So What's Your Routine ?

[David P]

I just started going back to the gym. Lately I've been working alot, I end up going after working 14 hour days or so, so I just kind of stumble around from machine to machine, and maybe stare out the window for a short while on a tread mill (knee surgery gives a lot of pain so I don't use the treadmill nearly as much as I should) 2 weeks ago (unusually cold so I was unusually stiff) I get drug to the gym, I decide I'll wake up on the leg press, start off nice and light, leg press then use the machine as a calf exercise. After each set I am a little looser and limbering up so I up the weight. On the 3rd set the machine is maxed at 410 lbs, I pushed it up real fast and forgot to grab the handles, the weights went one way, I went the other way and I heard a loud pop from my back... I hope I can get back to the gym next week. I am thinking about getting a trainer, could definitely help.

[JS1scuba]

I am thinking about getting a trainer, could definitely help.

I had ZERO desire to go to the gym. I still don't even though i have been going since FEB. But I have an appointment and I know I will get a good workout. It's the few hours a week that's devoted to me. Look around you will find a good trainer that's reasonably priced. The #1 thing I told my trainer when i started was I can't afford to get hurt. So i've never been hurt through all the workouts i do. I also don't have to think about what I am going or not going to do. She sets it up, I do it. When it needs a push we do it, when i need to back down, we do it. But for 60 minutes I get a work out that shows results. Most of the time she kicks my *** but all is good when its done.

cheers
JDS

[David P]

Wait, your 6'1"? When I met you briefly at DEMA, I thought you closer to a foot shorter than me than just a few inches... I guess I was having a tall day.

[JS1scuba]

Wait, your 6'1"? When I met you briefly at DEMA, I thought you closer to a foot shorter than me than just a few inches... I guess I was having a tall day.

That's it 6' 1" 258 that next 10 lbs is just a killer for me. Lowest I have been in the last 10 years was 238 but that was after 6 mos of hard core atkins but also had lost most short term memory. 258 is ok, i'm resolved to being a big guy. Stress kills the diet so it's a constant battle. But the workouts have kept me on track. I need to increase cardio and that will help drop that next ten. I just HATE doing cardio. I will get back on the bike outside.

Cheers
JDS

[ligersandtions]

Heather introduced me to "the new rules of lifting" and it changed everything. I am forever in her debt. I was strong before. Now I have a plan and I get stronger and more powerful every month.

Heather also introduced me to several sources of pure protein to keep the furnace burning for hours after my workouts. For Fage alone she is comped for life.

I'm not a young guy - but I'm a strong guy. Strength and power keep me safer going in and out of the surf with all this heavy stuff. I plan on doing this for a long time.

---
Ken

Where are these "new rules of lifting"? Is it something I can google? Search on DMX? A book I can buy in a bookstore? I would certainly like to take a look and steal bits and pieces to add to my workout....anything to make me more efficient on my way into or out of the water. Granted, things are working now, but I know they could be improved.

I'm also planning to try that Fage yogurt, but the store closest to me doesn't carry it. I will have to make it out to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's sometime to see if I can find it and stock up on it.

[Mo2vation]

Where are these "new rules of lifting"? Is it something I can google? Search on DMX? A book I can buy in a bookstore? I would certainly like to take a look and steal bits and pieces to add to my workout....anything to make me more efficient on my way into or out of the water. Granted, things are working now, but I know they could be improved.

I'm also planning to try that Fage yogurt, but the store closest to me doesn't carry it. I will have to make it out to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's sometime to see if I can find it and stock up on it.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lift.../dp/1583332383

There are two flavors: Guys and chicks.

Claudette has been an elite athlete for decades across all types of sports and disciplines. Diving is just her latest. Participating at a varsity level in several sports from the time she was a kid up to and through her years at UCLA. She's a lifter and a Gym Rat.

Me? I'm hyper, a drummer and very active. I've been naturally strong my whole life, and my energy level never drops. But I haven't lifted since High School. After getting schooled by my dive buddy a number of times (mostly when she took off her sleeves...) I decided it was time for me to step my game up.

I was thrashing about without a plan. I was doing hours of mad cardio each week, some light dumbbell work and just diving a lot.

Heather put me straight - she (re)introduced me to the basic 6, and the benefits of lifting heavy weights to take off weight, build strength and power - the concept of afterburn, moving the big muscles to keep the fire hot 24/7, and a lot more

I got the New Rules book, and it kicked my butt. I turned Claudette onto it, as she's way more into this lifting and gym stuff. When it received her endorsement, as an athlete, a diver and someone I deeply respect, I knew we were onto something.

We've been through most of the programs in these books. We've adapted several of them specifically for beach diving and the requirements of an active, healthy diver.

Core exercises to protect your back and hips from twisting in the surf when you're wearing 100# on your back. Core exercises that let you control and protect yourself when you get rolled and help you better manage the nuance of trim and buoyancy.

Lower body exercises that let you lift yourself out of the sand or out of a cleft in a rock using only one leg when you're carrying a scooter and a camera. Lunges, deep squats with a loaded bar, lots of one-leg stuff that enable you to get back on your feet in the sand.

Upper body exercises designed to make moving your gear easier. High pulls and heavy seated rows that enable you to better lift stuff into the tailgate, and let me raise my scooter and my camera over my chest as I'm running out of the surf and lift a fully loaded buddy out of harms way.

Presses that let me toss my scooter over my shoulder on the way up the beach and toss around 130's like they're AL50s.

All of this stuff matters. Go to DEMA and walk through the "new products" section sometime. Its an amazing collection of crapola that is dominated by "new" stuff designed to take the schlep out of diving. Carts, wheels, rolling stuff, straps, backpacks, handles of every type. Most of this junk is designed to fit an AL80 and targets the wetsuit diver. That's the part that cracks me up. Its an amazing testimony to the fact that diving, by the nature of its weightless aesthetic, draws people who are woefully out of shape.

Diving in SoCal is a schlep. It just is. Drysuits, scooters, the deathstar, 130's, weight belts, weighted plates, doubles, etc, etc.

Going in and out of the surf 2 to 4 times a day requires stamina, strength and power. Being out of shape was biasing my site selection as well as taking me out of many dives because I wasn't confident I could make the haul to the site, or wasn't confident I could get in and out of the surf safely and effectively.

Lifting correctly is important. Lifting with an objective and a plan is important. Looking good nekked is a good objective. But being able to dive year round in my home waters is what is really driving me to work at this like I do.

You will love the book, Nicole. Its good stuff. Alwyn is an evil genius in his program design, and Lou is just Lou.

Claudette can speak better to the differences in the two books (guys and chicks.)

---
Ken

[Blitz]

I am a runner, but I started augmenting the run with about 10-15 minutes of stationary bike ride to get my legs warmed up. I ride 3-4 miles on the bike, then run 2-3 miles at a 7-7:30 minute pace.

I focus on cardio but, with my other favorite hobby-I winter climb, I need a lot of upper body strength to haul my pack. So I split days.; M-W-F its cardio with light anerobic(sit ups, push ups lunges) T-Th I lift. (I despise lifting weights, so I change up my routines drastically. I try to do weighted exercises the mimic the things that I will be doing when I climb. Put 50-70#s in my pack and lift it 10-15 times. Step on and off milk crate until legs give out. Lots of pull ups.

When I am forced to-I travel for a living- I lift weights in the hotel gym.

[Doppler]

Good to revive this type of thread from time to time JS...

I don't do enough. We have a spa / exercise room in the house with a great view and a TV. I spend three to four sessions a week in there at this time of year (snowy here if you must know) on the bike and elliptical. Don't lift weights much but do some sets of pushups and steps every day and as much tai chi as I can fit in... but it's never enough.

Canoe, mountain bike and ski whenever I get the chance.

Hey Joel... are you really 650 pounds?

[JS1scuba]

Hey Joel... are you really 650 pounds?

Nope, I let Brett hold that record !

I was at 325 once so I was half way.

Though 650 lbs would be a nice left over third on a 2015 psi bottle cooled.

[surfhopper]

I get up at 3:30am everyday, its the gym with running and or spin or I hit La Jolla for a dive at 5am. Since shore diving is a bit of work in So Cal I consider a dive as good a workout as the gym.

When I gym it I lift mostly upper body and core. Running, spin, stairs, and diving are sufficient to cover the legs. I lift for 45-60 mins then typically run 5-6 miles or do a shorter run 2-3 miles and return to the gym for a spin class. Some days I'll also go diving at night, or for a short hike, or a long walk. I love to eat, so I have to compensate by burning calories.

Kim

[Celt5494]

I get up at 3:30am everyday, its the gym with running and or spin or I hit La Jolla for a dive at 5am. Since shore diving is a bit of work in So Cal I consider a dive as good a workout as the gym.

When I gym it I lift mostly upper body and core. Running, spin, stairs, and diving are sufficient to cover the legs. I lift for 45-60 mins then typically run 5-6 miles or do a shorter run 2-3 miles and return to the gym for a spin class. Some days I'll also go diving at night, or for a short hike, or a long walk. I love to eat, so I have to compensate by burning calories.

Kim

Kim,
Hmmmm.... Well my workout starts fairly early most days. I get up ensuring I'm at least 7,000 Ft. Throw on 65lbs of gear (no joke) then load another several hundred pounds of gear into a armored sardine can, climb into the turret and away we go bouncing over the open desert. I get to have this wonderful position as I'm no small guy and shoot the best in the team (lucky me). This gives you a great opportunity to continue your workout because you are trying not to get slammed in the back with the turret as you go through the bumps, dunes, crevices and waddis we drive through. You have a death grip on anything in sight so your elbows don't get slammed into the plate steel which gives your forearms a wonderful workout. Once we get to where were supposed to be I jump out of the turret and start walking through fields and coulats. If were really lucky we get the mountain passes to climb. I'm not so sure I like to be really lucky. By the time you walk a good 200 ft. or so you are already breathing hard so the aerobics are working well and your legs are saying WTF dude?
If we get into contact with well let's just call them our "workout partners" then the real fun starts because you get to do sprints with all that gear then do fun stuff like fall down onto the ground, get up and do more sprints. It's a great way to keep the old cardio in check. If you want real adventure you can do this at night and wear cool goggles that for some strange reason make everything appear to be greenish. I'm guessing it just aids in the workout process. After it's all over you get to load back up and drive through the open desert. You get to repeat being beat up by the turret until you finally get back if you don't get stuck .,.... Pretty much what my workout consists of.

I think I should like to be home doing the morning dive routine with you at the shores.

[HBDiveGirl]

Claudette can speak better to the differences in the two books (guys and chicks.)

---
Ken

Regarding the New Rules of Lifting (NROL), Ken's right on about how good the guy's book is.

• It's a kickazz workout.
• I loved it and used it constantly for most of 2008.
• My copy is dog-eared, weathered, dented, sweat-stained, and has hundreds of notes in the margins.
• It introduced a bunch of useful ideas, and my favorite is "periodization", or making a particular lift "different" by doing a different number reps and a differetn number of sets on a rotating workout schedule. The guys' book does this for every work out program at all levels. It's a relentless and Very Productive workout.
• Posture: BEST, BEST, BEST description of posture when lifting that I've ever read. Not just for lifting... Posture for living.
• Intervals: I was doing longer cardio workouts before, and hating them. NROL has a great perspective on cardio that WORKS for ME: Intervals. I use treadmills, ellipticals, rowers.. whatever is avail and hammer the intervals out, fast. No more boring long cardio. I like fast.
• Protein: Now I eat enough and I feel much better.

But... I'm taking a break from it and delving into the the Chic version: The New Rules of Lifting for Women.
Why: Variety and focus. Weight lifting is not my sport. It's my adjuvant activity that supports everything I want to do in diving. And the Guy's NROL, (my experience, YMMV) was over-working my arms. My elbows were getting very touchy and sore. Those big lifts work great for Ken, (holy mackeral.. his shoulders and arms rock up fast & furious on these programs,) but my arms got only just so strong, and then I max'd out. Some of the lifts I just couldn't ever do well, and I'm pretty strong.

What I LOVE about The Women's NROL:

• Variety: Instead of just "push-ups" it offers 7 different actions, lifts and body weight moves that allow me to work hard without hurting myself or getting frustrated. All the arm and shoulder lifts offer great variety in motion and strength. Satisfying!!! The leg work feels like it involves more suporting muscles in addition to the big leg muscles.
• Core: My arm strength is limited.. I'm a girl who's lifting recreationally. The Chic book has relentless workouts focused on transferring my much greater leg strength up to my arms by building strength in my core: from shoulders to hips, I've never worked my core so hard. I think this is going to pay off, with no injuries.
• Faster workout rotation: The Chic book mixes up the workouts more and I'm changing actions and routines more often. I'm not overworking my arms on any specific move for several weeks.
• Body-weight matrices: Nice variety from lifting weights. Faster, more explosive actions and balance. I'm liking it. It replaces intervals once or twice a week for me.
• Smart: Several of the lifts are subtle and skillful. I'm challenged to learn them, and when I get the sweet spot figured out, it's very rewarding.

What I DO NOT LIKE about the Chic NROL:
Recipes: Too many. The guys book just had content suggestions, which I preferred.
No periodization: So I'm adding it in. I won't do 3 sets of 6 reps on every workout. I'll do 4 sets of 5 reps with a heavy weight on day, then 3 sets of 10 reps with a medium weight the next time... then 2 sets of 15 with a lighter weight. Or 5/5, 4/10, 3/15. (It depends on the lift.)
Fewer "big" lifts: I miss some of the satisfying heavy lifts from the guys book. So I work a few favorites into my lifting.
A bit too much "atta girl" introductory stuff. Seems it was partly written for chics who may need to be convinced that intense, assertive weight lifting is OK for women. yeah, yeah.. next!

So, I have both books, and I use both books.

The photos in each book offer great guidance.

~~~~
Claudette

[HBDiveGirl]

... is to stay focused and active.

• 4 gym workouts/week is the goal. I'll do 3/week if I dive midweek and the weekend.
• Cardio and lifting on each workout.
  
  • Intense, fast cardio intervals, or body weight matrices (20 minutes)
  • Intense, assertive weight lifting. (40 minutes)
• Abdominal exercise every workout: leg liftsx20, crunchesx30, alternate rotational crunchesx30. And torso stretches, too.
• 60 minutes in the gym each time. Internals, abs, lifts...C'ya!!
  I've got some life and it's waiting outside the gym. At one-hour elapsed time, I should be heading for the door. I wear ear-buds and an iPOD. I smile, but I talk to almost no one.
• Alternating programs: I fill in Grids on a clipboard, alternate programs A and B, and record all weights and reps every time. This keeps me on track, and the clipboard keeps the riff-raff off my bench when I do supersets. It's easy to change to the next workout because I write it all out and know what to do when I hit the gym. And... .. I can see the results as the weights and/or reps change over time. The New Rules of Lifting books are filled with great workouts which I tailor as I choose. I look for lifts that compliment the strength needed for diving.

That's it.
3 to 4 intense hours in the gym each week.
LOTS of diving.
Wise food choices most of the time.

And it's gotta be fun!!!

~~~~
Claudette

[LCF]

Just reading this thread depresses me.

For a while, I was actually GETTING to the gym, alternating strength training and swimming. Then I was gone for three weeks, and came home with a rib fracture that put me on the sidelines for several weeks. Then I went to Mexico. Then I went to Denver. And yesterday, I broke another rib . . . sigh.

Look around you will find a good trainer that's reasonably priced.

I wish! Personal trainers around here make almost as much as I do.

[Stryker1775]

Just reading this thread depresses me.

For a while, I was actually GETTING to the gym, alternating strength training and swimming. Then I was gone for three weeks, and came home with a rib fracture that put me on the sidelines for several weeks. Then I went to Mexico. Then I went to Denver. And yesterday, I broke another rib . . . sigh.

Wow...time to lay off the Mixed Martial Arts for a while!

Do hope that heals up fast...I so dislike broken ribs. :(