Back in the Saddle

I'm sure my predicament is little different from the average working father. Holding down three jobs to make ends meet, well, it's difficult not only to make the time to work out, but to consider it any kind of priority. With essays and other assignments piling up waiting to be graded, housework to do, kids needing to be shuttled to and from school and scout meetings and such, it's difficult to slice time out of other priorities to commit to a regular schedule.

It's easy for people who do commit to their workouts to judge and say, "Just do it!" The simple fact is, it's just never that easy. Again, it's not so much making the time commitment, it's the idea of making it a priority that warrants that time allotment. Yeah, and the hardcore fitness fanatics will frown critically on the very suggestion of it.

My ability to commit to my workout ebbs and flows depending on my work-life balance situation. It's been about two and a half weeks since my last workout. I had an idea in my head about the direction I wanted to take my routine, but between work, home and other pressures, I'd kind of fallen into a bit of a funk. It happens to me from time to time.

Last night before going to bed, I committed myself to doing a workout first thing in the morning--on the weekends that's the only way it will ever happen because as the day wears on and I get involved in other responsibilities, the chances of making the time to work out gets slimmer and slimmer. Sunday is often my rebirth, renewal day, the day I get up and recommit myself to all of the responsibilities that have been weighing  heavily on me.

So, this morning, I got up early, ate breakfast, and put in about 45 minutes of time in the home gym.

For the next few months, my workouts will consist of supersets of complementary movements followed by some cardio work on the treadmill and/or stair climber.

Today's supersets consisted of the following three exercises:

Sissy/frontal squat on the sissy squat stand

PowerTec Workbench Squat

Step-ups

I had grossly underestimated how much the sissy squats would fatigue my quads. I did two sets with no weight followed by the Workbench squat loaded with 180 pounds--about half what I normally squat. After the sissy squats, I was only able to do 5-6 reps on the workbench before my quads started burning.

In each set of step-ups, except the last, I was able to do 15 reps for each leg.

In the third superset I did the sissy squats with just the Olympic bar. In the final superset I performed the sissy squats with 95 pounds, did 6 reps on the Workbench at 180 and then 10 reps of step-ups, each leg.

I finished up with ten minutes on the stair climber.

The supersetting is a good way to build muscle and give your body a good cardio workout. Upping the intensity of workouts is the number one way to build muscle and lose fat. The supersets coupled with some work on the stair climber and/or treadmill cram a lot of muscle building and calorie burning into a short time span.

That's the basic strategy for the next month or so. I basically cook up different workout plans on a whim and then commit to them on a trial basis for a week or two. If things seem to be going well and I like it, I'll make it a regular routine.

We'll see how this one goes. I took it easy this morning because, as the title implies, I'm getting back into the swing of things after a brief layoff. The title has a double meaning because, as I'm writing this, I'm also watching Silverado for the umpteenth time. I would not describe myself as a fan of westerns, but this is a good one and I find myself compelled to watch it every time it's on.