Friday, January 28, 2011

Blue Level

I've reached the Blue Level (syncing 621+ miles) on Nike+. Sweet!







Friday, January 21, 2011

Only Rant

"Jason only completes 12 minutes of cardio."

"I only walked 1.5 miles."

"Maxine only bench pressed 50 pounds."

Sometimes the term only is self-depreciating or others use it in a depreciating manner when speaking about what someone else has done. meaning. Personally, I think that word should be banned or not used as such.

The example statements above are prime examples. Jason did 12 minutes of cardio! That's great for Jason. The term only makes it seem like 12 minutes is not a lot. It is depending on the person. That could be someone for whom 2 weeks ago 12 minutes seemed like an hour. One shouldn't assume that 12 minutes of cardio is not an accomplishment.

The other day someone said that a guy at my gym was only on the treadmill a short while. That's what prompted this post. I responded, but he's on there and that's what he can. That's what's important! He's making the effort (my mantra). He's at the gym most mornings and putting in his time to get healthy. One must admire that. Once I said my speil the other person agreed.

You see, it's not always about doing what you feel is the most. It is about the individual. One has to do what is safe and comfortable for them. Who am I to judge? I don't know what Jason, Maxine, Shawn, or anyone else for that matter can do. I only (used in a good way!) know how far I can push myself. I don't know about others. Yes, I can encourage, but that person knows what he/she can do. Therefore, I choose not demean what others can do by using the term only to describe what a person did. I choose to state exactly what that person did and see it as an accomplishment. I do so because it is an accomplishment!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Timing at the gym, redux

Since I wrote this post, my timing has improved at the gym. I'm putting in 20 minutes of cardio then a weights workout. I've reduced my time between sets which helps to keep my heart rate up and reduces idle time. At present, I'm going 5 days per week. I'll do that this week so that I can finish out the month (I'm out of town next week).

Here's my routine:

Monday - biceps & triceps
Tuesday - legs
Wednesday - back & abs
Thursday - chest
Friday - shoulders & abs

I complete 20 minutes of cardio, the weights workout, and end with stretching.

Next week, I'm only in town Monday & Tuesday. I haven't decided if I want to do a full body workout each day or just cardio each day. We'll see how I feel come Monday.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Pound it Out!

This past Thursday morning I awakened with a pounding headache. I debated for a moment about staying home from the gym, but decided against knowing I couldn't go after work. So off I went after eating a waffle w/ peanut butter and a glass of water.

I jumped on the treadmill aiming for about 20 minutes of a run/walk interval. It was difficult because with every run interval I could feel the pounding of my headache. However, by the time my 20 minutes were up the headache was gone! That was an awesome feeling! I'm so glad I forced myself to go and get my workout in. It was SO worth it!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Radio Silence

Sorry for the radio silence. Life called. Didn't have time to update this space. I'm still around (check the twitter stream over there-->>) and doing my workouts.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Timing at the gym

I think I need to adjust my timing. Yesterday and today I put in 20 minutes on the treadmill then moved to the weight room. I then moved to the weightroom for 30 minutes. That seems like a lot of time, but when you consider the 15-30 seconds of rest time between sets, moving around the room, doing abs, and stretching - it's not a lot of time.

Yesterday I did 6 exercises and today I did 7 exercises. That seems like a fair amount, but I don't enough time to do abs and stretch. I either need to do less cardio or adjust to weights 3 days per week and cardio 2 days per week. I'm going to finish this week out as is so that I can become familiar with the machines in the room. I'll reevaluate at the end of the week.

Monday, January 3, 2011

January Plans

As stated over the weekend, I was successful with my cardio blitz in December and now it is time for a change. I'm going back into the weight room this month and will continue to cardio as well. Since I'm still at a new facility (today was first day in weight room), I still have to learn what's all available. I don't know what's in there and how to set-up my weights routine just yet. Therefore, this week I'll play it by ear until I learn what's there.

This month, I'm also going to get back into a regular routine of moving my body by walking/running. I've already started with the walking/running by putting in 3.6 miles on January 1st. Yay! This morning I put in some time on the treadmill and logged the miles with Nike+ GPS. I've never done that before, but decided why not since there's the treadmill option in that app.



I then moved to the weight and did an arms workout (biceps, triceps, & shoulders). I finished out with some abs, push-ups, and stretching. All in all a good workout.

I hit the pavement after work for some more miles:



By the numbers:

3.62 miles
25 minutes of weights (upper body), abs, push-ups, stretching

All in all, a good day!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

1st miles of the New Year

Started the New Year off with a walk/run with my guy!



It was much needed after yesterday's workout. Oh gracious am I sore in places I didn't think I could be sore. I had no idea that muscles on the top of my feet could be sore, but they are! Lesson learned. The workout today was a 1 mile run to my guy's house then a walk for the remainder of the time (he's not a runner). We walked onto local HBCU's campus which is close to our neighborhood and included a walk over a bridge. That might not have been a wise decision as when I got to the top I informed him that it was painful, and of course we had to walk back over it! Sheesh! Am I glutton for punishment or what?

2010 Mileage recap

2010 was an up & down year for walking/running for me. Mo total mileage for the year 330.97:



Not too bad considering I didn't log any miles during the month of June (did a lot of traveling that month including Europe! much fun). July was also pretty sparse along with December. I logged the least amount of miles in December although I did get a lot of exercise in due to cardio blitz.

I took an account of where I was for 2010 back in September. Although not stated there, I really wanted to surpass my 2009 mileage (239.17) by 100 miles. I didn't quite make it (8.2 miles off), but that's okay. I'm not going to belittle what I did accomplish. I did a lot for a person that didn't start running for exercise until my mid-30s, and then I only did so halfheartedly. It was only until 2009 that I really started keeping track and pushing myself. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished and I look to continue the effort in 2011.

The majority of the mileage I logged in 2010 was training mileage either. I did participate in 2-10Ks and several 5Ks, but I didn't really train for them. I just did them because I knew I could due to my running consistently.

For 2011 I've already signed up for 2-10K events (February and April). I'm sure I'll sprinkle in some 5Ks in there as well. Not sure if I'm going to train for them or just have fun with the event. Only time will tell. I'm enjoying the adventure of running and I don't want to make it seem to tedious by forcing myself into an uncomfortable position. I want it to be fun! When it ceases to be fun, I'll resent the exercise and not want to do it. Therefore, I'm just going to go with the flow.

Happy running!

Hello 2011!