The Ed Plan Part 2

Hello my dear friends! As promised this is the "work out" part of the Ed Plan. Again let me take some time to preface this post by saying that I am neither a doctor nor a certified/licensed personal trainer (though I am studying to be one). I am not recommending anyone do this work out plan. This is just what works/worked for me and what I know. It has helped me to lose nearly seventy five pounds. I am no longer actively trying to lose weight but add bulk and improve overall fitness. Also I am not a writer, so this may end up a garbled mess. Take from it what you will.

First let me start by saying that i always kept God in my work out. I asked Him for help from start and finish. It's so easy to give up, but turning to God can keep you going. He has all the strength that we do not. Praying was essential and continues to be the driving force behind every victory (work out or otherwise) in my life.

Now what I am going to say is going to be very very controversial. If you do not agree with it that is fine. But this is what I honestly I believe. It is also what the army taught me. If you have a lot of weight to lose (I would say 50 plus pounds) quit lifting weights and doing crunches. All you are doing is hardening the muscle under the fat AND hardening the fat over the muscle. Some research says this is true, some says no. Some personal trainers believe this 100% and some don't. But for me this was true. So give up the strength training. Lifting weights definitively burns cals, but you need good cardio to burn lots of fat. And here is the thing... You can not turn fat into muscle. You have to get rid of the fat and build muscle. So if you have more than 50 pounds to lose just do cardio, cardio, cardio. I did interval training and that is fantastic. A great interval program is couch to 5k. It builds endurance and the jog/walk/jog really reves the heart and gets the body the burning. If not couch to 5k then just go as hard as you can for 2-3 on any cardio machine and then slow it down for 2 minutes. If you can not do 2-3 minutes then start slow by doing 1 hard minute and 3 slow. Work your way up from that .Frequency is important to. I would recommend working your way up from a min of 30 minutes three times a week to a max of 2 hours a day 6 days a week. Personally I like to do an hour a day five times a week of hard cardio. But do not let it stop there. Take a leisurly thirty minute walk (if possible) after every meal or play Wii. Just try to always be moving. Heck you can even shimy and shake while typing on your computer!

Another controversial topic is when to exercise. The army taught me to work out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Thats not doable for us all but if you can that will optimize fat loss. It will actually force your body to tap into the fat it already has stored. There are reports that support this and reports that show it false. I can say from looking at myself and the soldiers around me that it is true.

Once I hit my goal weight I started adding an anabolic workout to my arobic work out. In other words I started lifting weights before I did my cardio. I would caution that you should also do a 3-5 minute slow "warm-up" and strectch before you lift (and a 5 minute coo ldown when you are finished). How long you lift and how much is dependant on your goals. But I would also caution that most ppl should start slow. I personally started back with "giant sets" (but I used to be into power lifting so was experienced enough to handle this). Giant sets are amazing. If anyone wants the details of giant sets email me and I will fill you in. 1 month of giant sets added 1 inch to my biceps. I am not joking! All that aside, I recommend that most people lift 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes. Unless your really trying to target specific parts of the body circuit training will work for most. Just do 2 chest, 2 shoulder, 2 back, 2 tricep, 2 bicep and some leg exercises. Always keep proper form to avoid injury. Most lifting exercises are compound so you will work more than just what you planned. The leg press is a great example. If you do it properly you will not only work your hamstrings but your glutes to. Cardio, cardio after your lifting! Never ever skimp on your cardio!

For those who have enough time (and determination) I will give you my ultimate work out.. I used this to stay inshape when i was in the army (when i was state side)....

1 set of (10) chest press immediatly followed by 10 lat pull downs. No rest in between. The second I finished I jumped on the treadmill and ran as hard as I could for 5 minutes. Then I did 1 set off (10) hammercurls immediatly followed by 10 leg presses. The second I finished I jumped on the elliptical and went hard as I could for 5 minutes. Then I did 25 crunches, followed by 25 pushups (no rest) and immediatly jumped on the stair master and went hard for 5 minutes. It was then a five minute break and I started it over just changing what lifting exercises I did but always keeping the cardio after every 2 sets. I did this 1.5- 2 hours a day, 3 days a week.

Ok, I hope this helped some one. I would remind you that I never even recorded all my exercises let alone ate all my exercise calories. I did raise my calories but I think it's smart to leave several hunderd cals on the table every day. Not recording all my exercises helped to keep me from eating it all back and may help others do the same. Also I ALWAYS practice correct form and listen to my body to avoid injury. I am not a doctor, like i said, and I am not telling anyone to do this but it is what i did.

Thats all I have for now. I hope you all know how proud I am of you. I am blessed to know you and be your friend. You are such amazing and beautiful poeple and a true gift from God.God loves you all more than you will ever know and so do I.
Love and blessings,
Ed

God bless you!