A couple of people recently asked what I’m doing for
exercise.
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| Aceh 2009 |
This week I’m kicking off a pre-Christmas assault on Mt
Geezer with a new three-day plan (plus regular Hockey Night in Jakarta). I went
on a tear a couple of months back, dropped cardio from my regime (except for
hockey), started moving a lot of heavy dumbbells and packed on muscle (I tipped
the scales at 95kg the other morning up from 88/89) in fairly rapid order which
ain’t bad for a geezer. But now it’s time for a change.
My goals are to increase cardio stamina, carve off some of
the visceral fat choking my internal organs, and build strength while
experimenting with a low-weigh/high-rep approach to weight training for the
first time.
So where to start… Virtually all the shouting about fitness
on YouTube and elsewhere on the internet machine is targeted at 18-35 y/o men,
the same demographic the PTs focus on: there’s almost nothing useful for 50+
men and women who face completely different issues of metabolism, diet, muscle
and bone deterioration, lifestyle etc. (Oh, and abdominals? Fuck you and your
ab-sessions: I do a bit of ab work so I don’t double over when my six-year-old
son punches me in the gut but I’ll leave the sub-8% body fat for emaciated under-25s)
The routine I’ve cooked up is based on what I’ve learned in
the six years I’ve been exercising regularly, and what I’ve picked reading and
watching others.
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| Jakarta 2016 |
The big change for me is that each gym day starts with a solid
cardio commitment (like I used to, frackin’ frack da frack) of 3.5km of
intervals increasing gradually to 5km to get the metabolism amped up and build
resilience so I’m not a heaving sack of shite at the end of every shift on ice.
Some people prefer cardio as a closer; me, I know if I don’t do it going in it
ain’t gonna get done. Besides, closing with sprints means I’ll be sweating for
the next two hours.
I know that once I’ve got my metabolism ticking over I can
sustain a heart rate of 135-155bpm through 40-50mins worth of supersets (time
permitting), which’ll cumulatively burn 600-750 calories/session or roughly
five brewskies.
(For those unfamiliar, supersets involve completing two full
exercises in tandem before moving on to the next superset. For example, 15
Preacher Curls + 18 Lat Pull-downs, rest 30secs and repeat x more times/sets.
If you stick to the 30-sec cycle it is by far the most time-efficient way of
really stressing out your muscles while keeping your heart rocking)
The other thing that’ll change is I’m dropping the weight
and increasing the reps (except for things like dead lifts & squats). Why?
1.
Pragmatism. The gym only has DBs to 20kg and
that hasn’t been enough for quite some time. I really prefer dumbbells to
barbells bc they force you to make all kinds of tiny adjustments during the
lift which contributes to stressing the muscles. They also force you to focus
on proper form which is something I’m obsessed with.
2.
I’ve never worked out with “low weight/high
reps” before and I’m curious to see what the effects will be on the new muscle
mass. There’s growing research that the old orthodoxy about lift “heavy for mass and light for definition”
is hogwash but I’d like to see for myself.
3.
Finally, geezers are more prone to injury. As
cool as it feels to juggle 18/20kg DBs with ease & max out the stack of
weights in a seated row, it also feels like I’m living on borrowed time. So,
except for the squats and deadlifts (ok… and maybe the seated row), no more
heavy weights.
Food
For me exercise is the easy part. Eating right and staying
off the grog is much harder. So, I’m recommitted to nutrition and smart eating
the way I used to be, six times a day, lots of water to knock back
thirst-masquerading-as-hunger, veggies and lean proteins, cut out the Siren
Song of deep-fried deliciousness that I find every day when I get home from
work, ration the chocolate and allow the booze once-per-week.
I’m supplementing my food (see, I don’t use the word diet)
with Whey protein powder every morning, Creatine for strength and mass, and
BCAA to improve recovery time and prevent muscle loss due to the leaner diet
(doh!).
Timing
Efficiency is the goal. Ninety minutes from the moment I
enter the gym till the time I leave, so call it 1:15 total. I expect I may have
to drop one Superset from each routine until I can streamline things a bit.
More reps means more time than I’m used to, there’s probably too many one-arm
movements, and the layout of the gym has changed a bit adding 30secs to many of
the sets I’ve designed, and incrementally chewing up time I don’t have.
Anyway here’s what I’m going to get up to (with tweaks as I
learn where I’ve screwed up)
Day 1: Chest &
Triceps
Cardio: Sprint Intervals 20-30min
Superset Set
x Rep
1.
DB Bench Press 5
x 15/18
Skull crusher 5
x 15/18
2.
One-arm DB Bench Press 4 x 15/18
One Arm Pushdown 4
x 15/18
3.
Seated Chest Press 3 x 15/18
Cable Pushdown 3
x 15/18
4. Cable Fly 3
x 15/18
DB Kick Back 3
x 15/18
5.
Hanging Leg Raise 3 x
TBA
DB Woodchopper 3
x TBA
Day 2: Back – Biceps
Cardio: Sprint Intervals 20-30min
Superset Set
x Rep
1.
BB Deadlift 3
x 6/8
Concentration curl 5
x 15/18
2. Lat pull-down 4
x 15/18
One Arm Preacher Curl 4
x 15/18
3.
Seated DB row
3 x 15/18
BB curl 3
x 15/18
4.
Horizontal Pull-up 3 x TBA
Hammer Curl 3
x 15/18
5.
Side Plank 3
x TBA
Lying Leg Raise (bench) 3
x 25
Day 3 - Legs &
Shoulders
Cardio: Sprint Intervals 20-30min
Superset Set
x Rep
1.
Front Squat 3
x 6/8
DB Plie Squat 3 x 6/8
2.
DB Curl and Press 5 x 15/18
Lunge 5
x TBA
3.
DB High Pull 4
x 15/18
DB Step-Up 4
x TBA
4.
Front Cable Raise 4 x 15/18
Lateral Lunge (‘goblet style’) 4 x TBA
5.
Glute Bridge 3
x TBA
Plank 3
x TBA
