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).