Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I bordering on coming down
with the first cold I've had in ages. I was wiped out last night, and my throat is a bit scratchy. I opted out of running this morning. I can usually do weight training when I'm sick, but pushing cardio seems to make it worse for me. I don't like missing workouts, but I'll play it smart for now.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Mixed bag
I almost feel like I'm coming down with a little something, and I felt it in my workout today. It was higher rep day today, and I was spent by the end of it. I'm liking alternating higher rep workouts with heavier, lower rep ones later in the week. I've been making good progress with them as well. I'm going for a good night's sleep tonight to fend off whatever it is I may be getting. Hopefully nothing.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Progress
I had a combination workout at lunchtime today. I did my normal leg workout, and then decided to do my cardio workout for the day. I decided to go with a Crossfit workout called Michael. It goes like this:
Three rounds for time:
Run 800m
50 Back extensions
50 Situps
I completed it in 24:44, which beat my last time of 25:51 by over a minute. I lose at least a couple of minutes in transition, because the treadmills are a bit away from where I do the other two exercises. Good workout.
My knees have been a bit sore of late. That Saturday Crossfit from a couple of weeks ago has taken it's toll a bit. First, the knees felt very tight for a few days. Now they feel a bit sore when I go into a deep crouch. Crossfit is very leg intensive. I really should scale it for a while to let my joints catch up.
Three rounds for time:
Run 800m
50 Back extensions
50 Situps
I completed it in 24:44, which beat my last time of 25:51 by over a minute. I lose at least a couple of minutes in transition, because the treadmills are a bit away from where I do the other two exercises. Good workout.
My knees have been a bit sore of late. That Saturday Crossfit from a couple of weeks ago has taken it's toll a bit. First, the knees felt very tight for a few days. Now they feel a bit sore when I go into a deep crouch. Crossfit is very leg intensive. I really should scale it for a while to let my joints catch up.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Cause and effect
If you had a nasty food allergy, you would avoid eating the food that triggers a reaction at all costs. We can clearly see an immediate cause and effect in these situations, so we alter our behavior to avoid them. Of course. Only an insane person would choose to do otherwise.
Given the above, why do so many people choose to ignore the cause and effect of poor nutrition, overeating, lack of exercise, smoking and excessive drinking? I read something the other day that was shocking. Nearly 1 million people die annually in the United States due to heart and circulatory system diseases. Diabetes takes an additional toll. We know our behaviors are harmful, yet we do nothing to change them. It is truly shocking. Although we are an intelligent people, our mind does think in illogical ways at times. The way our harmful activities adversely affect our bodies is a very slow process, allowing us to mentally uncouple the cause and effect in our minds. Even though we KNOW we are hurting ourselves, intuitively, it feels as if we aren’t. So we continue what we are doing. We continue until we are lucky enough to get a wakeup call, or we get sick of being unable to physically perform certain tasks, or we get sick of looking at ourselves, or we have a near death experience, or, worst case, we die. Often, even people who have some sort of epiphany revert back to past behavior at some point. Frequently, family members derail the efforts of someone trying to get healthy. Cause and effect is not always an immediate thing. We should take care to actively remember that.
We also make the mistake of equating how we look with how healthy we are. Being thin or toned does not mean we are healthy. Being fit involves proper nutrition and exercise. It involves possessing a level of musculature that allows us to enjoy day to day activities in a reasonable fashion. Most of us have jobs that require us to be sedentary for hours on end. We must ensure that we set aside time to do what our bodies were designed to do. Move. Walk. Run. Jump. Pick up heavy stuff. Challenge ourselves. And we must do it on a regular basis. We must ensure that we provide our bodies the proper building blocks to rebuild themselves over and over during the course of our lifetimes. We must limit our intake of empty calories that only serve to destroy our bodies. We must make the connection between our behavior and our health. We need to make that connection every day. Our lives literally depend upon it.
Given the above, why do so many people choose to ignore the cause and effect of poor nutrition, overeating, lack of exercise, smoking and excessive drinking? I read something the other day that was shocking. Nearly 1 million people die annually in the United States due to heart and circulatory system diseases. Diabetes takes an additional toll. We know our behaviors are harmful, yet we do nothing to change them. It is truly shocking. Although we are an intelligent people, our mind does think in illogical ways at times. The way our harmful activities adversely affect our bodies is a very slow process, allowing us to mentally uncouple the cause and effect in our minds. Even though we KNOW we are hurting ourselves, intuitively, it feels as if we aren’t. So we continue what we are doing. We continue until we are lucky enough to get a wakeup call, or we get sick of being unable to physically perform certain tasks, or we get sick of looking at ourselves, or we have a near death experience, or, worst case, we die. Often, even people who have some sort of epiphany revert back to past behavior at some point. Frequently, family members derail the efforts of someone trying to get healthy. Cause and effect is not always an immediate thing. We should take care to actively remember that.
We also make the mistake of equating how we look with how healthy we are. Being thin or toned does not mean we are healthy. Being fit involves proper nutrition and exercise. It involves possessing a level of musculature that allows us to enjoy day to day activities in a reasonable fashion. Most of us have jobs that require us to be sedentary for hours on end. We must ensure that we set aside time to do what our bodies were designed to do. Move. Walk. Run. Jump. Pick up heavy stuff. Challenge ourselves. And we must do it on a regular basis. We must ensure that we provide our bodies the proper building blocks to rebuild themselves over and over during the course of our lifetimes. We must limit our intake of empty calories that only serve to destroy our bodies. We must make the connection between our behavior and our health. We need to make that connection every day. Our lives literally depend upon it.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Not much to report here
Busy weekend that lacked any exercise, but certainly didn't lack an overabundance of the wrong foods. Sometimes life gets in the way, and you roll with it and move forward again. That's what I'm doing. Brutal UBWO today. Brutal in a good way. Penance...she can be a bitch...but you have to love her.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Great workout and some thoughts
I had a great UBWO today. As I wrote recently, I've got a plan to increase my weight on the bench this year, with a goal of hitting the 300lb mark by the end of the year. I'm working on a cycle that goes like this:
1st UBWO of the week: a warmup set or two followed by 5 sets of 10 reps at a single weight, and then 1-2 reps at a weight that is 50lbs heavier than the 5 set weight. Finish up with a set of 10-12 at the warmup weight. I also do a few sets of cable flys at the end of the workout.
2nd UBWO of the week: A warmup set or two, followed by 5 sets of at least 3 reps at a weight 30lbs higher than the 1st workout of the week. Follow with 1-2 reps at the high weight from earlier in the week, and then run a set of 10-12 reps at warmup weight.
In week 2, add five pounds to each set.
In week 3, add five pounds again.
In week 4, start at the weights used in week two, add 5 pounds again in week 5 and week 6. Repeat that pattern.
In six months, the workout weights will have been increased by 50 lbs in total.
After just a couple of weeks on this plan, I can already see gains. By progressing slowly and regressing backward every three weeks, the connective tissue is given the opportunity to catch up to muscle growth. The key is to get the body used to handling heavier weights. The body learns to handle heavier weights in the second workout of the week, so the increased weight in the first workout of the next week doesn't feel too heavy. Since we're targeting only three reps in the second workout, and increase in weight of 5 lbs a week is not overly taxing. Of course, at some point everyone is going to hit a wall where gains become harder to come by. I get that. But I also now realize that without a real plan such as this, strength gains were going to be a nebulous goal that I might never reach.
I'm thinking about assembling a similar workout for shoulders and squats as well. While I'm working on Olympic lifts for Crossfit, I can work to increase my max lifts on presses and squats as well. I was supposed to have done some work on that today, but I...well...I forgot. It's okay. My legs are shot after last weekend's workout.
Most people cannot understand living a BFL/Crossfit type lifestyle. Why? Because a lot of people only make temporary changes in their lives if they've gained some weight over the holidays, or are trying to lose weight for an event or some other short term/short sighted reason. They tie eating differently and/or exercising solely to appearance, and usually for a limited amount of time.
They are missing the boat. Big time. We all care about our appearance, and looking better may even be a motivating factor at times. What we really want to be is healthy and fit and strong. Every day of our lives. That is NOT a temporary fix. It is a lifestyle. It's sad that so many people don't get it.
1st UBWO of the week: a warmup set or two followed by 5 sets of 10 reps at a single weight, and then 1-2 reps at a weight that is 50lbs heavier than the 5 set weight. Finish up with a set of 10-12 at the warmup weight. I also do a few sets of cable flys at the end of the workout.
2nd UBWO of the week: A warmup set or two, followed by 5 sets of at least 3 reps at a weight 30lbs higher than the 1st workout of the week. Follow with 1-2 reps at the high weight from earlier in the week, and then run a set of 10-12 reps at warmup weight.
In week 2, add five pounds to each set.
In week 3, add five pounds again.
In week 4, start at the weights used in week two, add 5 pounds again in week 5 and week 6. Repeat that pattern.
In six months, the workout weights will have been increased by 50 lbs in total.
After just a couple of weeks on this plan, I can already see gains. By progressing slowly and regressing backward every three weeks, the connective tissue is given the opportunity to catch up to muscle growth. The key is to get the body used to handling heavier weights. The body learns to handle heavier weights in the second workout of the week, so the increased weight in the first workout of the next week doesn't feel too heavy. Since we're targeting only three reps in the second workout, and increase in weight of 5 lbs a week is not overly taxing. Of course, at some point everyone is going to hit a wall where gains become harder to come by. I get that. But I also now realize that without a real plan such as this, strength gains were going to be a nebulous goal that I might never reach.
I'm thinking about assembling a similar workout for shoulders and squats as well. While I'm working on Olympic lifts for Crossfit, I can work to increase my max lifts on presses and squats as well. I was supposed to have done some work on that today, but I...well...I forgot. It's okay. My legs are shot after last weekend's workout.
Most people cannot understand living a BFL/Crossfit type lifestyle. Why? Because a lot of people only make temporary changes in their lives if they've gained some weight over the holidays, or are trying to lose weight for an event or some other short term/short sighted reason. They tie eating differently and/or exercising solely to appearance, and usually for a limited amount of time.
They are missing the boat. Big time. We all care about our appearance, and looking better may even be a motivating factor at times. What we really want to be is healthy and fit and strong. Every day of our lives. That is NOT a temporary fix. It is a lifestyle. It's sad that so many people don't get it.
BFL is in the Zone...kinda...
The Crossfit program suggests either the Zone eating plan or the paleo eating plan, also known as the cave man plan (I will NOT use the word diet here). There are a lot of similarities between the BFL plan and the Zone plan. In fact, the palm of your hand measurement is suggested by both plans. One difference is that the Zone plan recommends a bit more fat, and encourages fruit and vegetables as the desired form of carbs. The plan allows you to double the carb portion size if you're eating veggies instead of rice/potatoes/whole grains. The use of nuts are also recommended by the Zone. Honestly, it's what I've intuitively done under BFL anyway. The Zone suggests you eat very little in the way of pastas and rices and whatnot. I think one of the reasons for that is that it's very easy to overconsume these foods. Unless you're measuring everything, you're probably eating more carbs than you should. Anyway, it's interesting to note how similar the plans are in many ways. I'm guessing that based upon your body type and genetics, most people's optimum nutrition needs probably fall into a range between these two programs. Play around a bit and find out what works best for you.
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