Pierini Fitness baker's dozen what has worked for me

I recently commented to a question posted on an internet fitness discussion forum.  The question was, “What has actually worked for you?”  Obviously, this was a question in the context of fitness.

The person asking the question shared that the Ketogenic diet, high repetition pushups, and Creatine supplementation is what worked for him.
  

Interesting was his following comment that he wondered why it is when we find something that seems to work that we ever abandon it.  I couldn’t quite tell if this suggested he had abandoned what had worked for him, lost his results and was now contemplating getting back on the plan.
  

Always willing to jump in on the action and contribute to a legitimate fitness question, I thought about it for a while and then shared what has worked for me.  The following is what I shared, edited somewhat and in a slightly different order from my posted comment:

#1

Eat less as a lifestyle, yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the rest of my life.  Don’t quit once I’ve achieved my weight loss or body appearance goal.

#2

Jump on the scale each morning and weigh.  Keep detailed training journals.

#3

Use a tape measure to measure my girth periodically.  Take pictures to keep my bathroom mirror and perception honest.

#4

Take videos of me in fitness action to evaluate my form and detect my fitness lameness so I can work of eradicating it.

#5

Change and manage my thoughts, feelings and behaviors so that food is fuel for my body and not my crank cocaine drug of choice.

#6

Follow an intuitive fitness training approach rather than one that’s structured, depending on what my body is telling me.  Always obey my body.

#7

Do not dodge intensity during my workouts.

#8

Chase athleticism rather than bodybuilding.

#9

Have seasonal fitness goals that are SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timetable to achieve.  Periodically test these goals to see how I’m doing.

#10

Have desire, discipline, patience and perseverance when chasing, achieving and maintaining all my fitness, health and wellness goals.

#11

Don't let anyone sabotage my goals, especially ME!

#12

Realize that if I achieve my goals, it won’t make me a better person. If I’m a jerk and turd before, I’ll be one after, even if sporting a bad ass body and having upper-percentile fitness for an amateur athlete.

#13

Know my age.

This is my Pierini Fitness baker’s dozen what has worked for me.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.

Cafeteria-style fitness training menu

I describe my fitness training as intuitive fitness training because I don’t follow a specific workout program that’s spelled out for me with specific exercises, weights, sets, reps or times that I follow to the “T”.  My approach, rather, has me never knowing exactly what I’m going to do until I step into the batter’s box ready to swing.

To make what I do legitimate, I’m guessing that 80 to 90 percent of the time what I do will be done with intensity. 

Otherwise, I risk the chance of being a sandbagger playing or working out below my potential.  Sort of like a B-level racquetball player who plays the D-level competition ladder at his local racquetball club.

Intuitive training works for me because I never know how my body is going to feel on any given day.  How my body feels depends on what I may have done the previous day.  For example, as I peck away on my keyboard composing this blog post, I’m very sore in my wheels because yesterday I ran six miles.  If I had some very specific plan to do this or that today, I’d probably not do this or that today because I wouldn’t feel like it.

Therefore, intuitively, today is a rest day but tomorrow will probably be an intense workout day.

This works for me.

So, the way I do things is like going into a cafeteria to have a meal.  As I walk down a cafeteria aisle, there are several foods to choose from: main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and beverages.  I might have a little of this and a little of that. As I approach the end of the aisle, chances are my plate is full and I’m about to begin having what’ll hopefully be a good meal.

This is how my workouts are put together on any given day.  I chose from a menu of fitness activities and exercise selections from my cafeteria-style fitness training menu.

Here are the exercises and activities currently on my menu, in no order of preference or training frequency:  

Pull-ups and chin-ups – Lately, a typical workout consists of about 100 repetitions done greasing the groove style.  I like doing this while at work where I have a pull-up bar.

For example, I might perform 10 sets of 10 repetitions during the morning or throughout my workday depending on how busy I am.  Last summer, I did more weighted pull-ups and chin-ups; lower rep volume of course with a 20kg or 24kg KB hanging from my waist using a lifting belt.

Bar dips – I have a bar dip unit in a spare room in my office and do most of my bar dip work while at work just like pull-ups and chin-ups.  I generally shoot for about 100 bar dips when I do them.  I’ve also done weighted bar dips but not lately.

Slam ball work – A couple months ago, I purchased my first slam ball; it weighs 15 lbs. and I’ve used it for about four workouts.  Honestly, I thought I would have used it more than I have thus far.  Also, honestly, the slam ball workouts I’ve done have spanked me big time in a short amount of time.  I’m looking forward to more slam ball work in the months ahead.

Burpees – I hate and love burpees in the same breath of air, just like everyone else.  I hate how they make me feel and how they keep me humble whenever my head swells thinking what great fitness conditioning shape I’m in, but I love the fitness conditioning results they deliver.  

Lately, I’ve been doing burpees a couple times a week and am chasing a goal of completing 100 of them in ten minutes or less.

Running – I don’t know how many times in the last ten years I’ve retired as a fun runner only to come back out of retirement.  I’m currently out of retirement again and have been so for almost two years.  It was tough coming back and I swear I’m not going to retire again but, rather, ramp up or taper the running I do depending on what else I’m doing.  

Lately, I’ve been running at a slower and steady-state pace only once a week for between 30 and 60 minutes.  During this summer, I’d like to do some more speed work and see how fast I can fun a one-mile distance on a high school all-weather track.

Kettlebell work – I really like kettlebell training and the stuff I do tends to be kettlebell complexes or chains.  I have a limited inventory of kettlebells that I own but enough to get awesome workouts.  I have a couple favorite routines or complexes I like to do so progress doing them comes from completing a certain number of rounds faster than the last time.

Other items that have been on my fitness training menu in the past – Certain menu items in a cafeteria menu might be seasonal and not always available.  This is also the case with my fitness training menu selections.  Things that I enjoy doing, have done in the past but am not now doing include pull-up hang and handstand against the wall holds for time, Heavy Hands workouts using a pair of 5-lbs. dumbbells and higher-repetition step-ups using a 12-inch step.  

I’ll add these exercises to my training when they come "into season" according to my whim.  I may also add new selections to my menu.

As a middle-age man fitness training warrior trying to achieve age-adjusted upper-percentile cardiovascular-respiratory and strength endurance conditioning, I do best with my intuitive fitness training approach and having a diverse selection of activities and exercises to chose from in my cafeteria-style fitness training menu.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Intuitive fitness training thought for today

At this middle-aged man chapter in my life, Pierini Fitness continues his fitness training following what is best described as intuitive-design fitness training.  Read more about his fitness training approach here:  Intuitive-design fitness training

My intuitive fitness training approach focuses on strength endurance and cardiovascular conditioning, rather than hypertrophy with a body appearance in mind. At age 64, this works for me and may for you. 

What I've learned is that by chasing athleticism, my body appearance will improve by tagging along for the ride. Kettlebells are my primary training implement and I don't belong to a gym although I generally have in years' past.

So, by intuitive training, I take each day not exactly knowing what I'll do other than whatever it is, it'll be done with intensity and challenge. I do have certain ideas in mind that are part of my fitness training curriculum. And, I know that I'll need to cover the whole gamut of my body over a training week or two. Intuitively, if I've blasted my shoulder and back muscles one day and have lingering delayed-onset muscle soreness the next training day, I'll work my lower body muscles.

This works for me at this chapter in my life. I ain't going to win the arms contest in a muscle flexing line-up but more than likely I'll beat most middle-aged men in a race up a skyscraper flight of stairs while carrying a couple bags of groceries.

To each their own, it's all good; we just got to show up and do it.

And this rambling, my fellow middle-aged man fitness brother from a different mother, is my intuitive fitness training thought for today.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum