Yoga!!!

Sorry about not posting last night.  It just got too late, so below is both yesterday's workout as well as today's.

YESTERDAY:

This was a day that would be a whole new experience.  I had previously signed up for a yoga class, but still didn't want to give up on my lifting since it wasn't my day off.  So I gambled and did both.  I went to the gym about 3pm and assumed I'd be out, showered, have eaten, and rested by 5:30, ready for my yoga class at 6pm.  Well, it turns out it was 5pm when I left the gym, so I hurried home, munched on some peanuts, changed clothes, and ran over to yoga thinking "Oh God, this is going to be bad!"  It turns out it wasn't as physically bad as I thought it would be.  It was a one hour class offered for free by a med student at school who recently completed her yoga training class and needed to fulfill so many classes before getting a position.  About 40 minutes into the one hour class, I was beginning to feel the burn.  My legs were getting a little shaky and I definitely couldn't hold the positions as well as some of the others.  I'll attribute that to having worked out beforehand.  Overall, though, I enjoyed the class and will definitely go again if it's offered in the future.  If I find a cheap yoga studio or place in the meantime I'll see about doing that too. 

Reps & Weights:
Warm up: Elliptical; 1 mile forward, 0.2 mile backwards, 0.2 mile forward, 0.1 mile backwards (heart rate up to ~155/160)
1.  Bench Press Machine (3 sets of 10/10/7 reps with 90, 110, 120 lbs)
2.  Leg Press (3 sets of 10 reps with 170/210/230 lbs)
3.  Sitting Leg Curl (3 sets of 10 reps with 90 lbs)
4.  Sitting Leg Extension (3 sets of 10 reps with 90 lbs)
5.  Sitting Calf Extentsion (3 sets of 40,40,30 reps with 80 lbs)
6.  Pectoral Fly Machine (3 sets of 10,10,8 reps with 100,120,140 lbs)
7.  Back Leg Extension (3 sets of 10 reps with 90,110,130 lbs)
8.  Adductor (3 sets of 10 reps with 150 lbs)
9.  Abductor (3 sets of 10 reps with 95,95,85 lbs)

** Stretching **

10. Crunch Ups (4 sets of 10 sit-ups and 10 crunches)
11. Side Plank Twists (15 reps on each side)
12. Military Press (3 sets of 10,10,9 reps with 60 lbs)
- Cool Down:  Treadmill; 1.0 mile run, 0.5 mile walk
- Yoga: 1 hour


THEN TODAY

Today I woke up and definitely felt some tension/soreness in my legs, which I didn't feel last night.  The lifting and yoga certainly did a good job of working my legs out!  Today thankfully was an upper body day, so my legs got a bit of a rest in that respect.

Reps & Weights:
Warm up: Elliptical; 1 mile forward, 0.2 mile backwards, 0.2 mile forward, 0.1 mile backwards (heart rate up to ~155/160)
1.  Dumbbell Press (10,10,9 reps with 55 lbs/arm)
2.  Bicep Curls (10/5&5/5(5) reps with 30,30,30(25) lbs)
.....** Repeat 1 & 2 for a full three sets

3.  Gravity Rower (10 reps with 50 lbs)
4.  Horizontal Overhead Lat (10 reps with 40 lbs)
5.  Trecip Bench Dips (30 reps)
.....** Repeat 3-5 for a full three sets

6.  Pull-Down Triceps (3 sets of 10,10,6 reps with 60 lbs)
7.  Vertical Overhead Lats (3 sets of 9,10,10 reps with 60,50,50 lbs)

**Stretching**

8.  Crunch Ups (4 sets of 10 situps & 10 crunches)
9.  Side Turns (16 reps)
10. Military Press (3 sets of 10,9,5 with 62.5 lbs)
11. Pectoral Fly (3 sets of 10 reps with 90, 110, 130 lbs)
Cool Down:  Treadmill; 1.0 mile run, 0.5 mile walk

I've been happy to add the treadmill into my workouts.  It's the first step to getting back out onto the road.  I won't push it any further than the warm up or cool down for now, but when I feel comfortable with it, I'll get on the road and start testing it out a mile at a time.  I haven't decided what to do for shoes just yet (go with a new pair of running shoes or dive into the Vibram Five Fingers), but I should at least go check out some shoes here soon since I've already stepped up onto the treadmill. 

I've also been doing some reading on how to transfer your metabolism from a high to low carb-to-fat ratio (teaching your body to prefer burning fat over carbs).  I got the idea from a video I watched from Tim Van'Orden, the guy that runs RunningRaw.com.  The benefit to this option is that while fat offers less energy punch per unit, it is essentially unlimited.  You could run for days on the fat on your body if your body is ready to burn it.  On the other hand, most people will "bonk" after 2 hours of carb burning because that's about as long as the reserves in your body last.  So naturally, as many of you would notice for yourself, switching over to fat burning is really only advantageous for endurance athletes; people who train or race for over two hours).  While it would make no sense for me to switch for the spring triathlons, it will certainly help for the marathon and half Ironman races next year.  I'm going to keep looking into it and hopefully come next spring start working on it in preparation for those races.  I must admit, it's fun learning how your body works and how to manipulate it to perfect what it is you want to do.  I'll keep you posted on what I find. 

Tomorrow will most likely be a mixed lifting day.  I got bored again today with the upper body workout, so I know I shouldn't do that one again.  Based on that fact alone, I may take it as a sign to take some time off of the upper body lifting focus; it's not like I really want to add bulk anyways.  We'll see.

Ciao!

2nd Cross-Training Workout

So I decided to give myself a second day off to let my blisters heal over before going back out on the road.  Below is the workout I did today.

First, I added a few new things to this workout, so let's go over quickly what those are. 

Exercises
1.  Squat:  Pretty straight forward.  Start in a standing position and squat down to a sitting position.  I'll usually start these at a pretty steady pace and then as I get further into the work out I'll begin slowing down the beginning stand-to-squat and try to speed up the squat-to-stand to get more out of the exercise.  This is mainly geared towards the quadraceps. 

2.  Calf Extensions:  On a machine at the gym, these are typically done in a sitting position with the weights at a 45 degree angle or so up.  I don't have the machine, so I simply do them standing; it's the same idea, just using your own body as the weight.  You can always just carry dumbells in your hands too if you want more weight. 

3.  Core Twists:  To get into position, grab a light weight and sit down.  Lift your legs up off the ground;' I usually cross mine at the ankles for more stability.  Now lean back a bit until you feel it in your abs - your abs should be tight throughout this entire exercise.  If your abs loosen, you need to lean further back.  Once in position, pick up the weight and move it from one side of your body to the other (I usually let the weight just touch the ground in order to maintain that I'm not cheating and cutting it short) and back; now repeat.

For any other exercises, please refer to the previous post.  Ok, now how MUCH did I do?

Reps & Weights:
1.  Up-Downs  (15 reps with 10 lb weights)
2.  Squats  (30 reps)
3.  Crunch Ups  (3 sets of 5 sit-ups and 15 crunches)
4.  Push-Ups  (30 reps)
5.  Calf Extensions  (50 reps)
6.  Side-Turns  (10 reps, each side)
7.  Shoulder Press  (15 reps with 10 lbs)
8.  Bicep Curl  (15 reps with 50 lbs)
9.  Core Twists  (30 reps)
AND REPEAT

8.  Up-Downs  (15 reps with 10 lb weights)
9.  Squats  (30 reps)
10.  Crunch Ups  (3 sets of 10 sit-ups and 15 crunches)
11.  Push-Ups  (30 reps)
12.  Calf Extensions  (100 reps)
13.  Side-Turns  (15 reps, each side)
14.  Shoulder Press  (20 reps with 10 lbs)
15.  Bicep Curl  (15 reps with 50 lbs)
16.  Core Twists  (40 reps)

Tomorrow, I plan on being back out on the road with a 5k.  My game plan is to run short on Friday, long on Saturday, short on Sunday with a bike ride after (or maybe vice versa), cross train on monday, run tuesday and wednesday, cross train thursday, and repeat.  Obviously this will change based on how I feel, how well the weather cooperates, and what else is going on, but that's the game plan.

I will leave you today with the Ironman Trademark, which was written on the back of the course instructions for the very first Ironman triathlon in 1978...

"Swim 2.4 miles!  Bike 112 miles!  Run 26.2 miles!  Brag for the rest of your life!"

Yesterday's Cross Training Workout

This is what I did yesterday for my upper body crosstraining workout.

First, I'll describe the various exercises and then I'll give you the number of reps and weights. 

Exercises:
1.  Up-Downs:  Starting from a standing position, you move down into a squat, placee your hands just beyond shoulder width apart, hop your feet down to a push-up position, do a single pushup, hop your feet back up underneath you (back into a squat position), grab a weight in each hand, stand up, do a shoulder press, and repeat.  As the first exercise in the workout, this is geared towards getting each group of muscles (legs, core, arms) jump started, though fyi I have already done a warm up to get my heart rate up. 

2.  Crunch Ups:  This is simply a set where you vary the number of stomach crunches and sit-ups you do.  I generally start with the sit-ups, placing both of my feet flat on the ground with my hands on either side of my head.  Then for the crunches, I lift my legs into the air at a 90 degree angle and have my hands across my chest.  This is obviously geared towards both the upper and lower abdomen & core. 

3.  Push-ups:  We all know what these are.  I'll freely move between push-ups where my elbows go out perpindicular to my body and those where my elbows bend backwards parallel with my body.  The former works more of your pec and shoulders; the latter, your shoulders, triceps, and biceps.  This exercise also keeps your core flexed as long as you keep your back straight, as you should be. 

4.  Squat Curls:  Here, I am doing a typical squat, going down to a nearly 90 degree angle in my legs and holding that while I do a bicep curl in one arm; the other arm is generally held out for balance.  This exercise works the quadraceps and bicep, but by combining upper and lower body it also involves the core to balance.

5.  Side Turns:  I'm sure this has an official yoga or exercise term, but I haven't found it.  To get into position, lie on your side with your elbow underneath your shoulder and your upper leg directly on top of your lower.  Lift your body into a proned position where the only parts touching the floor are your forearm and your feet with your chest facing parallel to the floor.  Much like push-ups, it is important to keep your body as straight as possible.  Start with your free arm pointing towards the sky.  Then tuck that arm to your chest and turn your body so that your chest is facing the floor (I am generally able to keep my feet from turning much) and then turn your body back to the starting position.  To get the most out of this, try to pause at the three positions: arm out, arm in, body turned.  The idea is that your core is working to maintain balance throughout the exercise, so don't throw it off by moving too fast.  This exercise is geared to your core.  Your shoulders will feel it a bit too, but the main exertion should be in your core. 

6.  Shoulder Press:  Another very common exercise.  Hold a pair of dumbells  at your shoulders (your upper arm horizontal and forearm vertical) and press them to the sky, repeat.  If your back starts to bend, lower the weights and increase reps or incorporate more core work into your routine. 

7.  Bicep Curl:  Yet another common bit.  At home, I generally use a full bar instead of individual dumbells because I will tend to let my elbow fall back behind my body if I used dumbells.  I would much prefer to use a pulley system which keeps you from cheating with position, but I don't have it yet.  Same idea as above if your back begins to bend. 

Ok, now that you know WHAT it is I did, I'll show you how MUCH I did.  My goal was to keep my heart rate up and do a medium workout.

Reps and Weights:
1.  Up-Downs (12 reps with 5 lb weights)
2.  Crunch Ups (3 consecutive sets of 3 sit-ups and 15 crunches)
3.  Push-Ups (20 reps)
4.  Squat Curl (10 reps with 5 lb)
5.  Side Turn (10 reps on each side)
6.  Shoulder Press (10 reps with 10 lb)
7.  Bicep Curls (12 reps with 50 lb.)
AND REPEAT
8.  Up-Downs (20 reps with 5 lb weights)
9.  Crunch Ups (3 consecutive sets of 5 sit-ups and 10 crunches)
10.  Push-Ups (30 reps)
11.  Squat Curl (15 reps with 5 lb)
12.  Side Turn (15 reps on each side)
13.  Shoulder Press (15 reps with 10 lb)
14.  Bicep Curls (15 reps with 50 lb.)

The whole workout took me a little under an hour (~ 50 min).