November 18th, 2009 Workout – Cardio
Working on my endurance – so part of my routine is cardio. I got my old recumbant bike setup in my room and I did 30 minutes at difficulty 2 at an average speed of 24 (not sure what exactly, probably km/hr?) I’m going to track this so that I always keep increasing these amounts. Next time I ride the bike, I’ll do 35 minutes.
The side handles on the bike have been broken forever and I never got arund to getting them fixed. Today I finally went out and found bolts that were roughly the same size and got the handles fixed up.
Afterward I made up a giant pot of arhar dal (lentils) and a bunch of chicken breasts. I love lentils… yet I haven’t made them in months! They’re an excellent side dish – high in protein and fibre and they cost pennies per serving. Going to make them more often for sure.
Day 52/63 – Workout Log – Biking
I haven’t written in a while because I was up north for the long weekend… kept to my plan pretty well and got in a bunch of hikes, swims and bike rides while up there.
Today I took the dog for a quick ride then came back and dropped him off before heading out again. I didn’t get out until late which was nice because the sun was down, there was a nice breeze and it was nice and cool out. I was able to get a 31 km ride which is 9 km more than the longest I’ve ever ridden. I am going to get up to a 50 km ride before the end of summer. Tonight I felt like I could just keep going and going.
Day 46/63 – Workout Log – Weight Lifting / Biking
Weight day!
Here’s what I did today.
Squats: 5 x 45, 5 x 95, 5 x 135, 5 x 205, 5 x 205, 5 x 205 (finished all 3 work sets – moving up next workout)
Barbell Military Press: 5 x 45, 5 x 65, 5 x 95, 5 x 95, 5 x 95 (finished all 3 work sets – moving up next workout)
Barbell Bent Over Rows: 5 x 65, 5 x 115, 5 x 140, 5 x 140, 5 x 140 (finsihed all 3 work sets – moving up next workout)
Pullups (laid under bar in rack and pulled myself up to that): 5, 5, 5
I love it when I can finish all my work sets and can move up. I think I’ll definitely be able to hit my goal of 2 plates for both squats and deadlifts by the end of the 9 week challenge or shortly after.
Once I finished I came home and downed a post workout shake, then went out bike riding for a few km with the dog. I’m loving the new bike! I really need to break in and adjust the disc brakes though before I go on a proper trail with it. The cables weren’t pre-stretched so as I ride it more they are stretching out and throwing everything out of wack.
42/63 – Workout Log – Biking
I got myself an early 9 week challenge reward! There are still three weeks to go, but I am going to finish and I found a great deal on a new bike, so I couldn’t pass it up. I was thinking either bike, skydiving or a new tattoo, but I figured I’d get the most usage out of the bike and it would be the best at getting me towards my goals.
I went out for my first ride on it today and it’s so much nicer than my old bike. I haven’t weighed them, but this one is very noticably lighter. The shifters actually work when I want them to and the shock feels really nice. My last ride was 20 km and I went 22 km this time and felt like I had so much more energy to keep going. I would have, but at the 10 km mark it started to look really gloomy out and literally as I was by my house a thunderstorm started so I cut it short. But next time I think I can do 30 km for sure. I’m going to map it out and hope that the weather cooperates with me.
Day 35/63 – Workout Log – Biking
I was planning on going mountain biking today but had a timing conflict so I had to miss out. I decided to go for a nice long ride around here instead. I mapped out my course on Gmaps Pedometer, put on some tunes and started pedalling.
For the first time I did a 20km ride – peanuts to a long distance rider but hey, I’m progressing and that’s what I’m most concerned about.
I also learned that athletic sandals are really crappy biking footwear when my foot slipped and I scraped the back of my heel really good.
Next time I do a ride, I’m going to add another km to the end of my planned route. I would be really happy to double my riding distance by the time winter rolls around.
Day 30/63 – Workout Log – Biking
Went for a bike ride today. First I took the dog out for a few km. Once he was tired I brought him back and went out on my own.
I ended up going the furthest I’ve gone yet this year – 17km. I know it’s not really that far, but it’s an improvement for me and I could tell that I could keep going for a while. I think after mountain biking last week normal biking just seems so much easier. I mapped out a 20km route and I’m gonna do that next time I get out biking.
Day 21/63 – Workout Log – Mountain Biking
This is only a week late, ha. Give me a break – I’ve been home pretty much all week miserably sick. I was really looking forward to training this week too.
Anyway – I think part of the reason I got sick was because I went mountain biking last Sunday for the first time and over-exerted myself. I’ve been riding my bike around my area a bit. Nothing serious at all and I think the longest ride I went for was a measely 12km. On Sunday I drove up to Albion Hills Conservation Area with some of the Slip n Slide crew that I snowboard with. I’ve wanted to try trail riding for a while so I decided to just go for it and give it a shot.
Albion Hills Trails
Knowing that it was my first time mountain biking, they decided to take me on a 15km ride of mostly single track trails. Not exactly a gentle introduction eh? I had no idea what I was doing with my gearing and ended up having to walk my bike up some of the steep parts, but I started to figure it out by the end of the day. We rode for just over 4 hours and I found it really tough. I had a really good time though and I am definitely going to do a lot more riding from now on.
The feeling of riding through the woods was really peaceful. The scenery was great and the adrenaline rushes I got while shooting downhill on a twisty trail and dodging trees and stumps was almost as good as snowboarding. The first few km were the hardest I think – getting used to how the gears work on less than gradual uphill/downhill changes and how much effort needs to be put in to pedaling. Towards the end I really started to run out of energy but knowing we were so close to finishing I was able to keep it going.
Nice Scenery at Albion Hills
I can’t wait to go again. I’ll be better prepared next time too. I’m going to get some gloves to save my hands from being blistered and bring along some snacks to keep my energy up. My bike is a $99 piece of crap with no suspension but I’m going to ride it until it breaks to make sure I’m really into this before I think about upgrading.
Day 10/63 – Workout Log – Biking
I’m busy after work tonight and I didn’t want to miss a workout so I went to bed early last night, got up early this morning and went out for a bike ride. It’s so peaceful being out there early in the morning. The sun is out but not blazing hot yet and it just felt like such a great start to the day.
I’m starting to see some results physically. I’m finding it hard to be patient with my weight loss this time around because I was just there and I already know how great it feels to have it off. I will keep reminding myself to think long term.
Day 9/63 – Workout Log – Conditioning / Biking
Today’s workout was Konditioning class at Kombat Arts. Linda runs this and it’s pretty much an hour of really tough boot-camp style drills. In other words, torture, ha. Here’s a list of what we did today – many of these were repeated a number of times and I missed a bunch, but you’ll get an idea of how the class goes:
- jogging
- sideways strides
- cariocas
- jogging
- crunches
- sprints
- backwards sprints
- wheelbarrows
- wheelbarrows with pushups
- backwards wheelbarrows
- jumping jacks
- ladder jumps
- sprints
- long jumps
- squat thrusts
- pull ups
- wide squats
- over / unders
- leg raises
- stretching
I had to stop a few times to catch my breath but I made it and I’ll be back every Tuesday now. I got home and hopped on the bike for a quick 3 km with Ozzy. He’s laying next to me passed out as I type this. I was pretty beat when I got back but I love taking him out for a bike ride. The big goofy grin on his face as he runs next to me makes it all worth it.
Ozzy - exhausted after his bike ride.
Day 8/63 – Workout Log – Biking
The weather outside last night was perfect. The sun was out and the temperature wasn’t too high and I really felt like spending some time outside.
Ozzy knew what was going on as soon as I grabbed my camelback. His eyes popped out of his head the second I put it on and he started running around in circles.. . crazy pooch! I hooked him up to his harness and we did a couple of km which is good for him still. We ran into my roommate on the way back and he came out for a ride after I dropped Ozzy off. We did another 8km then came back.
I did some pull up work after, starting with some negatives and then did some with the bar down laying on the floor underneath it and pulling myself towards it. My pull up strength is still miserable and the only way it will get better is if I really plug at it so I’m going to get on that bar every time I pass under it.
Next bike ride will be longer as well – going to map out 20km, throw on some music and get at it.