TWTW: 5 - 11 July 2010

Monday 5 July 2010
Workout:

W/S: Complexes - using DBs
Hang cleans
Romanian deadlift
Bentover row
Squat
Shoulder press
Deadlift
Bicep curls
1st circuit - 10kgx20s
2nd circuit - 9kg x25s
3rd circuit - 8kg x30s

Bike: 60mins, EM, L12

Run: 20 mins
1 min walking (i.e. active recovery) with 30sec sprint
sprint "build ups" - 6.0mph - 9.5mph

Whew. A good session, with what I would consider a pretty tough run. The run intervals probably started out a bit to slow, meaning I wasn't able to go faster (i.e. because I'd already done a fair number of intervals by the time I "got to" 9.0mph, I was tired, meaning 9.5mph became the end interval pace). I think next time I'll start out with the first interval (after the warmup) being 7.0mph or 7.5mph - it is only 30seconds!! I really do like (in a sick sort of saddistic kind of way I suppose!) doing the intervals - they're tough and I can find them to be quite challenging, which (to me) says they've got to be effective. Suppose I also need to work on incorporating some longer slower stuff into my programme as well - don't think there's too many tri's with a run that only takes 30 seconds...


Tuesday 6 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 45mins, L12 EM

Run: 32mins, "build ups"
2 min walking warm up @3.5mph
1min @ 6.0mp
1min @ 6.1
1min @ 6.2
1min @ 6.3
1min @ 6.4
1min @ 6.5
1min @ 6.6
1min @ 6.7
2min @ 6.0
2min @ 6.1
2min @ 6.2
2min @ 6.3
2min @ 6.4
2min @ 6.5
2min @ 6.6
2min @ 6.7
3mins @ 6.0
3mins @6.1

W/S: "Power 100s"
i.e. 10 reps of exercise, rest 10 seconds - repeat for 10sets (i.e. 100 reps) Chest press (25kg)
Leg press (45/35kg)
Lat pulldown (25kg)
Shoulder press (5kg DBs)
Bicep curls (5kg DBs)
Rope pressdowns (6.25kg)
Seated Fly (25kg)

I ran. I finally ran for an extended period of time (i.e. not "just" intervals). I felt reasonably strong; particularly given I ran after a pretty hard 45mins on the bike. Given how much I haven't been running lately, I'm not sure my speed has improved much, or that I'll be a great deal faster come my next Tri, but I suppose there's still some time to be more consistent in my run training. I read about the "Power 100s" in a book I flipped through this morning over coffee before heading to the gym, decided to give'em a go, and I liked them. Definitely not something to do every day, but I'd like to think maybe once a week? Then again, I think maybe I should stop trying to find all these new wonderful ways to make my workouts better, focus on something for a continued period of time, and see what results THAT gets - i.e. stop "programme hopping"! Then again, they do say that variety is good - keep the body guessing and all that...but at what point does "guessing" just become downright confusion? - such that your body doens't really know how it's supposed to react or adapt? Hmm...something to ponder.


Wednesday 7 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 60mins, L11/12, EM

X-trainer: 30mins, L12/14

Bike: 15mins, L12

Not really feeling it today. I'm tired and not feeling particularly motivated or interested in going to the gym, susupect it's a combination of "foodover" (sort of like a hangover, but the result of feeling crappy from eating too much crap (as opposed to drinking too much!)), general fatigue (from training and possibly the weekend (though I don't really think so) and being frustrated by my weight going up as opposed to down. Funny, but when I get like this I'm inclined to eat even more crap - hardly the way to get the weight to drop and feel better. I know I need to clean up my diet (in particular my evening dinner on the sofa (which all too often becomes a bit of a "feeding frenzy"!) yet I find myself not doing so - can we say
S T U P I D?? Time to get smart, put the crap down and get on with it!


Thursday 8 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 45 mins, L11 EM

Run: 30mins - hills
1 min walking warm up @3.5mph,
0% incline + 1 min run @7.0mph,
0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
0.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
0.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
1.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
1.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
1.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
1.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
2.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
2.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
2.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
2.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
3.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
3.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
3.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
3.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
4.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
4.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
4.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
4.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
5.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
5.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
5.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
6.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
6.0% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
6.5% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
6.5% incline 1 min run @7.0mph,
7.0% incline + 1 min walking recovery @3.5mph,
7.0% incline

W/S: Complexes - 20s - 1 circuit with O-bar
Hang cleans
Romanian dead lift
Bentover row
Squat
Shoulder press
Dead lift
Bicep curl

Bike: 30mins, L11, EM

Once again I'm feeling a bit tired. Not sure if it's the workouts, or the abundence of crap I've been eating at night "sofa surfing" while watching the TdF (I SO love the Tour de France!), Big Brother (oh the shame!) and Biggest Loser (so love watching "loser", though I suppose it's sort of ironic that I typically eat crap while watching it…). I've really got to try to clean up my night time diet. Lately (i.e. the past week) I seem to have adopted a bit of a "I had a crappy day at work so I DESERVE to eat these [insert apprpriate crap here - i.e. crisps, Doritos, pretzels, wine gums, american hard gums - and sometimes all of the above!]. I know I feel so much better when I'm eating well and not hoovering the rubbish, but yet I've found myself doing precisely that most nights this week. My weight is up a bit (which of course annoys me) and should provide the necessary incentive to "cut the crap", but I find myself thinking "maybe it's muscle weight I'm gaining?". Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but either way, I really shouldn't be eating the crap I've been eating!

The run felt pretty good, but was definitely challenging. As a result of the incline I started to "feel it" a bit in my shins, which isn't great, but I carried on and got the full 30mins done.

Complexes were just a "short sharp shock" to the system between the run and second session on the bike - I'm worried about getting even more muscley, but at the same time am super keen to take advantage of what are supposed to be the fat burning properties of complexes.

Second bike was fine, nothing too difficult, just that "little bit more" before finishing for the day and getting ready for the "day job"!


Friday 9 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 45 mins
5 min warm up on L12
40mins x [2mins hard (L15) 5 mins easy (L10-12)]

Run: 20 mins - speed intervals - 1.0% incline
20mins x [30sec hard (9.0-9.7mph) with 60 second walking recovery at 3.5mph

W/S: - 40mins
Chest press
Seated row
Seated fly
Leg press
Bench press (lots!)

Bike: 5mins - easy

Hurrah it's Friday! Based on more reading I've been doing recently, I'm virtually positive I'm going to incorporate more weights into my workouts. Sure I workout to try to do better in Triathlon, but at the same time, it's fair to say I'm as guilty as anyone in terms of wanting to "look good". I'm finally getting my head around not relying on what the scale says to validate how I feel (i.e. if the number is down or lower I feel better/good; whereas if the number is higher/up, I feel bad/like a failure) on the basis of my weight not being hugely different, but my clothes fitting better and being smaller. So, knowing that resistance training and developing more lean muscle mass will result in a higher resting metabolic rate (meaning my body will be burning more calories even when at rest!) I'm once again going to be a bit more focused on resistance training - not to the exclusion of my tri training (speaking of which, I REALLY do need to get back into the pool!), but add it as another aspect of my training. The programme I've got in mind is an 8 week programme, which will take me through my next tri and 2 weeks before holiday. Hopefully it will see me do well in what I suspect will be my last tri of the year, not too mention looking bufftastic for holiday! Ok, so maybe I can be just a teensy bit vain at times...


Saturday 10 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 60mins, EM, L12

W/S: 12 reps of each exercise done in a circuit; x3 circuits
Chest press
Lat pulldown
Leg press
Leg curl
Shoulder press
Cable pressdown
Cable curl
Crunch (on Swiss ball)

Bike: 30mins, EM, L12

Relatively straightforward, not too tough session - though I did feel a bit tired on the second bike. Think I like the idea of doing weights on a more regular basis (again); I'm currently thinking Monday, Wednesday and Friday, though to some extent it may depend on how busy the gym is - I can always "bump" one session to the weekend.


Sunday 11 July 2010
Workout:

Bike: 90mins, EM, L12(60mins), L11(30mins)

Treadmill walk: 30 mins, 5.8kmh, 7% incline

Having gone to bed early (for a Saturday night) last night, I was awake before the 5:15am alarm (yes, the alarm is on on weekends too!) and feeling pretty rested. Quick 2 cups of coffee and some toasted baguette, and I was off to the gym. Given I haven't taken a full day off this week, I decided today would be a reasonably "light" or easy session - some steady state stuff on the bike, followed by an incline walk on the treadmill - nothing too terribly taxing. Fair to say I could have gone a lot harder, or done a lot more. I suppose sometimes it's good to give the bod a bit of a break - hopefully it'll mean I can HIH ("hit it hard") again tomorrow!