Wobbly is good

I made it to the gym for Fat Loss II workout A1 today.  When I woke up, I told myself I'd do yoga if it had snowed so I wouldn't compact the snow and make it hard to shovel.  But, no snow!  I was relieved I didn't have an excuse.  Some of the exercises were a bit different, but not too bad.  When I got to the gym, there was another guy there who often uses the bar.  However, he was doing some DB circuit, so I didn't have to worry about what to do without the bar!  yippee!

By the end of the workout, I was pretty wobbly.  My front squats were just as annoying as my back squats.

Front squat: 3x12@50#

Wide-grip cable seated row: 1x12@54#, 1x12@58#, 1x12@62#

Supine hip extension with leg curl: 3x12

Barbell push press: 1x12@50#, 1x12@60#, 1x9@60#

Dynamic lunge: 3x12@20#db each hand

Upper-body Russian twist: 3x12 (not really sure about this one... seems overly easy.  Add weight?)

Finished with Break-In!

I just finished Break-In B4 from New Rules of Lifting.  I did 4 rounds and feel great.  I only increased my weights on some of the lifts, but I did improve my rest times and pace and I managed the intervals on all of the A workouts (that's actually a surprise).

I think I will move on to Fat Loss II.  It starts out with sets of 12 reps, which I like a lot better than 15.  Believe it or not, there is a huge difference when I am lifting heavy.

Warm-up: four sun salutations, a little stretching and bw squatting, deadlifts: 7x45#, 6x95#

Deadlift: 2x15@135# (good pace, minimal in-set rests, close to 1 minute break)

Step-up: 2x15@20# each hand (hard to increase weight directly following hard deadlifts)

DB 1-arm shoulder press: 1x(7@25#ea, 8@20#ea), 1x(5@25#ea,9@20#ea,2@15#ea) (pretty much muscle failure at end)

Close-grip lat pulldown: 2x15@87# (a little pause before last 5 reps, but overall less resting mid-set, HARD)

Incline reverse crunch: 2x15@30deg (some mini-breaks, especially toward end)

Lots of sweat, a decent amount of grunting, and a lot of satisfaction!
I managed an average heart rate of 144bpm this time with a max of 179bpm.  Nice.

That was close!

I almost talked myself out of working out today.  But, about 5am, I was telling myself how bad I was for not getting up and then I realized I still had enough time to fit in a small workout at home.  So, I got up and did a new plate circuit.  You can find the description here.  Since I didn't have much time, I only went once through.  Taht was enough.  We only have 10# plates, so that was what I used.  I'm not sure I would want to higher yet, anyway.  I'll have to switch to dumbbells if I go higher.

After the circuit, I foam rolled.  That is feeling good.  Sometimes the outsides of my legs (ITB) don't hurt much when I roll them.  Other times I'm almost in tears.  I wonder what the difference is??

Last round of Break-In

I pressed snooze a few too many times this morning, but I didn't think I dilly dallied too much.  Even so, I ended up getting to the gym way later than I thought I would.  I still managed a tough workout and the knowledge that I was running late kept me going.  Most of my rests were very close to the allotted 1minute.  After lifting, I was tempted to go home, but I decided the intervals weren't very long, so I'd do them anyway. 

The squats seemed to go better this time.  I took a fairly wide stance.  Pretty soon I'll be doing sumo squats!

Warm-up: some bodyweight squats, stretches, 8 oly bar squats

Barbell squat: 1x15@55#, 1x15@60#

Static lunge: 2x15@20#

2-pt DB row with elbow out: 2x15@30# each hand

Push-up: 1x15 on floor, 1x15 using push-up handles (arms out)

Swiss-ball crunch: 2x15@35# behind head

Metabolic overdrive (aka intervals): on upright stationary bike - warm up 2 min setting 2-45W, 3x(hard 1 min setting 10-160W, easy 2 min setting 3-75W), no cool down

Another metabolic circuit

I did a bodyweight metabolic circuit again today.  I improved on most of the exercises.  It's going to be hard to do that again!  It's a good workout for a little under 30 minutes.  I warmed up with 4 sun salutations and foam rolled afterward.  That's about it for today.

Almost in tears after this workout....

... tears of joy!
After a week off, it felt sooooo good to be back at the gym.  I missed the feeling of accomplishment after a hard lifting day.  On my way home, I was feeling so grateful for the gym and how it has everything I need and it's all close at hand... oh, and how it's not crowded at the times when I'm there.  (I was alone, today!)  I was feeling so good on the drive home, my eyes got a little moist thinking about how much better I felt.

It was a really hard workout today: Break-in B3.  Before I started, I weighed the two olympic bars.    They added a second one a couple months ago.  I though the new one might be a bit lighter, so I brought over the scale and weighed them.  The new one isn't chromed and looked a bit like aluminum, but obviously it wasn't.  To my surprise, the new bar was 5 pounds heavier!!  The original chromed one is 44#, the standard weight.  The new one was 49#.  So, I'm going to add 45# for the original and 50# for the new.  I don't want to deal with the one pound.

Total: 46 minutes
Warm-up: 4 sun salutations at home, deadlifts - 8x50#, 8x100#

Deadlift: 2x15@140# (2 minute rests, mini-sets of 5 with short breaks)

Step-up: 2x15@20#each hand


DB one arm shoulder press: 2x(5@25#, 10@20#) (last couple were really hard)

Close-grip lat pull-down: 2x15@87# (mini-sets of 5 with short breaks)

Incline reverse crunch: 2x15@30deg

Saturday at the gym!

I got to the gym this morning.  The nice thing is I don't have to get up quite as much on Saturday. The squats were still painfully (not literally) awkward.  I even started re-reading the squat section of Starting Strength.  I think I had my legs a bit farther apart this time, which helped a tad.

Afterward, I did the intervals, but just didn't go as hard as last time.  I probably should have pushed harder, but oh well!  I did notice that my overall average HR was still 142 as opposed to last time's 145, when I felt like I worked harder.

Break-In A3

Warm-up - 3BW squats, 8 BW static lunges each side, 7x45# squats

BB squats - 1x15@60#, 1x10@60#

Static DB lunge - 2x15@20# each hand

2-pt DB row with elbow out, one arm at a time - 2x15@30# (yikes!)

Push-up - 1x15, 1x13 (arms out, good depth)

Swiss ball crunch - 2x15@30#DB behind head

Metabolic overdrive - Warm up 3min@45W, 3xhard@150W, 3xeasy@75W, cool down 3min@50W

Cardio weightlifting

Today was Break-In B2 for me.  I just did the lifting and no intervals, because I was basically doing cardio intervals the whole time.  My average heart rate was 145bpm over 43 minutes.  The deadlifts hit it hard and it didn't let up from there.  Most of my rests didn't go much over the allotted 60 seconds.  Sometimes I had to through some brief rests in during the sets, though.

My heart rate graph today

(the markers are the ends of the sets)

I made myself do a little more warming up today.  Maybe I should write out a warm-up plan so I actually do more warming up.  I wasn't able to increase the weight much, but there were a couple small bright spots.  The step-up increase went well.  There were some funny looks on my face doing the 25# presses, though!

Warm-up - 5 squat to stands, 5 inchworms, deadlift 7@45# 6@95#


Deadlift - 1x10@135#, 1x15@90#

Step-up - 1x15@15# each hand, 1x15@20# each hand

DB 1-arm should press, alternating, palm in - 1x15@20#ea, 1x5@25#ea then 1x10@20#ea

Close-grip lat pulldown - 2x15@87# (biceps were burning after this one!!  Some grunting to be heard...)

Incline reverse crunch - 2x15@30deg

Going metabolic

I did Rachel Cosgrove's Bodyweight Metabolic Circuit again today.  Today was a lot more successful, but I still had some problems.

I noticed she has another metabolic circuit online.  I'll have to try that one.  She also has metabolic stuff in her book, but I haven't gotten that far with reading yet.  I did peek ahead and noticed I would have to pick out exercises, so I just repeated the one I attempted before.  It looks like between the two online articles, she covers most if not all of the metabolic exercises she has in the book.

I doubt the workout has a much of an "afterburn" effect as she claims, but it is a good way to fit in a hard workout into a busy day.

Static squat in and out jump - 30
Prone cross-toe - 20 (first few without arms)
Split jack - 37
One-leg burpee - 10 (5 each leg)
Mountain climber - 70 (35 ea)
Bodyweight jump squat - 25
Inch worm - 12 (travelling)
Spiderman climb - 26 (13 ea)
Over/under - ~20 (~10 - forgot to count)
5-dot drill - 18
Bicycle crunch - 60 (30 ea)
Explosive step-up - 26 (13 ea - 2 risers)
Skiers on Swiss ball - 16 (8ea)
Lateral step-out - 40 (20 ea - R-L-R-L-...)
Swiss ball alternating step-off - 24 (12 ea)
Jump lunge - 14 (7 ea - I was shot by then!)

Two workouts to report

Most of my plans to workout over the Thanksgiving break fell through. The temptation of staying up late and sleeping in was too strong. I did force myself to get to bed on time Saturday night and get out early enough for a run Sunday morning. I also managed to guilt my husband into coming withe me. The run was very nice. I don't get to run often with hubby. Unfortunately, nature called in the middle, so we had to head home. The field just wasn't looking very welcoming. But, it probably had the effect of extending the run. The final stats were 3.64 miles at a 11:22 pace plus a small walking warm up.

This morning I got out to do A2 of the Break-In stage of New Rules. I worked on warming up a bit more for the squats. Over all a good workout, but not as intense as the B workout, since I can't push the squats as much as the deadlifts. I did end with the Metabolic Overdrive. Since I was using the upright bike, I tried to judge my effort with METS. I think that helped me keep up the intensity even when I wanted to quit.

I had a banana and a cup of milk with a packet of protein powder before the workout. I think that was too much. My stomach didn't feel the best and I don't know why I tried chocolate again. That wasn't very good. Also, I really don't like protein powder in milk. Yogurt is much better. I had yogurt with my regular powder after the workout.

Warm-up - 8xbw squats, 4x 45# squats

Barbell squats - 1x15@55#, 2x15@60#

Static lunge - 2x15@20#

Two-point db row, elbow out - 2x15@25#

Push-up - 2x15 (elbows out, last couple arms not totally parallel)

Swiss-ball crunch - 2x15@25# (behinds head, nice difficulty)

Metabolic overdrive - warm-up and cool-down 3 minutes at resistance 2 (3.5 METS), hard 3x1 minute at 10 (at least 11 METS), easy 3x2 minutes at 3 (4.5 METS)

I didn't know I had so many sweat glands

I fought the little red devil on my shoulder and won.  I got up at 4:15 this morning to work out, doing Break-In B1 today.  Wow.

Today was a perfect example of two things the weightlifting advocates claim:

1. Your workout is as hard as YOU make it be
2. You can get cardio benefits from working out (i.e. elevated heart rate over an extended time, see bottom of this entry)

I did a few warm-up exercises.  I did a few bodyweight squats and some forward bends then 5 reps of 95# deadlifts.  I was so exhausted, I didn't proceed to the "Metabolic Overdrive" that I had planned.  In all, it still took 42 minutes.

When I got there, someone was already using the power cage, so I used the extra oly bar outside of the cage.  I actually like that one better for deadlifts anyway because it has a deeper knurl.  It worked out just fine.

Deadlift -  1x15@135#, 1x10@135# (120s between sets, lots of sweat, could have done more on second set but could tell form would have deteriorated)

Step-up - 2x15@15# each hand (some extra pauses to catch breath, dragged non-working leg along bench to keep from helping, had to fight urge to pump with arms to help)

Dumbbell 1-arm shoulder press - 1x15@20#, 1x15@25# (25# was very hard!  barely pushed out reps 14 and 15, not sure if I positioned my arm right, I held DB like in normal shoulder press not with "palms facing each other"  ooops)

Close-grip lat pulldown - 2x15@87# (more like 5+5+5 taking short breaks in between, used two single cable handles because a triangle attachment wasn't available, see below)

Incline reverse crunch - 2x15@30deg (last few reps of both sets not the best)

cable attachments I used for the lat pulldowns

The dips in the heart rate are when I sat down!

Now for the original!

Having not come up with anything else, I started my default plan this morning, which is the New Rule of Lifting Break-In phase.  (This is the original New Rules book from Lou Schuler.)  I have 4 workouts each A and B laid out.  We'll see if I want to continue with Break-In after that or move on with another phase.  Having just done high-rep exercises in Stage 7 of New Rules of Lifting for women, I'm looking forward to a phase with lower reps.

Today went well.  I did Break-In A1. Since I'm coming off of a long streak of lifting, I included the "Metabolic Overdrive" from the book, which is just intervals.  Most rest periods were pretty close to the 60s allotted.  Afterward, legs are of a Jello-like consistency.

Warm up - BB squat 1x4@45#
BB squat - 2x15@55# (1st set slower, 2nd set faster, still getting a bit light headed)
DB static lunge - 2x15ea@20#ea hand
2-pt DB row with elbow out - 2x15@25#
Push-up - 2x15 with elbows out (eventually, I'll try to move arms in to triceps push-ups)
Swiss ball crunch - 2x15@25# (1st - plate overhead, realized arms were moving some, which gave me momentum and made the crunch easier, 2nd - plate touching back of head, arms didn't help and crunches were MUCH more effective, I wonder if I was doing this before??!?)
Metabolic overdrive - 2min WU (easy - 1 on upright bike), 3x(1min hard - 10 on upright bike and faster, 2min medium - 5 on upright bike and slower), 2min cool down (easy - 1 on upright bike)   - actually I accidentally did an extra 30 secs on the first hard section

Week off is going ok

... except that a nasty muscle spasm returned in my back Monday night.  I went to the massage therapist Tuesday.  Wednesday, things seemed to be better.  Then, this morning I thought I felt it again.  Hopefully it's just healing and that is what I feel.  I think I'll use the hot pack again today.

Sunday evening, I went to a yoga class at church and then on Tuesday morning, when I got up with the pain, I did another yoga video from YogaToday.com.  I did this week's free one, which is "Cultivating Friendliness with Twisting Postures."  I really like their videos, but I wouldn't purchase a membership because our internet connection clogs so much in the evening that streaming is out of the question.  Mornings seem to be ok.  So, I purchased a couple to have around.  I did "Happy Hips and Hamstrings" last night.  I think one of my issues with squats is tight hamstrings, so I thought it would be good.  I also purchased "Prevent Sciatica with Yoga" which should also have some hamstring work in it.

This morning I did Rachel Cosgrove's metabolic workout.  Some of the exercises were awkward, some were very challenging.  I think I'll get more out of it as I become more familiar with the exercises.  I did one set of each.  I think I'll have to work up to 2 sets.  For now, it's too much!.  It was nice to have the interval timer on my Garmin to time the exercises.

Enjoyable long run

Today's run started at 31F and only got up to 35F by the time I was done, so the warm weather gear worked better this time.  One thing I noticed on my jacket today is that the inside of my elbows sweat!  Weird.  Also, I realized that as the weather gets colder, I might want to drink my coffee at the cafe and then jog back.  Walking really requires an extra layer, particularly after a sweaty run.  My body temp just gets too low when walking and I get cold.

It was a beautiful day.  I got a late start because my daughter woke up early and I didn't want her being the only one awake, letting her roam around the house getting into stuff isn't a good idea.  Since it was light out when I got out, I got to run on the paths.  I enjoy that.

There were a few times when I wanted to stop, but I didn't.  For the steep hills, I put myself in efficient mode, kind of like what I do when I do a kick at the end of a run.  I think that leaves me with a lot more breath at the top of the hill and a lower heart rate.

I ran for 5.56miles at an average of 11:13 pace.  Then, I walked 0.84 miles.

Not so New Rule of Lifting for Women

The "new" rules aren't so new anymore because I've finished the program!!  Yay for me!  It took me 10-1/2 months.  I had to mod a bit due to a knee issue, but overall, I stuck pretty well to the program.  It has been an excellent experience and I would recommend it to anyone!  Now to figure out what to do next.  I'll probably take a week off and then start on whatever I come up with.

Today I went to the gym and punched out 7-6, the last workout of Stage 7!
I worked hard today.  I felt better than the last couple times I was in the gym.  So, I decided I would try to increase weights as much as possible without keeling over and dying.  I did manage to increase some. I even got to the BIG GIRL PLATES on my deadlifts!!  Woo hooooooo!!!

It's Saturday morning, so the gym was almost empty.  Only one other guy there and he did cardio until he came over to use some machines.  Luckily he managed his entire use of the pulldown cable station between my 3rd and 4th sets.


Deadlift - 1x6@125#, 1x7@135#  (big girl plates!  I did the 7th rep because I had to rack the bar, LOL)

DB squat, heals raised - 3x15@15#ea, 1x(10@20#ea,5@15#ea) (did these in groups of 5 with resting breaths between... squats are still a big weakness of mine)

DB shoulder press - 2x15@20#ea, 1x(5@25#ea,10@20#ea), 1x(8@25#ea,7@20#ea)

Step-up - 1x15@12#ea, 2x15@15#ea (last set had extended break between sides, did much better with not pushing off, placed non-working leg so it rubbed on bench)

Underhand lat pull-down -  4x15@87# (yikes, that's a lot of reps!)

2-loops

I didn't want to get up today.  I pressed snooze a few times.  But, I told myself I didn't have to run long.  So, I did two loops of my block for a total of 1.92 miles running in 21:27.  Better than nothing!

I didn't go very fast, but I guess there was a rather hard hill.  Sounds like a good excuse to me!  Even at that slower pace (average 11:11min/mile) my heart rate was up and I really felt my asthma, especially when I got inside.

It was 46F out with a 8mph wind.  Not a bad day, but the wind at times was brisker than I had expected.

I've been eating like crap lately.  I need to get that under control.

Almost done!

Today was 7-5 of New Rules of Lifting for Women.  That means one last workout and I've completed the book!  Woo hoo!

Today when I got to the gym, I was excited because there wasn't anyone there yet.  So, I had the cage for my incline bench presses!  What's cooler is they have a second Olympic bar now.  The old one is just on the floor.  So, I used that one for my Romanian deadlifts.  I would still need the cage for bench presses and squats, though.

Today went well.  I increased some weights.  Afterwards, I'm wobbly!  That's nice.

Time: 45 minutes

Warm-up: incline bench press -  4@45#

Incline bench press - 1x6@60#, 1x6@65#
Seated row - 1x8@83#, 1x7@89#
Static lunge, rear foot on step - 4x15@15#each hand
Push-up - 1x15 on floor (bad! incomplete ROM), 3x15 hands on step (better, arms not in, some pauses)
Romanian deadlift - 4x15@105#
DB bent over row - 4x15@30# (last rep of 3rd set was incomplete)

The weather is too darn nice

The only problem with good weather is that I overdressed for it!  I wore my new jacket and long pants.  As the sun rose, the temperature when from 50F to 58.5F.  I should have worn shorts.

At least I got out.  I ran 4.74 miles including two short walking breaks and a stop at a traffic light.  That's not bad, though, I wasn't feeling it this morning.  I'm just getting back into things after not running for weeks, so that's fine.  I got my coffee and walked the 0.63 miles home.

I fine run.  I'm glad I got out despite not getting up early enough.

Not my best day ever

I could tell as soon as I got to the gym that this wasn't going to be the best day ever.  My squats were not feeling good.  I struggled to find a position where my knee wouldn't click and my legs were wobbly.  Everything seemed harder than it should.  I did manage to stick with the higher weights from my last workouts and not drop back at all, but I didn't increase.  I guess I should remember that getting out on a Saturday morning is itself an achievement.

In total, I took 56 minutes.  Several times I had to stop to pause.  I kept getting a bit light headed on the squats, so the pauses were necessary.  For some of the sets, I had to break up my counting to thee mini-sets of 5 to get through it.  Sometimes I would pause between mini-sets, sometimes I wouldn't.  I think part of the difficulty with this stage is mental.  It's hard to imagine 15 reps and on top of that, it's hard to imagine holding out for 4 rounds of those 15 rep sets.

Today's workout was Stage 7 Workout 4 of New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Squat - 2x6@55# (didn't go deep enough on some reps)
DB Squat, heals raised - 4x15@15#ea (heals on 2# DBs)
DB Shoulder press - 4x15@20#ea
Step-up - 4x15@12#ea (on padded bench, better with not pushing off)
Underhand lat pulldown - 4x15@87# (hard, hard, very hard, extremely hard!)

My turn to hog the power cage

Today was a quick lifting session, but VERY hard!  I sped out of bed and to the gym so I could be the first one there.  I wanted the power cage for my deadlifts.  I guess I could do them with dumbbells, but I have been waiting to do regular deadlifts again for so long, I would have been disappointed.  Since I also used the barbell for Romanian deadlifts, I used the cage for the entire half hour.  The guy I knew would come in and probably want the cage, came right after I started my lifts.

This was stage 7 workout 3 from New Rules of Lifting for Women.  It was a killer!  It only lasted 32 minutes after a quick warm-up, but that was plenty!  I'm getting really close to the big girl plates on my deadlifts!!  (Those are the full-sized 45# plates. I used 35# plates plus 5# plates today.)

Warm-up - 1x2@45# deadlift, 1x4@95# deadlift

Deadlift - 1x8@115#, 1x8@125#
Static lunge, rear foot on step - 4x15@20#each hand
Push-up - 4x15 in power cage, 4th hook from bottom (arms mostly in, did better this time, helps to go fast)
Romanian deadlift - 4x15@105# (wow!  huffing and puffing!)
Dumbbell bent-over row - 1x15@30#ea, 1x9+@30#ea, 2x15@25#ea

My new running gear went running!

Yahoo, after a few intended running days that fell through, I finally got out to run.  Last night, I went to the store and bought some nice cold weather running gear.  Of course, I HAD to try it out this morning.  (Well, that was part of the point of buying new running gear, anyway.)

I got out of bed at 4:30am and hit the road at a little after 5am.  I had on my new Saucony DryLete XPT tights, an older thin running shirt, SmartWool running socks, my new Moving Comfort No Chill Hoodie jacket, and my new original Buff.  (See below for pictures.)  I wore the Buff around my neck for a while.  Very nice to keep out the wind.  I also tried it in a few other positions.  It's amazingly convertible.  It wouldn't stay around my mouth without also going over my head, kind of like a balaclava.  So, maybe I'll wear it that way.  Or, I have some fleece, maybe I'll make something similar to go along with it.  After the run, I wore it as a headband to keep my sweaty hear out of my face.  Nice!

At first I was a little worried that the jacket wouldn't be warm enough. But, after a bit it was fine.  In fact towards the end, my forearms were too warm.  Strange.  Also, the hood was too loose and kept falling down.  The tights were perfect.  These are the lighter of the two I bought.  My booty got a bit chilly, but nothing too bad.  They move nicely.  They aren't tight enough to be compression tights, but they don't flop around like pants would.  They are a great length.  I was worried about that, because although I'm an average height, I sometimes struggle with pants being too short.

The run went well.  It would have been even better if DJ Steve Boyett had been spinning the tunes for me, but my phone was about out of juice, so I had to plug it in during my run.  It was 38F with a chilly 7-8mph NW wind.  3.13 miles running for 3.22 miles total in a little over 37 minutes.  My heart rate graph was crazy high.  I was up around 190bpm for a good deal of the run.  It really didn't seem that hard, but I was huffing and puffing, I guess.  It was a definitely not a flat route, so maybe that contributed.  I'll try to remember to add the graph later.

I saw only four bunnies, but I also saw a dog with his walker and 2 (count them) TWO runners!

Saucony DryLete XPT Tight

  Moving Comfort No Chill Hoodie

Update: added my heart rate graph below... wow, that's high!  Is it because I hadn't run in more than 3 weeks?

Barbell bench press!

Well, I managed to do the incline barbell bench press without killing myself! There were a crazy number of people there this morning, so someone would have been able to call 911 for me if I had crushed my windpipe with the bar. I didn't get to do it right away as it is written in the plan, so I was pre-fatigued and maybe would have attempted a bit more.

I was pretty disheartened when I arrived at the gym. I had gotten out to my car, which was not in the garage for various reasons, and the windshield was covered with frost. I'm so spoiled with my garage! So, I dug around in my car in a useless attempt to find a scraper. Then, I remembered I had taken them out in the garage when the possibility for frost seemed a lot way off. Anyway, when I made it to the gym, there was a guy there I knew would be using my power cage a lot, and he was. (I should write my name on it. Maybe that would help.) So, I started with the second group of exercises first. About half way through those, I saw an opening and jumped in to do the bench press and seated row group before continuing with the second group. I didn't want to wait until after the second set, because it is so high rep, I'd be exhausted. I didn't want to make my first attempt at a barbell incline bench press while exhausted!

All in all, things turned out fine. I was at it for about 47 minutes. Not bad. I got there around 4:50 (having wasted a lot of time finding a scraper!) and by the time I left, I counted 8 or 9 people at the gym. That's a lot for so early in the morning. I wonder why? I understand Friday, when people are trying to get in the workout early so they can have fun in the evening, but Tuesday? It's not January 2, either. hmmm...

By the way, my glutes are speaking to me... I think tomorrow is going to be interesting...

There is pretty much no way I can only rest 30secs, so I stopped trying and just went to the next exercise without pausing. Usually, that ended up at 45-60 seconds.

Incline bb bench press - 1x6x45#, 1x6x60# (30deg incline on bench, started after second? set of squats)
Seated row - 1x8@71#, 1x8@77#
DB squat, heals raised - 2x15@20#each (second set last few reps weak), 1x15@15#ea, 1x15@12#ea (heels on 2# dbs, a good use for Barbie-bells!)
DB shoulder press - 1x15@20#ea, 1x15@20#ea, 1x13@20#ea, 1x15@20#ea (had to use some pauses during sets)
Step-up - 4x15@12#ea (this time, stepping forward rather than sideward, much easier! I might still be pushing off a tad, though)
Underhand lat pulldown - 3x15@87#, 1x13@87#

Back home on wiggly legs!

I'm back from a two week vacation! Although I didn't really "work out" during that time, I got plenty of exercise. We were sightseeing, so I was walking and/or climbing steps or hills most days. The day before we came back, we went up 768 stairs to the top of a church tower ... and back down again. On the way down, my daughter was a bit scared, so I had to carry her down the whole way. I was sweat buckets with my down jacket on and was really glad for my improved strength and endurance! I was also glad I was in Europe where they aren't quite as sensitive to body smells, because I was not able to shower afterward!

Even though I ate like crazy, the activity balanced it out, I guess, because I didn't gain a pound! I'm thrilled about that, because I didn't hold back at all. This was mostly heavy, starchy German food (which I love) and the associated chocolates and cakes and Italian ice cream.

We got back Tuesday night. I was going to go back to the gym on Thursday morning, but my daughter, still somewhat affected by jet lag, woke up early and wanted to stay in our bed. She refused to stay there if I got up, so I decided that was a sign that I could also use a bit more sleep.

So, I headed to the gym today to start Stage 7 of New Rules of Lifting for Women. Holy cow, that was a hard workout. I warmed up with four squats using only the olympic bar, then an attempted (failed) chin-up and a negative chin-up. During the workout, I just couldn't hold myself to 30 second breaks. My heart rate got too high and I had to catch my breath. I was really sweating and huffing and puffing. In fact, I reached about 180bpm... with WEIGHTLIFTING. This isn't running!! See below for my heart rate graph. (The split lines mark the end of an exercise and the beginning of the next rest.) My average heart rate was 144bpm.

Overall, I took 45 minutes not including about 5 minutes for warm up. For some of the exercises, I had to pause a few times to finish the set. I aimed for 15 reps because 20 is just tooooo many!

Squat - 1x8@45# then 1x7@55# - I really felt my hams after this. I probably need to work on hamstring flexibility.
Static lunge, rear foot elevated - 4x15@15# each hand
Push-up - 4x15@level 4 on the Smith Machine (about 2 feet off ground) arms mostly in
Romanian deadlift (w/ BB) - 1x15@95# then 3x15@100#
DB bent-over row - 3x15@25#ea then 1x14.5@30#ea (last rep was about a 80% pull)

I had a yogurt+protein powder treat afterwards, finishing off my protein powder again. I'll have to get some more! I think I'll get the same stuff, NNW Healthy Whey Vanilla Carmel Swirl. Yum!

A long fun run

This morning was the coldest yet. It was about 27.5F (-2.5C) when I started and only warmed up one degree by an hour later. There was basically no wind (except the 5mph "wind" always hitting my face.) I set out for an hour long run with the treat of a cup of coffee at a local cafe waiting for me at the end.

It was good that it was still dark when I left because my running getup was supremely dorky. I couldn't find my long exercise pants, so I had slightly cropped ones over my silk thermal tights. I wore my long sleeve technical running hoodie and over that, my rain coat/windbreaker jacket with the armpit zippers open. I also had thin gloves on and a stocking cap. It really worked well, but I'm pretty positive the staff at the coffee house had a good laugh once I left. That's ok. The last 30 minutes the sun had come up, but by then, I was in the zone and didn't care what I looked like. I was feeling so good.

It was one of those runs that just felt darn good. At first, it was a bit cold and I struggled a bit to adjust my lungs to the cold air, but once I warmed up, the cold air didn't bother me. I changed up my route so that I would end near the cafe. I'm getting really good at estimating that. I reached the sidewalk across the street (where I wanted to end) at one hour and 23 seconds. Well, then I jogged across the street to avoid a car, but that doesn't count.

I love to let my mind wander while my feet just carry me along to the music. I can see why some people record their thoughts during their runs. I always think I have interesting things to say during my runs, but by the time I get around to blogging, the thoughts are gone.

I ran to 154bpm Definitive and then finished with 156 Running to Elysium from Podrunner. I should really check if there are more podcasts out in those bpm ranges! If these were tapes, the sound would be distorted by now. That's ok. I don't get tired of them.

In 1:00:23 I ran 5.29miles for a pace of 11:25 min/mile. The last half of my run was mostly at 170bpm, but the average for the whole run was 164bpm.

Bunny count: 21!

Finished Stage 6

Today was the last of Stage 6, workout 6B4 in New Rules of Lifting for Women. Next up is Stage 7, which I've heard is a killer!

Today's workout was harder than I expected. All of the exercises were 10 reps. Last B workout they were 4! The book wants you to drop back to the weights you used in workout 6B2, but that was mostly just down 5#. 10 reps really gets my heart pumping. I was up at 150bpm multiple times. My average was 122bpm, which is rather high, considering the rests were 60sec.

If I can't yet achieve a chin-up, I think I'll repeat this stage after I'm done with Stage 7, which is the last in the book.

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder- 2x10@25#

DB 2-pt row - 2x10@40#

DB push press - 2x10@25#ea (last rep was hard!)

Back extension - 2x10@40#

Incline reverse crunch - 2x10@30deg (barely finished the last couple reps!)

Hilly loops

Today I decided to do hilly loops around my neighborhood. Normally, I just roam around, turning where I feel like at the moment. Often I choose the flattest route. But, today, I decided to do three loops near my house. My road is a gradual incline of about 1/4 mile. The next street over, however, is much steeper. The steeper part is shorter, of course, and then any incline is more gradual than my street. So, I ran downhill from my house and ran up the steeper hill on the next street. The whole loop was 0.95 miles, which is a pretty nice, even number! Who woulda known?!

From top to bottom, the elevation change is only 162ft (49.7 meters) so it's not that big of a deal. But it's enough of a challenge for 5am in 39degF weather with 5mph wind. Actually, the weather was perfect. The coldness was just right. I could feel my lungs wheezing a tiny bit, but nothing to worry about yet. I wore about the same gear as last time. It was a bit on the warm side, I think. Not too bad, though.

I listened to a 156bpm Podrunner podcast called Running to Elysium. There is a line somewhere around 20-25 minute in that repeats "You don't stop" over and over again. That always makes me pick up my pace!

Overall, I did 3.04 miles in 31:05 for a pace of 10:13min/mile. That's pretty good for me!

No bunnies, but I saw a stray cat! I forgot to mention I saw one bunny during my last run. I'm sure you were wondering...

6A5 Annoyance

What an annoying lifting day. The lifting itself went well, but there was a guy at the gym that threw me out of what I wanted to do on almost every exercise. Argh!

He was doing circuits using the power cage for bench presses and the Smith Machine for squats. (He was also doing leg presses on the leg press machine, which is... well... interesting.) He was using way more weight than I needed, so I didn't feel like even asking to work in for the split squats. I wanted to use the SM for negative chin-ups and push-ups. At least, I could do the pulldowns how I wanted.

Negative chin-up - All at 20#: ~16sec, ~15sec, ~12sec (Used the pull-up bars on the dual cable machine... I was kind of still shaken that I couldn't do these on the Smith Machine, also I had to take a wider hold and I couldn't jump all the way up with the bar being farther up and I had to stand on a bench just to reach the pull-up bars... I think I would have done better on the Smith Machine)

Underhand lat pull-down - 1x4@105#

Barbell split squat - 2x10@30#each shoulder (had to use dumbbells, wanted to use 65# on bar bell. These were hard enough! I had to take a little break in between legs and I still got my heart rate up to 148-152bpm.)

Push-up - 1x9.5 and 1x12 (couldn't use Smith Machine, so I did them on the floor with arms out a bit and letting elbows go out rather than keeping them in... still didn't get as low as I want)

Winter is on the way!

Last night I could already feel the tug to not go for a run this morning. It is getting cold at night now, close to freezing. Yesterday it was extra-cold because of the strong winds, on the order of 30mph. So, I checked the weather forecast and say that it was supposed to slow down to 6mph or less. So, I had no good excuse!

This morning, I tried to dress warmly without overdoing it. I think did pretty well. It was 36F for my run with a wind of about 4.5mph. That may not be much wind, but it's enough to make it feel even colder. I wore a short sleeve dry shirt under a sweat shirt, silk long johns under kind of thin workout pants (not sweats with a fuzzy interior), a reflective vest, a stocking cap, and thin gloves.

I was afraid I'd have problems with my cold-induced asthma. I have some wheezing as I type this, but during the run, I only noticed a tiny bit of squeak. Overall, not bad at all.

I got a bit sweaty, but since it was only a 30 minute run, it wasn't a big deal.

It was a good feeling run. I didn't even have the first mile dread I often have. I took an easy pace and chose a hillier route. There are some pretty decent hills in this area. Nothing San Fransisco like, but if I don't want hills, I have to pick my route carefully.

In 30:22 I covered 2.67 miles. That's a pace of 11:21. I ran to the Podrunner podcast "Definitive" at 154bpm. One of my favorites.

Here's to a great start to the day!!

Feeling strong!

Last night I attended a yoga class of a new yoga instructor at the gym. I was the only one there, so I got a private lesson for $5. I think I'll pay more than she's asking if I go again. That just isn't enough. It was really good and this was the first time in a long time I had a mirror to check my form in.

This morning was 6B4 for me. Next are the last two Stage 6 workouts!! Things went well. I even increased some of the weights. I realized that last time on the 2-pt row, I did both arms at the same time. Oops!

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder- 4x4@30#total

Db 2-point row - 4x4@45#total (one arm at a time, this time! I run the weight parallel to my body, otherwise the width gets in the way and hits my body... maybe this isn't totally right, but it's the way I do them)

Db push press - 1x4@25#ea then 3x4@30#ea (wow, that's hard!! difficult to stabilize at top)

Back extension - 3x4@45#total

Incline reverse crunch - 3x4@30deg

Am I close to a chin-up yet?

Today was 6A4 of NRoLfW, otherwise known as the "armbuster." Well, I'm the only one calling it that, but it is true! I mean, 15 second rests? Yikes!

I'm getting frustrated with the triceps pushups. They are just soooo much harder than when I let my elbows track outward. They feel so weak compared to all the other powerful stuff I'm doing.

It was a good workout. It took about 34 minutes. I'm wondering when I should attempt a real chin-up. Definitely not today or tomorrow!!

Negative chin-up - 1x25sec@10# then 1x20sec@15# then 1x17sec@20#

Underhand lat pulldown - 2x2@112# then 8x2@105# (yikes!! 15 seconds for resting is nothing!!)

BB split squat - 3x4@80# (for the last set, I didn't get down as far as I would like)

Push-up - 3x4 on the floor with arms in (argh! So frustrating... didn't get as low as I would like and did some dipping to get up a couple times...)

Pi mile run

Yes, I did it. I finally ran in the Pi Mile Run, a 3.1415... mile run, rounded to 3.1 miles (5k). LOL! It's put on by an engineering group that I was a member of back in college. It was a super small race... 12 people. But, because of that, I came in 5th! The 4th place person just beat me. I didn't have the energy left to kick it more at the end. My Garmin read it at 3.25 miles or so. I'm pretty sure that is correct, because they took a longer route on that course than I have in past races held there. It was a friendly race. I finished the course in 33 minutes. Which means I finished 5k in about 31:29. That would be about my best time, I guess! I need to check my Garmin log and see if it agrees.

It was cold and windy. I'm sure that didn't help turnout. Not horrible for a run, though.

Update: I finally took a look at my Garmin output and although it's not 100% on the mark, I don't see any glaring errors in the GPS tracking. So, I hit 3.1 miles at about 31:06. Not bad! Maybe I'll break 30 minutes some day. The race course was about 3.3 miles.

My HRM was losing contact every now and then. (There is no way I was at 130bpm in the middle of the race!!) But, it looks like my heart rate was around 185bpm for the last 9 minutes of the race. Wow! I guess I did push myself and it's no wonder I was only able to muster a short 8min/mile kick at the end!

I think I'll be sore tomorrow!

Today was 6B3 of New Rules. It was tough! I tried to increase all my weights, in the first section, since the set number stayed the same and the reps went down. I kept the weights the same for the second section, since another set was added.

It was a hard workout. My form suffered at points, but not too bad. Sometime during the first section, a slight soreness appeared in my back. It didn't get worse, though, so hopefully it will go away.

Reverse lunge 1db at shoulder - 3x6@30 (form was getting sloppy towards the end, the weight got lower, so I started bending to the side to offset it)

DB 2point row - 1x6@45#ea then 2x3@45#ea and 3@40#ea

DB push press - 2x3@30#ea and 3@25#ea then 1x6@25#ea

Back extension - 3x6@40#

Incline reverse crunch - 3x6@30deg

First use of the weight belt

Today was another day of negative chin-ups (would those be chin-downs??) and underhand lat pull-downs. Wow.

I have been able to lower myself longer than 20 seconds, so now I started adding weight with the weight belt. Boy, do I feel hard core with that thing. Although it would be cooler if I were actually doing regular chin-ups! Time for the chin-ups includes time to jump up to the bar on the Smith Machine, which took about a second, I assume. I had an issue with the belt in that I was using the SM bar only a little higher than me, so I would just bend my knees after I jumped up. But, the chain hung down farther than my knees, so I had to maneuver it out of the way while I was lowering! A good problem to have, for sure. I'll correct it next time.

I did the push-ups on the floor without worrying about keeping my arms in. I can do them fine like that. Maybe I need to do some triceps kickbacks to strengthen my triceps, LOL! (It's a NRoLfW joke.)

Negative Chin-up - 28sec@BW then 25sec@5# then 23sec@10#

Underhand Lat Pull-down - 2x2@112# then 1@112# and 1@100# then 7x2@105# (thirty seconds rest is sooo little! I don't know how I'll handle 15 secs rest!)

BB Split Squat - 1x8@65# (oops, forgot to chang rep #) then 1x6@75# then 1x6@80#

Push-up - 3x6 on floor with arms not held close

My first 10k!

It's hard to believe that a year and a half ago, I felt like dying after running minute-long intervals. Today, I ran 6.2 miles along with 2577 other people !!

It was a beautiful morning. My hubby went with me, which was soooo nice. I'm glad I didn't have to go alone. It was still dark out when we got there and the sun was getting close to coming up when they started the race. The temperature was 53F with only a light breeze. Perfect, really! Since hubby was there, he waited with me until shortly before the start and took my jacket. They did have a bag check there, but it was nicer to have it up until the last. Of course, it didn't take long before I was warmed up enough that it was the perfect temperature.

I, of course, placed myself rather far back, so it took over two minutes to cross the starting line. It was very interesting. Take a few steps, wait a bit, take a few steps, wait, over and over, then finally a clearing and we were off! It took a good mile or two before the crowd got into it's pace. Until then, I had to dodge walkers and, I assume, people who started off too quickly. Also, it was important to look out for potholes and cones (!?!) in the middle of the road. I'm not sure why they put them in the middle of the road at the start. Later on, I think they were there to keep the runners on one side and the cars on the other. But, they could have placed them after everyone started, really. I saw a couple people almost fall.

During the first mile, I did notice I was running a little faster than normal. It wasn't crazy fast, and it felt comfortable, so I let it go at that. In fact, I kept a rather constant pace. After about a mile and a half, my heart rate was up and it stayed between 175bpm and 180bpm for the rest of the race. I see that as a sign that I was pacing myself correctly. That is a range I can hold for a long time without big problems. When I picked up the pace at the end, I did get up to 188bpm briefly.

At around a mile and a half in, we started up a rather steep hill. It was cool, though, because at the top is perched Central High School, and the sight was really pretty. During the whole race, hubby was running around taking pictures of me. It was funny and nice. He got stuck and couldn't make it to the finish, but that is ok. I think he got about as much of a workout as I did!

There were three or four bands spread around the course. (Probably more placed elsewhere for the longer races.) It was fun and made the time pass more quickly. Although, I couldn't hear them play for very long, since I was passing by. The mood was fun and people would talk some to others.

I ate a Gu gel about ten minutes before the race then another around 4.5 miles. It seems to have worked ok, since I didn't get the extreme exhaustion I've gotten before after running these distances. At the end, I got a 1/4 bagel, 1/2 banana, water, a bar of some sort, and a bowl of tortilla soup.

All in all, I felt really good the whole race. At the end, I felt I could go longer. AND I crossed before the 1/2 marathon first place runner, which was cool. There was a policeman on a motorcycle leading the way for him.

My chip time was 1:06:13. I was hoping for better than 1:10, and I got it! There were 2577 people total who finished one of the three distances. 636 people ran the 10k. It was quite a sight to look in front and in back and not see the end of the masses. I ended up 404th over all, 58/91 in my division and 226/405 for females. So, I still had around 1/3 of the runners behind me. That's the glass-half-full way of seeing it! If I did this for winning against others, I wouldn't be doing it long! I did beat the gal with "slow" printed on her shirt. That was taunting me for a while!

So when is the next race??

A good day at the gym.

I overcame my negative talk again this morning and had a great day at the gym. With these shorter programs, I can go a little later. At that time, there are actually people at the gym. Amazing! Luckily, nobody was using the equipment I needed. Except one guy was doing repeated sets on the back extension thing. He finished right before I was due to use it. The amazing thing was.... HE WIPED IT OFF WHEN HE WAS DONE! Wow. The guy who doesn't rack his weights was also there, but it was a cardio day, I guess.

Today was 6B2. I broke a sweat early, and kept it up the whole workout! Wow. It took about 28 minutes. I did not do any warm up or cool down or stretching. I kept the ending weights from the last workout, since the sets were increasing. I don't think I could have increased much if I wanted to.

reverse lunge, 1db AT shoulder - 3x8@25#

dumbbell 2-point row - 3x8@40#

dumbbell push press - 3x8@25#

back extension - 2x8@40# (bench at 45deg)

incline reverse crunch - 1x8@30deg then 1x2@40deg and 6@30deg (45deg is not a good angle for this exercise on this bench... it pops up, stick to 30deg)

Last run before the 10k!!

I REALLY didn't want to go out to run today. I mean REAAAALLLLLY! I almost talked myself out of it twice. I had a headache from this darn cold and it doesn't take much before 5am to entice me back into my warm, comfy bed. But, I remembered that I had entered a speech competition and I wanted to give my speech about running. (It's a humorous speech competition!) So, I did get out. And of course my headache went away. And of course I feel a lot better now. And of course I'm glad I did it.

In my thirty minutes, I covered 2.59 miles. It was a nice, easy run.

Lately, my left calf has felt tight, particularly after running. I hope that doesn't give me problems. I'll have to massage it more.

Now, a bit of a running break until Sunday's 10k!! I'm getting excited!!

Biceps!

I almost turned around today once I got to the gym. I didn't sleep well thanks to this cold, but I got out of bed to workout, anyway. Then, when I got to the gym, I realize this one guy was there who uses up the gym and doesn't re-rack his weights. But, I thought, that's silly to turn around now. I'll make do. Then I realized I didn't even have my Forerunner, which I use to time my rests. But, I had my cell phone, which has a basic stopwatch program, so I used that.

Today's workout was Stage 6 A2. It's short but still kicks me! Well, mostly my arms.

I had to do my negative chin-ups from a bench, so I decided not to use the belt. (Which this guy, by the way, had used and left weighted. If I were to use half the stuff in the gym, I'd have to ask if he's done with it. AND he left about 10 minutes into my workout without racking anything.) Anyway, since I didn't have my watch, I didn't have a good way to verify my hang time. I just counted to 20, but probably slower than actually 20 seconds.

The underhand lat pulldowns were very hard, especially when I increased the weight. During these, I got a good look at my biceps. Wow! The 110# reps were very hard. I couldn't pull down fast at all. In fact, I barely made it all the way to my chin.

I forgot to alternate the last two exercises. I guess I'll live. I did hear some clicking in my left knee and it was a little sore afterward. It's going away pretty fast, though.

Negative Chin-up - 3x20sec+
Underhand Lat Pulldown (down fast, pause 1sec, 4sec release) - 6x2@105# then 4x2@112#
Barbell Split Squat - 2x8@65#
Push-up - 2x8@ lowest power cage hook (I didn't feel like unloading alllll that weight from the Smith Machine.) Not the best form towards the end.

5 gooey miles

Today was my long run for my 10k training. I did 5 miles, as a "taper" since the 10k is a week away. It's funny to think of 5 miles as a lesser distance!

I tried the PowerBar Gel packets today. I used one a few minutes before the start of the run with a drink of water. Then, at about mile 3, I used another one. I can definitely see why you want water after one. I didn't have water, although I did time the packet to be near a source of water if I really needed it. I think on the 10k, I will plan to use it at a time right before a water stop so I can wash it down. The two packets should be plenty.

All in all a wonderful run. I wasn't all that excited about it beforehand. During the first mile, I kept having negative thoughts. After that my head cleared and I just enjoyed it. I could have easily run farther, but held myself to the plan!

Bunny count: only 4!

At least I got out, right?

My cold is still going strong, so getting out of bed wasn't looking like a fun idea this morning. I told myself I'd feel better if I got out and ran, like I had planned. But the real motivation was that I'd get to try out these gels that I picked up at the store last night. I want to try them so that I was familiar with them during the race. I really didn't need them for the short run I was planning today.

The store I went to only had PowerBar brand gels. So, I picked up two gel packets and a packet of PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts (gel filled chews). They are basically gummy candies with a little bit of get in them. I got Strawberry Banana which has a little bit of caffeine. A serving (130 Cal) is 6 pieces and there are 9 pieces in a pouch. I had three before the run and tried to eat one during the run. These will definitely not be what I use during the 10k. They tasted good, but trying to chew gummies while I run didn't work. I felt like I was going to inhale the pieces, since I was huffing and puffing. It took way too long to finish chewing. I guess if I were to just stick it in my cheek and suck on it, it would work. But, I think my bets are on the gel packets now.

On the plan for today was in interval run, 8x 30sec hard/60sec easy. As I got done with the 6th interval, Mother Nature began calling again. Argh! This time fairly loud, so when I finished the 8 intervals I headed in. At that time, I was wheezing and broke out in a sweat. For some reason my left shin hurts a bit, too. So, I decided I "won" by just getting out while having a cold and I'd call it good. I ended up with 17:49 and 1.64 miles.

Have a cold, but worked out anyway!!

Yesterday afternoon I felt it coming on. I could tell something was going on, but wasn't sure it was the flu or a cold. I was really rooting for a cold! There has been one going around my family and I was the only one yet to get it. Not any more! I went to bed early, but still set my alarm to work out. When the alarm rang, I decided it would be more prudent to sleep another 45 minutes and not work out. However, after 15 minutes, I realized I wasn't sleeping and I didn't feel that bad, so I got up and headed to the gym! Thankfully, today's workout was short, so I could still get it in.

I did 6B1 today. It took a grand total of 26:10! Even though it was short, it was a good workout that had me sweating and huffing and puffing.

rev. lunge 1db on shoulder - 1x10@15# then 1x10@20#
db 2-pt row - 1x10@35# then 1x10@40# (I broke a sweat on this second set!)
db push press - 1x10@20#ea then 1x10@25#ea (last 2 reps were sloppy on left side)
back extension - 1x10@40# then 1x6@40# and 4@35#
incline rev crunch - 2x10@30deg (last rep was wimpy)

30 minute attempt...

Today was a weird day. The moon was a beautiful sliver with one of the planets nearby. I wanted to take a picture, but I knew my phone-cam would not do a good job. I really didn't want to run, and when I got started I realized why. My arms and chest were sooo00 sore from yesterday's workout that running was painful! But, I persevered and continued. Then, about 10 minutes into the run, mother nature started calling. I hate that!!! So, I took a route to head towards home. By the time I got there, she had quieted down. I really wanted to stop, but I told myself I'd run to the end of the block and if mother nature started calling again, I would turn around. The end of the block is actually two blocks away, about 0.25 miles. I made it to the end and back without any problems.

I didn't listen to a Podrunner podcast today, since I won't have that luxury on the race course for the 10k. I tried to focus on a quicker foot turnover, since my cadence is usually slower without the music. In turn, I run slower! So, I managed to average a 10:50 pace, which is good for me! The total time was around 23 minutes for about 2.1 miles.

No problem with the knee. I had worried that the Split Squats yesterday would give me problems.

Bunny count: 4

On my way to chin-ups!

Today was my first day (6A1) of Stage 6 of New Rules of Lifting for Women. This is the stage that helps you along towards achieving chin-ups. After the first workout, I'm very optimistic that I will reach that goal by the end of the 10 workouts. Today's workout lasted only about 32 minutes. That was very nice!!

The first exercise is negative chin-ups, where you jump up to the top of a chin-up and then slowly lower yourself. The goal is to draw it out 20 seconds, which I could do from the start! Then you start adding weight. I tried to add weight by holding a plate between my feet, but that didn't work. It would work better if I had a different style of plate. These have the raised hubs. It fell down after a few seconds. I'll have to find the belt with the chain next time.

I can tell already that my arms and upper back are going to be sore tomorrow and maybe even today!

Negative chin-ups - 26sec, 24sec, 21sec (5# wt for ~5 seconds on last one)
Underhand lat pulldown (fast pull, wait 1sec, release for 4sec) - 1x2@75#, then 6x2@100#, then 3x2@105#
bb split squat - 1x10@45# then 1x10@55#
push-up - 2x10@Smith Machine number 5 (~2 notches from bottom)

7 miles!!!

Another person best distance for me! I wasn't sure if I was going to go for 6.5 miles or 7 miles this morning. But, since I was going to get to the coffee house at about 6.75 miles, I decided I might as well make it an even 7.0! The last quarter mile or so I felt a few twinges in my back hip, so I'm glad I wasn't going any farther. I think I'll cut back the distance slightly for next week's long run, in preparation for the 10k in two weeks.

Today, I ran some on our local university's cross country field. It was a nice and low-impact surface. My feet did get a little wet from the dew, but the grass had been mowed, so it wasn't too bad. The part of the field that I was running in has alfalfa fields in the middle. That's a strange experience because alfalfa is rather fragrant. It's has an almost sickeningly sweet smell.

I didn't take a bunny count, but I wish I had. In the first mile and a quarter I saw around 30 of them!! The rest of the run, I saw maybe 2! Very strange.

It was a nice day for a run. It was about 54-56F with no wind. There were some foggy patches, which are so pretty. Once the sun came up, those cleared out.

Done with Stage 5!

Although, I haven't been normally lifting on Saturday, I went and finished off Stage 5 today, since it usually takes a LONG time to finish. Today, I didn't have to rush. Also, I could still sleep in! I didn't get out of bed until about 5:40am! Woo hoo!

I'm looking forward to Stage 6, which emphasizes the upper body. The hope is that by the end of Stage 6 I can do chin-ups. I'm pretty close now, so I hope it works!!

I still had the weight area to myself, which is so nice. I didn't make much of any improvements today, though.

rdl/bent over row - 3x4@95#
partial single leg press (subbed due to knee) - 3x8@162# pressed
wide grip lat pulldown - 3x4@92#
back extension - 3x4@35# (bench at 30deg)
YTWL - 3x4@10#ea
Swiss ball crunch - 3x4@35# overhead
reverse crunch - 3x4 (bench at 30deg)
Swiss ball side crunch - 3x4@25#
prone cobra - 3x120sec
intervals - 8x30sec hard/60sec easy on upright stationary bike

Still on track!

I managed to haul myself out of bed for a thirty minute run. Nothing much to mention. It was a good run. I listened to a 157bpm (I think) Podrunner podcast called Native Suns. It's an old favorite. I set my Virtual Partner on the Garmin Forerunner 305 to 30 minutes at 11:10 min/mile and beat him (her? it?) by 109ft. I think the screen said 2.71 miles. I'm always behind for the first several minutes. This is probably because I don't warm up beforehand. I only did a few body weight squats, then I headed out the door.

Last 5A workout!

Today was a good lift. I even finished the body weight matrix. I did the first part, then drove home and did the second part! The second time looks a lot faster, but I know I wasn't going as low. I think it's better than nothing. My muscles were shot and couldn't do much more than that.

1 arm db snatch - 1@35# & 3@30# then 2x4@35#
db single leg rdl - 3x4@50#ea
bb bent over row - 3x4@95#
single leg press (subbed due to knee) - 162# pressed (125# on stack)
db incline bench press - 2x4@35#ea then 1x4@30#ea
plank - 3x2min
rev woodchop - 3x4@47# pulled (95# on stack)
bwm - 4:05 wait 8:10 then 3:33

One more workout then on to Stage 6!!

Woa, big dog...

This morning I managed to pull myself out of bed for an interval run. I ran about 2.5 miles in 30 minutes, including warm up and cool down. I warmed up with a jog then did 8 sets of 30 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy.

The only interesting part of the run was the large dog (probably a mastiff or a young great dane, but it was dark and I didn't get that great of a look) that was roaming around the neighborhood, probably depositing equally large "presents" in random yards. Because of the route I took, I crossed him three times! I was worried because some dogs think if you are running you want to play so they run after you. Luckily, this guy just looked at me. I yelled "No!" at him the first time and "Go home!" the second time. He barely looked at me and kept sniffing all the bushes and light posts. I think he's probably a nice dog, but I don't care to come across strange large dogs at 5:30am.

5B3

I again wasn't too thrilled about getting up to work out today, but after spending a lot of time in the car over the weekend, I really needed to. The workout was rather uneventful, but it felt good. I'm glad there is only one more week of Stage 5. I'm ready for Stage 6. However, there is a heck of a lot of waiting in Stage 6. Geesh!

rdl/bent over row - 3x4@95#
single leg press (subbed due to knee) - 3x8@136# (105# on stack)
wide grip lat pulldown - 3x4@92#
back extension - 1x4@45#&45deg, 2x4@45#&35deg (the 35deg seemed a bit more challenging)
YTWL - 3x4@10#ea
Swiss ball crunch - 3x4@35#
incl rev crunch - 3x4@30deg
side Swiss ball crunch - 3x4@25# (awkward and not very satisfying)
prone cobra - 3x2min (did these after I got home)
did not do intervals, saved for another day!

Poor Virtual Partner...

...I seem to beat him or her almost every time!

I felt like I needed a bit of a challenge today since I really didn't feel like running much. So, I set my VP for 30 minutes at 11:20, a pace slightly faster than I've been running lately. I was behind at first, for around half of the run, in fact. Then I kept my pace a little elevated and slowly caught up and overtook VP. I finished the 30 minutes about 95ft in front. I'm glad I got out, of course.

I covered 2.68 miles. I ran without headphones, since my 10k race will not allow headphones. The difficult time will be when I don't wear them for a long run...

It was a nice 48F or 51F depending on the source of information. No wind, which I appreciated.

Bunny count: 5

50 pound dumbbells!!!

Today was New Rule of Lifting for Women Stage 5 Workout A3. I made some improvements I thought weren't going to happen. I used 50# dumbbells for the first time!! wow!

I had to cut it slightly short, since I needed to be out of the gym by 6am. So, I only did one of the body matrix sets. Otherwise, I would have been there another 15 minutes! I'm proud of myself for at least doing the first set. I didn't really want to!

Again, I substituted single leg presses for the db single arm overhead squats.

1 arm db snatch - right: 4@35# left: 1@35# then 3@30#, then 2 sets of 4@35# for both hands - seems like warming up helped with my left hand, but it was still very wobbly. I had a few failed attempts. If the db loses momentum, it's over. I definitely cannot slow-lift that much over my head.

db single leg Romanian dl - 2x4@45#ea then 1x4@50#ea (!!!)

bb bentover row - 2x4@90# then 1x4@95#

single leg press - -3x8@136#

db incline bench press - 1x4@30#ea then 1x4@35#ea then 1x4@30#ea - I just couldn't get the dbs in place for the last set using 35#. Happy that I made one set with them, though!

plank - 3x2min

rev woodchop - 3x4@45# pulled (90# on stack) - Man these are hard! I grunt and huff and puff.

BWM - 4:35 (didn't repeat)

They have motion sensor lights in my gym. After a while of not sensing motion, they turn off. It seems like the management changes the setting every now and then. Right now, the cardio area is on motion sense, not the weight area. So, after a while, the cardio area goes dark, which is strange. Today a poor lady was IN the cardio area on an elliptical, which apparently does not produce enough movement, so while she was working out, the lights went out. How annoying! I'm sure she didn't want to get off to jump around and turn the lights back on, so she worked out in the dark. Not complete dark thanks to the weight room, but still!!

10k!!!!!

Despite not being able to get my 30 minute interval run in on Wednesday due to rain, I went out for my long run today. I was aiming for 6 miles.

It was a sunny, 48F morning. Rather chilly for shorts, but perfect for a run. I warmed up rather quickly and really enjoyed the run. I tried a different path today. I noticed I reached the track at almost exactly one mile. That was helpful for the end of my run. At the track, I ran a few laps, synching my Garmin's laps. It was right on. 0.25 miles per lap. As I was running the loops, I was reminded of PE class in high school. My first teacher wanted us to run 1.5 miles around our track. I decided that was something I didn't want to do... COULDN'T do. I certainly couldn't at that moment, but I thought I just couldn't. I wasn't made to run and no matter how hard I tried I wouldn't be able to do it. So, I switched PE teachers! Looking back, that was probably a bad idea. It would have been great if I could have challenged myself and worked up to the 1.5 miles. There were two problems: 1) I was self conscious about how I looked when I ran, so I didn't want t try and 2) the teacher didn't want us to take any walking breaks. How could I have worked up to 1.5 miles without using walking breaks or starting at a shorter distance? Anyway, I completed my 1.5 miles (6 laps) this time and continued on!

On part of the run, I ran in the grass. In the morning, grass is WET. So, now my feet are, too. I find that unless the grass is freshly cut, it tends to be too long for me to run in. I have to pick up my feet so high, especially due to the dew. Also, the ground is very uneven in places and I have to watch out. My ankles are pretty weak and I'm afraid of injuring them. Some of the grass had tracks worn in, though, which kept the grass short and the ground more or less level. That was nice. I chose that over the asphalt when possible.

As I was nearing the track again, I decided to run a lap or two until I was at 5 miles, so the mile home would put me at 6 miles. As I rounded one end into the sun, I looked up and about 30 yards in front of me were three deer grazing and watching me. Wonderful!! As I looped around a second time, they were still there. I must not be too scary.

Right as I got home, I hit 6.2 miles and came to a stop. It took about 1:12! Well under my goal of 1:30. A very satisfying run!

I had been worried that my knee would give me problems. It has been feeling slightly funny for the past several days. But, no problems at all. My joints and muscles weren't as sore this time compared to last week's long run.

Just under a month until the 10k race!! I definitely know I can run the distance if I don't go too fast!

Stage 5B2

This time the 5B workout felt a bit better. Maybe it was because I actually did the intervals? I don't know. I feel it in my hams and glutes and a bit in my calves. That's good. My heart rate still tended to peak about 20bpm lower for this B workout than the A workout.

Not much to say. I subbed the partial squats with single leg presses. That was an exercise my physical therapist used for my rehab and since squats seem to be aggravating my knee, I'll sub with evil leg presses for now. I did 8 reps each leg on them rather than 4. My PT had me doing 25 at a time.

rdl/bent over row - 4@90# - I think I might be able to bump these next time!
single leg press - 2x8@110# then 1x8@136#
wide grip lat pulldown - 3x92# - still can't increase, but did feel improvement
back extension - 2x40# then 1x45#
YTWL - 3x10#ea
swiss ball crunch - 1x30#overhead then 2x35# overhead
rev crunch - 3x on 30deg incline
swiss ball side crunch - 1xbw then 1x20# overhead then 1x25# overhead
prone cobra - 2min then 1:20 because I got spooked by someone coming into the gym (did this in the weight room rather than the open room for a change)
intervals - on upright bike 4 sets of 1min hard 2 min easy

Total: about 1.5 hours!!

Stage 5A2

Not as much resistance from the devil on my shoulder wanting me to not work out this morning. I still don't know how it takes me half and hour to get out the door, though.

I made some decent progress today. Some of these lifts are probably not going to increase for a while, though!

I measured my 45# plates and they are only about 9" in radius. I wonder if that is normal. I'll have to research a bit. The lowest pins were around 13-14" off the ground, so using these 45# plates would not have them touching the floor.

1 arm db snatch - 2@30# then 1x3reps at 35# on left and 1x4reps at 35# on right
db single leg RDL - 2@40#ea then 1@45#ea - wow, those are some heavy dumbbells!
bb bentover row - 3@90#
db 1-arm overhead squat - 3@12#/25#
db incline bench press - 3@30#ea
plank - 3@2min
rev woodchop - 1@43# (86# on stack) 2@ 45# (90# on stack)
BWM - 3:56 wait 7:52 then 3:59 - the last bit probably didn't get as low, but I needed to get out of there!

Total time: 1:27, including a few BW squats for warm up

Another run down, biked yesterday (!?!!)

This morning I got out and did my planned 30 minute run. Nothing spectacular. I ran 2.62 miles in 30 minutes. Not great. I was still feeling Saturday's long run. Next time I think I'm going to use the Virtual Partner on my Forerunner to help me pick up the pace. It was a nice 55F and calm. It didn't even seem all that humid. Towards the end, mother nature started calling, but I was able to eek out the rest of the 30 minutes. I hope I don't have that issue during the race.
Update: I forgot to mention I tried something new today. Instead of keeping track of the number of bunnies spotted by counting on my fingers, I hit the lap button instead. That way I also record where I saw them! Today, it was 8!

Yesterday evening, we went on a family bike ride. My 2.7yo daughter insisted on riding her balance trainer bike (I blogged about it here and here) so we let her. My husband still took the trailer in case she got tired. We fully expected her to bike for a while then ride in the trailer. The darn girl refused to give up and ride in the trailer. Although parts were slow, sometimes because she was tired, but more often because she found something interesting to look at, she ended up riding close to 4 miles!! I can't believe it. That is a long trek for such little legs. By the way, apparently dog poo on the path is extremely interesting.

When we got home, she ate and ate and ate. She hadn't had a lot for lunch and had a lot of catching up to do.

5.5 miles!!

I set out this morning for a 5.5 mile run and completed it!

When I got out, it was foggy at 54F. Not bad at all. The nice thing about long runs is that I can get farther away from home and see new areas. I did run a route that I had basically run before, but changed it up a little bit. A lot of it was on a straight path, which I haven't liked in the past. It got boring pretty quickly. But today it was fine. Maybe it helped that the wind was barely blowing. It's an exposed area, so the wind really catches you when it's strong.

Along the way, my path led me by a school track. It's a dirt track with a little bit of tiny gravel. I don't know what that is called. I thought that it would be very level, but it wasn't really. I guess when it gets wet, it gets uneven. There were dog prints in it and a couple places where there had been puddles. This track is only a couple years old, too. Anyway, I circled that a couple times and continued on.

Before I got to the track, on the path was a small dead racoon. Yuck. Its entrails were on the path. Pretty fresh from the looks of it. I assume it was a dog or fox or something that got it, because there was no street nearby.

I decided that I was going to time my 5.5 miles to end by a cafe in my neighborhood. That way I could "reward" myself with a coffee! I had to run past for about 0.2 miles, but it was worth it.

Overall, a nice run.

I didn't run fast, of course. But my heart rate stayed in the 170-180bpm range, so I don't think I could have sustained anything much faster.




I had a comment recently asking about the holder I use for my phone. It's really nothing special. My husband had bought it and wasn't using it, so I commandeered it. I'm guessing it was rather cheap. It says "Bally Fit Gear" on it.

It has a velcro strap that goes around your upper arm. There is an access area on the top to put your headphone cord through. And there is a small zippered pouch to keep a dollar or two in. (Just enough for a cup of coffee!)

I've found that if I run my cable out of the holder under my sleeve and up through my neckline, the cord doesn't bother me much. I also clip it to my sports bra and it stays in place.

Hope that helps!!

Motivation.....

Well, I did the LIFTING part of 5B1 today. I know I should do the intervals, but I just couldn't do it after 1:11 in the gym. I know they don't take long, but.... whatever.

I was prepared to do them when I got home, but my son was waiting for me on the couch and that tipped me to not doing it. It's annoying how weak my resolve is at times.

I guess I should give myself credit for getting up at 4:00am when the alarm went off.

I am especially annoyed at myself because this B workout just doesn't pack the punch of the A workout unless I do the intervals. *sigh*

RDL/bent over row - 1@80#, 1@85#, 1@90#
partial single leg squat - since I didn't like these last time, I tried on a bench, better but I still don't like them 1@BW, 1@15#ea, 1@20#ea
wide grip lat pulldown - 3x92#
back extension - 1@35#, 2@40# (45deg setting)
YTWL - 3@10# ea (wanted 8# again, but one was upstairs, so I used 10# ... hard! but it worked)
swiss ball crunch - 13# overhead slowly
jackknives x3
swiss ball crunch x3
prone cobra 3x120sec

Starting Stage 5!

Again, I didn't want to get out of bed. While I was getting ready to head out the door, I was questioning why I wanted to do this, anyway. Not working out is much easier, at least presently. But, then I fought back and reminded myself how great I feel after lifting.

Today's workout took almost 1.5 hours! And that was even doing 3 sets of each exercise. (The book said 3 to 4 for most of them, 3 for the last two.) The timing called for 2 minute breaks between exercises. I didn't think I would be able to rest that long, but I tried. In those breaks, I read New Rules of Lifting (the original book, not for women). I actually waited the full time each time. A few times I even went over!

My lifts:
1 arm db snatch - 2sets @ 25#, 1set at 30# - I had to backtrack so I could get the hang of these again. I ended up at 35# in Stage 3.
db 1-leg Rom. deadlift - 2sets @ 35# ea hand, 1set @ 40#ea hand
barbell bentover row - 3sets @ 90#
db single arm overhead squat - 1set at 15#/30#, 2sets @ 12#/25# - I decreased the weight to improve my squat form and get deeper.
db incline bench press - 4sets @ 30# ea hand - It was hard to get that weight overhead! 30deg on the bench
plank - 3sets of 2 minutes
rev woodchop - 3 sets @ 41# pulled (82# on cable)
body weight matrix - 4:41, wait 9:22, 5:12

This was the first time for the bwm since I started physical therapy. I think I'll ice today just in case! My time definitely went down. My legs are now equivalent to spaghetti.

Yay for me for getting back to the gym after a couple weeks off. I'm going to be sore! I was sore this morning when I got up from the running yesterday.

Back to the streets

I had a week off while at a sailing regatta then I lazed around a week without much movement. So, this morning, my brain was trying hard to get me to sleep in. Luckily, I didn't let it. Although, it did manage to delay my run a little.

All I did was run slowly for 30 minutes. In fact, I ran at what is now for me a slow pace of 11:53 minutes/mile. So, in 30 minutes, I only went 2.53 miles. Ack! Oh, well. My goal was to break my two week hiatus, and I did. The temperature was a beautiful 65F with a very slight breeze.

During the run, I kept thinking about the 10k I signed up for. At first, I was kind of scaring myself. There are also a marathon and a half-marathon being run at the same time, so I will be running with around 3,000 of my closest friends. A friend who used to run in lots of races was mentioning how pushy and crowded these runs can be. I don't like huge crowds. I have somewhat of a phobia of being trampled!

So, I started thinking about how I was going to keep from falling during the race. I'm sure it's mostly at the start that I have to worry about really tight crowds. Hopefully, they will have pace designations, so I can correctly group myself and not be behind too many slower people or in front of too many faster people. My guess is the former is more likely. Not because I'm fast, more because I underestimate myself.

It's kind of bad that I had that 2 week break right now. This Saturday is a 5k race. In fact, it's the one that I ran as my first 5k last year. It would be cook to run it again, but I'm not really prepared. We'll see how I feel when Saturday rolls around. Maybe I'll sign up on site if I feel up to it.

Bunny count: somewhere around 12

Stage 4 complete! ... and a word on pulleys

Stage 4 of New Rules of Lifting for Women is complete!
I did only 2 sets of the last four exercises and I'm saving the intervals for another day.

Here are my weights:
Wide Grip Deadlift: 2@110#, 1@115# - not from box, since I'm already at a deficit
Bulgarian Split Squat: 3@30# - did I really do the second set??
Underhand Lat Pulldown: 2@5x105#/3x100#, 1@4x105#/3+1x100#
Rev Lunge from Box: 3@25#ea
DB Prone Cuban Snatch: 3@15#ea - tried 20# and it wasn't gonna happen
Swiss Ball Crunch: 2@28# overhead
Reverse Crunch: 2@30deg bench
Lateral Flexion: 2xHanna3
Prone Cobra: 2@2min

Now I'm due for a week or so break, then I'll be on to Stage 5!

Cable Stations and Pulleys
There was some question about the cable systems and what you are actually lifting, so I'm going to attempt to explain here. Pulleys can be used to create mechanical advantage (remember that?? levers and the like?). But the way they are set up changes how you pull the weight. The setup affects the amount of tension in the cable (i.e., the weight you pull) and the distance you pull the cable relative to how far the weight stack moves.

If you are using a simple one-pulley system, e.g., my lat pulldown station, the weight you pull is the same as the weight selected in the stack. In this setup, the weights will travel the same distance that the lat pulldown bar travels. See the diagram below.

Single Pulley Setup Diagram

In a two-pulley system, e.g., the cable station I use for woodchops and rows, the extra pulley creates a mechanical advantage, much in the same way using a lever would. The tension in the cable is half of the amount of weights I have selected. In return for having to lift less weight, I have to pull the cable twice as far. This actually works well for weightlifting because you want more pulling distance on some exercises. For example, when I do cable woodchops, I move about 5 or 6 feet from one side to the other. But, the weight stack only needs 2.5 to 3 feet of moving room to accommodate this exercise. I've seen people move a lot more distance than that for other exercises on this machine. See the diagram below.

Double Pulley Setup Diagram

Although, there are other ways of setting up pulley systems, you should be able to tell what you are using by examining the cable machine. I was the only one in the weight area today, so I snapped a few quick pictures of the cable machines I use. Note how the top of the weight stack differs as well as how the weights are reported on the sign on the machine. Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures. I was using my cell phone, which has no flash!

Single Pulley Setup
Note: No pulley attached to weight stack

Single Pulley Weights

Double Pulley Setup
Note: Pulley attached to weight stack

Double Pulley Weights