Insert Leg related pun here

I’ve run out, it was a shallow well

Yesterday was legs day, yay!

A1 – Front Squats	A2 – 1 and 1/4 hamstring curl
6 @ 23kg	6 @ 17.5kg
4 @ 28kg	4 @ 22.5kg
4 @ 33kg	4 @ 22.5kg
4 @ 33kg	4 @ 22.5kg
4 @ 35.5kg	4 @ 22.5kg
6 @ 35.5kg	6 @ 22.5kg

100 seconds rest

I’ve got the hang of front squats now, they are so worth learning how to do right. We’ve bought some nifty little rubber attachments for the barbell to make both front and back squats more comfortable, they are rather amusingly called a stingray (front) and a mantaray (back).

I think I wussed the weight a bit, the idea behind this set of workouts is that you go close to failure for the 4 rep sets and drop the weight for the 6 rep sets, I was doing them just a little too easily yesterday.

B1 – Back Lunges with Barbell	B2 – Seated Goodmornings
8 @ 33kg	9 @ 23kg
8 @ 33kg	9 @ 25.5kg
8 @ 33kg	9 @ 25.5kg
8 @ 33kg	9 @ 25.5kg

90 second rest
No swearing this week, back lunge technique heaps better, damn damn damn good exercise

C1 – One Leg Calf Raise	C2 – Tibialis
12 @ 10kg*	12 @ 10kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 15kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 15kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 15kg

75 second rest
* 10kg Dumbbell in the same hand as the leg that is doing the calf raise.
With a bit of mucking about with some webbing and the sewing machine we’ve rigged up some straps so we can do the tibialis exercise with the cable machine instead of trying to use the hamstring curl.

Running advanced today to 4 minutes on/1 minute off for 20 minutes. I am amazed at how much better I feel running than the last two times I came back from a stressie, it helps not carrying a little bit of extra weight and just generally feeling strong. In fact this is the first time I’ve come back from an injury leaner than before I had to stop running. Having some extra muscle really revs up the metabolism (so much so that I was starting to wake hungry in the middle of the night so now I have yoghurt and some nuts right before bed) and you’d be surprised at how much an hour of lifting weights takes out of you.

It’s OK, I am just working out

My poor neighbour, with the noises coming from the gym I dread to contemplate what she thinks is going on in there

Tuesday was chest, shoulders and back day….

A1 Barbell Benchpress	A2 Parallel Grip Chin Ups*
8 @ 35.5kg	8
6 @ 38kg	6
4 @ 38kg	4
4 @ 38kg	4
6 @ 35.5kg	6
8 @ 33kg	8

* Chins assisted with red and yellow power band, although I did the first four of the first set with just red, not quite ready to give up the yellow strap though.

100 seconds rest

B1 60 Degree Incline DB Press	B2 One Arm Arc DB Row*
10 @ 9kg	10 @ 5kg
10 @ 9kg	10 @ 5kg
8 @ 10kg	10 @ 5kg
8 @ 10kg	10 @ 6kg

90 seconds rest

Wednesday
Allowed to go for a run, 3 minutes running/2 minutes walking, repeated 4 times, I did this in the park during my lunch break and covered 500 metres more than when I did the same thing on the treadmill on Monday, got a bit carried away. I blame it on the archers at the south end of the reserve, sure they had an exclusion zone but I dunno, I didn’t want to be in the wrong place if someone sneezed at the wrong time.

Back in the office I did some more core work (yes John, because I wanted to)

Oblique twists with 8kg Kettlebell – 5 by 30
Crunches – 5 by 20

It’s one of the many advantages of working at the disaster recovery site on Wednesdays, being able to do this sort of thing because there is no one else about

The other is being able to recreate the Footloose dance down in the loading bay out the back, I am at least 95% sure that the CCTV is not turned on, but just in case I’ll pass on the Flashdance tribute for the time being.

Bike ride, nana nap, weights, big sleep

The Eastlink ride was fun, 75km from Ringwood, almost to Frankston and back. Having travelled that road many time to get to either athletics or Two Bays I’d be forgiven for thinking it is more or less completely flat, just a few harmless undulations along the way.

The ride out was great, I flew along and made it to the turn around in 68 minutes where I had a coconut water to drink and ate a muesli bar before quickly turning around and heading back, INTO A FREAKING WALL OF HEADWIND! I felt like I was cycling through tar for most of the trip back, I got into a few groups but they were pretty twitchy and I felt safer riding on my own so I’d drop off. I rode a massive positive split and was mighty glad to finish, the tunnels were fun, on the down bit, with just a short slog for the up bits. Over all time was just shy of 3 hours I felt a bit crappy about that, then I got home and downloaded the map to discover that the return journey was almost entirely uphill, doesn’t seem like it when you are going 100Kph in the car.

Got home, had some lunch, had a nana nap then took my pre-work out stuff to commit myself to my weight training and hit the gym (fortunately the gym is in my spare room so it’s easier to get stuck in as I don’t have to drag myself out to workout).

Sunday was Arms day

A1 Close Grip Bench Press with resistance	A2 Seated Close Grip Scott Curls
8 @ 25.5kg	8 @ 8.1kg
6 @ 25.5kg	6 @ 13.1kg
4 @ 28kg	4 @ 13.1kg
4 @ 30.5kg	4 @ 13.1kg
4 @ 30.5kg	4 @ 13.1kg
4 @ 30.5kg	4 @ 13.1kg

The Bench Press was supposed to be done with these whiz bang chain thingies which add weight as you push the bar, we don’t have the whiz bang chain thingies (and close grip bench press with chains sounds like something from Madame Lash’s Dungeon of Pain and Spanking) so we improvised by looping a powerband over the barbell and under the bench in a triangle, this provided resistance as I pushed the bar.

100 second recovery

B1 Incline BB Tricep Extensions	B2 Incline Hammer Curls
8 @ 18kg	8 @ 5kg
6 @ 18kg	6 @ 6kg
6 @ 18kg	6 @ 6kg
8 @ 18kg	8 @ 6kg
10 @ 18kg	10 @ 18kg

Tricep extension are farking hard, I am still working on my tri strength, our barbell weighs 18kg so I had no choice to start with that weight. I could manage it with some huffing and puffing over the last two sets and I need TOH to help me raise the bar initially, once it’s up there though I am OK.

100 second recovery

C1 Low Pulley Supinated Wrist Curls	C2 Low Pulley Pronated Wrist Curls
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 10kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 10kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 10kg

Pretty much as they say, an over hand and underhand grip on a straight bar attached to the pulley of the multigym and then you curl you wrists towards you, this is for forearm strength.

75 second recovery

Monday
I was due another run/walk and I’ve graduated to 3 minutes run/2 minutes walk for 20 minutes, I went to the gym and did this on the treadmill for a couple of reasons
A) I wanted to do some core work after
B) Its a more forgiving surface
C) I’ve been doing my run intervals too fast, on the treadie I can stick to a more appropriate pace more easily

Afterwards just a short core session

Oblique twists with 8kg medicine ball – 5 sets of 30
Crunches – 80

Today
Chest and back, more later, I haven’t done it yet, today’s goal is to work on my chin up form, it was a bit sloppy last week. HIIT on the bike at the gym this morning, 60/45/30 seconds hard with equal recovery, with warm up and cool down a total of 30 minutes

Legs Eleven

Thursday

Am – core session at the gym
Oblique twists with 8k medicine ball – 5 sets of 30
Front plank and side plank (each side) – 1 minute each
Crunches – 70

PM – 30 minutes HIIT on the exercise bike
3 minutes warm up
60/45/30 seconds hard with equal recovery by 5 and a half minutes cool down

Friday

Back to the weights and my favourite LEGS day

A1 – Front Squats	A2 – 1 and 1/4 hamstring curl
6 @ 18kg	8 @ 15kg
6 @ 23kg	6 @ 16.25kg
4 @ 28kg	4 @ 17.5kg
4 @ 28kg	4 @ 17.5kg
6 @ 28kg	6 @ 27.5kg
6 @ 30.5kg	8 @ 17.5kg

Holy Hell, front squats! Impressed TOH with my ability to get down realllly low, fortunately this was coupled with an ability to get back up again. Bit of a tricky one technically but worth getting it right and giving it a go.

B1 – Back Lunges with Barbell	B2 – Seated Goodmornings
8 @ 33kg	8 @ 18kg
8 @ 33kg	8 @ 23kg
8 @ 33kg	8 @ 23kg
8 @ 33kg	8 @ 23kg

Ah crap, back lunges, these were accompanied by a healthy dose of unladylike language, when I had the ability to speak that is, my butt hurts today, damn good exercise though.

C1 – One Leg Calf Raise	C2 – Tibialis
12 @ 10kg*	12 @ 5kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 5kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 5kg
12 @ 10kg	12 @ 5kg

* 10kg Dumbbell in the same hand as the leg that is doing the calf raise.

75km Bike Ride tomorrow, along the Eastlink Tollway, YAY! Although I had a flat today, I was pumping up my tyres a little in preparation and the stupid little valve thing (not used to these fancy road bike tyres) snapped clean off!! So I had to change the tube over because it wouldn’t hold air, and it was the fecking back tyre too. Got the change over done easy but it was hard going pumping with my little hand pump, then finally I figured out that I could convert my floor pump to fit my road tyre valves blah blah blah, an hour later….

Be buggered if I am going through that on the side of a road, I get a flat I am calling home for a rescue, the hand pump is useless for a full flat.

As the old saying goes..

Pride comes before a stress fracture, or something like that.

When I got my fancy new Garmin 610 back in June this year one of the many snappy new features was a run/walk option under alerts. That is you could set run/walk intervals and the watch would beep and buzz and let you know when you could walk and when you could run.

Pfffft I thought, as if.

It came in pretty handy today as I did 20 minutes worth of 2 minutes run/3 minutes walk at lunch time, in the pouring rain, it was very refreshing.

I am in heaps better shape than the last couple of times I started back after this injury, thanks mostly to TOH dragging me out of the funk 7 weeks ago and getting me going again.

To that end, today’s workout

Now, I should offer some explanation…I am currently working through a 12 week program, the first four weeks were an accumulation stage, this is done so now on to the next 4 weeks, intensification

And intense it was, especially on a hot and humid afternoon. The way this one works is thus

A section – 6 sets with the following reps, 8, 6, 4, 4, 6, 8
B section – 4 sets of 8-12 (I tend to err on the side of heavier weight and less reps)

A1 – Barbell Benchpress	A2 – Parallel Grip Chin Ups*
8 @ 33kg	6
6 @ 33kg	6
4 @ 35kg	4
4 @ 35.5kg	4
6 @ 35.5kg	6
8 @ 33kg	8

* Chins assisted with red and yellow power band, only did 6 on the first set, these are freaking hard for someone who has managed to get through 37 years without ever having done a chin up, I am getting there but they are haaaaaaard, I am being patient with my upper body, it will take time to get strong.

100 seconds rest

B1 – 60 Degree Incline DB Press	B2 – One Arm Arc DB Row*
8 @ 9kg	8 @ 5kg
8 @ 9kg	8 @ 5kg
8 @ 10kg	8 @ 5kg

90 seconds rest
Demo of the one arm arc DB row

Doesn’t seem like much of a work out, please, trust me, it was, if you see me in the street tomorrow and you wave at me, don’t be too offended if I don’t wave back, it’s only because I can’t lift my arms past my waist.

Welcome to the Gun Show

Arms day

Unlike legs I was starting way behind the 8 ball with my arms, let’s say I definitely had the upper body strength of a runner. It’s been slower going adding strength and definition to my arms, I find Tri work particularly hard. Persistence is starting to pay off though, I am making small gains each week and am starting to get some nice shape to my arms, even when I am not flexing

A1 – Decline Close Grip Bench Press	A2 – Seated Zottman Dumbbell Curls*
10 @ 23kg	8 @ 6kg
10 @ 25.5kg	8 @ 6kg
10 @ 28kg	8 @ 6kg
10 @ 28kg	8 @ 6kg

*Zottman Demo

75 seconds rest between sets

B1 – Rope French Press	B2 – Pronated Tri Press	B3 – Gorilla Bar Reverse*	B4 – Low Rope Bicep Curl
10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ curl bar no added weight	10 @ 12.5kg
10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ curl bar no added weight	10 @ 12.5kg
10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ 12.5kg	10 @ curl bar + 2.5kg	10 @ 12.5kg

*Can’t find a demo so I’ll try to explain, needs a preacher pad and a curl bar, grip the bar with an overhand grip, lower and raise, this is to build forearm strength.

10 seconds between B1 and B2

90 seconds between B2 and B3

10 seconds between B3 and B4

90 seconds between B4 and B1

C1 – Decline Pronating Wrist Curl*	C2 – Grips with Barbell**
12 @ 6kg	10 @ 23kg (10 toe raises)
12 @ 6kg	10 @ 23kg (10 toes raises)
12 @ 6kg	10 @ 23kg (10 toe raises)

*Wrist curl demo
** Using Fat Gripz on the Barbell, grip and do 10 toe raises

60 seconds between C1 and C2

She’s got legs

I’ve never really loved mine, they keep breaking down on me and they are shaped like a couple of chubby sausages.

Well, complaining about them isn’t going to change things……

A1 – Cyclist Squat	A2 – Squat
10 @ 9kg*	10 @ 62.5kg
10 @ 9kg*	10 @ 62.5kg
10 @ 9kg*	8 @ 65kg
10 @ 10kg*	10 @ 65kg

100 second rest

*Done with dumbbell in each hand demo here
We have one of these, this is where I do my squats, I can now squat more than my body weight next stop, 70kg, eventually, squats that is, not my body weight.

B1 – Lying Leg Curl	B2 – Torsonator Deadlift
10 @ 17.5kg	10 @ 37.5kg
10 @ 17.5kg	10 @ 40kg
10 @ 18.75kg	10 @ 40kg

100 second rest

C1 – Standing Calf Raise	C2 – Seated Calf Raise
20 @ 65kg	20 @ 40kg
20 @ 65kg	20 @ 40kg
20 @ 65kg	20 @ 40kg

100 second rest

It burns, it burns!!!

Went for a lovely and rather muddy bushwalk this morning, heading up hill as we finished it hit me that I was motoring up like the hill wasn’t even there, would love it this cycling and leg work translated into me being less sucky at running hills.

I’ve a 5km fun run tomorrow, it is a charity run I entered about 4 weeks ago to raise money for services for Premmie Babies. I’ve not blogged about it but in short my gorgeous little niece and nephew were born about 6 weeks ago at 32 weeks gestation. My amazing, strong, wonderful and very brave sister in law had been confined to hospital for the previous 4 weeks so the twins could cook a little longer but by 32 weeks they just couldn’t hold on any longer. They were very little but fortunately perfectly healthy and getting stronger every day, they are due home from hospital at the end of this month.

So Aunty Em did what she knew best, entered a fun run. Although my ego wouldn’t let me enter the walk so I’ll be run/walking around Albert Park up the back of the group tomorrow morning, it’s coincided with the day I am allowed to start my rehab running.

After today the DOMS will probably be so bad that real running would be out of the question anyway

Rawaghhhhahuaaghhh

Well, you try doing a chin up (albeit an assisted one) and not making that noise.

Strength session yesterday afternoon was Shoulders & Back and the program I follow divides session up into three blocks with strict guidelines on recovery between sets. These are pretty tough sessions and they get my heart rate up too!

In the morning before work I did HIIT on the bike at the Gym

6 minutes warm up
60 seconds/45 seconds/30 seconds hard with equal time to recover – repeated 5 times
6 minutes cool down
Drenched in sweat

Afternoon strength training

A1 – Incline DB Press	A2 – Lean away narrow grip chin up*
10 @ 9.6kg	6 assisted**
8 @ 10.7kg	6 assisted**
8 @ 10.7kg	6 assisted**
11 @ 10.7kg	8 assisted**

*Demo of Lean Away Chin up
**Mine are assisted with red and yellow Powerbands, I did two weeks on red and orange, progressed to red and yellow this week, then the next stage will be just the red and so on until I can do them on my own, at which point I’ll be so damn proud that I’ll just go about the place randomly doing chin ups off any object that can hold my weight!

100 seconds rest between sets

B1 – Flat DB Press	B2 – Incline Cable Fly	B3 – Seated Cable Row to Neck	B4 – Decline BB Pull Over
10 @ 10.7kg	10 @ 5kg	10 @ 20kg	10/Curl bar no added weight
10 @ 10.7kg	11 @ 5kg	10 @ 20kg	13/Curl bar no added weight
12 @ 10.7kg	10 @ 5kg	10 @ 20kg	12/Curl bar no added weight

10 seconds between B1 and B2

100 seconds between B2 and B3

90 seconds between B3 and B4

90 seconds between B4 and B1

C1 – Cable Upright Row	C2 – Arnie Shoulder Press*
10 @ 15kg	10 @ 6kg
10 @ 17.5kg	8 @ 7.4kg
10 @ 17.5kg	8 @ 7.4kg

75 seconds between C1 and C2

*Arnie Shoulder Press Demo

No strength training today, just a 30km ride to work with some nice rolling hills over Yarra Boulevard on the way in, had an early dinner with friends afterwork so wussed it and took the bike on the train home.

Tomorrow is legs day, I LOVE legs day

Pokes head sheepishly around the door

I’ve a confession, things didn’t go well after the 30km run at the You Yangs almost 7 weeks ago.

I pulled up sore almost straight after finishing, it was a familiar pain. I had another stressie, I didn’t want to talk about it, I’ve talked about enough stress fracture and I was done with it.

The first week was bad, I was “this” close to giving in completely, clearly I am not built to run and I was tired of fighting it, really tired.

The other half (bless ‘im) talked me around, “we have the technology, we can rebuild you”

And so we have set about creating a stronger, leaner and meaner Em.

I saw my Doctor last Friday, she wasn’t cross that I hadn’t seen her straight away, she knew that I knew the score, had a feel of the leg, agreed with my self diagnosis and said I could start run/walk at the end of this week. She’s also ordered me a bone density DEXA scan, here’s hoping it doesn’t come back telling me that Violet Crumbles are stronger than my bones, I’ve not booked in yet, need to find the time.

So, enough of that, the hand wringing has been done, the withdrawal from Two Bays (*sob*) has been done, as has the offer to volunteer instead (with an extra special cheer for Sara all ready to go).

In the meantime….

I’ve been cycling, a LOT and loving it. I ride to and from work a couple of days a week, a 26km journey each way and I absolutely adore zipping along the bike path as the sun comes up, my own person highway, parks, ponds and ducks all around me and a smile on my face, it takes me about an hour each way.

If I am not cycling to work I am going hard at the gym on the stationary bike, sweating up a storm with a HIIT session.

I did a 100km bike ride (actually it was 94.5km) as part of Around the Bay in a Day, it was a blustery old day with a wicked head or cross wind for most of the out and back course. I didn’t care, the conditions at the Christchurch Marathon were far worse. My worries about not making it were ill founded, I thought it would take me 5 hours, it took me 3:52 (a touch over 4 hours if you count all the traffic light stops), I didn’t rest, got there, turned right around and headed for home. I LOVED it, it was easy, I finished thinking “Is that it?”.

I’ve got a few more planned, 75km along Eastlink in 2 weeks, 120km Amy’s ride on 2nd January and seriously tempted by the Great Ottway Classic in March which is 140km and has some serious hills. If feel a bit daft on my flatbar with all the hardcore drop bar types around me but I love my bike and it goes fast.

In short, once I freed myself from the initial disappointment I’ve revelled in the cross training and see it as a chance to refresh and rebuild. I’ve enjoyed the break from running, although I miss going for a run with my buddy Carol and smashing out hill sessions with her.

The weight training has continued in earnest, not little girly weights either, I’ve been really put through my paces & I love the changes in my body that it is bringing. Diet has been extremely good, I’ve always eaten pretty well but lately it’s been exceptionally well, I don’t even miss chocolate! Although I credit that mostly to all the protein shakes TOH makes me drink, ughhh, they are R E V O L T I N G, I just can’t get used to them and because I drinking chocolate ones “Just like a chocolate milkshake, only not!” is my mantra I’ve just gone blah on choc.

The basic day is
Meal 1 – My super porridge with stewed apple
M2 – Protein shake
M3 – Lunch is Generally Salad with tuna or tuna salad sanga or left overs from the night before
M4 – Protein shake
M5 – Dinner is Generally brown rice or Quiona with some sort of veg or grilled fish
M6 – before bed, small tub of natural yoghurt with sugar free fruit puree

I feel full all day and am never looking for sweet treats or snacks.

So, body fat is down, lean muscle is up, endurance is probably still ok and I feel strong and fit. I’ve become almost evangelical about strength training, the older you get the more you benefit from maintaining lean muscle mass and I think too many runners neglect it out of fear of getting “big”. I never want to be frail in my old age, being incapacitated and dependant is something that really frightens me and I’ll do what I can to avoid it.

Also, it’s ace being strong

Next time, for anyone who is interested I’ll post some of my strength training sessions, they are not for the faint of heart.