The Body is a Machine

tnqnt
tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
After years of starting and stopping exercise, working hard or hardly working out, I have made a revelation:

YOUR BODY IS A MACHINE! When you treat it like and work it right, the results are incredible.

Guys, in the last 6 months, I have been working out 6 days (10-11 hours) a week in zone (at least 60% max Heart Rate), religiously, using a HRM. At the beginning, my V02max was pretty bad, and, even though I could work out hard for what I thought was a good long time, I finally realize how out of shape I actually was.

Now, I can hardly keep my heart rate in zone during weight training and I cannot get over 55% of max while walking, no matter how fast. Now, my V02 Max is excellent and my body is a machine! My HR takes a while to get up high and once I slow down, it tanks, fast!! (40 bpm recovery in 60 sec)

I have to be running or doing some serious resistance on the Cybex or the Stairs to get it in zone.

I would be very interested in hearing other peoples' perspectives on this theory and hear how deliberate and controlled exercise has turned YOUR body into a MACHINE!

Replies

  • LvLite
    LvLite Posts: 102 Member
    I think so too.. when i see people transform and see it in myself I am amazed
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
    I really didn't know how much consistency plays a role. I was working out inconsistently and too hard, thus giving up often and injuring myself. My HRM really keeps me in line. :)
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    That's how I feel when I run. I can tell when I've fueled properly and hydrated well... I feel like a robot. I love to watch the numbers on my garmin... faster, faster... HR lower, lower... PRs, improvement.

    I have run two events this summer that I was particularly proud of because I raced them instead of just running them to finish. I did a 10 mile trail race from the beach on the ocean to the top of a mountain (up 4300') and was passing people on the last half as they bonked all around me. Same experience during a half marathon a few weeks ago. Missed my time goal of 2 hours by 18 seconds, but the fact that I was able to train for it, set my goal and come that close was proof for me that the right combinations of nutrition, hydration, training and rest are so important.

    Our bodies are amazing. They can take so much more than most of us will ever attempt.
  • vtachycardia
    vtachycardia Posts: 374
    Well I have not gone from couch to 5K, because I do not like running do not even like cardio that much. But via enthusiastic use of resistance and HIIT and Tabata my weight has dropped, strength through the roof and V02MaX is rated Elite on the cardio machines, heart rate can now hit 160 and 130 used to leave me feeling like death and that was walking.

    I did not go from couch to 5k, I went from nearly buried to enjoying life.

    And yes, I am amazed at how forgiving the body is after i abused mine for years and years and years. I want to tell everyone that it can be done. But I know what new found zealots can be like.
  • super_monty
    super_monty Posts: 419 Member
    Well I have not gone from couch to 5K, because I do not like running do not even like cardio that much. But via enthusiastic use of resistance and HIIT and Tabata my weight has dropped, strength through the roof and V02MaX is rated Elite on the cardio machines, heart rate can now hit 160 and 130 used to leave me feeling like death and that was walking.

    I did not go from couch to 5k, I went from nearly buried to enjoying life.

    And yes, I am amazed at how forgiving the body is after i abused mine for years and years and years. I want to tell everyone that it can be done. But I know what new found zealots can be like.

    I used the deep breathing technique you advised me about my heart rate drops by 10 bpm, i can now do 10k easy, it took time but your advise has been great for me.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
    Not to brag but since you asked for people to tell you their stories, I'm 40 and in the best shape of my life. It's all thanks to weight lifting. Who says at 40 a woman's all wrinkled with gray hair? Not me. My body is an amazing piece of machinery and I am capable of anything now that I'm in better shape. :bigsmile:
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
    Not to brag but since you asked for people to tell you their stories, I'm 40 and in the best shape of my life. It's all thanks to weight lifting. Who says at 40 a woman's all wrinkled with gray hair? Not me. My body is an amazing piece of machinery and I am capable of anything now that I'm in better shape. :bigsmile:

    i LOVE your attitude. ... I fully agree :):)
  • vtachycardia
    vtachycardia Posts: 374
    Well I have not gone from couch to 5K, because I do not like running do not even like cardio that much. But via enthusiastic use of resistance and HIIT and Tabata my weight has dropped, strength through the roof and V02MaX is rated Elite on the cardio machines, heart rate can now hit 160 and 130 used to leave me feeling like death and that was walking.

    I did not go from couch to 5k, I went from nearly buried to enjoying life.

    And yes, I am amazed at how forgiving the body is after i abused mine for years and years and years. I want to tell everyone that it can be done. But I know what new found zealots can be like.

    I used the deep breathing technique you advised me about my heart rate drops by 10 bpm, i can now do 10k easy, it took time but your advise has been great for me.

    Cheers supermonty. Really pleased to help.
  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
    the most interesting part of this post is that HR was restricted to 60% of max. This does indeed improve aerobic capacity with your muscles using oxygen much more efficiently. I wish more people would appreciate this rather than working themselves into the ground. It takes time and patience but it does work.
  • vtachycardia
    vtachycardia Posts: 374
    the most interesting part of this post is that HR was restricted to 60% of max. This does indeed improve aerobic capacity with your muscles using oxygen much more efficiently. I wish more people would appreciate this rather than working themselves into the ground. It takes time and patience but it does work.

    Steady state for hours on end is now not viewed as the way to improve performance or get maximum weight loss. The majority of science backs short very high intensity output placing the heart into anaerobic levels of performance. So, actually the idea is to take a little time but give your cardio system a blow out, rather like taking your car out of the town and onto a fast road and flooring it - actually helps the engine.

    heart rate should be used in conjunction with Perceived Rated Exertion, learning this scale and it's implications helped me a lot. Stopped thinking I was going to die at any second because heart rate was maxing out.
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
    the most interesting part of this post is that HR was restricted to 60% of max. This does indeed improve aerobic capacity with your muscles using oxygen much more efficiently. I wish more people would appreciate this rather than working themselves into the ground. It takes time and patience but it does work.

    Hello :-) :-) :-) I think perhaps you may have misunderstood (or I miswrote it)... regarding target fat burn AT LEAST 60% of maximum. Fat burning zone is 60-69% of maximum. My point was that I do zone training which includes this lower range of 60-69% of my maximum. I also do high intensity training, but I also do isolate low intensity training. The funny thing is that using the technique I did use, in turn, made those exercises which used to be in the high range become low range exercises... now I have to push a lot harder to hit my high intensity ranges :-) :-) thus, the body becoming a machine :-) :-)

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