Burn with Kearns: Hit it, don’t quit it, when you’re over 40 – Kevin Kearns

by Kevin Kearns, contributing writer

How to hit it and not quit it when your 40 ? 

Ok, we all heard about HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). It’s the latest rage with gyms like Orange Theory popping up everywhere. What is it? HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a training technique in which you give all-out, one hundred percent effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. This type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time. Yes! – you heard that right.  These are basically work-to-rest ratios. IE 45 seconds of an exercise, 15 seconds of rest, 30 seconds of exercise, with 30 seconds of rest, and so on.

This is one of the foundations of first company, Burn With Kearns. We have used these types of protocols to get many an MMA athlete in peak physical shape for a fight. We have also used them for other (Pro Football, Hockey, Basketball, Triathlons, and alike) athletes as well our white collar CEO types and your soccer mom. In our new web site, BeachBodDad.com we are all over this type of training – for the simple reason it works and is easily built in.

Although this training is quite popular, care must be used when you HIIT over 40. This type of training is rigorous and is not for the faint of heart. We will explore how to use HIIT for over 40 and make it work for you. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind.

10 tools that over 40 guys to make hit work for them 

1. Go in with realistic expectations. In other words, if you have multiple injuries and are 40 lbs over where you should be, I don’t think its practical to do 100 burpees.
2. Check a class out first. If you been out of the gym market for a while and have never seen a HIIT class, you may want to watch it before you own it.
3. Check out the teacher for the class, and his style. Does he offer what we call in our classes  “Mod Squad” (old 70’s show, I’m dating myself). “Mod Squad” is our safe word for people in class that if they need a “modification” on certain exercise, myself or one of my other coaches will “mod” the exercise on the fly. Example, Burpees are way too hard for the client or they don’t have the lower back flexibility. We will give them a bosu and have them place the bosu on the ground and then step back with their feet. They get the drill in without the embarrassment of not participating.
4. Be smart and listen to your body. If it really hurts or you’re out of breath slow down a bit. Then in every class build it up a little bit more. An old boxing training partner of mine, Peter Kennedy, was 135 lbs and at 5’ 4” and 65 years old when I was 38 years old. He had asthma as a kid and all the docs told him not to exercise except one. He told him to push “Tri-athlete” style of training and every day do a little bit more. Peter was doing this before the word “Triathlete” ever came out. His doc told him every day push a little more. At 75, Peter is still in great shape and is a full time massage therapist.
5. Know your edge and then go a little beyond it. This is a concept I picked up from 9 years of yoga twice a week. It’s good to know your limitations and then try and go little beyond them. In yoga they always use “Mod Squad” and will give lower intensity to balancing on your eyelashes moves. The big take away is at least try.
6. There is no such thing as a bad workout. Whether you make all the way through class or not, at least you showed up. The fact that you showed up is 90 percent of it; the rest is all judgment on your part. So, what if you had to stop at 30 pushups during one of the drills. It’s better than 29 pushups. Next week you might be able to 50 pushups during the time period. The fact that you got your a$$ out of bed or brought your gear with you after work is enough. The rest of it is all up to you. Throughout the “should of”, “could of” , “I suck at that” and alike. That’s negative MOJO! You were there and you tried.
7. Partner up, or as we say in Boston “PartaHUp “ . Get some allies on your team. “If you got bros, you will go as we say. “ Training to me is like business the more people you have in your camp the better. Whether I’m going to yoga or ripping the thai pads I always make friends in class. You never know when your energy is down, but you know “gym bro” who’s 35 years old and just trying to get in shape for big event is going. You don’t want to let him down because you and he just grabbed lunch after a training session the other day. It becomes a matter of honor now. Most guys I know are honorable. We have a saying in the martial art world “relationships built on the mat last forever”.
8. Have fun – yes you heard me. Have fun. In the beginning it’s going to be a lot of work and a bit uncomfortable. That’s ok, it’s new. I remember the first time I jumped rope for 15 minutes straight. I thought my legs would fall off. Then something kicks in and it gets meditative. It becomes part of you. It gets into your soul and every fiber of your being. The workout becomes part of your lifestyle. You need it like someone needs air to live. Have you ever seen a kid running around at recess not having fun? No, we were built to move.
9. Train hard. Eat smart, it’s that simple. It makes no sense to eat the cheeseburger and chilli fries the night before a HIIT workout or any workout for that matter. Fat like that takes longer to digest and you’ll be paying for it, and others will in class. Fruit or a small protein shake before a workout works well. Especially this style of training. You’ll end up in the bathroom multiple times.
10. Breathe. It’s just for now – Anyone can do anything for 30 seconds or 45 seconds. Try not to think about what is coming next, just be in the moment you are in. The biggest mistake I see people make during a hard training session is they forget to breathe. You can survive 30 days without food, 3 days without water, and breathing? Well, that’s like 2 minutes if you are lucky.

Hit and compound moves that perfect combo for the 40 plus guy

One of my favorite styles for working HIIT into regular training program on my own is to combine them with compound moves. I think this is a great way to keep your muscle mass up as you get older (it’s not the age, it’s the mileage I mind) as well as increase muscle endurance or Type 2 a fibers. Type IIa: These fibers are also known as intermediate fibers, a mix if you will, of Type I and Type IIx, with comparable tension. Able to use both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, these fibers have a higher oxidative capacity and fatigue more slowly than type IIx. That are both strong and can be explosive when need be. Here’s the fun part. These fibers can be enhanced with this style of training. The formula is simple. Take a 5 to 10 compound movements and superset them with a HIIT exercise. This is a great way as well to break up the staleness of waiting for your next set. Nothing bores me more than waiting a minute between exercises or waiting for someone else to finish their rest period on a piece of equipment. Plus, an added bonus for us married men, you get back from the gym quicker to go to work and take care of the kids. That should score you some points with the boss, both bosses I mean. It also gives you more flexibility in your workouts so if a piece of equipment is tied up you have a list of drills in your head that you can pull from. We have not even discussed the muscle confuse elements of this as well. This will definitely shock the system and then some. Ok let’s get to work.

Compound move, 8 to 10 reps                           HIIT drill, 45 seconds

Barbell squats                                                       Lateral Jumps

Flat Bench press                                                   Sprawls with a med ball

Pull ups                                                                 Overhead med ball slams against wall

Dumbbell curl and press                                     Mountain climbers with a bosu

Bent over Dumbbell Rows Or bar                       Rotational med ball toss

Dips or bench dips                                               Jumping jacks or jump rope

How to HIIT it and not quit it when you are over 40.

Now that you know the parameters and pitfalls of HIIT training how should you use them. Personally, I like to cycle drills in an out of my programing when I look at a year at a glance. I live in Boston so the winters here can be brutal. In 2015 when had 9 ft of total snowfall! That being said, most of my workouts were indoors. When I tend to be indoors, I will still cycle my training on and off. I’m a bit of a freak with this so I tend to go by feel. However, my rules are:

1. Stay on a new program for at least 4 to 6 weeks. It takes 2 weeks just to build the neuro pathways; it’s after that you start seeing results.
2. Listen to your body and heart – sorry I’m a broken record here. If I start getting bored on week 4, I start planning a change.
3. Think outside the box- if it’s snowing out like no tomorrow here, sometimes I’ll use shoveling, snow shoeing, hiking, or cross country skiing to break it up. You use HIIT in there as well.

Try a new move or new angle – If you like pushups , try lateral pushups or rotational pushups. Don’t be afraid to look a little goofy from time to time. I love goofy it makes me who I am.

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Kevin-Kearns

Coach Kevin Kearns, BS FMS  CPT 

BurnWithKearns.com – Direct: 508 404 8503

Both of Coach Kearns’ books may be purchased on www.Amazon.com. For more information about Coach Kevin Kearns, including scheduling speaking engagements and classes (both online and in person), please contact him at 508-404-8503 or [email protected].

Author of “There’s Light In The Tunnel” How to Survive and Thrive with Depression  – “Always Picked Last“ A guide to navigating bullies on Amazon and Audible 

youtube.com/user/burnwithkearns 

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Coach Kevin Kearns has been coaching in the world of fitness, nutrition, and tactical self defense for over 3 decades. As the former conditioning coach to 15 UFC Pro Fighters, and ranked in the Top 5 in the UFC , he is no stranger to the the importance of proper nutrition and proper mindset programming. He has long advocated to all his clients – athletes or the general population – about the importance of programming mind, body and spirit. 

Coach Kevin Kearns BS FMS CPT – Former conditioning coach to 15 UFC Pros Ranked in Top 5 by the UFC Personal Fitness Coach, Author, Columnist, Motivational Speaker, Corporate Wellness Consultant, Youth Wellness Program Provider, Certification Specialist, Personal Self Defense, and Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Specialist Www.BurnWithKearns.com.