I did not feel well going into my workout. I had a neck pain that spread into a pretty nasty headache, but I hoped that working out would help alleviate the problem, and thus, I went to the gym to do my scheduled run on the treadmill.
I started off, after walking the first minute, running at 5.5 MPH - a slight increase over the 5.2 I had been running recently. And I felt really good considering the actual run at hand. My breathing was great, my legs were moving just fine, and I was able to keep a steady pace, however my head was pounding. I ran for 10 minutes before slowing to a walk for 2 minutes, where I resumed running for 5 more minutes before again feeling the need to slow due to my head. I ran another 5 minutes over the course of the final 12, but really slowed my pace early to start my cool down.
In total, I completed 2.41 miles in exactly 30 minutes. I ran at 5.5 MPH for 20 minutes for a distance of 1.83 miles, and walked at 4 MPH for 7:30 for 0.50 miles. I rounded out the 30 minutes with a gradual slowing pace for the final 2:30 where I completed the equivalent of another 0.08 miles.
The running was fine, but my head ached too much to complete a full run. Still, given how I felt, to know I was able to fairly easily complete 20 minutes of running at 5.5 MPH is quite an accomplishment. I know my goals are attainable when I am able to do good things on days like these, when I know I'm not anywhere near 100%. Even though it was a disappointment from the perspective of not over achieving, I am happy with the results for the day, and hope to certainly build on those results as the week progresses.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Day 53: Monday, June 1, 2009
Today was the day to really get back on the horse since my vacation. Today was kind of a mish mash. I did a bit of everything but I will do my best to report what I did as specifically as possible, but no guarantees.
I started out, lowering the weight I was lifting. I did this for two reasons, really - 1) to ensure my form is accurate and 2) because I have a sneaking suspicion that the form I have been using is actually being counterproductive, at least for my left arm. With that said, I began with, what is considered lower, but about where I was before I upped the weights the last time.
I completed bicep curls at 25 lbs. for each arm for 30 reps. I completed 5 reps each at 30 lbs. and then another 10 reps with the 20 lbs. weight. All this, in efforts to improve my left arms balance to the results I feel I'm getting from my right arm.
I also completed the lat pulldown of somewhere between 30 and 40 reps at the 80 lbs. And completed 30 reps of the butterflies, also at 80 lbs. (in the week I did not report each workout, I had upped these weights to 90 lbs., but again, I want to ensure proper form, thus lowered the weights down again).
I also did some stretching and some pushups in between sets. When I was about half way through my workout, I got on the treadmill for 5 minutes and ran at 5.5 MPH for a half of a mile before resuming the weight lifting - I did this to give my muscles a break from the fatigue, so as not to, again, hamper my form due to that fatigue.
I then finished by walking on the treadmill for 3 minutes to cool down.
All in all, it felt like a good workout, and it feels good being back in the groove. Vacations are nice, but having a healthy looking and feeling body is much, much nicer.
I started out, lowering the weight I was lifting. I did this for two reasons, really - 1) to ensure my form is accurate and 2) because I have a sneaking suspicion that the form I have been using is actually being counterproductive, at least for my left arm. With that said, I began with, what is considered lower, but about where I was before I upped the weights the last time.
I completed bicep curls at 25 lbs. for each arm for 30 reps. I completed 5 reps each at 30 lbs. and then another 10 reps with the 20 lbs. weight. All this, in efforts to improve my left arms balance to the results I feel I'm getting from my right arm.
I also completed the lat pulldown of somewhere between 30 and 40 reps at the 80 lbs. And completed 30 reps of the butterflies, also at 80 lbs. (in the week I did not report each workout, I had upped these weights to 90 lbs., but again, I want to ensure proper form, thus lowered the weights down again).
I also did some stretching and some pushups in between sets. When I was about half way through my workout, I got on the treadmill for 5 minutes and ran at 5.5 MPH for a half of a mile before resuming the weight lifting - I did this to give my muscles a break from the fatigue, so as not to, again, hamper my form due to that fatigue.
I then finished by walking on the treadmill for 3 minutes to cool down.
All in all, it felt like a good workout, and it feels good being back in the groove. Vacations are nice, but having a healthy looking and feeling body is much, much nicer.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Week 19-20 Recap
So, I'm sure you noticed that there isn't any "week 19-20 workouts", so how can I have a recap, and why no reported on workouts? Well, that is simple really, I was on vacation. I did manage to workout a few times, but didn't have time to write up the individual reports, so I'll just recap now, and save myself time.
I managed to up the weights I was lifting in my time away (to 30 lb. curls and 90 lb. lat pulldowns and butterflies). I also managed to run at 5.2 MPH for 30 minutes straight on multiple occasions (2 I can think of with certainty off the top of my head). So with that said, things are progressing nicely, however, my food intake has not been as kind to me either.
On Sunday, May 31st, we were coming home, and driving, so fast food was a must. Sad but true reality sometimes. What that did, I'm sure is up my sodium intake and thus my weight retention. No worries, when I got home, I weighed myself in the evening, and then again this morning, so as to have a basis for my average weight, and what I came up with is I now weight 197 lbs. on average. Not good, but not as bad as it could have been since we were eating out quite a bit while on vacation. So, all in all, I've gained 2 pounds in two weeks since being on vacation. I guess I'll take it as a small victory of "maintaining" my weight, even though it was small gains, I know it could have been a lot, lot worse. Starting June 1st, I will get back on the horse and moving back towards my goals.
I managed to up the weights I was lifting in my time away (to 30 lb. curls and 90 lb. lat pulldowns and butterflies). I also managed to run at 5.2 MPH for 30 minutes straight on multiple occasions (2 I can think of with certainty off the top of my head). So with that said, things are progressing nicely, however, my food intake has not been as kind to me either.
On Sunday, May 31st, we were coming home, and driving, so fast food was a must. Sad but true reality sometimes. What that did, I'm sure is up my sodium intake and thus my weight retention. No worries, when I got home, I weighed myself in the evening, and then again this morning, so as to have a basis for my average weight, and what I came up with is I now weight 197 lbs. on average. Not good, but not as bad as it could have been since we were eating out quite a bit while on vacation. So, all in all, I've gained 2 pounds in two weeks since being on vacation. I guess I'll take it as a small victory of "maintaining" my weight, even though it was small gains, I know it could have been a lot, lot worse. Starting June 1st, I will get back on the horse and moving back towards my goals.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Week Eighteen Recap
Eighteen weeks in the books, at least, I think eighteen weeks - it's hard to say with certainty since I had taken so many weeks off in the middle of this entire regime. Either way, we'll call it eighteen weeks.
This week, however, I did not feel was a productive one. Sure, I completed some form of activity every day except Wednesday. And sure, I even completed almost a complete 5k without ceasing my running on Saturday, but something just told me, that the scale was not going to be too gracious to me. I think maybe, it was because I didn't count my calories for the week, thinking "I know what I'm doing" even though, I could have just as easily eaten too little calories as too many. I think, going forward, I need to be more conscious of everything I eat and when and why, so that I don't feel like I didn't do everything I could. And perhaps too, the scale would respond negatively to me, due to my negative thinking. All in all, I just didn't foresee anything good for my results this week.
In the morning I got on the scale, and to my dismay I saw a pound and a half increase in my weight since last week at the same time. However, I knew I had half expected this, and so I did not get down on myself. Instead, I just went about my day as usual, and even going to the gym and only completing "what I could" so as not to push myself too hard and injure myself. So in the evening, after not changing a single thing I would normally do on a Sunday, I weighed myself, 196.5 lbs., or a full 1.5 lbs. LESS than I weighed at the same time last week. Meaning, the average for the day was 195 lbs. or, the exact same weight as I averaged last week, where I weighed less in the morning and more in the evening than this week.
So it wasn't all a loss, I suppose. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't technically gain any either. Going forward for week 19, I plan to again track my caloric intake and do my best to get the scale moving downward again. Sometimes, the lack of positive thoughts, I know, can have adverse effects, and I feel I may have fallen victim to such effects this week. Going forward, I know I need to keep a sunny outlook, and things will happen as they should. Besides, the entire week wasn't a loss, I almost ran the full time it would have taken to complete the entire 5k (had the treadmill not stopped abruptly on me, I would have done it too). Another week down, and a lifetime still to be gained.
This week, however, I did not feel was a productive one. Sure, I completed some form of activity every day except Wednesday. And sure, I even completed almost a complete 5k without ceasing my running on Saturday, but something just told me, that the scale was not going to be too gracious to me. I think maybe, it was because I didn't count my calories for the week, thinking "I know what I'm doing" even though, I could have just as easily eaten too little calories as too many. I think, going forward, I need to be more conscious of everything I eat and when and why, so that I don't feel like I didn't do everything I could. And perhaps too, the scale would respond negatively to me, due to my negative thinking. All in all, I just didn't foresee anything good for my results this week.
In the morning I got on the scale, and to my dismay I saw a pound and a half increase in my weight since last week at the same time. However, I knew I had half expected this, and so I did not get down on myself. Instead, I just went about my day as usual, and even going to the gym and only completing "what I could" so as not to push myself too hard and injure myself. So in the evening, after not changing a single thing I would normally do on a Sunday, I weighed myself, 196.5 lbs., or a full 1.5 lbs. LESS than I weighed at the same time last week. Meaning, the average for the day was 195 lbs. or, the exact same weight as I averaged last week, where I weighed less in the morning and more in the evening than this week.
So it wasn't all a loss, I suppose. I didn't lose weight, but I didn't technically gain any either. Going forward for week 19, I plan to again track my caloric intake and do my best to get the scale moving downward again. Sometimes, the lack of positive thoughts, I know, can have adverse effects, and I feel I may have fallen victim to such effects this week. Going forward, I know I need to keep a sunny outlook, and things will happen as they should. Besides, the entire week wasn't a loss, I almost ran the full time it would have taken to complete the entire 5k (had the treadmill not stopped abruptly on me, I would have done it too). Another week down, and a lifetime still to be gained.
Day 52: Sunday, May 17, 2009
Another day, another day on the treadmill. I had had visions of performing two workouts on this day, one involving weights, and another involving the treadmill, however, my morning workout, the one meant for the weights just never happened, so I settled for one workout for the day, running next to my wife on the treadmill.
We decided to work together again here. We started with a warm up of one minute at about 3.5 MPH, upping it to 4 MPH until we hit a quarter of a mile. From there, we were going to run the next 2 miles at 5.2 MPH, of which we both succeeded upon.
The 2 miles took us just over 23 minutes to complete, and it was rough! For a moment, at the 1.5 mile marker, I thought about slowing my pace, but knowing that she was still running next to me, I pushed through. However, the thought remained in my mind that I should just stop, but I did not.
The problem I had was my breathing. The day before, I was able to take deep breaths that sufficed my needs whenever my breathing became too shallow, however, on Sunday, this was not to be the case. I couldn't catch a good breath to save my life, but I had to run with my wife.
Finally, we hit the 2.25 mile mark and we both slowed our pace to 4 MPH. I look over at her, and she seems just as worn and just as out of breath as I am. And at that moment, we decide to only walk the next few minutes until the 30 minute mark and call it a day - no sense in killing ourselves all in one workout. Sure, we had planned to run further, to do lesser intervals after the initial 2 miles, however, that just was not to be for either of us on this night. (in fairness to my wife, she was also sick, picking up what I had the previous week)
With all said and done, we completed about 2.40 miles in the 30 minutes, and as I said, we ran 2 miles straight in about 23 minutes at 5.2 MPH. It was a good workout, but very tiring to both of us. We'll try it again another night, and hopefully, we can build on this small success.
We decided to work together again here. We started with a warm up of one minute at about 3.5 MPH, upping it to 4 MPH until we hit a quarter of a mile. From there, we were going to run the next 2 miles at 5.2 MPH, of which we both succeeded upon.
The 2 miles took us just over 23 minutes to complete, and it was rough! For a moment, at the 1.5 mile marker, I thought about slowing my pace, but knowing that she was still running next to me, I pushed through. However, the thought remained in my mind that I should just stop, but I did not.
The problem I had was my breathing. The day before, I was able to take deep breaths that sufficed my needs whenever my breathing became too shallow, however, on Sunday, this was not to be the case. I couldn't catch a good breath to save my life, but I had to run with my wife.
Finally, we hit the 2.25 mile mark and we both slowed our pace to 4 MPH. I look over at her, and she seems just as worn and just as out of breath as I am. And at that moment, we decide to only walk the next few minutes until the 30 minute mark and call it a day - no sense in killing ourselves all in one workout. Sure, we had planned to run further, to do lesser intervals after the initial 2 miles, however, that just was not to be for either of us on this night. (in fairness to my wife, she was also sick, picking up what I had the previous week)
With all said and done, we completed about 2.40 miles in the 30 minutes, and as I said, we ran 2 miles straight in about 23 minutes at 5.2 MPH. It was a good workout, but very tiring to both of us. We'll try it again another night, and hopefully, we can build on this small success.
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