Exercise…
This is where the fun goes to die. Everyday, I remind myself (priorities in order):
- Burn Calories – lose weight
- Increase metabolism – burn faster
- Build muscle mass, get leaner – tone & shape, protect from caloric burn
I studied all the research I can find online about these 3 priorities and here is the exercise plan that I came up with that seems to be working for me (again, go see the damned doctor, or at least a fitness expert!).
Everyday:
Strong App templates
Core – back extensions, crunch machine, abdominal machine, back extension machine, planks, push-ups (really a chest exercise, but upper body strength sucks, so…) I intersperse these with the weight lifting so that I am not doing the same muscle groups back to back. Nobody wants to do 3 sets of 15 Hammer Curls then 3 sets of 15 Bicep curls, then 3 sets of Concentration Curls back to back. So in between, I interject a Core exercise to give my arms a break.
Caloric Burn – 60 minutes rowing or walking on an incline treadmill and 15 minutes recombinant bike. I usually do these last so I have my initial burst of strength for the weight lifting. This caloric burn crap typically burns 800-1000 calories.
All the weight exercises below are typically 3 sets of 15 reps (repetitions). ( I am alternating days with sets of fewer reps and heavier weights.) Remember, the goal of these weightlifting exercises is NOT to be the next Dwayne Johnson. It is to “activate” muscles so that my calorie burn does not eat muscle first and fat after. It is also to keep my whole body metabolism up to burn more efficiently. Eh… if I get ripped shoulders in the process, I will just have to learn to live with it!
Strong App templates
Biceps Day – Hammer curls, bicep curls, concentration curls, preacher curls, (on Bicep day, I do 1/3 of my rowing with curls), bicep curl machine, and seated palm wrist curls (typically Monday and Thurs)
Chest Day – Bench Press (Smith machine), Chest Fly Dumbbells, Chest Press machine, Pec Deck machine, and Incline Bench Press Dumbbells (typically Tues and Fri)
Shoulders Days – Front Raise dumbbells, Upright Row Dumbbells, Overhead Press (Smith machine), Lateral Raise machine, Arnold Press (typically Weds and Sat)
Sundays I work on whatever doesn’t hurt at the moment. I have been know to take a Sunday off. At least that’s what the paramedics tell me when I wake up.
If you don’t know what some of these exercises are, try searching http://Youtube.com.
Go Past Failure
From YouTube, I learned from Athlean-X that the first set of reps don’t really count. They are just to get your muscles tired. Then you have what he terms E.R. (Effective Reps). These E.R.s are what really impacts hypertrophy (hi-per-trofee, not hyper-trofee). This is the growth of muscles. My personal theory is: a combination of cell growth and scarring between the striations of muscle fibers. Consequently, this scarring makes the muscles bigger and provides more leverage for greater strength. This is NOT the technical explanation! Back to the old cliche: “No pain, no gain”. If it doesn’t burn… why?
You want to work your muscles to the point they burn (not hurt – if it hurts, stop!), then when you can’t do ANY more (your form fails), work until you get one whole set of these burning Effective Reps in. It may take you 10 more sets of 1-4 to get there, but you will see improvement faster. If you don’t have that kind of time, go heavier on your initial weights to get to your point of form failure faster.
Back in the old days, the body builders used to say 3-4 reps of HUGE weight was better than 30 reps of manageable weight. Maybe they were on to something.
Alternate Days & Body Parts
Don’t do the same muscles every day. For example don’t do your biceps Monday and then again on Tuesday. They need a day or two to recover. But each focused muscle group should be done at least 2-3 times a week.
We Don’t Need No Steenkeen Legs!
You may have noticed I don’t have Leg days. The reason is: between rowing and the treadmill and carrying this too-large body around all day, my legs get plenty of exercise. Plus, at this point, I am trying to improve my shape as well as burn calories. Exterior deltoids (shoulder width), a broad chest, and larger biceps make more of an immediate impact on my egg-shaped frame than legs would. Plus, I have my sister’s sloping shoulders, so that shit has got to go! Once, I hit my weight goals and things are starting to take “shape”, I will integrate a Leg and Back days into the mix. For now, it’s Focus on the Fat.
RVonTheRoadYet.com is a blog to keep our friends and family informed of our latest adventures or misadventures. We are NOT RV professionals, doctors, lawyers, or travel guides. We are a couple of people who have decided to embrace the full-time RV lifestyle of idiots and gypsies.