Archives for September 2008

When you do cardio, do you dig down deep and give it everything you have?  Cardio is the type of exercise that really assists with burning fat.  You have to dig down deep and make your body work in the proper heart rate range in order to be successful at this aspect of your training.  It isn't about how fast you go or how long you go, it is about keeping yourself in the zone as long as possible.  This is accomplished by using a heart rate monitor and paying careful attention to the intensity of your workout.

When you lift are you leaving it all on the gym floor or are you carrying some of it with you out of the gym?  This is important.  You have to give it everything you have when lifting.  Leave nothing in the tanks.  Take it all and burn it up as you do the work.  Leave it all on the floor of the gym. Carry none of it with you when you leave.  Stop shortchanging yourself.  You will only get the desired results by working and working hard.  Your time is wasted if you fail to do this.

If you can tell something is left in your tank you owe it to yourself to empty those tanks immediately.  Work until you feel like you are empty.  It is an intense feeling.  To feel your muscles burn and your body scream out for mercy is something not too many people experience because they don't truly push themselves.  Lift heavy or stay home–that's the philosophy you should be following.  You need muscle to burn fat, so get to work earning that muscle.  Stop fooling yourself with lame workouts that don't make you work hard.  They are a waste of time and wind up getting you hurt in the long run.  Just push and push hard!

There is just something about taking on a full body workout with that intensity that pumps me up.  I felt like I was taking no prisoners.  I was pushing hard and keeping the rest periods to a minimum.  The idea was to rest only as much as needed to give it my all on the next exercise.  This resulted in some amazing feelings during the workout.

I am really enjoying using the Quad Blaster as part of my normal workout routine.  I have also been incorporating the Ab Mat in my routine.  The Ab Mat is every bit as simple as the Quad Blaster and just as effective at what it does.  I can really isolate my abdominals  using this mat.  It is exciting to think that I can be getting similar results on my abs as I have with my quads thanks to a simple device like this.

Today was a cardio only day.  I was able to get in an interval session.  I got my heart rate up to 145 BPM and held it for 2 minutes.  I then allowed myself to recover down to 105 BPM and just repeated the cycle over and over.  It was an intense workout as usual.

Most people overcomplicate everything.  They look at a workout routine and decide it isn't hard enough, so they make it "harder."  The reality is that all they are doing is complicating things.  Simplicity is the way to go.  That's what High Intensity Training (H.I.T.) is all about.

The workout you see in my workout log for today is a H.I.T. workout.  I did one set of each exercise.  As this was my first time through the workout, some of the weights are off as far as how many reps I can complete, but those will get dialed in over time.  The fact is that the workout took very little time to complete, but was every bit as effective as any other workout I've ever done, probably more so!  I was able to lift with intensity.  I shortened the rest period down to up the intensity a little.  I will also dial that in over time.

Today was spent traveling to a hockey game.  The team did not play well as a unit and got worked.  There were several comments about the goalie and how without him the score would have been much worse. 

The rest of the day has been spent relaxing and enjoying myself.  I have been watching one movie after another and just getting my thoughts together.  I have a few major issues to tackle this week and have been planning those out on paper and reconciling them in my mind.  Thanks to the past 318 days, I am much stronger and more resolute about the things I am facing.

I am really ready for Monday.  I have taken the week off of lifting to let my body recover.  I have missed it tremendously.  At the same time, my body feels energized. I have been dialing in the nutrition getting ready for a big week ahead of me.  I have alot on my mind and as a result, lifting next week is going to be therapeutic.  I am going to need the stress relief.

I spent alot of time interviewing a candidate for a programming position.  I even brought him in to meet the CEO (my boss) and the Director of Marketing.  Everyone loved him.  I made him an offer and he verbally agreed that it was a great offer.  Unfortunately, he ended up declining my offer.  Now I am back to the drawing board.  It is alot like working out.  You lift, you pause, you repeat.  Now I get to interview, make an offer, repeat.  It stinks, but it is the situation I am given and I will deal with it.