Friday, August 24, 2012

Day 62: Losing It!

In the last week, I've been getting up early and going to the gym.  My workouts are part of a new method I'm trying called circuit training.  This involves training your body differently every time you work out.  The eight-week work out I'm working on has me pumping iron three days a week.  On Mondays, I do a set of exercises in a moving circuit.  In other words, I perform a set of one exercise, then move on to the next.  Once I've completed all of the exercises (which work the whole body), I go through each set again, then repeat one more time.  I do three sets of each exercise in rotation.


Above is an example of a circuit training routine.

On Wednesday, the exercises change and so does the pattern.  I go through the first set of exercises doing one set at about half the weight as I would normally do to warm up my muscles.  Then, I go through the entire set again at max weight, but increase the repetitions from 10 to 15.  Finally, I do about 15 minutes of hard cardio.

On Fridays, the exercises change again, as well as the pattern.  This time, I do all three sets of an exercise (10 repetitions) before moving onto the next, resting only for a couple of minutes between sets to keep my heart rate up.  

This type of rotating circuit training accomplishes several things.  First, it turns on the fat-burning mode to get that unwanted fat off the body.  Next, it challenges the body to adapt to different exercises using different muscles every time.  This way the body doesn't get used to a specific stagnant routine.  Finally, it maximizes the amount of work your body gets in less time.  So, there are less excuses to not hit the gym or park.

So, has this been working for me?  Well, with the diet changes and consistent exercise, I have noted that my clothes are getting looser.  So, this morning I decided to get on the scale.  I haven't done that in a couple of weeks, because I was staying stagnant at around 253 pounds.  This morning I was 246.  Since I started my 90-day challenge, I've lost almost 15 pounds.  My total weight loss since last year is about 40 pounds, which means I'm nearly halfway to my goal of 85 pounds.

The lesson here: Stick with a program as long as it's working.  Once it stops working, don't be afraid to change it up.  The most important thing to remember, though, is to get out there and exercise.  Of course, always try to eat the most optimal food ever.  Be healthy!

Mystic Merman

1 comment:

  1. Hey slackarse! Over a year since your last post! What's going on?

    ReplyDelete