The suggested rest time according to Arnold Schwarzenegger's New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding the optimal rest time between sets is about 40 seconds, this allows rotation of the muscle fibers to be broken down giving you optimum build per set. During these 40 seconds your heart rate is slowing down which does almost nothing for your cardio or fat burning.
The best means of burning fat is to keep your heart rate within what's called the Target Heart Rate Range which is between %75 and %85 of your maximum heart rate. Web MD has a nifty calculator. You should always seek a physicians advice before undergoing any exercise regiment.
While running does wonders to keep your heart rate in the fat burning zone it is difficult to sustain. I find that doing a cardio event in between sets keeps my heart rate inside the target range for nearly four times longer than I can when running.
Equally as Important is resting a group properly days after the event, thus avoiding over training more about that later.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Saturday, July 17, 2010
In search of a solution
My answer to all of this was to go to the gym, I ran 2 days a week and would work on a bench press machine, I did crunches, and I did dumbbells for my arms. I did everything I'd learned to do the fundamentals of body building.
My healthy diet and 1 hour a day, 5 days a week workout seemed to sustain my current physique.
It seemed I would never see myself in the kind of shape I wanted, at best I would work off what nutrition I consumed to get through my day. While I wasn't getting fatter I wasn't making any significant improvements. I simply did not have the kind of time required to keep my body in a constant state of improvement.
The big question was how do I quickly get my body into good shape.
In a wide search I found my best friend Shaunn had been doing P90X to get in better shape. I didn't have that kind of money nore could I do P90X in the same house as my wife and newborn.
The constant battle of balance never seemed to end, I wanted size in my arms, chest, back and legs, yet I want to rapidly loose fat, the two rarely coincide in the same plan.
Around this time another friend of mine stumbled onto a workout in Men's Health Magazine called The Spartacus Workout. It was examining this workout that made me realize what was missing from my routine.
My healthy diet and 1 hour a day, 5 days a week workout seemed to sustain my current physique.
It seemed I would never see myself in the kind of shape I wanted, at best I would work off what nutrition I consumed to get through my day. While I wasn't getting fatter I wasn't making any significant improvements. I simply did not have the kind of time required to keep my body in a constant state of improvement.
The big question was how do I quickly get my body into good shape.
In a wide search I found my best friend Shaunn had been doing P90X to get in better shape. I didn't have that kind of money nore could I do P90X in the same house as my wife and newborn.
The constant battle of balance never seemed to end, I wanted size in my arms, chest, back and legs, yet I want to rapidly loose fat, the two rarely coincide in the same plan.
Around this time another friend of mine stumbled onto a workout in Men's Health Magazine called The Spartacus Workout. It was examining this workout that made me realize what was missing from my routine.
Self pre-evalutaion
My first step was evaluating the damage, critically looking at my torso, arms and legs for the first time in a year I became very angry with how far I'd allowed myself to slip. Looking back in horror on my eating habits, even if I decided not to work out did I have to quadruple the suggested servings. I was fueling myself with gravy boats, cheese, and junk food with great excess. I was the walking garbage disposal and every amount crammed into the fridge and cabinets was devoured with great urgency by yours truly.
Well no more, even if I don't get the gym time like I want the eating is going to have to change. With an elevated sense of concern for my health I spoke to my wife (who is a hot Yoga instructor.) She was ecstatic that she wasn't the only nutrition conscious person in the house anymore.
It was a cold January in 2010, Obama had been in office for just over a yea, the news networks were making it a point to just how little change had happened. I dismissed all the negative vibes the world had to offer and set my mind to the new year. My son was due in February, I had just started my new job in the IT field, and I was determined to burn the tires off of my waste.
My first time running without being required to in more than 2 years. My goal was to adhere to the US Army standards for my age group and complete 2 miles in less than 16 minutes and 36 seconds. Within a mile I was profusely angry at myself I had absolutely no stamina, I charged through in the battle of my life my legs felt like I had climbed flight after flight of stairs. My heart was putting it's resume together, and there wasn't an ounce of blood to spare for my brain. I had to stop running, and turned around unbelievably frustrated I was not able to go beyond a mile and a half. It was at this point I pondered if it there was substantial medical evidence that running could spontaneously produce asthma.
I got back to the house, puzzled I could not run a mile without fear of taking an involuntary nap on the mean streets of Atlanta. The good news is at my rate of speed, if I would have finished I would have only failed by 3 minutes.
To further evaluate myself I stuck with the US Army standards and did pushups until I met muscle failure. Regulation gave me two entire minutes to complete as many as I could do. Luckily I only needed one to do all 49 until my arms gave out. Collapsing to the ground I took the opportunity to roll over and do 2 minutes of situps. I did surprisingly well for the first 40 seconds, I had managed to do a good 45 in just 45 seconds. I took the other 1 minute 20 seconds to crank out a very painful dozen situps.
I officially knew just how big of a piece of crap I was, 190 useless lbs of air pollution.
Well no more, even if I don't get the gym time like I want the eating is going to have to change. With an elevated sense of concern for my health I spoke to my wife (who is a hot Yoga instructor.) She was ecstatic that she wasn't the only nutrition conscious person in the house anymore.
It was a cold January in 2010, Obama had been in office for just over a yea, the news networks were making it a point to just how little change had happened. I dismissed all the negative vibes the world had to offer and set my mind to the new year. My son was due in February, I had just started my new job in the IT field, and I was determined to burn the tires off of my waste.
My first time running without being required to in more than 2 years. My goal was to adhere to the US Army standards for my age group and complete 2 miles in less than 16 minutes and 36 seconds. Within a mile I was profusely angry at myself I had absolutely no stamina, I charged through in the battle of my life my legs felt like I had climbed flight after flight of stairs. My heart was putting it's resume together, and there wasn't an ounce of blood to spare for my brain. I had to stop running, and turned around unbelievably frustrated I was not able to go beyond a mile and a half. It was at this point I pondered if it there was substantial medical evidence that running could spontaneously produce asthma.
I got back to the house, puzzled I could not run a mile without fear of taking an involuntary nap on the mean streets of Atlanta. The good news is at my rate of speed, if I would have finished I would have only failed by 3 minutes.
To further evaluate myself I stuck with the US Army standards and did pushups until I met muscle failure. Regulation gave me two entire minutes to complete as many as I could do. Luckily I only needed one to do all 49 until my arms gave out. Collapsing to the ground I took the opportunity to roll over and do 2 minutes of situps. I did surprisingly well for the first 40 seconds, I had managed to do a good 45 in just 45 seconds. I took the other 1 minute 20 seconds to crank out a very painful dozen situps.
I officially knew just how big of a piece of crap I was, 190 useless lbs of air pollution.
The demise and realization
Returning in March 2009 from a second tour overseas (Speicher aka Tikrit Iraq) I found myself in a state of complacency and my interest in exercising w
as nill. I wasn't (by definition) obese or what I considered fat, but absent were my life long aspirations of having a body comparable to and action film star (great in any light and from any angle.)
I was conscious and disappointed at my lack of motivation but not enough to do anything about it. I found myself using the national average BMI and the slovenly appearance of my successor generations as my opiate to numb my flaming mediocrity.
I maintained a pattern of overindulgence, eating and drinking with a sense it would all leave me one day. As 2009 came to an end I had the shoulders and chest of a sloth and a stomach larger than my 7 months pregnant wife. I resembled Fox's "Hank Hill" with four unremarkable sticks plugged into a marsh mellow.
Over the 2009 holidays my family and I were watching "X-men Origins Wolverine." My father recalled a time I had definition similar to Hugh Jackman. 22 Year old Dublin O exhibit A , exhibit B , exhibit C, exhibit D, Hugh Jackman 1.
I told him with a bit of work I could get back into that kind of shape and even better. He it was a virtual impossibility, with a newborn on the way and a new job I would simply not have time to dedicate.
My father is the one person who seems to know how to really push me whether I like it or not and his comment was just the boot I needed.
I considered it this it? Did I reach the pinnacle of my physique at 22? Am I now comfortably coasting towards a spare tire, with my appendages concealed within a mediocre layer of sedentary chunk.
Hugh Jackman was 40 when he took on a physique comparable to the steroid boosted over the top action heroes of the 80's.
The following day I pondered about what would be required, it was blatantly obvious I had to make several changes.
as nill. I wasn't (by definition) obese or what I considered fat, but absent were my life long aspirations of having a body comparable to and action film star (great in any light and from any angle.)
I was conscious and disappointed at my lack of motivation but not enough to do anything about it. I found myself using the national average BMI and the slovenly appearance of my successor generations as my opiate to numb my flaming mediocrity.
I maintained a pattern of overindulgence, eating and drinking with a sense it would all leave me one day. As 2009 came to an end I had the shoulders and chest of a sloth and a stomach larger than my 7 months pregnant wife. I resembled Fox's "Hank Hill" with four unremarkable sticks plugged into a marsh mellow.
Over the 2009 holidays my family and I were watching "X-men Origins Wolverine." My father recalled a time I had definition similar to Hugh Jackman. 22 Year old Dublin O exhibit A , exhibit B , exhibit C, exhibit D, Hugh Jackman 1.
I told him with a bit of work I could get back into that kind of shape and even better. He it was a virtual impossibility, with a newborn on the way and a new job I would simply not have time to dedicate.
My father is the one person who seems to know how to really push me whether I like it or not and his comment was just the boot I needed.
I considered it this it? Did I reach the pinnacle of my physique at 22? Am I now comfortably coasting towards a spare tire, with my appendages concealed within a mediocre layer of sedentary chunk.
Hugh Jackman was 40 when he took on a physique comparable to the steroid boosted over the top action heroes of the 80's.
The following day I pondered about what would be required, it was blatantly obvious I had to make several changes.
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