Upper Body/Core Lift

Seems like I can't help but fall behind on updating! The past couple of weeks has been hard -- my landlord has decided to sell the house I'm in, so between trying to find time to see new places for me (and dog. and boyfriend) and having to be home for the realtor to 'contain the beasts' (dogs), stress has been through the roof. I've been exercising, posts have been accurate, they might just have been posted two or three days late. This is my attempt to rectify the situation.

Today I think I'm going to stick to a basic upper body/core workout. Between the run I did yesterday (on top of the miles and miles I walked around on Saturday) and the cold I seem to be fighting off (who gets sick in July? Seriously, body? There's no one else to catch anything from!) my legs are shot and everything just aches. So I'm going for a something > nothing workout, hopefully I'll be more on top of my game later in the week. My kindle refuses to load, so I'm just going to use the same workout I did here. It's from Women's Health, and hopefully I'll finish faster this time around.


Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 2 - sick, tired, 

Sore Areas: Legs are exhausted

Yesterday: One beer, cardio

Environment: Indoors -- not terrible!

Workout
Equipment: dumbbells:10, 17.5; medicine ball; step
Work Time:

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 - 10lbs
Lateral Raise	10/side - 10lbs
Bicep Curls	10 - 17.5lbs
Step Walkovers	16/side
Standing V-Pull	15 - 25lbs
Cobra Pushups	10
Tricep Pushdown - Both Grips	15 - 25lbs [x2]
Time	7:30 [x2]

Abs	Goal	Actual
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Reverse Wood Chop	10/side - 18lbs [med ball]
Single Arm Lunge	10/side - 10lbs
Reverse Plank + Leg Lift	10/side
Single Arm Bent Over Row	12/side - 17.5lbs
Half Seated Leg Circles	12/direction
Plank Twists	10 [x3 sets]
Time	7:30 [x2]

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

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

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

Comments

30:00 Stationary Bike

I thought that since I started the week doing pyramid intervals, I would keep it going. Going to try to beat the times/distances I did in this workout.

Not really much else to say today, so let's get started...

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 

Sore Areas:

Yesterday: Exercise, no alcohol.

Environment: Indoors - warm.

Workout
Equipment: stationary bike
Work Time: 30:00
Program: Manual 
Level: 14

Minutes	Intensity [RPM]	Distance Traveled [mi]
0:00 - 3:00	70
3:00 - 5:00	85
5:00 - 6:00	100
6:00 - 6:30	110+	1.93
6:30 - 9:30	75
9:30 - 11:30	90
11:30 - 12:30	100
12:30 - 13:00	110+	+ 1.72 = 3.85
13:00 - 16:00	75
16:00 - 18:00	90
18:00 - 19:00	100
19:00 - 19:30	110+	+ 1.90 = 5.75
19:30 - 22:30	75
22:30 - 24:30	90
24:30 - 25:30	100
25:30 - 26:00	110+	+ 1.95 = 7.70
26:00 - 30:00	~ 85	+ 1.13 = 8.83

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 
Stretch Time: 0:00
Total Time: 40:00

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

Comments
Not a bad workout -- felt pretty good throughout and didn't hit any major energy slumps. I like these workouts because I like to think they better approximate long-distance biking (or running), which is what I have to do in 4 weeks (eek!). The average pace here during the 'work' part of the workout (minutes 0 - 26) was just shy of .3 mi / min. If I extrapolate, that means I should be able to do the 40k bike in about 84 minutes. That would be a time I'd be happy with! I think I'm going to stick with this style of workout for the next 4 weeks leading up to the tri; going to try to add a interval or so every week.

30:00 Park Workout

The original plan for today was to go lift heavy things at the gym, but I'm currently house-hunting as was invited to an open-house at the last minute. The open house is near my current place, which is not near the gym, so going back OUT of my house after leaving work early and being nearby would have been an effort of will I do not possess. Plus, my dog looked lonely. To the park!

I adapted this workout from one I found on one of the food blogs I follow: The Part-Time Housewife. Every week she puts out a new workout in her 'Sweaty Saturday' column. I didn't quite like the original workout as it was presented -- I didn't think it was evenly balanced between plyometric exercises and static ones, so I shuffled things around a bit and made it my own. I also didn't feel like busting out the timer for only part of a workout, so I switched some of the timed sets to reps.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: None, really.

Yesterday: Baseball game! Alcohol, no exercise.

Environment: outside -- so humid I almost gave up halfway through the first set because I felt as if I needed gills to breathe.

Workout
Equipment: jump rope (optional)
Work Time:~30:00

	Actual
Exercise Name	Set 1: Reps	Set 2: Reps
Jumping Jacks	50	50
Plank	1:00	1:00
Jump Rope	100	100
Pushups	12	12
Jump Rope	100	100
Plie Squats	25	25
Mountain Climbers	100	100
Plie Squats on Toes	25	25
Burpees	10	10
Curtsey Squats	20/side	20/side
Split Jumps	30	30
One-Leg Calf Raise	25/side	25/side
Jump Rope	100	100

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


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

Comments
This workout definitely took longer than I thought it wood. Partially because the dog was being needy and I couldn't get through a dozen turns of a jump rope without him getting in the way, demanding I throw his ball, but also because it turns out jump roping is hard! I kept tripping over it, or over my own feet, or getting it caught on a branch or something. I'll likely do this workout again, but I'd like to get it going quickly enough that I can do 3 sets in a reasonable amount of time. Or I'll transfer it into a HITT workout and go for time instead of reps. Either way, I hope next time it outdoor temp is less than 95 with 90% humidity. That would help.

40:00 Treadmill

Time to get back to it, after a poor showing last week. Plus I'm starting to get nervous because the tri is in 6 weeks and I don't know if I'm entirely ready yet. Time to start putting in some block workouts and hit the pool!

Retrying the pyramid intervals I attempted here, only I'm not doing the rowing today. That's for Friday, if I have all my plans together.

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	2.0	.31
3:01 - 5:00	7.5	2.0	.56
5:01 - 6:00	9.0	2.0	~.71
6:01 - 6:30	10:00	2.0	~.79
6:31 - 9:30	6.5	2.0	~1.12
9:31 - 11:30	7.5	2.0	~1.37
11:31 - 12:30	9.0	2.0	~1.52
12:31 - 13:00	10.0	2.0	1.6
13:01 - 15:00	3.8	2.0	1.74
15:01 - 18:00	6.5	2.0	~2.07
18:01 - 20:00	7.5	2.0	~2.31
20:01 - 21:00	9.0	2.0	~2.46
21:01 - 21:30	10.0	2.0	~2.54
21:31 - 22:00	0.0	2.0	~2.60
22:01 - 25:00	6.5	2.0	~2.93
25:01 - 27:00	7.5	2.0	~3.18
27:01 - 28:00	9.0	2.0	~3.33
28:01 - 28:30	10.0	2.0	3.45
28:31 - 31:00	3.8	2.0	~3.6
31:01 - 33:00	4.0 side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.0	~3.73
33:01 - 36:00	4.5 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.5	~3.95
36:01 - 39:00	5.0 backwards [1:00] side shuffle [R -1:00] side shuffle [L - 1:00]	2.5	~4.2
39:01 - 40:00	5.0 backward	3.0	4.3

*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.

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

Day After
Sore Level [1-5]: 2
Sore Areas: Back, but probably just from sitting all day

Comments
I've had runs cover farther distances in 40 minutes, however I was averaging around 8:15 min/mi for the intervals. The second set of those was hard though -- I had to take 5-10 second breaks in the middle of the 3rd 9:00 interval, as will as at the end of each section of the last set. Overall though, not bad.

Spartacus Workout

Well, I've been bad this week. Time to pay the price. But, hey, at least I had fun!

So it's very rare that I repeat a workout as often as I've done this one, but I really enjoy it! 30 minutes, in, out,  on my way. I'm going to slightly modify it today -- I'm going to concentrate on making my split jumps deeper, more like lunges, so I'm aiming for fewer of them. I'm also getting rid of the lunge + twist, since I can't seem to do that with anything even remotely approaching speed, in favor of some reverse wood-chops. Same twisting motion, similar leg work, but I might be able to do them faster. We'll see.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: Back? From working, not working out, most likely. Stupid desk job...

Yesterday: Alcohol, no exercise.

Environment: indoor - ? I haven't been outside today.

Workout
Equipment: dumbbell: 25 [x1], 15, 10 [hex]; medicine ball
Work Time: 32:00

	Goal	Actual*
Exercise Name	Reps - Weight [type]	Set 1: Reps - Weight [type]	Set 2: Reps - Weight [type]
Goblet Squat	20 - 25lbs [DB]
Mountain Climber	100
Single Arm DB Swing	10/side - 15lbs [DB]
T-pushup	10 - 10lbs [hex DB]
Split Jumps	40
DB Row	30 -15lbs [DB]
DB Side Lunge	10/side - 15lbs [DB]
Plank Row	10/side - 15lbs [DB]
Reverse Woodchop	12/side - 20lbs [MB]
Explosive Overhead Press	20 - 15lbs [DB]
Swiss Ball Rollout
Swiss Ball Russian Twist
Plank + Opposite Lifts
Prone Cobra
T-Plank L
T-Plank R

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

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time:  10:00
Total Time: 55:00


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

Comments
I got to the gym and opted to change this workout slightly. Instead of doing 3 sets of the lifts and one set of abs, I added the 6 minutes of abs to the bottom of the workout and did 2 sets of 16 minute intervals. I was kind of in a hurry, and for some reason 2 sets of 16 minutes seemed like a better idea than 3 sets of 10 minutes + 6 additional minutes. Those 4 minutes I saved really helped... probably...

20:00 Row, 20:00 Bike

Ugh. Mondays. Between wanting to finish this book I'm 83% of the way though and having to deal with a crazy landlord who's trying to sell my house while I'm still it in, I can say that I'm not super pumped about having to go torture myself. Add that to the fact that hate repeating workouts and used all of my major apparatuses last week so I can't decide what I want to do today, and the gym is turning into a chore. However I have plans tomorrow and Wednesday and will only mange to fit in a short workout if any, so I feel as if I must go.

Going to do an interval workout today. Haven't recorded a rowing workout with these intervals yet so we'll see how the distances compare to the 3-2-1 pyramid-style workouts I usually do. The bike will be comparable to this workout, only shorter. Going to aim for 6 1/4 miles in 20 minutes.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 3

Sore Areas: none

Yesterday: Sunday Funday - alcohol, no exercies

Environment: Indoors - not cool

Workout
Equipment: rowing machine, bike
Work Time: 40:00
Bike Program: Random Hill
Level: rower - 8; bike - 15

Row:

Minutes	Intensity [min / 500m]	Distance Traveled [m]
0:00 - 3:00	~2:30	+0 = 614
3:00 - 4:00	~2:15
4:00 - 5:00	2:00-	+ 475 = 1085
5:00 - 6:00	~2:30
6:00 - 7:00	~2:15
7:00 - 8:00	2:00-	+ 675 = 1760
8:00 - 9:00	~2:30
9:00 - 10:00	~2:15
10:00 - 11:00	2:00-	+ 660 = 2420
11:00 - 12:00	~2:30
12:00 - 13:00	~2:15
13:00 - 14:00	2:00-	+ 580 = 3100
14:00 - 15:00	~2:30
15:00 - 16:00	~2:15
16:00 - 17:00	2:00-	+ 670 = 3770
17:00 - 18:00	~2:30
18:00 - 19:00	~2:15
19:00 - 20:00	2:00-	+ 675 = 4445
20:00 - 20:14	2:00-	+ 55 = 4500

Bike:

Minutes	Intensity: RPM	Distance Traveled : mi.
0:00-5:00	5: ~80	1.34
5:01-10:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	2.75
10:00-15:00	5: ~80	4.00
15:01-20:00	10: 110+ [20 sec] 0: 35 [10 sec]	5.45
20:00-25:00	5: ~75	6.65

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 3
Stretch Time: 5:00
Total Time: 55:00

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

Comments
Workout was kind of 'enh'. Didn't get nearly as far as I wanted to in the 20 minutes even though I downgraded the level of hilliness to 15 instead of my usual 16. Hopefully I'll be faster on the course -- it's fairly flat, so that should help.

I realize I've been bad about updating this week, but it's because I've been bad about working out this week... instead, on Tuesday, I went and saw Magic Mike, which was highly entertaining. He just wants to sell his furniture! LEGITIMATE BUSINESSMAN! Talkin' about loans and shit. Wednesday I have a company happy hour. I might fit in a workout, but it depends on how my day goes. Otherwise, back to it on Thursday and hopefully have Saturday to make up for my transgressions...

40:00 Stationary Bike

My original plan was to take the day off today and go to trivia, but sadly that fell through. Combine that circumstance with the fact I remembered I wouldn't be able to work out Friday because I'm going to a baseball game, and it was decided it would probably be best if I did *something*.

Since I managed not to completely wreak my legs yesterday, but aren't in top form, I'm going with a steady-state workout. I find those kind of workouts less physically demanding overall, but with the potential for a real mental challenge. I get bored very easily. Usually when I run outdoors I can distract myself through 5 or 6 miles with keeping my dog away from squirrels and trying to remember how many songs I've listened to, but our most recent heatwave has pushed the temp over 100 degrees (AGAIN) so neither pup nor I feel up to romping about outdoors. Instead I'm grabbing my trusty Kindle and an easy-to-follow fantasy novel (Outlander, anyone?) and spinning it out on the bike.

Pre

Energy Level [1-5]: 4

Sore Areas: Legs, Upper Back

Yesterday: Minimal Alcohol, HITT Lifting

Environment: indoors - hot/humid

Workout
Equipment: Stationary Bike [LifeFitness]
Work Time: 40 min.
Program: Random
Level: 14

Minutes	Intensity [RPM]	Distance Traveled [Mi.]
0:00-18:50	70-80	5.0
18:51-40:00	70-80	10.34

Post
Energy Level [1-5]: 4
Stretch Time: 0 min.
Total Time: 40 min.

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

Comments
Wasn't really trying to keep track of the distances, but I did happen to notice when I hit 5 miles so I thought I'd include it. Extrapolating from that distance, I should have made it an additional 1/3 of a mile. I'll chalk the difference up to the fact that the first 2 or 3 minutes of the workout is a 'warmup' and has very little resistance. ZOOM!!

Given that I went 10 1/3 miles in 40 minutes, that means I should be able to finish the tri distance of about 25 miles (40k, to be exact), in just under 97 minutes. Since last year it took me 82 and change, the year before 88, it looks like I'm slacking. Should be able to hit nearly 12 miles in 40 minutes. T-minus 6 1/2 weeks...