Spartacus Workout

Very little post-vacation progress, according to the scale this morning. That's super disappointing, so I'm making an extra effort this week to be good. Trying hard to stay away from the chocolate. More veggies in my life.

Since this workout last week was the hardest thing I've done in a good long time, I thought I'd revisit it again now that I've recovered (barely). Going to tweak a few of the weights and reps to more manageable numbers -- we'll see how it goes. I'll remember to stretch this time around and maybe tomorrow I'll actually be able to stretch my legs.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: None, really

Yesterday: No Alcohol! Cardio!

Environment: indoor - hot

Workout
Equipment: dumbbell: 25 [x1], 20,* 15, 10 [hex]
Work Time: 30:00

* Edit: Didn't have any 20lb weights available, so I improved!

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 3: Reps - Weight [type]
Goblet Squat	20 - 25lbs [DB]	21	21	21
Mountain Climber	100	104	106	90
Single Arm DB Swing	10/side - 15lbs [DB]	7/side	7/side	7/side
T-pushup	10 - 10lbs [hex DB]	10	11	10
Split Jumps	42	52	50	45
DB Row	20 - 20lbs [DB] 30 -15lbs [DB]	33	31	31
DB Side Lunge	10/side - 15lbs [DB]	9/side	8/side	10/side
Plank Row	10/side - 15lbs [DB]	11/side	11/side	11/side
DB Lunge + Twist	10/side - 20lbs [DB] 12/side - 15lbs [DB]	8/side	8/side	6/side
Explosive Overhead Press	20 - 15lbs [DB]	23	20	21

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Ab bonus!

Minutes	Exercise
0:00 - 0:50	45° Laying Scissor Lifts
1:00 - 1:50	T-Plank, R
2:00 - 2:50	Laying Leg Circles
3:00 - 3:50	T-Plank, L
4:00 - 4:50	Pushups -- 20

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4!
Stretch Time:  15:00
Total Time:70:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Legs, Upper back

Comments
Much better this time around! I felt like I worked my arms more, which was nice, and I hit more of my goals or beat them by only a smidge, which means I found better weights. Still having troubles with the lunges though -- seems like regardless of what the weight it, I just do them slowly. Sigh. I'll have to focus on them -- I'd like to at *least* be able to get to 10 on a side in 50 seconds. Two and a half seconds per lunge doesn't seem outrageously fast...

And my legs weren't nearly as useless the day after. Win!

40:00 Treadmill

Going to be hard on myself again this week -- tubing on Saturday! Bathing suits! Beers! Lots of salad in my immediate future. And cucumber soup.

Revisiting my favorite treadmill workout today -- the same one I did here. Hopefully it goes just as well

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: none, really

Yesterday: Sunday funday -- Alcohol, Pizza, No exercise

Environment: indoors -it's hot again

Workout
Equipment: Treadmill
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Manual
Incline: 2.0-3.0

Minutes	Intensity: MPH [time]	Incline: °	Total Distance (mi.)*
0:00-3:00	6.5	3.0	.31
3:01-9:00	9.5 [1:00] 6.2 [1:00] repeat x3	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [2:00] 2.0 [2:00]	1.10
9:01-10:00	3.8	2.0	1.16
10:01-15:00	6.2 [1:00] 9.5 [1:00] repeat x2.5	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [2:00] 2.0 [1:00]	1.79
15:01-16:00	3.8	2.0	1.86
16:01-21:00	6.2 [1:00] 9.5 [1:00] repeat x2.5	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [3:00]	2.46
21:01-23:00	3.8	3.0	2.60
23:01-25:00	4.0 side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	3.0	~2.73
25:01-28:00	4.5 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	3.0	~2.96
28:01-31:00	5.0 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	3.0	~3.21
31:01-32:00	5.5 backwards	3.0	3.31
32:01-33:30	3.8	3.0	3.40
33:30-34:00	3.8 -> 10.0	3.0
34:01-40:00	10.0 [:20] 0.0 [:10] repeat x12	3.0 [2:00] 2.5 [2:00] 2.0[2:00]	4.46
40:01-42:00	3.5	0.0

*Note: 'Total Distance' is distance read off the treadmill, values starting with '~' are calculated post-workout based on speed, values without were recorded in real time.

Bonus! Ab work:

Minutes	Exercise
0:00 - 0:50	BOSU Straight Arm Plank + Leg Raise
1:00 - 1:50	BOSU T-Plank, R
2:00 - 2:50	BOSU Straight Arm Plank
3:00 - 3:50	BOSU T-Plank, L
4:00 - 4:50	Pushups -- 20

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 65:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: None, really. Win!

Comments
Covered about the same amount of ground as the last time I did this run, however I don't feel as good about it. Took 5 second rail breaks in the middle of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th sprint intervals. So that sucks. I added a minute of sprints to the end to atone for my sins, which I actually felt pretty good during. Especially considering I upped the incline a bit on those. So, overall, probably no progress as compared to last time.

26:00 Row, 19:30 Treadmill

Got a great surprise today -- I was told to go home early! Work's been weird this week because we're having weird funding issues with our client, so the money hasn't been set aside to pay us yet. Or something. Moral of the story is that we've been running a skeleton crew around here for 3 days now, and today they just gave up and sent everyone home at noon. So I had a nice workout, walked from the gym back to my house, stopped at SweetGreen for a salad and Pound for an iced Nutella latte. Delicious! Then I got to spend some quality time with the dog -- we read in the park together for an hour and a half. Or, rather, I read, and he interrupted me whenever he wanted me to throw the tennis ball. I meant to do some ab work buuuuuut the book was way more interesting...

I decided on a cardio workout today since I haven't actually done anything real since Tuesday (still not sure yoga counts). I'm starting to think about block workouts since my tri is in 2 months, so I split my efforts between the rowing machine and the treadmill. Tried to write down all of my distances, but sometimes I get really tired during my 'sprint' blocks and forget what I'm supposed to remember. I aimed for 2 sets of 26-minute pyramid-style intervals, but my legs were deathly on the treadmill and I only got through 3 of the 4 interval chunks.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Legs, still... stupid Spartacus...

Yesterday: No alcohol, stretching workout

Environment: Indoors, warm

Workout
Equipment: rowing machine, treadmill
Work Time: 45:30
Program: Manual
Resistance: rower - 8
Incline: treadmill - 2.0

Row:

Minutes	Intensity [min / 500m]	Distance Traveled [m
0:00 - 3:00	~2:30	+ 595 = 595
3:00 - 5:00	~2:15	+ 440 = 1035
5:00 - 6:00	~2:00	+? = ?
6:00 - 6:30	1:50-	+ ? = 1420
6:30 - 9:30	~2:30	+ 585 = 2005
9:30 - 11:30	~2:15	+ 445 = 2450
11:30 - 12:30	~2:00	+ 240 = 2690
12:30 - 13:00	1:50-	+ 145 = 2835
13:00 - 16:00	~2:30	+ 580 = 3415
16:00 - 18:00	~2:15	+ 445 = 3860
18:00 - 19:00	~2:00	+ 235 = 4095
19:00 - 19:30	1:50-	+ 130 = 4225
19:30 - 22:30	~2:30	+ 605 = 4830
22:30 - 24:30	~2:15	+ 430 = 5260
24:30 - 25:30	~2:00	+ 245 = 5505
25:30 - 26:00	1:50-	+ 125 = 5630

Run:

Minutes	Intensity [MPH]	Distance Traveled [mi]
0:00 - 3:00	6.0	+ .29 = .29
3:00 - 5:00	7.5	+ .25 = .54
5:00 - 6:00	9.0	+ .14 = .68
6:00 - 6:30	10.0	+ .13 = .81
6:30 - 9:30	6.0	+ 28 = 1.09
9:30 - 11:30	7.5	+ .25 = 1.34
11:30 - 12:30	9.0	+ .15 = 1.49
12:30 - 13:00	10.0	+ .11 = 1.60
13:00 - 16:00	6.0	+ .29 = 1.89
16:00 - 18:00	7.5	+.25 = 2.14 (?)
18:00 - 19:00	9.0	+ .14 = 2.28 (?)
19:00 - 19:30	10.0	+.10 = 2.38

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 70:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: General weariness

Comments
Looks like the gym refub-ed the rowing machines at some point recently. The wheel had been massively tightened -- pulling was harder than usual and I was almost being pulled forward on the return. I found the 2:15 pace hard to maintain for 2 minutes, and I'm not sure I got under 1:50 at any point. It's probably the reason those distances were a little short -- my splits should have been 600m, 444m, 250m, and 136m. Theoretically I should have gone 5720m ... goal for next time! Although I was ahead of myself by about 400m as compared to last time I did this routine, so, progress! Progress and goals! I also have to confess that I needed short breaks during the running. I think I took 10 seconds in the middle of each of the 9.0 minutes. Again, something to strive for.

Yoga

Looks like Tuesday's Spartacus workout was a bit harder than I thought it was -- woke up Wednesday morning with extremely sore hamstrings. Sitting in an office for 9 hours probably didn't help any, but by the end of the day I wasn't feeling up to the run I had planned. So instead I took the dog for a nice long walk -- about 3.4 miles down the hill and back. By the time we got back my legs were tired and he was panting -- it's still hot out there!

Legs are *still* sore today, so I've decided to switch things up a bit and try my hand at yoga. Awhile back I bought a daily-deal for one of those monthly boxes-o-things. The one that came in June contained (among other things) one free download from yogadownload.com. I'm new to the site, but everything is fairly clearly laid out. Each class is ranked according to level of difficultly and the level of effort involved. Seeing as how I'm clearly no yogi I've chosen a class designated for the 'Advanced Beginner' -- I've decided that means its meant for someone that knows how (theoretically) to do the crow but can't hold it for more than about 2.3 seconds. I've also chosen the 'Bring a Towel' intensity level because, honestly, I'm not going to waste (free) money to have someone tell me to lay on my back and breathe for 15 minutes. And finally, I'll be doing this routine in my house with the air conditioning blasting, because I think 'hot yoga' is exactly like experiencing first hand what Ixion deals with in the firey depths of Hades.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: LEGS

Yesterday: Alcohol, Exercise? Walking!

Environment: Indoors! Air conditioned!

Workout
Equipment: yoga mat, computer
Work Time: 45:00
Program: Power Yoga #1, from yogadownload.com
Level: Adv. Beginning / Bring a Towel

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 
Stretch Time: 
Total Time: 

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 
Sore Areas: 

Comments

Spartacus Workout

Still shaking off the lingering effects of vacation -- healing the sunburn, doing mountains of laundry, trying to to long for the weekend too much...

Back to the gym! Today's workout is called the 'Spartacus Workout'. I grabbed it from the Women's Health personal trainer website. It's a total-body workout completed as 3 sets of 10 exercises, done for 1 minute each. I think I'm going to alter it a bit to be 50:10 intervals, just so everything lines up nicely. In theory you're supposed to do this workout 3 times a week and end up with abs like a greek god [ancient Thracian hero?]? I guess?  Here's to hoping...

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Upper back

Yesterday: No Alcohol! Cardio!

Environment: indoor - hot

Workout
Equipment: dumbbell: 20,15, 10 [hex]
Work Time: 30:00

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 3: Reps - Weight [type]
Goblet Squat	20 - 20lbs [DB]	22 - 25lbs	22 - 25lbs	23 - 25lbs
Mountain Climber	60	104	105	96
Single Arm DB Swing	20/side - 15lbs [DB]	12/side - 15lbs	13/side - 15lbs	14/side - 15lbs
T-pushup	10 - 10lbs [hex DB]	6 - 10lbs	7 - 10lbs	7 - 10lbs
Split Jumps	50	40	33	40
DB Row	20 - 15lbs [DB]	30 - 15lbs	26 - 20lbs	24 - 20lbs
DB Side Lunge	20/side - 15lbs [DB]	8/side - 15lbs	7/side - 15lbs	8/side - 15lbs
Plank Row	10/side - 10lbs [hex DB]	13/side - 10lbs	10/side - 15lbs	8/side - 15lbs
DB Lunge + Twist	10/side - 20lbs [DB]	7/side - 25lbs	8/side - 15lbs	6/side - 15lbs
Explosive Overhead Press	20 - 15lbs [DB]	18 - 15lbs	18 - 15lbs	20 -15lbs

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 2
Stretch Time: 10:00
Total Time: 60:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 3
Sore Areas: Legs, Upper Back

Comments
Oof this one was hard. Exhausting -- I got home and wanted to just sit on the cough. Means it was good for me though! Not sure if there were enough arm exercises to make them work-- I might try to factor in more pushups in the T's and the Plank Rows. I've also discovered that I lunge very slowly -- both sideways and while twisting. With that in mind, I'm going to readjust some of the weights and reps next time around.

Update: Took me 3 days to walk pain-free after this. It's a killer.

Vacation + 40:00 Stationary Bike

Finally home after a fantastic 8 day vacation in St. Lucia. There was plenty of sunshine and sand, of course, but the resort we stayed in was wellness-themed, so there was actually some fitness involved too! I stretched almost every morning, learned how to Zumba from a fabulous gay man and managed to struggle through a yoga class or two. I also go to try my hand at archery, wind surfing, sailing, fencing (yes, it's really as ridiculous as it looks from afar) and a smattering of other things. Throw in a daily spa 'treatment' and a pirate ship and we had ourselves a vacation to remember, although I'm pretty sure we were in bed by 10 every night (if we even managed to make it that long!).

Sadly, I had to return to real life and with it came the fact that vacations are for eating and drinking too much, and all the SUP-ing in the world probably won't erase that. So it's back to the grindstone for me, easing back into it with a biking workout. It's the same one I did here (seems like this is becoming my favorite post-vacation workout...) only this time I remembered to write down how far I went. Win!

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]:4

Sore Areas: none

Yesterday: Alcohol, No Exercise

Environment: indoors - not as horrifically hot as usual

Workout
Equipment: Stationary Bike [LifeFitness]
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Random
Level: 16

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Distance Traveled : mi.
0:00-5:00	5: ~75	1.35
5:01-10:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	2.91
10:00-15:00	5: ~75	4.14
15:01-20:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	5.63
20:00-25:00	5: ~75	6.78
25:01-30:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	8.20
30:00-35:00	5: ~75	9.42
35:01-40:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	10.85

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 7 min.
Total Time: 55 min.

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 1
Sore Areas: Rotor cuffs

Comments
Not bad for the first day back. Won't lie, hurt a little, but I'll get back into it. I would have liked to hit 11 miles but I couldn't quite get there. Goal for next time!

Upper Body/Core Lift

Well, given the back to back running workouts I did earlier this week, it's understandable that my legs are down for today's count. So instead I'm going to focus on an upper body and core lifting session.


My goal for today is to actually get through these '15 minute' workouts in 15 minutes. *Maybe* twenty. That way I have time for two! Both from Women's Health Big Book of 15 Minute Workouts. One steals it's monkier from none other than FLOTUS herself: the 'Michelle-Obama-Arms Workout. I'm wary of this workout because it uses machines, which I hate using because someone else is ALWAYS using them. So we'll see how it goes. 

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3 - feeling lethargic today. Really want to go to trivia. Can't afford the time or the calories.

Sore Areas: Legs are exhausted

Yesterday: Light alcohol, Cardio

Environment: Indoors -- hot/humid

Workout
Equipment: dumbbells: 8, 10, 15; medicine ball; resistance band; step
Work Time: 36:30

Upper Body	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Standing Lunge + Cross Shoulder	10/side - 8lbs	15/side - 8lbs	15/side - 10lbs
Lateral Band Raise	10/side	10/side [black]	10/side [black]
Bicep Curls	10 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs	15 - 15lbs
Step Walkovers	16/side	16/side	16/side
Standing V-Pull	15 - 25lbs	15 - 20lbs	15 - 20lbs
Cobra Pushups	10	10	10
Tricep Pushdown - Both Grips	15 - 30lbs [x2]	15 - 30lbs [palm down] 15 - 30lbs [palm down]	15 - 30lbs [palm down] 10 - 30lbs [palm up]
Time	7:30 [x2]	9:00	10:30

Abs	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Reverse Wood Chop	10/side - 15lbs [med ball]	10/side - 14lbs	12/side - 14lbs
Single Arm Lunge	10/side - 10lbs	16/side - 10lbs	12/side - 12lbs
Reverse Plank + Leg Lift	10/side	10/side [table] + 20 sec.	10/side [table] + 20 sec.
Single Arm Bent Over Row	12/side - 15lbs	12/side - 15lbs	12/side - 15lbs
Half Seated Leg Circles	12/direction	10/side	12/side
Plank Twists	10 [x3 sets]	10, 10, + 10 plank lifts/side	10 plank lifts/side x3 sets
Time	7:30 [x2]	8:00	9:00

*Color key: green = accomplished goal, blue = exceeded goal, yellow = did not meet goal

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 50:00

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Upper Back

Comments
This was an interesting workout -- some things were too easy, some were too hard. A lot of modifications were made. Definitely need more weight next time on the both kinds of lunges, maybe the wood chop (med. ball choices are 14lbs or 18lbs) and maybe the bicep curls. I don't like using the resistance band because I don't know exactly how much resistance I'm putting on myself (depends on where I'm standing on the band), so I'll probably switch that out next time for dumbbells. My choices for the V pull were 20 or 27.5 pounds and 27.5 was too heavy -- I'll look harder next time for the little wights that get me to the in-between weights. The cobra pushups were surprisingly hard -- both sets needed a break before I got to 10. Same for the reverse plank; I felt like the muscles behind my knees were ripping every time I lifted my leg. So I went into a 'table top' position and lifted my legs instead, then added some time in the actual reverse plank. Loved the leg circles -- could really feel those working all kinds of ab muscles! And finally, I hated the plank twists -- my feet kept sliding back and I couldn't twist properly. So I subbed them out with side planks with a hip lift -- I think I'll keep those next time around.