The Road to 10%

I decided to once again change my routine and lower the frequency (believe it or not)...

Main HST routine consists of One-Arm Bent-Over Rows, Bench Press, Chair Dips, Reverse Curl Cuban Presses (end of WO) with a one exercise once/week strength add on routine that is: (A: Deadlift, B: Jefferson Squat, C: Standing Calf Raise)

I am in the 2nd week of 5's, and I will continue this for another two weeks, and do 3's around Christmas time. The New Year is time for reflection on my work (and Sci's too!), SD, and then a new routine.
 
I am hoping to get some feedback here... but I need some form of cardio for my off days.

Problem is that it is winter, and whenever I am home on weekdays, it is too dark to go to my backyard, a field or a track. I also don't have a treadmill or any other type of cardio equipment. Is Pilates my best solution, or is there something else I can do?
 
Cardio for fat loss, heart health, or both?

Pilates and yoga both will offer you fat loss through static muscle contraction. Pilates is much more movement-oriented than yoga from what I know, and may actually hinder recovery if done on off days.

Would there happen to be a neighborhood close by with lighted streets? I know it sucks something crazy to run when it's cold, but that may be a solution. I see folks running in my neighborhood all year long, and we live in the snow belt of Northeast Ohio.

Second thought - do you have any stairs in your house? If so - go up and down for some set time.

Third thought - do you have a basement with enough room to move a bit? If so - jump rope for extended periods. Heck - a garage would suffice for that as well.

Hope that helps.
 
colby,

im assuming your interest in cardio is for wgt/fat loss.

that said......the most effective form of cardio will be one you can stick with. many of the most effective (most cals burned in shortest time) are also obviously the most intense (running, jump rope, HIIT etc) but for many folks that in itself is a big turn-off and usually leads to quiting winter running (for example) shortly after youve begun.

what do you like to do? running? hiking? some type indoor cardio you can tweak to make interesting, stairs, callisthenics, whatever?

my main point is its easy for me (or anyone) to say "go running or hiking" b/c i love them, im pretty good at them and they are terribly effective. if you hate winter running more then root canal..........what good wil that do you.

pick something you enjoy (at least a little) that you can do in the time you have allotted and tweak it so it meets your goals and keeps your interest. chances are youll have a lot more overall success with it then if you force yourself to jump rope (just an example of something many hate) for 20min each off day.

fitday (and other sites) has a nice quick list of activities in it that is real easy to find the max cal expenditure for. if your looking for the most bang for your buck yet still have it be something you enjoy you can browse some of the cardio options that interest you and see which would be the most effective.

good luck
 
Tim,

I have been used to high frequency, so I am not worried about the effects of pilates on recovery during off days. It seems like we are distant neighbors in this big world as I live in Pittsburgh, PA. I live in a suburb with out many street lights. Your last idea is the best though! I never thought about it, and then I tried it last night with a PR of 47 straight reps. I got fairly tired when I hit that point, so I know I can do a lot more.

Bluejacket,

My interest in cardio is not only for the fat loss, but for my health too. You mentioned jump roping too, which seems to be the best fit in my situation. I can still go running on the weekends, but I seem to have even less time then due to doing things around the house, sleeping in, and going out with family & friends. I do love to hike, and I used to love running a few years ago. I would like to get back into both, but we'll save those for the warmer months.

THANKS FOR the responses guys - great feedback as always!
 
Cardio WO - 11/29/07
<span style='color:blue'>Swiss Ball Crunches: 25 reps (8 sets)
Pilates
Jump Rope: 4 sets w/high of 47 straight reps</span>

Comments
This was definitely a high quality workout. I am debating whether or not I should move Chair Dips to this routine. Thanks to Tim and Bluejacket for the advice on jump roping. Now, I just need to work on my stretching.
 
good luck colby.

rope work is nice b/c it gets the HR up quickly and can be done almost anywhere. i was terrible at it at first, 47 straight reps would have been a real good number, but in just a few weeks i could go by time as opposed to reps. still not great at it, like the folks you see in the boxing gyms etc, but i also dont work at it much anymore.
 
Bench WO
<span style='color:blue'>Pilates
Swiss Ball Crunches: 25 reps (4 sets)
Jump Rope: 4 sets w/ PR: 56 reps max</span>
<span style='color:red'>Bench Press: 45 - 15, 135 - 5, 175 - 5, 190 - 5, 135 - 11</span>

Bluejacket, time may not be the best way to measure jump ropes either due to speed of the reps. Nevertheless, as long as I stick to some way of counting - as long as I do them, I will be in good shape, literally.
 
BTW Sci, I am down by about .47% body fat, but only a half a pound at this moment. Weight is coming in lower now (239.5 this morning), so that may change in a week.
 
I am doing a somewhat more extreme cut than you.  But I usually go overboard on the weekends and gain some back, so we'll see how that goes!
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<div>
(colby2152 @ Dec. 05 2007,04:29)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">BTW Sci, I am down by about .47% body fat, but only a half a pound at this moment.  Weight is coming in lower now (239.5 this morning), so that may change in a week.</div>
Don't you feel this entire cutting thing is taking just a bit too long?Just asking.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Don't you feel this entire cutting thing is taking just a bit too long?Just asking.</div>

Yes and no.... If my weekly cuts were being more effective, than I would be much closer to 12% at this moment. I have a lot on my plate in life right now, so effective exercise and dieting has been limited. Nevertheless, the slow cut has been working. The calipers don't always show it nor does the scale, but the mirror and other people see the change in me. Also, my pants have become much looser, and I am approaching another notch in the belt. That is progress to me.

If my cutting lasts till May 31st then so be it, but I will be happy as long as I hit my goal at that date. I have plenty of mass on my frame along with great muscle building genetics to withstand a long cut.
 
Not me, I am quitting on Jan. 1st no matter what. I am already tiny compared to Colby,
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and I am quite lean, I would guess near 10%, and it is only a matter of 5 or so pounds before I am satisfied...I am getting tired of dieting and shrinking. I can't wait to at least eat at maintenance and maybe even get some size back while on a proper bulking routine.
One thing is for sure, I hate cutting so much, that I will be very wary to bulk up too much ever again in my life.
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<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">that I will be very wary to bulk up too much ever again in my life.</div>

Me too... once I am down to 10%, I am slow bulking from then on.
 
I'm about half the size of you guys, yet my bodyfat % is still 12 -- 13% after several months of cutting and exercising.

I think I'm gonna try a PSMF for a week or two in order to speed things up. I really only need to lose another 5 lbs or so.
 
<div>
(quadancer @ Dec. 06 2007,16:18)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">How do soldiers prefer to go into battle?

They hide behind the TANKS!!!  
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EndbulkWantyou.jpg
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lol, that's a good one.

Since I'm also a member of the &quot;half the man I used to be&quot; club, I'm letting Q-dood go in first, that's for sure!

But the process of getting ripped is a funny thing. The slow approach has worked well for me. It was tortuous, but I think because I did go slow I was able to maintain more muscle than I would have otherwise.

My bulking days are just a distant memory
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<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">But the process of getting ripped is a funny thing. The slow approach has worked well for me. It was tortuous, but I think because I did go slow I was able to maintain more muscle than I would have otherwise.</div>

I am getting the feeling that my slow approach seems to be the right way to go. I will try a quick two week burst after the new year (912 HST), but other than that, I am generally going slow...

Hypertrophy-Strength Balanced WO - 12/6/07
<span style='color:blue'>Jump Roping &amp; Swiss Ball Crunches</span>
<span style='color:red'>One Arm Bent-Over Rows: 80 - 5 (2 sets), 55 - 15 (Metabolic)
Jefferson Squats: 45 - 5 (2 sets), 135 - 5 (2 sets), PR: 165 - 5 (2 sets)
Standing Calf Raise: 45 - 15, 160 - 5, 75 - 15 (Metabolic)
Chair Dips: PR: 16 reps (MS)</span>
 
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