Still Sunday, if only barely, and time for another update.
Good week on my feet this week. Logged the most miles I've yet logged in a week, crossed the threshold for most runs in a week, and most runs in a month, had my best average pace for a week, and just generally kept in good shape with my runs all throughout the week.
This week though I'm gonna talk about what I've been doing for resistance training. It's much reduced from what I was doing a month or two ago with the weights, but it's meshing rather well with my running and it's progressive so I can keep working at it until I manage to see the results I'm looking for or nothing happens.
So what is it? It's a progressive bodyweight program derived from the book Convict Conditioning. A strange name sure but it makes a lot of sense, in prison you don't have a lot of gym equipment to work with, and in many cases you get your body and your cell. Now I have no intention of going to prison but the kinds of lessons from people who have can help me with my own strength work in terms of keeping things simple and natural, and in terms of making sure that my workouts are not tied to any specific equipment or location.
The program consists of 6 basic movement progressions, pushups, pull-ups, squats, leg raises, bridging, and handstand pushups. Each of the 6 movements has 10 steps that go from complete beginner to things like 1 arm pushups, pull-ups, or handstand pushups, 1 legged squats, and hanging straight leg raises and stand-to-stand bridging. Each of the 10 steps has goals for beginner, intermediate and advancement ratings so the goals are always very clearly laid out. Right now I'm working on the pushup, pull-up, squat, and leg raise progressions, the bridging and handstand progressions are recommended against until you reach set levels of some of the other exercises and I'm going to work within that restriction for now to see what kind of results I get following the program as directed.
I'm not sure how this program is gonna work in the long run but so far it seems to be going rather well for me.
The other thing I've been trying out recently is trigger point therapy on my legs using a lacrosse ball. Essentially you just push the ball into areas of tightness in the muscles, ligaments, and fascia and activate the muscles. Doing so is supposed to help relieve the tension in the muscles and help loosen your joints and prevent injury. It's another situation where I don't yet have any proof of whether or not it doesn't what it is supposed to, but as with the resistance training, the best way to find out is to try it.
So what does the scale tell me whit sweet? 209, up a pound from last week. Bodyfat staying about the same. Al this is about what I expected, and I look forward to seeing where things go from here. Until next time, keep being the you you want to be.
Showing posts with label Insanity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insanity. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Weekly Weigh-in (Week 79)
Sunday once again and time for the weekly update.
Not much to say this week really, all been going pretty smoothly.
Got a new piece of tracking tech this weekend, the Zeo Sleep Coach I'd been after for a while. Tried it out last night and it seemed to work pretty well, though it'll be a few days at least before I have any sort of truly useful data on habits. I've also been looking at the data from my daily measurements of my resting heart rate and noticing a few patterns I'm going to try to monitor more closely. Namely, when I go more than a couple days without exercising my resting heart rate goes up, a beat or two the first couple days and then a larger jump on about the third or fourth day. When I go for another run, it drops back down by most of the difference again. I was expecting to see a downward trend in the measurement over time as a training effect, but I wasn't expecting the variation to be that noticeable on a scale of days rather than weeks. Always good to see things working better than I'd expected. I'll keep posting updates on some of my non-weight measurements as I find interesting things to post.
So, speaking of my weight, this week the scale tells me 208, the same as last week, body fat has stayed the same as well. Steady as she goes I suppose. Until next week, keep being the you you want to be.
Not much to say this week really, all been going pretty smoothly.
Got a new piece of tracking tech this weekend, the Zeo Sleep Coach I'd been after for a while. Tried it out last night and it seemed to work pretty well, though it'll be a few days at least before I have any sort of truly useful data on habits. I've also been looking at the data from my daily measurements of my resting heart rate and noticing a few patterns I'm going to try to monitor more closely. Namely, when I go more than a couple days without exercising my resting heart rate goes up, a beat or two the first couple days and then a larger jump on about the third or fourth day. When I go for another run, it drops back down by most of the difference again. I was expecting to see a downward trend in the measurement over time as a training effect, but I wasn't expecting the variation to be that noticeable on a scale of days rather than weeks. Always good to see things working better than I'd expected. I'll keep posting updates on some of my non-weight measurements as I find interesting things to post.
So, speaking of my weight, this week the scale tells me 208, the same as last week, body fat has stayed the same as well. Steady as she goes I suppose. Until next week, keep being the you you want to be.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Weekly Weigh-in (Week 69)
Sunday once again and time for the weekly update.
Interesting week this week. Kept up with what I'd been doing before and started some new things for good measure.
Firstly, if you've not blocked the app from your Facebook feed you've probably noticed I'm logging runs through Runkeeper a bit more often than before, I think 4 days in the last week. I decided at some point this week that I wanted to start training for a half marathon. No specific reasons other than to push myself past my current limits, and because having a specific goal in mind makes that easier for me. So I put together a training plan for my running with scheduled runs at various durations and distances so that I have something I can refer to to keep on track. So far I've done one of the timed runs and one of the distance runs on my new plan and it's going well so far.
Also this week I decided to start working on the exercises from the Pre-Hab chapter from 4HB, because they are easy enough to fit into my schedule on otherwise "off" days, and they won't hurt anything at the least, and at the best might help prevent injuries down the road. That combined with my 6-minute abs workouts and associated bodyweight circuits should keep me busy most days. I've also started with a weekly treadmill run, to coincide with Lara's biking, to push my aerobic threshold up, and once I get my heartrate monitor, alternated with a run to increase my bodies ability to handle lactic acid buildup. All that should workout to me being in much better shape overall, and staying that way.
In the wonderful world of me being a ridiculous data monger I've decided to start keeping a sleep log and tracking statistics related to my sweat rate. First, the less disgusting of the two. In an effort to improve all aspects of my life through better data collection I've decided to start tracking my perceptions related to my sleep, quality, time it takes to fall asleep, how much I wake up during the night, and if I wake up too early. So far it's been feeling fairly productive, though since it's all based on perception rather than numbers there is only so much it can do. The Sweat Rate data is an effort by me to make sure that as I increase my mileage further I avoid dehydration. When I run, like most people who do so, I sweat. How much I sweat is a variable number based on pace, temperature, humidity, and dew point, or at least that's the theory. By weighing myself before and after a run, and knowing how much water if any I ingested while on the run, I can determine how much water weight I lost over the course of my activity. That number combined with the duration of the activity can allow me to calculate a loss per hour which I can track against the conditions listed above to hopefully determine a predictive method for my sweat rate that will let me ensure I stay properly hydrated as my mileage increases.
Anyway, that was a fairly long post today and so I shall sum it up fairly briefly with numbers. Scale tells me I'm at 210 this week, same as last week, which is what I'm after right now. Until next week, always push yourself to be a better you than you were when you woke up.
Interesting week this week. Kept up with what I'd been doing before and started some new things for good measure.
Firstly, if you've not blocked the app from your Facebook feed you've probably noticed I'm logging runs through Runkeeper a bit more often than before, I think 4 days in the last week. I decided at some point this week that I wanted to start training for a half marathon. No specific reasons other than to push myself past my current limits, and because having a specific goal in mind makes that easier for me. So I put together a training plan for my running with scheduled runs at various durations and distances so that I have something I can refer to to keep on track. So far I've done one of the timed runs and one of the distance runs on my new plan and it's going well so far.
Also this week I decided to start working on the exercises from the Pre-Hab chapter from 4HB, because they are easy enough to fit into my schedule on otherwise "off" days, and they won't hurt anything at the least, and at the best might help prevent injuries down the road. That combined with my 6-minute abs workouts and associated bodyweight circuits should keep me busy most days. I've also started with a weekly treadmill run, to coincide with Lara's biking, to push my aerobic threshold up, and once I get my heartrate monitor, alternated with a run to increase my bodies ability to handle lactic acid buildup. All that should workout to me being in much better shape overall, and staying that way.
In the wonderful world of me being a ridiculous data monger I've decided to start keeping a sleep log and tracking statistics related to my sweat rate. First, the less disgusting of the two. In an effort to improve all aspects of my life through better data collection I've decided to start tracking my perceptions related to my sleep, quality, time it takes to fall asleep, how much I wake up during the night, and if I wake up too early. So far it's been feeling fairly productive, though since it's all based on perception rather than numbers there is only so much it can do. The Sweat Rate data is an effort by me to make sure that as I increase my mileage further I avoid dehydration. When I run, like most people who do so, I sweat. How much I sweat is a variable number based on pace, temperature, humidity, and dew point, or at least that's the theory. By weighing myself before and after a run, and knowing how much water if any I ingested while on the run, I can determine how much water weight I lost over the course of my activity. That number combined with the duration of the activity can allow me to calculate a loss per hour which I can track against the conditions listed above to hopefully determine a predictive method for my sweat rate that will let me ensure I stay properly hydrated as my mileage increases.
Anyway, that was a fairly long post today and so I shall sum it up fairly briefly with numbers. Scale tells me I'm at 210 this week, same as last week, which is what I'm after right now. Until next week, always push yourself to be a better you than you were when you woke up.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Weekly Weigh-in (Week 61)
Sunday yet again and time for my weekly weigh-in.
This week has been pretty normal in terms of my food intake. Where it has been different is my output, I went for two runs this week, up from none the previous week, so that's a big improvement, and I've been "greasing the groove" with sets of squats and pushups every time I go to use the computer.
Speaking of changing things up I've been trying to piece together a new and somewhat more comprehensive workout program to start in on, as I've noticed I seem to do better when I have a clear cut plan to follow. In trying to put together such a plan I'm torn between trying to put together something that's nicely ambitious to sate my desire to do something, see results, and challenge myself, and the desire to put together something that will be easily achievable and thus something I can stick to more easily. I think I'm going to try and find the middle ground for now and then hopefully adjust my training volume upwards from there in the future.
First, I'm going to try for getting in runs 3 days a week, 1 run of 3km with a goal of improving my average pace from week to week, 1 run for distance, and 1 run for target heart rate range. The distance run will start off at 4km and increase by 10% per week for as long as I can keep that up and by some other factor after that which I find manageable. The heart rate run will have to wait until I get a heart rate monitor, which is on my list in the near future, and will be a 25 minute run with the goal of keeping my heart rate for the duration of the run within a given heart rate range, probably between 65-75% Max Heart Rate. This run will be mostly to gauge progress over time. The further my distance in that time, and the better my pace, while keeping within the target heart rate zone the better my progress is going overall.
Second, I'm going to throw in some more dedicated resistance training to my workout plan. In addition to picking one exercise at a time to focus on by performing a set of 5-10 reps each time I perform a certain activity, most likely sitting down at my computer or reaching an hour of cumulative computer time, I'm going to experiment with Occam's Protocol from The Four Hour Body and dedicate the remaining days of the week to beast skills. Beast Skills in this case refers to skills of physical prowess involving balance and mastery of bodyweight like handstands, the human flag, and planche pushups. I'll focus on one of these skills at a time until I feel I have sufficiently mastered it such as to move on to the next one.
So with that explanation of my plans for my running and some strength training I've put together a new and somewhat ambitious plan for where I'd like to go in the future. Running further, faster, and more efficiently, and also lifting more, and with better control over my mass. So, to those who read this and have more experience with these things than I do, what do you think? Too ambitious, not ambitious enough, missing something important? I'm open to suggestions for improvement.
So, what about my weight? I've come a long way since I started on this journey, and even since the start of this calendar year. I've lost a bunch of unneeded weight, and I've also cut a lot of fat, as of this week I'm down to 10% body fat, from around 19% at the start of the year. Now, I'm entering a new stage of the journey. I'm going to be trying to put back on some weight, but making a point to ensure that I'm adding muscle and not fat. So what's the scale telling me today? 202 up a pound from last week. Starting this muscle adding on the right track it seems.
So, I've put together a nice little plan there to extract an improved version of me from what lurks inside of the current me, just one step toward becoming the me I want to be. So until next time, become the you you've always wanted.
This week has been pretty normal in terms of my food intake. Where it has been different is my output, I went for two runs this week, up from none the previous week, so that's a big improvement, and I've been "greasing the groove" with sets of squats and pushups every time I go to use the computer.
Speaking of changing things up I've been trying to piece together a new and somewhat more comprehensive workout program to start in on, as I've noticed I seem to do better when I have a clear cut plan to follow. In trying to put together such a plan I'm torn between trying to put together something that's nicely ambitious to sate my desire to do something, see results, and challenge myself, and the desire to put together something that will be easily achievable and thus something I can stick to more easily. I think I'm going to try and find the middle ground for now and then hopefully adjust my training volume upwards from there in the future.
First, I'm going to try for getting in runs 3 days a week, 1 run of 3km with a goal of improving my average pace from week to week, 1 run for distance, and 1 run for target heart rate range. The distance run will start off at 4km and increase by 10% per week for as long as I can keep that up and by some other factor after that which I find manageable. The heart rate run will have to wait until I get a heart rate monitor, which is on my list in the near future, and will be a 25 minute run with the goal of keeping my heart rate for the duration of the run within a given heart rate range, probably between 65-75% Max Heart Rate. This run will be mostly to gauge progress over time. The further my distance in that time, and the better my pace, while keeping within the target heart rate zone the better my progress is going overall.
Second, I'm going to throw in some more dedicated resistance training to my workout plan. In addition to picking one exercise at a time to focus on by performing a set of 5-10 reps each time I perform a certain activity, most likely sitting down at my computer or reaching an hour of cumulative computer time, I'm going to experiment with Occam's Protocol from The Four Hour Body and dedicate the remaining days of the week to beast skills. Beast Skills in this case refers to skills of physical prowess involving balance and mastery of bodyweight like handstands, the human flag, and planche pushups. I'll focus on one of these skills at a time until I feel I have sufficiently mastered it such as to move on to the next one.
So with that explanation of my plans for my running and some strength training I've put together a new and somewhat ambitious plan for where I'd like to go in the future. Running further, faster, and more efficiently, and also lifting more, and with better control over my mass. So, to those who read this and have more experience with these things than I do, what do you think? Too ambitious, not ambitious enough, missing something important? I'm open to suggestions for improvement.
So, what about my weight? I've come a long way since I started on this journey, and even since the start of this calendar year. I've lost a bunch of unneeded weight, and I've also cut a lot of fat, as of this week I'm down to 10% body fat, from around 19% at the start of the year. Now, I'm entering a new stage of the journey. I'm going to be trying to put back on some weight, but making a point to ensure that I'm adding muscle and not fat. So what's the scale telling me today? 202 up a pound from last week. Starting this muscle adding on the right track it seems.
So, I've put together a nice little plan there to extract an improved version of me from what lurks inside of the current me, just one step toward becoming the me I want to be. So until next time, become the you you've always wanted.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A Random Crazy Idea
As most likely all the people who will read this via my facebook, and almost certainly the few who read this via my blog, know, I'm getting married. In case you didn't already know, the likely date is to be next August. Lara doesn't particularly like to fly, and we were both interested in going to the family reunion being held the end of next August in Nova Scotia, so we hit upon the idea of driving. It would be a long trip, but we could use it as an excuse to see a lot of cool things and visit people neither of us sees often.
Why am I telling you this? I've never been to many of the places we'd be driving through, and you might have. As a result you may have useful insight into things that are fun to do. If you do, feel free to post a comment. A Google map of the currently planned route can be found here. And at the bottom of this post I'll drop a list, in order, of the current states/provinces that the route would take us through. In addition to fun things to see, suggestions of places to stay and eat are more than welcome. Those of you who are friends with Lara on her facebook have possibly seen her note about this, so don't feel compelled to post here too.
Italicized states are those that are close to the planned path and as a result we'd probably pass through if we can just to say we did (I'm a completionist like that, have to hit all the states someday :P) Stuff in parenthesis are places we'd likely visit, usually because one of us has family there. We've been tossing around a few alterations to the map, like going through Missouri and Kansas instead of Iowa and Nebraska, but this is what we're looking at right now at least.
So feel free to comment with ideas, telling me I'm crazy, or just whatever.
U.S.
New Mexico
Texas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia (Atlanta)
South Carolina (Greenville)
North Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia
Maryland
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania
Delaware
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Canada
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia (probably visiting Prince Edward Island, and Fort Halifax)
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
U.S.
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois (Chicago)
Iowa
Nebraska
Colorado (Denver)
Wyoming
Utah
Nevada
California
Arizona
Why am I telling you this? I've never been to many of the places we'd be driving through, and you might have. As a result you may have useful insight into things that are fun to do. If you do, feel free to post a comment. A Google map of the currently planned route can be found here. And at the bottom of this post I'll drop a list, in order, of the current states/provinces that the route would take us through. In addition to fun things to see, suggestions of places to stay and eat are more than welcome. Those of you who are friends with Lara on her facebook have possibly seen her note about this, so don't feel compelled to post here too.
Italicized states are those that are close to the planned path and as a result we'd probably pass through if we can just to say we did (I'm a completionist like that, have to hit all the states someday :P) Stuff in parenthesis are places we'd likely visit, usually because one of us has family there. We've been tossing around a few alterations to the map, like going through Missouri and Kansas instead of Iowa and Nebraska, but this is what we're looking at right now at least.
So feel free to comment with ideas, telling me I'm crazy, or just whatever.
U.S.
New Mexico
Texas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia (Atlanta)
South Carolina (Greenville)
North Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia
Maryland
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania
Delaware
New Jersey
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Canada
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia (probably visiting Prince Edward Island, and Fort Halifax)
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
U.S.
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois (Chicago)
Iowa
Nebraska
Colorado (Denver)
Wyoming
Utah
Nevada
California
Arizona
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