Weight, Core & Cardio Training

I started workout out exercising more recently, weight training, cardio & core exercises & feel a lot better, and stronger with more endurance too! 

About 2 weeks ago, I created an account on my friend Olga's Tonal machine & did a strength assessment for 24 min & noticed that I had lost a lot of physical strength. We have a gym at the apartment complex above the main office where we live, that I have used from time to time in the past, but as of about 10 days ago I started going there every morning to workout. 

My main exercise consists of warming up & stretching out to get the blood flowing & loosen up. 

I drink 2 glasses of water on waking, a cup of espresso made with about 12 grams of precision grind. I usually drink it black or add a small splash of whole milk to soften up the flavors, sometimes I add water to make an americano. Then I write a blog posting & go to the Gym. Today I first unloaded the dish washer & started a load of laundry. I also pulled out the window screens & gave them a bath, they have to be removed by Oct 6 because window cleaners are coming to clean the outside of the windows & boy are they dirty & in need of a good cleaning. 

I do free weights (dumbbells) to strengthen my arms, shoulders, neck & back/ upper body, 8 reps, then a break to loosen up, 8 more reps, then a break to loosen up, then a final or 3rd set of 8 reps. 

I pick weight mass that make it hard to finish the last set. This recruits more muscle development faster, as does doing the reps slowly, pulling or pushing hard & slow & then slowly precisely letting the load back to rest position. Slower reps increase muscle development & recruit more stabilizer muscles to be trained with free weights done this way. 

I use a workout bench to do ab crunches, same 8 reps in 3 sets, slower to build muscle faster. I am going for core strength development, not vanity, though it helps with that too. My goal to improve my BMR and glucose metabolism for personal health goal achievements. 

I do bench presses on a machine, 8 reps, 3 sets, to improve arm & chest strength

I do leg extension & ham compression on a machine, 8 reps, 3 sets, to improve leg strength top front & back. 

I do calf raises at home, to strengthen my shin & calf muscles, 8 reps, 3 sets. 

I do pull down shoulder & back strengthening, 8 reps, 3 sets. I am focusing on upper body strength mostly since my legs are already very strong for my size, age & mass, 5 ft 11's in, 39, & 163.3 lbs with a BMI of 22 & too much visceral fat according to the electrophysiology measurements of the smart scale in our bathroom, that bluetooth streams this information to the related app on the smartphone, Apple SE2. 

I use the elliptical machine for cardio with ~10 min, plus a few minutes for cooldown, & try to get my heart rate up to 140-160 bpm for at least 7 minutes. 

The Apple Watch Series 8 tracks these workouts. It pairs with the elliptical machine. I use a strength training exercise mode that I had to add as a "new workout" to the workouts app, that was not in the long list of other common exercises, though I checked. 

I aim to go everyday, alternating which muscle groups I target with different exercises. 

It feels nice to become noticeably stronger so quickly. I noticed a specific bump in my testosterone levels by virtue of what it did to the performance of my magic appendage, your imagination can fill in the blank. My endurance has improved noticeably & I know these rapid gains will plateau at some near term point in the future, but its still fun to improve my physical fitness, strength & endurance. 

I also feel a lot better & sleep a lot better when I get a good workout during the morning, something to really load my muscles & push my cardio system. I drink more water when I get home & take a shower when I start to smell of onion from chloride sweat & androgen hormones that enter my sweat giving it a distinctively pungent smell that my wife & mother are very sensitive too :P 

Working out can improve mental health, physiology, endurance, basal metabolic rate, glucose metabolism, protein absorption of amino acids from the digestion of foods that contain them, better utilization of fats from foods. Better metabolism of carbohydrates, starches & sugars too! 

There are many lifestyle benefits to staying physically fit, becoming physically fit, working out, getting enough activity, strength training, core training, cardio training, HIIT, fast east exercises that anyone can do at home without special equipment. I use the gym at our apartment because its faster to hit specific target areas with all the cool weight lifting machines! I really like the free weight collection & rack they have & the workout benches, mirrors on the wall & uplifting workout music. Its also always open, if you have the RFID tag to access it behind locked doors.