What Was Your Work Out Today?

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  • BriansTrident
    BriansTrident Posts: 483 Member
    Treadmill 15 min
    Elliptical 15 min
    Chest cable fly high/mid/lows
    Cable rows
    Cable lateral raises
    Leg press
    Ab crunches
    Face pulls
    Overhead triceps extensions
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    justanotherjen13 wrote: »
    I was thinking about that triathlon while I did my walk and how I could never do that. I barely made it 1 mile today although I did my maximum speed for as long as I could so I finished my mile in 24.5 minutes which was apparently a record according to my app. I did 1.07 miles in 26 minutes with a short 30-second pause in the middle to pet a pretty cat. I've decided I need to take it a little easier this week and do only a mile each day (I was pushing for 1.5+ miles each day the last week) because my legs are so sore because I'm so out of shape. It's really hard, though, because my mind wants to go farther and take this turn here for a little detour but my legs are like, please, no more, we still have to hike back up this hill to get home.

    Y'know what, @justanotherjen13 ? I think you'll surprise yourself with where you are in a few months, let alone in a year or more, if you persist and keep gradually but manageably challenging yourself.

    It was a long time ago now (around 2000, when I was just post-surgery/chemo/radiation and still overweight/obese), but I started out pretty darned physically depleted. Within a small number of years - much to my surprise and that of my friends - I was competing as an athlete . . . not a great one, but often in the pack with my age cohort. I'm not saying you should do that or should want to, but I'd bet the "surprising yourself" option is out there waiting for you. Hang in there, and give yourself credit for your discipline. It'll pay off.

    One comment: I hear your desire to push things a little, mixed with a very sensible hesitancy about overdoing. Keep in mind that doing 1 mile every day, then switching to 1.5 miles every day, is not the only option.

    For one, there's a general rule of thumb for training that 10% increase per week is reasonable. One mile to 1.5 is a 50% increase all at once!

    For two, you could consider increasing part of the time, such as 1 mile on a day when you feel average, and 1.1 miles (or whatever) on a day you feel especially strong/energetic - mix it up, not full pedal to the metal every time.

    For three, you could keep the walks at 1 mile but add another activity mode, like . . . oh, I dunno . . . maybe 10 minutes every other day of gentle stretching or some exercise bands or some manageable upper body lifting (even soup cans) or something - anything that sounds doable, a little challenging, maybe even kinda fun.

    Not all of those, but the point is there are options and alternatives. You're doing great!


  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,616 Member
    @justanotherjen13 welcome to our little family! The hardest part in any fitness routine is simply starting, and you've already done that. Now it's time to make smart decisions about how to continue.

    @AnnPT77 pointed out a few ideas about what you can do to slowly and incrementally increase your routine, let me just share an anecdotal story about why. I've been lifting weights for about 14 years now. Early on, I wanted to see just how heavy I could lift, a good goal, IF you do it smart. Hint: I didn't. I rushed things, went up too fast, thought I was doing great just because the weights kept increasing, but I wasn't giving my body time to adapt fully. My muscles were getting stronger, but my joints were lagging behind, a fact I ignored until the day I almost tore both arms out of their sockets by trying to lift a weight I wasn't ready for. Cost me a LOT of pain, along with several months' rehab (and NOT lifting, which I had come to love). Fast forward to today, and despite the fact I'm at an age where most guys' strength naturally starts to ebb due to simply getting older, I'm at my strongest ever, and I attribute it to being smart and only very slowly increasing my workload.

    How does this talk about weightlifting apply to somebody simply wanting to walk? I rushed it, and paid the price. So don't rush it! Having a goal is great, but you need to be ready. Since you just started walking a mile each day, I'd say do not change anything for at least a couple weeks, just get used to walking that mile. The soreness you are experiencing will begin to lessen as your body becomes used to moving through that mile, and usually will be much less within a week or two, if you stay consistent. Then and only then should you begin systematically increasing your intensity in some fashion, whether through walking longer, or walking faster, or walking uphill instead of flat terrain, or adding resistance, or any of a number of methods. Small changes will make your fitness routine more effective, but only if you actually do them. If the change is too large, you physically cannot do it, or you risk injury. If you are in constant pain, then pretty soon you're going to have psychological challenges on top of the physical ones where you justify not going on today's walk because of <insert excuse here>.

    So welcome to walking and sharing with us! Don't change a thing for at least two weeks, just get used to it, let your muscles wake up to the fact they can do this. Ask questions during this span about what to do to improve next. If it takes a year to increase from 1 mile to 1.5 miles, that's still a full year's worth of walking you've completed, compared to throwing your hands in the air or getting injured and NOT walking at all.

    You got this, and you're in the right place. Welcome to the family!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    nossmf wrote: »
    As someone who used to run 5k's for fun and competition, just reading your report made me exhausted! lol The only part I could really sympathize with from my own experience was the part where you started in the back of the pack and systematically passed a number of people as you went. That was me during almost every 5k I ever ran...start off with a slow jog to let the crush of people get ahead, then start to accelerate as the crush broke apart into individuals again, concentrating on ignoring my own aches and fatigue by focusing on passing "just that one person ahead of me" over and over again. Though admittedly I passed more people during any inclines we encountered rather than during the declines.

    @nossmf: IDK, I wouldn't minimize your 5k efforts, the 5k race distance can be incredibly painful, since you're pushing at threshold pace the whole time. That 20 minute stretch is intense suffering, just like a 20 minute threshold test in bike training. Long course racing involves a lower intensity effort that goes on for a long time, so you must learn to manage your energy in order to push your limits.

    But both races are as much a mental test as a physical one. The question is simply: How much are you willing to suffer in order to go faster? :)
  • justanotherjen13
    justanotherjen13 Posts: 419 Member
    @AnnPT77 and @nossmf Thanks for the advice. I definitely went overboard this last week. I used to be able to easily walk so much more and underestimated how badly out of shape I let myself get. My original baseline was going to be one mile in about a half hour so a very leisurely pace. After a couple days, that didn't seem like much so I just kept going like I used to when I was younger and would just wander for long periods of time. I think the problem is our neighborhood is on a hillside so leaving my house going pretty much anywhere in my neighborhood is downhill so it's not really hard and I don't think much of it until I turn around and have to walk uphill all the way home. Then I start to feel the burn. Too much burn, lol.

    So I guess this last week was some experimenting to see which routes work best but I managed to just overdo it because I was thinking about what I used to be able to do not what I can do now. My plan for this week is to stay in the flattest part of the neighborhood and try to stay between 1 and 1.25 miles and to slow down so it's not such a strain on my legs.
  • Ernest_Nigma
    Ernest_Nigma Posts: 69 Member
    edited July 2023
    I was out camping with some extended family last weekend so only walking and a few short sprints then. When at home, Monday on, I've been consistently doing a short early morning elliptical workout, 20 minutes today followed by 15 minutes of light calisthenics. I went to the gym to swim this afternoon but found that my swim stuff wasn't in the locker as expected. I did have gym shorts etc. in the locker so donned that and went to the fitness area. 20 minutes on a stationary bike to warm up followed by sets of assisted pullups. Then 20 minutes running on a treadmill and some sets on a lat pulldown machine.

    @Djproulx Your comment about suffering to go faster reminded me of a quote by a British cyclist, Greg Lemond: "It never gets easier, you just go faster" :smiley: However, that's for racing. Beginners should not be suffering while they're building a base.

    As I recall, there's a common progression for many begining runners. First your aerobic capacity starts to improve. The running feels easier but the muscles are easily strained. Think DOMS for instance. Then the muscles start catching up and runners have the wind and strength to hurt tendons and ligaments which toughen much slower. Or the muscles can develop faster than the fascia encasing them. The last thing to get stronger is the bones. I saw a video once of a female teenage highschool crosscountry runner collapsing near the finish line with broken legs. The moral of the story is to build slowly, even when it feels like you could be going much faster or longer.

    I hurt myself once by not allowing enough recovery after a 70.3. It had been my best time to date as I was training for a full distance event. The day after I ran an easy 5k and it felt good. So, the next day, I pushed hard. However, the big muscles were still recovering and I ended up straining a small stabilizing muscle that was trying to compensate. Believe me, even a little muscle can lay you up!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    justanotherjen13 wrote: »
    @AnnPT77 and @nossmf Thanks for the advice. I definitely went overboard this last week. I used to be able to easily walk so much more and underestimated how badly out of shape I let myself get. My original baseline was going to be one mile in about a half hour so a very leisurely pace. After a couple days, that didn't seem like much so I just kept going like I used to when I was younger and would just wander for long periods of time. I think the problem is our neighborhood is on a hillside so leaving my house going pretty much anywhere in my neighborhood is downhill so it's not really hard and I don't think much of it until I turn around and have to walk uphill all the way home. Then I start to feel the burn. Too much burn, lol.

    So I guess this last week was some experimenting to see which routes work best but I managed to just overdo it because I was thinking about what I used to be able to do not what I can do now. My plan for this week is to stay in the flattest part of the neighborhood and try to stay between 1 and 1.25 miles and to slow down so it's not such a strain on my legs.

    @justanotherjen13 - Welcome! Great decision to start walking. You're on the right track in taking the suggestions offered by two veteran exercisers above. I'll just add that the most important thing you're doing right now is building the habit of exercising. Doesn't matter at all how far you go, how fast you go, or how hilly or flat the route is. The key to long term success IMO is to do something (anything) consistently until it becomes a part of who you are. And I smiled when I read your comment about your mind wanting to go farther than your legs would carry you. Boy, I've been there lately!!

    The other point I'll make is that you'd be surprised at what you'll be capable of in a very short time. And in response to your comment about "I was thinking how I could never do that", I'll give you an example that may provide some inspiration into what IS possible.

    This is a video from a race I did in 2018. Its 9 minutes long, but you can skip right to the parts that give you an idea of wide variety of people doing the race. Starting at the 2:30 mark, you can see and hear "regular folks" as they prepare their gear in the dark. Notice the smiles and enthusiasm. Then, skipping to 7:59, the heavy set guy who says "Tonight's the night" and later crosses the line to finally become an Ironman after 6 failed attempts. Finally, at 8:25, the announcer calls in a 75 year old athlete as he crosses the finish line. The point is not to try to sell you on triathlon, ;), but to suggest that we can do so much more than we think we can when starting out.

    Anyway, enough yammering from me. I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress.


    https://player.vimeo.com/video/285783628







  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    The usual roughly 7k in bow of the quad today, calling technical focus pieces, starting with early square-up and progressing via several focus-steps through drawing through all the way to the ribs then tapping down to release. Then we did some "hold consistent strokes per minute" intervals at a couple of different spm levels. There was East wind (directly counter-current on our stretch of river) so it was a little choppy.

    I was supposed to volunteer-supervise an open rowing session tonight, but there were thunderstorms in the area, so I took myself out for good Mexican food instead. ;)
  • DiscusTank5
    DiscusTank5 Posts: 464 Member
    @justanotherjen13 -- my elderly cat is currently perched on my left shoulder as I write this, and we both like your stopping to pet a cat during your workout. Welcome!

    @Djproulx, great video! It makes me want to go for the middle distance IM.

    @nossmf --your description of nearly tearing your arms off in the weight room sounded terrible and also made me think of Chewbacca. :) I'm in my third week off from running after trying to do too many miles, too soon. Brought on by thinking too much about what I used to do years ago and going from a 25 to a 45 min. run in one week (or maybe the shin splints had already started, who knows?).

    You said something about that too, @Ernest_Nigma, trying to recapture a past level of fitness too quickly.
  • drmwc
    drmwc Posts: 1,039 Member
    I went climbing yesterday. It was really good fun, I was in the best form I've been recently. I got one climb graded v5, although it was probably more like a medium v4. It's odd; I was terrible on Monday but a day's sort-of rest sorted it. (I don't really like rest days, so I did an hour's yoga and three hour's walking on Tuesday.)
  • Ernest_Nigma
    Ernest_Nigma Posts: 69 Member
    Swimming this morning, really early to catch one of the few times they have the bulkheads moved for 50m lanes. 13 x 100m with lots of rest, 40 minutes. 100m times are still nowhere near what they used to be but. like the signs @AnnPT77 mentioned, "You are Here" and here is where I'm working from.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Ernest_Nigma wrote: »
    Swimming this morning, really early to catch one of the few times they have the bulkheads moved for 50m lanes. 13 x 100m with lots of rest, 40 minutes. 100m times are still nowhere near what they used to be but. like the signs @AnnPT77 mentioned, "You are Here" and here is where I'm working from.

    50meter lanes are nice. Good news is that swim pace seems to respond well to an increase in training.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,616 Member
    Weights: Upper Hypertrophy

    Incline Bench Press 4x12
    Machine Fly 3x12
    BB Row 4x10
    Pulldown 3x10
    Machine Lateral Raise 4x12
    Machine Curl <superset> Machine Pushdown 3x10
    Perloff Press 3x15sec

    I once had a dream of completing a marathon, but that was back in college when I was running 5k's for fun and could run like the wind. I may be night and day stronger today than I was then, but I guarantee you my running stamina doesn't let me get past 100 yards, lol. I have gone camping and hiked for miles wearing a heavy pack, and my weekly cardio sessions are an hour+ on the elliptical at pace, so it's not a pure stamina issue, just a running one. Maybe one day I'll get around to trying, but I'm pretty sure training for a marathon would run counter to my current bodybuilding training. In my 20's I could've done both; now in my mid 40's, I have to be more selective, lol.
  • Ernest_Nigma
    Ernest_Nigma Posts: 69 Member
    @nossmf If you burn out quickly trying to run, then you are likely trying to run too fast. I did that too when I first started to run in my 40s. A running store owner advised: just run easy and note how long you go, then walk until you've caught your breath and note that time too. Repeat. Try to find interval times that you can repeat and then gradually learn to run longer and recover quicker. When I first started, I was out of breath in 12 to 15 seconds until I learned to slow down. You really could do it, if you want to. Even 15 or 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week, would get you started. Be warned though, it can be addictive! :wink:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    edited July 2023
    justanotherjen13 wrote: »
    Did 1.22 miles for my walk today but at a much slower pace (according to my app, the split at 1 mile was 27.5 minutes as opposed to 24.5 minutes yesterday) and went much slower on all the uphill sections (little baby steps; one foot in front of the other; slow & steady). Definitely made a difference. I was sore when I got home but not aching and barely able to climb the steps to my room.

    I'm going to take it easy until the middle of next week to give my legs a little rest then try to do at least two harder days (either faster pace on the flatter parts, longer but slower, or tackle the steep hill at the beginning but then shorter and slower after) with slow, easier walks in between to see how my body reacts to that.

    There ya go: That sounds like a plan. Go, you!

    I like "small increases" and "experimental approach" personally . . . though I admit that I sometimes blow it myself when it comes to the "small increases" idea. :D

    Live and learn!
  • BriansTrident
    BriansTrident Posts: 483 Member
    Elliptical @ 15min
    Treadmill @ 15 min
    Triceps
    Biceps
    Chest flys
    Smith machine standing rows
  • laurachambers86
    laurachambers86 Posts: 152 Member
    Been suffering with severe headaches on and off this week so had to cancel spinning yesterday. The downside of not moving so much with the headaches is that my back starts to get sore, bit of a vicious cycle.

    Anyway, I made it to the gym today, stuck to leg machines, abductor/adductor machines and chest press. Did up the reps compared to normal. Then I did 10 minutes elliptical followed by a walk home in the pouring rain (which I actually love).
  • justanotherjen13
    justanotherjen13 Posts: 419 Member
    Well, went over my planned distance for walking. Was going to stay between 1 and 1.25 miles but did 1.38 today because I got close to the end and decided to do a little detour. Of course, that meant I had to walk even more uphill to get home but it wasn't too bad because I slowed down for that portion.

    I had planned to take the kids to our HOA clubhouse to play pool and air hockey for my son's 13th birthday which would have added a lot more walking today, but he got a new TV and Xbox so not sure he wants to leave the house now, lol.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    Yesterday, Thursday:

    Casual walk with a friend, about 2.6 miles averaging around 2.9mph when moving. Garmin continued its bizarre pattern of giving me a VO2max upgrade and/or a "fitness age" youth enhancement for this slow, not-really-exercise walk. I don't get it.

    I wasn't scheduled to go to open rowing as a volunteer, but decided to go over and help with our newly-minted (semi-minted?) rowers from this year's class. Ended up in bow of a quad with 3 new rowers, rowing a little myself, but mostly coaching them, making them do drills to understand things better viscerally, teaching them (or trying to) how to do river turns (where you back on one side while simultaneously rowing on the other side), and setting up (stabilizing) the boat so they could row together with less tippiness.

    It was fun, not much workout, but kind of exhausting (from the standpoint of a natural introvert striving to simulate extroversion for 2 hours ;) ).

    Today, Friday, I rowed bow in the double with my usual group. Row was cut short by thunder: I'm not very risk-tolerant on a recreational row, so as soon as we heard it we spun the boat (river turn!) and headed back to the dock. Just under 3k rowed, less than half usual. Tomorrow's weather forecast doesn't look rowing friendly either, but I'm hoping for improvement.
  • Ernest_Nigma
    Ernest_Nigma Posts: 69 Member
    edited July 2023
    I did 15 minutes on the elliptical early this morning, then 20 minutes running on a treadmill a few hours later. Running inside a lot more lately because of the smoke.

    When I was younger, I used to donate blood occasionally. I've seen online where some places pay for that but at the clinic here donations have always been given freely and unpaid. Anyway, I started donating more regularly after 9-11. A few years ago the local clinic was renovated. They only take plasma donations now, instead of whole blood, so I've just continued on doing that from time to time. I went again today, but now with MFP I have a better idea about how much protein I'm getting. I deliberately went over on protein by a bit today.
  • BlondieJenn75
    BlondieJenn75 Posts: 12 Member
    40 minutes on the treadmill, and Caroline Girvan's 10 Minute Abs 😁
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,616 Member
    Djproulx wrote: »
    I bought several different jump ropes and will try to learn to jump rope over the next 30 days as a cardio and balance activity. I'm a true beginner, so I'm guessing that it may take a while before I get proficient.

    On ESPN today was images from the World Jump Rope Championship. Now you have a new goal! lol
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,616 Member
    Cardio:

    Grocery shopping - 90 minutes
    Walking dog - 30 minutes

    Weights: Lower Hypertrophy

    Squats 4x15
    BB Step-Ups 3x12
    BB RDL 4x10
    Leg Extension 3x12
    Seated Leg Curl 3x12
    Calves Extend 4x12
    Suitcase Carry 3x40s
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,204 Member
    edited July 2023
    justanotherjen13 wrote: »
    Took a new route for my walk today in a different part of our neighborhood that felt a little flatter. Walked out about a half mile then just turned around and came back on the other side of the street. Walk was 1.12 miles and took 29 minutes which was pretty slow but the point was to go easy this week, especially after being on my feet for 3 hours straight making homemade pizzas last night for my son's birthday. I was so sore last night, I was kind of surprised I could walk at all this morning. It took me a bit to get going but I still managed to go on a walk. It was already getting super hot when I went so I had to cut it short for multiple reasons.

    Good for you! It's almost always better to do some movement that next day when stiff/sore (as long as it's overworked muscles and such, not an injury). Moving seems to loosen things up, almost "oil the joints" a bit, so reduce discomfort. Needn't be a full regular workout - whatever that may be; can just be some stretching or a short walk. You're doing the right things, @justanotherjen13!
  • herringboxes
    herringboxes Posts: 259 Member
    Ann, interesting stuff on this page (haven’t looked backwards on this thread). I rowed crew in high school, and enjoy the memories of being on the river. We had 8 (wo)man sculls with a coxswain. A great sport.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,616 Member
    Spent an hour pulling weeds in the back yard. Some of them had grown so much in this heavy rain summer that the stalks were an inch thick and required actually setting up with a deadlift stance and pulling with the legs.

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