<p>My 10K is scheduled for some time in 20never…lol. I am hoping to do a Thanksgiving day 4.75 mile run that has a murderous hill and 15,000 participants, ranging from serious runners to people in Santa suits running with their dogs (who are wearing antlers, of course). It’s so packed you basically walk the first mile, which is right up my alley.</p>
<p>idad, my trainer’s a lot more merciful on me in terms of intervals and rest.</p>
<p>15K people? That’s more than half the size of the town that I live in. Sounds pretty interesting - I assume that parking isn’t a problem?</p>
<p>Me Spartacus. Yeah, right. I had some grand delusion of going for the killer third set of Spartacus today. Not happening.</p>
<p>I did two hard sets, same rules as Monday. 45 seconds strong on each of the ten exercises, 15 seconds of rest with that mean, nasty man who lives in my iPod saying, “Begin next exercise in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…” </p>
<p>My heart rate was above 90% for the entire final nine exercises of the second set. Totally drenched. Just getting through it on auto-pilot. When the mean man said hit the floor and do the T-pushups or the split jump, that’s what I did. Every muscle in my body is like jello.</p>
<p>I don’t feel too bad. At least I haven’t hurled. Reading the comments in the Spartacus workout site, a pretty sizeable number of people starting out do just that.</p>
<p>I stepped up the weight on one exercise to day, going with the 14 pound dumbbell instead of the 8 on the One-Armed Dumbell Swing. You lower down into a squat position with the dumbbell between your legs, then push up to a standing position while swinging the dumbbell out and up to shoulder height. It’s not too bad until about the 30 second mark when the cardio deficit starts to kick in. The bigger weight was good, though.</p>
<p>I’ll get to three sets someday, but it ain’t gonna be this week. I’ll just keep plugging away with another two set workout on Friday, then probably jump back to iPod nazi next week. We’ll see.</p>
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<p>Intellectually, I understand the rationale for a fast tempo on these exercise circuits. I get it. The idea is to combine strength training with high intensity interval training. But, man, it just kills you to start the next exercise while still panting from the last one.</p>
<p>Idad, I have been doing a cardio/weight interval like that recently. Killer, and keeping my heart rate up much more than a typical work out.</p>
<p>I recently got back from London where I helped my daughter settle in for her semester abroad. We literally walked at least 5 to 6 miles (or more) per day, and I just loved being in a pedestrian friendly city.</p>
<p>I got home and thought about the fact that my activity level was probably 10 times less here than when I was in London. I decided to stop driving virtually everywhere and start trying to walk when the opportunity presented itself. Yesterday I headed toward the garage to drive to the bookstore. I stopped, realizing the bookstore is only about 1.3 miles away. I walked there, bought a book (John Stewart’s Earth), had an iced tea, and headed back home. Easy as pie.</p>
<p>Today I walked to my hair salon, (1.2 miles), had my hair colored, er, I mean, washed, continued on to a Whole Foods supermarket, ate a nice salad medley, then took a different route home. Total of 5.12 miles walked. I feel great, not sore (yet).</p>
<p>I’m hoping that these little excursions will add up-I’ll still do cardio and lift weights, but I really need to get moving beyond those, so when the weather is nice, I need to abandon habit and walk when it’s possible to do so.They say the little things like parking far from the store, taking the stairs, and walking when possible can add up, so I guess I’ll find out for myself.</p>
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<p>Everything adds up! It’s all about moving a little more and eating a little less. It doesn’t take a big shift to dramtically change the overall equation.</p>
<p>I have been reading this thread for a while, and you all are so supportive and encouraging that I will try to join in. Getting in better shape is my “empty nest resolution.” I use to use D’s hectic schedule, combined with my own somewhat erratic schedule, as an excuse to not exercise, or to grab a to-go order for lunch or dinner (or both). But I figure it’s only going to get harder the older I get. The real problem is that I hate to exercise, and at 45 I really don’t think I will be losing weight unless I do exercise. I realized that the few times in my life that I have joined a gym, the only thing I ended up doing was walking, either on the track or a treadmill. So I recently bought a treadmill, figuring that if H and I both use it, it would well be worth it. And I actually don’t mind walking on the treadmill, but I know I will need to step up the pace if I want to actually burn any calories. I think I will need to invest in a heart-rate monitor so I can’t kid myself that my 3-mile-per-hour pace is doing much good.</p>
<p>I am inspired by you all and I will hope to share in your getting-fit adventures . . .</p>
<p>Amesie:</p>
<p>There is no way that you could possibly hate exercise as much as I did. Believe me, when you’ve been smoking for 38 years, the very thought of exercise gives you the heebie jeebies. I’m living proof that you can turn that around! It’s one of those things where you just have to dive in and start paddling. You’ll start to enjoy it once you are “in the water, splashing around.” I just laughed at the picture of me exercising for the first month. I think my first post here I was wise cracking about the old fat guy wreckin’ the exercise bike.</p>
<p>I think walking is probably the best all around introduction to exercise and a great way to build up the cardio fitness for other stuff. I know that the walking I’ve done this year has been important in improving my fitness. You’ll eventually reach a point where walking isn’t enough to push your limits. That’s a good problem to have.</p>
<p>Famed Boston trainer Mike Boyle starts a lot of his “de-conditioned” clients out walking just to get them to the point where they can start doing intervals and circuit exercises. He says crank the treadmill up to a 5 degree angle and start walking on that, rather than worrying about speed. I’ve only been on a treadmill once in my life, but I think he makes a persuasive argument. I know that walking hills outdoors has been huge for me and, boy, did I struggle with it at first.</p>
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<p>IDad, idad, idad. One of these days I am going to do a “meet up” with you IRL and show you that there is no way walking can’t be enough to push your limits. :)</p>
<p>Take a look at Rebecca Garson</p>
<p>[World</a> Class Racewalking Guest Coach Biographies](<a href=“World Class Racewalking/Power Walking | Coach Dave McGovern”>World Class Racewalking/Power Walking | Coach Dave McGovern)</p>
<p>Now, I am not suggesting that anyone else learn to racewalk ( Well, actually I would love to have some more company ) but my point is, that you can change how you are walking and achieve a cardiovascular workout that is truly second to none. It is a total body workout. You are using your shoulders, arms, torso, as well as your hips and legs.</p>
<p>On Sunday, a woman who was about ten years younger than me came up to me after the race and told me that she had been running for many years, but she had no idea how difficult it would be to compete in racewalking. It was her first competition and she said she wasn’t sure she could ever face doing it again. Her husband was a racewalker and she was a certified judge, but she was still floored by how exhausted she was. </p>
<p>Ok - end of rant!</p>
<p>^^^ Good point! I think the same could be said for walking on a sufficiently hilly route. I mean, walking up Mt Everest would given anyone a good workout!</p>
<p>On the other hand, I think it also can be argued that you reach a point where steady-state endurance cardio, of any kind, is not going to provide a complete workout and, at longer distances, may actually impede all around fitness. For example, marathon running takes a toll on lean muscle mass and overall fitness.</p>
<p>BTW, I bet you could get a killer interval workout alternating between racewalking and conventional walking.</p>
<p>I do intervals - at least once a week. By time or distance or terrain, by varying “zones.” You don’t get faster by going the same distance at the same speed - that’s for sure.</p>
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<p>I’d like to run a marathon someday - don’t know if I will make it in my lifetime. A half-marathon seems doable to me with another year of training and losing another 40 pounds. Maybe 18 months. I’ve heard that marathons take a toll on your body including your immune system but the effects should be temporary. I work with a fair number of people that have run marathons, some that are moderately muscular so I should chat with them in a few years.</p>
<p>I have slowly been improving my time. I started at 12+ minute miles and am running just under 10 minute miles. The improvement is very, very slow. On the order of a few seconds every two weeks. If you look at the people running here, it’s not steady state. People are working on more distance or faster times</p>
<p>A good tennis match wipes me out - I need calories, water and sleep. Probably use of different muscles and stress on the joints. I may need to lower my weekly goal on running to maybe 20 miles. I am finding it very hard to get in 27, mostly because of work stress and family responsibilities. The 25-30 MPW may have to wait for vacation times.</p>
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<p>Yes, do get a heart rate monitor. That will give you some very good information. I’m with others here who think highly of walking if you are doing higher intensity intervals (either through increasing your speed and/or increasing the elevations) interspersed between lower intensity pace. Interval training has been shown to be superior to steady pace walking or running for burning fat and calories and increasing cardiopulmonary fitness. You definitely feel the difference when you’ve done a great interval training program.</p>
<p>Good luck-don’t overdo it to begin with or your enthusiasm will be very short lived.</p>
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<p>Yes, do get a heart rate monitor. That will give you some very good information. I’m with others here who think highly of walking if you are doing higher intensity intervals (either through increasing your speed and/or increasing the elevations) interspersed between lower intensity pace. Interval training has been shown to be superior to steady pace walking or running for burning fat and calories and increasing cardiopulmonary fitness. You definitely feel the difference when you’ve done a great interval training program.</p>
<p>Good luck-don’t overdo it to begin with or your enthusiasm will be very short lived.</p>
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<p>I don’t know how to race walk, but I do know that on one of my walking programs (treadmill), it takes me to a walk that is so fast that it is far more work than a jog. </p>
<p>I hate that interval, lol.</p>
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<p>I probably could have been a bit more precise. It’s not so much the occasional running of marathon, but rather ultra long duration high mileage training that eventually becomes a drain on fitness. The long-distance marathon training stuff I occasionally see referenced emphasizes the need to limit weekly mileage and not go for long run after long run without recovery days.</p>
<p>As for general fitness (strength, quickness, etc. as opposed to training for endurance cardio events) and for fat loss, study after study has shown that short high-intensity interval training produces gains in aerobic and anaerobic capacity equal to or greater than much longer times spent doing endurance cardio workouts. In other words, 30 minutes of Airdyne intervals produce more fitness gains for me than an hour and a half hill walking or than jogging on a treadmill. Many of the top fat-loss trainers in the country do not have their clients do any steady-state cardio (except in the very beginning to get them to a base level of fitness to even begin more intense workouts). </p>
<p>The most famous study was done by a Japanese researcher named Tabata in 1996, comparing a short daily interval training workout used by the Japanese speed skating team to daily steady-state cardio. He used exercise bikes and two groups of already fit subjects. The cardio group did one hour a day, five days a week, for six weeks of steady state exercise at an intensity of 70% of their maximum oxygen capacity. The resistance on the bikes was increased to keep them at 70% as their fitness improved. In six weeks, This group saw a 10% increase in aerobic capacity and no increase in anaerobic capacity. The second group did just a four minute workout each day (after a ten minute warmup followed by a 10 minute cooldown). Their workout consisted of what is now called the Tabata Protocol: 20 seconds of all out sprint (170% of max oxygen capacity) alternating with 10 seconds of rest. They continued this to exhaustion when they could no longer maintain a pace of 85 rpms, usually just six to seven reps. When they could do more than 8 reps (four minutes total workout), the researchers cranked up the resistance on their bike for the next day to bring them back down into the six to eight rep limit. As with the first group, this sample did the workout five days a week for six weeks. This interval group saw a 14% increase in aerobic capacity and a 28% increase in aerobic capacity in six weeks --shocking fitness gains.</p>
<p>[Izumi-Tabata</a> @ Run to Win](<a href=“http://news.runtowin.com/subcategory/izumi-tabata]Izumi-Tabata”>http://news.runtowin.com/subcategory/izumi-tabata)</p>
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<p>[Effects</a> of moderate-intensity endurance and high-i… [Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996] - PubMed result](<a href=“Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max - PubMed”>Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max - PubMed)</p>
<p>The reason that a good singles tennis match wipes you out is that singles tennis, played hard, is an intense interval workout. It’s like running shuttle sprints with the demand of constanstly stopping, starting, and changing direction. Shuttle sprints are probably the most intense form of interval training, guaranteed to gas any professional athlete.</p>
<p>I’m taking a week off of running per my trainer lady. I did some cycling (on a machine - I’m afraid of cars) on Tuesday, and today I did the elliptical thing. It sure is easy on the knees. I am having trouble forcing myself to do all the core and strength exercises. I admire how you all keep it up.</p>
<p>Finally my extra time with the weights and on the treadmill this week is nudging the scale downwards again. Today I did my time on the bike mixing in intervals and higher resistance. I think I am maxed on the resistance for a while as anything higher causes knee pain. No weights today but did walk for 2 miles. Was starving afterwards so had a great breakfast skillet of broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers,onions and baby bella mushrooms covered with egg whites. Heaven!!! Seems like I crave “good for you” foods now instead of chips/sweets. Fresh bread still intoxicates me but I’m learning to ignore that siren’s call! ;)</p>
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<p>I doubt that very many people enjoy those kinds of workouts. I can’t say that I every enjoy them while I’m doing them. I mean, going out for a walk and zoning out to the scenery and good music is certainly more enjoyable. Having said that, I would make three observations that may help:</p>
<p>a) Just set a schedule. Mine from the start has been exercise circuits on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’ve only deviated from that a couple of times. Once when my Airdyne arrived on a Wednesday and I had to ride it. Once when it was ungodly hot all week and all I could do is go out for a walk in the evening. Once when I was sick all week with the flu and just couldn’t deal with panting.</p>
<p>b) Keep it short. 30 to 45 minutes tops.</p>
<p>c) It really does get to a point where the exercises are more rewarding because you are getting fit enough to really do them. It’s a grind until you get to that point, but it will happen. It’s OK to suck at the exercises at first. Doing crappy lunges is a necessary step along the way to the fitness to do better lunges. For example, I cannot do a proper side lunge. My body just won’t go down very far. I now understand that I’m not up against some permanent barrier, but rather I just don’t yet have the fitness (strength and flexibility) to bend more yet. I do what I can do and, as I do it, I’ll get better at it a little bit at a time.</p>
<p>I think having the iPod FitterU program has been huge in keeping me on track. Even though I’ve stretched out the program, doing each phase for two or three times the number of weeks as I slowly gain fitness, it’s been a big help to just hit the play button and do the workout. On a good day, you just get into a zone.</p>
<p>It wasn’t my approach, but it may work for a lot of people to join a circuit exercise class at the gym. My wife did circuit stations as part of her biggest loser challenge at her gym. I think these classes are pretty popular.</p>
<p>I-Dad–don’t know if you can answer this question, but here goes: </p>
<p>I downloaded the iworkout muse app. for my i-phone. When I’m setting up work period, rest period, etc., I do fine until I get to the music section. It asks for a playlist and when I click on playlist–it says no playlist available. I have music on my iphone–in itunes. Those playlists don’t seem to show up. Do I need to download music from iworkout muse? </p>
<p>I’m anxious to try this because I burn many more calories when I do interval walks or interval sessions on the elliptical. So far, I’ve been doing intervals on my own by keeping track of time with my heart rate monitor clock. I do really well with music when I’m working out. I know this from spinning. I’ll be thinking that I’m ready to quit and then a song I like comes on and I get it together and get into it. Today the song was Beyonce–Single Ladies. Yeah. . . stupid song, but the class is all 35-40ish moms (most in great shape). I’m happy that I keep up with the class.</p>