Physical Fitness Training Routines I

I've been wanting to post these routines and ideas for some time now and just didn't make time for it until now. Most of it is simple common sense. I've employed these concepts for years. Until July 2005, my physical fitness routine was divided between aerobic and anaerobic days. Monday, Wednsday, and Friday were aerobic days of either running, cycling, or swimming. I toss in raquetball if I have access to a court. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were anaerobic days of just lifting free weights. Sunday was a rest and recover day. Since July 2005 I've started studying martial marts, ATA style taekwondo, and now it's a whole new ball game.
Martial arts and training for martial arts can and has become the core of my workout routine. I rarely lift weights or run or swim or cycle anymore. One gets enough exercise if one just shows up for an hour or two or three of class and the physical training it entails. I've kept my weight to a steady 210-220lbs, depending upon my diet and that's a whole different story in itself. This post is focusing just on training and some issues related to training. It's nothing to complicated and just barely scratches the surface.
Before actually starting any exercise in any form I will stretch all major muscle groups from core groups of abs and back and chest, then out to legs and then arms. the routine is in Bill Pearl's book, Getting Stronger. The routine works, I've done it for years and the times I've injured myself are either because I didn't stretch or didn't warm up or simply overtrained.
I cannot overemphasize enough the point of proper and adequate stretching and warming up before any routine to prevent injury, maintain flexibility, and getting the most out of the actual workout routine. Stretching and warming up is primary and fundamental and cannot be skipped. Enough of that, except refer to Bill Pearl's book and actually do it, do it each and every day.
Warming up entails the few minutes between the stretching routine and actual training. One PE course instructor taught me that it is specific to the exercise one will be doing that day and should take about 10-15 minutes. This is to get the body ready for the actual training and to get the heart and lungs going. If one is crunched for time, that could be 1/4- to almost half the time allotted for the training routine. It all depends upon how hard one will train, what kind of training will be done, and how much time on has devoted to the numbers of time and heart rate at the recommended level for ones self.
Warming up for running/jogging/cycling has always been the first mile for me. My muscles and breathing don't get into the flow of it all until I pass that first mile. I'm unable to explain it except that I feel a certain flow with the exercise after that first mile. Maybe it has something to do with the release of endorphins or distance travelled or overcoming some invisible mental block; but for what ever reason, once I'm past that first mile I can go on and on and on like the energizer bunny. If I'm swimming, it's the first couple of laps, I mean from point A to point B and back to point A again. That's one lap, not just one length of the pool.
Jumping rope is one of the best warm ups I've discovered and 20 or so minutes of jump rope alone is adequate aerobic exercise for me. I found an article in Men's Health magazine from an issue in the mid 90's which gives different routines to jazz up a jump rope workout. Twisting side to side with feet together and jumping across a line similair to a down hill ski motion to work the abs, adding a lunge to work the quads and hams, spreading legs as in doing jump jacks to name a few. Toss in running in place and alternating between jumping on one foot and the classic crossover routine to the basic skipping over the jump rope and one has a hell of a warm up routine. Don't jump too high, just enough to clear the rope and mind the surface you're jumping upon. Concrete is the absolute worse because it has no give, asphalt is next worse followed by wood flooring which isn't too bad if one has thick soled running shoes. Best surfaces to jump on are a not too soft exercise mat, rubberized running track, or zebra mat. Crosstrainers or running shoes are important, in fact, adequate soles to absorb the repeated shock are critical to prevent injury to your feet and not coming down to hard on your feet and legs. A slight bend in the knees is also important.
Start out slow and take your time. Learn to do it right and do it right the rest of your life, do it wrong and spend the rest of your life trying to do it right. Go too fast or overtrain and you risk injury. First lay down the foundation of the proper technique of skipping over the rope then jazz it up later. Remember, small bites here and don't get frustrated. Even the most uncoordinated, awful dancer type with little or no rythum like myself can master an effective and safe routine. It just takes time and practice.
Jump ropes come in all manner of types and sizes. The rope should measure from your standing in the middle to just under your arm pits. Any longer and you have too much rope to jump over, any shorter and your knees are coming up too high and taking too much of the impact. Inexpensive ropes of braided rope with swivel handles are good to get started with but I feel don't weigh enough to get the flow of my routine, weighted ropes are just that, weighted ropes and maybe or maybe not too much stress on the arms. I go mid way with a mid price range plastic speed rope, lighter than the weighted muscle beach stuff and a tad heavier that the braided rope and my routine flows like oil. Nice easy motion, good handling and great for an all around warm up/ aerobic technique.
Packs up easy when travelling also. My jump rope has been on cruise ships with me and on long drives I pull over at a park or rest area and get the blood flowing and it keeps me awake for the road. I even have one in my locker at work. Jumping rope is great for getting warmed up with before all the leg work of taekwondo and sparring. It's the essential part of my warm up routine before lifting weights. On my bad days in which I don't have time for much else, I'll just get in 5- 10 minutes of the jump rope routine. I've even named mine, her name's Brumhilda. It's a scandinavian name meaning she who stands by her man, or at least that's what she told me.
Another good warm up routine is the tried and true high school PE class/ US Marine Corps daily seven. Jumping jacks, crunches, pushups, 8 count bodybuilders, mountain climbers, cherry pickers, squats, leg raises, tricep dips, pull ups, running/walking up and down stairs/bleachers and/or any variety of the aforementioned exercises. Sometimes a little tweek like knuckle pushups or decline pushups will make all the difference between an easy exercise or a more challenging one. One of the best books I've found in this regards is Get Tough, the U S special forces physical conditioning program by Tom Fitzgerald. It's an oldie but a goldie. Toss in push ups while standing on your head with a wall for support and some of the wonderful tortures I've picked up in taekwondo and your wieght set will get a nice coat of rust.
The beauty about calisthenics is there's no special equipment but a good pair of running shoes and your imagination. All that's required is your own body mass and the enviorment around you. Be here now and all that good stuff.
There are ankle and wrist weights but I caution the use of these with any sudden fast movement, like kicks or strikes, because too much weight can tear the tendons and ligaments of the major joints. Even a small amount of weight can damage if the joint is not conditioned. I tried a simple kick with a 10lb weight on a my ankle once felt I could have done some serious damage to myself if I had kept at it. Ankle and wrist weights are good accessories for tweeking my basic weight lifting routine a bit or to simply add some resistence to ordinary day to day movement like just plain walking. I wear a pair when doing yard work, like pushing the lawnmower or gardening, or cleaning up around my house; but no sudden fast moves. I wear them before taekwondo class and take them off just before I start and my legs are all loosened up and I can kick good and high. The key here is no sudden powerful moves, just ordinary day to day stuff. Our joints can only take so much stress and the easiest way to damage a joint is to stress it out fast and hard.
One thing about injuries before moving on, injuries hurt and we're "training, not paining". In the end you'll spend more time healing an injury and less time training and reaping the benefits thereof. So keep it slow at first, keep it real, and listen to your body. It will tell you the difference between just a plain old ache and being truly injured. One can expect some initial discomfort, but just that, discomfort - not pain. Over time, as we improve with training, one will notice mental and physical even spiritual improvements and one will notice positive advancements in the body's form and function. working out is just that, working out and not killing ourselves or hurting ourselves. In the end we're looking for a "balance".
Now let's touch on the weight lifting routine, it's real simple. Work the large muscle groups first then the small ones. I personally like the routine of ABS then CHEST, then BACK-LATS, then SHOULDERS. Then I work LEGS - QUADS, HAMS, and CALVES. Then ARMS - TRICEPS, BICEPS, and FOREARMS. That's the full body routine and I keep it to every other day when I do do it. A day between allows the muscle to repair and grow and rest. That's how those guys get big, they add reistence ( weights) and move the muscle slowly and deliberately in a proper way. Then they let the worked/ slightly damaged muscle rest and repair itself and grow. Add in a little more protein in your diet to feed the muscle tissue, water to hydrate, lube and keep healthy; shave off your hair from the eyebrows down and you too can be the governor of an independent party of one of these united states with all sorts of radical ideas and finding yourself on the Oprah Winfrey show. The least you'll get out of it is possibly a movie or book deal and look great at the beach.
Do keep it natural, all those weight gainers, protein supplements, and such can tax the liver and kidneys. I like soy protein because it has less cholesterol than animal protein. Avoid the steroids or any other disguise they use because they can kill. They have long term effects on the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and other stuff you can't afford to live without.
Ladies, keep it natural and light and you will reap all the benefits without getting "too big". Personally I like the way female body builders look, it's a real work of art what those women have accomplished. I don't agree with anyone who says they don't look feminine or appear too masculine. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if a female who can bench press or squat my weight, 220lbs and then some, tells me she's feminine; I'm not argueing with her.
Like calisthenics, weight lifting is also limited to your imagaination and what you can safely do. Whole volumes have been written on the subject and the one I keep is Bill Pearl's Getting Stronger. He touches, in depth and in simple to understand terms with excellent illustrations all sorts of issues from different routines to stretching to rehabilitation of injuries to specific body parts to sports related routines to mental attitudes to cardio to nutrition to all ages from kids to grandparents and so much more. The guy has been doing it for 50+ years and he knows what he's talking about. This book is the core of my fitness library.
Cool down routine. This is as critical as the warm up. You've just warmed up your body put it through some major stresses and now you have to cool it down. For years I had neglected to do this. I like a modified stretch, about half of the pre-workout stretch routine, to cool down with. Even better is some yoga, I say some yoga because a yoga routine can be just as physically demanding as a full on work out. So whatever the cool down routine, just take it easy. One can do some light , and I mean light, calisthenics. I like to cool down with some of my taekwondo forms done slowly and deliberately. This gives me a chance to work on my form, check my stances and specific moves and go from full throttle to nice day to day coasting speed.
The best cool down for any running/cycling/swimming is just that but at a nice slow even pace until I'm just coasting along or walking or floating in the pool. It's essential to return to the pre-work out level of breathing and heart rate and movement without the sudden stop. It's good for the body and it's good for the mind as well.
That's enough for now and there really is so much more to tell but this is the iceing on the cake. I've touched on some stuff deeper than other stuff and whole other postings have yet to be written. Remember, speak to your doctor before starting out any fitness routine. Start out slow and easy and work your way up. Don't get frustrated, physical fitness and training is only half physical - the other half is mental. Have fun, be careful, and enjoy your rewards. More to follow later.