Help me shake up my routine

S

SRP

Cathlete
Okay, I need some creative help here. I've been noticing a few little "middle age" changes and I want to put a stop to them. I think the main key is going to be watching my diet. But I also want to try the "shock my body" approach and see what happens.

One barrier is that I can't do a lot of high impact stuff, so for instance, running is not an option. And just so you know, I despise biking. I'll fight it every step of the way.

I wonder how much walking would shake things up, and what sort of intensity I'd need to reach before it is effective?

So... here's what I do right now.
M - 1 hr step cardio
T - 1 hr lower body weights
W - elliptical work with Cardio Coach
Th - off
F - 1 hr (average) upper body weights
S - 1 hr step cardio
Su - on alternate weeks, I do either a full body weight workout, or a circuit workout

All right, everyone, let's shake it up!! Thanks!
 
Shannon - Do you have access to a pool - via the Y maybe? I know for me swimming is one of my favorite cardio activities. It really gets the heart rate going and is completely non-impact. Unfortunately, I rarely get to do it, but if I had access to a pool, I know that would be my main form of cardio. As far as walking, you could do that to one of good old Coach Sean's cardio coaches. Aside from just picking up the pace, you could do lunges to help elevate the heartrate during the challenges. Do you have a heart rate monitor? That would help you judge how much to up the intensity of the walk to keep your heartrate where it needs to be for the challenges.

Also, have you looked at Cathe's September rotation? She's doing a lot of circuit work. That might be a good shake-up to your routine.

Hopefully, others will have some better ideas for you! :)
 
Well, Liann, I hate to admit this, but I don't know how to swim! I've been thinking about a HRM though. Maybe I'll look when my friend and I go shopping tomorrow. And thanks for the tip on the Sept. rotation!
 
I hear ya' on needing to shake things up.

Well...if you want to try something REALLY different, I'll toss the Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) concept out as an idea. On average, the intense portions of the workouts themselves can be rather short, depending on your fitness level. For instance, the WOD (workout of the day) I did today took me a little over 15 minutes, but I added in a 10 minute warmup and some yoga at the end. Other WODs I did this week took me about 30 minutes. A lot of the workouts are done for time, so they can be very intense.

Also, some WODs include some running, like 400M or 800M, but that could be subbed on an elliptical or rowing machine.

I've been doing the Crossfit WODs almost exclusively for about the last 6 weeks and I'm really happy with the performance improvements I've seen.

HTH
 
Shannon,

I suck at these questions! :) I just wanted you to know that I hate cardio too and I am noticing the middle age horror as well!

Middle Agers United!
 
Shannon, what about subbing one of your cardios for a high intensity, low impact, bootcamp-esque type deal?

For example, you can take different types of drills & string them together for an HIIT/circuit fest (do 1 min of each and repeat 3x):

-hammer punch lunges
-overhead ball slams (from a chair or high step)
-mountain climbers
-explosive BOSU pushups (start w/ one hand on floor and other hand in the middle of BOSU and explode up so hands land on other side in reverse position)
-speed skaters (using light dumbbell to punch)
-medicine ball sit up & toss – start in crunch position w/ arms extended overhead w/ med ball. Crunch up, bringing med ball overhead, and toss into air. You can also do this on on an incline/decline bench

This is just an example...but I find I enjoy doing these kind of things as a shake up in my week.


Debbie


Brain cells come & brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
 
>I wonder how much walking would shake things up, and what sort
>of intensity I'd need to reach before it is effective?

I added walking to my workout regimen this summer. You can get a good, intense workout out of it. In fact, if you work up to a speed where it would be easier to jog/run than to walk, but keep walking, your body uses a lot more muscle, and burns a lot more calories, than if you would jog.

You could start working walking into your rotation: start with 30-40 minutes, at a brisk but doable pace. Watch for shin pain and any other pain in muscles that aren't used to this type of a workout (I had major shin pain and some hip pain the first few days. Some foam rolling, and paying more attention to stretching afterwards, really helped).

Don't walk every day at first, maybe 3-4 times a week. Work on getting to a certain time commitment (I usually do hour walks--not including my warm-up, cool-down and stretch--but have gone up to 1 1/2 hours so far), and work on getting faster (with good form) each time. That way, you will be getting more out of the time you spend.

After you've become more accustomed to the workout (a few weeks), you can really start to push yourself and add in some shorter 'very fast' walks or some longer walks.

You can try using some walking music, but I actually prefer walking with no music (because if the beat isn't right, it can actually slow you down), and pushing myself to compete with my previous times by using a Garmin wrist-mounted GPS. (A pedometer would work, too, but doesn't give the accurate, up-to-the-minute info that I find so helpful in pushing me).
 
LOL, Michele! Okay, I'll let you off the hook.

Gayle - funny you should mention CrossFit. I have another friend who really likes that site. I've checked it out, out of curiosity, but maybe I'll get more serious. I was amazed at the workouts!

Melissa - good heavens, no, I don't hate cardio! I love it!!!

Debbie - wow! That sounds pretty cool! Okay, how do you do overhead ball slams? What do you do up on the chair?
 
>Debbie - wow! That sounds pretty cool! Okay, how do you do
>overhead ball slams? What do you do up on the chair?

Shannon you stand on the chair and bring the ball back over your head w/ both hands (so you feel full extension in the ab muscles - but not overextension) and then you bring back over your head and slam down using your core, flexing the knees somewhat. It moves at a relatively fast clip.


Debbie


Brain cells come & brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
 
Make sure the cardio you do is intense. The step cardio can be Imax 2. Challenge yourself with the elliptical, make a new goal and reach it. Try a different piece of equipment to challenge the muscles in new ways. here's where your walking can come in. Swap an alliptical session for the treadmill and get power walking. I can move it at speeds of 5.6 mph and still be power walking. I have a lot of hiking experience and so do you. It seems like this might be something your body is good at and could do ti the cows come home. But, you need to include challenges. I alternate between doing interval laps that are speed laps (5.2-5.6 mph) and incline laps (hike those hills, speed of 4.6 mph and incline of 6-8, or incline up to 15 and speed of 4 mph). Play around with it but get sweaty. Very.

The next thing I'm going to say to you is that you may be turning the tide: be reaching the age when endless cardio just isn't going to cut it any more and what you really need is more weights. Forget the total body, endurance type workouts and play hard with heavier weights, aiming to work each muscle group twice a week. The GS series, S&H and Cathe's new 4 day split weight sections will help with this. I don't think just 2 hours weights per week is enough for you any more.

Mon: step cardio (Step blast or Imax 2) + GS back or S&H back
Tues: GS legs (or whatever hard leg workout you choose) + GS chest, or S&H chest
Weds: elliptical with cc or treadmill powerwalking with cc or make up your own challenges on treadmill + GS shoulders or S&H shoulders
Thurs: off or yoga/flexibility training plus core/ab work
Fri: treadmill workout again + GS biceps and triceps or S&H biceps and triceps
Sat: step cardio (Step blast or Imax 2/3) and tough core/abs work
Sun: circuit workout/bootcamp or ME or MM

Here, you get a greater variety of cardio types, and you work each m,uscle group twice per week. Add in more core/abs after weights where you can, aim for 3 times per week.

Loot at Tosca reno and her pages in Oxygen mag. I hate the mag but Tosca has the right formula. Weights given more importance than cardio for the 40 + crowd. Is that you? It sure is me! This is what I am focussing on more this Fall also.

Clare
 
On the other hand, working out TOO intensely can be counter productive for fat loss, especially belly fat loss. Stress increases cortisol levels, which tells the body to hang onto fat stores, and especially to keep (and increase) fat stores in the belly area. You have to find a good middle ground that is enough, but not too much.
 
Shannon, you might be overdoing cardio. I never do less than 30 minutes, but I rarely do more than 45.

Also, not to add to your schedule, but a couple days a week I do cardio in the morning & weights at night (I NEVER do cardio at night, I'm too wiped out from the workday). I work out 2 hours a day probably 3 days a week, then 1 hour a day the other 3-4.

Finally, one thing I do that seems to have shown some results is pick one bodypart a week & really hit it hard. I have a lifting routine that's pretty much engraved in stone, but I do what I call "add-ins" with my shorter workouts. So I'll do an extra 6 sets of delts one week, an extra 6 sets of tris one week, etc. etc. It has helped with muscle definition.
 
Debbie - thanks!!

Kathryn - I saw your post about walking the other day, which is what really prompted my question about walking. I've tried power walking before and ended up with a nasty case of shin splints, even though I take regular brisk walks all the time. I'll be very careful!!!

Clare - I wish I had the time for the workouts you suggest. But those look like easily 2 hours a day, and that's just not possible. Maybe I'm reading them wrong. But I do lift heavy right now, and I'll consider adding more weight work.
 
Shannon,

I know that you don't like running but have you thought about running or walking bleachers at a local high school? I usually combine this with running but you can just walk the stairs and walk around the track.

Also, you might want to look into kettlebell training. There are lots that you can do with kettlebells and they do get your heart rate up.

I agree with the person that suggested crossfit. They have great workouts that often can be combined with others workouts.

Also, great suggestion on the medicine ball slams. We do this in my boot camp fitness class quite often although we don't do it from a chair. We do it from a standing position and when you slam the ball you come down into a squat.

Hope this helps!
 
Laura - well, early morning workouts aren't really a good idea for me. I get up at 4:30 now to be at work by 7 (it's a long commute). I definitely like the idea of hitting one body part a week really hard though!

Jane - I love running. I just can't do it anymore. I have a stress fracture in my shin that just refuses to completely heal, and every time I increase my high impact cardio, it misbehaves.
 
>Shan,
>
>one word: iTrain.
>
>You knew I had to say that!!!

Pssst. Lorie has issues :p


Debbie


Brain cells come & brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
 
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