Intro
In the early stages of body composition testing, I decided I did not like the results I was getting. To make strides at improvement, I intensified my workout routine greatly. I began working out twice a day rather than once a day. I began doing the ROM upper body workout again. I began raising the intensity and speed of all my exercise. I added in the sauna.
Well, all that was fine in those days, but it is pretty fucking passé nowadays. I’m way beyond that level at this point. Frankly, I’m scaring some people with workload I’m taking these days. There ain’t one dude at my company who can carry the weight of my jockstrap in a cardio stress test. Perhaps BB [the black-belt holding marathoner] can battle me, but I wouldn’t bet on her if I was you.
What does the new murder-day look like? Yesterday was a new-style murder day. Let me tell you about what I did yesterday.
Morning Workout
- One minute of shake weight.
- 4 minute ROM upper body workout
- One minute of shake weight
- 4 ROM Lower body workout
- One minute of shake weight
- 90 seconds of ROM Abdominal rows
- 90 seconds of ROM Oblique twists
Lunchtime workout
- 22 Minutes of Olympic Rowing, at level 10, covering 4,650 meters 256 kcal
- 16 minutes of treadmill walking ranging between 3.6 and 4.0 miles per hour at 6 to 8.5 elevation. 210 kcals burned
Evening workout
- 12 minutes of biking starting at 160 watts of resistance, finishing at 210. 156 kcals burned
- 22 minutes of Lifefitness Crosstrainer, the mountain patern, @level 15, burning 361 kcal, covering 2.3 miles.
Commentary
Whether you realize it or not, it is the ROM that is the power gear in this workout routine. It is far and away the most difficult of these exercises, and it sets up everything else. Incidentally, the ROM is set for 210 pounds of resistance, which is far above my ideal body weight. If I wanted to comply with the easy rules, I would take my resistance down to something between 180 and 190. I am working 20 pound heavier than I have to according to the rulebook.
You might comment that the duration of those exercises trends to the short side. You are quite correct. The emphasis is on intensity and difficulty of resistance. The focus is not on duration of the exercise. The objective is to get my heart rate and respiration rate up rapidly, and stretch that capacity. If my muscles aren't sore and full of lactic acid at the end of each run, I did something wrong. I will need to intensify again next time for sure.
You can't argue with success. The new focus on difficulty and intensity is producing great results. I just experienced a fine recovery of lean muscle tissue, and new growth continues. I just shattered my last set-point and I'm racing again.
I pulled out the old Voldyne 5000 they gave me at the hospital after Gastric Bypass. This device is designed to help you stretch your lung capacity [and measure your lung capacity] in the immediate aftermath of major internal surgery. I rang the bell on my very first breath. I popped the meter all the way up to the 5 liter mark on the very first try.
Just what does that mean? It means that I have the capacity to suck in 5 liters of air (or more) with just one breath. It ain’t hard either. This means my lungs have excellent capacity. All else being equal, this should lead to an excellent capacity to do cardio vascular work. Believe me, it’s true.
