consistancy

Folks talk big about workouts. We did "blah, blah, blah." We used to do that. Every blue moon we still do it.

The biggest, baddest workout we ever did was August 8th, 2008. We ran 8 miles and performed 888 repetitions of various basic training exercises in 88 minutes. Got that? 8 miles, 888 reps in 88 minutes on 8/8/08.

Big Deal. It was a celebration of the opening day of the Olympics. We probably burned 1,600 calories in that workout and were sore for 3 days.

The formula is 100 calories per mile and 100 calories per 200 repetitions. Our average every day is 3 miles, 600 reps. We burn on average, 600 calories per workout. For those of us that run a little harder and pay special attention to form during exercise, the number goes up to 700-750.

Many workouts around town target 900 - 1,000 calories per workout. Folks with elite level fitness can handle that every day. Everyone else can handle 2 or 3 days a week working that hard with the other days rest and recovery. 3 days a week times 900 calories = 2,700 calories a week. On the rest days, the number is zero. The body goes cold & dormant on rest days. No Burn.

We work out 5 days a week burning 600 calories a workout. 5 X 600 = 3,000. Since we have no rest days, there is no dormant time were the body goes cold & into rest mode. For those of us that work out every day, our metabolism goes up with our energy level. As we get in shape, our average calorie burn outside of the workout goes up too. We do more during the day. A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest.

We get criticized for working out every day. Many folks feel rest is important. Trust me, after decades of competing at an elite level and instructing Boot Camp, no one is going to burn out training in Boot Camp every day. These workouts are not that hard. The key is consistency. Rather than doing a couple of killer workout a week, we do a moderate amount every day. The daily burn tempers our bodies and slow cooks us into elite level fitness.