must ... have .... structure ...
Well, I must say vacations offer me too much freedom. I like my structure because it keeps me in check. Working out every morning before work offers me extreme structure and without working for the week I am a disaster. I missed yesterday's leg workout all together and only did a few sets of standing pushups during the day (force of habit - when I'm bored and near a counter).I did however get back on track and just did my at home leg workout as follows:
Obviously each set includes both legs (15 for each leg)
3 sets of 15 Hip Extensions
3 sets of 15 Pendulums
3 sets of 15 crossovers
Bonus for my tummy:
2 30 second planks
1 45 second plank
Bonus for my chest/shoulders:
2 sets of 15 standing pushups
Cardio? Nope, not today.
Today has been a Day of Contemplation.
After much though I realize that I have to concentrate on doing fat-burning cardio not all out running cardio (that sucks!) and I have to ramp it up (burn more calories). Here's what I mean:
I've been training at about 85-95% MHR but in order to burn more fat I (oddly) need to slow down and train at more like 65-75% MHR. I've trained at different levels and can see that my body burns fat more effectively at the lower spectrum of my MHR. I have to listen to my body. Running will be an extra (only) from now on - supplemental if you will.
Brownie Points: The high MHR training has been very informative and good for my body! I have significantly increased my lung capacity and lowered my resting heart rate. My breathing was my weak point when I first starting working out (cardio) and is now a strong point.
The New Plan: I'm going to start with brief warm-ups (as usual) on the treadmill and then I'm going to either move to the elliptical machine or do 15% incline @ 4mph on the TM for at least a good 1/2 hour for the next 2 weeks and see how it feels. I will monitor my body fat (with my new Omron whoot-whoot!) at the end of each week to see if there are any changes. Every week may be too often for monitoring so every 2 weeks will suffice as well. If I so desire - I may continue with this routine or tweak it ever so slightly. I don't want my body to get used to routine so I plan to change it at least monthly. Running as supplemental cardio will help to burn extra calories as well as continue to maintain good cardiovascular health.
The Downside (or Upside?): Jaime is going to hate me for this because she detests the elliptical. I've been babying her too long though and she needs to step up and work hard. She underestimates herself and although I've helped her to see some of what she can do I need to show her that she can do so much more. I'll get her to love fitness if it kills me in the process!!! Tee-hee :-)
That about covers today. I'll continue to update my blog and bore you all to pieces :0
posted by Openfields @ 2:42 PM
