I wasn’t going to post anything today but a couple of things have cropped up so I thought I should share.
First off I am pretty annoyed with myself. I have been watching K2 racing kayaks turn up on eBay, the bids have raced up beyond my budget and I have not even watched them finish. This week a couple of boats (one of which was a boat that I really liked the look off first time out and was being re-listed for some reason) have been on. I watched them but knew that I was never going to be able to afford them so didn’t follow their progress. In the end both boats finished with such a low winning bid I could have been the owner of a brand new second hand K2 racing kayak by now! Next time must watch the auctions a bit more closely.
And then as you know, I have been monitoring my weight and BMI and how it has been changing since starting with this fitness thing. Well the Body Mass Index is not a very good indicator of fitness as muscle weighs more than fat. A better way of measuring fitness is the Body Fat Percentage.
I have found out that there are several ways to measure your body fat. Bioelectrical Impedance, Skinfold callipers, Hydrostatic Weighing Tanks. All of which are techniques not available to a home sports scientist like me. And then while mooching around the internet I found this little gadget.
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/base/bodyfat
I appreciate it isn’t going to be as accurate as a hydrostatic weighing tank but it is a tad easier. So this morning I got the wife to wrap a tape around my waist to give me an unbiased measurement of my girth.
With a weight of 154lbs. and a waist of 33 inches. My body fat percentage is %19.41
According to that gadget that plants me firmly between In Shape and Athlete. I’m happy with that for starters. I will add this to my sporadic experiment measurements and see how that also changes over the coming months of training. Though I fear Christmas may push me backwards.
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Monday, 22 December 2008
Last weekend before Christmas.
Saturday was a day of rest. Well I say rest, it wasn’t very restful to be honest. I didn’t go to the gym is what I mean.
Sunday I had to go though. I am conscious that Christmas is less than a week away and commitments around this holyday will keep me from the gym (I think my next and only chance before 2009 will be Christmas eve). Coupled with the fact that I am going to be eating inordinate amounts of food I had to put a big effort in.
Today’s damage report. My Trapezius muscles ache, these are the muscles across the top of the shoulders and behind the neck. My Calves ache. My biceps ache. And I had a very large blister on my right foot that span the distance between my second and fourth toe, which when cleaned up and removed, revealed a second slightly smaller blister underneath.
I started out with the rowing machine for 20 minutes, I briefly interrupted myself by heading over and turning down the gym stereo a touch when the coast was clear (there is a big Staff Only sign on the door, and I’m not staff!) because it was so loud I couldn’t hear my own music, or in this case a podcast about the nature an origin of new strains of virus.
Reading back that paragraph it makes me sound like a bit of a bore but it was an fascinating podcast and the gym sound system can get impressively loud.
Anyway, 20 minutes of rowing machine at level 2 (and the biological mechanism by which Ebola jumped the species divide) for a warm up.
Abdominal exercises.
Side crunches. 2 sets of 15 on either side. The plank twice to failure. And 2 sets of 15Twisting sits.
Free weights.
1 set of 15 sitting chest curls with the 5kgs. 1 set of 15 reps of arm curls resting on the knee with the 5kgs. And then the same set of exercises with the 7.5kgs.
Triceps push down. 3 sets of 15 at 7kgs.
Leg press. 3 sets off 15 at 59kgs.
The banned machines.
Lat Pull down. 3 sets of 15 at 32kgs. Chest press. 3 sets of 15 at 27kgs. Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 at 23kgs.
It was about now that I hit a wall. I had been in the gym for a little over an hour and suddenly everything seemed really hard work. I had been checking my pulse every now and then since I arrived and I had pretty much kept it at or about 100 – 120 without much in the way of a break. I had a few minutes rest.
Back to it, I continued with the back extensions. 3 sets of 15 reps at 72kgs.
Arm curls. 3 sets off 15 at 18kgs.
Then 40 minutes of cardio.
Treadmill. Intervals at 7mpm for 20 minutes quickly followed by the cross trainer in intervals at level 6.
This took me nicely to 12 o’ clock. I headed pool side to discover that it was deserted. Goggles on I then swam solidly for half an hour before finally sinking into the Jacuzzi to relax.
Sunday I had to go though. I am conscious that Christmas is less than a week away and commitments around this holyday will keep me from the gym (I think my next and only chance before 2009 will be Christmas eve). Coupled with the fact that I am going to be eating inordinate amounts of food I had to put a big effort in.
Today’s damage report. My Trapezius muscles ache, these are the muscles across the top of the shoulders and behind the neck. My Calves ache. My biceps ache. And I had a very large blister on my right foot that span the distance between my second and fourth toe, which when cleaned up and removed, revealed a second slightly smaller blister underneath.
I started out with the rowing machine for 20 minutes, I briefly interrupted myself by heading over and turning down the gym stereo a touch when the coast was clear (there is a big Staff Only sign on the door, and I’m not staff!) because it was so loud I couldn’t hear my own music, or in this case a podcast about the nature an origin of new strains of virus.
Reading back that paragraph it makes me sound like a bit of a bore but it was an fascinating podcast and the gym sound system can get impressively loud.
Anyway, 20 minutes of rowing machine at level 2 (and the biological mechanism by which Ebola jumped the species divide) for a warm up.
Abdominal exercises.
Side crunches. 2 sets of 15 on either side. The plank twice to failure. And 2 sets of 15Twisting sits.
Free weights.
1 set of 15 sitting chest curls with the 5kgs. 1 set of 15 reps of arm curls resting on the knee with the 5kgs. And then the same set of exercises with the 7.5kgs.
Triceps push down. 3 sets of 15 at 7kgs.
Leg press. 3 sets off 15 at 59kgs.
The banned machines.
Lat Pull down. 3 sets of 15 at 32kgs. Chest press. 3 sets of 15 at 27kgs. Shoulder press 3 sets of 10 at 23kgs.
It was about now that I hit a wall. I had been in the gym for a little over an hour and suddenly everything seemed really hard work. I had been checking my pulse every now and then since I arrived and I had pretty much kept it at or about 100 – 120 without much in the way of a break. I had a few minutes rest.
Back to it, I continued with the back extensions. 3 sets of 15 reps at 72kgs.
Arm curls. 3 sets off 15 at 18kgs.
Then 40 minutes of cardio.
Treadmill. Intervals at 7mpm for 20 minutes quickly followed by the cross trainer in intervals at level 6.
This took me nicely to 12 o’ clock. I headed pool side to discover that it was deserted. Goggles on I then swam solidly for half an hour before finally sinking into the Jacuzzi to relax.
Friday, 19 December 2008
Week 12.
A good week and I feel like I am getting somewhere. I have now slipped into a good routine where I get a good long session in at the weekend and then follow that up with a couple of comprehensive days mid week.
Sunday. A good long session for me at the gym, I was supposed to be joined by Nigel but he was taking delivery of a sofa bed. On the plus side, he had his own workout hauling the thing up to the spare room.
Monday. Rest day for me but Nigel had a day off and did go to the gym.
Tuesday. Met up with Fitness Stu who introduced some new exercises which focus on the core muscles. After that I had a quick blitz around the gym.
Wednesday. Rest day.
Thursday. A session in the gym where I tired toward the end of day. I was pretty fatigued but am a little disappointed that I was unable to finish a couple of the sets I wanted to do.
Friday. Rest day.
Next week is Christmas week so I don’t know how well I will do. I am planning on a trip to the gym on Saturday, then hopefully Monday and if they are open Wednesday too. After that who knows.
Stats.
Owain. SPW = 3
Gym 29 Kayak 4 Other 3
Nigel SPW = 1.42
Gym 14 Kayak 2 Other 1
Sunday. A good long session for me at the gym, I was supposed to be joined by Nigel but he was taking delivery of a sofa bed. On the plus side, he had his own workout hauling the thing up to the spare room.
Monday. Rest day for me but Nigel had a day off and did go to the gym.
Tuesday. Met up with Fitness Stu who introduced some new exercises which focus on the core muscles. After that I had a quick blitz around the gym.
Wednesday. Rest day.
Thursday. A session in the gym where I tired toward the end of day. I was pretty fatigued but am a little disappointed that I was unable to finish a couple of the sets I wanted to do.
Friday. Rest day.
Next week is Christmas week so I don’t know how well I will do. I am planning on a trip to the gym on Saturday, then hopefully Monday and if they are open Wednesday too. After that who knows.
Stats.
Owain. SPW = 3
Gym 29 Kayak 4 Other 3
Nigel SPW = 1.42
Gym 14 Kayak 2 Other 1
Thursday 18/12/08
I am bored of the rowing machine. It is a dull exercise and without music I decided to skip it. Instead I started at the other end of the gym and worked my way anti clockwise around the room.
Leg press. 3 sets of 15. 59kgs.
The plank twice to failure.
Side crunches. 15 reps each side twice.
Seated dips. 2 sets of 15 reps at 36kgs.
Bicep curls. 2 sets off 15 at 18kgs.
Back extensions. 1 set of 15 at 66kgs. And then 2 further sets of 15 at 72kgs.
Chest press. 3 sets of 15 at 25kgs.
Shoulder press. 2 sets of 15 at 23kgs.
Treadmill next for some cardio. 20 minutes of intervals. I started at 7.5mph but after 10 minutes I was struggling so I finished the second half at the reduced speed of 6.8mph.
Cross trainer for more cardio. 20 minutes was planned. Level 9. after about 10 minutes I was cream crackered though. I can’t seem to manage anything above level 8 on the cross trainer at the moment. I aborted and headed to the pool.
Half an hour of swimming was briefly interrupted when Nigel came in to bemoan that he is working AFD’s for the foreseeable future and is only able to get to the gym once a week at the moment.
I have been investigating fitness on the internet since I started this and one thing that cropped up was how good swimming is. It works out all muscle groups in a low impact environment, and is good for the cardio vascular system too. Since reading that I have been swimming hard.
I feel pretty achy today. My upper torso is really feeling the workout at the moment. I don’t know if it is because I have started redoing the banned exercises, or whether my efforts in the pool are having an effect.
Leg press. 3 sets of 15. 59kgs.
The plank twice to failure.
Side crunches. 15 reps each side twice.
Seated dips. 2 sets of 15 reps at 36kgs.
Bicep curls. 2 sets off 15 at 18kgs.
Back extensions. 1 set of 15 at 66kgs. And then 2 further sets of 15 at 72kgs.
Chest press. 3 sets of 15 at 25kgs.
Shoulder press. 2 sets of 15 at 23kgs.
Treadmill next for some cardio. 20 minutes of intervals. I started at 7.5mph but after 10 minutes I was struggling so I finished the second half at the reduced speed of 6.8mph.
Cross trainer for more cardio. 20 minutes was planned. Level 9. after about 10 minutes I was cream crackered though. I can’t seem to manage anything above level 8 on the cross trainer at the moment. I aborted and headed to the pool.
Half an hour of swimming was briefly interrupted when Nigel came in to bemoan that he is working AFD’s for the foreseeable future and is only able to get to the gym once a week at the moment.
I have been investigating fitness on the internet since I started this and one thing that cropped up was how good swimming is. It works out all muscle groups in a low impact environment, and is good for the cardio vascular system too. Since reading that I have been swimming hard.
I feel pretty achy today. My upper torso is really feeling the workout at the moment. I don’t know if it is because I have started redoing the banned exercises, or whether my efforts in the pool are having an effect.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
New Abs exercises
I saw Fitness Stu last night with the aim to add some abdominal exercises to my plan.
First of all we are going to keep the plank in the plan, twice to failure but the hand to knee sits are out. Instead he suggested that I try sit up twists, twice to failure. Also added are some leg raises twice to failure. And last but not least are these crunches with a sit up aid where I twist my body and roll forward. Hard to explain, almost as hard to do but work my external oblique muscles like nothing else.
Then while talking through how the rest of my plan is going Fitness Stu mentioned that by about week 12 we should be changing the whole plan to keep the body guessing. It seems that muscles get used to exercises and slow their growing rate after about 3 months. New exercises also trigger slightly different parts of the muscle group to give a more all over growth. So at some point in the next week or so we are going to ditch all of the exercises that I have been doing for some new ones.
After spending about 20 minutes with Fitness Stu, I was left to my own devices again.
10 minutes on the rowing machine at level 5 for a quick warm up.
Two sets of 15 reps with the 5kg arm curls. Two sets of 15 reps 7.5kg arm curls.
Chest press 2 sets of 15 at 23kgs.
Shoulder press 2 sets off 15 at 27kgs.
Back extension 3 sets of 15 at 66kgs.
Arm curls 2 sets of 15 at 18kgs.
Seated dips. 3 sets of 15 reps at 36kgs.
The Plank twice to failure.
Twisted crunches. Twice on each side.
Sit up twist. Once to failure. (my abs were getting really tired and time was ticking on, otherwise I would have done two sets).
Treadmill. 20 minutes intervals at 7mph. I’m really enjoying running at the moment and I think I could go longer and faster if it wasn’t for the intervals. When I hit an interval peak I think my heart is going to explode… I think I want to get one of those heart rate monitors so that I can see how hard my heart is working during exercise.
As always I finished with swimming. 20 minutes this time .
First of all we are going to keep the plank in the plan, twice to failure but the hand to knee sits are out. Instead he suggested that I try sit up twists, twice to failure. Also added are some leg raises twice to failure. And last but not least are these crunches with a sit up aid where I twist my body and roll forward. Hard to explain, almost as hard to do but work my external oblique muscles like nothing else.
Then while talking through how the rest of my plan is going Fitness Stu mentioned that by about week 12 we should be changing the whole plan to keep the body guessing. It seems that muscles get used to exercises and slow their growing rate after about 3 months. New exercises also trigger slightly different parts of the muscle group to give a more all over growth. So at some point in the next week or so we are going to ditch all of the exercises that I have been doing for some new ones.
After spending about 20 minutes with Fitness Stu, I was left to my own devices again.
10 minutes on the rowing machine at level 5 for a quick warm up.
Two sets of 15 reps with the 5kg arm curls. Two sets of 15 reps 7.5kg arm curls.
Chest press 2 sets of 15 at 23kgs.
Shoulder press 2 sets off 15 at 27kgs.
Back extension 3 sets of 15 at 66kgs.
Arm curls 2 sets of 15 at 18kgs.
Seated dips. 3 sets of 15 reps at 36kgs.
The Plank twice to failure.
Twisted crunches. Twice on each side.
Sit up twist. Once to failure. (my abs were getting really tired and time was ticking on, otherwise I would have done two sets).
Treadmill. 20 minutes intervals at 7mph. I’m really enjoying running at the moment and I think I could go longer and faster if it wasn’t for the intervals. When I hit an interval peak I think my heart is going to explode… I think I want to get one of those heart rate monitors so that I can see how hard my heart is working during exercise.
As always I finished with swimming. 20 minutes this time .
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
a Carat.
Rest day yesterday so nothing to report on that score but I decided to weigh in again to see how my weight and BMI are changing as I am well and truly building muscle now.
As of this morning I weighed in at 69.99kgs which equates to a BMI of 22.86.
Slowly but surely I am getting heavier by a rate of 200 milligrams of muscle per day. For those of you who work in the diamond industry, that’s the same as a Carat, a unit of mass for gemstones. Cool huh?
And then on a different note, if you have been following my shoulder injury saga you will remember that I went for a blood test 11 days ago. Results were in today. For the assorted tests that were carried out on my arterial juice, the doctor wrote the same thing for each. Normal. No action.
So good news on the blood test, though not really a surprise. The shoulder itself is still not 100%. The collar bone is still out of place and I am resigned to it being so from now on. There is also the occasional twinge of an ache from the joint, especially when I talk about it but I think the blood test pretty much underlines the injury so I won’t talk about it again.
As of this morning I weighed in at 69.99kgs which equates to a BMI of 22.86.
Slowly but surely I am getting heavier by a rate of 200 milligrams of muscle per day. For those of you who work in the diamond industry, that’s the same as a Carat, a unit of mass for gemstones. Cool huh?
And then on a different note, if you have been following my shoulder injury saga you will remember that I went for a blood test 11 days ago. Results were in today. For the assorted tests that were carried out on my arterial juice, the doctor wrote the same thing for each. Normal. No action.
So good news on the blood test, though not really a surprise. The shoulder itself is still not 100%. The collar bone is still out of place and I am resigned to it being so from now on. There is also the occasional twinge of an ache from the joint, especially when I talk about it but I think the blood test pretty much underlines the injury so I won’t talk about it again.
Monday, 15 December 2008
R.I.P. the iPod
After many years of faithful service the iPod is no longer. Since I started kayaking again a couple of years ago, my little iPod accompanied me on many kayaking trips, providing me with a musical score to underline the river and it’s scenery. More recently it has been my saviour while I have been pounding the treadmill or rowing machine. Sadly I left it in my pocket of my jogging bottoms on the day they were scheduled to go through the washing machine. It works no more.
So this Sunday I pinched the wife’s iPod to accompany me to the gym.
Sunday was a longer session than my weekday efforts as I have a bit more time to spare.
Starting out with the rowing machine as a warm up, I set the clock to 20 minutes at level 5. I think the rowing machine is the most boring of all the kit in the gym and only made it through the 20 minutes because I had found a podcast to listen to.
Free weights. 20 curls with the 5kgs in 2 sets and also 15 curls at 7.5kgs in 2 sets.
The banned machines.
Chest press. 23kgs. 2 sets of 15. Shoulder press 27kgs 2 sets of 15 reps. Lat Pull down 32kgs 2 sets of 15 reps. Seated dips 32kgs, 2 sets of 15. Arm curls at 18kgs in 2 sets of 15. Erector Spinæ. 66kgs 3 sets of 15.
Then after working with the weights I went back to the cardio stuff.
Treadmill. 20 minutes of interval work at a cop out speed of only 6.8mph, I was feeling a bit hazy so though I should run within my limits. Following that up with a stint on the cross trainer. Another 20 minutes of interval work at level 8.
Thoroughly worked up a sweat I then headed pool side. Joy of joys, by the time I got in there the pool was empty. I took up my favourite lane and swam as hard and fast as possible for half an hour. I worked my way through all of the strokes as well to work different muscle groups.
Today my back and shoulder muscles feel like they have had a good workout so I am pleased with my efforts. And I also saw Fitness Stu so have asked him to give me some exercises to work my abs and hopefully I will get some new exercises to play with tomorrow.
So this Sunday I pinched the wife’s iPod to accompany me to the gym.
Sunday was a longer session than my weekday efforts as I have a bit more time to spare.
Starting out with the rowing machine as a warm up, I set the clock to 20 minutes at level 5. I think the rowing machine is the most boring of all the kit in the gym and only made it through the 20 minutes because I had found a podcast to listen to.
Free weights. 20 curls with the 5kgs in 2 sets and also 15 curls at 7.5kgs in 2 sets.
The banned machines.
Chest press. 23kgs. 2 sets of 15. Shoulder press 27kgs 2 sets of 15 reps. Lat Pull down 32kgs 2 sets of 15 reps. Seated dips 32kgs, 2 sets of 15. Arm curls at 18kgs in 2 sets of 15. Erector Spinæ. 66kgs 3 sets of 15.
Then after working with the weights I went back to the cardio stuff.
Treadmill. 20 minutes of interval work at a cop out speed of only 6.8mph, I was feeling a bit hazy so though I should run within my limits. Following that up with a stint on the cross trainer. Another 20 minutes of interval work at level 8.
Thoroughly worked up a sweat I then headed pool side. Joy of joys, by the time I got in there the pool was empty. I took up my favourite lane and swam as hard and fast as possible for half an hour. I worked my way through all of the strokes as well to work different muscle groups.
Today my back and shoulder muscles feel like they have had a good workout so I am pleased with my efforts. And I also saw Fitness Stu so have asked him to give me some exercises to work my abs and hopefully I will get some new exercises to play with tomorrow.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Week 11
Week 11.
Training is back and truly on course for me. I had a couple of good sessions on the weekend and then have been able to maintain day on day off through the week.
Saturday gym. It seems a while ago now but it was a big session and I really worked hard.
Sunday was a trip out in the boat. It was good to get back onto the water as Nigel improved again but it didn’t feel like much of a workout for me as I took it easy while Nigel weaved all over the place trying to control his kayak. It was good to do something light after the Saturday session.
Monday was a rest day.
Tuesday gym. I didn’t have a long session but I did cover all of the basic muscle groups.
Wednesday was a rest day.
Thursday gym. A hard session though not very long. I am nackered today though.
Friday rest day. (and Christmas party)
Saturday I am planning on going to the gym tough I suspect the hangover will dictate how much and how long I do.
Sunday should be another gym session with Nigel attending too.
Stats.
I am streamlining the statistics this week. We will have just one stat from now on. Sessions per week ratio. And I intend to continually increase the amount of sessions I average through the coming months.
Owain. SPW = 3
Gym 26 Kayak 4 Other 3
Nigel SPW = 1.45
Gym 13 Kayak 2 Other 1
Training is back and truly on course for me. I had a couple of good sessions on the weekend and then have been able to maintain day on day off through the week.
Saturday gym. It seems a while ago now but it was a big session and I really worked hard.
Sunday was a trip out in the boat. It was good to get back onto the water as Nigel improved again but it didn’t feel like much of a workout for me as I took it easy while Nigel weaved all over the place trying to control his kayak. It was good to do something light after the Saturday session.
Monday was a rest day.
Tuesday gym. I didn’t have a long session but I did cover all of the basic muscle groups.
Wednesday was a rest day.
Thursday gym. A hard session though not very long. I am nackered today though.
Friday rest day. (and Christmas party)
Saturday I am planning on going to the gym tough I suspect the hangover will dictate how much and how long I do.
Sunday should be another gym session with Nigel attending too.
Stats.
I am streamlining the statistics this week. We will have just one stat from now on. Sessions per week ratio. And I intend to continually increase the amount of sessions I average through the coming months.
Owain. SPW = 3
Gym 26 Kayak 4 Other 3
Nigel SPW = 1.45
Gym 13 Kayak 2 Other 1
The ache is back
Thursday night gym session and I had no umph. I don’t know why, it might have been down to my diet that day, I am still reading that food fitness book and it is fascinating how various foods affect performance, or it might have been because of my clothes, I was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and could have been overheating, or I might just have had a long ole day at work. Either way the session was really hard work.
Started with the rowing machine. 15 minutes at level 5. After 5 minutes my flexors were aching and after only 10 minutes I was spent. I did slog my way through the full 15 minutes but I must have been averaging about 25 strokes per minute towards the end where usually I would be keeping up a rate of about 30.
Free weights. 2 sets of 15 curls with the 5kgs and 1 set of 15 curls with the 7.5kgs. I also did 2 sets of 15 shrugs for the first time since my injury. I used the 15kg weights and they were a lot heavier than I remember.
The banned machines. Shoulder press at 23kgs and chest press at 27kgs. 2 sets of 15 for each. I also put the Lat pull downs back onto my list. 2 sets of 15 at 39kgs.
Although I had completely run out of energy I forced myself onto the cross trainer, partly because I had only been in the gym for about half an hour and that seemed a little bit pathetic to me. 20 minutes at level 8. Hard work but felt happy when I finished.
I had been investigating various exercises to find out which ones are the best for my personal goals. The internet tells me that swimming is by far the best for me to tone, develop stamina and gain all over muscle definition. So into the pool for 30 minutes of non stop swimming.
I have that exercise ache today, something I haven’t had for a little while now and I am really pleased that despite my lethargy, I pushed on for a full workout.
Started with the rowing machine. 15 minutes at level 5. After 5 minutes my flexors were aching and after only 10 minutes I was spent. I did slog my way through the full 15 minutes but I must have been averaging about 25 strokes per minute towards the end where usually I would be keeping up a rate of about 30.
Free weights. 2 sets of 15 curls with the 5kgs and 1 set of 15 curls with the 7.5kgs. I also did 2 sets of 15 shrugs for the first time since my injury. I used the 15kg weights and they were a lot heavier than I remember.
The banned machines. Shoulder press at 23kgs and chest press at 27kgs. 2 sets of 15 for each. I also put the Lat pull downs back onto my list. 2 sets of 15 at 39kgs.
Although I had completely run out of energy I forced myself onto the cross trainer, partly because I had only been in the gym for about half an hour and that seemed a little bit pathetic to me. 20 minutes at level 8. Hard work but felt happy when I finished.
I had been investigating various exercises to find out which ones are the best for my personal goals. The internet tells me that swimming is by far the best for me to tone, develop stamina and gain all over muscle definition. So into the pool for 30 minutes of non stop swimming.
I have that exercise ache today, something I haven’t had for a little while now and I am really pleased that despite my lethargy, I pushed on for a full workout.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
More gyming
Monday was a day of rest for myself, though I think Nigel went to the gym as he had a day off. However Tuesday saw me back for another gym training session.
I didn’t have as much time available as I did on the weekend as I had plans for the evening so I had to make a few cutbacks.
15 minutes on the rowing machine as my warm up. No problems really, though my flexors (gripping muscles) ache a lot toward the end.
3 sets of 15 reps for the erector spinæ at 66kgs. Again no real issues, though when I had finished the muscle burn made it difficult to stand correctly until I had stretched it out.
I then did the banned shoulder exercises. Chest press. 2 sets of 15 at 27kgs. Followed by the Shoulder press 2 sets of 15 reps at 23kgs. I am having less and less problem with the shoulder now and am feeling more and more confident that I can put a strain on it.
Onward to some more cardio work. Intervals on the cross trainer at an untried level 10. This proved to be a level too far though, and after eleven minutes I was really feeling the strain. As I laboured through the next peak interval, my chest became tight and my head started to swim a little bit. I decreased the level to 5 for about a minute to give myself the chance to take on some water before increasing the level up to the to the standard 8 and finishing there. I’m clearly not ready for level 10 yet.
That was it. I was done in the gym. So I went off to swim for 40 minutes. I like swimming, it’s exercise that I don’t notice taking it’s toll.
That was Tuesday. Wednesday I am going to the gym as this will probably be the last chance I get this week.
(I am running out of original titles for this blog. It's alright when I do something other than going to the gym or when something really extraordinary happens but when I just do some exercise I don't know what to call it. I might have to resort to just date/time stamping for the title in the future.)
I didn’t have as much time available as I did on the weekend as I had plans for the evening so I had to make a few cutbacks.
15 minutes on the rowing machine as my warm up. No problems really, though my flexors (gripping muscles) ache a lot toward the end.
3 sets of 15 reps for the erector spinæ at 66kgs. Again no real issues, though when I had finished the muscle burn made it difficult to stand correctly until I had stretched it out.
I then did the banned shoulder exercises. Chest press. 2 sets of 15 at 27kgs. Followed by the Shoulder press 2 sets of 15 reps at 23kgs. I am having less and less problem with the shoulder now and am feeling more and more confident that I can put a strain on it.
Onward to some more cardio work. Intervals on the cross trainer at an untried level 10. This proved to be a level too far though, and after eleven minutes I was really feeling the strain. As I laboured through the next peak interval, my chest became tight and my head started to swim a little bit. I decreased the level to 5 for about a minute to give myself the chance to take on some water before increasing the level up to the to the standard 8 and finishing there. I’m clearly not ready for level 10 yet.
That was it. I was done in the gym. So I went off to swim for 40 minutes. I like swimming, it’s exercise that I don’t notice taking it’s toll.
That was Tuesday. Wednesday I am going to the gym as this will probably be the last chance I get this week.
(I am running out of original titles for this blog. It's alright when I do something other than going to the gym or when something really extraordinary happens but when I just do some exercise I don't know what to call it. I might have to resort to just date/time stamping for the title in the future.)
Monday, 8 December 2008
Back on the river
A cracking weekend of training. Saturday was a solo trip to the gym. I had a mind to have a long session so made a point of having a high carbohydrate breakfast about an hour before.
I started out with my usual warm up on the rowing machine. This time out I did 20 minutes at setting 6 though.
I then worked my way around the room. Starting with 3 sets of 15 at 66kgs on the erector spinæ. I headed across to the floor and did the plank and hand to knee sits, both twice to failure. I did some curls with the weights 3 sets of 15 with the 5kgs.
Then back for some more cardio. 20 minutes on the treadmill. I started at 7.5 mph but at the halfway mark my heart was set to explode, so I slowed to walking pace for me to catch my breath before continuing the rest of the distance at 7mph.
The shoulder injury seems to be about gone, and I want to start reinforcing the joint with some muscle mass so I headed off to the banned machines. The chest press, 3 sets of 15 at about 23kgs (I can’t remember the weight I just found one that was well within my ability) the shoulder press, 3 sets of 15 at about 23kgs. The arm curls 2 sets of 15 at 18kgs. And finally the seated dips, 3 sets of 15 at 36kgs.
I followed this up with a bit more cardio work. 20 minutes on the cross trainer at level 8. I had pretty much run out of machines to play on so I headed to the pool. 20 minutes of swimming and I was done.
Sunday morning saw me and Nigel get onto the water again. It was another frosty affair but unlike last Sunday the sun was shining and it was quite pleasant.
Nigel had to borrow my dads boat again as we still haven’t tracked one down for him, this time we pushed the footrests to the bottom of the boat to see if that would be more comfortable.
The river was in high flow, Wales must have had a fair volume of rain over the course of the week, a little bit higher and I wouldn’t have considered going out but it was safe enough, just very hard going upstream.
Nigel needs to get miles in the kayak under his belt. His paddling is fine, he has the basic technique but he doesn’t yet have the boat control or feel for how his strokes are affecting his progress. Like last time he found himself inexplicably turning around every now and again. This was exaggerated by the fast flow of the river which gladly spun him every time he executed an uneven stroke.
It was so cold that ice was forming on the deck of my boat and at one point when I took my gloves off to take a photo the gloves stuck to the ice on my spraydeck.
We travelled from the tile museum slipway to alongside the power station which is about half a mile against the flow of the river. It had taken us about 40 minutes or so and Nigel was getting cold hands as he kept dipping them into the water, to add to the discomfort the footrests were digging into his ankles as well. We headed back.
With the flow of the river, that 40 minute journey upstream became a 10 minute blast back to the launch point.
Nigel was happy with the session and he is learning fast but we both need to be in a boat more than we currently are.
I started out with my usual warm up on the rowing machine. This time out I did 20 minutes at setting 6 though.
I then worked my way around the room. Starting with 3 sets of 15 at 66kgs on the erector spinæ. I headed across to the floor and did the plank and hand to knee sits, both twice to failure. I did some curls with the weights 3 sets of 15 with the 5kgs.
Then back for some more cardio. 20 minutes on the treadmill. I started at 7.5 mph but at the halfway mark my heart was set to explode, so I slowed to walking pace for me to catch my breath before continuing the rest of the distance at 7mph.
The shoulder injury seems to be about gone, and I want to start reinforcing the joint with some muscle mass so I headed off to the banned machines. The chest press, 3 sets of 15 at about 23kgs (I can’t remember the weight I just found one that was well within my ability) the shoulder press, 3 sets of 15 at about 23kgs. The arm curls 2 sets of 15 at 18kgs. And finally the seated dips, 3 sets of 15 at 36kgs.
I followed this up with a bit more cardio work. 20 minutes on the cross trainer at level 8. I had pretty much run out of machines to play on so I headed to the pool. 20 minutes of swimming and I was done.
Sunday morning saw me and Nigel get onto the water again. It was another frosty affair but unlike last Sunday the sun was shining and it was quite pleasant.
Nigel had to borrow my dads boat again as we still haven’t tracked one down for him, this time we pushed the footrests to the bottom of the boat to see if that would be more comfortable.
The river was in high flow, Wales must have had a fair volume of rain over the course of the week, a little bit higher and I wouldn’t have considered going out but it was safe enough, just very hard going upstream.
Nigel needs to get miles in the kayak under his belt. His paddling is fine, he has the basic technique but he doesn’t yet have the boat control or feel for how his strokes are affecting his progress. Like last time he found himself inexplicably turning around every now and again. This was exaggerated by the fast flow of the river which gladly spun him every time he executed an uneven stroke.
It was so cold that ice was forming on the deck of my boat and at one point when I took my gloves off to take a photo the gloves stuck to the ice on my spraydeck.
We travelled from the tile museum slipway to alongside the power station which is about half a mile against the flow of the river. It had taken us about 40 minutes or so and Nigel was getting cold hands as he kept dipping them into the water, to add to the discomfort the footrests were digging into his ankles as well. We headed back.
With the flow of the river, that 40 minute journey upstream became a 10 minute blast back to the launch point.
Nigel was happy with the session and he is learning fast but we both need to be in a boat more than we currently are.
Friday, 5 December 2008
Week 10
Wow, ten weeks. Even I didn’t think I would keep training up for this long.
Another pretty abysmal week of training but not for want of trying. I started off well with a good solid workout in the boat but ended up with the rest of the week spending more time thinking about training, than training.
Sunday. 4.5 hour Kayaking trip down the Severn. Thoroughly knackered.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday all became rest days. Unfortunate but couldn’t be helped.
Thursday was a great session in the gym and I worked hard to make a dent into the lassitude that had somehow set into my regime.
Friday is a rest day.
The weekend should see me at the gym and also in a boat but experience has show that something I plan sometimes doesn’t happen. I will let you know on Monday.
The Stats.
Most people who know me, know how much I love my stats. I will make stats out of anything. This training regime has seemingly avoided my creative calculator skills but no longer. From now on, the end of week report will also feature some statistics.
In the last 10 weeks I have been to the gym 23 times, I have been out in the kayak 3 times and have also taken on a mountain (I am including the Wrekin here. Don’t laugh, it’s sort of a mountain) 3 times.
That is a training session per week ratio of 2.9
And a gym session per week ratio of 2.3
Actually that’s not bad. Nearly 3 session a week is about the target. I read back over all of my posts (to find out Nigel’s stats that I will list in a minute) and it seemed that every other post I was making excuses for not going to the gym.
I think a good aim will be to up the weekly sessions ratio.
In the last ten weeks Nigel has been to the gym 12 times (there are ten sessions that was with me and I know of two occasions where Nigel went to the gym without me) he has been up the Wrekin once, and also been kayaking with me once.
That is a training session per week ratio of 1.4
And a gym session per week ratio of 1.2
Nigel has not been to the gym as much. This isn’t news to anyone, Nigel work means that he pulls some pretty antisocial shifts. On the plus side he is currently fitter than me but he is going to need to up the training over the coming months.
Another pretty abysmal week of training but not for want of trying. I started off well with a good solid workout in the boat but ended up with the rest of the week spending more time thinking about training, than training.
Sunday. 4.5 hour Kayaking trip down the Severn. Thoroughly knackered.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday all became rest days. Unfortunate but couldn’t be helped.
Thursday was a great session in the gym and I worked hard to make a dent into the lassitude that had somehow set into my regime.
Friday is a rest day.
The weekend should see me at the gym and also in a boat but experience has show that something I plan sometimes doesn’t happen. I will let you know on Monday.
The Stats.
Most people who know me, know how much I love my stats. I will make stats out of anything. This training regime has seemingly avoided my creative calculator skills but no longer. From now on, the end of week report will also feature some statistics.
In the last 10 weeks I have been to the gym 23 times, I have been out in the kayak 3 times and have also taken on a mountain (I am including the Wrekin here. Don’t laugh, it’s sort of a mountain) 3 times.
That is a training session per week ratio of 2.9
And a gym session per week ratio of 2.3
Actually that’s not bad. Nearly 3 session a week is about the target. I read back over all of my posts (to find out Nigel’s stats that I will list in a minute) and it seemed that every other post I was making excuses for not going to the gym.
I think a good aim will be to up the weekly sessions ratio.
In the last ten weeks Nigel has been to the gym 12 times (there are ten sessions that was with me and I know of two occasions where Nigel went to the gym without me) he has been up the Wrekin once, and also been kayaking with me once.
That is a training session per week ratio of 1.4
And a gym session per week ratio of 1.2
Nigel has not been to the gym as much. This isn’t news to anyone, Nigel work means that he pulls some pretty antisocial shifts. On the plus side he is currently fitter than me but he is going to need to up the training over the coming months.
Back in action
I bet you’ve been wondering where I have been for the last few days? Not to the gym that’s for sure. Since my 22 mile paddle on the weekend I have had a few family type commitments which had me away from any training (though I am training more than Nigel at the moment, he has been pulling big shifts due to Christmas) but I got back to the gym last night with renewed vigour.
I started with the rowing machine. It isn’t really on the plan that Fitness Stu drafted up but I quite enjoy it and it makes for a good warm up. I decided to stop pussyfooting around and wound it back up to level 6 and did a full 15 minutes. I had recently been doing it set to level 1 or 2, for 10 minutes because of my shoulder but I have got bored of the injury now and I need to progress to be ready for the DW race.
After the rowing machine I headed for the back extension machine. I did a set of 15 repetitions at 59kgs but didn’t struggle so I upped the weight to 66kgs. Two more sets of fifteen were no bother but I was rewarded with the muscle burn at the end.
The plank and hand to knee exercises. I sometimes skip these as there is often no room on the floor area but after my weekend kayak I have learned that the torso muscles are going to be the key to a strong paddle, so I made sure I got these done. The plank to failure twice. And two sets of 30 hand to knee sit ups.
Then it was time for some more cardio work. Onto the cross trainer for 20 minutes of interval training set to level 8. At some point while I cracked on with this Nigel popped in to bemoan the fact that he has been working some epic shifts. The good news is that he is off on Sunday, so I am hatching a plan to get him in a kayak again to get some river miles under his belt.
Then onto the free weights. 15 curls for each arm with the 5kgs, both in the seated position and leaning forward with my elbow on my knee. Then 10 curls for each arm with the 7.5kgs again seated upright and then another set with my arm resting on my leg.
Triceps push down followed. 3 sets of 15 reps with the 7kgs. The last couple of pushes really had me straining and I suspect I gurned a little on the last push.
Cardio work again. This time onto the treadmill. 20 minutes of interval work at 7mph. I was having a really good session and positively bounded through this without my usual desire to slow the pace down at about the half way mark when the intervals are at their hardest.
After all of that I headed to the pool and swam for about twenty minutes before I was finally exhausted. I spent a few minutes in the steam room which felt really good on my chest, clearing out the beginnings of a cold that has been clogging my windpipes with snot.
I started with the rowing machine. It isn’t really on the plan that Fitness Stu drafted up but I quite enjoy it and it makes for a good warm up. I decided to stop pussyfooting around and wound it back up to level 6 and did a full 15 minutes. I had recently been doing it set to level 1 or 2, for 10 minutes because of my shoulder but I have got bored of the injury now and I need to progress to be ready for the DW race.
After the rowing machine I headed for the back extension machine. I did a set of 15 repetitions at 59kgs but didn’t struggle so I upped the weight to 66kgs. Two more sets of fifteen were no bother but I was rewarded with the muscle burn at the end.
The plank and hand to knee exercises. I sometimes skip these as there is often no room on the floor area but after my weekend kayak I have learned that the torso muscles are going to be the key to a strong paddle, so I made sure I got these done. The plank to failure twice. And two sets of 30 hand to knee sit ups.
Then it was time for some more cardio work. Onto the cross trainer for 20 minutes of interval training set to level 8. At some point while I cracked on with this Nigel popped in to bemoan the fact that he has been working some epic shifts. The good news is that he is off on Sunday, so I am hatching a plan to get him in a kayak again to get some river miles under his belt.
Then onto the free weights. 15 curls for each arm with the 5kgs, both in the seated position and leaning forward with my elbow on my knee. Then 10 curls for each arm with the 7.5kgs again seated upright and then another set with my arm resting on my leg.
Triceps push down followed. 3 sets of 15 reps with the 7kgs. The last couple of pushes really had me straining and I suspect I gurned a little on the last push.
Cardio work again. This time onto the treadmill. 20 minutes of interval work at 7mph. I was having a really good session and positively bounded through this without my usual desire to slow the pace down at about the half way mark when the intervals are at their hardest.
After all of that I headed to the pool and swam for about twenty minutes before I was finally exhausted. I spent a few minutes in the steam room which felt really good on my chest, clearing out the beginnings of a cold that has been clogging my windpipes with snot.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Back in the Boat.
I had a bit of a slump last week. If I am being honest with myself I couldn’t be arsed with the whole training thing. I came up with excuses every time I was supposed to be at the gym and instead went home to play on the Playstation. I don’t know where this low came from but I am back on track now.
Saturday I planned to have a bit of a marathon kayak but it was a bit foggy and frosty and after a half effort to load the boat onto the car in the cold I was talked out of going and I stayed at home in the warm.
But this wasn’t on and I gave myself a rather stern telling off. I had a kayak race to train for and I had planned to do this 22 mile trip to Telford in November, There was one day in the month left, Sunday and I was going to do it.
Sunday turned out to be equally grim, fog and frost and some sleet to start the day off with too. It took some fortitude to actually leave my nice warm sitting room to load my kit into the car but by about ten a.m. I was set to go.
Neoprene is brilliant. I was wearing my winter kit of wetsuit and cag and I was pretty toastie. And once I got moving on the water I warmed up nicely. In fact the cold didn’t hit me until I got to the final five or six miles and everything I was wearing was wet through.
I had arranged a few checkpoints with my shuttle bunny in case I was suffering with the cold so she could come and pick me up. The first was 7 miles down river at Atcham, A further 8 miles on was a stop in Cressage (with a few other stops mentally picked out where the road came close to the river).
I blazed through Atcham at a good speed and had no intentions of stopping. I was fit and happy and I was going to do this thing.
Somewhere between Atcham and Cressage I was starting to tire and lost concentration for a moment. I had to make a big corrective sweep stroke on my left side to save falling in, this sudden movement caused my dodgy shoulder to flare up.
By the time I had reached Cressage both of my shoulders where hurting because the wetsuit was compressing them down. I decided to press on the final 7 or so miles as I was nearly there and at least now the pain was even on both sides.
Just before you reach Ironbridge there is a long stretch where the river meanders across a flood plain. Because the river is so wide and slow at this point you really have to work hard to keep moving. I was tired, and getting cold and was a bit pissed off, it was at this point I reminded myself that this trip was only a fifth of the DW race.
I arrived at Ironbridge at a few minutes past 3pm about four and a half hours after setting off from Shrewsbury Weir.
I planned to have the satnav plot my speed, route and time but for some reason it went a bit haywire and reported that I had covered 200+ miles with an average speed of about 300mph. So instead the best I have got is an approximate average speed of 4.9mph over the 22miles. I don’t think that’s too bad for me in my little boat.
Damage report this morning. Both shoulders hurt, my stomach and sides ache from the rotation in paddling, my back aches, tops of my thighs hurt where I was gripping the boat, and my right thumb hurts. I think I should ask Fitness Stu to put some Abs exercises into the routine for me and Nigel so that we can sustain paddling for longer, the rest of the damage I think is just wear and tear.
Rest day today but back to the gym on Tuesday.
Saturday I planned to have a bit of a marathon kayak but it was a bit foggy and frosty and after a half effort to load the boat onto the car in the cold I was talked out of going and I stayed at home in the warm.
But this wasn’t on and I gave myself a rather stern telling off. I had a kayak race to train for and I had planned to do this 22 mile trip to Telford in November, There was one day in the month left, Sunday and I was going to do it.
Sunday turned out to be equally grim, fog and frost and some sleet to start the day off with too. It took some fortitude to actually leave my nice warm sitting room to load my kit into the car but by about ten a.m. I was set to go.
Neoprene is brilliant. I was wearing my winter kit of wetsuit and cag and I was pretty toastie. And once I got moving on the water I warmed up nicely. In fact the cold didn’t hit me until I got to the final five or six miles and everything I was wearing was wet through.
I had arranged a few checkpoints with my shuttle bunny in case I was suffering with the cold so she could come and pick me up. The first was 7 miles down river at Atcham, A further 8 miles on was a stop in Cressage (with a few other stops mentally picked out where the road came close to the river).
I blazed through Atcham at a good speed and had no intentions of stopping. I was fit and happy and I was going to do this thing.
Somewhere between Atcham and Cressage I was starting to tire and lost concentration for a moment. I had to make a big corrective sweep stroke on my left side to save falling in, this sudden movement caused my dodgy shoulder to flare up.
By the time I had reached Cressage both of my shoulders where hurting because the wetsuit was compressing them down. I decided to press on the final 7 or so miles as I was nearly there and at least now the pain was even on both sides.
Just before you reach Ironbridge there is a long stretch where the river meanders across a flood plain. Because the river is so wide and slow at this point you really have to work hard to keep moving. I was tired, and getting cold and was a bit pissed off, it was at this point I reminded myself that this trip was only a fifth of the DW race.
I arrived at Ironbridge at a few minutes past 3pm about four and a half hours after setting off from Shrewsbury Weir.
I planned to have the satnav plot my speed, route and time but for some reason it went a bit haywire and reported that I had covered 200+ miles with an average speed of about 300mph. So instead the best I have got is an approximate average speed of 4.9mph over the 22miles. I don’t think that’s too bad for me in my little boat.
Damage report this morning. Both shoulders hurt, my stomach and sides ache from the rotation in paddling, my back aches, tops of my thighs hurt where I was gripping the boat, and my right thumb hurts. I think I should ask Fitness Stu to put some Abs exercises into the routine for me and Nigel so that we can sustain paddling for longer, the rest of the damage I think is just wear and tear.
Rest day today but back to the gym on Tuesday.
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