Category Archives: fitness

Workout update

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Haven’t written about it in a while. I keep telling myself to. It’s called accountability. Keep a journal and be accountable. Well, actually I have a workout journal. It’s just that it’s using paper and pencil. Real, genuine paper and pencil. That’s why I don’t post it here too often, but since I’m in the mood, here it is.

I have just finished Stage 5 of NROL4W. It was similar to Stage 2, but with more sets, fewer reps, higher weights and more rest time in between sets:

Stage 5, Workout A. Each exercise is 3 sets of 8 reps. The (*) represent alternating sets:

  • Front squat/Push press, 50 lb
  • *Step-ups, 25 lbs (each)
  • *DB One-point rows, 25 lbs (each)
  • **Static lunge, rear-foot elevated, 18 lbs (each)
  • **Push-up, BW feet elevated
  • ***Plank, 120″
  • ***Cable horizontal wood chop, 45#

(Okay, I didn’t do the plank after the first workout. I hate plank. I’m trying to think of something I hate more than plank. Maybe side plank. So instead I did a variety of other core exercises, such as pullovers, swiss ball crunches, etc.)

Stage 5, Workout B. Again, 3 sets of 8 reps:

  • DB Squats (the book says Wide-grip deadlift from box. But screw that, they are not good for me)
  • *Bulgarian split squat, 30 lb
  • *Underhand-grip lat pull-down, 100 lb
  • **Reverse lunge from box w/forward reach, 18 lbs (each)
  • **DB prone Cuban snatch, 15 lbs
  • ***Swiss-ball crunch /Reverse crunch/ Lateral flexions
  • ***Prone cobra, 120″

Second confession: I skipped prone cobra and chose other exercises like Prone Jackknife and Pullovers.

So there you go. If I look at my little paper worksheets, I can track the progress I made between stages 2 and 5. Sort of the point, y’know. I made some, not tons but some. I’ve increased weights in all areas, and on top of that was able to do more reps. I did not go to exhaustion 90% of the time.

My 3-month gym membership ends at the end of the month. It’s been very helpful to have a gym close by. It kept me moving through these stages (each stage consists of 8 workouts or so). My normal gym is close to work, and comes in handy, but not all the time. I’m just not interested in belonging to two gyms and a rowing club. That seems weird.

I suspect my workouts will change in the next few weeks. This past stage will probably be the last of my “heavier” workouts for a while. (“Heavy” is pushing it … I’m probably more at like 75% or so.) Next stage is 7 (I’m skipping 6). Higher reps, lower weights, even less time in between. Maintenance mode for now. I’ll get into the reasons why later.

Happy lifting.

Furry 5K

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I’ve been wearing my flannel pajama bottoms to bed for the past few nights. The heat actually kicked on the other night while we were sleeping. I dug out my fleece hat for Max’s walk this morning.max at furry 5k via chattycha on flickr

Welcome to June-uary.

The weather was much nicer when the husband and I decided to sign up for this year’s Furry 5K. However, closer to the date I was fearing rain and wind and plain old cold weather (seriously, 48 degrees? In JUNE?).

Fortunately the weather stayed just cloudy, with no rain. We drove to Seward Park, with Max whining in the back the entire way. We were among maybe 7000 humans with their dogs, all in support of the Seattle Animal Shelter.

furry 5k via chattycha on flickrWe didn’t actually know how Max would handle a 3-mile walk surrounded by other dogs. Would he go crazy and run from dog to dog, barking and whining and causing all sorts of trouble? Max was actually very well-behaved. A few sniffs of some dog bottoms, and there was definitely some jerking of the pinch collar, but for the most part it was just a long walk for him. I wondered to myself if Max was looking at us, accusingly, thinking, “Is this what you humans do when you leave me home alone? Unfair!”

We got home, had some snacks, and then Max and I conked out in front of the TV watching Food Network. The 3.1 mile walk just knocked us out, I guess.

The husband requested that the next walk we do be during summer.

furry 5k via chattycha on flickr

(the husband & Max crossing the finish line, with tons of volunteers cheering them on. hooray! woof!!)

More Furry 5K pics in my flickr photostream.

Getting over the hump

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Last week I joined the gym that is down the street from me (maybe a 2-minute bike ride on the Burke Gilman trail or so). It’s their summer special … 3 months for $100. I don’t join the thing full time because I already belong to a gym. That gym is free thanks to the perks from The Firm, but that gym just happens to be about 13 miles away.

It’s been nice to roll out of bed in the morning and work out, and in fact has jumpstarted my NROL4W status as well. Here’s the update:

Stage 2, Workout A. Each exercise is 2 sets of 10 reps. The (*) represent alternating sets:

  • Front squat/Push press, bar
  • *Step-ups, 20 lbs (each)
  • *DB One-point rows, 15 lbs (each)
  • **Static lunge, rear-foot elevated, 15 lbs (each)
  • **Push-up, BW holding for 2 sec when elbows are bent
  • ***Plank, 60″
  • ***Cable horizontal wood chop, 4#

Stage 2, Workout B. Again, 2 sets of 10 reps:

  • DB Squats or Romanian DL (The book says Wide-grip deadlift from box. But I frikkin hate those so much, and am nervous about hurting my lower back that I’ve replaced it with another squat exercise)
  • *Bulgarian split squat, 15 lb
  • *Underhand-grip lat pull-down, 80 lb
  • **Reverse lunge from box w/forward reach, 15 lbs (each)
  • **DB prone Cuban snatch, 10 lbs (sorta hard and awkward, working on posture for this one)
  • ***Swiss-ball crunch w/weight, 25 @ 10lbs
  • ***Prone cobra, 60″

If I have extra time (read, not lifting in the morning), I’ve added a Body Weight Matrix or Intervals. Body Weight Matrix: 24 squats; 12 lunges (ea leg); 12 lunge jumps; 24 squat jumps. Rest for 2x the amount of time it takes to do the matrix, then repeat. Dang, I can feel the burn just thinking about it.

This week went well schedule-wise:

  • Sunday, light workout, including BW Matrix, to re-familiarize myself with the new gym surroundings.
  • Monday: Workout A-1 + BW Matrix
  • Tuesday: rest
  • Wednesday: Workout B-1
  • Thursday: Intervals (25 minutes) and Steady State (20 minutes) on Elliptical
  • Friday: A-2
  • Saturday: Row
  • Tomorrow the plan is Workout B-2 w/Intervals

I’ve liked mixing it up. Just new surroundings alone has been helpful in keeping me motivated and moving. Hope to be this consistent for the rest of the summer (and beyond, of course).

NROL

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Riding home on the Connector provides an opportune time to update the blog. Thanks, Connector!

New Rules of Lifting for WomenJust got back from the gym. I think this could be a nice once-a-week routine … going to the gym after work, walking to the Connector bus stop and taking the bus home. It’s a 15-minute walk from the office to the gym, workout, then a 15-minute walk from the gym to the bus stop, all while carrying a hefty laptop backpack. I’ve tried this twice now and I’m liking it, even if I am a morning workout kind of person.

Anyway. Today’s workout nearly wraps up “Stage 1” from “The New Rules of Lifting for Women“. Stage 1 offers 2wo workouts which you alternate, each workout is done 8 times, and you increase your weights 4 times total per workout.

Here are my starting and ending weights (i.e. where I started with workout 1 and where I’ve ended with workout 8:

Workout A:

  • Squat: 27.5# / 40#
  • Push-Up: 15 BW / 12 BW, using medicine ball under one hand
  • Seated Row 75# / 90#
  • Step-Ups 12.5# / 20#
  • Prone Jackknife 8 / 15

Workout B:

  • Barbell Deadlift: 50# / 80#
  • DB Shoulder Press: 20# / 27.5#
  • Wide Grip Lat Pull Down: 75# / 90#
  • DB Lunge: 15# / 20#
  • Swiss Ball Crunch: 15 / 30 with arms extended overhead

Often times I would finish the workout and would feel the need to continue exercising. On those days I either did intervals or extra core after the workout. When I did intervals I mainly stayed on the erg but occasionally on the elliptical trainer. On the erg I would do 3 or 4 sets of a tabata row (4 minute pieces, 20″ on, 10″ off, resting 2 minutes in between each piece). Most recently I just did a 1-minute on, 2 minute-off interval, where I upped the intensity with each piece. The gym, by the way, recently increase the number of ergs. Oh boy I got to use a brand new one! Those are the best because no one’s messed with the chains too much yet. When I added extra core I would do 60″ planks; stability ball pass overs; medicine ball side rotations, anything I felt like doing.

Some things I learned … I do not like barbell dead lifts. Either I do them wrong or they are really hard. Or a combo of both … Prone jackknives are hard but fun, and the trick is to look at the floor near your hands, and not down at the ball … and, for some reason, if a book instructs me to increase my weights each week, I will. Why I don’t listen to the husband who has been telling me this for I don’t know how many years, we’ll never know. Trust me that it is a HUGE deal in the household that I would have the gall to follow a book’s instruction and not the husband.

I say I am nearly adone because all that is left in Stage one is the “AMRAP” where you do the exercises with the weights you used from your first workouts, but you do them to exhaustion, basically. And then I graduate to Stage 2, which I haven’t reviewed fully yet, but I believe I’ll be doing some form of a barbell deadlift. Oh boy.

In all, am enjoying this. Upping the weights so frequently makes it kind of interesting, and I am kicking myself for not doing that on my own.

Oh yes, THANKS, Kate, for recommending the book! And to Sis, for getting it for me for my birthday!

No guts, no glory

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SDCC

My last post before heading down to San Diego. While down there, I may try to post remotely. Will have to see how it turns out. I’ve decided that a rock playlist is the way to go in terms of iTunes Playlists. It worked well for the Big Climb, and why mess with a good thing?

Beyond that, I’m focussing on “getting mean”. At the request demand of the coach, it’s time to get f-ing pissed. Or, as the coach would say, PISSED. So, I’m putting my insecurities and doubts away. I’m looking for aggression and fierceness. Saving it for Sunday, when I lay it all out on the water. This is my mantra. Get mad and get pissed. This isn’t just about me, it’s about eight other women, so it’s now or never.

No guts, no glory.

With that I’m ditching my pop playlist. “Road to San Diego” will keep me company instead. I tested it on the erg at lunch today — (2) 15-minute steady state pieces — and it worked well. On top of “69 Floors of Rock“, add to it:

This should tide me over for now.

I’ll see you in SD.

Big Climb: Been there, done that

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Hey! I successfully completed the Big Climb, with 5,000 other participants. Hooray!

First, a special thanks to those who donated to my fundraising efforts: Ray, Sandy, Claire, and Harv & Judy. The generosity was much appreciated and was a small but meaningful contribution to the total $3,500 that our team, LWRC, raised in total. Also, thanks to those who trained with me on the Howe Street Stairs, whether you climbed a few hundred steps or a few thousand. All told I probably climbed no less than 20,000 steps to train.

The event itself was somewhat low-key and solo. As the majority of my team was rowers, like me, the best way we could describe this was, too long to be considered a sprint, too short to be considered a head race. Something in that murky in-between area. While in the days leading up to it we received constant information and support from our team leader, John, ultimately climbing up 69 floors is an individual venture. Among the 10 of us, I was second to start, as I predicted my time would be somewhat slower than my teammates. Ultimately David, Tyler, Niki, Conor and Howard passed me. I passed one teammate, Rachel; and KC was right on my tail as I crossed the finish line. The flights went much quicker than I expected. And my goal to do 2-at-a-times for the first half and then alternate between 2-at-a-times and 1-at-a-times for the second half fell short about a quarter of the way into the race. I stuck with the 1-at-a-times, except when trying to pass people. And that one guy, at the end, with 5 flights or so to go, who wouldn’t let me pass. Well, shame on you. Granted, I was pretty exhausted and I’m not quite sure if I would have passed but I would have at least appreciated the opportunity.

So, I made it to the top of the Columbia Tower. Hooray! Just my luck, I was so dang tired I didn’t feel like checking out the Observatory Deck to check out the amazing views. Eh. I’ll see them some other time. What I really needed was to catch my breath. The oxygen-getting-to-your-lungs situation was a bit sketchy at the end. Felt very much like the post-race rower’s cough that several of us experience after a frenzied sprint finish. I’m still feeling some wheeziness which I’m sure will subside at some point.

In all, not so bad. My 69 Flights of Rock playlist was quite successful (“Evenflow” was just winding down as I passed the finish line). And the company was great. A light and easy-going environment, with support and good vibes all around.

5,000 participants, I believe, is a record, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hopes to raise nearly $1 million from the event.

By the way, here is my pre-race meal (eaten about three hours before the event). Maple oatmeal with red berries and a half a banana; plus one egg, overeasy/smashed (as the husband would say):
oatmeal via chattycha on flickr

egg via chattycha on flickr

Update: my time – 13:55. This beats my initial goal of 14:30, which is great! But a part of me wishes I had told that slow guy to move aside for the last few flights. Sigh.

69 Floors of Rock

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Led Zeppelin III from Amazon.comI created two playlists in prep for The Big Climb next week.

I think I’m going with rock, but in the event that I change my mind at the last second, I’ll have a back-up playlist for pop. Pop tends to be my genre of choice when working out at the gym. When erging at the boathouse I tend to go with whatever everyone else is listening to (which results in singing Abba in your head for 3 months straight, but oh well).

But race day is sometimes different, sometimes a little pick me up is needed to get in the right zone.

69 Floors of Rock:

I tested this at the gym this morning (74 flights in 17:30, includes warm-up and cool down), and I think it will do well. The Alien Ant Farm song in the middle is a nice surprise (purchased last week on iTunes specifically for this purpose)

I expect to be done with the climb by the time Bob Mould comes around, but some added tunes are essential, just in case. If I’m still going when Led Zeppelin comes back on the iPod I’m in trouble.

Now, if at the last minute I decide pop is the way to go, I’ve got it covered:

69 Floors of Pop:

Justin Timberlake on Amazon.comI tested this playlist this morning with a 2K on the erg, my warm-up to the StairClimber workout (rowed at a 27, at around 2k+ 5). EBTG sort of slowed things down more than I would have preferred, especially as it came near the end of my piece, so this may get switched up a bit. However for climbing I think it will be OK. Just not good for erging.

You know, I ‘m not sharing this information for my health. I’d like to hear a little bit about what’s on your playlist. All seven of you listening out there. Leave a comment. Don’t be shy. And don’t be ashamed. I just shared that I’m kicking off 69 Floors of Pop with an American Idol, for crying out loud.

Work it, circuit

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Kate mentioned to me that she hadn’t seen any workouts posted lately. Eh. My workout notebook is a bit empty as I recently had been using my workout cards that Trainer Dan had given me. More recently I’ve been reverting to what works best when you are working towards a goal, such as making a San Diego boat or climbing 69 flights of the Columbia Tower. Makes for an awkward workout, though, when you see your old trainer in the weight room with one of his other clients, and he sees you’re obviously not doing what he’s instructed you to do. Not entirely true. I was already doing Yates and Push ups before we met. But, it’s like bumping into an ex-boyfriend. Avoid eye contact and pretend you don’t see him. Plug in the iPod so it’s harder to talk.

Yesterday I had about 30 minutes at lunch so I did a quick circuit-training session:
1×15 each exercise no rest in between, 2 minutes rest, then again:
Squat w/dumbbells
Standing Lunge w/dumbbells
Push ups (Bosu)
Bench Press (1-arm, on the ball)
Yates Rows
Shoulder Press
Then ended with super sets of Bicep Curls / Tricep Bench Dips (with legs on the ball)

My cool down was walking back to the office (a 5 to 10 minute walk). Not ideal. I prefer having more time, but work has been hectic since starting the new job, so I feel the need to spend as much time in the office as possible.

Kate suggests I try her Kettle Bell sessions, and even offered to change up the time so I can make it. This works well, so then I can lift on Thursday and do a cardio session on Fri instead of lift. Plus, the kettle bells will be something new, different. Change is always good. I’ll be sure to report back on it.

Today at practice:
Joe (cx), JW, RF, JP, AL, KT, TG, 2, JR.
Rowed by 6s, Drills, then attempted to do 5-minute pieces but was constantly interrupted in the crowded Fremont canal.
The first part of practice went well, I thought. Strong rowing by 6s. Focussed on pulling all the way through, especially at that finish. On top of the other things I think about all the time. The pieces later on weren’t as good as I would have liked; we gave some seats up to the other 8. I think we were tired near the end.

Tomorrow:
Howe St Stairs. Probably another set of 10. Am contemplating doing push-ups in between sets, but we’ll see. If it’s raining I may head to the gym instead. I am doing The Big Climb (the aforementioned 69 flights), which is why I’ve gotten so friendly with the HSS lately. The StairClimber at the gym might be a good way to go so I can practice using the upper-body to hoist up the stairs, which isn’t so easy at HS.

So, that’s the recent update.

Feeling the Burn, Part 2

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Earlier I posted my first workout card. Here is my second:

While Trainer Dan added weights and reps for each card separately, actually it’s sort of fluid for my purposes. If I lift 2x a week, then one day will be one workout card, done in a circuit training fashion. No rest between exercises, 1 x 15 reps with the weight provided, 2 circuits done with 1-2 minutes between the circuits. (abs/core last). The second workout card I will do fewer reps (2 x 5-6 with 1 – 3 minutes rest in between sets), and increase the weight by 20 – 30% over the 15-rep circuit training workout. So, imagine, if you will, a 2-week chunk in an overall 8 – 12 week plan:
Week 1: Day 1 Circuit Training Card 1
Week 1: Day 2 Heavy Lift Card 2
Week 2: Day 1 Circuit Training Card 2
Week 2: Day 2 Heavy Lift Card 1

His goal is that I increase my weight by 5 – 10% each week (if possible). I suppose I should rewrite that and say my goal is to increase the weight each week. Would be a bit more convincing, eh.

If I can add a third day of lifting in a week, I do one of the cards again, this time at 2×8 with 1 – 2 minutes rest in between sets. Ideally, Trainer Dan would like me to spend an additional session with him to eek out a third workout card. Perhaps I’ll consider it when my gym gives me another coupon for a personal training session. Until then I’ll go through these cards and other resources (i.e. Kate’s plan) and cull out which of these I can do either at home or at the boathouse, sort of as a third pseudo-workout card. Happy lifting!

Oh yes. And don’t forget the cardio. 3 – 6x a week. 30 – 60 minutes per session. Yay cardio.

Feeling the burn, Part 1

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Am unable to sleep so instead I post…

I received my first “workout card” from my trainer. Take a look:

A few new ones, but for the most part, Trainer Dan has taken exercises I already do, and brought them up a notch. For instance, Leg Press: Now I put a medicine ball in between my thighs to work the inner thighs. Body Row (aka Yates row): When they get easy I put my feet on a medicine ball and do it. Triceps kickbacks: Now I support myself on a Bosu Ball. Basically all of my old exercises with an extra element of working the core.

Another benefit of this new “workout card” (it’s what them trainers like to call them) … I do squats, while working other muscles. Instead of a seated row I squat and row. Squat and shoulder press. Makes for increased efficiency. I’m all about that.

This particular workout I did in 45 minutes or so, minus the abs exercises, and plus a 5-minute warm up on the erg. The weight wasn’t overwhelming, which is reasonable considering the reps he put me at. I believe my next workout card will be lower on the reps, heavier on the weight. I’ll be getting the next (and last) card on Saturday.

I will post that one, too. I figure, I’m paying for someone to do this for me, therefore I own the property, right? Why not share? (Of course I’m not responsible if you hurt yourself. Consult your physician and so on and so forth.)

PS. Spreadsheets courtesy of Google Docs.