I am currently reading Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength by Bill Phillips. I felt I needed some guidance in my workouts and this was indirectly recommended by the Amateur Gourmet (who is taking the bar exam to become a lawyer, but really ought to write comedy).
Bill makes the point that many people who work out actually train their bodies to stop making progress. Many workouts, as do many diets, ignore the fact that the body adapts to its conditions. For instance, I started walking over lunch because it is relatively easy, not too physically damaging exercise. When I weighed 180 pounds, I felt I was doing pretty well to walk a mile or two. Now that I weigh 155, I can walk over four miles fairly easily in my lunch hour and not really even break a sweat. Sure, I am in better shape, but I am also carrying 25 fewer pounds than when I started so I am actually doing less work. Using my current walking regimen I am getting just about all that I can out of my lunchtime walks. I cannot improve any more. I could walk for more than an hour. That would assume I could find another hour to spend simply walking. A possibility, but if we take this argument ad absurdum then we see that eventually my conditioning will be such that my body is used to walking 24 hours (without sleeping, eating, or anything else) and at that point I will not be able to improve any further, lest my walking for today bump into the start of tomorrow’s.
I have noticed the same thing in my workouts at the fitness center. While the early workouts were quite productive — having had almost no exercise for the prior fifteen year period — I seem to have settled into a constant weight level on all exercises. I feel good after the workout, but I can tell that my muscles are not being really challenged, though I find that I am not really able to increase the weight level.
Bill talks not about the number of repetitions or the resistance of an exercise, but rather the intensity level — an odd concept that I scoffed at in print, but understood lifting the weights themselves. I tried his technique tonight on my upper body, and though I was unable to meet my plan — Bill is big on planning your workout and comparing your actual workout to the plan — I definitely felt that burn I felt during my first days back at the gym a few months ago.
Here is the workout:
- Incline Press: 12@50, 10@55, 8@60, 6@65, 8@60, 7@50
- Lateral Raise: 9@60, 7@65, 5@70, 3@75, 4@70
- Reverse-Grip Pulldown: 12@90, 10@100, 6@105, 4@110, 7@100, 12@75
- Triceps Extension: 12@30, 10@35, 8@40, 6@45, 12@40, 12@30
- Biceps Curl: 12@40, 10@45, 8@50, 5@40, 5@30
The Triceps Extension — the exercise I am worst at — is the only one I managed to meet my plan for. I do not feel too bad, since this is my first attempt at this technique. I will make some adjustments to the weights next time I do my upper body. My next visit will focus on the lower body. I also want to consider three workouts a week — as Bill recommends — rather than my current two.
Sounds like you have expanded your exercise program in a productive way. I do a combination of walking around our property road system, (my favorite since it’s fun to see things), then go to our treadmill for a tougher workout (I vary between 5.5 and 8% incline, but my husband never puts his on anything but 10%). Weights are a critical part of our workouts. I don’t do that much, but the weights keep me in sleeveless dresses without having “old lady arm” syndome! And Frank’s weight program has kept him a lean, fit 66 year old hunk!I like the way the weight program works so quickly, too, and improves balance as well. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much Elizabeth. It is always good to hear some words of encouragement, especially from somebody who already knows that it works.