row 2000m

2000m - 8:54.9 - 139bpm

row 5x500m/1:30rest

5x500m/1:30 rest

total: 9:32.6 - 1:54.5/500m avg - 175bpm avg

Week 13 round-up

Just barely made my quota of three workouts this week:

Sunday: frisbee x 2
Wednesday: frisbee
Thursday: frisbee.

Not particularly creative...

This week

Monday: 5 k run- 22:06 (PB) 40 back extensions, 40 front extensions
Tuesday: Countless points of frisbee in a row
Wednesday: Countless points of frisbee, the odd break.

Lame, lame, lame. Lame.

I finally got off my butt today and headed out to sign up for a membership at a new gym. Alas, I find myself, at the end of the day, still gymless. I'd been procrastinating on this task for a couple of reasons: a) I've been trying to decide between two local gyms - Nautilus (7 min walk), and Goodlife Women's Only (25 min walk); and b) the weather is nice enough that I can still get some good workouts by combining running and weights (thanks to the barbell that is still living at our house).

Without having actually checked out either gym, I decided to go to the Goodlife. The women's only aspect is appealing for when I'm awkwardly trying to hoist weights around a 7 month belly... And eventually, I'll have to lighten up the workout, at which point the classes become appealing.

Well. I can hardly contain my disappointment and, frankly, scorn.

I asked questions and filled out the forms before getting the actual tour of the place. I specifically asked "do you have a full complement of free weight equipment? Do you have a squat rack?" Yes, and yes, I was assured. I asked for a quick tour, so I'd know where to go when I came in for my first workout.

I didn't see a squat rack anywhere. Or a chest press bench. No benches at all, actually. A substantial row of dumbells, some mats, balls, and a sort-of roman chair comprised the free- weight area. So I asked "where's the squat rack?"

Turns out, chickie DID NOT KNOW WHAT A SQUAT RACK IS.

Er, do you have Olympic barbells? Oh yes! The barbells are right over here...

Hardly Olympics... They only had like three pansy-assed barbells on which you could add plastic plates that looked like they could barely add up to 50 pounds.

Ok, thanks.

Luckily, I hadn't brought my bank info, so I haven't paid yet. I don't think I will.

I know I'm going to have to scale back on workouts now that I'm pregnant, and 100 pound squats are probably going to be out of my range in a few weeks (if they're not already - I haven't done them for awhile). But the fact that they DON'T KNOW WHAT A SQUAT RACK IS tells me they are unaware that a woman is capable of, or might want to do 100 pound squats, or 50 lb shoulder presses, and probably don't even know what a deadlift is, let alone a power clean... And those are not the people I want to be giving me fitness advice through my pregnancy.

I can just hear it "I'd stick to the 10 lb biceps curls for now. Don't let your heart rate go over 140! And one, and two..." Blah blah blah.

I do need advice, but realistic advice, from people who know what weight-lifting is. AND, I'm only going to be pregnant for 6 months, but the Goodlife contract is for a year... Come June, I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to get back to chin-ups again. Did I mention there was no sign of a chin-up bar? Oh yeah, another thing that chicks don't do.

Looks like I'm going to have to take my big ole belly into the trenches of the local Nautilus. We only see meatheads going in and out of there. But that hasn't intimidated me too much before (more often, a source of amusement!), so I suppose I shouldn't let it now. But I sure hope someone over there speaks English.

Workout-wise, I did get in an hour-long walk, heading there and back.

row 2000m

I got my erg.

Two 2000m sessions.
2000m - 10:13.4 - 125bpm (heart rate)

2000m - 9:39.3

Rounding out the week

6 km run > 36 minutes.

Pretty moderate pace. I'm careful to take a walk/water/breath-catching break every 10 minutes. Also, I felt a bit tight in the lower belly for the first half of the run - like there were muscles straining... Maybe I'm starting a growth spurt? Eep.

According to James F. Clapp, I need to exercise 3 times a week for 30-40 minutes at a "moderate to hard" level of perceived exertion in order to experience the benefits of exercising through my pregnancy. I'm thinking of recording a weekly round-up, to make sure I'm on track.

This week:

Sunday: frisbee
Monday: 6.6 km run
Tuesday: circuit
Wednesday: frisbee
Friday: 6 km run.

Good so far!

F! Me

PB on the 5k today- 22:27. A 7:30 mile and a 6:30 mile in there.

Got back to the gym where a crack fitness instructor mentioned he did a 5 k last week in 15:30.

He can't possibly be good at math.

Debt to pay

Circuit yesterday:

3 rounds of 800 m run, 85 lb thrusters (10), 10 pull ups, 40 sit-ups.

800m @ 10mph, 9, then 8. Thrusters are taxing. Pull ups were 10 in a row each time. Sit ups were on a ball.

Time was 30:20 (which included, thankfully, some waits for space / pull up station and set up). Fuck was this brutal. I sat on the bench in the change room afterward rubbing my forehead with my thumb. I guess I do this when I am going to puke.

Today- 5k.

The Quick and Dirty

It was so warm and cozy inside the house; so cold and uninviting outside. But I lugged the barbell out to the porch... And it got warm real quick.

Warm-up 400 m.

Five rounds of:
10 jump squats (45 lb)
10 hang clean & press (45 lb)
400 m run
= 23 min

(No rest between sets except pause for set-up; however, I rested a full minute between rounds. Because I'm resting for two now.)

Cool-down 400 m.

After stretching, 2 chin-ups, just to stay in the game. :-)

Last five presses of the 5th set were push presses. Ran the 400 m in 1:50 consistently, except for the last set, during which I knocked 5 seconds off. (To make up for the push presses?)

This circuit got hard. Grunting and grimacing hard. Particularly the presses.

Another Gay Post Title

At the gym;
40 back extensions,
40 wiener lovin' front extensions,
Power cleans; 115 x 10, 8, 7,
BBQ press; 125 x 10, 8, 6.

Mile run @ 1%: 7:35. Fairly easy. Wished I had pushed it harder. Sort of.


I am going to say it again: Wiener lovin'.

12 weeks today

Moderate pace run: 6.5 km (@ 6 min/km; probably a little faster). Somehow managed to accidentally hit the "stop" button on my watch when I tucked it into my pouch, so it only timed the first four seconds of the run.

I ran home from the lab, where McPie dropped me off for my prenatal blood tests.

Chin-ups: 2.

Then there was dizziness, so I didn't attempt another "set". Maybe later today.

3 mile run

And none of this "fast mile" stuff. Last night after getting home from cancelled frisbee.

3 miles/28:50/6.2mph/163bpm
splits:
1.5 miles/15:10/5.9mph/154bpm
1.5 miles/13:40/6.6mph/173bpm

Watchless

And running. What's the point, really.
Nothing to report, MAYBE a 21:45 5K, but probably a 23:10 or something. A good hard run, anyway.

15 x 8 x 4 x 2 x 1 Pull ups
15 x 8 x 7 Dips

40 v-sit 4kg ball tosses (Ms Hedda does 634 or something)
30 back extensions.

Still got it, for now

Fear of failure can sometimes help. I'm struggling to come to terms with a decreasing, um, work capacity. That is, my perceived exertion is the same, but performance - time, reps, weight, distance, etc - is reduced. I assume that if I keep up my PE, I'll continue to have the same physical benefit from a workout, but I'm a competitor and I like to see my numbers improve. My first response -- at least mentally -- is avoidance of things I might not be so good at any more, because I hate to fail. (Have you seen reports of chin-ups lately? Nope...)

So, I planned my workout today through a haze of mental negotiations. Eventually, and luckily, I ended up taking the bull by the horns. I mapped a mile within a 5K loop, and decided to run it for time. Full disclosure: I made sure the route for the mile was primarily (er, totally) downhill. In all fairness, this did bite me in the ass when I had to eventually ascend the fairly substantial hill for the last 500m of the run. (And the whole 2nd half was slightly uphill.)

Because of/thanks to my hill-cheating, I was premature in my conclusion that my sub-7 days were behind me, for the time being:

Mile: 6:45
5K total: 24:45

Perspective: If I'd run that in the National Capital 5K race, I'd have come in about 7th of 390 in my category (women 30-34), 123/3819 women, and 515/6367 total. Not SO bad.

stymied - like for real?

So I'm just loading up the bar to start the deadlifts and cleans that got shut down yesterday and the security guard rolls in to "check on things". And he yells that the weight I'm lifting is too heavy. ha ha -- good one, I laugh and ignore him. I forgot that respect is often a sore point with security guards. But I actually thought he was kidding. Especially since I was putting the first plate on the bar and was a couple of hundred pounds from being heavy. Anyway, he decided that it was gym policy that you couldn't lift heavy when you were by yourself. As the conversation "progressed" his policy morphed so that I was only allowed to use machines and not even 10 lbs dumbbells. I thought he wouldn't just be making this up so I adhered to the policy.

[the research on Monday has shown that somebody (not naming names) was on a power trip and while we can all appreciate that heavy benchpresses with a bar by yourself is a little foolhardy, the gym is use at your own risk. So I'll probably get strip searched the next time I come in on the weekend.]

chins: 9, 8, 6
cable press: 80 x5, x5, x5
cable row: 145 x5, x5, x5

lower back extension machine thing: 200 x50. This was the max weight and I actually got bored at 50 rather than failed at 50. Kinda weird.

finisher:
facepulls - no rest between sets - 130 x10, 120 x4, 110 x3, 100 x5, 90 x12, 80 x5, 70 x14, 60 x20

stymied

so I wait until 6pm on a Friday to hit the gym because then everybody will be gone. Except the hardcore, except the one guy who does Oly lifts with chalk. Luckily I got my squats in before we had to start sharing.
squats: 200x5, x5, x5
dips: 4, 3, 3
some ab work but my enthusiasm waned quickly. I was already a couple of hours late for post-work bevvies.

Today's menu...

Workout and steak.

At the gym;

2 x 18 back extensions
2 x 15 front extensions (When I do these I am conscientious that my 'unit' is 'profiled' through my shorts. Not much I can do about it, save for bondage. Anyway, why the hell did I call it a 'unit'? Well, this summer at Gender Blender, on the drunken carnival that is Friday night, at 2 or 3 am, a fella I know named Jake was playing Family Feud. I $hit you not. It was at a camp site, with a full set with scoreboard, theme music, MC and everything, and his family's question was "another word for penis" Well, with dick and balls out of the way , Jake's turn came and he, ever the comedian, drawled into the microphone , "Uhhhhhh, I'm going to have to go with UNIT," which made me HOWL. "Survey says! Mehhhhhhhhhhhh." No dice! I was watching from the vantage point of semi stupor, which is among the best vantage points from which to view such scenes.)

Anyway...

Squats; 235 lbs x 7, 6, 5, (I am going to call it a PB as I went to parallel every time I think)
Finisher squats; 145 x 17 (ATG)
Bicep curlys; Standing, 30 lbs DBs x 8l8r, 7l7r-6l6r
Deadlifts; 8 x 235 (PB- failed grip and sweaty palms did not allow for more sets).
Farmer's walk; 45 lb plates in each hand, 48 steps x 2, 96 steps x 2, 144 steps x 2. Hard on the shoulders. I could NOT imagine having to carry a young Holstein or somethin'...

Tonight (1 hour ago); One huge Bavette de Boeuf on the BBQ, green beans sauteed in sesame oil, soy and orange, St. Agur (blue) cheese, a 2003 Riocha (gift from lovely). Side of bliss.

Water would have been nice

It was about 340° out yesterday. Or so.

I tried Power Clans for the first time. What a great exercise. Started with too low a weight, but I am conservative in my willingness to inflict pain upon myself; otherwise known as timid, ok, f*ck!

95 lbs, 10 reps (easy)
115 lbs 10 reps (moin easy, with grip failing)
125 lbs 8 reps, harder, grip limiting.

Then, out in the HEAT:

1k run to park-with-long-steep-hill (no time)
3 sets of 5 sprints (maybe 20-24 strides) up the hill (6 min total time)
20 2-step basketball jumps (max power)
800 m run (3:05)

The outside part was fairly challenging after the power cleans...

Homestyle, take 2

Added a 35 lb plate to the gymless workout today.

Hang clean and press: 45 x 12, 12, 8, 7, 7
Single-leg calf press: 165* x 8, 9, 9 (each leg)
Walking lunges: 50, 30, 30
Bent-over barbell rows: 45 x 10, 10, 10

* 35 lb plate plus my bodyweight. I think this exercise doubles as a variation of the farmer's walk, because it was so darn hard to hold the plate (tucked under my arm, schoolbook style).

I considered holding the plate on my head for the walking lungs, but the hole in the middle was uncomfortable on my tender pate.

For the rows, I bent over the railing of the porch and rested my chest (well, just below my chest) on the rail for support. I am so creative.

Interesting aside: Weighed in a the doctor's office yesterday, and it turns out I've lost a few pounds since I was there in mid-July. This is unexpected (though it could have just been the day.) Theories: the bulk of winter/spring weight training finally worked off through ultimate (3 tournies including nationals, plus an extra practice a week since then); or, my complete avoidance of alcoholic beverages since July 6. (My diet has been relatively stable, though I've possibly been eating a little more this last month).

A simple run.

I'm not even sure exactly how far it was.

Moderate pace for 44 minutes - I'm guessing about 7.5 km.

Nice route on the Gatineau and Lac des Fées parkways/paths. Luckily I was done by 10 am, before the real heat struck.

Homestyle circuit

No gym at the moment; all I have to work with is a 45 lb barbell. So I improvised today with:

Five rounds of

400m run (mapped my block - it's almost exactly this distance)
20 squats (45 lbs)
20 push-ups

Time = 26 minutes

I averaged a few seconds under 2 min for the runs. Not particularly fast, but I wasn't pushing it that hard. Squats were the easiest part. Push-ups were killer for some reason today, and I did most as a half-and-half split between regular push-ups and knees-down, except the first set, which I managed 16/4. Still, 56/44 in 26 minute is ok with me. :-)

When I got out of the shower after this workout, I noticed that veins were still bulging on my temples. Ick.

Quickly, amongst the brutes...

The end of the work day is NOT the ime to go to the gym. Apparently there are men's clubs that gather there, or something.

Very quick work out:

Press: 85 lbs, 8, 6, 4
Back extensions: 30
Pull ups: 14, 7, 4, 3, 1

Home to family.