So it's back to normal schedule this week, which means today is the day I try to get lots of stuff done around the house. It has been a bit strange not to be going to the gym nearly every day, Tuesdays and Thursdays feel like a "vacation" in an odd way! I have that "sea of time" feeling, which is actually not true, because the day still flies by.
Yesterday I went to the gym for my Wednesday workout, which is actually quite rigorous. I was just dripping sweat through the whole thing. It starts with a 26 minute interval workout on the treadmill, in which I cranked out 3.8 km, then I do seven resistance exercises with high reps, repeat those, and then do 10 minutes of intervals on the elliptical, to finish with some ab exercises. Phew. I felt tired the rest of the day, and I didn't even bike over to the gym (took the car because I had an errand to run just after - Wednesday is a tricky day because the kids are out of school at noon).
I am looking forward to Zumba tomorrow, I missed it last week because I was busy getting everything ready for my friend's visit.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Blast from the Past
I had a wild and wonderful weekend, which is why you haven't heard from me since last week. My high school friend Rebecca took time out of a business trip to London, to come to Belgium for the weekend to see me. We hadn't seen each other in 22 years! Can you believe it?
I was excited and nervous as I waited for her train to pull in at the station, and all of a sudden I saw her further down, we recognized each other immediately, ran over and both of us said at the same time: "You look exactly the same!" It was the start of what would turn out to be the funnest weekend I've had in a long time, non-stop talking and laughing (my voice is still hoarse). We had a lot of catching up to do, but it felt like I had just seen her last week.
We spent all day Saturday showing her Leuven, making sure she got some chocolates and even more important, waffles - two kinds of Belgian waffles! The warm ones that are gooey and filled with hunks of sugar (Liege waffles) and the light and airy ones topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar (Brussels waffles). Mmmmmmm!
It was so wonderful to see her! What a let down on Monday morning, and of course, after all the chocolate and waffles comes the day of reckoning - back to the gym it was even though I didn't feel like it at all. But I did feel better to have gotten it done, and now it's back to a normal week. Bah!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Busy Wednesday
Just a quick post as I have a busy day ahead - have to start getting lunch ready for when the boys come home and then we have their activities and homework this afternoon.
Went for my Matt Roberts workout to the gym. My friend S had emailed that she would be there, too, so I got on the treadmill for the first portion of the workout, keeping my eye out for her. The first part is a 24 minute cardio interval, switching every two minutes between 70% mhr and 80% mhr. Since I never use a heart rate monitor, I always go by perceived exertion and the numbers on the treadmill! So I kept alternating between 9 km/hr and 9.5 km/hr , and the last interval I kicked it up to 10 km/hr. I ended up doing 3.8 km total and was dripping with sweat. S came in and waved when I was about 2/3 done, so when I finished I went to find her. We decided to have a drink at the bar first and catch up on how things had been going since we last saw each other.
The second portion of the workout is seven resistance exercises, which I had to do one set of each (high reps again) and then repeat them all. They were: chest press, leg curl, one arm raise, lunges, lateral raises, leg press, and triceps overheads. The lunges killed so I cut back to just 12 reps, with no weight. But all the other exercises went fine.
The third part of the workout was another 10 minutes of cardio, again with intervals. I was starting to get short on time, so I decided to bike home - which takes about 10 minutes and has hills to make it hard - and finish the last portion of the workout, abs, at home. They were: reverse curls, basic curls, plank and side plank. Uh, finally I was done.
Unfortunately, my right outer thigh is KILLING me. I don't know what I did to it, but I am kind of worried. I don't think I have ever had anything hurt this sharply after a workout. Sore, yes, but real painful like this, no. So I put some Oxyflex cream on it after my shower and I think I will take some Vitamin I (as Alexandra in Canada calls ibuprofen!) after lunch and see if that helps.
Went for my Matt Roberts workout to the gym. My friend S had emailed that she would be there, too, so I got on the treadmill for the first portion of the workout, keeping my eye out for her. The first part is a 24 minute cardio interval, switching every two minutes between 70% mhr and 80% mhr. Since I never use a heart rate monitor, I always go by perceived exertion and the numbers on the treadmill! So I kept alternating between 9 km/hr and 9.5 km/hr , and the last interval I kicked it up to 10 km/hr. I ended up doing 3.8 km total and was dripping with sweat. S came in and waved when I was about 2/3 done, so when I finished I went to find her. We decided to have a drink at the bar first and catch up on how things had been going since we last saw each other.
The second portion of the workout is seven resistance exercises, which I had to do one set of each (high reps again) and then repeat them all. They were: chest press, leg curl, one arm raise, lunges, lateral raises, leg press, and triceps overheads. The lunges killed so I cut back to just 12 reps, with no weight. But all the other exercises went fine.
The third part of the workout was another 10 minutes of cardio, again with intervals. I was starting to get short on time, so I decided to bike home - which takes about 10 minutes and has hills to make it hard - and finish the last portion of the workout, abs, at home. They were: reverse curls, basic curls, plank and side plank. Uh, finally I was done.
Unfortunately, my right outer thigh is KILLING me. I don't know what I did to it, but I am kind of worried. I don't think I have ever had anything hurt this sharply after a workout. Sore, yes, but real painful like this, no. So I put some Oxyflex cream on it after my shower and I think I will take some Vitamin I (as Alexandra in Canada calls ibuprofen!) after lunch and see if that helps.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sweaty Monday Morning
We've got a couple of nice days coming up this week and the sky was beautiful as I headed to the gym this morning. I did have to wear a fleece and a jacket over my sleeveless running top, funny to think just a few weeks ago I was biking at the same time in the morning with just the top. How quickly the temperature can change.
Today was my first "real" workout on my new program. It starts out with a 5 minute cardio warm-up, then 3 minutes at 80% mhr - I did this on the treadmill, starting out by running at 8.5 km/hr and then bumping it up to 9.5.
Then I had to go and do four resistance exercises: chest press, lunges, lat pulldown, and leg curls. Just one set each, but high reps - 16.
Then it was back to cardio for 4 minutes at 85% mhr - I did the bike and I was sweating like crazy.
Then, four more resistance exercises: this time it was push ups, leg press, single arm row, and power lunges. Again one set of 16 reps each. I am just dripping with sweat as I move from exercise to exercise.
From there, another 5 minutes of cardio at 85% - the elliptical this time. My heart rate was pretty high already, I didn't have to push it that much to get it up in the right range.
Finally one more foursome of resistance exercises: triceps overhead, leg curls, reverse flye, and finally squats. From there I went back to the treadmill for my final cardio interval of 5 minutes. I put the incline up a little and set the pace to 10 km/hr. I felt like I normally feel towards the end of a HIIT run - really warmed up, really sweaty and just at the brink of not quite being able to finish unless you really give it your all.
Finally - done running! And last but not least three ab exercises, for each one set of 20 reps. And then stretch. Oh yeah - and then bike home. I almost forgot about that dang hill I have to get up - ugh!
I felt like I got a great workout, although more for the lower body than for the upper body. We'll see how Wednesday goes.
Today was my first "real" workout on my new program. It starts out with a 5 minute cardio warm-up, then 3 minutes at 80% mhr - I did this on the treadmill, starting out by running at 8.5 km/hr and then bumping it up to 9.5.
Then I had to go and do four resistance exercises: chest press, lunges, lat pulldown, and leg curls. Just one set each, but high reps - 16.
Then it was back to cardio for 4 minutes at 85% mhr - I did the bike and I was sweating like crazy.
Then, four more resistance exercises: this time it was push ups, leg press, single arm row, and power lunges. Again one set of 16 reps each. I am just dripping with sweat as I move from exercise to exercise.
From there, another 5 minutes of cardio at 85% - the elliptical this time. My heart rate was pretty high already, I didn't have to push it that much to get it up in the right range.
Finally one more foursome of resistance exercises: triceps overhead, leg curls, reverse flye, and finally squats. From there I went back to the treadmill for my final cardio interval of 5 minutes. I put the incline up a little and set the pace to 10 km/hr. I felt like I normally feel towards the end of a HIIT run - really warmed up, really sweaty and just at the brink of not quite being able to finish unless you really give it your all.
Finally - done running! And last but not least three ab exercises, for each one set of 20 reps. And then stretch. Oh yeah - and then bike home. I almost forgot about that dang hill I have to get up - ugh!
I felt like I got a great workout, although more for the lower body than for the upper body. We'll see how Wednesday goes.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Easy like Sunday morning
Oh man, my legs were still killing me yesterday (Saturday) and to make matters worse, my back, neck and chest were sore too. I almost felt like I was coming down with something, I kept having that where you alternate between being chilly and then being hot and clammy. Of course that could just be the combination of hypothyroidism (cold) with perimenopause (hot) - I swear half the time I just don't know WHAT the deal is anymore! So after we got back from piano lessons and Felix's badminton training, I decided to have a quiet Saturday afternoon, took some painkillers and settled in with a book and a cup of tea. But I felt like a little old lady all day, shuffling here and there.
This morning I still felt bad, but decided some exercise would probably help me feel better, but I did not feel like running outside in the chilly wind, so I went to the gym and did 40 minutes on the elliptical, which I figured would be a bit gentler than a run. It actually did make me feel a lot better and I am looking forward to getting back to the gym tomorrow for a full Matt Roberts workout - without a Zumba class first!
Have a great Sunday everyone!
This morning I still felt bad, but decided some exercise would probably help me feel better, but I did not feel like running outside in the chilly wind, so I went to the gym and did 40 minutes on the elliptical, which I figured would be a bit gentler than a run. It actually did make me feel a lot better and I am looking forward to getting back to the gym tomorrow for a full Matt Roberts workout - without a Zumba class first!
Have a great Sunday everyone!
Friday, September 4, 2009
My legs are killing me!
I was not sure what it was going to be like, doing a Zumba class and then following it up with a full body resistance work out...
The Zumba class was very intense. Lots of high intensity stomping, lunging, and all those dance steps (mambo, chacha, etc) - I couldn't believe how much I was sweating. But it's fun, the music is great and the class flies by, mostly because I have to really concentrate to keep up with the moves. Our teacher finishes the class with a segment of ab work and then a cool down. By then I felt I had got a pretty good workout in - but I still had weights to do!
I worked through the Matt Roberts program, alternating upper body with lower body moves, but I could really feel the Zumba in my legs, and by the end, they were shot. I still had to make a detour to the library to pick up a book, and then home on my bike... oh, help! Just one more bike journey to go today, to pick up Felix at school - I hope I can make it. I'll make sure to leave in time so I don't have to go too fast. Did I mention that it's raining?
The Zumba class was very intense. Lots of high intensity stomping, lunging, and all those dance steps (mambo, chacha, etc) - I couldn't believe how much I was sweating. But it's fun, the music is great and the class flies by, mostly because I have to really concentrate to keep up with the moves. Our teacher finishes the class with a segment of ab work and then a cool down. By then I felt I had got a pretty good workout in - but I still had weights to do!
I worked through the Matt Roberts program, alternating upper body with lower body moves, but I could really feel the Zumba in my legs, and by the end, they were shot. I still had to make a detour to the library to pick up a book, and then home on my bike... oh, help! Just one more bike journey to go today, to pick up Felix at school - I hope I can make it. I'll make sure to leave in time so I don't have to go too fast. Did I mention that it's raining?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A Fresh Start
September always feels like a fresh start - the boys headed back to school on Tuesday, their sports activities started up again, and we are back into our normal routine (well, almost!) I have had almost a week of "active rest" and have not been to the gym. Time for a fresh fitness start as well, then!
Since I will be heading to the California beach later this fall, I decided to follow the Matt Roberts "Beach Body program" from his book "Fitness for Life Manual". This program always seemed like a tough one to me, but now, having done Body for Life, it doesn't look so daunting anymore! It consists of three workouts a week, all including cardio intervals and weights, always alternating an upper body exercise with one for the lower body. He calls this peripheral heart action training and the idea is that this works the heart harder as it has to pump blood to muscles at both ends of the body. You also don't have to rest between the different exercises, which keeps your heart rate up throughout the workout.
I am going to go to Zumba class once a week and I am also going to keep running, the longer run on Sundays and then one short run during the week. I really want to run the Corrida again this year!
I'm going to give it a go and hope to further improve my fitness, strength, weight and well being!
Since I will be heading to the California beach later this fall, I decided to follow the Matt Roberts "Beach Body program" from his book "Fitness for Life Manual". This program always seemed like a tough one to me, but now, having done Body for Life, it doesn't look so daunting anymore! It consists of three workouts a week, all including cardio intervals and weights, always alternating an upper body exercise with one for the lower body. He calls this peripheral heart action training and the idea is that this works the heart harder as it has to pump blood to muscles at both ends of the body. You also don't have to rest between the different exercises, which keeps your heart rate up throughout the workout.
I am going to go to Zumba class once a week and I am also going to keep running, the longer run on Sundays and then one short run during the week. I really want to run the Corrida again this year!
I'm going to give it a go and hope to further improve my fitness, strength, weight and well being!
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