I'm still catching my breath from today's very long but very satisfying run. Twenty-seven days ago this run would've killed me. I love seeing how far I'm coming in this quest. Here's what I've done at the gym the past five days:
Monday:
A lower body day, I put the main emphasis on squats.
Squats: 125 lbs, 10 reps, 5 sets.
Leg press: 115 lbs, 15 reps, 4 sets.
Crunches: 35 lbs, 38 reps, 3 sets.
Tuesday:
I switched things up a bit, inserting a swim day. My girlfriend and I headed to the main OSU gym, the RPAC, which has not one, not two, but three swimming pools, plus a hot tub, a diving well, and a sauna. We spent most the time in the largest of the three pools, the competition pool, where I swam 10 laps. I love wearing goggles and looking around under the water, everything's so beautiful, the way light plays on the bottom and the sides of the pool... after swimming in the competition pool, we went and relaxed in the hot tub for awhile and then hit the sauna. The sauna was awesome, I was sweating like crazy. I could just feel all the junk in my system getting expelled from my body through my skin. Saunas are great, anyone who's never tried one and has access, should try one out.
Wednesday:
Treadmill day. I finally reached 60 minutes on the main run-- I started with 45 minutes at the beginning of the challenge and have been gradually lengthening it. I actually ran 67 minutes if you count 7 minutes of cooldown. I accelerated gradually from 3.5mph to 7.3mph, running a total distance of 6.56 miles.
Thursday:
Upper body day. Normally this would mean normal bench, but I felt like I hit a plateau there, like I was at a max for awhile, so I'm switching things up. I lowered the weight substantially, and changed from normal bench to narrow grip/wide grip. On this day in particular, I did:
Narrow grip bench press: 95 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
Wide grip bench press: 95 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
Rows: 110 lbs, 15 reps, 2 sets; 90 lbs, 15 reps, 1 set.
Dumbbell bench: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
I ended the day trying out a machine I haven't tried before, a pulldown machine. You adjust the resistance appropriately and then sit and grab a pair of handles up above your head; almost like you're getting ready to do pullups while sitting. But instead of pulling yourself up, you pull the handles down. I started with 30 lbs, 5 reps, but it was like the resistance was just thin air, way too easy. Next I did 50 lbs, 15 reps, but it was still very easy. I followed that with 70 lbs, 15 reps, and then 90 lbs, 15 reps, which seemed to be about right.
Friday:
Treadmill. I won't be increasing the duration any more, 60 minutes of running is long enough. So how will I continue to do progressive training? I'll continue raising my max speed-- as I've been doing all along-- but I'll also start using incline.
Today I ran 60 minutes (67 including cooldown), starting at 3.5mph and accelerating to 7.4mph. Total horizontal distance run was 6.5 miles. At the 30 minute mark, I introduced an incline of 0.5 (I don't know what units that's in, but units aren't really important as long as you're doing progressive training). The machine was even nice enough to record my total vertical distance, which was "88" (again, no clue about the units!)
This thirty day fitness challenge is nearly at an end, and I can't express how good I feel about it, even though it's the second workout one I've done. Whenever I'm setting out to begin a challenge like this, I know it'll be hard to keep it up for a whole month-- motivation tends to wear out and must be replaced by sheer determination. But in the end it's always worth it!
NEXT: Days 28-30
kctf5pba6q
Monday:
A lower body day, I put the main emphasis on squats.
Squats: 125 lbs, 10 reps, 5 sets.
Leg press: 115 lbs, 15 reps, 4 sets.
Crunches: 35 lbs, 38 reps, 3 sets.
Tuesday:
I switched things up a bit, inserting a swim day. My girlfriend and I headed to the main OSU gym, the RPAC, which has not one, not two, but three swimming pools, plus a hot tub, a diving well, and a sauna. We spent most the time in the largest of the three pools, the competition pool, where I swam 10 laps. I love wearing goggles and looking around under the water, everything's so beautiful, the way light plays on the bottom and the sides of the pool... after swimming in the competition pool, we went and relaxed in the hot tub for awhile and then hit the sauna. The sauna was awesome, I was sweating like crazy. I could just feel all the junk in my system getting expelled from my body through my skin. Saunas are great, anyone who's never tried one and has access, should try one out.
Wednesday:
Treadmill day. I finally reached 60 minutes on the main run-- I started with 45 minutes at the beginning of the challenge and have been gradually lengthening it. I actually ran 67 minutes if you count 7 minutes of cooldown. I accelerated gradually from 3.5mph to 7.3mph, running a total distance of 6.56 miles.
Thursday:
Upper body day. Normally this would mean normal bench, but I felt like I hit a plateau there, like I was at a max for awhile, so I'm switching things up. I lowered the weight substantially, and changed from normal bench to narrow grip/wide grip. On this day in particular, I did:
Narrow grip bench press: 95 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
Wide grip bench press: 95 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
Rows: 110 lbs, 15 reps, 2 sets; 90 lbs, 15 reps, 1 set.
Dumbbell bench: 45 lbs, 10 reps, 2 sets.
I ended the day trying out a machine I haven't tried before, a pulldown machine. You adjust the resistance appropriately and then sit and grab a pair of handles up above your head; almost like you're getting ready to do pullups while sitting. But instead of pulling yourself up, you pull the handles down. I started with 30 lbs, 5 reps, but it was like the resistance was just thin air, way too easy. Next I did 50 lbs, 15 reps, but it was still very easy. I followed that with 70 lbs, 15 reps, and then 90 lbs, 15 reps, which seemed to be about right.
Friday:
Treadmill. I won't be increasing the duration any more, 60 minutes of running is long enough. So how will I continue to do progressive training? I'll continue raising my max speed-- as I've been doing all along-- but I'll also start using incline.
Today I ran 60 minutes (67 including cooldown), starting at 3.5mph and accelerating to 7.4mph. Total horizontal distance run was 6.5 miles. At the 30 minute mark, I introduced an incline of 0.5 (I don't know what units that's in, but units aren't really important as long as you're doing progressive training). The machine was even nice enough to record my total vertical distance, which was "88" (again, no clue about the units!)
This thirty day fitness challenge is nearly at an end, and I can't express how good I feel about it, even though it's the second workout one I've done. Whenever I'm setting out to begin a challenge like this, I know it'll be hard to keep it up for a whole month-- motivation tends to wear out and must be replaced by sheer determination. But in the end it's always worth it!
NEXT: Days 28-30
kctf5pba6q
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