I have decided that I’m dedicating 2010 to “questioning everything.” For example, it is standard procedure to warm up before and cool down after a cardiovascular workout. The warm up tells the working muscles to wake up, convert 02 into fuel, and to begin using carbs for energy. The standard protocol is to do 5-10 mins of cardio to “warm up” the working muscles. This makes little sense to me if you’re only doing weight training for the workout. If you are going to do an upper body workout, what good does it do to walk on the treadmill or cycle for 10 mins, effectively warming up the…legs? The warm up is meant to warm up the muscles FOR WHAT THEY WILL BE DOING!
So, how do you warm up for a weight training session? By doing 1-2 sets of the same weight training exercises you plan to do, but at 40-50% of your 1 RM. Or, to put it another way, run through your weight circuit with light loads before increasing to the desired weights.
For example: if you’ll be doing 10 reps on the leg press machine @ 150lbs/rep, then your warm-up would be half that: 75-80 pounds. Make sense?
As for the cool down…well, I question the need for that at all. Say industry professionals, the cool down period discourages blood from “pooling” in the limbs after a tough workout. The theory: that you could faint after an intense workout if you just stop cold. I’ve always questioned this though. Most people don’t get off a treadmill and just stand still, waiting to faint. I don’t. I get off, walk to my gym bag, walk to the drinking fountain, and walk to the mats to stretch. Then I walk to the kid room to grab my monkeys, and we walk to the car. I consider all of that my cool down period. I figure, why waste the last 5 or 10 mins of my already time-crunched workout on a cool down? (Note: IF you have underlying healthy conditions, are presently sedentary and just beginning an exercise program, or have only been exercising regularly for a few months- PLEASE cool down.) My point is, don’t end your cardio or weight training session standing still. Keep moving for at least 5 mins, but you don’t have to do this on the treadmill or whatever machine you were just on, and it doesn’t have to be structured time…walk to the drinking fountain and refill your water bottle, do dynamic stretches…you get the picture.
* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.
Still feeling a little full from last Thursday’s feast? Sneak in an extra workout this week, and make it a good one! This 60 minute walk routine can be modified to a variety of fitness levels. Runners – you can do this one too!
Enjoy!
Walking Intervals – Intermediate
Total time: 50-60 mins
Begin with a 5 minute warm-up, walking at a low intensity (a 3-5 on a RPE scale of 1- 10).
Interval 1
1: (5 mins) Increase your speed by 50% (a 6-7 on a RPE scale of 1-10)
2 (2 mins) Decrease speed to warm up level.
Interval 2
1: (5 mins) Increase speed by 75% (7-8 on a scale of 1-10). Pump arms for added calorie burning.
2 (2 mins) Decrease speed by 25% (6-7 on scale of 1-10).
Interval 3
1: (5 mins) Increase speed by 80% (8-9 on a scale of 1-10).
2 (2 mins) Decrease speed by 5-10% (7-8 on a scale of 1-10).
Interval 4
1: (5 mins) Maintain speed at 75% of max effort (7-8 on scale of 1-10).
2 (10 mins) Decrease speed by 25%
3 (2 mins) Increase speed back up to 90% of max effort (at this point, you couldn’t walk much faster).
Cool down (5 mins): 50% off max speed (6-7 on scale of 1-10).
Stretch 5-10 mins, concentrating on hamstrings and calves. Hold each stretch 15-30 seconds. Ideally, perform two sets of each stretch.
* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.
I should make a new category: “I need a kick in the pants.” Tried to drag myself out of bed this morning early enough to fit in a run before this, then the trip to Wake Forest, NC. Didn’t happen. Now I’ll have to fit something in early tomorrow morning, when I planned on taking tomorrow off. See how procrastination works? It snowballs. I’m wondering if my first tattoo should just be words…”The power of NOW!” right across my forearm where I can’t miss it. ;0) Oh well – happy trails tomorrow, and since Wake Forest is loaded with hills – really steep, agonizing hills – it will be good kick-in-the-pants reminder that I reap what I sow.
Since I don’t have a lot of time to blog this morning, I’m leaving you with a quick treadmill, “pyramid” workout that is quick, but effective. Pick the one that fits your schedule, or if you have more time and are at a more advanced fitness level, go for two or more! Remember to customize the speed and incline to match your own fitness level, and read my lovely disclaimer at the bottom.
3 Treadmill Pyramid Workouts
15 min Pyramid
3 mins 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
2 mins 2.5% incline 3.0 mph
2 mins 3.0% incline 3.2 mph
2 mins 3.5% incline 3.4 mph
2 mins 3.0% incline 3.2 mph
2 mins 2.5% incline 3.0 mph
2 mins 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
Cooldown as necessary: 3-5 mins
20 min Pyramid
3 mins 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
3 mins 2.5% incline 3.0 mph
1 min “ “ 3.2
1 min “ “ 3.4
1 min “ “ 3.6
1 min “ “ 3.8
3 mins recovery 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
1 min 3.0% incline 3.5 mph
1 min 4.0% incline 3.5 mph
1 min 5.0% incline 3.5 mph
1 min 6.0% incline 3.5 mph
3 mins recovery 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
Cooldown as necessary: 3-5 mins
25 min Pyramid
3 mins 2.0% incline 2.8 mph
3 mins 2.5% incline 3.8 mph
2 mins 3.0% 3.3 mph
2 mins 4.5% 3.1 mph
2 mins 5.5% 3.0 mph
2 mins 6.0% 3.0 mph
2 mins 5.5% 3.0 mph
2 mins 4.5% 3.1 mph
2 mins 3.0% 3.3 mph
2 mins 2.5% 3.8 mph
2 mins 2.0% 3.1 mph
1 min 2.o% 2.8 mph
cooldown as necessary: 3-5 ins
Turn any of these into longer programs by extending the length of the intervals (2 mins to 3 or 4 mins)
* Note: Blue Sky Gym and the author disclaim any liability for any injury, physical or emotional, suffered during or as a result of exercise or activities recommended. As always, you should use common sense and consult your health professional before beginning any exercise routine or program.
One of the most common concerns among clients is, “what happens if I don’t do my cardio for a few days, weeks, or longer?” Aside from the possible side-effect of unwanted weight gain, there are numerous consequences to stopping a regular regimen of cardiovascular activity. I’m listing 5 of the most common changes that take place when you stop your exercise routine.
1. The workouts will be much, much harder when you start back up – at least initially. The reasons for this aren’t purely physiological. Aside from reconditioning the cardiovascular system, there is a psychological component that makes working out after a hiatus the equivalent of standing at the bottom of Mt. Everest and looking up. Remember all of that hard work? Those early morning jogs and hours in the weight room? Remember how sore your muscles felt those first few weeks? Did you wince with every step up and down the stairs? Ya, well get used to that all over again. Yes, after only a few weeks and nary a workout, you will nearly be starting over.
3. Say goodbye to your carbohydrate and fat burning machinery. At least until your metabolic machinery is up an running again. Yes, this too will take several months to reclaim. Yes, even if you’ve only taken a few weeks off.
4. Did you brag to your neighbor about your 50 bpm heart rate? Go ahead, check it now. It will likely be close to pre-training levels after 3-12 weeks without cardio training.
5. Did you dream of reaching Lance Armstrong’s VO2Max? (That would have been nearly impossible anyway – the guy is genetically gifted, but a goal to be proud of working toward none-the-less.) Um, well, that too will have returned to near-pre-training levels.
Moral of the story…just don’t stop. Even 2-3 days of regular workouts help maintain nearly all fitness gains!
I know, I know – you’ve heard it all before from your own trainer, fitness instructor, or coach…”keep your shoulders relaxed,” “engage the abdominals,” “exhale on the concentric movement, inhale on the eccentric movement,” blah, blah, blah. I harp on these details during every workout with my clients too. Though redundant, the constant feedback makes a difference. For example, repeatedly holding tension in the neck during strength training is a sure-fire way to develop knots in your traps. I may remind a client to get a drink of water after every 2-3 exercises. Poor hydration during any training, strength or cardio, is just asking for abdominal and/or muscle cramping.
Here are a few of the more common details that are overlooked:
1. Warm up. Regardless of the workout, spend at least 5 mins warming up at 40-50% of max heart rate. The increased blood flow to the working muscles sends the message, “hey, get ready, there is a workout coming!” Warm muscles are more receptive to optimal training (read: better results!)
2. Keep your head in line with your spine. A neutral head/neck means not looking at your toes when doing lunges, or looking at your naval when doing crunches. Your muscles know what to do and the last thing they need is an audience. Cranking your neck to watch the muscle in action is asking for trouble (read: neck injury!) Out of whack posture during any exercise sets off a collision course of muscle imbalance overcompensation, which, over time, leads to nothing but trouble. Practice good posture and all will be good.
3. Don’t forego the stretch. Time is a rare commodity these days – I get it. I too am guilty of bolting from the gym sans stretch from time-to-time, and I pay for it later by way of tight muscles, knots, and eventually, injury. It only takes about 10 minutes to properly stretch out post-workout. At the very least, hit the major muscles worked: quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, back, chest, and abs/hip flexors. Over-tight muscles, left unstretched, eventually lead to injury, so do yourself (and your muscles) and favor…stretch!
4. Refuel. The time-factor thing gets in the way of post-workout recovery too, yet it is so simple to plan for: just bring a snack with you to the gym and eat it after your workout. The optimal ratio is a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Muscles are primed to take in nutrients during the first hour after a workout (esp after a tough workout). Deprive them of needed nutrients, and your next workout will be sluggish (read: harder than it should be.)
In terms of exercise, the sweating the small stuff is a good thing, so pay attention to the details and you’ll notice how much better you feel during, after, and between workouts.
