Swim workout

24 laps

We are kicking ass in the pool.

Today we did 100 yard swims four times! That’s two full laps without stopping – four times! Yeah, I’m pretty impressed.

It’s still super hard but I feel a lot better knowing it’s possible. My swim plan calls for four 100 yd swims but with only a few seconds of rest in between. Unfortunately, it took about a minute to rest between each one of these. I’ll stick to this plan until I can get those rest periods down.

After those 8 laps I did 7 single laps. Then I did 10 lengths going as fast as I could on each one. Finished up with 4 cool down laps.

Swim workout

24 laps

I just realized that my swimming plan only calls for 14 laps in week 1. Oops. I guess I’ll be really prepared.

Today I managed to do TWO 100 yd swims! Two whole laps without stopping! Pretty damn sweet if you ask me. I couldn’t get four which is my current goal so I guess I’ll just have to keep chugging along. Once I hit that mark I’ll start my plan in earnest.

After the first four laps I did 10 single laps. Then I did twelve 25 yd sprints as fast as I could. I finished up with 4 cool down laps.

My future workout plans

It’s time to start a new fitness plan.

On the weight lifting front I’m going with Chad Waterbury’s “Huge in a Hurry” I’ll admit that the title might sound counter productive to what I’m trying to accomplish. In his book even he doubts that anyone trying to lose weight would pick up a book with that title. What can I say? I’ve always been a maverick.

I don’t care. I’m at the point now where I realize that any weight lifting plan will work for fat loss. The biggest factor is diet. If you don’t eat enough then you won’t get huge. If you eat too much, though, you definitely will.

I chose this book mainly because I wanted to buy a weight lifting book. There’s just something about having one of those sitting on my table beside my couch. It’s a constant reminder that I need to stay in the gym. I looked around at all the ones that are currently out there, saw his name, recognized it and bought it.

The book is pretty much a mirror of the NROL plan in that it starts with a break in phase and you follow it with either a strength, hypertrophy or weight loss phase.

There is a difference in the rep scheme, though. Instead of a set number for each set this book calls for something called “loads.” In my other plans I might have three sets of 10 for example. Here I’ll have a day where the load is 10-12. I have to pick a weight that I can only lift that much. The entire lift will have a designated rep number. Say, 25 for example. In this case I might do 10, 10, 5 or I could even end up doing 10, 7, 5, 3. The sets after the first one aren’t really important. What’s important is that I do the total number of reps.

I really like this idea. Basically, you stop when you do your first bad rep. In the past, if I couldn’t get all the reps in a set I would just stop and call it a day. In this plan I’ll stop, rest a little and go back to work.

On the cardio front, I’m going to stick with swimming. I’m not ready to begin yet but I’m going to try “Zero to 1650.” The plan is to swim a “swimmer’s” mile.

It’s a six week plan but there’s no way I can do this in six weeks. The first week calls for four 100 yd swims. I just celebrated my first 50 yd swims the other day so I’m not even ready to start yet. I’m going to keep at it, though, until I’m able to do those 100 yarders.  I hope I’m ready to go in a few weeks but I’m in no hurry to rush. I’ll get there and I’ll get this one done just like I got all the other ones done.

Swim workout

24 laps.

Big progress today. I did 24 LAPS. Still can’t believe it.

I swam to the wall, tapped it and turned around.

I hope to get to the point where I can do two laps at once. That’s when I’ll be prepared to start my new swim program.

Swim workout

24 laps (700 yds)

Big milestone today. I got 24 laps in. That’s big because I’m gonna start a program soon that should help me swim a “swimmers” mile. It’s basically gonna be a Couch to 5K in the water.

The first week calls for a grand total of 24 laps. Unfortunately, it also calls for quite a few 100 yd swims and I’m still a 25 yd kind of guy. I got 24 laps, though, so I’m getting there. I’m gonna stay at this length for a while and try to get to the point where I’m able to tap the wall and immediately turn around.

As for today, I’m not gonna lie. It was crazy hard. It ended up taking me a solid hour. The idea that I’ll be able to swim for a mile (33 laps) seems impossible right now but it’s really something I want to focus on. I see other people in the pool go lap after lap without stopping and I want to be like that.

I’ve accomplished so much over the past few years that I really believe that even something as crazy as this is possible. It’s just a matter of time. I know that if I put in the time and effort I can get it done.

Belly Off 2008, week 8, Saturday challenge

Belly Off 2008 is done!

Unfortunately, I still have a belly so the project wasn’t as successful as you would imagine if you just read the title. Nevertheless, I”m OK with the progress I made.

I actually gained five pounds over the course of the program but I had two holidays thrown in there. That’s almost exactly what I gained over the same period of time last year. (You can take that for what it’s worth).

Today I did things a little different. I ran a half mile warm up lap and then did my bike intervals. After that I did the Power of 10 workouts twice for 30 seconds each. Then I finished with another half mile jog.

My final push up total was two sets of 15 each.

I made a lot of progress. On the first Saturday I did the Power of 10 once for 30 seconds and then managed a grand total of 5 pushups. I thought I was gonna die. If I went back and tried that workout today I bet I wouldn’t even break a sweat.

Swim workout

20 laps

I’m getting a lot better.  I’m at the point where I can get all the way through a length without much trouble. I’ve still got problems figuring out the breathing part right but everything else is coming along nicely.

Today was the first day that the pool was full of people. My wife and I had to share a lane.  I swam across the pool and waited for her. When she got to me I went back. My breaks were a lot shorter as a result so I feel like I got a much better workout.

Belly Off 2008, week 8, day 1

Ehhh, I guess this lift was OK.

I added some weight in the deadlift and bench but I wasn’t able to finish the rest of the workout. I gave up on the lunges and I simply couldn’t do the intervals. I don’t know how anyone could do the HIIT after they’re really struggled with the deadlift.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×155, 12×165, 10×175)

I ended up starting too low. I thought I was doing 165 to start but after recaculating (after the set) I figured out that I was wrong. Even with the mistake I was still able to add 10 pounds to the end.

It might have been a good thing I didn’t figure out the weight right. The whole thing was tough. My legs were really beat down afterwards.

Bench (10×145, 10×150, 10×150)

I managed to add 10 pounds by the end. That’s pretty good. I didn’t have too much trouble until the last rep of the last set. Maybe all those pushups I’ve been doing are making a difference here.

Reverse lunge (5×25)

I did five reps and then my knees started hurting. I bailed after that.

Intervals

I managed to do the five minute warm up and about 15 seconds in the first round before I stopped. Just didn’t feel like I could go on.

Belly Off 2008, week 7, Saturday challenge

Good workout.

The Men’s Health site has already flipped over to a new workout for 2009 so I’m gonna have to finish these last two challenges on memory. I’m sure that I did it right this time.

The intervals were the same as last time. To be honest, they didn’t seem as tough. I don’t know why. My legs weren’t burning as much as last week. I don’t know if that’s because I took an extra day off or if I’m just in better shape.

Did the power of 10 twice again. First round was 30 seconds and the second round was 20 seconds. I’m still unable to do the iso squat holds for the entire time. I did the first round with two 15 second sets. The second one was two 10 second sets.

I did 9 push ups in the first round and 10 in the second. That’s an increase of one overall but the first round was a lot lower then last time. I guess this is still good. I’ve had more energy in the end so I got a lot better on the second try.

Swim workout

15 laps.

One lap less then last time. I guess I just forgot.

I did these as fast as I could. It ended up taking me 40 minutes. That’s got to be at least 5 minutes faster then last time.

I ended up thinking of these in laps instead of lengths. I swam a length, took a few breaths, swam the rest of the lap and then took a rest. It was tough and by the time I got to the last lap my legs were done.

I feel like I made a lot of progress. Doing these laps quicker is definitely the way to go.

Random thoughts

Three things I wanted to post before I forgot about them.

1) I think I’ve finally figured out how to curb my overeating. It took me forever to figure this out but I’m gonna try it for a while. I still believe in the 4-6 meals a day thing for no other reason then if I do it right then I don’t overeat as much. The problem comes when I wait until I’m really hungry and then I go crazy. When I do it right and eat every 3-4 hours I’m able to eat a smaller meal and not feel the need to keep going.

Example. I really like peanut butter sandwiches and a glass of milk. If I eat one like 4 hours after my last meal then I’ll just eat one and be done. That’s about 400ish calories. If I wait 5 or 6 hours then I’m really hungry and I eat my PB&J with my milk and then I’ll eat some yogurt or some almonds or some other “healthy” food and then I’m sitting at 600-700 calories! Do that enough times and then I’m eating like 500-1000 calories more then I intended every day.

2) I think I made it clear that I need to increase my intensity while I lift. Doing what I did over the last six months is simply not going to get it done. I’ve got to work HARD in the gym or I’m wasting my time. It’s a little scary worrying about my back  all the time but I’ve got to be tough and get it done. There is simply no excuse for me not squatting AT LEAST 225 and deadlifting 315 by this time next year. NONE.

I need to be smart about it. Need to go up slowly. Still I need to go up. If I don’t then I’m wasting my time and I’ll be sitting here next year complaining about not losing weight.

3) I’m gonna be roped in to more running. I can already see it happening. My wife wants to run, my family wants to run, my friends want to run. Everyone is on a running kick. My facebook page has degenerated to nothing but people trying to pick a race.

I vaguely remember  posting entry after entry about how much I hated running. As time goes by, though, I seem to only remember the good runs. I still think about some of the really special ones from time to time. I guess that’s how things go.

The odds of me running a 10K in this calendar year are probably 99%. The odds of a half marathon are probably 95%. The odds of a full marathon, though,  are still negative one billion percent.

Swim workout

16 laps (+3 laps)

I’ve made a lot of progress but I’ve still got a long way to go.

I’ve got to get dowm the correct swimming terminology if I’m gonna keep writing about my swimming. I think a lap is when you go down and back to where you first started. A half lap is called a length. At least that’s what I think it is and that’s what I’m gonna call it from now on.

Today I did what I always do. Swim a length, rest a while and then swim another, rest, etc. I was again able to go the whole way without touching the bottom. I’m still having trouble swimming the whole way though. Sometimes I’m so tired that I just end up floating toward the end. I’m just strong enough now to get going again from a full stop.

I never knew swimming was so complicated. There’s basically three things you have to get right.

First is the arm motion. I’ve read that you’re supposed to get your elbow high out of the water. Then you swing your forearm and hand over. I’ve got the pull through under water down but I still forget to do the elbow part sometimes when I’m tired.  When that happens my stroke is pretty weak and I don’t go very far.

Second is the leg motion. I simply don’t have the ability to keep them going constantly throughout the workout. I get too tired. That’s the first problem. The other is that I’m still not getting the kick right. Lots of times I’m just kicking with my ankles and not really using my whole leg. The funny thing is if I did it right every time I’d be even more tired and that would cause more problems. I guess the only solution is to keep swimming and get better endurance.

Third is breathing. Currently I’m basically holding my breath for the first half of the length. This allows me to keep my head under water so I can go faster. Once I have to breath all hell breaks loose. I end up pulling my head up and swinging it around from left to right at least two times. I guess I should be able to just turn my face to the ceiling on one of my strokes but I just can’t get the hang of that yet. Sometimes I do it but I feel like I have to take another breath on the very next stroke so it kind of defeats the whole purpose.

All that being said, today was a pretty good workout and I made a lot of progress. I feel like I have a good idea of what I need to be doing and I made steps in that direction. That’s really all I can do.

Belly Off 2008, week 7, day 1

I have mixed feelings about today’s workout.

On the one hand I made some big increases. On the other hand I wasn’t able to finish all the reps towards the end. I guess, on the whole, I’m happy that I finally sucked it up and added some weight to my lifts.

If anything, today’s lift reinforced for me the fact that I haven’t been giving my all in the gym for a long time. I’ve been using my back pain as an excuse. I’ve basically been going to the gym and doing  just enough to be a little uncomfortable and calling it a day.

It’s almost like I go to the gym just to get my ticket punched. Unfortunately, even perfect attendance doesn’t produce results. You have to really work hard or you don’t get anything for your trouble.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×145, 12×155, 10×165)

I added 10 pounds on all three sets with no back problems. That’s huge. I’m really proud that I finally made the decision to get serious about adding weight. To be perfectly honest, after today’s lift I realize I can still do a lot more here. I probably need to be smart about adding weight, though, and not go too crazy. Still, I’ve been lifting weights consistently for almost three years now. There’s really no excuse for my numbers to be this low.

Bench (10×140, 10×140, 10×140)

I’ve got some kind of mental block on the bench press. I’m convinced that I’m gonna put too much on and I’m gonna get crushed by the bar. I’ve never really made a serious effort here. In fact, I spent most of the past few years hating on the bench press.

I added 5 pounds from the very start. I’ve got a big note in my journal from last week saying that the last set was “TOUGH.” I basically ignored it and added weight anyway. That’s probably my only choice. It was no tougher then last week. It turns out that my arms and shoulders work just like the rest of my body. When you force them to lift more weight they can do it.

In my head I know I can lift more but I just can’t seem to put that thought into action. I guess it’s just gonna take me forcing myself to add weight to get it done.

Reverse lunge (6×25, 3×25, 3×25)

I went up 5 pounds (10 – if ya want to get technical) and went with the 25’s. In retrospect, probably a bad move. I was so pumped to have added weight in the other two lifts that I figured I might as well go for gold. I couldn’t get close to 10 reps on any of the sets.

I kind of felt like that guy in the movie Tin Cup who refuses to lay up on the last hole but instead just keeps swinging for the green. After the first set it was perfectly clear that I had nothing left. I figured I’d rest and give it a try again. Even worse result. The third was just as big of a disaster. I still want to try the 25’s again next week. Just on principle.

Intervals

I had zero in me at this point. I couldn’t even get past the five minute warm up. That’s two weeks in a row not finishing these.

Belly Off 2008, week 6, Saturday challenge

This was the hardest challenge yet.

I think I deserve a cookie for getting this one done today. My gym closes at 6pm on Sundays so I had to go earlier then usual. Instead of enjoying the 4pm NFL games, like the rest of America, I was sweating it out in the gym. I missed the epic Dallas Cowboy beatdown that I’m sure everyone I know will be talking about.

This workout was a little bit different. Instead of 10 rounds of 30 seconds on, 60 seconds off on the bicycle it changed to 5 rounds of 15 seconds on, 45 seconds off. I can say without question that the one I did today was a LOT harder. Since I only had 5 rounds I was able to go much harder on all of them. The final one was the most difficult 15 seconds I’ve experienced in the gym that I can remember.

After the cycling I moved on to the Power of 10. This time I had to do two sets. The first one involved doing all 10 for 30 seconds. After a little rest I had to do it again for 10 seconds.

I did 13 push ups in the first round and 5 in the second.

I can’t believe how tired and sore I am right now.

Belly Off 2008, week 5, Saturday challenge

I did this one on Saturday. This is the one I was supposed to do last week but skipped for whatever reason.

This workout involved the usual 10 intervals on the bike with 30 seconds on and 1 minute off. The power of 10 workouts were moved up to 30 seconds each.

This was without question the toughest Saturday challenge yet. I was spent after the intervals. I somehow managed to push through the power of 10 workouts for the most part but I simply couldn’t hold either of the split squat iso holds for the full time. I had to stop at 15 seconds and then do the other 15 seconds after a quick rest.

I ended up doing 12 push ups which is an increase of one. That being said, I wasn’t happy with my form on these. I think they were passable but they certainly weren’t nose to ground like I’d like them to be. I think I was so tired at this point that I didn’t even believe that I could do 12. When I did do them I ended up feeling bummed that I didn’t give it more effort.

Swim workout

13 laps (650 yds)

Added three laps today and actually was able to make it all the way across on every single one of them. Sweet.

Swimming workout

10 laps (500 yds)

The wife and I are pretty much committed to a Tuesday/Thursday swim schedule for the time being. It’s pretty fun to hang out together at the pool.

I only did 10 laps but I tried really hard to shorten the time I did it in. Still took a little over 30 minutes.

Each half lap is only 25 yards but after the first few I’m basically done. It’s incredibly difficult for me to go the entire length of the pool without stopping. I’m kind of bummed about this but at least I’ll have a good idea of when I make progress.

The idea that I could do this entire workout without stopping seems almost impossible right now but I’m going to keep it up and see where things go.

Swim workout

10 laps (500 yds)

Added three laps to today’s swim. I still can’t believe how hard this is. I also can’t believe how hungry I am when I get home.

My first swimming workout

7 laps

Today was my first day to go swimming at the gym pool. I don’t remember the last time I was in a pool. Probably 10 years. I know that I’ve never spent any time doing laps with any amount of seriousness.

The pool at our gym is pretty nice. It has four lanes and there were only two people there when we showed up so we were in luck. I don’t know how popular that thing is so finding a lane could be an issue in the future. I guess I’ll find out.

Today’s swim was surprisingly tough. I was breathing heavy from the very first half lap. I had to stop and take a breather after every one that followed. A couple of times I couldn’t make it all the way and had to dog paddle or even walk my way to the end. You gotta start somewhere I guess.

My plan is to make swimming my primary cardio workout for a while and see how it goes. I like the idea of changing things up. I also like the possibilities of measuring improvement. It should be fun to increase my endurance. Another added element is the differing strokes. Right now all I do is freestyle but if I want I can incorporate all the other ones later on. The possibilities are endless.

I really don’t have any concrete plans in mind. I obviously want to increase the laps but first I want to build up to the point where I can do a full lap (to the end and back) without stopping. I’ll probably do a little digging and look up some workouts. This week will be dedicated to just getting a feel for the pool and having fun.

About that half marathon……

Eagle eyed readers might have noticed a passing mention of a half marathon. Once in a blue moon I put up a post detailing a training run.

Yeah, I didn’t run it. Two reasons. My preparation was an absolute joke and it was ridiculously cold that day. I got up, took my shower got dressed, walked outside and turned right back around. If the weather was even reasonable I would have thought about giving it a go but it wasn’t so I didn’t.

It’s been three days now and if I ever feel even a twinge of regret about my decision I’ll let you know. I’d doubt that moment ever comes, though, so don’t hold your breath.

Belly Off 2008, week 5, day 1

Yesterday was my first day in my new gym. It took a while to get the lay of the land but I found everything I needed without many problems.

A big change I made was upgrading my notebook. I’ve been using one the size of my palm forever now. Now I’ve got one almost as large as a regular notebook. I’m not even trying to hide it. The change made making notations a lot easier. Now I can make more detailed notes along with my numbers. I think that will help me decide when It’s time to add weight.

To be perfectly honest, it’s been time to add weight for a long time. I didn’t this time since everything was so new. Every weight I did was exactly the same as week 4.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×125, 12×130, 10×135)

This gym doesn’t have 10 pound bumper plates. They told us that we can throw the weights on the ground as hard as we want so I guess they figure they don’t need them. I was forced to use 35’s as a base. We didn’t have 35’s at the old gym so I was thrilled to see them there but it made me have to reach a little further down then I’d like to pick up the bar.

I only have one notation on my notebook – “easy.” That should pretty much sum it up. I need to start with 135 next time. That will solve all my issues here.

Bench (10×135, 10×135, 10×135)

The first two sets were pretty easy but the last one was tough. I’m glad I didn’t get overconfident because it would have been embarrassing to scream for help on my first day.

Reverse lunge (10×20, 10×20, 10×20)

These were as tough as usual. I’d like to note that while I was holding my 20 pound dumbbells the guy beside me was deadlifting 500 pounds FOR REPS! I still can’t believe it. Never seen anything like it.

Intervals

Tough as always. I had thoughts of quitting early on but figured that since I’ve come this far there’s no point in stopping.

Belly Off 2008, week 4, Saturday challenge

Today was my last day at my gym. It was even sadder then yesterday. I’m pretty sure I heard the Incredible Hulk music playing as I walked out the door….

I have no clue when I’ll start going to my next gym. Monday and Tuesday will be spent on the road so it would be Wednesday at the very earliest. I’ve got that half marathon on Saturday, though. I’ll probably take the week off and start lifting the next Monday.

As for today …

For some reason the intervals didn’t seem as tough. Don’t get me wrong. I was breathing hard and walking away from the bike was still a bit of an adventure. It just didn’t seem as bad as the last two weeks.

The power of 10 workout, on the other hand,  was tougher then ever. I had to increase the time to 25 seconds. The iso holds are about damn near impossible. Not sure how I’ll be able to hold them much longer.

I increased the pushups to 12. That’s an increase of two from last week.

Belly Off 2008, week 4, day 1

I don’t remember a time in the recent past where I had to work as hard as I did today. As I walked out of the gym I felt like I’d given it all I had.

The good thing is that I went up in weight and there were still no back issues. I feel more confident about adding the weight every day.

One thing that I’m curious about is to see how my numbers are affected by my new gym. I’ve always heard that the plates aren’t exactly the weight they say they are. Next week I’m probably going to stick with whatever weights I do this week just to be safe.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×125, 12×130, 10×135)

Added five pounds to all the lifts for a second straight week. I keep promising myself that I’ll go slow but I’m always antsy to add weight. It worked out today because I had no problems.

Bench (10×135, 10×135, 10×135)

For the first time since I started this thing I got all the reps. Finally. Can’t believe how weak I am.

Reverse lunge (10×20, 10×20, 10×20)

I’ve gone over past workouts and this one is confusing. In the past I added the two dumbbells to get the weight. I’m just going to list the weight of one dumbbell to prevent further confusion. So last week I used 15’s.

Today I went up to the 20’s and it was incredibly tough. I feel like I’m strong enough to lift more but I get so tired that I don’t know if I’d be able to do all the reps without stopping.

Intervals

This was the toughest round of intervals I’ve ever done. I was breathing hard almost from the start. There were a few embarrassing grunts along the way but I was determined to keep up the intensity. The rest periods felt like they flew by.

I could barely walk after I finished. I never knew you could get so tired from the bicycles.

Belly Off 2008, week 3, Saturday challenge

My gym is closed on Thursday so I need to push up my lifts a day. When I started this I didn’t think I’d be able to do week 4 here but it turns out I don’t have to leave town. I’m gonna do Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the challenge on Saturday (for once). I’m moving the following Monday so that will in all likelihood be my last day at the current gym.

As for today – nothing new.

More intervals as usual. Some of the bikes were taken up so I had to use one without straps on the pedals. Halfway through I got a good bike and it allowed me to add 10rpm on my sprint intervals.

Afterwards, I did the power of 10 workout with 20 second intervals. It is very hard to hold the split squat isos for that long.

Finished with 10 pushups. An increase of 2 from last week.

Half Marathon Training, week 2, day 2

30 minutes.

I forgot to include this last night. Went to the gym and did a 30 minute run. I remember not enjoying it that much.

I look forward to not running in the near future.

Belly Off 2008, week 3, day 1

I took an awkward step after I got back home from the gym yesterday and hurt my back. This is proof of two things.

1) I am officially an old man.

2) Walking around the house is bad for your back.

So, yeah, I worried about that all day today. Especially with today being deadlift day. I’m shocked to report that I had zero back pain during my lifts today. I had some on the walk to the gym and even had some in between sets but during them there was nothing. Amazing.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×120, 12×125, 10×130)

After three weeks I finally decided to add some weight. I don’t know what came over me. I was really worried about my back at the start but when I practiced the motion with just bodyweight I was fine. Figured I’d go for broke.

It was pretty tough but I got through it OK. I really felt the strain in my legs. That combined with the lack of back pain leads me to believe I actually know how to do these now.

Bench (10×100, 10×100, 8×100)

I ended up going to the gym during the busiest part of the day so obviously the bench presses were taken. I ended up using dumbbells and it was just as good. Took a shot in the dark and went with 50’s. I think I chose correctly. I missed the last two reps in the last set because my right arm gave out.

Reverse lunge (10×30, 10×30, 10×30)

These were tough again. Not sure why. One thing that’s for sure is I’m getting every bit of these reps. My knee scrapes the floor every time. I’m actually concerned that going up in weight might disrupt my form and I’ll go back to half lunges or something. That being said, it’s time to move up to the 20’s. If getting all the reps for three straight weeks isn’t enough evidence then I’ll never have any.

Intervals

I really need to spread these intervals out more. It’s not fun to do them on back to back days. I was really tired when I started as usual. By the time I finished I was even worse. These things are so tough. I can’t believe I’m able to finish them.

I had thoughts of running thirty minutes after I finished. I’m sooooooo far behind on my race training that it’s not funny. My race is in a little over two weeks. I stood on the treadmill and couldn’t even keep up with the walking pace. Maybe another time…..

I planned on getting in two long runs before my taper week starting on the first of December. Either I’m gonna have to start doubling up workouts or I’m gonna have to start cutting out runs. Neither sound likes a great idea right now.

Belly Off 2008, week 2, Saturday challenge

For some reason the cardio on the bicycle keeps getting tougher. I guess it’s because as I get in better shape it allows me to go harder during the sprint intervals.

The power of 10 exercises were extended to 15 seconds each instead of 10. Not too much trouble. I increased my pushups to 8. That’s a gain of 3 from last week.

Half Marathon Training, week 2, day 1

3 miles.

I am WAYYYYYY off schedule. Starting the week on Thursday is not a good thing. I’m doing something every day though so it’s not like I’m slacking. I guess I need to double up soon.

Nothing much to report about this run. I got a little tired during the last few minutes but running for thirty minutes really isn’t that big of a deal.

Half Marathon training, week 1, day 3

4.5 miles

My goal was to do six miles today but I just couldn’t get it done. I was fine for 30 minutes but almost immediately afterwards I had pain in my knee and stomach. It was a fight to get to 45 minutes.

After 15 minutes of misery I figured it wasn’t worth it so I stopped. Is it bad that I already hate this on week 1? I’ll be glad when this thing is over.

Belly Off 2008, week 2, day 1

This morning I woke up feeling pretty good. No real soreness to speak of. This workout fixed that problem.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×115, 12×120, 10×125)

I think my form was 100% better this time around. It was tough but it didn’t really seem as impossible as last time. No back pain at all.

Bench (10×135, 10×135, 6×135)

I still haven’t worked my way up to three sets of 10 yet. I got two sets this time though so that’s progress.

Reverse lunge (10×30, 10×30, 10×30)

For some reason these didn’t seem as hard as last time. I’m not sure why. My heart wasn’t beating as hard. The last set was pretty tough but I can’t help thinking that I need to move up to the 20’s soon.

Intervals

It didn’t take long for these to wipe me out. By the end of the second round my legs were dead. I must have looked pitiful as I soldiered on through all 10. Those last few took everything I had. I can’t believe how tough these were to do. I think it might have something to do with the deadlifts. I actually used my legs this time so I guess this is what I have to look forward to for a while.

Belly Off 2008, week 1, Saturday challenge

I did my first Saturday challenge on Monday morning so I’m a little behind schedule.

There’s nothing much to this thing. It’s basically some HIIT followed by some body weight exercises.

Cardio

This was on the bicycle. Same as last Monday. 10 cycles of 30 seconds at full speed with a one minute recovery period.

Power of Ten

This is a set of ten bodyweight exercises. I’m not going to list them all. You can find a link to the whole thing in the weightlifting tab.

Today I only had to do them for 10 seconds. Not too difficult. You finish up with as many pushups as you can do. My arms are still really sore from Saturday’s lift so I was only able to do 5.

Half marathon training, week 1, day 2

3 miles.

Another boring 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Half Marathon training, week 1, day 1

3 miles

I’m back to running again.

My next half marathon will be in five weeks. There’s no telling if I’ll get all five weeks of training in since I’ll be moving between now and then. You never know. I’ll try but I’ve found that I’m pretty good at finding an excuse when I need it.

This was supposed to be done last night but I got distracted by the election coverage. I woke up this morning feeling sore as hell. Anyone who lifts knows that the second day after is always the worst when you get back to the gym after a long break.

So, yeah, I was dealing with that today but I’m determined to at least start out on the right foot. I managed to get a quick 3 mile treadmill run in earlier today.

After a warm up walk I was feeling pretty good. When I finally started running the stiffness went away and everything went back to normal. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Absolutely no problem.

Belly Off 2008, week 1, day 1

It’s been almost five months since I was serious about lifting. It’s crazy to think that I spent that much time away from the gym. It’s good to be back.

I started slow today and that was a good thing. I feel like I’m starting over. I guess it’s true that if you don’t use it, you lose it.

Here are the numbers.

Deadlift (15×115, 12×120, 10×125)

The first two sets were pretty easy. My form went bad on that last one. I had to take a couple of shots in order to get it right. I guess I’ve learned enough to know when I’m screwing up. My back wasn’t straight early on so I stopped. Eventually I got it right and pushed through.

I don’t think I’ll go up in weight too much in the near future.

Bench (10×135, 7×135, 5×135)

Here’s where I realized how weak I am. I couldn’t get all 10 reps of 135 in either of the last two sets. That’s gotta be a new low. I don’t remember ever not being able to at least get this much. Ever. I’m sure I was at one point but….. wow. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Reverse lunge (10×30, 10×30, 10×30)

These are as hard as ever. It’s so funny to be sweating like a pig holding 15 pound weights. I think all my reps were pretty good, though.

Intervals

After this I got on the bicycle and did intervals. I did 30 seconds as fast as I could with one minute cool down periods in between. After 10 rounds of that I was done. It took almost 20 minutes.

I was exhausted walking out of the gym. My legs felt weak. This workout is no joke.

Plans for the future

I’m probably going to take the rest of the week off to recover. My legs feel good but I’m currently suffering through a pretty nasty cold right now. I’d like to be feeling a little better before I get back to the grind.

First off, I’ve already got another race scheduled. I’m running the Memphis Half Marathon in five weeks. I decided to do it to support my wife. She ran her first 5K in the same race where I ran the half marathon. I guess she caught the running bug and wanted to give a half marathon a shot. We’re moving to Memphis next month so that seemed to be the best race to try. Turns out they’re having their race in the first week of December. I guess we’ll get a good look at the town in our first week there.

I know that this is pretty sudden but I have no worries. The half marathon distance wasn’t an issue in the half marathon I ran and it wasn’t an issue in the marathon. I’m going to do three runs a week to stay in shape. I’m thinking something simple like two 3-5 milers during the week and a longer run on the weekend.

That’s not really a weight loss thing, though. My weight loss plans were basically derailed for a few months because of this marathon and it’s time to get back in gear. It’s past time to go back to the gym.

I’m constantly on the lookout for lifting plans. The newest one I’ve found and that I’m going to try is the Men’s Health Belly Off plan.

It’s an eight week program with three lifting days a week. There’s also a little HIIT cardio thrown in the mix as well. It’s kind of like NROL, I guess. There are a few weird things thrown in there but I’m going to give it the old college try and see if I can’t lose a little weight right before the new year.

You can check out a bunch of videos detailing the lifting plan here. There’s also a corresponding diet plan. It’s pretty similar to what I’m already doing so I think I can keep up with it. You can check that out here.

I already know that I won’t be able to devote 8 straight weeks to the plan. I’m moving in a month so week 4 will be devoted to closing on a house and Thanksgiving. We’re actually moving in week 5. Three weeks after that is Christmas so I’ll be flying home that week. In the best case scenario I could get this done in 11 weeks which would get me to the middle of January. This is a little annoying but it’s not like I have any other options.

In the past I might have just decided to wait until the new year. You know – new year, new start and all that garbage. That’s a dumb idea. I’m not going to waste the five weeks that I do have just so everything can be tied up neatly in a little bow. I’ll probably gain weight in my off weeks so I probably won’t get a real sense of if this program really works or not. Maybe, I’ll try it again next year. Who knows. I’ve got to do something now, though, and this is going to be it.