Tuesday: another double workout

posted November 2005

Ran intervals AM: 5 minute warm up at 5 degrees and 4.6 mph max; followed by progressively higher speeds 8-10 mph for 20-40 seconds maximum and then slow belt and hold heart rate near 100% for 40 more seconds...total of 1 minute, then 1 minute running recovery to 159 max, then 1 minute at 168 max, 1 recovery, 1 near max. Then 3 minutes fast walk around 4 mph until heart rate drops to 125 then speed up. Repeat cycle 4 times

Result: 3.6 miles in 40 minutes, 569 calories, 150 aver HR....HRM was messed up so that seems high. Sometimes in gym there's interference.

Afternoon resistance training. Had a slight pull in lower right stomach, but worked it out with exercise.

Result: 30 minutes in 118-168 zone; average 123 45 minutes; 443 calories.

Total calories 1012.

5100 calories burned

posted November 2005

Final workout day of the week: Recovery...repeat of Wednesday. Survived week 1 of phase 4. Average heart rate for 50 minutes on the bike was around 116 or 69% low aerobic zone which is best for recovery. Total calories burned 452 including biking and stretching. Didn't include ball rolling time.

Overall, I feel good. My calves and IT band are tight, but the hamstrings feel good. No real ouchy feelings! Forearms worked hard on Thurs and Friday but are doing ok. A good day of reload tomorrow and they should be ready for Monday.

Sinuses are really clear and my sense of smell is great. When I was 60 pounds heavier and UNFIT the sinuses were a disaster.

Total calories burned for the week= 5100.....with 8 hours and 22 minutes of exercise time.

Spinning

posted November 2006

Since reading Younger Next Year I've taken up spinning. Used my new bike shoes with clips for the very FIRST time. They reduce the work of the calves and help focus the big muscles on the doing the heavy work. Yields a better workout for the glutes, and especially the hamstrings. I notice right away when getting off the bike that my quads didn't feel "swelled" like they did after using my running shoes for biking.

Today's am workout was a rigorous spin of 50 minutes, 45 in my zone of 118 to 168 with an average HR of 142 for the 50 minutes (84.5% of max). Calories burned 643. Dipped in hot and cold tanks after 1 minute cycle 2 times, then 1/2 hour sports massage. No major issues.

The highest HR was 159 for about 3 minutes (95%). This is well into the Anaerobic zone. I'm able to sustain this rate for several minutes. Once I start to reach my max. of 168 then I can feel things starting to get "edgy." My breaths are very shallow and short. My muscles burn and feel like they are about ready to quit.

This week was week "one" of phase 4 (core performance) with Athlete's Performance Cardio program designed to improve VO2 max.

PM workout included Movement Prep (warmup) of 6 minutes, Elacticity for 10, Strength for 35 then cold and hot plunges for 3 minutes X's 3 cycles. Strength includes: 4 super sets of 2 exercises each with about a 45 second rest in between. These are the pairings; 1. kneeling cable one are rotational row/russian twist on plyoball; 2. One arm one leg row/Plyoball tuck with one leg; 3. Romanian straight leg dead left on one leg/Plyoball reverse crunch; 4. Cable chop/dumbell press to curl. Repetitions vary from 15 to 2 depending on the day and exercise.

PM calories burned= 405 with an average HR of 116 for 50 mintutes or 70% of max. My heart rate varies widely from 90 to about 160 depending on the exercise.

Recovery Day Routine

posted November 2006

After two intense workout days today is time to recuperate...commonly called recovery day. This is the day where my muscles recover from the micro-tears of day 1 and 2. I've had difficulty with inflammation for many years (sinus, soreness, gum problems, etc.) so I've done tons of reading and listening on the subject.

An hour after breakfast I go to the gym and bodyroll (yamuna) for about 20 minutes. This is a self-massage and is entended to force blood to muscles and to break up adhesions and scar tissue. The pressure also helps to lengthen the muscle tissue. It wants to tighten after being exercised. The point is to help the muscles heal faster. If I sat at home on the couch I would get tight and sore. Muscles need blood and good sleep to heal.

After the ball routine I'm warmed up and ready for 50 minutes on the stationary bike at 65% of my maximum heart rate which is 168.

Then I do a very short ab routine (3 minutes) front and side planks for 30 seconds each.

Follow this with a 15 minute stretching routine. I do 10 repetitions, holding the stretch for 3 seconds max. NO static stretching it cause tears in already tight and stressed muscles.

The final step is 3 minute cold first then hot plunges 3 times for a total of 18 minutes.

Does this sound like a day of rest? Burned about 600 calories with a low intensity workout that should help me prepare for the assault tomorrow.

Hard Day Routine

posted November 2005

Follow me around today and you would find:

1. Breakfast consists of oatmeal, peanut butter, blueberries, skim milk, 1 piece of pumpernickle bread, 4 egg whites, 1 scoop of cookies and cream protein powder. About 600 calories. Get ready for the gym and leave 45 minutes later.

2. AM workout: Warm up for 5 minutes followed by intense interval anaerobic workout for 30 minutes burning 521 calories. Followed by 1 minute in hot tub then 1 minute in cold plunge (55 degrees) this is one cycle. Did 5 cycles.

3. Lunch at the gym with a friend, protein shake with banana, blueberries, and walnuts. 550 calories.

4. Home for 1 1/2 hours.

5. Afternoon workout: Dynamic Warmup, Elasticity drills, Strength training. 450 calories burned. Slimfast high protein right after workout (200 calories). Followed by 3 minutes in cold tank and 3 in hot...3 cycles. Shower then home.

6. Afternoon snack: Yogurt, 20 almonds/pecans/walnuts, 1/2 cup grapes, 1/2 cup tuna blend (yogurt, celery, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, 4 oz albacore tuna) About 450 calories

7. Dinner: Chicken Breast, Sweet Potato, Veggies, 20 pecans, Apple About 600 calories.

8. Bedtime snack Nofat cottage cheese, 10 nuts, blueberries or cherries (frozen). About 250 calories. Sometimes I'll eat a protein bar (Zone or Myoplex lite).

Bed around 12:30 am. Sleep for 7-7.5 hours.

This is typical for M,T,Th,Fr. I'll burn 4,000 calories in that time frame just exercising.

The other days are recovery. I'll post that routine later.

Visit to Ducktown

After 3 weeks of travel including visits to Chicago, Gettsburg, Richmond, Hilton Head, Savannah, Ducktown and Oak Ridge, Tn we're back home. Managed to eat out and still my weight on November 11th is the same as on October 15th exactly 183.8 pounds! Amazing!

Did manage to exercise along the way at least 3 days a week. In Sandusky found a gym built to honor a local donor. It was a great little place South of 80/90. Amazing that a little town had such a nice facility (pool, indoor track,basketball court, day care, etc) It's part of healthclubs.com IHRSA network. The network entitles user to a discount. It cost me $5 to $10 per day.

The Richmond Athletic Club was so-so, but a BIG improvment over Hampton Inns and Marriotts "Fitness Rooms!" The Marriott in Cherokee, NC had one working treadmill and bike. The bikes in most hotels didn't work right. I had them set to Max resistance and could barely get my heart rate up to target.

Breakway fitness in Hilton Head was the best. Cheerful staff (dress for Halloween...the "good/evil desk clerk was really cute!), good equipment, so-so locker room. Managed to take a spinning class. It was there that Donna gave me the most intense massage ever, bordering on torture. But I felt fine the next day!

The best was a 12 miles bike ride on the beach on my "recovery day."

The VERY best was an early morning workout in Oakridge, TN with a dear friend at "The Rush" a very cool gym.

Originally posted November 2005

December 2009 another Sinus infection?

Having similar problems after bout with sore throat and headache... Started eating cashews/pecans/walnut/macadamia nut mix about the same time. So I stopped that mix. Sore throat from Friday afternoon until Monday evening, plus headache and bodyaches. Headache since Friday, but it eased up until Monday morning. No workouts since Friday which was a hard day. (1400 calories weights then spin)

But could this be just your average viral cold?  Starting to think this is just your common cold (caused by virus).

Virus attaches itself to mucus membranes in mouth, nose, and throat.  Immune system response causes, low grade fever (high body temp destroys virus), swelling of mucus membranes as white blood cells are released to fight virus.  The extra blood in the membranes causes them to swell causing stuffiness and sore throat.

Very few people get colds in the summer due to higher temps.  Sauna and steam rooms might help kill viruses.  Decongestants don't do anything accept make us more comfortable, but the mucus needs to flow to get rid of the virus.  Anti-histamines might help if part of the problem is an allergic reaction to other foreign allergens.

"When you see green mucus when you cough or sneeze, you are seeing a sign of where your body is at in the process. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), green mucus actually appears near the end of the illness because the healthy bacteria found in parts of the body, such as the nose, are starting to grow back and is sometimes present in the mucus being expelled from the body. On the other hand, yellow mucus tends to appear when the immune system starts fighting back against the invader by throwing its entire arsenal at the virus or bacteria. Clear mucus is most common during the first parts of the illness as your body tries to wash away the invader."