Spartacus Workout: Season 1 Finale, and the Season 2 Mini-Series
Back in September I decided to honor the passing of Spartacus TV star Andy Whitfield. I was going to do the same workout he and many of his co-workers did to prepare for the show. The workout was very hard and intense for me. I made a commitment to do one additional workout each week until I did six in the final week. Between an out of town visitor and a desire to not puke after every workout, I failed to meet my promises.
I limped to a finish, and finally completed the Spartacus workout cycle I set out to do in September. It took me two weeks to eke out the final two workouts.
Despite the poor season finale, I made a lot of progress from when I started. I was doing almost 700 more movements by the end of my workout than I did on day one. I definitely lost some body fat and put on some muscle. And I absolutely got stronger.
So, now that I’m all done and winter is settling in, what am I going to do?
Tools of the trade
Be honest with myself
I got in a weird spot with my original workout. I used to lift weights a lot when I lived in Oregon. Everything I did was structured around my workouts. My diet changed based if I was on a “build phase” or a “cut phase.” Because it’s hard for me to put on mass, I was eating 5000 calories a day. I was eating every two hours, and I had to eat a little bit before my workout and then immediately after. I was spending up to two hours a day in the gym, and my life pretty much revolved around picking up heavy things and putting them back down again. That was good for about two years, and then I just had enough and imploded.
The Spartacus workout made me feel like I was back in those days. I sweat a ton during the workout, and I was drinking vast amounts of water to stay hydrated. I went back on creatine to help me finish the workouts, and that of course demands more water. I experimented with working out before or after I went to work. I performed better by working out in the evenings, but that meant I had to be really careful with what I ate, and I had to have a pretty sizeable snack at about 2PM instead of my usual graze.
The workout itself wound up taking about 75 minutes. I had a warm up stretch and a cool-down stretch in addition to the workout itself. If I obeyed the recovery time rules, the workout was supposed to take just a little bit over 45 minutes. However that was usually not the case, and I doubled the 15 second recovery time between movements, which stretched the workout.
Do less to do more
I’m going to cut my Spartacus workouts down to three days a week. I will fill in Tuesday and Thursdays in with a different workout. I hope this keeps my right knee from getting worn out. I am standing full-time at work again (I’m in week three, and I’ll write more about that later), but my knees were taking a real beating by the end of the series.
My hope with the “mini-series” is to keep the compound movements of the workout intact and respect the interval-style pacing. I also hope to cut the amount of time it takes to do each workout. This should remove one of my most popular excuses for skipping a workout.
I plan on doing one set of the movements with twice the weight of my regular season. I’ve done two workouts so far, and this allows me to give 100% on each exercise. I don’t have to worry about pacing myself through three rounds. It’s also a lot faster, and I won’t need to watch my diet and water intake as much, since the workout is 2/3rds shorter than the original.
Get a buddy
Reducing the length of the workout makes it short enough for Sedagive? to do it with me. She already works out every morning, but the duration of the full-blown Spartacus workout was too much. She goes to work earlier than I do, but the mini-series format should allow us to work out together. It is easier for me to start a workout when I have a partner.
So, let’s see what happens. I am going to try this for two months or so and see how it goes. I have to be sensitive to the holiday season and also our impending move come the end of the year.
Wish me luck!
What’s that timer in the photo?
Hi there! It’s an AcuRite digital timer, I got it at Wal-Mart for about $10:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Digital-Timer-with-Keypad-00535W/14913166
I should do a review on it 😀
MS, here’s the review on the timer — a little late than never:
http://journal.drfaulken.com/acurite-digital-timer-review/
I didnt hear he passed away. RIP. That blows serious cockus. I imbd him after the last season to read season 2 was on hold while he under went treatment. Very sad news. Good actor, hot as fuck. I shall do a “Spartucus’ workout in honor too.
If your still on 10lb weights I hope there just for wrist curls. You need to do less reps and up your weight even if you do less. I mean this in a friendly anonymous internet way.