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Exercise to build muscle, lose fat and improve glucose and lipid levels.

The final piece of the puzzle is exercise.  My previous exercise regimen consisted of running 2-3 miles several days a week and lifting weights 2-3 times a week.  Unfortunately, it was predictable and boring and, when winter rolled around and it was rainy or cold or damp, it didn’t take much for my motivation to wane.  As with any habit, repetition reinforces the action.  So, the longer I “took a break” the longer the “break” continued.

It’s not as if that exercise program was without benefit.  Lifting weights helped me maintain and increase strength and I noticed a definite deterioration in strength when I took my extended “break”.  Running (which I enjoyed for the most part) provided a certain level of cardiovascular fitness.  Both weight lifting and running are weight bearing exercises which are helpful in preventing osteoporosis as we age.  I was fitter than most people my age, but I didn’t look it.

The drawbacks to this routine were that my body fat percentage didn’t budge and I was burned out and bored.  There was also the pesky problem with my blood sugar and lipids.  If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, I needed to make some changes.  Enter circuit and interval training.

For the foreseeable future, I’m using Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training.  I was trying to decide which circuit training program to buy when I sort of “accidentally” bought TT.  Accident or not, Turbulence Training is well known and highly recommended and I’ve been using the program for a few weeks.  I’m working out more intensely than in the past and find that the supersets and variety make the workouts fly by.

The TT program consists of three weight training circuits plus three interval cardio sessions per week.  Each circuit session lasts about 30 minutes and the intervals are 20-25 minutes in duration.  I have the option of doing circuits and intervals on the same day or splitting them up into separate days.  Until recently, I’ve been doing circuits one day and intervals the next.  I think I’ll start doing them the same day because I’ll be able to schedule off days with yoga, walking or hiking.

The TT workouts change every four weeks so I won’t get bored as easily.  If I can’t face another week of…..say….dumbbell squats, I’m learning enough with the information Craig provides that I feel capable of whipping up an impromptu circuit of my own to use for a few sessions.

I still have the option of going for a long, slow jog when the mood strikes me and if my problematic knee holds up.  The important thing is that the habit I’m reinforcing now is one of action rather than inaction which is exactly where I want to be.

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