I decided to get back in the gym and lift weights. I've always maintained that nothing changes your body like resistance exercise. I've spent time dabbling in body weight exercises, and in my years in Florida I got in more than my fair share of surfing. But after nearly a decade of being out of the gym with any real dedication, and with a lot more knowledge this time around, I decided to put myself on a program. I also made some rules for myself. I wanted to get stronger and leaner without living at the gym. I also wanted to do something easily repeatable for my readers here and my patients at the office who are looking for more than pain relief.
Don't hear me saying that I have found the Ultimate Program or anything like that. I'm just going to break down my one year's worth of experience, both good and bad. Then I'm going to tell you want I plan to change.
Step one: lift heavy (at least what's heavy for me), and only do the big three of power lifting (plus chin ups, which are quite humbling). That's right--in the last year I have only done four exercises a week for a grand total of about one and a half hours a week. No cardio at all, other than a little surfing just recently (which felt really good, by the way). Cause not only do I hate cardio, I think that long treks on a treadmill going nowhere is a good way to harm your metabolism. Plus, like I said, I have limited time and so do you.
Here was my schedule for the last year:
Monday--Squats. Usually six sets including a few warm up sets.
Wednesday--Deadlift. Four to five sets. Makes your hands look pretty:
Not too shabby, but I'm just getting started.
Each of those sets consisted of five reps each, except the chins, for which I did as many as possible. Easy!
This time around (as opposed to ten years ago), I got smart and kept track of everything in a log book. This made walking into the gym a more focused experience; since I was writing things down I had goals--mostly to break the record of the last workout. And the records were set. In my twenties and early thirties I did my share of lifting, but never with a plan or any real goals other than to look like Thor (I even had the long hair in those days). I can now proudly say my forty-something self is much stronger than my Thor me.
Of course, when I got back in the gym it was pretty sad. My old warm up weights had become my top set weights, and left me feeling brutalized for days. I had to schedule my exercises around certain days of the week because I found that after bench pressing heavy weights my arms wouldn't do what I need them to do to see patients (the adjustment is an impulse that comes from the pecs and triceps, which were both rather gooey feeling after the gym). I also got to experience brand new types of soreness that comes from doing the dead lift--something I never really attempted in the past.
One of the beautiful things about starting something like this is that the progress came really fast initially, which kept me motivated. It was embarrassing putting so little weight on the bar in the first months, but I found I was able to add five to ten pounds a week for many weeks straight. I didn't take long for me to feel a little more Thor like. Or at least Batman like, and he's cooler anyway (and yes, I know I'm mixing my Marvel and DC characters. I'm crazy like that).
The results? In one year I added 100lbs to my deadlift, about the same to my squat (I love squattin'!), and a little over 60lbs to the bench. Also my clothes fit quite a bit differently (in a good way), and my weight stayed exactly the same. My testosterone levels most certainly increased which has numerous benefits for a 40-something dude like myself, and I finally feel like I could wear a Captain America shirt without looking too out of place. You know, except for the fact that I'm a 40-something year old man in a super hero shirt.
The limitations of the program I just presented may be obvious, but let me give you my impressions anyway. First off, I got zero cardio training in. And when I say "cardio" I really mean "sprinting, or other high intensity training." Previous to this last year's experiment I had done the Beachbody program, Insanity. I got great results from Insanity, but the problem was the intensity and therefore the sustainability. Insanity got me nice and lean with a resting heart rate in the 40s, but I felt like I had been run over with a truck by the time I was finished. I was as lean as I have been in years, but could barely jog across the street because every joint in my body ached. Insanity is a 60 day program which is geared to beat you into the dirt and get you ripped, but when it's over there's nowhere to go but back to chubby town.
There was an interesting test that came along as I neared the end of the year--my gym had a competition to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. The goal was to see who could do the most push ups in 90 seconds. I had done exactly zero push ups since finishing Insanity, but wanted to support the cause. I was hoping to not embarrass myself, as there were about 70 people competing and watching. The results? I pulled off doing 100, and tied for third behind a Marine (103), and a guy who works at the gym (101). Sweet.
I think a combination of higher intensity training (like sprints or anything in the Insanity program) added to a solid resistance training program will be where it's at. And so goes my plans for year two in this experiment. I'll provide more details as I go, so stay tuned. My next post will detail the rather unusual diet plan I've been on for the last year as well.
One last thing to mention--I think joining Fitocracy.com was instrumental in helping stay on track over this last year. A great friend of mine, who happens to live in Florida, joined with me and we tracked each other and gave props for pushing on through. I've made some friends there along the way. Fitocracy is like Facebook for people who exercise. Join up and find greggreendc if you're looking for friends.
