In my last post I described some of the nutrition steps I've been taking. Now it's time to take a look at the exercise routine I've been following. The main goals are to improve cardiovascular function and build tone and strength. A side benefit is calorie consumption to take some of the pressure off diet in the business of weight control.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are cardio days. Several years ago I bought a treadmill and customarily do my work on it. I buy a service contract which gives it a yearly tuneup and free repair when it needs it. I've found when you use a home treadmill as much as I do this winds up paying for itself. When the treadmill is down for service I've used the odometer in my car to plot out a route around the neighborhood which I run instead. I don't do that all the time because I feel the pavement is harder on my knees than the treadmill. But by all means do whatever you find most enjoyable as long as you're exercising!
I like to do my workout early in the morning. When the alarm goes off I get out of bed and get right to it. I drink about six ounces of water and put on my running shoes. I moisten a washcloth and daub my face and neck with it during the run for comfort and to keep the sweat out of my eyes. I have a TV set up so I can watch the morning news or whatever is interesting while I do my workout. The routine is a six-minute warm up, a three-mile run and then a six-minute cool down. I start out walking for three minutes at three miles per hour. Then I move the speed up to 3.5 and walk for another three minutes. After that I kick it up to five mph and run for thirty-six minutes. It's a twelve-minute-mile pace and I cover three miles. To make it interesting and begin working in some interval training, at the 36-minute mark (that's 30 minutes into the run, after the six-minute warm up walk) I increase the speed to six mph for one minute so I'm really running. I go back to five mph until I hit the 40-minute mark and run at 6.5 mph for another minute. That feels almost like a sprint. The purpose of interval training is to prompt the body to continue to improve, which it naturally does when faced with varied challenges of different intensities. At the 42-minute mark I go back down to a brisk walk at 3.5 mph for three minutes, then finish at a comfortable walking pace of 3 mph for the last three minutes.
The entire routine takes 48 minutes. I allow close to an hour, considering the call of nature, donning shoes, getting a drink of water and a little cool down afterward. I shave after the run and then like to spend a few minutes outside to cool off before I get in the shower. Otherwise I'll still be perspiring when I get out of the shower and try to dry off! The treadmill readout says this routine burns about 540 calories. I worked up to the three miles incrementally, starting at a half mile.
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are strength training days. I get up at the same time and run through my calisthenics and weights for a pattern that takes a little less than half an hour. Then I get on the treadmill or bicycle for another half hour. I start on my back with legs straight and clench the quadriceps ten times for a five-count. I do ten more while raising the legs and ten more while raising the legs over a pillow. While still on the floor I do ten kegel exercises, which is clenching the sphincter muscles for bladder control. That's important for me as someone who's had a prostatectomy. I get up and do twelve five-count toe stands. After that I sit on the side of the bed and try to push my knees together ten times with my fists holding the legs apart. Then I try to move the knees apart with my hands trying to press them together. Back on the floor, I do 50 five-count abdominal crunches followed by twenty half sit ups where I alternate driving the left elbow toward the right knee and the right elbow toward the left knee. Next come the push ups. I do at least 50; after that I go until I can't do any more. Today I did 56. My tops so far is 61. When I started my workouts I could not do one push up! While doing the push ups I stop going down when my elbows are bent 90 degrees. Going farther risks injury. Now it's time for the weights.
For a couple of years I used one ten-pound dumbbell. I recently bought an adjustable pair at a sporting goods store. By working both arms at the same time I'm saving time. I started with 11 pounds in each arm and just this week went up to 13.5 pounds each. The next increment will be 16.5 pounds apiece. When I went from 11 pounds to 13.5 I cut the reps by 20%, the approximate amount of the weight gain. I'll stay at this level until it gets easy. Then I'll add the weight and work on increasing the reps as strength builds. At present, with the 13.5 pounds I start by sitting in a chair and lay my forearms on the chair's arms. I do 80 wrist curls palms up and 80 more palms down. I stand up and do 25 like the military press, extending both arms all the way up. Then I lay on my back on the floor and do 25 like a bench press, extending both arms up from the chest. Then I stand up and do 40 biceps curls. That concludes the calisthenics and weights, at least until I get in the car to drive to work. I have a hand gripper there. I hold it down for a 100-count with each hand, then do 100 squeezes with each hand. I do them with the index finger off the grip.
But before that, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do half an hour of treadmill walking. To warm up I go 3 mph for two and a half minutes and 3.5 mph for another two and a half minutes. Then I push the incline up to 6% and go for twenty minutes. I warm down at the end by taking the incline back to zero and going another two and a half minutes at 3.5 mph and then at 3.0 mph. The treadmill readout says this routine burns about 250 calories.
On Saturdays instead of walking the slope I bicycle, weather permitting. I ride 6.5 miles through town and get done in thirty minutes. To get done in 30 minutes or less I'm pedaling hard all the way; maybe not all-out, but hard. Early in the morning on Saturday traffic is light. When I began it took me 45 minutes. I wear a helmet and use front and rear lights before sunrise, but the bike is nothing fancy. It's a girl's bike one of my daughters used to ride: one-speed (no gears) and with the pedal brakes instead of hand brakes. I don't have the neon bike-racing togs either. Serious cyclists with fancy bikes I encounter on the road go past me with little effort, but that's OK. I'm not out to set the land speed record or go fast at minimal effort. I'm out to work hard and get my heart rate up for half an hour. I don't work out on Sunday. I figure the body needs some recuperation time.
I'm not really finding it difficult to maintain my regimen or to force myself to do the work. I just set the alarm and get going when it rings. In truth, I rarely get awakened by the alarm anymore. My internal clock knows when it's time and I'm usually up and turn off the alarm off before it rings. I have had to curtail my previous night owl tendencies. I'm lights out now before 10:00 and up at 5:00 and enjoying it. Habit and routine are powerful. So is the feeling of strength and stamina these workouts engender. I understand they release plenty of good hormones into the blood that help give a positive mental outlook, too. My doctor tells me the blood samples from my physicals since instituting this program have been textbook perfect. These six hours of exertion are also burning at least 3,000 calories and building muscle that burns more even when I'm at rest. That allows me to eat more when I want without packing on the pounds. If you're interested in getting started with your own routine, I'd advise doing things you enjoy, and remember to build into it. If you are looking for some exercises to get started with, here's a link to an article by noted Visalia trainer Justin Levine. Get active!
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