September Week 4 Group Challenge - Building Endurance for Fitness
This week's challenge is another that was participant requested. We already know that with any fitness program it's important to get physician clearance, warm up, cool down, stay hydrated, eat some protein, but an overlooked portion of the program is to start slow and build your endurance. Now the above advice was listed for running, but the same principles apply no matter what activity, sport or workout you're doing. Start with lower numbers of movements, steps, reps, circuits, etc.
So, this week's challenge is to:
- build your training plan for the week.
- start off with a set number of moves, steps, reps, circuits, minutes, miles, etc.
- increase the set number in small increments each day for the 7 days.
- report in each day and share your experiences (the good, the bad and the ugly).
Looking forward to hearing from you and at the end of the week, please share with us if you feel you were able to build up your endurance just a bit through the week.
See you in the chat thread!
Jessica
Replies
-
Here are some topics that relate to the concept of Endurance. I'll be posting about some of these during the week:
- Aerobic: heart rate zones, high intensity vs moderate intensity
- Walking/jogging/cycling/swimming: distance vs speed, alternating slow/fast pace
- Stamina vs endurance:
- Stamina: intensity of effort, how hard can you go
- Endurance: prolonged effort, how far can you go
- Both are beneficial but require different approaches for optimum effect
- Strength training
- How many sets? How many reps per set? Depends on your objectives.
- Isometric contractions — when the muscle generates force without changing length
- Isotonic contractions — when the muscle generates force and changes length
- Concentric contractions: Muscle shortens while generating force
- Eccentric contractions: Muscle lengthens while generating force
- Both are beneficial
- Calisthenics — who remembers this from high school
- Plyometrics — a type of anaerobic exercise; quick intense movements
- Stretching before/after
- Flexibility and balance
- Exercise frequency / recovery periods
- Nutrition
- Protein: pre/post workout
- Electrolytes
4 -
I just got back from a conference, so it's a great time to plan my week for exercise.
I usually try to aim for 7,000 steps per day
3 days of walking/jogging
2 days of strength/resistance
I have a work dinner on Thursday evening, so I know that day will most likely not have any intentional exercise and will be a rest day.
I am wanting to add stretching more, so this will be my focus this week.
4 -
Hey y'all, Happy Sunday, new challenge and new week!!
I am limited to walking only for exercise and due to a recently excessive/hectic work schedule, even that is proving to be difficult, but I WILL NOT GIVE UP! (I'm a little on the headstrong, independent, STUBBORN side!) So, I always push for 10k steps a day, however I think I will try to use my evening, relax and unwind walk for this week's challenge. But I usually divide my day up into little mini-walks due to work and time constraints.
MY PLAN: I will start today with 20 minute and try to add 5 minutes every day to Saturday for endurance.
- Sun=20 min
- Mon=25 min
- Tue=30 min
- Wed=35 min
- Thu=40 min
- Fri=45 min
- Sat=50 min
That's my plan and I'm sticking to it! I know it's going to be a hectic week, but I GOT THIS!!! (Cheer me on because by Tue I'm liable to be thinking, just WHY did I commit to this?!!) LOL
Let's all have an active and pleasant week ahead!
Jessica 😁
3 -
@frankwbrown Thanks!! Always love your wisdom and insight. You're the best! Even when you nag me to report my steps! 🙄
Jessica
2 -
Today, I did 35 minutes of moderate intensity Aerobics.
I will add 5 minutes every day to improve my endurance.
I will also mix-up my exercise routine(Kickboxing, Tabata, Running)
I will do two days of strength training. The first day will be upper body and the second day will be lower body.
@jessicakrall8 - WE GOT THIS!!!
💪Mission Slimpossible Strong!💪
3 -
Daily:
10000 steps
Walk at least 1 mile
At least 30 minutes intentional exercise
Also:MWF Strong Seniors class (resistance & balance)
M Gentle Yoga class
In my classes I’ve been focusing on consistency and form, I’m a sloucher🤷♀️. I will be increasing the weights in October.
@frankwbrown looking forward to seeing your posts!2 -
My big exercise today was a 25-mile bike ride. I plan to ride another ~37 miles over the next 6 days. Then I'll be just chilling for the rest of the month, as far as cycling is concerned.
My plan for daily exercise can often change, due to class cancellation or other unforeseen events, but it'll probably be something like this:
- ~37 miles of cycling
- 3 days of cardio/strength (Silver Strength class)
- 3 days of water aerobics (Aquafit class)
- 2-3 days of tai chi
- 3 days of ~20 minute swim
- 3 days of ~20-30 minute strength training
- daily yoga/stretching
- daily 1-2 mile walk
- frequent tai chi walking (aka brush knee walking) — in addition to or as part of walking
4 -
I’m building my endurance for two upcoming events:
- The Marine Core Marathon in Washington, DC in late October; and
- A rowing race called the Head of the Occoquan, on a river about 30 minutes south of where I live in northern Virginia.
I started the week with a co-Ed soccer game last night. We had one extra woman so I didn’t run as much as I do when we don’t have any subs, but I covered a little over 4 miles. Tonight, I plan to run 4.5-5 miles and I’d really like to fit in a longer run of 10+ miles some time during the week, probably tonight or tomorrow.
On Wednesday, I play pickup soccer, so I’ll do some running then, but my plan is to alternate shorter and longer distances while gradually lengthening both. Next Sunday will be my main endurance day. My son and I are joining a 5K road race in the morning and then I’ll play soccer in the evening at 7pm. I’m hoping to play in the 8:30pm game if they don’t have enough women or want to use me as a sub so they can get a break. It’s a good way to get some extra running and build my endurance without thinking too much about it.
The rowing race is at the beginning of November. I’ll post about my plan for that event later tonight or tomorrow. Have a great week of endurance building!
4 -
Wow, you guys are going hard core this week!!! Great plans…and wow, what progress you've made already!!! AMAZING!!!
Jessica
2 -
Today, I warmed up, then did a 60 minute high intensity HIIT workout. I finished with a good 20 minute stretch.
@PatriceFitnessPal - Your upcoming events sound exciting. I haven't done a marathon yet.
💪Mission Slimpossible Strong!💪
4 -
Today I did an hour of high intensity Zumba.
Tuesday I have a one-hour private pickleball lesson.
On Wednesday, I do an hour of Zumba and then teach a one-hour Aqua aerobics class.
Thursday I will play an hour of tennis in the morning and attend a Ballet Barre class in the evening.
Friday should be two hours of doubles pickleball (weather permitting).Saturday will either be pickleball or an hour Spin class.
Sunday is Aqua aerobics and then — something new — a one hour personal training session. Time to start adding weights into my weekly routine.4 -
@Veta2018 - This is my first time running a marathon. So, I’m not sure if I can finish! I just figure my fitness level will be better for trying. The Marine Core Marathon is supposed to be a relatively flat course and it’s called “the best marathon for beginners.”Since it doesn’t award money or prizes, there aren’t many elite marathon runners so it’s also known as “the people’s marathon.” The course passes by all the DC monuments twice so I hope the crowd and scenery keep me moving forward!
I only ran 3.5 miles tonight (planned 4.5-5.0) because I got a late start. My son started after me and I challenged him to catch me along the way. He runs a lot faster than I do, but I’m happy to report that he didn’t catch me! 🏃♀️🏃♂️ We also did a 10-minute abdominal workout.I didn’t increase my distance/ mileage over yesterday, but we subbed in and out during last night’s soccer game (a win 3-0!), so tonight was better endurance because I ran without taking any break.
I hope everyone had a good start to the week!
4 -
I'm going to be sitting this one out unfortunately. I'm fighting a cold and allergies which is giving me a major headache. :(
4 -
I hope you feel better soon @alleykat69!
Today was a rowing day and it felt really good. We were moving as a unified team. The water was a little rough but we turned down a channel that is more protected from the wind. Fortunately, the tide was high enough to row in that area.Our coach is so knowledgeable and she’s a highly skilled competitor. She started rowing in 2013, which is a relatively short time for her level of performance. She regularly medals in the Masters’ World Championships, partnering with many different rowers and competing in lots of categories. She won 5 medals 🥇🥈🥉🥈🥇 in the World competition highlighted in the article below! She’s amazing and her work ethic is inspiring! 🤩
This is the time of year when the coaches are adding longer practice pieces so we can build our endurance. The spring season is dedicated to shorter sprints in lanes. Fall season has “head” races. They are longer and the boats are timed as they pass the start and finish lines. So, there is more passing and strategy. Some groups compete most weekends but our group is more social and recreational. Typically, we only enter one or two races in the fall season, though we have participated in the spring and sometimes fill in with other groups or enter an extra race.
Our coach will help us plan for the 5K rowing race on November 2. The start line is about 4K upriver so we use that as a kind of warmup to row from the boat launch area. Then we row 5K down river and cool down with the final 1K back to the boathouse. So, we’ll row a total of 10K and then carry our boat up the hill to de-rig (take off the riggers that hold the oars) and put the boat back on the trailer. Getting up that hill at the end can be especially tiring so I’ll need to build my endurance.After our race, we fulfill one of the volunteer shifts and then eat dinner together. I’ll have a soccer match later that night - and I don’t usually drink much alcohol - but it’s kind of a traditional to drink a margarita with the rowing team after the race. The local Tex-Mex restaurant also sponsors my soccer team so I like to wear my jersey to our rowing celebration and then I’m ready to go straight to the game. The restaurant owner is always happy and they laugh at the way I “loosen up” for the soccer game — I feel that one margarita so quickly! 🤪
4 -
Yesterday, I went to the gym and did a walk/jog on the treadmill and upper body weights. Today, I went for an hour walk in the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day. 🌞
3 -
@PatriceFitnessPal - Thank you for sharing. The People's Marathon sounds like a nice run. I've done a few 5k. I'd like to attempt a 1/2 marathon and eventually a full.
This morning, I warmed up, did 1hr and 10 minutes of vigoous kickboxing. That's 10 minutes longer than yesterday. I did a 1 min plank. Then, I did 20 minute of stretching.
💪Mission Slimpossible Strong!💪
2 -
Came home last night after being in a bit of a car wreck…I'm ok, but the car needs repair now…came home though and really needed my 30 min walk to calm down, as I was shaky and nerves all over the place.
Tonight, I just finished my 35 min walk, had a nice dinner of leftovers and went to our Zoom book club meeting…LOVE getting to meet one of our newest members (Arlene) and of course, getting together with Nancy, Patrice and Casandra is always so much fun! I just love our little book club…and we're growing! October's book looks AMAZING!!! Can't wait!
Hope ya'll have a wonderful evening!
Jessica
5 -
Today, I started with a 1 hr and 20 minute Tabata workout. I did a 1 min. plank and 50 sit-ups. Then, I did 30 min strength training doing compound moves with 10 lbs. dumbbells to work on my upper and lower body together. I finished with 20. minutes of stretching.
💪Mission Slimpossible Strong!💪
3 -
This morning, I was the coxswain for our 8-person “sweep” boat. We take turns directing the rowers and steering the boat in response to the coach’s drills. So, I didn’t get much exercise at rowing practice.
The reason I volunteered to cox the boat today is because I knew I’d be playing pickup soccer with a group of women 8:30-10:00pm. My son and I did an a workout before dinner, and then I ran a little over 3 miles while playing soccer. It was really humid so I was sweating 🥵. It’s a bit difficult to motivate myself to start so late in the evening but I’m always happy after I participate.
We’re more than half way through the week now. I hope everyone is feeling good about their progress!3 -
@jessicakrall8 I'm glad you are ok from your car accident! That is very scary!
Today I made it back to the gym. I did my walk/jog and full body strength.
I sign up for random garmin challenges and this might be the first month I actually meet the 300,000 step goal!
3 -
@jessicakrall8 — I meant to comment about the accident. I echo @lauren_989: I’m glad you weren’t too hurt and I’m so sorry you now have to deal with car repairs and insurance. How scary and frustrating!
Wow! That’s a lot of steps! 🤩 — 300,000! Congratulations 🎉1 -
@lauren_989 Good luck earning the September Step Month challenge.
The next challenge to tackle after that would be the 30 day 10k a Day challenge. It too, requires hitting 300,000 steps in 30 days. On the face of it, this seems like the same sort of challenge, but there's a catch: you have to hit at least 10,000 steps every day for 30 consecutive days (averaging 10k/day isn't enough, it's gotta be a minimum of 10k/day). The 10k a Day challenge is repeatable and you can earn it up to 250 times. Depending on when you start, the 10k a Day challenge can basically guarantee completing the Step Month challenge as well.
4 -
@frankwbrown - You are truly the Garmin badge king! 👑🤩👑
Today, my husband was chastising me about not doing enough endurance training for my upcoming marathon, but I’m just planning to do the best I can. It was a rowing day so I didn’t run, but I went to the YMCA for a 30-minute personal training session and stretched for about 45 minutes.
I’ll plan a long run tomorrow and then rest on Saturday before the 5K race on Sunday.
On Saturday, I also have a rowing (sculling) lesson and a personal training session. Sunday is co-Ed soccer night and there are just enough women so I’ll be playing the whole game without subs. It may not be enough endurance to prepare for the marathon but there are so many tasks to complete in a day and only a limited number of hours. I recognize that I’m not as quick and efficient as most people but I’m definitely getting healthier.
I tell my husband that I appreciate his advice but I’m preparing myself mentally! 😉 He doesn’t have to know that part of that preparation is blocking out his negativity so I can focus on my upcoming events. 😂🤣😂
4 -
Thanks y’all for your kindness!! I am a little sore from the impact but it could have been do much worse. God was definitely watching out for me.
My estimate is tomorrow at 11:30am. It will be nice to know how long the repairs will take.
It was hard to do tonight’s 40 minutes but I made it. Trying to meet my daily goal every day!
Have a great Friday!
3 -
@jessicakrall8 - I must have missed your post. I'm sorry to hear about your car accident. Glad your ok. The book club sounds nice. What are you currently reading?
@lauren_989 - Wow…awesome job on the 300,000 steps.
@frankwbrown - Great challenges. I'm in. Which do I want to do? I think I'll challenge myself to get 10,000 steps each day. If I did the 300,000 in a month, I would end up doing a lot of walking that last day. I've been looking to start a new challenge. I'm good at getting enough water. So this one will be perfect. My current goal is 8,000 steps. Thanks for sharing.
@PatriceFitnessPal - I think you'll do good in the marathon. When I run it's more about finishing than being fast. I needed to keep my own pace. Especially for the long run.
Today didn't go like planned. I started a new medication that had some side effects. It began with a headache and then, I felt nauseous all day. So I did do a 10 min. stretching/yoga.
💪Mission Slimpossible Strong!💪
3 -
@lauren_989 I am definitely a bit obsessive about pursuing Garmin badges, but there are Garmin Badge fanatics even worse than me. Some will temporarily change their locations just to earn country-specific challenges.
Your 5k run on Sunday will earn you the September Weekend 5K challenge, if you join it. I'm debating whether to try for it. I started joining the 5k and 10k challenges three years ago, but I've switched to cycling this past year because I've gained so much that running is too hard on my knees.
Are you running a full marathon or half marathon? I've managed a handful of 10k runs. I'd like to one day run a half marathon, but a full marathon is out of the question for me, I think.
Send me a connection request on Garmin Connect if you like. There's a number of us F2F folks on there. Here's my profile: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/FrankBrown
4 -
@Veta2018 If you're good at getting enough water, there's a badge you can earn just by logging your water intake on Garmin Connect. It's one of the repeatable 30-day badges:
Hydration Streak • Track 64 oz. of water daily for 30 consecutive days (easy peasy) 🙂
(FYI: this is a "health" badge type, not a "challenge" badge type, so it isn't one that must be joined. Garmin awards it automatically when it sees you've met the requirement.)
4 -
I must have missed your post. I'm sorry to hear about your car accident. Glad your ok. The book club sounds nice. What are you currently reading?
Thanks for your kindness, Veta…I'm doing ok, just a little sore, but it's getting better…was likely from the impact. The book club is so nice…great to get to know everyone so much more and we're all book nerds, so that's awesome too. This month, the genre was Mystery and we voted (everyone nominates a book from each month's chosen genre) for Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. For October, the genre is Historical Fiction and we voted for The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano. For November, the genre is RomCom and we haven't started nominations yet. For December, the genre is Biography and we haven't started nominations yet. We normally meet the 4th Wed of each month at 7:30pm ET but we're doing the 3rd Wed for Nov/Dec so as not to interfere with the holidays. Would love to have you join us! Go to the chatroom for the book club, or send a message to @nancyinmiami and give her your email address to sign up. She will send you the link each month to the zoom meeting.
Nancy, please add your thoughts…or correct me if I misstated anything. (Nancy does an amazing job each time…even has discussion questions in advance and the discussions are always lively. Just a great night to relax and chat…
Jessica
1 -
I don’t consciously seek badges but I signed up for the weekend 5K and connected with you via the Garmin app @frankwbrown. I see that you just challenged me to a badge while I was posting here so thanks for the motivation!
Today, I skipped my usual sculling outing because a group of friends from my neighborhood meet the last Friday of each month for breakfast. My son and I ran a shorter distance than planned b/c we got a late start again and he had plans to meet some friends. I got delayed waiting for my flu and updated COVID vaccines because I thought my appointment was at the CVS Minute Clinic but it was at the Pharmacy. 🙃Although today was not a very successful day - because I exceeded my calorie goal and exercised less than planned - I was glad to get my shots. It was also nice to spend time with my son this afternoon and my friends this morning. I’ll be traveling to Japan with my family in mid-October and then I have a business trip at the end of the month. So, I’m hoping the vaccines contribute to my endurance by keeping me healthy. 😊 My son said he’ll run with me while we’re in Japan so I can keep up with my training— 😍
2 -
@PatriceFitnessPal I invited other F2F people on Garmin that you know to join that second challenge (the step challenge). So maybe you'll see some others to connect with.
I had planned to post more during this week's challenge, but I picked up a chill last Saturday that turned into a sore throat then mild broncitis. I took it easy, because broncitis usually does me in. Fortunately, a little convalescence and some steam room treatments seems to have helped, so I'm back at it today. I'm headed out shortly for an evening bike ride that will finish the last of my Garmin cycling challenges.
Garmin has released the challenges for October which I'm already looking forward to. After this ride, the only September challenges I'll have left are Time to Swim and Step Month, and maybe… Weekend 5K…(big maybe though).
3
