Recovery Week...thank you!

This week is going to be great! A nice easy week, not much hard lifting or hard running/cycling. I have had a lot of things going on the last couple of days so having a down week will be nice. Today was simply a spin with a steady rate, in zone three. For those who are wondering how I calculate what zone I am in, it's pretty easy. I use a heart rate monitor and go from there. The breakdown would be like this

zone 1 - resting HR

zone 2- easy moderate exercise

zone 3- exercise with almost heavy breathing

zone 4- exercise with heavy breathing, but not your max

zone 5- your max HR

I will go into more specifics tomorrow to help you out. I have a nice swim followed by an easy bike. Looking forward to it! 

Til the next...

Read more...

onto..Week 3

With the amount of upsets that are happening in the NFL right now, I don't think it's going to be hard to watch the superbowl! Granted it's still a few weeks away, I can't wait to watch it. I'm not thrilled about the fact that I will probably indulge in some tasty treats and drinks , but meh you're only human.

Today's upper body workout is starting to become more routine now, I am not looking at my sheet all the time (or iPod) for my workout. I am going from exercise to exercise without hesitation. Which is a good thing because the 30 second rest period's they fly by!

For those of you interested here's my workout today

1- DB press (I prefer incline, to me I just like it more than flat)
2- Seated Row
3- Lateral Raise
4- Standing Tricep Extension
5- Standing Bar Bicep Curl
6- Push ups ( I go for 3 sets, as many as I can do up to a max of 30, but make sure I hit a minimum of 15-20). This is a killer! After the tricep extension my arms feel like jello, it's a great burn though.

Then I did a quick core circuit followed by a quick 30 minute spin (Trying to stay in zone 3) 

Try it out and let me now how you do! If you aren't sure of what I am talking about, post your comment and I can explain, you can't be the only one...

til the next







andontothenext@gmail.com

Read more...

Sticking with it

Sorry for the late post, it's been pretty hectic with work and everything else going on. The workouts are still going strong though. Yesterday's lower body session is screaming today. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is kicking in. Usually DOMS can occur anywhere from 24-48 hours after intense exercise.

Here is a quick rundown of what the workout consisted of yesterday. Between every set is a maximum of 30 seconds rest, I'm trying to increase my muscular endurance and get my body used to intense exercise with short rest periods. Everything is 3 sets of 12 right now.

1- 5 minute spin warmup followed by some calisthenic movements. (I usually do the kettle bell swing, with some moving pushups as well). Jump squats are also a good warmup.

2- One leg squats, holding the Medicine Ball overhead. 3 sets of 12+ reps * (When you see 12+ that means you do minimum of 12 and try to go for at least 3 more)

3-Dumbell Deadlift 

4- Dumbell Lunge (I prefer to do the backwards lunge, vs forward. I find you have to focus more on stepping backwards than forwards and you recruit different types of muscle fibers).

5- Stability Ball Hamstring curls - These are great, they hit both my core and by the end my hamstrings are screaming to stop.

6- Side Lunge with plate at chest level - I find this exercise to be very difficult, so don't get heavy in weight. You can either keep the weight in front of you the whole time, or when you lunge a quick punch out with the weight. You feel your chest, shoulders and grip working with this exercise.

7- Standing one leg calf raise

Then a core circuit (will give you that one another day) & 5 minute cool down, followed by static stretching. For my workout program I also did an extra 30 mins of low resistance spin for active recovery. For more on what active recovery is refer to my earlier blog.

This program is tough so far but I know I will see the results. Derek at Functional Strength has specialized my program for my specific needs for my triathlon and I can't wait to see what happens when I get to the start line, and later the finish line.

Staye tuned for more updates.

andontothenext@gmail.com

Read more...

Run in the snow?

Gotcha! I didn't run in the now today, although it would have been pretty fun.  The program , which I will give you a sneak peak soon, called for a tempo run and tempo spin today. I opted to go for the more realistic feel and spin first then bike. I was hoping it wouldn't be that bad but my legs were pretty sore from the leg workout yesterday. I guess that's what you get when you haven't worked out for a bit. Oh well it will be worth it.

Goals for the next couple days:
1- Diet
2- Rest

Improve my diet and eat to fuel my body to keep me going through these workouts. Quinoa, a super grain, will be my saving grace. I love it, it doesn't hurt my stomach at all and I can already feel the difference in comparison to brown rice or pasta. If you've never tried it I highly recommend it.

Rest- well not much to say there. I just want to make sure my body is recovering the way it should be, at least 8 hours of sleep a day and plenty of water.

Stick around I'll be putting some of my workouts up here for you to try.

Cheers





andontothenext@gmail.com

Read more...

Slow and Steady ?

Today was supposed to be my active recovery day. For those of you who don't know Active Recovery is where you work out at 40-50% of your max (either cardio or weights) which in theory helps speed up your recovery time from exercise. Your muscles are building while you rest and sleep, not in the gym, so active recovery is new to me but from my experience so far it's been working out great. I always used to find that taking a week off from the gym and then going back, I was never any stronger. When I did the active recovery week (last year in another program) I found I didn't lose strength but actually maintained/gained. So to each their own take it anyway you want.

I was supposed to do a quick spin and swim only about 30 mins each, but while I was starting my warm up a trainer from The Yorkville Club, Jacopo Stiffani, was spinning and I ended up doing a 40 minute workout with him. It was a great, for a noob like me Jacopo gave me some great pointers and really helped me focus on my form. I told him about my Triathlon training and looks like we might be doing some more spin sessions in the near future.

Now it's off to eat, recover and get ready for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a little bit of basketball in the morning for a light cardio workout followed by some weights in the evening.


Like always comment if you have any questions, comments etc.
andontothenext@gmail.com

Cheers

Read more...

First day...is it the hardest?

It was the first workout of the new year, well of my new program anyways! A well deserved workout as well, my diet has been lacking during the holidays. The wings, beer, cheesecake and anything else will certainly need to be taken off my list, or at least in moderation.  Common I'm only human!

My first workout of my new program was definitely new and different, and Functional Strength certainly did not dissapoint. By the end of my first couple exercises I was definitely feeling a great pump and couldn't help but think how great it will be when I'm in week 20 and feel the same way.

To give you a run down, I have a 52 week program with a goal of training 5-6 days a week. Realistically this might not happen, but that's the great thing about this program it leaves me some wiggle room for errors or "cheat" days.  I haven't taken my measurements yet but I will soon enough. My goal is to take measurements every 3 months and photo's every week. I was thinking of using the benchmark tests very similar to Tony Horton's P90X but I want a little more motivation, plus I would like to see the weekly photo's eventually turn into a quick slideshow. ( The downfall of being a tech junkie!)

I will try my best to blog everyday pre or post workout and let you know how I did. Please feel free to offer your comments, suggestions and of course critisim. If you have questions please feel free to e-mail me at andontothenext@gmail.com

Cheers

Read more...

On to the next...?

It's almost the new year and I've started it off with a new plan...a new workout plan that is! I'm on to the next level with this one. A triathlon is my goal and I plan on making it through with motivation and support from anyone who wants to help.

Being my first blog I will keep it simple and tell you the plan. Daily updates on workouts, meals and challenges with weekly reports and pictures is another goal.

Functional Strength has developed a kick A$$ program to help me get where I need to be. Follow me along for a quick but intense ride. (No pun intended).

So stayed tuned and feel free to post your help, support or critisism.

Read more...