first session of 09

This new and vigorous start to 2009 did not start too well. Monday night the wife had car troubles and I had to pick her up. So I started the new year on Tuesday instead.

I watched with a little bit of dismay through Christmas that my newly defined lines of muscle slipping back behind a layer of fat. No exercise and too much food and drink will do that apparently. I decided that the first thing I am going to have to do is burn that off before I get back into the routine so a cardio blitz was planned.

This was also my first real play with the heart rate monitor and my new iPod (with scientifically created music). I set off on the treadmill interval training. 7.2mph and for the first time managed to sustain that speed for the duration, this new level of endurance I will attribute to science music!

Heart rate very quickly made its way up to 140bpm and never dropped below that for the duration. For the three peaks in the interval routine where there is the most effort that is sustained for 90 seconds, my heart rate made its way to 175bpm.

After that I went straight across to the cross trainer and went for it. 20 minutes of intervals at level 8. Heart rate was sustained at over 150bpm for the duration and the 3 peaks of high effort I hit 180bpm.

To find out what all those beats mean, and if my work rate is any good I turned to the internet.

When at rest the average male should have a heart rate of about 70, which in my initial mucking about with the monitor that seemed to be about where I am, and then according to the Fox and Haskell formula on heart rates I was at the upper end of aerobic training for the duration of the exercise session with 6 bursts of anaerobic exercise. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise Reading around the subject a little bit, this combination seems to be a good thing.

After all of that I went for a bit of a swim. I was crowded out of the pool after about 15 minutes but I was pretty happy with my first effort of the year.

I have booked a session with fitness Stu for Wednesday night to get a whole new plan. I have told him of my new goal to go to the gym every night and that I could do with two different plans to alternate each day with. I will report back tomorrow.