How Long

Workouts were rowing, elliptical, spinning, Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

Trying to get some cardio this week, I did some unorthodox workouts, at least for me.

I started off with a combination of rowing and the elliptical, 15 minutes each. Rowing was a bear. I kayak during the summer, but this was different. It worked a different group of muscles. My back was feeling it after about five minutes. It was great. After that, I jumped on the elliptical for a little bit. I kept it at a nice pace. I was able to get up to about a 6 minute mile pace, but I tried not to hold it for long. Over all, it was a halfway decent cardio session. Better than nothing.

Next was 20 minutes on the bike. I felt no pain here which was good. I stayed at a 16-18 mph pace. I didn’t want to push too much. I had the big chain ring in front and about 15 in the back. Another small cardio session that helped build my confidence slightly.

Shoulders and Arms were next up. This was a great workout. A+!!! I tackled this with everything I had. I went heavy on all exercises and I only had to take a couple mid-set breaks. I felt great when I was finished. I haven’t had a quality workout like this since before the injury.

Well, I have the ankle appointment in a few days. Hopefully the news will be good. Hopefully I am on the mend.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Slowly

Workouts were Yoga X, Chest and Back with Ab Ripper X. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

I am slowly making my way back, but just to make sure, I have an appointment set up with the doc in a few days. I want to come back strong and make sure I do not cause more damage.

I did yoga as best I could. There were certain moves that I could not perform without risking too much on the ankle. Instead I just skipped them and did what I could. If this was a couple of years ago, I would have pushed myself to do it all even though it caused pain. This is another reason for my visit to the doc. I have been known to do stupid things.

Next up was chest and back. Again, I was coming back from some time off and I did not want to push too much. Also, my workouts are going to become less intense as I transition to more triathlon training. That being said, I kept up pretty close to the numbers from my previous C&B.

I am still all over the place on how to schedule the rest of my week. I want to get a few cardio workouts in without compromising the ankle. I am hoping to be able to ride the bike and maybe get another walk in.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

On The Mend

Workouts were Shoulders and Arms with Ab Ripper X and a swimming session. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

I am slowly coming back from my ankle injury. It has been two weeks and I still have some pain, but definitely not what it was. I am going to be careful with this one and start back very slowly. First, I will walk a mile or two and base where to go next on how I am feeling. I do not want to make things worse especially with triathlon specific training right around the corner.

I started back with a solid Shoulders and Back workout. I was able to go heavy and keep pace with my previous S&B workout. Looking back, I was actually very fresh. Maybe the time off was a blessing in disguise.

Next was some time in the pool. I wasn’t planning on using my legs at all. My workout consisted of 18 laps using the pull buoy, 9 with hand paddles and 9 without. After the first 7 or 8 laps, I really felt it in my chest and shoulders. I was able to get somewhat of an aerobic workout as well as upper body. After I was finished, I did 3 laps of running. This was the first time I have tried any pool running. It wasn’t easy, but it felt good to get some movement in the legs.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Benefits Of Yoga

Yoga has definitely made its way into the workout routines of athletes. Athletes, as well as trainers, have become more open minded and are willing to try anything that can improve performance. Yoga can definitely accomplish this. It increases balance, strength, flexibility and muscle tone. It also teaches focus and relaxation, integrating mind and body. Endurance athletes know all too well the importance of mental and physical strength.

Endurance athletes use yoga as part of their strength training routine. This is key component to avoiding injury. Yoga also is a nice break from high impact training sessions. Yoga will help in loosening up tight muscles and joints.
Some athletes use short yoga sequences as warm-up and/or cool-down. As most of us have been told or read in the past, breathing exercises center the mind and steady the pulse. Stretching increases range of motion, which supports and stabilizes the skeletal system, further preventing injury. Quiet meditation allows the athlete to focus on the task at hand.

The yoga workout that is recommended and used by our athletes comes from the P90X at home workout series. It is 90 minutes of love it or hate it fun. It focuses and everything, strength, balance, core, flexibility and relaxation. This is definitely not an easy routine and will take some time to get use to, but the benefits are well worth it. Also, the workout is broken up so that if you don’t want to do all 90 minutes at once, you can do the first 45 and come back later for the last 45. There are plenty of take aways that can be used before a race as well. There are plenty of breathing, relaxation and flexibility exercises that would allow you to come up with your own pre and post race routines.

Go outside your comfort zone and reap the benefits that yoga can have on your performance.

Namaste.

www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Confused

Today was an overall upper body workout. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

I had my first workout since the basketball injury. I figured even though I can’t do any cardio right now, I can still hit the weights. So that’s what I did. My initial thought was to do a P90X workout. Instead I went with an upper body workout, 4 sets per muscle group. It was frustrating not being able to do my kettlebell workout. I cannot have too much weight on the injury foot. It was also a perfect day to run outside. I tried to stay focused on my workout and not worry/think about the injury, easier said than done. I know the rehab process will be slow, but what are you going to do. I am going to try to get on the bike this weekend and spend some more time in the pool. It might be a good time to build these two disciplines with triathlon training right around the corner.

The remainder of the week is still up in the air. I am looking at fitting in another weight session and possibly a swim. I am not sure yet. My good judgment is telling me to rest a couple more days and my bad judgment is telling me to get moving.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Ouch

Workouts were 20 mile bike, 4 mile run, Yoga X, Legs & Back with Ab Ripper X and Basketball. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

Well this is not going to be a positive blog. I have been knocked out of any cardio for the next few weeks. I will get to that later.

My 20 mile bike/4 mile run session was great. During the bike, I mixed up the pace and went through a bunch of different chainring combinations. A solid bike overall. I was able to keep up a great pace on the run. I mixed up the incline and speed throughout the 4 miles. This broke it up nicely. I cut it to 4 miles because I wanted to get some basketball time in.

I had a great yoga session. I held the poses well and my vinyasa work was top notch. Then came Legs and Back with Ab Ripper. Ab Ripper was solid and I had my best pull-up total to date. I kept 25 lbs again throughout the workout. Next week, I will increase the weight to 30. I cranked out my best pull-up total for this round, 150. My arms were gone by the time I was done. It didn’t matter. I was on a pull-up high.

Basketball is where it all fell apart. I had a solid 2 ½ hours of playing. My arms were gone from the pull-ups the day before, so I really wasn’t worried about my shooting. During the last game, I went up for a rebound or block and came down right on someone’s foot and rolled my ankle bad. It was very painful and I know I will be out a couple of weeks. The swelling has gone down, but the bruising has started. I will have to switch up my workouts next week. I am not exactly sure how I am going to rework it yet.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Bad Form

Workouts were Interval X and Back & Biceps with Ab Ripper X. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

Well, back to some cardio. I definitely did not lose much from the cardio side of things during my week off. I was able to keep up just fine with this one. No extra breaks needed. I had my heart rate up pretty high. I definitely got a good burn.

Now, back to the reality of taking a week off. I was pretty sore from my chest, shoulders and tri’s workout a couple of days ago. I knew that wasn’t going to help things. Back and Biceps is a tough workout to begin with. Add in some soreness and a week off, that’s a recipe for pain. I started off strong. I kept up with my previous B&B numbers. Actually, I was able to keep up with the numbers throughout. Around ¾ ‘s of the way through, the mid-set breaks started. I was also compromising form, which is something I don’t like doing. I was so hell-bent on keep up with my numbers that I didn't care. I made it through ok, but I know tomorrow I will be very sore.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com

Feeling Better

Workouts were a 5K and Chest, Shoulders and Tri’s with Ab Ripper X. (Take a look at blogs from March 2009 for complete P90X, P90X+ and 1-on-1 workout overviews)

Well, after a week off due to illness, I am back.

I planned to start off slow since I am not feeling 100%. I decided on a 2 miler to get me back into the swing of things. That 2 mile run turned into a 5K. I felt good during the run and kept about a 7:50 pace.

The next day was Chest, Shoulders and Tri’s followed by Ab Ripper X. This is where I definitely noticed that the time off hurt. Every weight I lifted felt like it was 5-10 pounds heavier. The push-ups were also brutal. My strength was definitely not there. I took a bunch of mid-set breaks. It probably would have made sense to lower the weight, but I wanted to stick with my previous workout. I was able to accomplish that which was a goal in itself.

I do not know how the rest of the week is going to play out, but I know I am going to skip the pool and opt for a bike session instead.

In good health,
Joe
www.eeathlete.com
joe@eeathlete.com