January 3rd, it’s back to work.
January 4th, it’s Men’s Health 52 Day Challenge Time (52DC). I’m near dialed in and ready.
(Check this link for what the Men’s health 52 DC is; http://forums.menshealth.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4551080985/m/9551009947 You might just choose to join, you are very welcome to. )
I really like these exercise and diet based challenges. They are personal in nature though there is a great camaraderie that develops on the forum as the challenge progresses. The Folks are super supportive. Take a look, the challenges are a lot of fun and the added bit of accountability is a great motivator.
Lately I have been working to dial my exercise circuits in for this challenge.
I have been experimenting with my cardio and with three different resistance routines. When leaving the gym I feel like I’ve been challenged by each. I recover well and by allowing a day between lifting I feel as though I can sustain what I am doing now for the duration.
First things first, I need to limit my workouts to 1 hour or less. No more 90-120 minutes. My body will talk to me in the case an hour is too much on days. Even if I’m feeling real good, an hour’s an hour. I have pushed too hard in a couple challenges and it didn’t work out well.
When performing Cardio I will walk, jog, workout on an elliptical, treadmill, what have you, so long as I keep my heart rate around 115 while performing steady rate cardio or range between 100 to 130bpm while doing interval.
For resistance training I will be respecting my doctor’s order to limit myself to 50 pounds. 50 pounds might not seem like a lot of weight and it’s not by most regard though I invite you to workout with me some day, any day, I will show you how you can make 50 pounds hurt.
An Ideal workout will be 400 – 500 weighted reps, peak per set of 140bpm heart rate, rest to 100bpm before starting the next set. Each of the three circuits I have written up consume about an hour.
I have three total body circuits written out that I will be rotating. My plan is to lift on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, Cardio on Tuesday & Thursday. I’m going to leave the weekends open initially.
I’ll post the circuits in future blogs with the spec’s.
Now, I have to go to work dialing in a diet that I can actually stick to!
Captdhd's Blog 
Posted by TNT Man on December 30, 2011 at 10:31 PM
No question you workout harder than I do. I am a 40-60 minute guy. Rarely do I exceed that time and if so – only on weekends. You push your cardio way harder than I ever would.
Look forward to seeing you at the starting line.
Have an enjoyable Holiday.
On to the New Year.
TNT Man
Posted by Captdhd on December 31, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Morning TNT,
I know you don’t use a heart rate monitor. I don’t know that I’ve ever asked you this before, I should have. What do you use as a measure stick while you are exercising?
I’m looking forward to the challenge this time round more than you know. I’m most interested in finishing with a sprint as opposed to with a crutch.
Posted by TNT Man on December 31, 2011 at 3:37 PM
When I am on the Treadmill, it gives me an estimate of my Heart Rate. I don’t really need it, since I can pretty well know when I am pushing myself. I am not a runner. I will not be entering any races. Why the hell do I need to work out in that manner – what am I training for?
The basic RT and limited 20 minutes of cardio paired with 20 minutes of a circuit 3x/week give me all the aerobic benefits I want and believe I need.
Now let’s explore my personality disorder which verges on OCD. A couple of years ago, I was pushing on the Treadmill with a Heavy Duty HITT workout. 20 minutes and I would get my heart rate up to 156. That was at or in excess of my Maximum Heart Rate (220-64). That was just plain stupid – why – because as you figured out by now – I push myself – when I set a goal.
Oh – one more thing – I forced several of the Treadmills to their top speed and killed them. I had them in excess of 11 mph. I could not find a Treadmill which would stand up to what I was doing.
It was funny. So – for me – it is better to just not track these things.
Have a Great New Year’s Eve.
TNT Man
Posted by Captdhd on December 31, 2011 at 4:58 PM
Some how I am not surprised that you burn out exercise equipment at the gym! 🙂 Riot!
Have a safe and friendly New Years Eve yourself. We are getting together with a couple of couples in the neighborhood for a little socializing.
Be Well.