Working Out

My "favorite" form of exercise is lifting freeweights. I put favorite in quotes because I'm not sure I truly enjoy it, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of it, I know it's good for me, and I feel better about myself after I do it. For a couple days after I work out, the muscles I worked are sore, and it's a soreness I've come to relish. I stretch the sore muscles frequently to feel the soreness, knowing that muscle-building is going on. I believe lifting weights sets me up for extended fat loss. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, so I burn more calories when I'm doing nothing. In addition, I believe the muscle repair process itself burns calories and redirects the food I eat into that process, thereby reducing fat storage. A few years ago I discovered Dave Draper's legacy. He was Mr. America, Mr. Olympia, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe in the late 60's and early 70's. During that time he earned the nickname "The Blond Bomber." He worked out with Arnold Schwarzenegger before Arnie was famous. Dave's legacy is in the form of a couple gyms in California, a fantastic website, multiple books, and a line of custom supplements. His website has tons and tons of info about working out, and I've found his books easy to read and get into. His writing style is very energetic and loose, almost as if he's there talking to you urging you on. I use his "Bomber Blend" protein powder. It's so easy to take I can take it with just water. I love the slogan on the container: "The secret is there is no secret....Spirited training and lots of protein." In other words, there are no short cuts to fitness. The only downside to Dave's philosophy, for me, is he is totally focused on muscle size and density, whereas I'm focused on maintenance and a balance of strength, endurance, and flexibility. My workout fluctuates based on what else is going on in my life. This past Monday, I did a full-body workout because I hadn't worked out in about 10 days and I played tennis recently. I did light weights and 1 or 2 sets per exercise. Here's what I did: Leg-raise: no weight, 15 reps, 1 set Crunch: no weight, 15 reps, 1 set Pilates jacknife crunch: no weight, 15 reps, 1 set Incline Dumbbell Press: 20lb dumbbells, 15 reps, 1 set Decline Dumbbell Press: 20lb dumbbells, 15 reps, 1 set Flat Dumbbell Press: 20lb dumbbells, 15 reps, 1 set Bent-over fly: 13lb dumbbells, 10 reps, 1 set Bent-over row: 40lb barbell, 10 reps, 2 sets Straight-leg Calf-raise w/20lb dumbbell: 15 reps per leg, 1 set Bent-leg Calf-raise w/1x20lb dumbbell: 15 reps per leg, 1 set Forward lunge w/2x20lb dumbbells: 12 lunges Backward lunge w/same weight: 6 lunges Sideways lunge w/same weight: 6 lunges Wide-stance squat w/same weight: 15 reps, 1 set Narrow-stance squat w/40lb barbell: 15 reps, 1 set Seated tricep press: 1x20lb dumbbell, 15 reps, 2 sets Seated dumbbell curl: 13lb dumbbells, 15 reps, 2 sets Front shoulder raise: 13lb dumbbells, 15 reps, 2 sets I had to back off the weight on the triceps and biceps due to my tennis elbow. I tried heavier weights and felt immediate pain, but the lighter weight let me do the exercises. I normally do 20lb or 30lb dumbbells. During weeks I play tennis, I usually do this routine between tennis days. During weeks I don't play tennis, I sometimes focus on one area of the body each day and increase the number of sets and different exercises I do for that body part. For example, if I'm focusing on chest and back, I'll do lateral flies and bent-over dumbbell rows in addition to at least double the number of sets of the above chest and back exercises. Once I've gone through a week of exercise, I also increase the weight. This all makes it sound like I'm some kind of exercise freak. I'm actually not. The amount of weight I do is pretty light, and sometimes I get down to my weight bench and have no enthusiasm for it and give up. If I'm doing nothing but weights for a week, I might do 3 or 4 days a week. Most weeks, though, I only do 1 or 2 days of weights, a couple days of tennis, and sometimes I throw in a day or 2 of jogging. The list of exercises seems intimidating, but when I started, I started slow, doing just a few exercises at first. As I got comfortable with the weights, I added exercises. I do everything with dumbbells and a barbell and a simple bench, so there's nothing complex about the exercises themselves. My workout music of choice is Linkin Park. I have their two main albums on repeat and their remix album in there, too. My backup music is Green Day. So there's a summary of my weight training. It's a pretty big part of my life. If I ever found myself unable to train with weights, I'd feel a bit lost and lazy. Through weight training I hope to maintain muscle mass and prevent future injury by keeping the muscles, bones, and support structures fit.