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Fit for Duty with Mike Macro

Busy life training schedule

By Mike Macro

It does seem that we are in a busy age, but I can tell you that every person through out history has said this from a Roman historian named Pliney to a 17th century swordsman named Silver. However they had an advantage that at that time technology was still primitive and a vast majority of the vocations were of a physical nature and therefore took care of the need to exercise.

We, unfortunately have to deal with, quick fix snacks, quick fix fun, heavy work loads on the brain and light work loads on the muscle. So organization is paramount, and at the end of the day when we are mentally fatigued we have no energy to work out.

As a martial artist and fitness professional I realize how important it is to be fit, and how much time is required to train not only physical conditioning but also, the technical and mental principles.

With out going into all of the technical mumbo jumbo, there are basic principles to adhere to.

F.I.T.T.

Frequency: how often you exercise

Intensity: how hard you exercise

Time: how long you exercise for

Type: what form your exercise takes shape in

The principles of fitness training go along these lines:

It takes approximately 36 hours for the body to effectively repair itself after a weight training work out and only eight for an aerobic work out (run, swim or group fitness). So arrange your training regime in the manner which is most effective for you. A good mix of endurance training and cardiovascular exercises would be ideal.

• If you use the principle of big muscles and make your exercises a multi-jointed affair, this will take care of the small muscles and as an added bonus your body will work better. Our muscles were designed to work in harmony with each other.

• Take note of the rule of progression, when your exercise becomes easy either increase the work load (mass), repetitions or increase your heart rate.

• If you find it hard to take your pulse or work out the percentage of heart rate when training. Use this simple rule (Unless told otherwise by a Medical Doctor) remain breathless but still be able to hold a conversation. Your fitness level will increase and your ability to talk at a higher rate of work load will rise in a steady ratio. Basically this means that your body has now become more effective at utilizing oxygen for the breakdown of carbohydrates stored in the body. Your aerobic capacity has now increased.

• Last but not least. At the end of the work out you should feel slightly fatigued. You should try to refrain from pushing yourself to much, stay away form the feeling of nausea and dizziness.

Exercise should never be perceived as a punishment but more of a preventive maintenance. Once you have reached an acceptable level of fitness it's easier to maintain than it is to start over. So, for a lazy person such as I, it makes more sense to incorporate a physical exercise regime into my daily life. I prefer to use my time economically and train in a manner which is most beneficial. Interval training allows me to work my aerobic system whilst dipping into my anaerobic system. I am able to train my muscular system for strength and endurance but also my cardiovascular. This combined with a small run and a long run in the week is adequate to fulfill my needs. For example:

• Step Ups
• Lunges and Twist
• Step ups
• Leg curls on ball
• Step ups
• Pull ups
• Step ups
• Push up on ball
• Step ups
• Crunch on ball
• Step ups
• Back extension on ball
• Step ups
• Squat and torso twist
• Step ups
• Close push up on medicine ball

Finish off with an isometric abdominal exercise (the plank)

A balanced work out would look something like this:

Monday
Strength
Endurance training

Tuesday
Running
Yoga

Wednesday
Strength
Endurance training

Thursday
Running
Yoga

Friday
Strength
Endurance training

This is only a generic suggestion for an apparently healthy adult, to give you an Idea. Good luck folks, happy training.