followed by 60/45 intervals at level 12 for 10 rounds.  I have been struggling with my weight of late and will be food journaling over the next weeks to figure out the issue before it gets out of hand.

Workout #3 Timed Sets

This is a 20 minute workout based on the Spartacus Workout at Men's Health.  There are 5 exercises and you go through this circuit 4 times.  Each exercise is done for 40 seconds followed by a 20 second rest.  The hardest part is estimating a load you can do for the 40 seconds that is not too easy.  The exercises are:

• High Pull
• Offset Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
• Single Arm Dumbbell Swing
• Thrusters
• Single-leg, single-arm underhand-grip dumbbell row

Since these were timed sets, I didn't do a Tabata at the end.  This was the last 60/60 interval at 9 rounds; I go up to 10 rounds next week (will top out at 12 rounds and then start all over again at the next level on the stair climber).  The weather is getting better so I hope to get back to a more consistent walk/run on off days and I am developing some of my own bodyweight Tabatas for home use.   I will also be working on perfecting both the Turkish Get-Up and the Pistol squat over the next few months.  A new video is in the side bar.

Hybrid Workout #2

Since I don't have a complete video for my workout, I will feature exercises on my sidebar throughout the week.  Workout #2 follows:

Dynamic Warm-Up
Supersets in the same manner as my previous workout:

• Front Squat/Chin Up (assisted)
• Step-Up/Push-Up
• Barbell Push-Pull/Face Pull

Tabata Side Lateral Step
Same cardio but progressively doing shorter rest intervals
Static Stretching

Hybrid Workout for the Next Few Weeks

As mentioned in my podcast, the amount of information about fitness and workouts specifically is enormous so I try to stay with just a couple of sources.  Even then, it is overwhelming.  So, to keep from getting behind the the collection of information, I will start doing "hybrid" workouts--a combination of 2 or more structured workouts--to maintain my interest.  With that in mind, the following workout is a combination of 1) Lose the Last 10 pounds (Men's Health) workout, 2) Spartacus Workout (again, Men's Health), 3) Finishers/Tabata (Dos Remedios, Ballantyne, Cosgrove), and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). 

Workout A (was done on Monday)
Standard 3 sets, repetitions decreasing 10-8-6 with increasing weight.  Finish each superset before going to the next one:

• Dumbbell Split Squat/Forward Lunge
• Barbell Romanian Dead Lift/Dumbbell Push Press
• Push Up-Plank Walk Up/Chin Up (assisted)
• Finisher - Step Up Tabata Style (20 seconds of work/10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds)
• Cardio-Stair climber, Level 12 60 seconds rest/60 seconds work for 9 rounds

I worked on pushing heavier weight and it makes a big difference on the workout.  I have become a little complacent with pushing myself on the weights.  The Tabata routines or timed sets are helpful in doing this but if I don't make the right weight choice, it can be a wasted workout for muscle growth. 

By the way, if anyone is checking out my blog, you don't have to have the same kind of workout I do to get results.  It depends on your fitness level.  I have be working out my whole life so it would make sense that I would be doing more advanced routines.  If you have just started, doing any physical activity at least 30 minutes a day is great!  Walking is the easiest and most convenient activity--don't worry about the weights or anything else, just get more active.  You will advance quickly and be able to do other things that may be of interest to you later.