Shoveling Snow Counts as a Workout

At least I hope it does!

It's been a long day and I'm TIRED.  I got home from work and went straight from the car to shoveling snow.  Just what I wanted to do.  I was out there for maybe 20 minutes before my face went numb - temp was around 5 degrees Fahrenheit - and my back was killin' me!  So as I'm thawing out, I'm thinking about today's workout... and yes, I wanted to chalk up the snow shoveling as the whole workout and just go to bed.

But then I started feeling guilty for skipping the bike because it's the long ride day, so I hopped on figuring I'd do 30 minutes.  I pushed through and made it to 60 minutes on Level 6, did 10 miles and burned 258 calories.  I'm counting the shoveling for strength training though - biceps, triceps and abs were the plan.  I think shoveling worked all that and my back too.

Ok, so on to the important stuff!!  I'm looking registering now for a triathlon this summer.  There are several to chose from... I'm either doing a "sprint" (1/2 mile swim, 10 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run) OR a "super sprint" (1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike, and 2 mile run).  I'll keep you posted!  If you want to check it out, here's the website I'm looking through for races... Without Limits Productions.  I'm looking at either the TriBella or the Xterra Aspen Valley.  Idk, what do ya think?

Triathlon Training While on Vacation?

Who exercises while on vacay?  Me!  I was actually looking forward to my workouts - weird, huh?

Fortunately, the place where we stayed had a small fitness center...

Treadmill, Elliptical, Stationary & Recumbent Bikes and a "Universal Gym"

I followed (as best I could with the equipment I had) the beginner triathlete program for Week 4.

I didn't have web access right away on the first day, so I guessed at the time for the bike and was a little off.

Month 1 Week 4 Day 1:
Bike:  35-40 minutes (I did 30 minutes including a 5-minute cool down)
Lift:  Back, Biceps, & Legs
Stretch: 10-15 minutes

9 miles / 273.5 calories / avg rpm 80

Month 1 Week 4 Day 2:
Bike:  50 minutes w/ 5-minute cool down
Lift: Chest, Triceps, & Abs
Stretch: 10-15 minutes

15 miles / 500.1 calories

Month 1 Week 4 Day 3:
Bike:  55 minutes w/ 5-minute cool down
Lift: Chest, Triceps, & Abs
Stretch: 15-20 minutes

18.51 miles / 542.9 calories

And here I am trying to bike and take a pic and the same time!  Hence the blur =D

I haven't compiled all the Strength Training info yet, but I'll post it later because I do like to keep track of it and posting here is an easy way to do that.

As for this week's workouts, I did the bike stuff on Monday but missed the Lift, and I did the Lift today, but missed the bike.  However, I did make it to swim class tonight.  I'm feeling much more confident in the water, now I just have to work on keeping my front arm up when I roll to breathe.  I'm getting there though!

Trip to Mexico!

Yes, I ran off to Mexico last week and got back late Saturday night.  I've gotta say, THAT'S the way to spend a holiday!  It was snowing and freezing and crazy windy when we left Colorado Springs last Sunday morning, but by Sunday evening we were on the beach.  Here's a video...

In my previous post, I said my goals were to drink lots of water, exercise lots, and not to eat lots.  Well, I think I succeeded in everything except the water.  I didn't buy bottled water in the US because I was told the resort provided it.  Well, it was in a gallon jug, not bottles, so I was constantly forgetting to take water with me to workout.  And yes, I did workout!!  Details on that tomorrow.

And the good news is... I stepped on the scale Sunday morning and I gained ZERO!!!!!!!  Yes!!

So, how was your Thanksgiving?

Holiday Break

I think it's time...

Time for a blog break - I've been posting for 6 months straight now and I'm gonna celebrate and take the next week to reflect on my successes/failures setbacks.

My goals for next week are simple:

Drink LOTS of water
Exercise LOTS
And don't eat LOTS!!  (Some, not LOTS)

Ultimately, I'd like to lose weight over the next 7-9 days, but I'll set a more realistic goal of not gaining weight.

None.

Zip.

Nothing.

My scale will move this much next week!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, an enjoyable time with family and most importantly a safe holiday.

See ya back here on the 2nd of December!

Total Immersion?

I keep seeing this "Total Immersion" thing everywhere I look online.  While searching for triathlon training books, the Beginner Triathlon website, it's at every turn.  It even came up as recommended on my Amazon account.  So, I thought I'd check it out.

First, what is "Total Immersion"?  In case you haven't heard of it either, it is "The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster and Easier."  Cool, right?

Next, I subscribed to their website and now I get emails that, well honestly, don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

But hey, I'm not schooled in this so I'm willing to learn.

Then I went to good ol' Youtube and sure enough, there's lots and lots of FREE videos on this swimming technique.

I also checked out the FREE preview of the book by Terry Laughlin on Amazon.

So far, I think this is ultimately a technique that I want to learn.

Here's a quote I thought was funny:

"Virtually everyone's first swimming attempt is a near-death experience, with a real prospect of drowning if you're not successful... Traditional swimming teaches you to not drown rather than to emulate what works so well for fish."

Ok, interesting.

In one of the videos I watched, called Total Immersion Perpetual Motion Freestyle, this picture was shown as an example of making your body torpedo-like in the water.

If I swam like that, I'd be thrilled beyond words!!  So, I'll check this out more and get back to you.  Unless of course, you've already checked it out.  If you have, please tell me if it's worth the time/money to try!

To Eat or Not to Eat over the Holidays

I think I'm going to spread the wealth a bit on food intake.  I hate overeating to the point of pain and suffering.  So, this year it's going to be spread out over the entire holiday period.  A piece of pie one day, a piece of fudge the next.  A nice dinner one day and another a few days later.

Will this work?  I have no idea.  What are you gonna do different?  Anything?

Today was a crazy busy day, but I got my workouts done.  I didn't make it to the big gym as planned, but I did get it done in my LR gym.

Month 1 Week 3 Day 2 from BeginnerTriathlete.com (1 hour)

Lift: Back, Shoulders, Abs. 2 sets of 10-12 reps for 2 exercises each body part.
Bike: 30-35 minutes stationary bike. Check HR often on this workout. Do a continuous hill workout. Every 2 minutes, add a gear or two (increase resistance). Keep climbing until you have reached halfway through the ride/workout.  At the halfway point, start taking a gear or two OFF every 2 minutes.  Come down as slowly as you went up.  5 minute cool down.
Stretch: 10-15 minutes of FULL BODY stretching.

Bike Workout Summary
I still haven't replaced the batteries on my bike computer - on my to do list now!  Anyway, I did 35 minutes including the cool down and increased the resistance up to the halfway point.  It started getting pretty tough to keep a good cadence going.  Then finally the halfway point on to the end of the workout was very nice - just like riding down hill the whole way.

Strength Training (Lift):
Back
1) Lat Pulldowns 12 @ 50; 12 @ 110
2) Dumbbell (DB) lawnmower pulls 12 @ 5lbs x2
Shoulders
1) DB Shoulder Press 12 @ 15 x2
2) DB Side Raises 12 @ 3 x2
Abs
1) Ball Crunch 12 x2
2) Leg lifts 12 x2

Stretch:
Full Body 30 seconds per muscle.

After the workout, I ate dinner and then about 45 minutes later, we headed to the pool.  I definitely like the group lesson!  There were 3 of us and that meant that I was able to catch my breath while the other 2 swam.  Then I'd go and once I was halfway, the next person would go and then finally the third.  I had a nice 30-45 second break each time.

I felt much more confident this time.  I had tried to practice the other day and it went horribly, but for some reason, this time it went pretty well.

Guess I have to just keep swimming...

I love this movie.

Stairs, I do stairs now.

Yep, me - stairs.  Can you believe it?

It used to be so painful to climb just ONE flight of stairs, now, I do several.  On purpose.  What?!?!

My knees were what bothered me before, but now it's what I've been doing to get rid of the stiffness from sitting so long at work.  After 2-3 hours of sitting, I have to get up or else my feet go to sleep and my joints start aching.  

So, I use the stairs.  Up a couple of flights, walk a hallway, up a couple more flights, walk a hallway, down a couple flights... you get the idea.  I do this for about 15 minutes at least a couple times each day at work.

It's nice to be able to take the stairs again.  It's also fun to see the looks of disbelief when I suggest taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  

That's right... 

I  |_                      _|

am |_                 _|

the    |_            _|

Stair    |_       _|

Master   |_  _|

Ok, not quite yet. =D