Becoming an Athlete

Low Intensity Intervals are going to be a permanent part of my fitness plan for the rest of my life.  I may reduce the duration of the walks soon, or increase the run duration, but they just make me feel amazing. 10 rounds of 2min walk and 30sec hard run.  The 1st two rounds are always slow, and the last two are always gut-checks.  Everything in between makes me feel like a damn race horse.  My stride feels good, the springiness in my feet, ankles, and calves feels great. What I love most about LIIT is how easy it is to lose track of time.  The 25 minutes was over before I knew what happened.  My dog crapped out at round 7 and watched me circle the gravel track from the shade of the gazebo. When I get a bit fitter, I'll add in HIIT 1 day a week and slowly build up to 2 days a week, but for the foreseeable future LIIT along with a few distance runs per week will cover my cardio / stamina needs. Summary: 10 rounds of: 2 minute fast walk 30 second h...

I took my son to a park so he could ride his new bike and I could run.  I did my best to keep up with him, but failed miserably.  It doesn't matter that I can't keep up.  What matters is that I'm running faster than I ever would if on my own. Running at that pace, at intervals of 1/2 to 1 mile at a time, makes my entire body sore!  Biceps, lower back, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, calves, and shins all ache today. I'm confident I'll run the 12 MAY 5K in under 30 minutes.

Straightforward, nothing fancy, nothing planned.  Just a lot of pulling. Push - Pull superset a. T-bar row:  45 x 12, 12; 70 x 10, 10; 85 x 10, 10; 95 x 10 b. Puhsup:              10, 10;         10, 10;         10, 10;         10 Archer's row*: 40 x 5/5, 5/5, 5/5; 47 x 7/7, 5/5, 5/5; 53 x 5/5, 4/4, 4/4 Kettlebell snatch: 35 x 10/10; 10/10; 10/10 Kettlebell curl ladders: 25 x 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,1,2,3 Archer's Row:  I've found this exercies to be a tremendous benefit for my grip, core, and back strength.  I call it the archer's row because I use a stance, grip, and angle of pull identical to my longbow.  I've been shooting my longbow for about a month now, and can tell my back strength is way above what it was 10 years ago (when I was shooting regularly). Using the adjustable ca...

Thursday evening was the hardest run of the year for me.  The kids were on their bikes, and I tried to keep up with them.  After a mile and a half, I had to stop and catch my breath. We chilled out for a bit, then raced back home, and of course they won. Either way, a solid 3 miles run as fast as I possibly could - no timing since I took a break in the middle,

Because of the hernia, I'm not squatting or deadlifting, so hill sprints are a suitable alternative, and better in some respects.  I parked at Lake Pflugerville, about a mile from the dam.  The hill is the downside of the dam; I'd guess about 35 yards total distance, and at a 45 degree incline. The goal was to run max sprints in 20 minutes.  I got 12 in 10 minutes and was 100% crapped out.  Net result: 1 mile walk 12 hill sprints in 20 mins 1 mile walk back to truck. Not bad for my first attempt.

That pretty much says it all.  I walked for an hour over my lunch break.  My goal is to get my frail and twig-like ankles and shins prepped for the repetitive impact that comes with race-pace 5K. I'll do some hill sprints this evening.

Because the hernia surgery was only a month ago and because I have a 5K race on 12 MAY, I am prioritizing running and conditioning over strength. Monday 5:30 PM:  Low Intensity Intervals 8 rounds of 30sec run / 2 min walk Monday 7:00 PM: Weights Horizontal cable press (like bench):  45 x 10; 50 x 10; 60 x 13 Incline bench press:  95 x 15, 10 Wide grip pulldown:  95 x 10; 100 x 10; 115 x 10 1-arm dumbbell row: 40 x 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 1-arm cable prone raise:  13 x 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Overhead press: 95 x 5; 100 x 5; 105 x 6 Pinky up cable lateral raise:  7 x 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Kettlebell curl ladders:  25 x 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 I tried doing some planks but it hurt pretty bad.

I'm ready to push myself again.  Since getting the hernia repaired, I'll have to push my cardio and conditioning for a while before I start pushing my strength.  That's a really good thing for me.  I did quite a bit this weekend, and held up just fine. Sat 21 APR: AM - 1 hr walk Noon - rode bike 4 miles to gym, did a feel-out upper body workout, rode 4 miles back. Later that day, I treated my wife to a night out to celebrate her competing in her 1st amateur bodybuilding show.  We got a room at the Driskill hotel in Austin, had a great dinner with friends, and went from place to place downtown till midnight.  Sure was nice having the hotel within walking distance. Sun 22 APR: Since we had such a late night, work on Sunday was harder than normal. We got home around 11:00 and did plenty of yard work.  I also planted another tree.  That takes serious effort with the amount of limestone we have. Later that evening I went and ran a casual / easy 5...

My hernia surgery is coming along fine.  I'm working right up to the edge of discomfort and then easing off.  I'm ready to start lifting, but I have a 5K scheduled for 12 MAY.  I'm going to focus on that and lift as an accessory. Sat 14 APR: 1 hr walk Sun 15 APR: 2 hr walk in fields with my son - we were shooting pellet guns.  Later that day I walked another 45 mins Mon 16 APR: 40 min walk Tue 17 APR:  nothing Wed 18 APR: 30 min walk Thu 19 APR: 45 min walk Fri 20 APR: 45 min walk after shooting at the archery range for an hour.

Since I'm just walking for the next couple of weeks, there really isn't a need to post daily. I am trying to wait a full 6 weeks post op before I start lifting again, but that is going to be hard. 4/7 - Sat: 30 min walk 4/8 - Sun: walked twice; 30mins in the morning and 45 mins at night 4/9 - Mon: 30 min walk mid day and 30 min various cardio machins at night 4/10 - Tue: nothing 4/11 - Wed: nothing 4/12 - Thu: 30 min walk in the evening 4/13 - Fri: 20 min walk in the evening

I walked for 30 minutes Monday morning. I did 3 different hamster wheels (cardio machines) Monday evening Step mill: 8 minutes (HARD) some elliptical: 12 minutes (stupid) some other quasi-nordic track: 10 minutes (medium effort, less stupid) By the end of the 3rd machine, I could feel my hernia repair twinging just a tiny bit. That's goodness. I worked right up to the edge of discomfort as my cardio session ended.

I finally bit the bullet and got my hernia repaired on 3/27. I can not lift weights yet, but I have started a 6-day per week walking schedule. I say schedule, but it is really simple: Walk Monday through Saturday Walk for as long as I can (up to an hour) before surgery site starts hurting Do this for 3 weeks So I feel a weird tugging sensation if I do too much of anything right now, so I'll work just to the edge of discomfort, and back off. The goal is to slowly and cautiously push my threshhold up. So far I have walked Fri 4/6: 30 minutes Sat 4/7: 30 minutes Sun 4/8: 30 mins at 6:00 AM and 45 mins at 7:00 PM After 3 weeks, I'll incorporate jogging.