Day 23: Dec 1, 2009 - VOMIT IN MOUTH

Yup that's right.
There's working it; and then there's throwing up in your mouth.
Now understand that's not quite as rough as spewing chunks; but today I graciously made up for yesterday.

5:00 - row - nothing too drastic, but the blood got pumping.
10:00 - Superman Sets -
5 pull-ups (feet start on box/ground)
focus on negative resistance
10 Spiderman pushups
Push up - when in 'up' position
raise right knee towards elbow
raise left knee towards left elbow
(down / up - repeat)
15 Body Weight Squats
:30 second rest between sets

Repeat as many sets as possible in 10 minutes.

When doing pull-ups; I like to alternate between 'overhand' and 'underhand' grips every set. I find this helps out balance out the shoulders and back a bit more in this work-out.
I've taken it easy on the upper body and core since breaking my collarbone; so this was no joke.

10 Spidie push-ups were too many for my shoulder as I started to feel the stress where the fracture was. Instead I did 6 push-ups, followed by the body weight squats, and then 4 more push-ups; rest, start over. This really reminded my arms, shoulders and back that they were part of my total body.

As for the 'leg lifts' during the push-up... this is for your core. Kind of combining everything. I'll do more research and get back to you; but for not having done crunches for three months; they reminded me just how deep my abs were burried. I would recommend 'lift-hold-lower', really squeeze your leg at the top. This not only gives you a bit of stretch, but your muscles a chance to really get into the work out and support your weight.

And then it was on to the bike.
It was getting late; and I hadn't really had dinner but I wanted to get something good in.

20 minute warm-up (12:00 reading)
1:00 hard
1:00 soft
2:00 hard
2:00 soft
3:00 hard
2:00 soft
2:00 hard
2:00 soft
1:00 hard
4:00 soft (2:00 reverse)

sweat on floor, vomit in mouth.
Wrecked, shattered, lungs burning - what a feeling.

Day 22: Nov 30, 2009 - A gym is not a . . .

freaking circus.

For me going to the gym is like watching Grey's Anatomy with my wife. If I'm in the mood - it's AMAZING - if I'm not, it's a chore, and today... it was like the forth sink full of dishes.

I was looking forward to coming back from my week long training in ATLANTA and wanted to follow it up with some good hard sweat in the iron chamber. But NOOOooo it had to be 'customer appreciation day'. I work out at a Premier Fitness because most of them are really nice; but there's a reason my club has a website that looks like 'this' (pathetic I know).

A quick list of circus acts acts I endured today whilst wanting to work out:
Live DJ
Tony Roma's free snacks
(which the whole neighborhood came to check out)
50" TV give a way (donated FREE by local business)
Christmas Lights
(oh and let's not forget the club manager running around in a suit clapping saying "it's almost time for the draw people")

Put 125 extra people into a gym that aren't dressed for the gym. Added to the extra 40 people not usally there on a Monday night and you have one squashed work out. Couldn't get on a pull up bar to save my life, the weights I wanted were all taken, or moved somewhere I couldn't find... I mustered getting the heart rate up for 10 minutes but seriously.

10:00 on the rowing maching
(2029 meters)

Yup - that's it, a whole trip to the gym for 10 minutes!
Hopefully tomorrow we can get in a double work out.

PS - free tip to gym owners and managers out there.
You want "Customer Appreciation":

1) Call up some sports supplements companies and get some free samples
(not fried food from next door)

2) Get a guest speaker or fitness celebrity in to speak.
(as 2010 is Canada's time - an Olympian might be nice. Oh you don't know where to find Olympians? Check out Agenda Sport Marketing - or ask the people you got the above free supplements from).

3) Prizes - TV's are nice; but what about a couple of 12 month memberships, or perhaps some of those over priced 'Personal Training' sessions you're constantly trying to sell?

Sorry folks; no quirky pictures, just whining.

Day 2: Nov 10, 2009

Slightly more glamorous than Day1. Except today the reason I was out of bed @ 6:00am was to take my mother in law to the airport... Alas, after husbandly duties were completed; it was off to the gym.

Warm Up - ROWING
4:05 (very short, running late)
120 - 135 bpm
44 calories burned
30 strokes/min average
824 meters
(Why Rowing?)

Work Out - Bike
12:00 - daily Bible reading (120bpm)
3:00 - finish warm up (escalate to 130 bpm)
5:00 - escalate to 145 bpm
5:00 - 40 secs hard, 30 secs soft
* wow - haven't done one of these for a while
5:00 - paceline tempo (moderate)
5:00 - 1 leg drills (3o secs left, 30 secs both x 3 +1 30 secs right every 4 sets)
5:00 - cool down (pedaling BACKWARDS - helps smooth out stroke)

40:00 mins today - now we're getting somewhere.
Now if I only remembered that I needed to be somewhere when I was on minute 10!

Why Row ?

I first started rowing as a warm up with a friend - but it's rapidly becoming a staple in my pilgrimage back into race shape. So far my rowing sessions have all been 5 minutes or less. But they're growing. A learning point for me has been that I don't ALWAYS have to row 35 strokes per minute.

Here are some benefits I've found from rowing:

1. It's a killer warm up
Rowing can get my heart rate through the roof and tell my body "it's time to work" before I even get on the bike. It uses so many muscles not just one area is targeted. This is a great lead-in for stretching. (if I stretch cold; I feel like I don't get anywhere, but while warm, I'm like Gumby - okay not true but closer)

2. Total Body
As eluded to in 1. the fact that it works the whole body is good for many other things.
Weightloss - I have friends who are 250lbs+, ride 5 hours per week and can crank out 345 watts on the flats, which is great, but you always have to wait for them at the top of hills, or even overpasses. Rowing seems to burn calories 'everywhere'
Definition/Muscle Building - In cycling we need strong arms and backs to help us go fast. It may be cheating as I don't enjoy free weights that much; but I can row and have already felt it start to make a difference. (Zabel's a ripped little dude, and it seems like a lot of OCup races are crit and sprint finished based so this will be important).

Is it REALLY total body?

As you catch the handles of the rowing machine and begin to pull forward, you are engaging your pelvis and thighs. As you pull, your arms, shoulders, back, and abdomen get involved. As you slide back, your legs, hips, and torso do the brunt of the work. The backs of your upper arms, shoulders, and butt also get a good workout with proper rowing form.

3. It's not a bike.
There are times when it's good to just not be on the bike. Here you can get your anaerobic work out in. Build your lung capactiy, work your body, and not be sitting on your saddle. Had I not lived in Toronto; I likely wouldn't have discovered rowing machines, but since you can't be outside all year round - you gotta rock what you got.

4. Low Impact

Let's face it - the road can beat you up some days. If you want to have smooth fluid motion - this is a good way to go. It's great when you're building muscle around injuries - like the broken collar bones many of us experience. ( Here's a pic from my late July 2009 crash where I miss navigated some street car tracks).

People may make fun of me for using a 'machine'- but at least it's not an elliptical :P

Day 1: Nov 09, 2009 - Lame

I'll be honest - I was hoping for a little more grandeur as I started my trek from 'office guru' to cycling super star... but alas. 6:00am came and went and I didn't get to the gym until 6:00pm.

5 minutes on the row machine.
This aint no warm-up; heart rate kicked up to 186bmp.
1212 meters rowed...





25 minutes on the spin bike.
Escalating heart rate.
0-5 mins (sub 137bpm)
5-10 mins (140 - 145bpm)
10-15 mins (single leg drills)
15-20 mins (150+ bpm)
20-23 mins (spin)

Ok so that was a lame blog, but so was the work out.
Seriously if the rest are this bad I wouldn't read my blog; but then again - it's not for YOU yet; it's for me - to make sure I work out and do more on day 15 than day 1. So check back then!