As I have said, heavy calisthenics is about cardio and general conditioning - stressing and pushing whatever you have under the hood. It's always a different set of routines for me so it's always a surprise. Keeps it interesting, like Crossfit. Here's what he put me through this morning - minimal rests to catch breath:
Four reps of this set:
- high step with heavy ball lift (sheesh, that is a bitch)
- kettle ball swing-walk
- heavy ball smashes
- kettle ball swing-walks again
Then three reps of this set:
- jump rope (he's perfecting my technique - wrist only, snapping the rope down. Difficult to do it correctly when you've done it wrong all your life. Have you jump-roped lately?)
- heavy rope slamming in squat position
- burpees
Such a relief when the clock strikes 6 am and the hour is over. Drenched with sweat and half-crippled
I view fitness training as having four fundamental components or targets: strength building and maintenance, cardio, general "functional" conditioning/endurance, and weight control. I don't have much fat because I usually don't like eating much and am rarely hungry, so that's not an issue for me. I force-feed myself protein to keep up. Every activity has some of each category, but most activities are mostly one of those categories.
I am now told I will need to up the intensity of my cardio days with jump rope and stairs. I'll give it the olde college try. It might kill me. My boss tells me to eat more food and protein, but i don't really want it no matter how tasty. Hard exercise reduces appetite.
Come on, you mostly-sedentary middle-aged reader guys and gals, and join me in this challenging journey. We can share notes. All it takes is Advil or Alleve, and self-discipline. Progress is slow, but at 7 months now of a 6-day/wk program (2 days heavy resistance, 3 days cardio intervals, 1 day heavy calisthenics), I can do things I had never dreamed of doing, like dead-lifting those railroad wheel things and almost benching my weight. Getting fit for a full life if not a long one.
