Working out with Jack...

Friday, September 15, 2013

I was getting ready to head to the park for the Survival Workout when Savannah and Jack returned from practicing maneuverability with the Jeep.  I asked Savannah to join me, but she had to head out for a babysitting assignment and then Jack gave me a start.

“I’ll come with you,” he said.

Jack has become a workout nut.  He loves going to the gym and pumping iron with the big boys.  He’s gotten huge and quite strong, but he’s never really liked the Survival Workout and I’ve stopped asking him to join me.

“Great!  Let’s go,” I replied.

He commented that he’d had a tough leg workout the day before and didn’t think he’d do any of my lower body stuff.  He knows enough to know what it involves and he also knows he’s not in that kind of shape.  All his exercising is done in short, heavy sets which probably take less than 20 seconds.  When you start tapping the muscular endurance energy system, like I do with my workouts where sets last more like 45 to 90 seconds, you can be gasping very early in the workout.

“Well…if you’re legs are sore, you should do some of the things I do.   It’ll help get rid of the lactic acid in the muscles that’s causing all your soreness and that’s a good thing,” I said.

He didn’t looked convinced, but I did get him to try the squat-leaps I’ve been performing.  After 20, he agreed that they were extremely tough.  We did push-ups side by side and he handled nearly as many as me in his first set.  In fact, he was doing everything I was doing for the first set, but when we hit the second set down the trail, his numbers dropped off significantly.

“I think I’m stronger than you now…I can lift more weight…so how come you can do twice as many dips, overhead lifts, and push-ups?” he asked.

And I went on to explain how he was strong, but hadn’t trained his muscles for repetitive motions over long periods of time, as I had. 

“I can do more because I’ve trained to do more.  It’s more important to me to have the endurance because it’s more like competing in a sport that takes a long time.  I don’t want to be running out of gas on long bike rides, kayaks, or any sport I’m doing.  My workouts get me ready for that,” I explained.

He could understand the thinking, but hated that by our fourth set of push-ups, he could do 10 while I was banging out 50.  He asked more questions about when he would peak and how long he could stay strong.

“The human body, generally speaking, peaks in the mid to late thirties and then begins a gradual downhill.  But think about it Jack…I’m doing more than you and I’m 58.  You don’t have to go downhill quickly.  Most older guys just aren’t doing this kind of stuff.  How many of your friends dads could keep up with you?” I asked.

“Probably not many,” he said.

“Use it or lose it,” I said.

I’m going to keep using it.  Jack, I think, will always do the same.  You have to practice what you preach if you really want someone to take your message to heart.  That has served me well throughout my life as a person of fitness and is the main reason I want to do ‘Tour Ohio’ now.  If I want to reach a larger audience, I have to always walk the talk.

Survival Workout:  60 minutes

Training Heart Rate:  100-150 bpm.

Calories burned:  600.