Mike Gilmore is an outstanding trainer at Fitness Together in Newtonville, MA. During the past few years, we’ve visited with numerous trainers and asked each one to raise our heart rate without injuring us. Most raised our heart rate a little or gave us exercises that made us walk like a duck the next day. The DNA of most trainers is to help people gain strength through a methodical weight lifting and stretching program. Mike was the first trainer we met who said, “I can do it. I can raise your heart rate, and you won’t be too sore for sports the next day. Lets do Tabatas.â€
As we trained with Mike we brought him movements gleaned from other sources. Together we adapted the movements to reduce injury risk and decrease soreness. Mike’s knowledge of form and technique, paired with his personable nature and ability to motivate, make him a perfect coach in the quest for intensity.
During our most recent visit with Mike, he prepared a series of exercises and the results were interesting.
We started with five exercises in a 45 on/15 off interval cycle: mountain climbers on sliders, squat to row, suspended high knees with a band pull down, ball slams and running stairs. Mike noticed that even though we were breathing heavily we couldn’t get out of zone 3 (70-79% of heart rate max). As Mike pulled out the heavy battle ropes, he said, “Your body has adapted to all these movements. We need to try something you’re not used to.â€
We paired the battle ropes with a sled push in a non-stop, 4-minute alternating interval cycle. These moves are definitely not something we do every day, and we hit zone 4 for the entire cycle. After this set, we kept up the intensity with a boxing Tabata, box jumps and box hops and a final 1-minute closer of side skips and squat hops.
We worked up a sweat and felt great. If you want strength and conditioning in Newtonville, Mike is The Man.
Our stats with Mike Gilmore:
45:00 minutes
305 Calories
160 HR Max
6:59Â zone 4
13:32Â zone 3
8:45Â zone 2
8:29Â zone 1
0:00Â zone 5
