It was January of 2014 and I had just hit a new milestone birth year! Yes, I left my 30’s and entered into my 40’s. However, I had also reached a new milestone that I was less excited about. After being away from coaching/training and the fitness arena I had reached the highest weight in my life. I was tipping the scales at 214 lbs. I had only been close to this weight one time before in my life and that was when I was a freshmen in college. Most of us know about the “freshman 15.” So, to say I was a little depressed and not feeling very great about myself is an understatement. With that being said I made a decision that I was sick and tired of being overweight and I needed to do something about it. That frustration started me on the journey of Fit Over 40!
Now that I made the decision to make a change I decided to use all my fitness knowledge that I had preached so many times to previous clients and set a S.M.A.R.T goal for myself. Once I had my goal it was time to come up with a plan action. I knew I needed to make some lifestyle changes but I also came to the realization that I needed to change up my workout routine. You see, it wasn’t like I was completely sedentary and doing nothing. I was still working out upstairs on my treadmill and elliptical with occasional weight training, but I was making a mistake that most people make. I am sure you have seen that person at the gym whom seems to never see any results although they are working out several days a week. The reason they don’t see results is because they are constantly doing the exact same exercises over and over and not stressing the body any different. And I was following into the same trap with my old workout routine.
So what was the new plan of action and change in my workout routine going to be? Well, I had just recently been introduced to Orange Theory Fitness. OTF, as us tribe members call it, is a one hour 5 interval heart rate based training program or also known as a form of HIIT training ( aka high intensity interval training.) This type of training and programming allows you to experience EPOC, which is a big fancy word for “after burn.” Meaning you burn calories 12-36 after the workout. A completely different type of workout then what I was currently doing!
If you would like to read a previous post I wrote where I talk about why I believe it really is the #1 interval training workout out you can. In that post you will find the detail of why I believe it is such a great workout.
Once I started doing the workouts I began to see a significant difference in my weight loss and body physique. The workouts changed the amount of time I was spending in the “fat burning” zone and also allowed me to get my hear rate up so that I was burning more calories 12-36 hours later as I previously mentioned. Plus, I was doing a different workout every time so my body was continually being pushed and stressed differently. That is a big key and unfortunately most people get a workout routine they like and stick with it while never changing it up and taxing their body differently. If there is one piece of advice I can give you is that regardless if you do HIIT training or not make sure you continuously change up your workout.
Changing my workout routine made all the difference as you can see from the photo of my weigh in. However, I am not done as my goal is to get down to get lean and tone, so I am continuing to increase my weight training as well as change my nutritional habits by increasing my daily protein intake. The sky is the limit and I am not going to let myself get to that dreadful point I was at in January of 2104!
If you are like I was and doing the same workout routine over and over again I highly recommend you switch it up. Now I know I am biased and I would suggest finding an Orange Theory Fitness studio in your area as it can be a game changer for you. If that is not possible then find a gym that is offering HIIT workouts ( High-Intensity Interval Training). And if that is not possible then you can try P90X or Insanity at your house, but just make sure before you attempt to do any such exercise routine you are medically cleared by a doctor or have no physical restrictions.
One more thing before I go that I believe is extremely important to having success with your workout routine and that is an accountability group. I don’t care how great my new exercise routine is now if it wasn’t for having an accountability partner I would not have had the success I had. So, I highly suggest you get your spouse/partner/friend/family member or if you can’t find anyone you can join our FB Fit Over 40 Challenge accountability group here.
So, as I wrap this up the biggest takeaway for you is to change things up and quit doing the same exercise routine over and over. If you start to challenge yourself and do workouts that combine high-intensity intervals you will start to see results.
I believe in you and now it is the time that you start believing in you!
P.S. I did not mention anything about my nutrition and I would be remiss not too but I am going to save that for a future post.
To your success,
Coach Dave
Need a jump start? Check out my 7 day Jump Start Program. Just fill out the information and you can start right now! [thrive_optin color=”blue” text=”Join” optin=”5395″ size=”medium” layout=”horizontal”]
