Recently, I read a posting by Shotokan practitioner and blogger Rob Redmond, on his blog 24 Fighting Chickens, and it really got me thinking. He referenced an article by Lifehacker regarding 10 myths about exercise, and the truth that disproves each one. There were a couple points that were made that were poignant and I felt almost directed at me specifically.
"Myth #3: Exercise Takes Long Hours/Is Worthless If I Can't Exercise Regularly"
This myth in particular made me reminiscent and almost nostalgic of my heavy exercise period during my years in college. It was the summer prior to my senior year of college, and I had realized that my weight had ballooned up to around 190 lbs. Up until this point, I'd thought that my weight hovered in the 170-175 lbs. region, and I was happy with that. 190 lbs. was heavy for me, and let's just say that it wasn't muscle. I stand at a solid 5'10", and I carry my weight well, but I'm not made to be 190 lbs. of mainly fat. With this in mind I took to the gym in earnest. I remember reading somewhere that combining weight lifting and cardiovascular exercise was the best way to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.
I embarked upon a regimen of 1 to 1.5 hours of cardio (switching between the treadmill and bicycle about half way through the time frame), and then hitting the weights hard or another 1 to 1.5 hours. I was a steady-state cardio, and body-partist weight lifter, of astronomical proportions. Mind you, this meant I spent anywhere from 2 to 3 hours in the gym alone, and oftentimes I would be there longer. I would generally spend an extra 20-30 minutes using the heavy bag (I told myself that this was to teach my body to use the new found strength and lightness to create more power in my punching and kicking). Then one day, maybe 2 months into this regimen, I read about high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and I figured that I should include this into my cardio routine, but instead of doing 30 minutes of this, as recommended, I followed the same 1 to 1.5 hours of cardio, but doing straight HIIT. Go hard or go home was my thinking (besides bigger/more is better, right??).
I went this way for almost 6 months, I dropped my weight from 190 lbs to a solid 175 lbs, and I looked pretty good. I could see more definition in my abs, and all my muscles and I felt great because of this. According to my electronic scale, my body fat percentage dropped from 27% to 16%. This is great, right? I should keep going, right? Yeah...I tried that and my body crapped out on me.
Let's not forget that I was also spending at minimum 2 hours a day in the dojo as well 5 days a week...youth truly is wasted on the young, and I'm not that old right now to be saying it!
Several years down the line, I almost miss having the time available to workout like a demon, but I also have read more and become far more knowledgeable about how the body works and builds muscle and adapts. What had happened at the end of the 6 months was that my body plateaued and completely adapted to my workouts. If I hadn't burned out the way I did, I probably would have just continued to lose weight and not build anymore muscle, in fact I would have lost muscle.
Now I find my time is far better served with lifting weights (at a relatively high intensity) for an hour a day, three to four times a week. My schedule is fairly busy these days, so actually meeting these numbers is difficult, but it works well. Also, I aim for 3 days in the dojo and 3 days of regular cardio (my dojo workouts are still around 2 hours, but are not of high intensity, and typically involve working with kids or lower belts and working on my technique to make it more efficient). Developing power and speed aren't important in the dojo anymore, I reap those benefits from the gym and my interval training.
Next post I'll discuss another poignant myth.
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