I started the Kris Gethin Hardcore Trainer this week, instead of elevating my last workout routine with cardio. I’m glad I did. This workout is awesome!
This routine is a 5-day split, coupled with 2 cardio sessions each day. This week is 20 minutes, but next week and the following weeks will increase by 5-minute increments. Cardio has always been one of my weaknesses and I look forward to improving my cardiovascular fitness over the next 8 weeks.
I wanted to address the importance of following a workout, but keeping it personal. The reason I stress this is because you may not have the same equipment available in your gym or you may not have the ability to do a particular exercise a certain way because of a previous injury.
Follow the workout as best you can, but always treat these routines as yours. I workout to stay in shape. I’m not looking to compete at a show or anything like that. I like to gain strength and improve my cardiovascular fitness, but feeling good is the primary goal of my workout routine.
If deadlifts, for example, won’t work because of a previous back injury or something like this, you can always substitute the exercise for something else. Exacerbating an injury or trying to do something you just can’t do is ridiculous. Do the best you can and always consider your personal safety and health a prime consideration when using someone else’s routine. Remember: Most of these online trainers have more than a decade of experience working out. If you are just starting out, or in your first year or so, don’t try to do all of the things these workouts require.
I was talking to an old Army buddy of mine recently. He hasn’t worked out in quite a while. He wants to get back into it. I cautioned that he should make a gradual start. You can’t begin a program like this if you have not worked out in a few years. The same goes for any of you.
I’ve been working out for the bulk of my life. I’m no Spring chicken, but I can hold my own in the gym. It’s better to make slow and steady progress instead of trying to bite off more than you can chew and getting injured. Injuries will stop your progress in its tracks. Be careful!
I also cannot stress the importance of diet when you are beginning any workout routine. You have to eat and hydrate! A program like this will kill you if you are not eating, supplementing, sleeping, and hydrating. Weightlifting is a taxing enterprise.
Take your time, when beginning a new routine. Warm up, stretch, and follow the form of the exercises as best as you can. Most gyms will have a local trainer available. If you have any doubt about how to use a machine, ask someone to show you. Some of these machines bite!
You also need to really control the weights you are working with. If you are jerking the weights, using crazy body movements to get a dumbbell or barbell up, you are probably using way too much weight. Back it down and really control the movement as you perform the exercise. I see people everyday using improper form, jerking weights, and dread the day they tear or dislocate something. It is not worth it.
That’s it for today! I hope all of you are getting to the gym or getting exercise daily. It really makes a huge difference in your mental outlook, your self esteem, and sets you up for success in many areas of your life, if not all of them.
Until next time…
Dave
