Saturday, June 25, 2022

a closer look at my exercise regimen

I've settled into the following groove concerning exercise:

MWF: 
walk 140-ish minutes
jog 1 km (70/30 paces jog/walk)
chest press machine in the park, 20 reps (15 + 5)
lat-pulldown machine in the park, 25 reps quickly, 25 reps slowly
dumbbell hammer curls, 10 kg ⨉ 2, 3 sets, 7 reps
dumbbell bent-over raises, 10 kg ⨉ 2, 3 sets, 10 reps
modified dumbbell overhead press, 10 kg ⨉ 1, 15 reps
planks on knees (while on bed), 45 sec
easy squats (using the edge of my bed as a seat), 3 sets, 10 reps
knee raises, 3 sets, 20 reps

TR:
walk 90-ish minutes
stair work, ½ staircase, 5-kg encumbrance

Sa:
walk at least 18 km (up to about 35 km on some days)

So the bulk of my muscle-related work is all happening on weekdays, specifically on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'm no longer doing the everyday thing. That proved to be too tiring for my lazy ass. And if I'm not necessarily feeling it (like on Friday night, just a few hours ago), I'll drop certain activities, like jogging a kilometer (in this case, I dropped jogging because of heel pain). This weekly rhythm is a good one, I think, at least for now.

I'm not planning on buying heavier dumbbells, and there's no way to adjust difficulty level on the machines in the park, so all I can do is add reps to my workout. That's not horrible in itself; as YouTuber The Bioneer points out: for most people, it's probably better to go low weight, high reps, anyway. So over time, I'll be increasing my reps, and probably adding more calisthenics to my routine. Once I add enough exercises, I'll undoubtedly move some of the exercise work to Tuesdays and Thursdays. One of my goals, this year, has been to add muscle to my weak frame because muscle mass increases your metabolism and aids with fat burning. I've got a long, long way to go before any progress becomes visible; I'd say about two years, minimum. Check with me again when it's election year in the States! Meanwhile, I'll be sure to give periodic updates.

One note: when I move about, I tend to be pretty slow, ponderous, and arthritic-looking. Learning to move more dynamically is another goal of mine... this may involve getting into a sport that requires mobility and reflexes, or it may involve learning to dance (ack!), or it may even involve getting back into martial arts, although that last one is doubtful given the sorry state of my knees. (I would to love the graceful, meditative art of the Chinese sword, though; see here for an example of what I'm talking about.)



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