As previously mentioned, high intensity training ensures that the body produces human growth hormones, which are extremely beneficial in the process of “youthing.”
This training consists of 20 minutes of either being on an exercise bicycle, elliptical trainer, rowing machine, or sprinting outdoors or using a mini trampoline, which is Edith’s preferred mode of exercise. Bouncing is also very beneficial for your lymphatic system – gently moving toxins by the upward/downward motion.
First of all it is a good idea to calculate your maximum heart rate and get yourself a heart rate monitor – these can be found inexpensively on the internet. A widely used approximation for max heart rate is 220 minus your age for females, or 226 minus your age for males. This will give a slightly lower figure than using a more accurate calculation that includes weight which is
For Women 210 – (1/2 age) – (0.11 x weight in kgs) – 4, and
For Men 210 – (1/2 age) – (0.11 x weight in kgs).
The basic concept is to train your heart’s variability to deal with extremes of exertion for short duration and then recover as quickly as possible during the resting phases. This has been shown in several studies to condition the heart far more effectively than long duration training at non maximal heart rates eg going for long runs when your heart never goes above about 70-80% of maximum. So the long term object is to get your heart rate up to close to maximum when doing this high intensity training and then training it to recover as quickly as possible during the resting phases.
This ability to deal with variability is the single biggest factor in avoiding sudden death from heart attack. Remember that in the vast majority of cases the first symptom of a heart problem that victims experience is death.
Whatever method you choose to use,warm up for at least four minutes. If on a trampoline, gently bounce up and down. After four minutes, start running/sprinting on the spot like ‘billy-o’ for 30 seconds and then rest, bouncing gently for 90 seconds (or if on a stationary bike, elliptical trainer, rowing machine etc. just coast during the recovery phase). This makes a total of 2 mins for one sequence and you repeat the sequence for another seven times until you get to 18 mins, when you have your last hurrah and you feel that you are going to cough up your lungs and you have muscle burn. The muscle burn happens to me after about the fourth repeat and is due to lactic acid build up in the system.
The high intensity training also turns on the super-fast twitch muscles, which in turn activate the human growth hormone production, and helps to train the heart rate variability – the single greatest factor in avoiding sudden death heart attacks.
So get onto the trampoline (or whatever you choose) and gently bounce (you will only be exercising/exerting yourself for 4 mins. in total and the rest of the time you are resting/recovering). Total time spent will be only 20 mins and you only need to do this twice a week, So total exertion for the week will only be 8 minutes!!! How good is that!!!
Gentle bouncing/warm up for four minutes
Sequence
Fast running/sprinting/cycling 30 seconds
Gentle bouncing/walking/coasting 90 seconds to recover & lower heart rate
Repeat until you have done this sequence a total of 8 times.
When you finish your last recovery time of 90 seconds, this will bring you up to 20 minutes altogether.
Easy, peasy
The same goes for the weight bearing exercises except you are not doing this in a timed manner. Choose some weights and a specific exercise, say bicep curls. The weights should be sufficiently heavy that you will fail at about 8-10 repetitions. When you fail with the first weight, then immediately repeat the exercise with a slightly lower weight so that you will again fail after 8-10 reps. Then you choose a slightly lower weight and go again for a third time giving the same muscles a really good workout. The first time you do this, you will really feel it the next day. But, like the high intensity training for your heart, you only need to do this twice a week, so you will have plenty of time for your muscles to recover between training sessions. You can of course do more if you wish, but always allow one day of rest between training sessions.
Remember the key to this type of high intensity training is to have ZERO rest or recovery periods between each weight change. You are not doing sets of repetitions, you are exercising as continuously as possible, repeating the same exercise to failure three times using slightly lower weights.
The exercises can be anything you can think of that will use different muscle groups – squats, lunges, biceps and triceps, standing or sitting raising weights to side, out in front, behind – the possibilities are endless. You do not need to spend a fortune on equipment and for lighter weights it is easy to use household items such as different size water or soft drink containers filled with water. If could be just simply lifting them or holding them and doing the lunging position or arm exercises. Then reduce the weight, repeat a second time with lower weight until you fail and then a third time with even lower weight until you fail and can’t do another repetition. You should then be totally puffed out – end of story for that muscle group and beginning of great biceps or whatever else you are training, if you do it on a regular basis.
Welcome to high intensity training – the most effective form of exercising.