Before taking our trip to Disneyland, I was able to drop from a size 32 pant to a size 30. I did this by going to the gym at least 3-4 times a week and doing heavy lifting.
My formula was to do what is called a step-up pyramid. This involved doing 5 sets for each exercise. The weight must be such that it is challenging enough to get just the number of reps you were shooting for:
- 10 reps
- 8 reps
- 6 reps
- 4 reps
- 2 reps
I would do 3 exercises per muscle group. This had remarkable improvements to my physique. I haven't been happy with how "soft" I had started to get and that was due to my intense work schedule and lack of motivation to do anything but sit on the couch when I wasn't working.
On top of the weight training, I was spending the other nights of the week doing time on our treadmill.
I did:
- 5 minutes @ 3.6 MPH
- 5 minutes @ 3.7 MPH
- 5 minutes @ 3.8 MPH
- 15 minutes @ 3.9 MPH
- 15 minutes @ 4.0 MPH
As it got closer to the time to go, I was able to spend that last 15 minutes stepping up the speed to the point where I was jogging at 5.0 MPH.
Now that I'm back. I have a new goal for the trip to Walt Disney World in September.
That new goal is to drop to a 28" waist. This would put me back to where I was all throughout the 1990's.
To do this, I will be picking up the cardio routine my wife's personal trainer has handed down to her.
My wife had been subjected to 6 months of Prednisone (a steroid) to help her with inflammation due to her Crohn's Disease. This caused her to put on at least 50 lbs.
This was 2-3 years ago. Since Prednisone messes with one's body chemistry, this weight gain isn't just due to over eating. Therefore, it's hard to get off. She has stripped most of the weight herself and the personal trainer is the final butt kicking to get her where she needs to be. So far, as of Disneyland, she's gone from a size 14-16 dress size to a size 12 (and that was a tad too large). He goal is a size 8/10.
Well, her personal trainer has us doing interval cardio training now.
If you have access to a track, you'll want to swiftly walk the corners and sprint the straightaways for 30 minutes.
If you don't have a track at your disposal (like we don't), you will need to use an elliptical trainer or a treadmill (we have a treadmill).
So, I have started the new cardio training as of tonight.
This is what I did:
- 1.5 minutes walking at 4.0 MPH
- 30 seconds at 10 MPH
- Repeat
When I hit the 27 minute mark, I just set the speed to 6MPH and jogged until the 30 minute mark was surpassed. Then I walked for 5 minutes at 3 MPH.
Ultimately the treadmill said I traveled 2.8 miles and burned 418 calories. This is much farther and more calories than the previous routine.
This is supposed to cause my body to crank up the metabolism.
On top of that, I'm to increase my protein. I'll be doing that with Protein Shakes that taste nasty.
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2 comments:
In mixed martial arts training, I took up interval training and it was the most effective heart workout I had at all. I also suggest you jump rope. Jumping rope literally gives you twice the benefit of running so you can accomplish twice as much in the same time. It's actually quite demanding. If you are going to try it, get a nice $15 rope though. A cloth rope will only frustrate you. Trust me, it works!
Andrew,
Thanks for the tip about the jump-roping.
I've never been a fan of the jump rope. I'm not that coordinated and have always had a problem avoiding taking my feet out from underneath me and ending up eating the floor.
Plus, the impact it has on my knees.
But, my gym has good jump-ropes so I might give it a go
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