Giving it a little more...

I tried to inject some intensity today, though I didn't time it or anything...

5 rounds:
Run 400 m @ 14 kmph (1:40ish total)
10 thrusters, 45 lb

Then:
Bench dips - 10, 10, 10, 8
Bent-over rows - 35 lbs x 8, 7, 6, 6/arm
Split squats - 30 lbs x 8, 8, 8/leg (10 sec break between sets)

Finale: Practice standing one-legged on the bosu ball. About a minute per leg x 2.

Tonight: YOGA!

Too Badda

Quick one today:

Tabata pull ups, squats, push ups, sit ups. Totals were 35, 148, 57 and 82. In and out in 35 minutes!

Late to post

Had two more trips to the gym last week, more cycling, more stairs, more body weight lunges, squats, calf raises, hammy curls.

Today, 15 minutes on the bike: 5.28 mystery units of distance, HR was 165+. Then 10 minutes on the staremaster, level 11, 59 stories climbed. Then BP, 145 x 5,5,5,5,5 with 15 x each squat, left lunge, right lunge, hammy curl in between.

Playing around

I think about what I'm going to do at the gym either late the night before a planned visit, or in the morning on my way out the door. Trouble is, I'm pretty much braindead at both of these times. So this week I've been relying on Overunder to design my workouts for me. I write down whatever he says, put the scrap of paper in my pocket, and off I go.

Today was:
Bench press: 70 lb x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, superset with
Bench hops - 30, 30, 30 (hands on bench, two-footed hop over the bench from side to side)

"Knees-to-elbows" (best effort - I can get about as far as my elbows with a little controlled kipping) - 5 sets of 5; superset with
Squats - 95 lb x 4 sets of 5

Power cleans - just playing around with a 50 lb barbell. I did about 15 or so, fast and slow, just getting the feel of the movement.

Running - Two sets of: jog 200m/run 800m (at 13 kmph). I'll add a third set next week.

Time...moving...slowly

When will this weight free reign of boringness be over?

Last Thursday: More bike, more staremaster, 5 x 15 of push ups, squats, ball bridge-tucks, sit-ups.

Today: 24 minutes on the bike: 8 miles. HR was 160+ for about 20. Then 5 rounds of 4 strict pull ups, 4 strict dips, 10 calf raises, one legged (guess which leg? Kate Moss, or Kate Moss's brother?)

Yoga may change my life.

I just got back from a hot yin yoga class. I don't think one should be allowed to drive after yoga. (Not this kind of yoga, anyway.) Zen, I guess, is the word to describe my state right now. (Helps that the first thing I did upon arriving home was drink a glass of wine.)

After years of thinking I should probably get on the yoga bandwagon, and months of postponing an actual promise to myself, I finally went to a yoga class. It was a slow-stretchy kind of thing, where we avoided using muscles and focused on just stretching, holding each pose for five (5!) minutes. It was hard. It was awesome.

I signed up a first month of unlimited classes, so I must go at least four more times...Just enough to develop a habit, methinks. But I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of this yoga thing, and the biggest barrier -- jumping into a completely unfamiliar scenario -- has been breached. I'm good to go.

I will touch my toes! I will! I will!

Putting the resolutions into practice

So it seems that the past couple months have been the winter of our collective inertia. (Unless Daddy-o is over there secretly hefting the concrete-bucketbells. And I cannot speak to Josey's yoga shenanigans.)

Well, I finally hauled myself back to Le Gymnase this morning. Not as painful as I expected (the getting dressed and getting into the freezing car before coffee and sunrise, I mean). The workout was okay too... Took it a easy in the hopes that I will still be able to move tomorrow. I'll try a few more times this week (including some yoga, if all goes according to plan), and maybe take some new baselines early next week.

For today:

Chin-ups - 3
Jumping chin-ups - 3, 3, 3, 3
Squats - 95 lbs, 5 sets of 6
Presses - 42 lbs, 5 sets of 5
RDLS - 62 lbs, 3 sets of 12
Running: 2 x jog 200m + run 800m (10 minutes. ie: 800 m @ 13 kmph)

Then home for back-to-back lattés.

New Years Revoloution

On the bike at the gym today, 27 minutes 17+ of which were with a heart rate of 165 or more, 2 minutes at 175. Then 5 minutes of STAIRMASTER (which actually makes you STARE). This is all Physio prescribed stuff.

Then 5 sets of 5 reps of 135 bench press. Will up to 145.

Well, Maybe Still Going On

The party, that is.

Drinks and cookies, cookies and drinks!

Today, 10,7, 6 pull ups. Then back to the cookies.

Later...pre sparkler push up Tabata (Japanese for 'Suckah!'):
17,12,12,10,7,6,5,4

Definitely Over

After Physio today:

Bike, 20 minutes HR at 160 (171 for the last 2 minutes).

Bench press, 135 x 5 x5 x5 x5 x5

35 sit-ups

I am allowed to standing no weight hammy curls. 'Cept I am too weak to do them :-)

Party's Over

Off the crutches 6 days ago. Time to get back into things. Remember Overunder, start slowwwww.

I have been doing a daily regimen of Physio exercises twice a day since Nov 17. Its been helpful. Lightweight by the usual standards, but helpful.

Last week I started weight bearing exercises. Again nothing challenging by usual standards, but more than enough for my little Kate Moss leg. Its tiny, and often needs attention.

Yesterday I went back to the Goodlife. It felt good, sort of homey, and I was happy to see a bunch of new douchebags working their phone muscles and grunting in small groups in between sets.

I laid down 12, 6, 5 pull ups just to test the waters. I was a little winded. Hopped on the bike (really quite helpful in my condition) for some perineum abuse. I biked for 20 mins and kept my heart rate between 144 and 161 the whole time. Some stretching afterward and 5 x 10 push ups and sit ups.

Its a small start, and it seems a long way to go judging by how I felt after this, but what are you gonna do? Whimper and die? Did that last month...

A tabata a day

Without much free time and out of the habit of working out, I've scraped together a desperation-style regimen that consists of one simple premise: a tabata a day.

Four minutes. That's all I get/need/do. And I have to do it while Tim's asleep. (When I tried to do it with him around, he ended up on my back while I was doing push-ups. I gave up on round 2.)

I've done one or two every day (except Sunday) for the past week. Eight tabatas. Of any exercise I can think of. I've done squats, sit-ups, push-ups (knees), ham curls on the ball, one-legged bridges, and bench dips.

My total reps for the week: 857. (Per tabata high: squats=154; Per tabata low: push-ups=66.)

Folding time and space

I missed posting last week, but I wanted to capture it for posterity and to try to convince myself that I'm not a total lazy ass. (I've had a cold for two weeks -- the first in years), and that along with Tim's new sleep schedule (make that "sleep" schedule), and I'm pooped to all hell.

Anyway, the workout went something like this:

5 rounds (ostensibly for time; ie: I hurried)

10 squats (95 lb)
10 presses (45 lb)
20 tuck jumps
12 back extensions

I did it in about 18 minutes. Then did some chin-ups. A couple sets of 3, and some jumping pull-ups. Oh, and 4 sets of 400 m at 15 km/hr.

Also, I've been going for runs, with and without Tim. Trying to do something -- anything -- at least every other day. Baba is going home tomorrow, though, so it's going to get harder to do stuff.

Squats and 400's

Another repeater, so I have stats to compare with.

The workout:

4 rounds for time:
Run 400 m
50 squats

My time: 12:20.

Compare with last time: 14:20

Confessions: I didn't look at the workout post before doing this one; I just remembered I'd done something like it before. So a) I did it backwards and squatted first then ran the 400 m, which, after the first round I don't think it would matter much, and b) I actually did 5 rounds this time, and completed the total in 15:35. Then went for an easy 20 minute jog and met up with Baba and Tim at the park.

Deets

Well, its been 48 hours since surgery and things seem to be going fine. Not too much pain, swelling appears normal (but there is swelling!) and I can bend and straighten my knee a little. I have made 2 trips down the stairs!

The surgeon let me know that the surgery went well. I kind of figured that out on my own because I was awake for the whole 3 hour procedure. Numb from the waist down, a little groggy with Gravol, but otherwise lucid. There was much snipping, tugging, scraping, drilling and hammering taking place on the other side of the sterile barrier. I could hear everything but saw nothing. I was chatting to the people on the other side. Made a few jokes even! Eventually it was done, the hamstring graft was ratcheted tight and I was stitched up, wrapped up and sent to recover. Recovery was the worst. It was a full 3 hours before I could even twitch a thigh, and I wasn't able to get up for almost 8 hours. We then had a 2 hour drive home. That part was a little dicey, but Ms Hedda was great company and drove fast. No cookies were tossed. Honestly, there were none to toss; at this point I had eaten but 3 chips in 24 hours.

Ms Hedda has also been a saint helping me recover here at home, despite our littlest squatter's every attempt to thwart her; nay, drive her totally insane. Anyway, I will owe her large.

So it will be a long road to get back at things the way I like. Four weeks on crutches (due to the hammering, which was an attempt to stimulate some blood flow in the cartilage on the end of my femur. Oh, it was awesome!). I will see the surgeon on Tuesday, start physio on Thursday and we'll see how things go. I will keep posting the progress!

Ciao

under the knife

In the aftermath, we discovered that those pistol squats came in handy: for getting in and out of the car with one invalid leg sticking out in front...

Can't wait to try out the new ACL!

Ick

Scaled a crossfit Barbara yesterday to this: 5 rounds each for time of 10 pull ups, 20 push ups, 30 sit ups, 40 squats with 2 minutes rest in between each round.

Times were 3:15, 3:05, 3:52, 4:05, 4:52 (have to check these). Lovely. I feel like a hunch-back today.

Hallow e'en treats

Worked out with Kid 2 last night. I, dressed as a bag of jelly beans, chased him, dressed as death's exec. assistant, around the neighbourhood in near 0 temperatures to get from one house to the next trick or treating. Seriously lame hallow e'en house-wise as maybe 10% of the homes in our neighbourhood were feeling it. I really did chase him, screaming, "You can't escape me death! Even death likes candy!"

Today, Sunday's crossfit, scaled then added on to :-)

30 reps of squat clean and jerk with 95 lbs. followed by 2 x 800 m runs at 1% grade on the treadmill (3:10 each run). 23:05 total time (14:05 on the cleans / jerks). Could go heavier and harder next time.

mayfair plaza deadlifts II

press: 90x5, x5, x7.
deadlifts: 240x5.
bench dips: 7,7,12.

and a leisurely swim.

Halloween warm-up

On Saturday, I did this workout again:

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
45 pound thruster, 5 reps
45 pound hang powercleans, 7 reps
45 pound sumo deadlift high-pull, 10 reps

This time in the gym with a proper set-up. But damn, I did fractionally fewer rounds this time...

My result: 13 rounds, with 6 seconds to spare.
Last time: 13 rounds + 5 thruster & 6 cleans

But this time, I finished up with a 7:04 mile. (Treadmill, no grade.)

The next day (Halloween), I escaped for a 55 minute run with no stroller. I loved it. Ran probably in the neighbourhood of 9 km.

Today, I can barely walk. Quad DOMS from hell.