Last Monday, I laid out my typical day’s diet.  Today, I’ll shed some light on my exercise routine.  But first, a trip to the scales.  I weighed in at 211 today, so I dropped one pound from last week.  Not as much as I thought, but I can attribute the slow decrease to some cassata cake that I had yesterday (an anniversary party).  No excuses this week!  Anyway, here’s my exercise routine:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

I started using the super slow method after suffering an injury a few years ago.  I have a tendency to go overboard when I begin a new behavior, so I figured that I’d use the lower weights prescribed by the super slow protocol in order to avoid hurting myself.  If you’ve never tried super slow, it can be grueling and monotonous.  But I did get a good workout, as I can tell from the achy muscles.

Super slow reduces the chance for injury by using a lower amount of weight, and lifting it slowly.  For example, when doing bench presses, you would unrack the weight, lower it slowly for 10 seconds, and raise it slowly for another 10 seconds.  You would do 5 repetitions, and eachrep would take you 20 seconds to complete.  The time your muscles are under stress from the weight is 100 seconds.  Believe me, even with the lower amount of weight, my arms are trembling when I’m done with the 5 reps.

I did one set of 5 reps for each of the following exercises.  I used about half the amount that I’d normally use:

• Bench Press: 100 pounds
• Barbell Row: 100 pounds
• Military Press: 80 pounds
• Lat Pulldown: 80 pounds

In addition to the super slow sets, I did deadlifts and squats in the conventional manner.  These were 5 sets of 5 reps with heavy weights.  Again, I started with lower than normal weights, starting at 180 pounds and ending at 220 pounds.  I’d like to hit 300 on the deadlift by the end of the year.

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

I avoided the weights on these three days, taking advantage of the nice weather to swim in the pool and take a walk for an hour.  I even tried keeping up with my son during his morning run (I was unsuccessful).  I hope the shin splints go away in a few days.

I’d forgotten the sense of peace that I got during my walk.  It’s a great stress reducer, and when it cools off next month, I may walk during my lunch break.  It will give me something to do while the lights are out.

What’s next?

I would like to add more exercises to my routine as time goes by, but I’ll probably stick to this routine for a few more weeks.  Too much, too soon can be a turn-off.  Maybe I’ll add chin-ups.  Here’s a chin up bar that I’ve been looking at.  It mounts over a doorway:

I’ll also have to behave myself over the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

How are you doing with your fitness goals?  What has been the biggest challenge?  Is it the dieting, or sticking to an exercise program?  Let’s hear it in the comments.

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