A series of injuries including a ruptured Achilles tendon resulted in nine month of no exercise - none. I didn’t even work for a couple of months. I started back lifting what I could handle and began a sprint training program three times a week on a stationary recumbent bike - 120 seconds warm-up followed by a 30 second all-out sprint followed by at 90 second easy recovery pace. Eventually I worked up to a total of eight sprints. If you can do more you are pacing yourself.
After the first sprint I was breathing so hard I was panicked and reeling. I had to get off the bike momentarily. Only through sheer willpower (Not really, more like embarrassment. Did I want my workout to be over after only 30 seconds?) was I able complete a second sprint and the reeling and panic returned. It was awful. My legs were throbbing several minutes afterwards as I lay writhing on the couch.
Did I mention that I was really out of shape? The beauty of being really out of shape is that the curve to the upside is really steep if one starts exercising and sticks with it. I did two more sessions that week and each session, while difficult, got easier. By the end of the second week, I had improved dramatically, the panic had subsided, and I had continued to up the RPMs each session and had added a couple more sprints. At the end of two months I was doing eight sprints at much higher RPMs than I had started without all the panic.
We got a new recumbent that had higher resistant levels so I upped the intensity, and I now do just four sprints three times a week plus the strength training session. That comes out to about an hour a week of training.
The results after six months:
My testosterone level was tested; it was up 35%
I have been on blood pressure meds for 30 years. My doctor eliminated one med and as the readings continued to fall cut the other in half. At one doctor's visit the BP reading was 108/ 68, so they took the other arm and it was 106/66 which was very low for me. He told me to continue doing what I was doing. I have been taking these dosages like forever. For him to cut back on these dosages is a really big thing. The doctor will be coming into facility sometime in January to exercise.
I am 30 pound lighter. Dieting concession - I consume all my calories within eight hours each day.
I am able to go all out at age 60 to reach my maximum pulse rate and beyond and not get knocked back on my heals prostrate on the couch, and turn around and do it again and again and the next day do it again.
I feel really good. I compare that to the panic and the reeling I felt after one 30 second sprint six months ago. It was chasing my daughter that caused me to rip my Achilles. I am by far better able to keep up with my young daughter. The difficult work was worth it.
At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity strength training or an aerobic high intensity training program that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.