Guest guest Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 I've always wanted a Bullworker, ever since it first came out, but, with a family to raise, other things always took priority. Then, last year I saw an X5 on eBay, old, battered and rusty (a bit like myself) and got it for £2.60 (around $5 for any Americans reading this). With a bit of chrome polish and WD40 it cleaned up a treat and is perfectly adequate for my old and feeble muscles (I'm 71). I got hold of the training book and was working my way through the first 12 weeks of exercises when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and, searching the net, I came to the conclusion that isometrics were inadvisable for high bp sufferers. So, reluctantly I put my bullworker away and looked for other ways to keep fit. Firstly, I came across " The Five Tibetans " (see www.space.net.au/~dcmorgan/Tibetans.htm). Strip out the mumbo jumbo about living forever and looking 20 years younger (I wish!) and I found them a good " wake up " set of exercises for first thing in the morning. Then, I came across Tabata (see www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-046-training) and thought why not Tabata with bullworker? I went back to the " Specialized Training " section of the X5 book and picked one exercise for each main muscle group, - chest, arms, shoulders, abs., back and legs. The Tabata method requires that you exercise for exactly 20 seconds with exactly 10 seconds rest between sets, - no deviations allowed. I started with one set of each and have now worked up to four sets of each. When I reach five sets, I will change the exercises to work the muscles in a slightly different manner. I do each exercise using the Bullworker rhythmically with no long holds, which suits me and, hopefully, doesn't raise my blood pressure. I find that this gives me about 12-15 reps per 20 seconds, depending on the exercise. I do this routine every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a gentle 10 minute Pilates routine for core stability on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. So far, so good, - it works for me. Oh – and I walk the dog every day, 1 hour's brisk walk, whatever the weather. I hope this is of some interest to the older members, - and remember – you'll all be old one day. As a Track & Field coach, I have also started using Tabata with a group of already very fit young men & women. It seems to be helping, though whether it will translate into better performances next summer remains to be seen – watch this space. Jerry (BullworkerClub, - Geriatric Division!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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