Three hours is not enough

So I researched what the Biggest Loser contestants to to work out, and it seems they average four hours a day, 75% of that being cardio, 25% weight training. They aim for working off 3500 calories or one lb a day, and they can judge that with the Bodybugg armbands (which cost $300!) And it's mainly by themselves. Working out with the Jillian and Bob is special, mainly for filming, because the trainers are doing multiple shows and other things and are not available for every workout. And they learn some good routines that they can take back home before the big finale, where it's a minimum of 4 hours a day.

So, just for kicks, I've been trying to do something similar on days that I'm not working, and to try 1-2 hours on days that I am working. And not only is it physically tough, mentally, it is hard to stay focused for that long, even if you do multiple different activities. Even with the charity bike ride, it was 4.5 one day and 2.5 the next, and that doesn't hit the 4 hour average and was all cardio, and I was toast! And yesterday I did 1 hour spin, 1 hour body pump, and 1 hour Hash run. And that still is an hour short! I've been tracking on sparkpeople, which a cool, free website.

The professional triathletes (and other professional athletes of any type I'm sure) do similar length workouts, where they swim 2 hours in the morning, eat, take a nap, and then run 2 hours in the evening, or whatever. That they break the day up into sessions, with lots of napping. I'm definitely down for the napping! And not having a real job helps with that too.

Anyway, it's been an interesting experiment, and an eye opener, to think that as much as I work out, it doesn't even touch what it takes to drop weight like the Biggest Loser people or to be as fast as the pros.

The last point of all of this, Longhorn official training doesn't start until 7/5, because they believe a 16 week training plan is all that is needed, and to concentrate longer than that leads to burnout. So in the four weeks until 7/5, coach told us to have fun, and play, before the real work starts. So that's why yesterday I did all the Gold's workouts and the Hash run. I want to keep up my base level of fitness, but experiment. Other things I want to do- Schlitterbahn, kayak (please rain!), beach, Body Jam, hike the greenbelt, go camping, and Schlitterbahn again. Good times!