I've been under the command of a personal trainer for two months now. I've been a good girl, following her orders, and she has let me live numerous times when I whined or resisted, so I'm starting to see progress. This 60-something body is beginning to resemble the 40-something body I remember nostalgically. I'm actually stronger and the fat around my middle has almost been replaced with decent ab muscle. I'm encouraged sufficiently to start watching what I eat and drink, so maybe, just maybe, I'll loose the five pounds I've been failing to loose for four years.
You'd think that twice the week "attack the fat and build the muscle" routine would be enough, but, in my effort to achieve perfection, I asked myself why not do more? The answer is simple, I can't afford more of her time, so she suggested a supplement--burst training.
Instead of running in 100 degree heat for a 30 to 60 minutes (how boring is that!?) , I've found bursting to be a quick and clean way to physical agony. The idea is to increase my metabolism by exercising in short intervals (20 – 60 seconds) at a high intensity to create a demand for oxygen. After five rounds of bursts and equal rests, I am still conscious and pleased that my body will repay that debt of oxygen by burning extra calories throughout the day.
Before I could start my bursts, I did what every serious exerciser does--I bought a new toy to help me. It's an old fashioned, big as your hand, Timex stop watch. I love it. Three times a week on the days when I don't have my training class, I burst up the 84 steps from the river park to our bluff (I actually do live on "the bluffs" of Memphis; in fact, Memphis is called "Bluff City" just as Baltimore is called "Charm City", but that's digression). Each step is a block of unforgiving blue and gray speckled granite that is just the perfect riser height to cause me to fall all over myself with too many little racing steps. The alternative is to lope up them two at a time, sending stabbing "burn" pains up my now meaty thighs. My solution is to create a dance of some loping and some race stepping. Just call me the exercise choreographer!
When I first bursted it took 33-35 seconds to ascend those 84 and almost two minutes to recover as I stumbled down them clutching the railing for dear life. After two weeks, I now proudly tell you that I complete each burst in 28-31 seconds and only take a minute to recover as I skip down the stairs without the clutching the railing (well, almost). I consider that progress. However, by the end of five burst rounds, I still make funny noises as I try to recover my sanity. John and the dogs sit on a park bench at the top of the stairs cheering me on and wondering when I will come to my senses.
You'd think that twice the week "attack the fat and build the muscle" routine would be enough, but, in my effort to achieve perfection, I asked myself why not do more? The answer is simple, I can't afford more of her time, so she suggested a supplement--burst training.
Instead of running in 100 degree heat for a 30 to 60 minutes (how boring is that!?) , I've found bursting to be a quick and clean way to physical agony. The idea is to increase my metabolism by exercising in short intervals (20 – 60 seconds) at a high intensity to create a demand for oxygen. After five rounds of bursts and equal rests, I am still conscious and pleased that my body will repay that debt of oxygen by burning extra calories throughout the day.
Before I could start my bursts, I did what every serious exerciser does--I bought a new toy to help me. It's an old fashioned, big as your hand, Timex stop watch. I love it. Three times a week on the days when I don't have my training class, I burst up the 84 steps from the river park to our bluff (I actually do live on "the bluffs" of Memphis; in fact, Memphis is called "Bluff City" just as Baltimore is called "Charm City", but that's digression). Each step is a block of unforgiving blue and gray speckled granite that is just the perfect riser height to cause me to fall all over myself with too many little racing steps. The alternative is to lope up them two at a time, sending stabbing "burn" pains up my now meaty thighs. My solution is to create a dance of some loping and some race stepping. Just call me the exercise choreographer!
When I first bursted it took 33-35 seconds to ascend those 84 and almost two minutes to recover as I stumbled down them clutching the railing for dear life. After two weeks, I now proudly tell you that I complete each burst in 28-31 seconds and only take a minute to recover as I skip down the stairs without the clutching the railing (well, almost). I consider that progress. However, by the end of five burst rounds, I still make funny noises as I try to recover my sanity. John and the dogs sit on a park bench at the top of the stairs cheering me on and wondering when I will come to my senses.
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