Exercise INTENSITY!!!

Ya'll, I am so back in this game! I can't even describe how good I feel and how everything is just clicking. When I am working out hard it's as if I can feel the body responding. It is amazing to me the satisfaction and achievement felt when you workout with everything you have and a little more.

Let's focus on intensity with those workouts. I learned at Phat Camp both years that when you think you are working hard you are probably ready to turn the heat up another notch. I always feel like I work hard but I got the wake-up call that it was time to kick my own butt into a whole different gear.

What Are the Signs of an Intense Workout?
Let's start with strength. My trainer made a great comment today that I wanted to share. "Most people stop the set when they feel the burn or mild discomfort and they are WRONG. That's where the set has begun." What does that mean exactly...

• Set one of your workout is a primer. By the end of it you should feel your muscles just starting to burn and get the blood flowing.
• Set two you need to feel it. You have a hard time finishing the set but you push through and make it even if you have to drop your weight down to get your reps out.
• Set three or your last set you need to be struggling, grunting, making ugly faces, or whatever it is you do that sends the signal you mean absolute business. Everything you have in you needs to be flushed out here.

At the burn or hard part is where you have actually tapped the muscle and started really working. The beginning reps are just part of the road trip. The burn or struggle is the exit sign telling you how far you are from getting off the interstate. The two to three reps you squeeze out of your muscles when you feel like you are about to give out is the destination point. 

The same thing can be applied to your cardio. Now, this is for my fat loss girls. Those of you training for sport specific stuff do different things but my fat loss girls...you gotta be FEELING it when you do the cardio. What I mean is huffing, puffing, the look of insanity on your face, sweat dripping, an occassional hop off the machine or pause because you think you might hurl, etc. This is a high intensity cardio session that burns fat. If that doesn't sound remotely familiar or like what you do and you aren't losing...girl, check yourself. Get in there and get busy with tougher cardio.

Today I am going to post my workout. I don't usually do it but I think seeing what I did might help you see the levels you can be working at. Now, you can certainly adjust things up or down to match your fitness level, but just make sure that you are feeling it like I was. I'll comment how I was feeling at different points.

Rest 30 seconds between each Superset (this means all three exercises are performed back-to-back before the rest then you resume with the next set until the superset is done).

Superset One:
Lat Pulldowns Wide Grip to Front - 1(set)x15(reps)x55(lbs.), 2x10x70, 1x10x55
Cable Curls - 1x15x20, 1x10x20, 1x10x20/15, 1x10x15
Crunches with weight (feet straight in air reaching 10lbs to ceiling) - 4x30
I'm feeling pretty spent already. The weight and quickness of the routine is making my muscles ache fast and my biceps are really struggling to get the weight up. My trainer has assisted me on a couple of moves to help keep the weight moving as I'm sticking in the middle. If I was by myself, I would drop the weight to finish out.

Superset Two:
Seated Cable Rows close grip - 3x12x55
Cable Curls with Rope - 1x20x12, 2x15x12
Mountain Climbers - 3x40
So midway through this I felt a little queezy. The biceps are absolutely screaming at me. Oh yeah!

Superset Three:
OH Barbell Presses to the Back - 1x15x35, 1x15x45, 2x10x55
Lateral Raises - 2x15x8, 2x15x5 Dear Lord, please help my shoulders because they are on complete fire and I'm grunting like a pig trying to get the last few reps out without my arms falling off.
Hanging Leg Raises to side - 4x10 What the hell? My arms were giving out suspending my butt in the air. Sets three and four took all I had in me to stay suspended. My arms are fried at this point.

Superset Four:
Upright Rows - 1x10x45, 1x10x45 with help, 1x8x45 I have asked for my arms to be removed and placed on a shelf.
Hammer Crossovers - 3x10x5
Butt Raises with two second bottom hold - 3x10

At this point I have done the workout in 42 minutes, my arms are on complete fire, my shoulders and upper back are wore out and it's time to start cardio.

Stairmaster: 25 min. All I did was bounce between a level 12 (of 20 - slightly less than a jog on the stairs) for recovery and a level 15-16 where I had to jog on the stairmaster to keep from banging the bottom. Most of the time I did a 1 min. fast/1 min. recovery session. Towards the end I switched to fast as long as possible, recover for 30 seconds and again until my time ran out. In 25 min. I burned 270 calories. Not bad. I got off the machine, doubled over, got my breath and queeziness recovered, cleaned the machine, and walked gingerly down the stairs to come home.

Now you know how to kick it up in the exercise room PNP style!