Walking: It does a body, soul, and mind good

Taking a break, Montreal 2013. 

With the advent of better weather (read: not subzero, frostbite-inducing temperatures), I've been logging even more miles walking than usual. There are many studies citing the beneficial effects that walking conveys to the walker (here is a National Post story from last year in this vein). To be sure, I am interested in these health benefits, but often overlooked are the additional positive effects, such as time to clear your head, mull over complicated issues, or even just to be, with no goal required. Of course, having a walking buddy encouraging you to get your shoes on and get outside helps too.

Man's best friend: Icer's

Well, to be precise, Lee Valley Tools Icer's allow this guy to walk his best friend in the terribly icy conditions, thanks to lots of freezing rain we've been getting recently. Luckily, I don't always need to wear these (see below, Oregon Coastline, Summer 2011, somewhere near Lincoln City), but I appreciate them when I do need them.

100 rep challenge

It's been a long time since I posted. One recent thing of interest (perhaps) is that I stumbled across this 100 rep challenge on the Conditioning Research Blog and decided to give it a shot. So, for the past 3 or 4 days (I'd have to check my log, I don't recall) I have been doing 100 reps, usually 50 push ups and 50 prisoner squats and a few pull ups for good measure (like today). This takes about 5 minutes  and fits nicely into the business that is back to school time and this bodyweight routine complements my approximately one hour or walking with the dogs that I do each day.  My knee is much better compared to how it was in June when I initially noted the pain and scaled back my workouts (no LHT/HIT/SS, LHT, HIIT, sprinting or yoga since then, so now for almost 2 months) but I don't want to be stupid and rush back into everything and re-injure it. Interestingly my body mass is right where it was when I cut back. I am not sure if there was any redistribution of muscle and adipose tissue, but my unscientific assessment (looking in the mirror) tells me that if there is any change, it is undetectable to me. At least I can walk up the stairs now without wincing.

Get yer sleep!

In case you thought you were getting enough sleep by skimping and only getting 6-ish hours of sleep a night, think again. Recent results from a two week sleep study show that there are many problems displayed by subjects who were deprived, and that these were worse than the subjects themselves were even aware of. 

For years I skimped on my sleep, but in the past year or so (since my MS diagnosis) I have made a real effort to get enough sleep (i.e., more than 7 hours a night). So far it has gone pretty well and I feel good. This study makes me think I had better keep at it.

Spring is here! (For now, at least)

Here's the view from my front window about one week ago.

And here's the view on my walk this morning.

Needless to say the weather has had a hard time making up its mind lately, but it looks like spring is actually here to  stay. I have a fair bit to post about, but for now will just stick to an update on my workouts, post back tweak. I modified my exercise routines and took it easy when my back was stiff/sore and changed my LHT workout to one with dumbbells instead of a barbell. I also took a pass at sprinting on land and instead did a swim sprint workout and skipped my HIIT/Bodyweight workout (lots of jumping around in it). Other than that, and having a couple of extra easy days, all was as normal and now my back is, well, back (to normal). And with no ibuprofen or other meds.

Here's the deal.

Saturday 1 May

• made some vitamin D on the deck
• Walk about 1 hr 40 min to the lake (above, different day) and back

Sunday 2 May

• Walk ~ 30 min
• PM Yoga ~ 25 min

Monday 3 May

• Walk 20 min

Tuesday 4 May

• Yoga, 45 min, Rodney Yee's Energy Balance
• Walk, 25 min
• PM Yoga, freestyle ~ 25 min

Wednesday 5 May

• Walk, 20 min
• Swim, 1,000 m, 21:14 (much better than the last 2 weeks), 150 yd cool down
• Walk, 30 min

Thursday 6 May

• Walk, 20 min
• LHT/Wicked Awesome Dumbbell Workout
• One arm (right) neutral grip dead lift, biceps curl up to standing overhead press, Turkish getup, standing overhead press and biceps curl down to one arm deadlift down; repeat on left side
• Two arm deadlift up, lunge left/right, split squat left/right, two leg squat, two arm biceps curl to standing overhead press, biceps curl down, neutral grip deadlift down
• Repeated this X 10, first 2 with 2 X 20 lbs dumbbells and the last 8 wit 25 lbs dumbbells; TULs between about 1:30 to 1:50; need to keep really slow but a great workout; may need some heavier dumbbells!

Friday 7 May

• Walk, 25 min
• Swim, 1,000 m 21:10 (ish - watch FAIL stopping the timer) plus 50 yd cool down
• Walk, 25 min

Saturday 8 May

• Walks, 45 min, 20 min

That'll have to do for now...at least I am one less week behind. Soon I hope to turn to more posts about what I am up to or thinking about besides my workouts. 

On the lookout for fitness

The MS Walk was a great success on many fronts: fundraising, family bonding, raising awareness and a real sense that people with MS are not alone. And the 10 km walk was a great, relaxing way to spend the morning getting low level cardio the way we are meant to get it.

Here are my workouts for the past week. The only hiccup is a sore lower back that flared up after Wednesday's LHT/HIT session. It didn't happen until later after sitting for some time at my desk. The pain and stiffness in my back has been brewing for a bit and I think it is a combination of poor posture and extended periods of time sitting (especially at my desk in front of my computer) combined with less yoga/flexibility work than I should be doing (my yoga class at the University ended at the start of April and a new one starts in just under 2 weeks) and, possibly, a sight lapse in lifting form. I am more inclined to think it is the posture/sitting/reduced flexibility that are the more likely causes than the lifting, since I have been lifting for months with nothing similar, but have spent even more time sitting recently.
Anyway, I have been taking it a bit easy, as you'll read, to let things heal up. I'll just focus on walking, some swimming and yoga but not pushing any of these activities too hard.

Here's the deal.

Saturday 24 April

• Walk ~ 25 min 

Sunday 25 April

• St. Albert MS Walk 2010 - 10 km, 1 hr 43 minutes
• Walks X 2 ~ 58 min and 15 min (with the dogs who stayed home from the MS Walk - that is them "On Duty" in the photo at the top, not pining for us to return as they stay in their crates when we are out)

Monday 26 April

• Walks X 2 ~ 25 and 15 min
• Swim, 1,000 m, 21:55 (faster and easier than last week)

Tuesday 27 April

• Walks X 2 ~ 20 min each
• Yoga, Rodney Yee Strength and Flexibility DVD (did the "Flexibility" workout) ~ 28 min

Wednesday 28 April

• Walks X 2 ~ 20 min each
• LHT/HIT/SS:
• Bent over rows X 8, TUL = 1:42, 70 lb barbell
• Standing overhead press X 3.5/4.5, TUL = 1:08, 70 lb barbell
• Deadlifts X 5, TUL = 1:20, 110 lb barbell
• Bench press X 5, TUL =  60 s, 90 lb barbell
• Squats X 9.5, TUL = 1:53, 90 lb barbell
• as usual, having a rach to walk into for squats would make it easier to get to positive failure and then unload
• Yoga forward bends etc. to loosen stiff muscles in lower back

Thursday 29 April

• Walks X 2, ~ 20 min each
• Swim ~ 550 m, slow, 13:28

Friday 30 April

• Walks X 3, ~ 20, 20 and 30 min each
• back still a little stiff, maybe some yoga later or else just rest

I was going to add some food shots here too, but I think I'll save that for another post including tales of my first attempt at Thai red curry beef soup with coconut milk and cilantro! Until then.

sturdyteam at the 2010 St. Albert MS Walk

Well, we did it; 10 kms in 1:43, including the girls, sick spouse, and the girls' friend from school (who took the photo above). It started out quite gray and cloudy, but we didn't get rain or snow and they were forecasting both. There were a lot of people participating and tons volunteering. It was a great time and we plan to do it again next year for sure. The last time I checked we were over $3,400 in pledges. Thank you to all who donated! Here is the story in photos.

Morning weather.

Let's do this!

Lots of people up early for the walk.

And we're off!

Past St. Albert Place and the Sturgeon River.

Nice scenery on the walk.

About 3 kms in and still smiling.

We're on the right path at least.

Stroll around Lacombe Park Lake.

In the home stretch.

There it is!

Almost...

Success! Now where's the coffee?

Approval from my former student, Scott, who now works for the MS Society. Irony = lots.

Aren't they cute?

They're the reason why I walk: to find a cure so they don't have to deal with MS.

Week of Fitness and Rest

Kind of an oxymoron of a title but true. I have made, and for the most part, succeeded at getting good, quality rest this week, on the order of 7-8 solid hours. No mean feat given that I have been waking at 6:00-6:30. This has really impacted me, I think, in a positive way. I have also decided to reduce, but not eliminate my caffeine (coffee) intake. Sad but true. I need to aim for low single digits in the number of total cups per day, preferably somewhere in the vicinity of 2-3. So far, so good. I had far less Friday, none yesterday, and 2 espressos today.

Here's the deal for a week of working out etc:

Sunday

• very short walks and some strolling while shopping; essentially a rest day

Monday

• Bodyweight/HIIT/LHT; 60 s each (with about 10-20 s between exercises):

• Jumping jacks X 57
• Prisoner squats X 28
• Burpees X ~15
• Wall sit
• Lunge jumps ~ 60
• Push ups X 26
• Air squats X 28
• Triceps dips X 31
• Plank
• Side plank (left side)
• Side plank (right side)
• Unilateral plank (left leg)
• Unilateral plank (right leg)
• Burpees X 10
• Wall sit

This took about 20 minutes total and I was done, dripping and breathless. I think I will sprinkle the planks throughout the workout next time, because 6 minutes in a row is too much.

• walk: 20 minutes

Time keeps flying

Once again the week passed by in a blur. Lots happening at work and at home. I visited the kids' school twice, once to talk about my work (that seemed to go well) and once with the SO to see informational/fundraising presentations by Daughter #1's grade (very well done I must say!). Things are ramping up a bit at work with talk and poster preparations for a local conference this coming Friday and then an international conference the following week. This on top of the usual manuscript editing, lecture preparation and lecturing, midterm administration etc. All in all, running on all cylinders. At least everything seems to be going more or less as planned.

On the exercise side of things, the workouts have been pretty good, even great. The only slight hiccup this past week is that my knees are giving me a bit of a twinge here and there. Nothing major, just letting me know that they are there and that I should pay attention to them. I am not certain what is causing this but I have played around with wearing my orthotics and, for the most part as I have been doing for a while, going without them. I don't notice any difference in the knee department but I do feel like the orthotics seem to overstretch my plantar fascia.

One thing I am thinking of trying this week is to replace my LHT/TUL/SS workout using weights with a bodyweight workout, in case the weighted squats and/or deadlifts are aggravating my knees. Richard over at Free the Animal recently posted about changing up his LHT routine and the positive results that he felt. Reading this and with my knees talking to me, I figure I should give it a whirl. Not to mention that I have been on the weights for a while now, and with reducing my LHT workouts to once a week I miss the bodyweight workouts that I used to do in addition to the LHT weight workouts. I came up with a couple of bodyweight/HIIT type workouts that take between 10-15 minutes of actual exercising and will work just about every muscle group and, if history holds, will leave me out of breath and wishing I was on the weights! I'll post again to update with what specifically I use for the workout; I plan to do this tomorrow morning.

In the midnight hour (and the rest of the week, too)

Given the time I am finishing this post and the subject of the photo above, I figured the title of the post was fitting. Not to mention, I haven't been away on purpose at this time of night very often lately.

I can't believe that here it is Saturday again. The week was filled with the usual things like taking the kids to school and to their activities and the normal work stuff (lectures, manuscript editing/writing etc.). We also had a prospective graduate student visit the lab so there were meetings and meals out to chat and for her to get to know what we are all about. On Friday, I participated in a "work/life balance forum" for the graduate students in the department. I didn't feel particularly "balanced", but my wife and I seem to make it work most times, so I guess I had something to offer.

Speaking of balance, I did manage to maintain a good diet and keep up the exercise in spite of the busier than normal week. When going out to dinner I chose the grilled tuna salad for dinner and for lunch the next day wings with sweet potato fries. The fries were "lightly breaded" with something (likely a grain product) but on balance there was a higher sweet potato content than whatever the breading was made from. Tonight there were some wings and sweet potato fries again (habit? rut? you be the judge) and then some dry ribs. There was no breading on these fries (different restaurant) but there was something that may have been corn meal on the dry ribs. I need to ask about these things before ordering, but again, there was way more rib than the light coating, whatever it was made of.

There were also some fitness activities of many varieties this past week.

Here's the (long) deal:

Sunday:

• About a 30 minute walk at a brisk pace with the dogs.

Monday:

• LHT/TUL/SS;
• Bent over rows - X 13, TUL = 1:30, 60 lb barbell
• Standing overhead press - X 7.5, TUL = 1:09, 60 lb barbell (need to keep slow)
• Deadlifts - X 13, TUL = 2:31, 70 lb barbell (stopped when form broke down)
• Bench press - X 8, TUL = 56 s, 90 lb barbell
• Squats - X 10, TUL = 1:15, 80 lb barbell
• Curls - X 6.5, TUL = 59 s, 2 X 25 lb dumbbells

• I also went for a walk with the dogs in the morning (~ 40 min) and at night (~ 20 min brisk).

My week in review

This week was a busy one. Maybe a bit busier than normal and next week promises to be even be busier. I didn't even realize that it had been almost a week since my last post. I don't think I have any photos of my family, dogs, or cooking exploits, so I'll just stick provide a quick activity overview here.

Monday's exercise consisted on a 45 minute walk with the dogs after dropping the kids off at school, and another short one at night. Tuesday was much the same with a morning and night time walk. Wednesday I has a great Ashtanga yoga practice at the University and the usual short amble about to get the dogs to deliver their messages. Thursday I walked with the dogs in the morning and at night. Friday I had a solid 1,100 yd/1,000 m swim.

Here's the deal:

• 250 yds free in about 4:40
• 250 yds pull in about 4:38
• 250 yds free in about 4:40
• 375 yds pull in about 7:30

I felt pretty darn good, I think in part because I rested (other than some walking) on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Today I helped out one of my students by stacking some boxes in their moving van and may go for a short walk tonight, but I believe that allowing my body to really rest on days that I do not lift, swim, sprint or practice yoga is working out for me. I do kind of miss not sprinting this week, however, so I'll have to try to squeeze one in next week. If my body agrees with my decision, that is.

Second half of the week and weekend round up

Thursday the SO and I walked the kids and dogs to school. Later on I channelled some of daughter #1's sprinting fever and took Finaly and Libby along with the SO to the park at the kids' school for some outdoor sprinting in the snow, the first sprinting outside since last fall. .It was a great day, bright, sunny and right about +4 C.

Here's the deal:

• walk to the park ~ 10 minutes for warm up; stretch
• 6-7 X ~15s/~ 60 m @ 50% with about 20-30s rest between each
• 6 X ~12s/~60 m @ 85% with about 60 s rest between the first 3 and then less between the last 3
• walk home from the park ~ 10 minutes for cool down

Later on we walked to and from the school again to retrieve the kids.

On Friday, we (the SO and I) walked the kids to school and went for a bit more of a walk afterward (~ 25 minutes) and then I made it to the University and had a very good 1,000 m swim.

Here the swimming deal:

• 250 yds freestyle
• 250 kick (mostly all flutter kick, but some whip kick)
• 350 yds pull
• 250 yds free (a length or two of breast mixed in here)

It was pretty fair considering I am only swimming about once a week, down from the 2-3 times I used to swim.

Saturday I took it easy and just went for a walk with the SO of about 25 minutes before the pub night fundraiser - I had more confirmation that I am not young any more, and after that little excursion, I think it is just as well!

On Sunday the dogs and I took our kids and our friends kids (who slept over) sledding at the park. Here's a shot of our very own future skeleton racer, daughter #2, literally "heading down" the hill.

Later on that afternoon I cut my rest between lifting workouts from 7 to 6 days and did my LHT/SS (Lift Heavy Things/Super Slow) workout, with a couple of twists. Instead of only doing the "Big 5" a la Body By Science, I added 2 more exercises to make it a "Big 7".

Here's the LHT/SS deal:

• bent over row - TUL 1:06, 13 reps, 70 lb barbell
• standing overhead press - TUL 56 s, 7.5 reps, 70 lb barbell
• dead lift - TUL 2:00, 12 reps, 70 lb barbell
• bench press - TUL 1:26, 12 reps, 70 lb barbell
• squats - TUL 1:35, 14 reps, 70 lb barbell
• curls - (a) TUL 27 s, 2.5 reps, 70 lb barbell (b) TUL 1:43, 12.5 reps, 2 X 20 lb dumbbells
• pull ups - TUL ~ 20 s, 2.5 reps

I need to keep my form, but did a better job at it this time. I also need to start my watch before the barbell is on my shoulders for squats! For this workout I defined "failure" as when my form seriously broke down. This may not be "true" failure, but I think I will still get benefits while keeping myself safe and injury free by maintaining good form. Tomorrow, maybe I'll do some yoga in the morning.

Here's a couple of shots of my tasty brunch; a red onion, blue cheese and Hungarian salami omelette. This with a French press of my Greg Danks Burundi coffee and 18% cream was just about as close as you could get to a perfect brunch meal.

Oh, and here's a shot of Finlay watching the Canada-USA Olympic hockey game. His interest reflects the way the game went for Team Canada.

Family Day LHT/TUL workout through to Hump Day

For the Family Day Holiday I did a LHT/TUL Body By Science Big 5 for Free Weights workout. I am still tweaking things here and there, but this is coming along, and I think that lifting heacy only once a week (with some yoga, sprinting, swimming and walking) seems to be working for me.

Here's the deal:

Bent over row - 16 reps; TUL = 2:03; 60 lb barbell

Standing overhead press - 9.5 reps; TUL = 1:21; 60 lb barbell

Deadlift - 14 reps; TUL = 2:02; 90 lb barbell

Bench press - 6 reps; TUL = 48 s; 100 lb barbell

Squats - 17 reps; TUL = 1:50; 70 lb barbell

I still need to watch my form (back) on the deadlifts and maybe up the weight a bit on squats and the overhead press. The one issue with the squats is that I could really use a rack to get the bar heavy enough and into position more easily that just man handling it up the way I am doing now.

Later on Family Day the SO and I went for a nice, brisk 35 minute walk together with the dogs; I did the usual putzing with the dogs to get the "job" done before we all went to sleep. Tuesday I went for another walk with the dogs after taking the kids to school (about 35 minutes again) followed by the evening stroll.

This morning I got up early after a solid 7 hour(ish) sleep, and did a 53 minute Eoin Finn Yoga practice ("Strong, Free and Happy") before walking the kids to school with the dogs and SO and getting to work.

I got to sneak a peak at daughter #1's track meet at the University, but missed seeing her team win their heat (but I did see one of the boys' teams from her school win their heat). I'll try to channel their enthusiasm when I do my own sprint workout tomorrow, possibly on the same track!

Family Day and Valentine's Day Long Weekend

After I walked the kids (and dogs) to school in the morning, I managed to get some work done on a manuscript and then make it to the pool at the University on Friday for a steady 1,000 yard (20 minute) swim before an afternoon meeting. A good start to the day all around.

I started yesterday off great, receiving the new Blue Rodeo Double CD, The Things We Left Behind, and a large, dark chocolate heart from the local Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory from the SO - thanks honey! I reciprocated with the strawberries from the same local shop pictured here.

For lunch I fried up some French fries (done in bacon grease - no photo, I ate them too quickly!) and with half of an avocado and some fresh cut pineapple for dessert. After lunch the dogs and I went for a nice 40 minute (plus?) walk on a breeze, brisk day, before the SO and I went out for a fancy Valentine's Day dinner at a local restaurant. (I may blog about this experience later.)

We had a great time and lots of laughs. I think she is a closet food critic. My meal was 98% Primal, with only a small stick of phyllo pastry invading my yam and potato soup. My main course was bison rib eye (rare) served over tasty mashed potatoes, asparagus, yellow beet, bok choy, with a fruit compote and mustard sauce. More about the meal in a later post. The day ended with the normal "all business" dog stroll before bed.

The dogs and I went for a brisk 25 minute walk in the bright sunshine this afternoon. When I returned, I made this lunch that I dreamed up (and drooled about) on the walk; Smoked oysters on radishes or cucumber with old cheddar cheese, and avocado, polished off with a couple of squares of dark, 85% Lindt chocolate. Yummy!

Where did the weekend go?

I never did make it to the pool on Friday, and instead just did a few pull ups (5 to be exact, slowly in 42 s) and then went for a short walk with the dogs at night. Saturday I did a 50 minute Eoin Finn yoga practice ("Strong, Free and Happy" practice from the Power Yoga for Happiness DVD) and then took a lovely brisk 30 minute walk with the SO.

On Sunday the dogs and I went for a very long walk, about 55 minutes, that was nice and relaxing.

Back to the reality of the work week, there was no relaxation, as it was my LHT day and the third time I did the Body By Science Big 5 for Free Weights workout. (Although, as a side note, I did get a good 8+ hours sleep last night as part of my continuing resolution to get more, good rest.)

Here's the deal:

• Bent over row - X 11, TUL = 1:40 (70 lb barbell)
• Standing overhead press - X 5 (+0.5), TUL = 1:12 (70 lb barbell)
• Deadlift - X 4, TUL = 57 s (90 lb barbell)
• Bench press - X 7, TUL = 1:09 (90 lb barbell)
• Squats - X 7, TUL = ~ 60 s (90 lb barbell)

I really should have read my notes from last week, because I would have seen that then I used 70 lbs for deadlifts; it was plenty then and would have been plenty today, too. I will drop the weight down to 70 lbs for deadlifts next week so that I can move slowly through the reps but with good form. I also think I should drop the bent over rows back to 60 lbs (and maybe the standing overhead press too) so get a few more reps and a little more TUL with good form. I know that I worked though, because by the time I reached squats, I didn't put the bar behind my head because it was a struggle enough just to get it to chest height, so I did the squats with this modification and didn't risk muscling the bar behind my head just to get it stuck there after completing my set.

Once this was done (early this morning before 7:00, easy to do since it takes less than 15 minutes), the SO and I readied the troops, took the kids to school and then went for a nice 25 minute-ish walk. Nice!

Work was an array of editing/meeting, meeting, seminar, meeting. Busy, but productive and enjoyable. I'll take the dogs for a stroll later in hopes of them, and us, settling in for an early and restful sleep. Here's a sweet omelette I made this weekend...mmm...eggs, cheese and ham!

End of the week, start of the weekend!

Wednesday was a great, relaxing day (on the exercise front anyway) with a nearly 60 minute walk in the morning with the dogs (the duration extended in part due to 2 dropped dog boots and associated back-tracking) followed by a great Ashtanga yoga practice at noon. My feeling of "Zen" didn't last as long as I might have liked, but it's a process, right?

Yesterday I just tooled around the nearby "home" blocks in the morning and at night with the dogs for some fresh air and for them to make a few "deposits" and send their, as someone on the MEC site once commented, to send their "p-mail". I'll have to take them for a longer walk today, but limited my activity to those short walks made it restful in spite of working and then delivering a lecture.

Today I have an early morning talk (9:00 am) to attend, will flounder around the pool for a few lengths (update to follow), meet up with some colleagues at the University and then take Libby for her shots at the vet with the kids and the SO. And then there's also the ongoing reading, reviewing and editing that I need to continue to make headway on.

Here are a couple of "creations". One is a nice mix of quinoa, halibut and hot sauce with a large salad with Red Swiss Chard; the other is a "tropical" snack that I made the kids the other night (that I helped to eat, of course!).

Relay day and weekend decompressing

Yesterday I followed the normal weekday SOP:

• SO seen off to work
• coffee consumed in adequate quantities (one whole French press + 18 % cream)
• kids, dogs and me fed, dressed, prepped and then walked to school with the dogs (and then a little more, about 40 minutes)
• midterm prepped for next Tuesday (thanks for to my TA, JF for the help!)
• hit the pool for a slow 1,000 m (in 22:57)
• eat some lunch and some more work back at the office
• purchase some running shorts for daughter number 1 (for the track meet later on last night) and a sweet pull-up bar (I'll post on that later) for me
• pick the dogs up and walk to and retrieve the dogs from school
• get ready and go to the Harrier Relays in Edmonton at the Kinsmen Sport Centre

I'll post some photos later.

Ashtanga yoga (and Eddie Bauer) to the rescue

The kids and dogs and I walked to school in the "brisk" weather, - 20 C or so (and picked them up via a walk at the end of the day, too). On the morning walk I again noted a cold spot on the arm of my new Peak XV down jacket and called Eddie Bauer about it. They exchanged it with no questions asked. Very good service, and now my warmest jacket ever is warm all over, even on my right forearm!

I got worked pretty hard in my Ashtanga Yoga class at the University but I needed it after the "cramping" incident yesterday. The legs are almost back to normal. A nice slow swim tomorrow will be good.

The lecture for tomorrow is fixed up and posted, and the practice exam is ready. Tomorrow I will spend the day before and after class working on various research projects. When are we going to invent a 48 hour day so I can get more done?

Cramp my style

I did a sprint workout yesterday (Tuesday) and it started great with a good warm up. After about the second faster (~80%) sprint I got a wicked cramp in my right calf. Being the clever fellow that I am, I kept going and simply stretched and walked between each sprint from that point onward. I got through it and this morning it feels pretty good. The Tiger Balm likely helped too and yoga today will be timely.

Here's the deal:

• very light stretching
• warm up jog for (5:30)
• stretching
• 6 X ~20s ~60-70% sprints on 60s gos, walking in between (around the track; 6:00)
• 6 X 20s ~ 80% sprints with ~ 60 - 90s rest (calf stretching; 9:00)
• walk, run, walk, run, walk, walk (60s each; 6:00)
• stretching

The sprints were not likely as intense as I would have liked, but I was still in a lather when I was done, so mission accomplished, at least it was the best I could muster at the time.

Speaking of time, its time to ready my wee charges for school and a walk (kids and dogs) and myself for work. Oh yeah, did I mention it's also coffee time?

Super slow Monday

I saw the SO off early and then tried a super slow LHT workout similar to Doug McGuff's Body by Science type of workout. It would have been optimal to use weight machines, but the free weights worked fine. This was my first time attempting this kind of workout, and I learned a lot.

I confirmed what I already thought, that it would give quite a burn in not much time. I learned that it looks easier than it actually is to perform the exercises super slow, with good form, and keep track of repetitions and time under load (TUL). I did each exercise for the number of reps and TUL noted and took just enough time to get to the next exercise and begin (as it turns out, less than a minute according to the math).

I'll make some adjustments next time but for now, here's the deal.

• Jumping jacks - 60 s (warm up)
• Biceps curls - 22 reps, TUL = 4:11, 2-20 lb dumbells
• Shoulder press - 10 reps, TUL = 2:25, 2-20 lb dumbells
• Squats - 20 reps, TUL = 3:43, 70 lb barbell
• Bent -over rows - ~ 16 reps (lost count), TUL = 2:49, 2-15 lb dumbells
• Bench press - 7 reps (that's it!!), TUL = 1:36, 70 lb barbell
• Total TUL = 14:44

This was all done, from start to finish, in 20 minutes. I hope I can move tomorrow! Next time I have to move even slower to get more burn with fewer reps. Either that or up the weight, or both.

Later on the dogs and I took the kids to school and went for a nice, slow ~ 3 km walk in about 50 minutes. It was nice and brisk at - 17 C. I think I need another one tonight. Or not. Tomorrow is either and easy swim (tender arms!), sprints, or perhaps I'll just crawl to the van to drag my carcass to my lecture and hope I don't seize up in the process!

Here is a neat picture I snapped in our back yard a few days ago after some cool frost action.