(no subject)
Well, despite my best intentions I haven't been doing a great job of posting in LJ. In an attempt to make up for this (and to give some further details on my stated plan to do more weight training) I am going to give ya'll a peek into my weekly exercise schedule.
I know, I know: So much excitement in one place! How can you stand it!
*eye roll*
Aaaanyway:
Monday: 30 minutes of weight lifting. This is done in an aging but not ancient gym here on campus during my lunch break. In fact, all of my lunch breaks are taken up with working out during the week because I like being able to go home at the end of my day and the idea of driving 15 minutes to a gym, working out and THEN going home is about as appealing to me as having my nether bits waxed. It is also done in the company of a class full of 20-something-year-old girls or girls/boys if I miss my noon window and end up there for the co-ed class at 1:00 PM. You want motivation? Stare down an 18 year old who looks like he must be part of the college teams defensive line for football over the leg press.
Ah hem. Where was I? Oh yes...
Thankfully, the room is stocked with plenty of free weights and a decent number of work stations. Rather than being stuck on an isolation machine I can focus on range-of-motion work that incorporates a lot more muscles groups (thus pushing the cardio factor on my workouts AND giving me more bang for my buck in muscle development).
That reminds me, I need to bust out 'Strength Training for Women' by Lori Incledon and take a look at her exercise offerings again now that I have a space that actually HAS the items I need for those workouts.
Tuesday: Stadiums for 30 minutes, at the stadium here on campus of course. Nina joins me on this one and on Thursday. I have talked about my old routine on the stairs here before, but I have had to modify this due to some knee issues and a warning from my doctor (in brief) that, "All this running on cement is going to mean the compression in your back is only going to get worse rather than better. Knock it off." Thankfully the track is rubberized and the 'short section' of the stairs is suspended aluminum = bouncy. I have changed out my routine to include a longer stretch of stairs (more steps) but in shorter courses and not on the hard stuff. It has really helped my back and knee and along with additional core training has alleviated that annoying NUMBNESS I was getting on the outside of my left leg. Apparently, compressed spines can act out by screwing with your nerves. Who knew?
Wednesday: Back to the gym for 30 minutes. The upside of working out with a weight-lifting class is that the instructor breaks up the free weight time with 10 minute abs/back routine that KILLS MY CORE. He's a pretty creative guy, and I am fairly certain that he would be handy with all sorts of torture if the need arose. He clearly doesn't mind being in a room full of bodies twisted into agonizing positions that are wailing at him to, "OMG, please stop...it huuuuurts!" Bravo. I appreciate a professional touch.
*goes and huddles in a corner to recover from the last set of work he hurled at us which was a tour of a whole range of pain for my middle-region; this included 'crunches' in every flavor of leg position, lower back raises until I was sure I was going to pull something, and then leg 'flutters' - flutters? who the hell uses a butterfly term for something akin to having the skin of your stomach removed and then reattached by being threaded THROUGH your abdominal muscles - until I couldn't hold my legs off the ground another second.
Those 10 minutes are the longest part of my day on Monday's and Wednesdays. But really, I feel like a Bad Ass when I get done.
Thursday: 30 minutes of Fartlek training at the stadium. Really. I didn't make the name up. I blame the Swedes. This is currently the 'hump' day in my training plan; the day that I survive and then feel good about. Most of the other days (10 minutes of Hell on Monday and Wednesday excluded) aren't horrible, they are just hard. Fartlek training is evil because it starts out slow, and then slowly reaches inside your lungs and your calves and starts removing critical volume/connective tissue until by the end you are stumbling along on the recovery laps and thinking, "Why did I sign up for this?"
At least that is what Nina is probably thinking. I don't get to think like that since I designed the damn routine.
Huh. Maybe I should have been a PE coach.
Friday: This day is a toss up; sometimes I lift and sometimes and do stationary bike instead. It kinda depends on how good the current offerings are on my Kindle (on the days that I have some really hot fanfic, I tend to bike - I just hope that my poker face is as good as I think it is... *blush*).
Weekends: I generally take one day each weekend off - which day sorta depends on my plans. Sometimes I substitute work around the house for a 'workout' (no, not when I am just flower arranging - but I am OK with swapping a run for 7 hours of heavy yard work).
Saturdays used to be my 'long run' day (eight miles or more) but since I have been rehabbing my knee and back I've turned to biking or walking. I really hope I can get back to running soon, and it seems like I should be able to. Despite all the interval work I do during the week I *know* I am losing endurance when I don't have at least one looong run in my schedule.
Hum. That wasn't so bad. Maybe I will do something about my calorie consumption (and the issues I have with it - yeah I know, old story and one that everyone can hum a few bars of) next time.
Thanks for reading! ;)
I know, I know: So much excitement in one place! How can you stand it!
*eye roll*
Aaaanyway:
Monday: 30 minutes of weight lifting. This is done in an aging but not ancient gym here on campus during my lunch break. In fact, all of my lunch breaks are taken up with working out during the week because I like being able to go home at the end of my day and the idea of driving 15 minutes to a gym, working out and THEN going home is about as appealing to me as having my nether bits waxed. It is also done in the company of a class full of 20-something-year-old girls or girls/boys if I miss my noon window and end up there for the co-ed class at 1:00 PM. You want motivation? Stare down an 18 year old who looks like he must be part of the college teams defensive line for football over the leg press.
Ah hem. Where was I? Oh yes...
Thankfully, the room is stocked with plenty of free weights and a decent number of work stations. Rather than being stuck on an isolation machine I can focus on range-of-motion work that incorporates a lot more muscles groups (thus pushing the cardio factor on my workouts AND giving me more bang for my buck in muscle development).
That reminds me, I need to bust out 'Strength Training for Women' by Lori Incledon and take a look at her exercise offerings again now that I have a space that actually HAS the items I need for those workouts.
Tuesday: Stadiums for 30 minutes, at the stadium here on campus of course. Nina joins me on this one and on Thursday. I have talked about my old routine on the stairs here before, but I have had to modify this due to some knee issues and a warning from my doctor (in brief) that, "All this running on cement is going to mean the compression in your back is only going to get worse rather than better. Knock it off." Thankfully the track is rubberized and the 'short section' of the stairs is suspended aluminum = bouncy. I have changed out my routine to include a longer stretch of stairs (more steps) but in shorter courses and not on the hard stuff. It has really helped my back and knee and along with additional core training has alleviated that annoying NUMBNESS I was getting on the outside of my left leg. Apparently, compressed spines can act out by screwing with your nerves. Who knew?
Wednesday: Back to the gym for 30 minutes. The upside of working out with a weight-lifting class is that the instructor breaks up the free weight time with 10 minute abs/back routine that KILLS MY CORE. He's a pretty creative guy, and I am fairly certain that he would be handy with all sorts of torture if the need arose. He clearly doesn't mind being in a room full of bodies twisted into agonizing positions that are wailing at him to, "OMG, please stop...it huuuuurts!" Bravo. I appreciate a professional touch.
*goes and huddles in a corner to recover from the last set of work he hurled at us which was a tour of a whole range of pain for my middle-region; this included 'crunches' in every flavor of leg position, lower back raises until I was sure I was going to pull something, and then leg 'flutters' - flutters? who the hell uses a butterfly term for something akin to having the skin of your stomach removed and then reattached by being threaded THROUGH your abdominal muscles - until I couldn't hold my legs off the ground another second.
Those 10 minutes are the longest part of my day on Monday's and Wednesdays. But really, I feel like a Bad Ass when I get done.
Thursday: 30 minutes of Fartlek training at the stadium. Really. I didn't make the name up. I blame the Swedes. This is currently the 'hump' day in my training plan; the day that I survive and then feel good about. Most of the other days (10 minutes of Hell on Monday and Wednesday excluded) aren't horrible, they are just hard. Fartlek training is evil because it starts out slow, and then slowly reaches inside your lungs and your calves and starts removing critical volume/connective tissue until by the end you are stumbling along on the recovery laps and thinking, "Why did I sign up for this?"
At least that is what Nina is probably thinking. I don't get to think like that since I designed the damn routine.
Huh. Maybe I should have been a PE coach.
Friday: This day is a toss up; sometimes I lift and sometimes and do stationary bike instead. It kinda depends on how good the current offerings are on my Kindle (on the days that I have some really hot fanfic, I tend to bike - I just hope that my poker face is as good as I think it is... *blush*).
Weekends: I generally take one day each weekend off - which day sorta depends on my plans. Sometimes I substitute work around the house for a 'workout' (no, not when I am just flower arranging - but I am OK with swapping a run for 7 hours of heavy yard work).
Saturdays used to be my 'long run' day (eight miles or more) but since I have been rehabbing my knee and back I've turned to biking or walking. I really hope I can get back to running soon, and it seems like I should be able to. Despite all the interval work I do during the week I *know* I am losing endurance when I don't have at least one looong run in my schedule.
Hum. That wasn't so bad. Maybe I will do something about my calorie consumption (and the issues I have with it - yeah I know, old story and one that everyone can hum a few bars of) next time.
Thanks for reading! ;)