Posts Tagged ‘gym’
July 11, 2010
While I hadn’t been running for very long (2 and a half years up until I stopped in October) it was something I loved more than any other hobby or sport I’ve picked up and, as any runner knows, it becomes a bit of an addiction. Running did great things for me, not just better fitness levels but it got me enthusiastic about keeping fit and staying healthy, it helped me with my asthma, gave me time to myself, time to think, and was a constant in my life during university, moving house, being unemployed and everything else I’ve been up to.
I don’t think I realised how much I depended on it until I stopped. Frustration and excess energy to start with (as anyone that’s ever had a running injury knows), then anger and more frustration because running used to be the best way to deal with frustration. That vague hope and longing every time I drove past a runner in the street, and reading on other blogs how far people have come in the amount of time I’ve not been running and wondering how far I could manage should I make a miraculous recovery tomorrow.
The running world was an island and I was drifting out to sea. My first thought on a nice evening was still “good time for a run” but I’d lost the urge to lace up my trainers and go.
Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged EIA, training, basketball, resistance, weights, archery, marathon, weight, gym | 2 Comments »
December 16, 2009
For me, running has been about The Run as much as it is about keeping fit. Going to the gym was mostly about using the treadmill and any cross training or resistance work was done to help with running (or, more recently, archery and basketball). Once running is taken out of the equation, we’re left with a support system for something that no longer exists. I know that going to the gym is good for me but the motivation is gone.
My most recent run was the 3km (and then another 2km) I managed last Friday. Seeing as how I should be able to rack up the miles with an empty gym and plenty of free time, having to stop after 20 minutes is extremely frustrating. Where I used to feel better after a run, regardless of how long it was, I now just get annoyed.
A lack of running isn’t really conducive to a running blog, and so I’ve decided to take a break while I sort myself out and try to figure out what’s wrong with my feet. I’m staying optimistic and keeping my places in the races I’ve entered for next year so with any luck I’ll be back on here pretty soon. I imagine I’ll still post on the odd occassion anyway, especially when I finish these damned pressups! :-)
See you around.
Merry Christmas.
Posted in Discussion | Tagged gym, motivation, race, training | 3 Comments »
December 14, 2009
Do you like my blog-snow? Here’s hoping for some of the real stuff :-)
Wednesday: Basketball this evening. We played an odd version of cricket, did plenty of suicides and then a game so got a proper workout!
Friday: Finally got round to the gym. Started on the treadmill and managed 3k before the pain in my feet stopped me. Decided to stick to the resistance machines for the rest of the session but the treadmill beckoned again on the way out. Only managed 2k this time but at least I ran.
Archery in the evening…didn’t do too well so only stayed for 2 and a half hours.
Sunday: Couldn’t make archery on Saturday because of a doctor’s appointment but made sure I went Sunday as we were shooting 25m instead of the usual 18 and I needed sight settings. I’m hoping to shoot in the Stourbridge Fita 25 on 3rd January so needed the practice. Only stayed for an hour and 50 though as I had to get back in time for basketball…which I got home to find was cancelled again. Never mind, eh?
Total Run: 5km
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, gym, resistance | 2 Comments »
December 7, 2009
I had a couple of days of casual work this week, which has reminded me just how organised I’ll need to be to get to the gym after work when I start working full time…
Tuesday: My new gym has TVs attached to the cardio equipment, which is new for me. My initial excitement wore off on the first day when I realised they only had terrestrial channels… and day-time TV is crap. Back to the ipod I went. Today I tried something different by taking my book with me and finishing off the last 70-odd pages while on the recumbent bike (this was perfectly normal at the uni gym but apparently not so much at this one!) Either way, it did the trick and I managed to keep up a reasonable pace. One hour and 15km later I decided to loosen up my quads by doing a couple of kms on the treadmill before stretching and heading home.
Wednesday: We missed the first half an hour of basketball as the gates to the venue were locked. We decided to just play 3 on 3 in the remaining 90 minutes. Was good fun and certainly a good workout!
Friday: Spent a good 3 hours at archery, though that didn’t seem to do much to improve my aim. Lots of reds (and not enough golds) but it’s all good practice.
Saturday: A better day at archery but not great. Scored 550 on a Portsmouth round. Congrats to Dave, who broke his PB with a 551.
Sunday: We had our SCA team photo today, followed by onlly an hour of training due to a booking mix-up. Still, we got in some layups and drills so can’t complain.
Total Run: 2km
Thanks to everyone who gave me their input with regards to Friday’s post about whether or not to run the asics British 10k next year. I had a number of replies on Facebook as well as the ones on the blog. As of today the score is 6-2 for doing it, though I’ll give it a bit more thought before sending off the application form.
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, gym, race | 4 Comments »
November 30, 2009
Tuesday: Made it back to the gym. I had managed to put it off for a week but I decided it was about time to kick myself into gear. I was hesitant because of the pain in my feet but also because the last 2 runs had been harder than normal. I put it down to having not run for a few weeks (my asthma deteriorates much quicker than my fitness) but was determined to run at least 6k. I actually only managed 5km on the treadmill, but then did 5km on the bike and then another 2k on the treadmill. Not a great result but hopefully I’ll be able to pick back up soon.
Wednesday: Pilates class in the morning as mentioned in Wednesday’s blog post. Basketball in the evening was pretty good, we played a 2 on 2 for most of the session.
Friday: I told myself I was going to go to the gym in the morning and then never got round to it (though I did manage my end-of-week-5 100 push ups exhaustion test). I then spent the rest of the afternoon feeling terribly guilty about it and resolved to try harder next week.
Archery in the evening. The heating has broken though so it was pretty cold, and that had a significant detrimental effect on my shot. Stayed for a couple of hours and then decided to call it a night.
Saturday: Went to archery armed with my Helly Hensen base layer and plenty of change for cups of tea. It was so cold that people started to leave early, reducing the amount of body heat (the only thing warming the place up) and making everyone else colder :-) A few of us shot a Worcester round today instead of a Portsmouth (I scored a 270 – not too bad) and then I stuck around for the last day of the beginner’s course. The kid I was teaching did really well and hopefully he’ll decide to stay in the club.
Sunday: SCA played Leicester Crobas 2 today in our last game of the year. I played half the game, in alternating quarters, but didn’t score this time. We won 36-32, which was pretty good, so congrats to the guys.
Total Run: 7km
Congrats must go to Rachael, otherwise known as Marathon Mummy, who’s really making progress with her training for the VLM next year. Head over there and show some support!
Posted in Progress | Tagged 100 push ups, archery, basketball, EIA, gym, pilates | 3 Comments »
November 25, 2009
About a year ago I was doing another 1 day gym pass with a friend and managed to get talked into an Ashtanga Yoga class. Ashtanga Yoga is fast and fluid, one move swiftly becomes another and poses aren’t really held as much as moved in and out of. By the end of it I had warmed up nicely and was feeling stretched, though nothing could prepare me for what I felt the next day. I discovered muscles I never knew I had and just about everything hurt. It was probably something I would have kept up had I been a member of the gym but unfortunately I never got to have another go.
I had a quick look at the class timetable when I joined my current gym last week in the hope they did something similar. I saw they did Pilates and so went along this morning to try it out.
I wasn’t expecting anything as rigorous as Ashtanga but I hoped for something that would help me with my stretching and challenge my core. Unfortuately I didn’t really get much of that. Going to a mid-morning class obviously attracts a fair few of the retired generation and the class seemed to be too preoccupied in catering for their needs. While we did do some leg stretches it was very cold in there and having not really had a warm up I was careful not to push too far for fear of injuring myself.
I also had a few doubts about the instructor. She seemed nice enough and I told myself off for judging her on first impressions (she was a few pounds heavier than your average gym instructor). However, those doubts returned steadily thoughout the class (eg. telling us that bicep curls work the forearm and lateral raises are the same as pressups) and I left somewhat unsure about her as a teacher.
Overall, not what I was hoping for, but I might try it again in an evening class where there might be some more people who are looking for a challenging workout.
Posted in Discussion | Tagged gym, pilates, yoga | 1 Comment »
November 23, 2009
Nothing you don’t already know I’m afraid…
Monday: Did 5.1k on the treadmill as part of my one-day free gym trial.
Tuesday: Had my gym induction today. I had intended to do a long run but, because of the problems with my feet, I gave up at 5.5km.
Total Run: 10.6km
Wednesday’s basketball was cancelled again and my parents coming to visit at the weekend stopped me from doing much then. Another poor week but I’ll try and make up for it this week.
I had my first commissions cheque from RoadID this week. A handsome $2 which will be donated to my next charity run :-) If you know anyone that works out in the great outdoors then consider a Road ID for a Christmas present – just click the blue logo on the right hand side of the page.
Posted in Progress | Tagged gym | Leave a Comment »
November 18, 2009
My one-day gym trial on Monday was a success as I actually got to trial the gym. The two gyms I looked at are both part of the council-run leisure centres around here and so are much cheaper than joining a ‘real’ gym. This one on Monday was a lot bigger than last week’s, had newer equipment, a free weights section and a stretching mat so I liked it much more. Unfortunately it’s not within walking distance but it doesn’t take too long to get to by car.
During the trial day I got shown around and then got a chance to use the treadmill. I managed 5.1km but pain in my feet stopped me from going much further. It’s a problem that’s been getting worse over the last 10 months or so, though it’s only been the past few months that it’s affected my running. This is the first time that it’s stopped me from finishing a distance I’ve set out to do and was a bit frustrating but at least I managed that far. I decided to finish off on the exercise bike instead (built in iPod charger was a first for me) and did 5k on there at a decent clip.
Yesterday I had my proper induction and, while I didn’t really need to shown around again, the induction is free (I’m on a pay-as-you-go membership). I got to 5.5km on the treadmill before having to stop. Not very far but it’s better than nothing. I’m just glad I’ve managed to get a few runs in this week.
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged gym, training | 2 Comments »
November 16, 2009
Yes, I feel terribly guilty for not updating all week, but then again I didn’t have a whole lot to say. I shall try harder in future :-)
Tuesday: An hour of 1 on 1 basketball with Ally was all I managed today.
Wednesday: Signed up for a 1 day free gym trial but unfortunately this didn’t go to plan as I didn’t really get to trial anything…never mind. Got to basketball in the evening to find that the venue had put a load of desks out so we couldn’t train. Very annoying. Stumped at my 2 failed attempts at exercise today I got Ally to drop me off 500m from home on the way back from basketball. The car thermometer read 8 degrees. Needless to say, by the end of the run I was wheezing pretty badly. Last time I try that! :-)
Friday: Spent a couple of hours at archery. Didn’t want to overdo it though as I had a postal league shoot the next day.
Saturday: First competition of the BA Postal League today. It would appear that something from our Saturday practice sessions paid off as I managed a 557. Not as great as the last few weeks as I started badly, but I’m quite happy with that.
Sunday: Had a really good basketball training session today, so thanks to Kev, Andy, Gaz and Al. We did many many layups, then a full court 2 on 2.
Total Run: 0.5km
This morning I’m off for another trial gym membership. Let’s hope they actually let me do something!
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, EIA, gym | 2 Comments »
August 31, 2009
Sorry for the late post today. I just got back from a weekend camping and food and shower came higher on the list of priorities than the blog :-)
Monday: I had booked in for a spinning class at the gym, but arrived just as it started (a combination of Ally’s rather dodgy “it only takes 20 minutes to get there” and being stuck behind some very slow drivers) so went into the main gym instead. Did a 10 minute warm up on the bike and then alternating sets of two-handed tricep extensions with a 6kg dumbell and some tricep dips off the bench.
Tuesday: Finally made it to a spinning class and promptly lost half my body weight in sweat, as per last Wednesday’s post.
Thursday: Went to another spinning class. We had a different instructor this time and she did things very differently – concentrating on keeping the resistance high and going slower. I didn’t enjoy this way quite as much but it was still a good workout. I took the CX and measured my heart rate. If you can’t quite see the picture, I started off (after the warm up) at about 100bpm, got it over 160bpm about 13 minutes in and peak at 178bpm a couple of times.
HR for Spinning on Thursday 27th
After the class finished I did 3 sets of 10 two-handed tricep extensions (8kg), bicep curls (8kg), and tricep dips off the bench.
Friday: I was planning to run in the afternoon, but spent most of it putting it off. A few quick downpours and ominous clouds didn’t help matters. In the end I bullied myself into going out and managed a rather nice 7.5k in 46:42. I tried to keep the pace up in preparation for the 10k next week.
Sunday: Ally and I went camping on Saturday so today’s run was along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace. It was a 10k out-and-back which took and embarrassing 1:12:26 – which I can only attribute to a bad night’s sleep (or lack thereof) and having not eaten anything before I set off.
I started on the left hand side, went to Hampton Court on the right (north of the river) and then back again.
Total Run: 17.5km
Outdoor thermometer stuck to the window
My latest investment into running gear is a thermometer. This might seem a little odd, but one of the biggest factors influencing my asthma is the temperature. I’ve been trying to work out the lowest temperature I can train at but don’t have an actual figure. This way I can find out the cut-off point for running outside and allow me to work at lowering that ever so slightly. It was only cheap so I’m not sure how accurate it is yet, and I’m not sure how long it’ll last – but hopefully it’ll still help.
Less than a week until the Lichfield 10k. I think any hopes of a decent time are off so I’ll just go along and enjoy it. I’ll still do a few longer runs during the week to try and get my stamina back up to something decent.
Posted in Progress | Tagged EIA, garmin, gym, lichfield 10k, spinning, training, weights | Leave a Comment »
