Do you have a Workout from Hell ?????

If you have been working out for less than a year, and you think that you have A Workout From Hell, what are you doing ? 99 people out of 100 drop out of their fitness program because they are doing to much. Jack La Lanne once told me , " I would rather see a person do to little exercise for the rest of their life, rather than do to much for 6 months and then drop out forever. "

When I first started working at Jack La Lanne's Gym, we were not allowed to lift any weights over 50 Lbs. by ourselves. Throughout the day I would demonstrate exercises to members using no more than 50 Lbs and only doing 3 to 4 reps. I am not going to tell you I got in the best shape in my life, but I did notice more muscle tone and loss of body fat.

If you think that you have A Workout from Hell and you have been working out less then 1 year, I would suggest cutting your workout in half. Yes Half, I know I have been through it and have seen it happen many times. Yes you are going to get buffed faster but 2 years down the road you won't be because you dropped out.

Now I know that everyone is different and some people progress faster than others, but unless you are a dedicated professional bodybuilder you do not need a Workout from Hell

Last Note : Workout Smarter not Harder. I watch people using so much weight on the machines that they cannot preform the exercise properly. I watch a guy walking on the treadmill every morning at my gym at full incline and holding on to the display board to hold himself from falling off. I know he is thinking more is better. Unlike other things in life, in an exercise program most times less is better especially if you are trying to burn body fat.

Good Luck,
Tony

Is It Time Yet ????

Is it time to increase my workout ? How do you know when you are ready to go up a notch? If you are using a treadmill, bike, or elliptical here is one method that I have been using for myself.

Most of your better cardio equipment comes with a program called Heart Rate Control or HRC .. Prior to starting your program the Treadmill, Elliptical, Bike, etc. will ask you your age and the type of workout you want ( Cardio or Fat Burning ). If you are a beginner you would want to choose Fat burning.

The machine will calculate a target rate for you base on this information. Lets just say that your target heart rate is 135 beats per min. This means if you heart rate is below 135 the machine will increase the intensity by changing the speed, elevation, or resistance until your heart rate is up to 135. Just the opposite if your heart rate is to high it will decrease the intensity until you get back down to 135 beats per minute. Its like having a personal trainer standing next to you. As time goes on your program intensity will increase automatically without you even thinking about it. This method requires wearing a telemetry belt or holding on to heart rate sensors located on the bars for your entire workout. Not for me ..

I like the HRC idea but I want to have more control. This is how to do it. First you will need to find what your maximum heart rate should be ( 220 minus you age ) I am 59 so my Max HR is 161. If you are a beginner you should stay at 65% to 75% of this number which for me is around 125 beats per minute. Try to purchase or use a machine that has contact heart rate ( Hand Sensors ) . Go ahead select manual program and begin. After your warm up put your hands on the sensors and check your heart rate about every one to two minutes. If you are to low increase or if you are to high decrease your work load. Before you know it your program has increased without you even thinking about it.

I like comparing calories burned . As long as you going the same time each day ,say 20 mins. you will see that the calories burned each day will start to go up.

Give it a shot and let me know if it works for you.

Good Luck
Tony