First Gym Characters Post

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First Fitness and Sports Post

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December 2010 Newsletter

December2010

Circuit vs. Overload

I’ve experimented with both, and the overload workout wins hands down unless I’m pinched for time. With a circuit routine, you are able to maintain your body mass, at best. Moving from one muscle group to another without exhausting them defeats the purpose of working out if you are concerned with increasing your strength and lean muscle. Twenty minutes of cardio followed by twenty minutes of resistive work and so forth leaves too much time between sets. If you are going to circuit, make sure of your plan. Say you do twenty minutes of cardio work at 60% of VO2 Max. You should follow with at least 3 sets of 10-12 repetition with two muscle groups. I would do three circuits working (chest shoulders and triceps), (back, biceps, and trapezius) and finish with (legs and abdominals). Try to get some strict chin-ups in at the end of the session. By strict, I mean to hang at the end of each repetition like the Navy Seals. Ramp up your cardio intensity according to your time. For a seven-minute circuit do 80% of Max. H.R. For 15 minute, do 70% of Max H.R. For 20 minute, do 50-60 % of Max H.R.

The overload workout permits me to monitor my strength and definition. As long as I work the muscle group to maximum or near max, I’m happy. As the progression gets easier, I can cut down on my recovery time or increase the weight poundage to manipulate my muscle growth. At the age of 58 and with severe arthritis, I still try to limit my recovery period to two minutes and keep the weight I use steady performing ten to twelve repetitions. I split my routine accordingly. Chest, shoulders, and triceps using two to four exercises per muscle group with 10-12 reps, unless I feel strong and do a set for maximum strength. I take 24 hours off and make sure the body heals by receiving at least eight hours sleep and maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

I begin with thirty minutes of cardio work because of my arthritis. In my younger days I would always loosen up for resistive work by breaking a sweat after five minutes of sport specific cardiovascular conditioning. An example for football training would be to stride 4-6 100 yard straight-a-ways. Boxing would mean five minutes of shadow box and skipping rope.

My second split would be back, biceps, and traps with four to six exercises for each group with the same recovery period. Legs and chin-ups would be my third split with a similar recovery period. Abdominals are included in every routine.

I have seen both routines work well for those with a plan and some discipline sprinkled with intensity. The most efficient circuit routine I have witnessed is by Charlie Van Pelt of the New York City Fire Department. He makes certain to hit all his muscle groups and moves at such a frantic pace, no cardiovascular work is needed. His running routine consists of sprinting steep hills and repeating until fatigued. The name of his 70% angle hill was named “Bonzai Hill.”

My advice is to adhere to an overload routine structured with cardiovascular exercise to your specific sport or preference. Running hills, performing sprint workouts, running two miles at 7 minute and lower pace are three of my favorites. Try to suck it up and reach for your best at least once a week. If you do, the positive results will follow. Isn’t this what it is all about?

Jacket of Grease

Everyone seems to be down on fried food. Yet frying seems to be a great way to seal in all of the nutrition – nothing can escape the jacket of grease. However, in an abundance of caution, I have decided to forego fried foods and stay with cake.

“The Dark Angel”

Fat and Skinny

Chris “Tingle Leg” Matthews proclaimed in his whiny voice that the governor of New Jersey, “Chris Christie,” is fat and should watch his girth. I’ve got some painful news for the leftist Matthews. I’ve taken a good look at both you and Christie and have done my due diligence being the fitness expert that I am.

I would rate Governor Christie’s body fat content at about 20%, which is in the range for a healthy adult male, but you on the other hand would receive a 50% body fat rating, which is considered grossly obese. It is the muscle content that counts in relation to your body mass, and you should take an extensive look at yourself in the altogether. You may be over 50%, but I don’t want to seem mean and condescending as you were to Governor Christie.

If you want to improve yourself, Mr. Matthews, I suggest a healthy diet and fitness regimen if you possess the discipline to follow such. Let me know, Chris, and I’ll send you our fitness newsletter with the basics to get you initiated into a healthy lifestyle.

It’s not about fat and skinny, but flab and muscle content. Chris Christie has a lot of the latter, while you reek with the former. Wake up before it’s too late. Stop being a tingly schlubb!

The Met Rx Guy

He is at the local gym daily. I don’t know his name, but you can’t miss him whether you are a four year member or a one day newbie. When a bald headed man in his late twenties with a weight lifter’s physique commits to being the center of attention, it will come to pass. The aforementioned is 6 foot and about 215 pounds with his weight gear on. His walk is that of a guy who lifts dumb-bells. Grey designer sweat bottoms secured with a weight belt and a tucked in Met Rx shirt cover his pumped up body. A black weight sleeve adorns his right elbow, and body art enhances his bulging biceps.

This social butterfly enjoys picking out pretty women and giving them advice and exercise tips. His workout is about three hours duration, and most of the time is spent in the free weight area where he has access to the full length mirror to adore his massive muscle. Teen and early twenty males will gather round him for advice because he looks like, errrr, a weight lifter. I don’t know his name, but the gym and Met Rx is his game, and on account of him I stopped using it. My question to you is, do you know him or someone like him?

Yours in health from the gym,

“The Blue Collar Guy”