Running, Running, Running

I did my long run today, and ran about 4.22 miles in an hour. I then hopped on the stationary bike and rode an additional 9.5 miles in 30 minutes.

Of course I am still at 228, and am dealing with the frustration as well as can be expected. I am happy, however, that I ordered my rower, which will be delivered on Saturday which will hopefully allow me to try something different.

Paul

Plateaus Suck

I just had to say it. I am still at 228, and although that is a lot of total weight lost, I am not ready for it to stop yet. I have at least 30 more pounds to go before I am satisfied, and this plateau is not helping things.

I worked out today, although discouraged from the scale reading, and did an upper body strength training routine. It lasted about 45 minutes, and I didn't break any records. I then hopped on the stationary bike and rode for 30 minutes at level 8 for 9.5 miles.

I think I am ordering the Concept 2 Rower that I have been planning on with the hopes that doing a different kind of cardio will help jog my body into restarting its weight loss. Of course the 90 minute sessions were supposed to do that, and it did briefly. Hope it starts back up again soon.

Paul

UPDATE: I ended up ordering the Concept 2. Now to hope that I can be home when it gets delivered.

Mental Blocks

I worked fully on Cardio today. I did 30 minutes running at 4.2-5mph for about 2.25 miles. Then I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes on level 7 on a hilly course. Last I did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes for 2.25 miles.

I did pretty good on my workout today, but was trying to talk myself out of the workout almost the entire time. I had to play the "just one minute more" game for most of it. I at least did the workout, but I am sure it would have been a bit more pleasurable had I not been trying to quit the entire time.

Paul

Ah the Frustration

I woke up this morning and hopped on the scale, and I swear that damn thing is out to get me. I weighed in at 228 again, up a pound from yesterday. Either my scale is damned inaccurate, which is a definite possibility, or my body is playing games with me. Everyone tells me not to weigh myself daily, but I guess torture is my thing these days.

Suffice it to say, I started my workout in a foul mood. I did a lower body strength training, and did pretty good until I forgot to do any ab work. I then hopped on the treadmill and walked for 2 miles. I know walking doesn't sound like much, but I put on a 3-5 degree hill and hoofed it at about 3.7mph and got my heart rate up to where it needed to be. I started forming a small blister on my heal by the time it was done though.

Paul

Cross Training

Today was another cross training day, and I started out with 45 minutes of the elliptical machine at a moderate pace (4.5 miles) and then hit the stationary bicycle for another 45 minutes at level 7 (12.2 miles).

I am pretty tired now though, and I am sure my body will adapt soon enough.

Paul

Strength, Cardio and New Pain

Today, in going along with my determination to break my plateau, I woke up again at 4:30 AM and did my strength training on my upper body. I worked it pretty dang hard today, and was really happy with my effort. I also did 30 minutes of the elliptical machine on a hilly course, traversing nearly 3 miles at level 5.

On a down note, my nipples started hurting about 20 minutes in to the cardio. Probably from my shirt rubbing on it. Not a pleasant thing to have painful nipples and a sweaty shirt running over it while trying to keep my heart rate up. If it happens again tomorrow, the band-aids will be broken out to stop the chafing.

On a definite plus side, I weighed in at 228 today, and although I won't call this a plateau breaker, it is at least slightly down from where I have been. I will keep up the endurance work and hopefully will reach my goal by the summer.

Paul

Cardio - Extended workout

I woke up at 4:30am this morning so that I could get an extra half hour in on my cardio today. I started out by running 4.18 miles on the Treadmill in an hour and five minutes, then hopped on the stationary bike and rode like 7 miles in 30 minutes at level 6. I did a similar effort last Saturday, and was pretty damned tired the rest of the day. I guess I get to experience some of that again today, but at work. Hopefully my running around will keep me going.

I am sure my body adjust to this new level though. I am still plateaued at 230lbs, and am pretty frustrated. Hopefully my weight loss will again be kick-started by the new level of cardio I am doing.

Paul

FOLLOWUP: It was actually the coffee that kept me going.

Moderate Lower Body Workout

Did my lower body strength training today, and was ok with it. I didn't do fabulously, but didn't suck either. I ended up lifting 120 lbs on my quads, which is up 10 pounds from where I usually am. But I think I still need a better hamstring exercise. The lunges I am currently doing are hurting my ankles so I don't do them that well. Went up to 70 pounds on my calves, though. Then I crunched a bit, and I did ok on them too.

All in all, a moderate workout, but I wasn't feeling all that great about it afterwards.

Paul

Extra Cardio

Today was supposed to be my long run day, but as I did a 4 mile run on Tuesday, I did only 2.1 miles today running in 30 minutes. I then hopped on the stationary bike at level 8 for 30 minutes, and then did the elliptical machine for another 30 minutes for 2.1 miles. Great workout today and my legs never even fell off.

Paul

Performance Issues - Upper Body Weight Training

I am not sure why, but when I am working my upper body, I start out just fine, and lose a lot of momentum during the workout so that when I am finishing out the last muscle group, I don't seem to be lifting much at all. I did an upper body workout today, and got through my chest, back, and lats without too much trouble, but by the time I started my triceps and biceps, my arms were already fatigued and I couldn't hardly lift anything. Sometimes this can be frustrating as hell. So, as a result, I didn't feel that today's workout was all that great. I didn't even break a sweat it seems.

Perhaps I should start adding some cardio to this workout so at least I can feel like I accomplished something during my strength training.

On a side note, I have been watching a ton of motivational and weight loss shows on TV, and I usually go to sleep all motivated for the next morning. The people on TV, as well as several people at work do 1.5-2 hours of workouts while I only seem to be getting in 45 minutes to an hour. I may end up getting up a bit earlier and extending my workout some to see if my body can take it. If nothing else, Ill burn more calories a week, resulting hopefully in a slightly faster weight loss.

I am back down to 230 lbs today, but am still plateaued it seems. Everyone I talk to tells me to not watch the scale, but as I have been doing every day since my surgery, I seem to be fixated on that damned number.

Paul

Cardio Today

Today was my cross training day, and I did what I did last week. I worked on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes, and then the stationary bike for 30 minutes. I think I worked out quite a bit harder today than last week though, even setting the bike to level 8.

Overall, a great workout. Still weighing in at 231 lbs. Hopefully this plateau will break soon enough.

Paul

Strength Training - Lower Body

I did a full lower body strength training routine today. I didn't break any strength or lifting records for myself, but felt that I got a pretty good workout nonetheless.

Paul

Great Run Today

I did a pretty great workout today. I ran on the treadmill. I set the speed at 4.3mph, which is pretty fast for me. I ran for an hour and five minutes. About half way through I set the machine for intervals, and ran/walked the last 2 miles. I ended up completing 4.18 miles during that time, and even ran at 5 mph for the last interval just to do it.

My heart rate was pretty high for most of the workout, however, with me averaging 168 bpm.

All in all, a pretty terrific workout for me.

Paul

Strength Training - Upper Body

I did an upper body strength training routine, and did pretty good. I used my home-based free weights, and although I didn't break any records, I did feel that my workout was pretty effective. It took roughly 45 minutes, and although I wasn't able to do as many bicep curls as I would have wanted, I still went to failure.

Also, I just started taking creatine ethyl at my brother in laws recommendation to see if that can help me progress at a better rate. If not, then I guess my money was well spent to learn if it would do anything for me or not.

Weighed in at 232 lbs today. That is up a pound over the weekend, but down like 2 pounds from the week before.

Paul

Strength Training

Did a lower body strength training routine today. I wussed out a bit on the hamstring exercises, but did some at least.

Overall, not a bad workout.

Paul

Wussed out again

Ok, at least I worked out. I almost didn't. That being said, I didn't exactly follow my plan today. I have developed a small pain in my lower left oblique, and I didn't want to cause it any problems, so instead of the planned lower body strength training, I walked for 1:05:00 on the treadmill covering about 3.36 miles. I got a fair cardio workout with that even if I didn't get much strength training benefit.

The plan is to do this tomorrow if the pain is better, or wait until Monday if it isn't.

Paul

Mixing it up today

Today, according to my plan, I was to work out on the elliptical machine. Being this my first time on the machine, I figured 30 minutes would be plenty. It has a heart rate monitor on it, and it was set to adjust the workout to keep my heart rate at about 146bpm. I did 30 minutes on the machine, and although I expected only to last about 10, I think I did pretty well. The machine calculated that I went a total of 2.5 miles in that time as well.

I then hopped on the stationary bike for another 30 minutes, and did like 8.1 miles there. I guess I didn't set the bike that high, although it was set at level 7, because I had a hard time keeping my heart rate up. Guess that means I am getting into better shape these days. Perhaps next time Ill do level 8 or 9.

I felt better about today's workout than I have all week. Even if I did really only a moderate intensity workout on both machines. I still fought to get my lazy butt out to the gym when I woke up though. I hope that mental battle will cease soon. Thankfully the DOMS I have been suffering through this week is starting to ease up. At least now I can walk across the room without a lot of pain.

Paul

Sucky is what I would call it

I did an upper body strength training routine, and all I can say was that I was not very happy with my performance today. I did ok on the bench press, used the machine in my fitness center. I could hardly do any shoulder raises. I managed 2 or 3 reps of those at a 20 lb weight before I couldn't lift them. I did pretty good working on my lats. I did fair on my triceps, and sucked badly on my biceps.

My workout was pretty intense, but I don't know if I even did enough of the shoulder or bicep reps to be even slightly effective. This could be the result of the DOMS I have been suffering through this week, but it wasn't as if I started my workout in pain.

Guess Ill keep trying and work harder next time.

Paul

Cardio...sort of.

My plan was to do a short-medium length run today, but as I just started back to strength training, and yesterday was my first lower body workout in a while, I was in a ton of pain. I did hit the treadmill, and even ran a bit. It took me about 10 minutes to warm my legs up so I wasn't in dire pain the entire time. After that I did an intense interval workout based on the Body for Life book I read again last night. It went pretty well, although the intensity was pretty high, I did have to slow back down to a walk a couple of times to catch my breath.

Overall, I ran from 4-5mph and walked at 3-4mph for about 40 minutes on a hilly course. The total distance covered was 2.36 miles. The workout was pretty intense and I was happy with the result. Now I just need to glue my legs back on and try and make it through the day without passing out.

I plan on working on a spreadsheet that will allow me to better log the BFL workouts that I am doing in a much more concise way. If I can, Ill upload a blank copy here.

Paul

Strength Training Day 2 - But its a good pain

I remember posting long ago, when I first started my workouts about the good pain. Well, I worked out Saturday on upper body, and today focused on my lower body and abs. I am definitely feeling DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) on my chest and arms today, and as I did some pretty hefty leg extensions, I expect to be in a lot of quad pain tomorrow and Wednesday.

Today I worked out my Quads with Leg extensions to 110lbs, my Hamstrings with Lunges and Deadlifts, up to about 60 lbs. Also worked my calfs with calf raises, one and two legged variety up to 30/50 lbs. I also did a ton of ab crunches, including a couple dozen obliquely.

All in all a pretty good workout being it my first one coming back to lower body strength training.

Lets just hope I can stand up tomorrow.

Paul

Next Couple Weeks Plan

Here is m plan for the next 2 weeks.

Monday - Strength Training - Lower Body
Tuesday - Run - Moderate Interval
Wednesday - Strength Training - Upper Body
Thursday - Bicycle Ride or Elliptical Machine
Friday - Strength Training - Lower Body
Saturday - Run - Long

Monday - Strength Training - Upper Body
Tuesday - Run - Moderate Interval
Wednesday - Strength Training - Lower Body
Thursday - Bicycle Ride or Elliptical Machine
Friday - Strength Training - Upper Body
Saturday - Run - Long

Back to Strength training

I did an upper-body strength training workout this morning at home. I did barbell press, lat pulldowns with rubber bands, one handed rows, tricep extensions, and bicep curls. The max weight was on the bench press, roughly 60 lbs. I know, kinda wimpy, but you gotta start somewhere. I also hopped on my bicycle and trainer, and rode for like 5 minutes.

Overall it was about 50 minutes of a workout, and I am sure I will be pretty sore tomorrow, as my arms are all rubbery again.

Paul

Goal Setting

I think its about time to set some short-term goals. I have been attempting to sabotage my fitness efforts subtle, and I think that having these written down and committed to will at least give me something to work towards. After my 5-K last month, I have been tossing several short-term ideas around but haven't committed to any of them. So here goes:

1. Train for and complete a 10-K run before June.
2. Re-Start my strength training, increasing my max weight lifting capacity by 20 lbs in 6 months.
3. Cross Train for a 30-mile bike ride to be done before Halloween.
4. Reach or exceed my weight loss goal of weighing 200 lbs by June. (currently 234 lbs)

that's it for now.

Paul

Dealing with the Blahs

I have spent pretty much all week struggling to get my butt out of bed to go do my workouts. Today wasn't any better, and I nearly talked myself out of it. I surely didn't really feel up to running or riding my bike today, so I headed out to the treadmill and walked. I walked 3.25 miles in 1:05:00 at a 3.2 MPH pace. Not super duper, but I did break quite a sweat and got my heart rate up to where it should be at least for most of the walk. I did a hilly course as well, which helped on the heart rate.

I really need to break this having to fight going to work out.

Paul

Running not Riding

I had planned to hit the bike today, but for some reason I don't know, I hit the treadmill instead. I had planned then to run for an hour, but only seemed to make just over half of it. I seem to be either working too hard, or losing some motivation somehow. I ran a total of 2.1 miles in about 34 minutes. I had a good workout, just not a long one.

Paul

Dragging Butt

Went to bed last night all motivated to get out and run. Woke up this morning and realized that my body didn't agree with me. So, after trying to talk myself out of my workout for 5 minutes or so, I forced myself to head out the door for a run. Ran 1.6 miles in about 27 minutes.

Tomorrow I hope that the newly discovered sore muscles that I found on Sunday with my brief bike ride will be all healed up, and I can head out for another ride. Preferably longer than last time.

We'll see.

I am still weighing in at around 236 lbs. I have been pretty much plateaued in the 230's for 3 weeks now.

Paul

Motivation Time

Ok, so the new year is finally with us, and I have realized that during my vacation, I didn't perform as well as I was doing before. I also took several days off that I shouldn't have. On top of that the bike ride I took a couple of days ago found some new muscles that are now sore as heck. So today, I hit the road again, and ran about 1.6 miles in about 25 minutes. My time was good, although my distance wasn't.

I will probably run tomorrow too then bike on Thursday, just to give my aching muscles a little time to recover.

Paul

Ringing in the New Year

Well, I went out yesterday and got myself a bicycle. So this morning I went out on a ride. I rode about 20 minutes down to the local Blockbuster and returned some videos. It was about 1.6 miles and I was pretty much worn out after even that short a ride. Looks like I will be needing some practice before I start the 16 mile commute I am planning.

Paul