Welcome to the Gun Show! Like Ron Burgundy knew all too well, nothing attracts attention to a guy's physique faster than some well sculpted biceps. An athletic build requires some upper body bulk to accentuate your flat abs!
However, if sitting on a bench doing curls is not your thing, you can build your biceps effectively doing nothing more than push ups. Yeah that old gym exercise!
Sometimes we get the idea that only high-tech exercises performed in laboratory conditions (e.g. at the gym) will help us reach our fitness goals. However, you may not realize that some of the most effective exercises can be performed anywhere without special equipment. Push ups are one such exercise.
A few weeks ago I was impressed by some college football team mascots. You know the ones. Guys who do push ups everytime their team scores. They do them quickly in full costume. Which made me wonder, how many points could my favorite team score before I would be out of gas in a push up contest? I discovered my limit: 40. Thank God I'm not the mascot for the Crimson Tide. I'd be fired immediately!
So I talked to my trainer about reaching a new goal: 100 consecutive push ups. Figured this was a good way to focus on my upper body a little, and achieve a nifty new goal. Rebekkah agreed that working up my consecutive push up number was a good idea. She suggested that several times a week I do 100 push ups. The first set is as many as I can do. The second would be the same: as many as I can do. And keep doing sets until you reach a cumulative 100 push ups. Seemed like a good idea. Her only caveat was to try and do one more push up in the first set every time.
Ah, a plan to reach 100. Kind of slow, I know, but a plan.
For two weeks now I've been doing push ups on my "off days" when I neither swim nor go to the gym, and I'm up to 47 consecutive push ups. It's slow progress, I know, but progress nonetheless.
The way I see it, in our personal fitness goals, we're either moving forward, getting bored, or going backwards. I'd rather be moving forward--and working on being a featured showman at the Gun Show.
Good luck!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
What Next?
As the weather gets progressively worse, how do I hold on to the significant fitness gains I made this year? While the temptation is strong to take a nice, long winter rest, I know that my weight, which seemed to melt off so easily this year with a stepped of fitness routine, could easily creep back. And I'm not interested in going back to where I started from.
So what am I to do?
First, I've established a "ceiling weight." As I continue to weigh myself daily, I've decided 165 pounds is as high as I will allow my weight to rise this winter. If I exceed that weight, then I will impose a strict died until the extra pounds are shed.
As far as exercise, for now I'm working on three routines. First is three weekly early morning swims. On the suggestion of a local triathlete, I joined a swim club who works out at the beautiful pool at Grosse Pointe South High School. From 5:15 a.m. - 7:15 a.m. members can swim their own workout, or follow the workout determined by one of the team coaches. Currently I'm following the coaches' workouts because they add variety to my workouts. And, in asking for explanations of the various drills, I'm getting now something I've never had in my life: actual swim coaching.
Since swimming is all about efficiency, and is the one part of the triathlon where technique is most important, I expect this coaching will benefit me greatly. It already has. One of the coaches has identified problems with my stroke and body position in the water. By improving these aspects of my swimming, I will swim faster and more efficiently, which should improve my triathlon times.
Also, I've stepped up the amount of laps I swim. The daily workout for "master" swimmers (e.g. members over 18) is 3200 meters, which is approximately two miles. This summer, my swim workouts rarely exceeded one mile, but included biking to and from the pool. Now I've doubled my distances, but I drive my car to the pool.
The second part of my weekly fitness routines includes at least three five-mile walks with my wife and our dog. This is a great way to include my spouse in my workout program, and helps keep my legs well exercised. It also burns a surprising number of calories! We believe we can continue these walks until the sidewalks become snowcovered--which may not be until late December. After these walks, I've added three sets of calisthenics in my basement workout room: 150 crunches and 100 pushups. I'm working on a goal this winter to perform 100 push ups consecutively . . . without a break. While that may seem easy to some readers, for me, who has never had a very strong upper body, this is a major achievement. I'm currently up to 44 pushups.
Finally, my fitness level greatly benefits from twice-a-week workouts with our physical trainer, Rebecca Metry. Her input is crucial. Beside "rounding out" our workouts by focusing on parts of the body not exerised during my swims and walks, she makes sure my total body remains in shape. And, Rebecca's professional expertise makes her a terrific touchstone for all my fitness questions--be they about my
various aches and pains, or proper nutrition during workouts.
A month into my new routine, I'm encouraged that my weight has not ballooned, and I've found a way to include nine hours of exercise into my week (four hours swimming, three hours walking, two hours with the trainer). As long as I stay consistent with this program, my weight should not be a problem, and, I'll be in a good position next spring when I start planning for racing season again.
You see, next year I will compete as a 50-year-old athlete, putting me in an older competititive group, and increasing the likelihood that I achieve one of my main 2011 fitness goals: placing in the top three in a triathlon.
So what am I to do?
First, I've established a "ceiling weight." As I continue to weigh myself daily, I've decided 165 pounds is as high as I will allow my weight to rise this winter. If I exceed that weight, then I will impose a strict died until the extra pounds are shed.
As far as exercise, for now I'm working on three routines. First is three weekly early morning swims. On the suggestion of a local triathlete, I joined a swim club who works out at the beautiful pool at Grosse Pointe South High School. From 5:15 a.m. - 7:15 a.m. members can swim their own workout, or follow the workout determined by one of the team coaches. Currently I'm following the coaches' workouts because they add variety to my workouts. And, in asking for explanations of the various drills, I'm getting now something I've never had in my life: actual swim coaching.
Since swimming is all about efficiency, and is the one part of the triathlon where technique is most important, I expect this coaching will benefit me greatly. It already has. One of the coaches has identified problems with my stroke and body position in the water. By improving these aspects of my swimming, I will swim faster and more efficiently, which should improve my triathlon times.
Also, I've stepped up the amount of laps I swim. The daily workout for "master" swimmers (e.g. members over 18) is 3200 meters, which is approximately two miles. This summer, my swim workouts rarely exceeded one mile, but included biking to and from the pool. Now I've doubled my distances, but I drive my car to the pool.
The second part of my weekly fitness routines includes at least three five-mile walks with my wife and our dog. This is a great way to include my spouse in my workout program, and helps keep my legs well exercised. It also burns a surprising number of calories! We believe we can continue these walks until the sidewalks become snowcovered--which may not be until late December. After these walks, I've added three sets of calisthenics in my basement workout room: 150 crunches and 100 pushups. I'm working on a goal this winter to perform 100 push ups consecutively . . . without a break. While that may seem easy to some readers, for me, who has never had a very strong upper body, this is a major achievement. I'm currently up to 44 pushups.
Finally, my fitness level greatly benefits from twice-a-week workouts with our physical trainer, Rebecca Metry. Her input is crucial. Beside "rounding out" our workouts by focusing on parts of the body not exerised during my swims and walks, she makes sure my total body remains in shape. And, Rebecca's professional expertise makes her a terrific touchstone for all my fitness questions--be they about my
various aches and pains, or proper nutrition during workouts.
A month into my new routine, I'm encouraged that my weight has not ballooned, and I've found a way to include nine hours of exercise into my week (four hours swimming, three hours walking, two hours with the trainer). As long as I stay consistent with this program, my weight should not be a problem, and, I'll be in a good position next spring when I start planning for racing season again.
You see, next year I will compete as a 50-year-old athlete, putting me in an older competititive group, and increasing the likelihood that I achieve one of my main 2011 fitness goals: placing in the top three in a triathlon.
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