It really works! Fitness theory in practice

Last Thursday, during my weight workout, I noticed that a few of the weight settings seemed easier. So I made some notes on my workout log sheet to try increasing them. Today, I dutifully increased the weight where I had noted. And it felt about right.

My personal trainer had said that you should be increasing the amount of weight about every 2-3 weeks. If you stay the same, you're not even getting the same benefit as when you started. And amazingly enough, she's right. This is the first time I've been consistent about working out regularly. And after 3 weeks, I'm ready to increase the amount of resistance. Wow!

I've been lazy about the free weights. Machines are just easier to use. Of course, the free weights make you pay attention to posture and position. And they help more than just the muscles that a particular exercise is designed for. So I'm really being lazy.

I did get on the foam roller for a bit of IT band torture.

Today, I did 10 minutes of treadmill walking, 12 minutes of rowing, 10 minutes of walking on the track, 40 minutes of weights and stretching. So that counts as 10+24+10+20 = 64 Hey! That's more than a third of 180! I'm getting better!

(I would have done more rowing to contribute to the January team challenge, but someone hopped on the one I was using, and I didn't feel like getting back on after a few minutes of walking. Apparently 2000m is enough right now.)

Catching up

Now here's change! I'm behind in blogging instead of behind in workouts!

Tuesday I went to the Y. I managed to talk to the personal trainer who set up my weights workout, and she clarified a few free weights things I couldn't remember.

So I warmed up with a 10 minute walk on the treadmill, then 2000m in about 12:00 on the rower. 40 minutes of weights, no stretching or cooldown (ouch!).

Does a frantic drive to pick up my son on time count as a stress workout?

Today I went again to the Y. 10 minute warmup on the treadmill, 2000m in 11:49.4 on the rower. 40 minutes of weights, no stretching or cooldown. I'll pay for that later!

It's amazing how much of my 2:15:00 of free time is spent in non-gym activity: driving, walking, locker room, shower... It's at least an hour. It makes it hard to do a workout when you have to decide what not to do. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get more efficient as time passes.

D.

180 - 54 - 54 = 72 to go...

Row Row Row Your Boat

So I've discovered rowing. That would be indoor rowing on the Concept 2 rowing machine at my local YMCA. Carlene is always so excited about her rowing that I decided to try it. I thought 10 minutes would be a good way to start. I managed to pull 1562m in that 10 minutes, with a few pauses to fix the foot straps. Not bad for a first try.

Then I did a 10 minute spin on the recumbent bike to ease that tightness in my calves. Rowing pulls on your calf muscles. I better remember to stretch before I get on next time.

I did my old weight workout, then some stretching - esp. those tight calves.

so this counts as 50 units against this week's 180:
10 minutes rowing (20 units) plus 10 minutes spinning (10 units) plus 40 minutes weights (20 units) = 50 units
130 to go...
Ack! How did it get to be Friday already???

Slug ventures out in the cold

It's -21C today, but I bravely ventured forth to the gym anyway.

I did 15 minutes warmup on the upright stationary bike, and a lap of
walking. Then 45 minutes of weights and stretching. I also did 5
minutes of cooldown on the treadmill.

That counts as 18 + 22 + 5 = 45 minutes.

This week's total so far: 180-41-45 = 94 to go.

I have to phone my trainer and ask if she can show me half of the
free weight motions again. I've forgotten them.

And... she's off!

So I managed to catch myself in a self-sabotage moment and stopped myself. Well, I didn't go swimming with my family, but I did go for a walk.

41 minutes, 3.7 km

139 minutes to go for this week. YAY!

I dressed about right: t-shirt, track pants, longer cuff socks would have kept my ankles warmer, Sugoi transition jacket, fleece head band, cheap gloves. I skipped the cell phone and iPod. I'll wait on the iPod until a walk seems really boring (which hasn't happened yet, ever). It's not something I've ever used outside.

Temps: +5C, wind 65 km/h (I was sheltered about half the time)

Happy New Year and Happy New Me

This is just a recap of a bunch of resolutions/goals that I've been talking about in too many different places.

MC had the idea first. Her goal for 2006 was to walk for 180 minutes, during 4 walks per week. I like the idea of counting minutes instead of workouts. You get extra credit when you do more, and it's easier to 'catch up' when you have a bad workout or week.

So, I'll start with the same plan:
Walk 4 times per week for a total of 180 minutes.

However, other activity counts too. 1 minute of walking will equal 30 seconds of running, 1 minute of cycling, 1 minute of swimming, and 2 minutes of weights.

That will do for a start. I'll refine it in February, when I see how this is really working.

My nutrition needs to improve. I'll start by eating one fruit and one vegetable minimum per day. Yes, this is a sad place to begin. This will be reviewed Feb 1, with a possibility of increase.

Some other ideas for goals:

• Improve my swim time for 750m to under 20:00
• Improve my run time to under 37:00 for 5km
• Improve my bike time to under 60:00 for 20km

It would be ideal to nail these in one fell swoop in one sprint tri. However, reality may trash my dream. I'll settle for nailing them one at a time, even in a non-race setting.

Right now, my 5km time is about 39:59, my swim time is hovering around 26:00, and my bike time (which always seems to have a headwind on the return trip) is around 1:20:00. So I do have some work to do. But these times are my default times when I do absolutely no training. So any training will improve things. I haven't done a swim time trial since last May. I had some major swim technique improvement this fall. I haven't tested whether it's made me any faster.

(I'm starting my new year today, since I was sick all last week)

I'm adding rowing to my fitness units. 1 minute of rowing equals 2 units.

Two beat kick

Ever tried to swim using a 2 beat kick? It's a longer distance technique. You kick once with each pull. When you 'get' it, it feels like walking in the water. Opposite down kick to the pulling arm.

I think my slow arm turnover is affecting my ability to do this technique effectively. And you need to be fairly strong to do this (which I am not). It was interesting to even discover that this existed.

Monday's workout was with Dictator Eric. I arrived very late (-25C and 2 flat tires). There was only 3 of us there. After torturing us with fly (which I mostly managed to avoid), he suggested a timed swim, trying to meet the old lifeguard standard of 600m in 14 minutes. I suggested that my 750m in 26:00 was more normal for me.

However, we boldly started. After watching us for a mere 50m, he suggested the 2 beat kick, and we swam off on a tangent trying this out for the rest of the class.

Sleepy head day

I was too tired for my swim class. But I did have babysitting booked so I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes instead.

Man, am I tired!

Boy oh boy!

You slack off and don't swim for a month, jump back in and Wham! It's really tiring.

Monday's workout was pretty tough, but I didn't really feel it until I was back in the pool today.

Today's instructor was "Total Immersion" Cathy.

We did 50m of each drill, then repeated the list 3 times.
"Push your buoy", "slide on side", "side-front-side", catchup, arms only - focus on rolling, arms only "reach and finish", full stroke - increase the number of strokes per breath, full stroke decreasing strokes per length.

Ouch. I managed to go through the list 2 1/2 times, until I had no energy left. I was starting to breath water - generally toxic.

So, 200m warmup, plus 8x50x2.5, plus 50m cooldown = 1250m

It sure felt like more.

Back in the pool

So I finally jumped back into swimming.

Today's instructor was Dictator Eric.

We did a warmup, a few drills, then a pyramid of front crawl (25/50/75/100/75/50/25), with a sprint of the last 25m. Then the same pyramid of flutter kick (with fins thank goodness!).

The next bit was 'pick a stroke you want to work on and I'll give you some individual help'. I'm pleased to report that the stuff he's picking on with my front crawl is really minor stuff. YAY!!!

A short cooldown, followed by a soak in the hot tub. My hamstrings were NOT happy with 400m of flutter kick with fins. He really is Dictator Eric.

I am NOT taking my kids to their lessons this evening. Daddy can do it.

Testing 123

So. Anyone still have me listed in their bloglines notifier?

missed days and holidays

I missed swimming on Friday - too lazy to get moving, and my kids were not going to go out without a big fight. So we stayed home.

Monday was the Family Day holiday here in Alberta. My class was cancelled, but I went swimming anyway. Going a whole week without swimming would really hurt.

There were 3 of us from our class at the pool. The instructor had left us a workout in case we showed up. 2 of us did Friday's workout instead.

I did a 200m warmup, then 50m double kick breaststroke, 50m breaststroke and 50m arms only breaststroke. Then 50m sprint front crawl with 15 sec rest x 15! (I did 4) Next was 50m kick, 100m sidekick. Then 50m sprint breastroke with 15 sec rest x 15 (I did 6). Then 100m easy front crawl, 100m easy breaststroke, and 200m cooldown (I skipped the cooldown).

So I swam 1200m. Then I went to the gym and did 10 minutes of spinning for 6.2 miles and 13 minutes of treadmill walking for .64 miles.

Total journey: 61.2 + 1.2 + 10 + 1.0 = 73.4km

catching up

I'd better catch up on some workouts before I forget what they were!

Today:
Cheryl posted: (no warmup listed - usually 300m)
400m freestyle
200m pulling (no pull buoy)
100m kicking (no board)
2x50m (50m easy/50m med) or (50m med/50m fast)
2x100m (...)
2x200m (...)
2x100m (...)
Repeat
100m easy
cooldown

I managed 200m warmup, 300m freestyle, 150m pulling, 100m kicking
2x50m, 2x100m, 2x200m, 50m cooldown
Total: 1500m

Monday's posted workout:
300m warmup, 300m pulling, 8 x 100m freestyle, 300m kicking, 3x 100m freestyle (fast)
(I have no idea what the rest was...)

I managed 300m warmup, 300m pulling, 400m freestyle, 400m kicking, 100m cooldown
Total 1500m

Friday's workout had lots of pulling and kicking, but I have NO idea what exactly we did...
I probably did about 1400m.

So I need to add 4.4km to my total mileage.

Boring old swim workouts

Monday's workout as posted:
300m warmup
front crawl: 50m slow, 100m medium, 50m fast - repeat twice
Breast stroke: same
back crawl: same
cooldown: 100m arms only, 100m legs only, 1oom whatever

I did 200m w/u, and only 2 sets of each stroke, 200m cooldown for 1600m

Wednesday's workout:
pyramid: 25m + 30 sec rest, 50m, 75m, 100m, 125m, 150m, 200m, 175m, 150m, 125m, 100m, 75m, 50m, 25m all with 30sec rest except 200m with 1 minute rest, plus 200m warmup and cooldown
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=14705


I arrived late and managed to get to 175m on the way back down, plus 75m cooldown for 1350m.

Total distance 56.8km, travelling through the Cowichan Indian Reserve (they make fabulous sweaters).

Monday swim

I think I'm going to start adding my thoughts onto nancy's virtual cycling blog, not here. I'm just going to use this as a workout journal. Dull dull dull.

Todays workout as posted:
200m warmup
100m breastroke legs only, 100m arms only Repeat 3 times
100m back stroke legs only, 100m arms only Repeat 3 times
2x100m breaststroke, 2x100m back stroke
400m front crawl: 200 fast/200 slow
200m cooldown
Total: 2400m

I did only 2 repeats of the breast stroke and back stroke drills and skipped a few bits here and there, and about 100m of front crawl
Total distance: 1250m
Shorter than usual, but I worked hard. I've managed to 'get' the breast stroke arms, which is moving me faster but I'm working harder (pushing more water).

Friday workout

Today's swim workout was easier than usual. Maybe I'm just getting better!

200m warmup
200m freestyle
400m stroke of your choice, followed by 100m arms only and 100m legs only in that stroke
800m divided into 100m pieces of front crawl, breast stroke, back crawl
200m cooldown
Total: 2000m

I only did 300m of front crawl, followed by 100m arms only and 50m legs only
Then I did 100m front crawl, breast stroke, back crawl and about 50m cooldown.
Total 1200m

I'll be moving over to Nancy's virtual cycling tour blog at http://vcycle.blogspot.com/

Ciao!

How to move your arms

Today I had a swimming epiphany. We had to do several lengths of arms only. While doing front crawl arms, on one stroke I rolled to my non-breathing side WAY more than usual. And it was WAY easier to life that arm out of the water for the next pull. Duh.

Today's workout as posted:
200m warmup,
10 x 50m front crawl (1 fast 1 slow), 10 x 50m breast stroke
5x 50m legs only, 5x 50m arms only
2x 100m back crawl, 100m back crawl legs only, 100m back crawl arms only
200m cooldown
Total 2300m

I did the warmup, 6x50 front, 6x50 breast,3x 50 legs, 3x 50 arms, 100m back crawl, 50m legs, 50m arms, 100m cooldown
total: 1400m

Total journey: 51.4km http://tinyurl.com/b4pu5

attrition already

I can't believe how few people showed up for swimming today. Nancy and I had the 'slow' lane to ourselves. Oh well, more space for me!

Today's posted workout:
200m warmup
300m front crawl
300m breast stroke
300m back stroke
100m each front crawl, breast stroke, back stroke (legs only)
100m each front crawl, breast stroke, back stroke (arms only)
200m cooldown
for a total of 1900m

Yeah right. I dropped the 300m to 200m for each stroke and skipped the cooldown. I may have done more than 200m front crawl (who counts all the time???). So I managed 1400m.

Get on yer bike

I managed to squeak out another 10.8 miles on the stationary bike at the Y today, while DH took the kids swimming. He ran to the Y, then tagged me for the kids. This works out well.

The rest of my weights workout was allright, but not great. 3 swim workouts have tired my arms a bit. Hopefully todays weights won't affect tomorrow's swim too much. I'm tired and I could have eaten my car dash on the drive home.

Total travelled today: cycling 17.3km (10.8 miles)
Total journey: 46.8km (29.2 miles)
This takes me back down the other side of the Malahat, past Mill Bay and along the highway almost to Cobble Hill.

http://tinyurl.com/dvfea

Let's walk to school

Son #2 and I arrived home about 15 minutes before #1 finished school. Hey! Let's walk to the school and pick him up instead of taking the school bus.

I grabbed the double jogging stroller and off we went. It's tough to make it on time when you have 10 minutes to cover a 15 minute walk. However, the bus waits for 10 after school ends. #1 son jumped off the bus and ran straight to the playground, with #2 toddling after him.

After a bit of a fight with some other kids, mom hauled #1 off the playground and headed home. Pushing 2 kids weighing 80 pounds total is a bit of a fight, so I was happy when #1 decided walking was a better idea.

The walk home took a least 2.5 times the walk out.

Total distance covered: 2.4km (1.5 miles)
Total journey: 29.5 km (18.4 miles)
http://tinyurl.com/7u2ft

P.S. Great. Just great. I have BLISTERS on the bottoms of my feet from walking in my snowboots. I have NEVER had a blister from running. One 15 minute walk and I get them. I'm SO happy. NOT!