Stay Fit 2008

Rick has an excellent post at TDA on an intense way to stay fit. In a similar vein, Patrick at Mokuren Dojo offers you to join him in his challenge.

Over the years I’ve cycled through various fitness routines: I ran for 17 years until a disc herniation put an end to that. I also went through a weight lifting phase where, for about six years, I was lifting six times a week. Finally, I had a calisthenics phase during my stint in the Army.

Now at 40 I find myself re-inventing my routine once again. Based on these experiences and the above posts I offer this advice:

• As noted in Rick’s post, weight loss and fitness take commitment.
• Forget the gimmicks and marketing hype. If you want to get fit and lose weight you quite simply have to expend more calories than you take in period.
• For some people motivation and commitment are the biggest hurdles. If you are in that category stick with group activities where your are forced to exercise. Aside from the time you spend in the dojo or dojang try to get involved with a friend, spouse, or other group to keep you motivated.
• For others over-training can be a big problem. Quite simply if you are not a professional athlete the literature suggests exercise at a minimum of three times a week. Included in that should be 15 – 20 minutes of cardio and some type of resistance training (weights or calisthenics).
• If you are not fit or have gotten out of shape check with your doctor before getting back into a routine.
• Weight loss in a few sentences: Expend more calories than you take in, eat a sensible diet, watch the fatty foods, and always leave the table a little hungry. That last part is the most important: It takes your stomach about 20 min. to realize that it’s full. In that time most people can eat two or three helpings. If you do these things you can allow yourself one day a week to eat just about any type of junk food you want while still maintaining a decent weight.
• You don’t need Gold’s Gym. If you are self-disciplined but sick of gyms (that’d be me) there is a lot you can do with very little equipment. Both of the above posts offer suggestions for intense workouts that require little or no equipment.
• Hate lifting as much as I do? Then try super sets in combination with calisthenics like push-ups, sit-ups, deep knee bends, etc. You can actually use this method with an el-cheapo weight bench and limited weights to still stay fit. Super sets are also good for what most martial artists are trying to get: Intensity, conditioning, and modest strength gains. They are also a huge time-saver if you are busy.
• Balance: On a perfect week try to exercise each major muscle group at least once. Also allow at least 48 hours rest before you exercise that muscle group again.
• Realize it’s OK to not have a perfect week.
• Stretch nightly and at minimum three times per week.

Right now my perfect week means two sessions at the dojang and three sessions at home. However, my conditioning is still my weakest link and I’m looking for a good way to increase it without running. Despite owning one I also hate the stairmaster. So, after reading Pat’s post I’ve added a very quick 20 minute session to my “perfect week”.

1. 100 push-ups
2. 100 leg raises
3. 100 deep knee bends
4. 100 calf raises
5. 100 curls

I tried it last night and I can tell you that if you cycle through each with no rest you get your heart rate up. In addition, I cannot do 100 of any exercise without resting. So, a modest goal would be reaching the point where I can. Until that happens I’ll have to break it down into thirds and keep cycling (i.e. sets of 30 or 40 until I hit 100 of a given exercise).

I’m going to replace one of my normal at-home sessions with this routine so I guess we’ll see how it goes. If anything it’s much quicker which leaves me more time to work on martial arts-related stuff.
~BCP