I am forty years old and can easily do a dozen handstand pushups (BTW, handstand pushups against a wall is the absolute best upper body exercise for overall shoulder strength; not to mention that it also hits your triceps, upper back, and core). I also do dips, pullups, and hindu squats. All four bodyweight exercises are performed once a week in a high intensity 45 minute workout. I also run hard a couple of times a week in 10 minute bursts.
But. That is not enough to compensate for my sedentary work as I have learned recently. I need to diversify my physical activities as this article cogently demonstrates:
http://artofmanliness.com/2011/05/22/the-5-switches-of-manliness-physicality/
Disclaimer: I have the conviction that if someone performs more than one high intensity workout a week it is overtraining ("high intensity" properly defined by its original definition, e.g. Mike Mentzer). The point I am making is that the linked article above contends that we should be performing regular moving-activities throughout the day to break up the sedentary lifestyle that many of us bookworms possess.
So how are your results on this training? I train about 2-3 times a week on weights and run about 2-3 times a week. I think I would be less tired if I worked out less but I want to know if I can still get fitness results (as in strength and health benefits) from this type of workout.
ReplyDeleteOne easy way to do HIIT (high intensity interval training) is with a jump rope. I have read that a work to rest ratio of 2:1 is optimal. So start out with 45 seconds of jumping and 30 seconds of rest (total of 20 minutes). Slowly work up each week until you can do 1 minute of jumping with 30 seconds of rest (alternating for 20 minutes total).
ReplyDeleteThanks for this exhortation!
ReplyDeleteSince May 21, I exercise spiritually.
ReplyDeleteNow, where did I leave my spiritual cup cakes...
My fingers do hundreds of pushups a day on my laptop. I also wiggle my toes when I'm seated in front of the TV.
ReplyDeleteThat's followed by 10 sets of vigorous eyebrow raising/lowering, 5 sets of ear-twitching, and 2 sets of eyelash-batting.
Fat lethargic Christians: the sin that rarely makes it to the pulpit!
ReplyDeleteI experience considerable increased O2 consumption, increased CO2 production, increased ventilation rate, decreased arterial pH, increased venous PCO2, increased pulmonary blood flow, increased cardiac output, a more even ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) ratio distribution across my lungs, decreased physiological dead space in my lungs, and a right-shifted O2-hemoglobin dissociation curve when I run vigorously from my standing position at rest at the bus stop toward the bus pulling away from the curb. Also, panic.
ReplyDeleteIf men were made to move, I suppose women were made to groove.
ReplyDeleteWill my exercising increase my carbon footprint?
ReplyDeleteIf so, then out of respect for Gaia and the danger of global warming, I shall have to restrict my exercise movements.
"Disclaimer: I have the conviction that if someone performs more than one high intensity workout a week it is overtraining ("high intensity" properly defined by its original definition, e.g. Mike Mentzer)."
ReplyDeleteIt's about time a T-blogger started making sense. Amen and amen . . . or just "men".