Should we ask how it went? Well, I hope!
I feel like I had a pretty good workout at the gym today, working the plan. For the first hour I alternated 5 minutes on the treadmill and 5 minutes on the stepmill, with a 1-minute, 4-mph mile walk break at each transition. On the treadmill, I did a ‘pyramid’ with the speed each time, going from 5 mph, to 5.5, 6, then back down. I did a similar thing on the stepmill.
The second hour I followed the same routine, except I traded out the stepmill for incline on the treadmill. That 5 minutes was 2 minutes at 10 degrees and 3.5 mph, then 1 minute at 15 degrees and 3 mph, then another 2 at 10/3.5.
The last 12 minutes of hour 2 was a cooldown. I was properly tuckered but encouraged by this workout. I feel like I should have another half-hour, then hour tacked on soon.
Eventually, I only need to do that for the better part of a day…:dubious:
No chance of running trails any time soon, the ground is thoroughly soaked and frozen. At this rate, I would expect I won’t set foot on dirt until the trees start to leaf and begin pulling the moisture out of the soil.
Thanks for asking.
I was slow as crap, but finished. Blew a few of the obstacles (including the damn rope climb, which I got within a hands reach of the top, and then lost my foothold on the rope). I had someone help me lift the atlas stone, and then I did the carry ok. The bucket and sandbag carry weren’t too bad.
I was able to do most of the walls without help, including some of the ones that gave other guys problems (the reverse-angled one, for instance).
We have a small gym in our office building. I get down there at lunch about 4 times per week. Half the days, I am on the treadmill for 32 minutes. The other days are for weights and stretching.
Just did a solid hour on the stepmill. I haven’t actually RUN OUTSIDE forever, but this week I should be able to go around the neighborhood. Considering a trail half marathon the last week of April or 25k the first week of May.
Also down in weight quite a bit…I’m lighter (very relative term) than I have been in a couple years at least. I’d like to see if I can get down below 210 and see how I feel.
I have a concept 2 rowing machine and have been doing 10k a day 5 days a week since just before Xmas, with a 1/2 marathon in there once. Dropped from 55mins to 45 mins but still some way to go, goal is to get to consistent 39 - 40 mins then I’ll switch to an hour.
Only lost about 5-6 lbs but I think I have shifted quite a bit of lard into muscle.
Butt moisturizer is my friend.
If you can get access to a rowing machine and watch a few videos on the right technique it shouldn’t really put stress on the back. It builds up a good core which will help support your back. Push with legs, hold on core, lean back holding in core, pull in arms. Then reverse the sequence arms, back, legs. If you are starting the stoke and feeling it on the back and then bobbing the hands over the knees on the way back in, you may need to adjust.
It can be tempting to go nuts and drive the heart rate up with 2k manic pulls (and it will get the heart rate up) but a steady 18-20strokes per minute with a good long pull and catch the breath on the way back in should be quite good and not stress the back and get good supportive core muscles up to spec.
I have a TV with an apple TV and some blue tooth head phones set up and I am working through a backlog of of shows. It helps.
I would like to do more rowing. I have been lifting weights for many years and am making progress with my new routine. I would like to slowly gain ten pounds.
The “problem” with using one exercise for weight loss, such as rowing or marathons, is your body becomes very efficient which result in metabolic changes that reduce weight loss. I know some dedicated runners who are “skinny fat”.
I started doing CrossFit, which is great but not a complete substitute for lifting. I am still working on some skills like muscle ups, rope climbing, fast skipping and improving Olympic lifts.
My training for a 50K trail run at the end of May was thwarted by 4 weeks of forced rest from a bad cold that descended into my lungs and wouldn’t leave. I’m finally back running with lungs at ~90% capacity. It’s frustrating, but that’s life.
Now I’m trying to balance easing back into things intelligently so I don’t injure myself, against that vague panic that I need to catch up. I know, I know, “catching up” is a guarantee of problems, so my intelligent side will win. But you all know that feeling.
Ahh, I feel ya! I took a week off early in March because I had a twinge in a knee, then immediately got a chest cold and was out for a total of 3. Then eased in for a week and I think tomorrow I should be mostly normal ish.
Second run in 5+ weeks after I had to shut it down for a bit due to an injury. Three weeks out from big spring race; goal was a min/mile slower than last year because of said injury. I’m not even on pace for that at this point. Strongly thinking about not doing it at all since I’m thinking I’d rather a DNS than a horrendous (for me) time.
I just got back from the Ragnar SoCal. I was runner 1, starting at 5:45AM for the first leg. As expected, I was super slow, but beat my estimated time. On this Ragnar my legs were 2.6 / 4.8 / 5.8 miles, so I was much less sore going into the last leg than I was in Ragnar Del Sol, where my first leg was the longest. I was worried that my chronic back pain would make it hard to run, but it really didn’t bother me very much.
Last Saturday, I set out to run at least 5 miles, preferably 6. Miles 2 and 3 were the most unpleasant, then it started getting easier. Miles 4 and 5 were when a second wind started driving me. Around miles 8 or 10, my legs started feeling heavy and numb but I didn’t mind and kept adding miles until I wasn’t sure of the count, somewhere between 10 and 13. I wish I’d known much earlier that I had to endure those first 3 miles and then it was going to get easier and rewarding. Having “tasted” the effect of running for 10K+, I think I’m instilling in myself a Pavlovian association between running and reward that helps me have less aversion for the discomforts of running.
Even on Tuesday, the soreness in my legs isn’t fully gone. I was wearing long compression socks and compression knee braces and I’ve noticed little soreness in those areas. The soreness was overwhelmingly in the thighs so I might have to find compression pants.
Tried a solid hour on the stepmill again this morning for giggles. Made it 182 floors in 58 minutes.
I’ve also started keeping a couple sets of dumbbells close when I’m working from home, and grabbing those between tasks or doing pushups or going out to the garage for pullups. My moosles were getting a little soft. They like to bounce back to a baseline pretty quickly though, so I’ve already put an inch back on my flexed arms.
Running is not taking off. We’ll see how that progresses through the summer, I STILL haven’t run on a trail since early winter cuzza the stupid rain every time they get close to drying out. They were actually dry a few days during the 3 weeks I had a chest cold, so that figures.
Honeymooniversarycation is coming up the middle of June, so we’re cutting out booze, sugary drinks, cheese, tortilla chips (we eat a LOT of tortilla chips) and non-lean meats until then so we can look hawt at he pool.
I did box jumps at the gym today. I can -barely- do 36”. Maybe 1 out of 5 times. Until I psych myself out.
Since I’m 5’7”, that’s a few inches more than 1/2 my height.
I’ve been doing spin and my fitness classes, but either my latest bloodwork is true or the doctor put it in my head and I’m imagining things (I go for a retest in August.) She said my thyroid levels are low, and I have been feeling rundown, only going to the gym three times a week for the last three weeks rather than four times a week. I haven’t gained any weight, but my butt has been dragging.
I just finished Good To Go about the science of recovery. It’s a fun read about the effectiveness of various performance and recovery treatments, nutrition, gear, etc. There was a lot of good info, and most importantly, it helped me appreciate my downtime and days off, instead of feeling guilty.
A few of the more interesting points:
[ul]
[li]Ice has not been proven helpful in recovery from injury or otherwise. It’s useful in the short term for reducing inflammation (like during halftime of a game), but blood flow is important for muscle repair, and ice inhibits that. It might make you feel better, but it can lengthen the healing process. [/li][li]Don’t believe any “scientific” study about sports drinks, energy bars, etc. It’s trivially easy to manipulate those studies to get the result you want.[/li][li]About the only things that consistently show positive results are more sleep and less stress. Everything else is at best inconclusive, and at worst pure snake oil.[/li][/ul]
Has anyone else read it?