Tuesday Musings November 23, 2010

Was a very difficult morning yesterday. Hard to get up and get going after an exhausting weekend. But, get up I did. What a surprise to arrive and find that Ryan was our leader for bootcamp. As usual he gave us a very tough workout. He makes it all look so easy but it never is! We did a couple different rotations. Lots of push ups as usual. I had a hard time with the jump rope. It wasn't that it was exhausting me but I kept tripping. One jump rope was much too long and the other too short. I wound up using the short one and just kind of bending my head over so that I could keep going. The long rope just didn't work for me! We did a great deal of core and upper body work. I didn't even realize how hard we were working until we were almost done and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to finish. When we left I felt I had no strength left in my arms. It was a great workout.

Today we worked out at the Princeton Club. The gym we usually use was unfortunately double booked so we go the boot out of boot camp. Sharon and I were so disappointed that we worked out at the club and then forced ourselves to go out for breakfast. Not a great decision but it was pretty tasty.

Have a good one.

Roger

Another 2fer Sunday, November 21, 2010

Went to 2 bootcamps last week. We went out of town for a professional visitation day for me so missed on Friday. Don't like missing Ryan's classes since he is so enthusiastic and motivational. Won't see him this week either. Oh well.

We had a great couple workouts. Unfortunately just a tad under the weather this week so they seemed really hard. Did some TRX training and some tough cardio on the stair master. We also did some core work on the stability ball. Overall just some good old fashioned hard work.

Have a good one.

Roger

Thursday, Nov 11, 2010 To the Core

Yesterday was a strong core workout. We got a relief from too much arm work because so many people were still sort from the bar workout on Monday.

When we started class I noticed there was not too much equipment out so I thought, "Oh, no, the treadmill." Luckily I was in a for a nice surprise when Dustin said he wanted to take advantage of the nice weather while we had it and took us outside for some cardio. We broke off into groups of three and ran a kind of relay. We weren't racing each other but just needed to push ourselves the best we could. While you were running you were supposed to carry a 15 lb. weight over your head. Had to be careful not to drop it or carry it to low or you would get a nice little bump on your head! It was still somewhat dark outside too so also wanted to be careful not to fall. That would hurt and be kind of embarassing. After the relays we did some regular sprinting. I find that I really enjoy that as long as I'm not tackling some huge incline!

Inside we worked with partners. We did some things alone like one person doing a leg pendulum with the stability ball while the other did crunches with weights. We also did some cool partner things like one person staying in the plank position while the other did pushups off their back. Unfortunately Sharon had a really sore back yesterday so I had to do this off the stability ball. That can be pretty challenging though. I've done it as an instructor though so I was able to push myself. We also did side planks where our partner held us up by both legs and then by one leg while we had to hold the other up. That was very hard. I had to use one hand to help support though. I really wanted to be careful of Sharon's back.

It was a very good workout. I laughed because Dustin said it probably wasn't as intense a workout as we usually do and we probably weren't as sweaty...but I was drenched and Sharon was sweatier than usual so I think it was pretty darn good!

Have a good one.

Roger

November 8, 2010 Fit Fun Boot Camp-You Are There

Hey guys. Instead of telling you about boot camp today I thought I would show you. This video was taken over a couple days using the Sony "Bloggie" which is like a Flip camera. It has very limited internal memory though. I didn't know that and ran out of memory right away on the first day. I got a memory card and added some more to it. That's why in one clip I'm all sweaty and in the next I'm dry. Anyways, I've blogged so much about it I thought I'd give you a brief look at a workout. Oh, and sorry about any Blair Witch shaking to the video quality!

Have a good one!

Roger

Wednesday, November 3 2010 2 for 1

Hey guys. Posting about my workouts on Monday, November 1 and Wednesday, November 3. Trying to keep a good record for myself of what I've done so don't want to leave any workouts out.

Monday was not my finest hour. The workout was good and challenging but I was under the weather a bit. Hadn't been feeling well all weekend but would not let myself use that as an excuse. We did a great deal of core using the stability ball, used the tread mill, worked with weights. Sharon said she could tell I wasn't myself. But I did work hard. And I got my workout.

Today was an extensive cardio workout. Dustin warned us of that in advance. We did a nice workout to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed up and then BAM! Started on the treadmill, 30 seconds on 45 seconds off so that we could do 10 pushups in between. Dustin wanted me to have a nice sprint so he set my treadmill at 9.5. Boy does that belt move fast at 9.5! I had to walk for a couple of seconds before doing my push ups to catch my breath.

Back in the exercise studio we used the stability ball. One person did planks on it while the other person tried to knock them off with their arms the first time and their legs the second time. We also threw the ball to each other while sitting in a V and then catching it with our legs. Then we threw it pushing out at chest level while in a lunge position. Finally one partner sat in a bridge position while the other did tricep dips of their legs. That was tricky! While still in the room we also did wheelbarrows across. Dustin was my partner for this because Sharon's back is still sore. He pushed me hard so I get across the floor pretty fast.

We finished with more treadmill. 15 seconds on, 30 seconds off at a 15% incline. This time, due to the incline I guess, I only had to run at an 8.0. When we were finished today I was really whipped. Sharon was incredibly happy because she loves cardio.

That's it for today. Have a good one.

Roger

Friday, October 29, 2010 Fun Times

We had a smaller group for boot camp on Friday. Maybe some people decided to sleep in. It was my first work out as a 49 year old man. Jeez, fifty is right around the corner.

I had such a good time in class today. Ryan's choice of activities were varied and they were things that generally I'm pretty good doing. We did a couple different kinds of sprints with push ups at either end. Since Ryan called attention to the fact that most of us weren't getting low enough I've really tried to focus on form and getting lower. I'm happy to say it's getting easier. Not easy, mind you, just easier. Unfortunately for me though we went from sprints to ab work on the stability ball. Made me a little dizzy when I got to the ball so not sure I did my best ab work but pretty sure my form was good. I really enjoyed doing the box jump which added a burpee each time you jumped. That, my friends, was a challenge. Later we also did a rotation where we all lined up in plank position side by side. Then the person at the head of the line ran to the end while the rest of us stayed in the plank position. I, of course, didn't know we were going to be doing this so I was at the end of the line. So I got to be in that position the longest. Oh, well, good for the abs. Ryan also decided to add push ups at the end of every station and pretty much every chance he got. It was a challenging work out but everyone's enthusiasm combined with Ryan's energy just made for a really great, entertaining class. I was so glad I got up for it Friday morning.

Have a good one!

Roger

October 27, 2010 Running Fast

It was very windy this morning. We could hear the wind when we woke up this morning but it didn't sound as bad as I thought it might. I hesitated a minute to decide whether or not to go to boot camp this morning. I wasn't sure that I wanted to put Brenna, my new driver, on the Beltline in those winds. Since it didn't sound too bad I figured we would go for it. Once the decision was made to go, Sharon really kept me moving. She definitely doesn't want to do extra push-ups.

We got there pretty early. In fact, we were the first ones there. Dustin told us that we were going to do a barbell workout today. He also told us exactly how many plates he wanted us to put on our barbell. He also had us change up partners today because my weights were going to be heavier than the ones Sharon used.

Again, I've said this before, but what starts our not feeling too bad sure does get heavy after a while. I used 40lbs worth of plates. We started with bench presses. First a set of 12, then 10, and then 8. My partner was Rod. I started without having him add any additional pressure as I lifted. I did have him add it for me for the other two sets though.

Next we split up. One partner went to the stage to do some leg and upper body work. The other stayed with the barbells. We started with what seemed like a dead lift and then snapped that up to a curl. I liked to call it the bend and snap. Boy did that barbell start to get heavy. By the last one of my second set it was all I could do to lift that sucker.

The second time we went through the barbell station we did the bend and snap but we then added an overhead deltoid press. Yikes, I was scared to death I would lose my balance on this. But I didn't. Dustin told me I could do it so I pushed myself through it. I missed one where I just could not lift the weight but I shook out my arms a bit and then did do it. We did some swimmers after.

We finished off with the treadmill. 30 seconds off and 3o seconds on. We had a 10% incline. Rod and I started off pretty well I thought. Dustin apparently didn't think so. He came over and set our speed at 7.8. We were only at a 6. Oh my goodness was this hard. At one point I accidentally shut the machine down using the emergency stop. And it really was an accident. Well, I couldn't figure out how to turn it back on so I had to call Dustin back over to restart it for us. When he did, he reset it to 8.2! Yikes! I had to grab on to the bar after about 20 seconds. Still we both did it. Luckily then it was time to go home.

One last note. Sharon is starting to do non-modified push-ups. She isn't going low enough yet (but she knows that) but she keeps working her way to the correct down position. Keep going Sharon!

Have a good one!

Roger