2015 Exercise Log/Challenge

[Crankin]

Rested fully, yesterday. Today I went to the step/sculpt class, which was not quite as crowded, so cooler. I placed my step as close to the huge fan as possible. It was a good class.
I had plans to hike with a friend this afternoon, but she hates cold and it was 20 and cloudy, so we went to the mall and slowly walked/browsed. I did get to see my cousin who works at Nordstrom's and I bought some make up from her, and at least she got her commission for that! My friend would have been OK with snow shoeing, but there is just a crust of icy snow on the trails. Put in an email to my PT. I hope he's still there. I noticed he was not on the McKenzie list any more, but I think that's because he only has a bachelors degree. There's another McKenzie woman I saw for a neck issue, but I didn't like her (she wanted to hug me when my neck got better, yuck) or the owner of the place, who's kind of a religious nut. She did good work, so I'll go if I have to... hoping Walter gets back to me. If not, I'll call over to the chiro office where he has his practice 2 days a week.

[Catrin]

Good luck on getting help from your McKenzie guy!

My thumb arthritis has really flared up - or at least the pain has. The OTHER hand looks much worse, and the thumb is actually less functional, but it doesn't hurt. So I will be getting a bit of hand therapy that will hopefully help. Ironically, this apparently came about because I decided that I wanted to try a less strong/less toxic anti-inflammatory. After two months of failed experimentation I am back on the strongest dose and it isn't working as well as it once did. Perhaps it would have been that way anyway, the x-ray results will be interesting. NO signs of carpel tunnel which is a good thing.

Full rest day today prior to our trial competition tomorrow night. Last night I did a competition set, in that we did a full 10 minute set with only one hand switch. I was going for time though, not volume, so I limited my volume. That won't happen tomorrow night Whether I compete on Feb 7 will be determined on whether I aggravate my bicep tendonitis or strained tendon (different arms) tomorrow night or not. Crossing my finger on that one - I've been cleared but you never know until you do it!

[VeganBikeChick]

Back running again. Was out of commission the last 3 weeks from back to back illnesses. I'm saddened at how quickly my limited fitness deteriorated. Hoping it will be enough motivation to keep going.

[Catrin]

It is good to see more of us checking in. I am still in Tennessee, and I did bring a kettlebell in case I had time and space to do some work. I rose early this morning with that in mind and started on my usual joint mobility work. Didn't feel good though, and my right bicep tendon barked a bit - since I hardly had room to do my mobility work I decided to call it good and stopped. I DID do a light kb workout Thursday morning before leaving, but it was far below my usual intensity. I will return tomorrow, weather permitting, and things will get back to normal.

Competition is two weeks from today, and my cranky shoulders and biceps are probably appreciating the break.

[Crankin]

I can't post on the spreadsheet on my phone, but we skied about 3 hours today.
Conditions were better than I expected, but even when we were pretty high up, there were tricky patches of ice. I am hurting. My waist pack was killing my hip before lunch. DH fixed it, but when we were done, I could barely move. I am so stiff, lower back, hip, one hamstring. I stretched, took a jacuzzi, and now, lying on heating pad. Quite concerned about my trip next month. I will get some pt and pray that I am not falling apart! My groin hurts, too.
We did some tough climbing.

[Helene2013]

The training I had posted just above was sooooo hard. I thought I'd die. My HR was just past the peaking point, my legs were sore, my knees started to "burn". Hubby did the same training on his trainer to encourage me. But he did it with higher watts as he is stronger (better shape) than me. He found it too hard too. He told me to slow down. Forget reaching the 160w for now. It is only my 3rd real training day on bike since knee injury this past November.

I just could not see myself "fail" that training. But I did in a way. I was able to keep most of the 160w for 2 minutes. But I flunked in the 4th of 6 - only that one. And in the "recup" for a minute at 140w I just could not keep it up enough.

Anyway, it was not a training I enjoyed at all. I had to slow down towards the end of the 5th cycle as I felt some "heat" in the chest. That was enough. But I gave all I had for the 6th one as I knew it was cool down after. My heart rate kept almost to 169 all 52 minutes of training. It pushed to 172 at the highest. My norm is around at 153 when I work hard.

Told my trainer that this is just too much. I'm not there yet. I was sore all evening, chest was still hurting (not a danger one but one I did not feel comfy with). I had a bad night because of the leg "pain". I felt like some "buzzing" all night in those legs. haha

I have to say we are also into kitchen remodeling (we are making our own wood counter from scratch) so there were a lot of stairs to get stuff, etc. It did not help that I have been on the move most of the day prior to training.

This morning I am better but trust me, I won't do much but work on that counter and no stairs. haha

[Crankin]

So, woke up in the middle of the night, feeling really sore, but now it is not so bad. We toyed with the idea of driving right home after breakfast, but the 4 of us decided to head south and ski the morning at Waterville Valley and then head home after lunch. A big blizzard is coming tomorrow night and we have to snow blow from the storm yesterday and grocery shop.
Even my ribs feel sore, but we will take it easier today, especially knowing there's going to be a lot of snow around before we go on our trip.
ETA: We got to Waterville Valley and hardly any trails were open, so DH and I went home. We had driven separately from our friends, which was unusual, but DH was eager to get the snow blowing done.
I feel kinda weird. I am praying it's nothing and not the flu or other horrible sh*t.

[Catrin]

Hope you feel better tomorrow Crankin!

I came home today from my unexpected trip to TN for a family funeral. I didn't have a chance/or really the desire to exercise while I was down there so I didn't. As soon as I got home that changed however, after dinner I hit kettlebell herd's cave (the back room) and did a MODERATE workout to get back into the swing of things. I still have one more day off so am planning to hit the gym tomorrow for a cardio workout. It seems strange to do my competition KB training in one gym, and go to another for everything else but that works the best for me. I don't have to pay membership fees where I KB train, so I am not paying double.

[Catrin]

Sounds like a nice change Crankin!

[Helene2013]

Nice fun outing Crankin! It is so cold here too. Weird winter. It does not warm up much and when it does it is only a day. My dogs are starting to get cranky from being inside so much. Even with a coat on all they want is get back inside.

Thursday I did my training. Could not nail it. Way too hard the program my PT/Kin did for me. Told her in an email. I'm seeing her tomorrow night anyway. When your HRate is so high and you cannot complete one rep properly....out of 6, it is not good. I was losing interest in cycling lately.

Anyway, I had a smoother one yesterday but it was still hard. At least I nailed it and it was fun and I was happier. Told her it is the "style" of training she should target. And increase to better/harder as we cycle back into fitness.

Today is my muscle training. It is hard but doable and I like it.

I do have my watt test coming up next Thursday. I have not set my hopes too high on that one yet. I just cannot seem to get back quickly on track after my baker's cyst rupture at the end of November.

[Catrin]

Today, between the weather and Super Bowl, I decided to do my one of my long KB swing/endurance workouts at home once I finally got home for the day. It felt good, though I did pull back on the weight a bit - it would be bad if I tweaked my bicep tendon or the pec minor tendinitis 6 days out from the competition. Perhaps I am finally getting a bit of wisdom

[Crankin]

Yay for wisdom!
The dinner and pe-dinner bar time at the inn was awesome. Really good food. I didn't sleep that well, between weird pillows and my back, but after breakfast we sat and read for a bit and then headed out. It was already 20 degrees and a light breeze, pretty calm. Just about a perfect "bluebird" day. We started out doing the hardest trail I've ever done at this place. Yesterday we did some of it, but today we descended from a higher point. No one fell and it was perfectly groomed. You can actually go up higher, but it becomes a black diamond at that point and while I could climb up, going down what is essentially an alpine ski trail is a bit much for me, as what we did is steep enough. We skied for 1.5 hours, ate lunch, and drove home. Saw lots of people from various cycling groups. It was jammed in the lodge. Gotta go to the grocery store and then head out for dinner. And I just heard my office is closed tomorrow, another storm. Yay!

[Crankin]

I lowered my goal to 100, from 110. There is still the possibility I may make 110, with my ski trip, and all, but looking at my stats from December and January, 100 seems more realistic. I made that last year, and I think I went over by a bit.
Today I worked out in my home gym, doing functional fitness/core/weights with a arm up on the treadmill, and the 3 sets of core/weights were punctuated by descending amounts of either treadmill hill walking/runs or jacks, running in place. Then, I did the flexibility cool down from my dvd, followed by my PT stretches. DH just got back from seeing his ortho doc, as his shoulder has been hurting him from his crash injury, when he does certain things. He got a cortisone shot and a PT prescription. I am getting my PT a lot of business lately.

[Catrin]

Nothing wrong with that Crankin! I hope both of you are feeling better!

Last night our coach really pulled back on us. As he said, we are already conditioned for the competition and the goal this week is to protect our hands and work on technique. We do NOT need to rip a callus this close to the competition

I taped my hand and thumb last night with KT tape before training and it really helped. I can't do that for competition but it certainly felt better!

[Catrin]

After looking at the calendar, and my average of 4 1-hour workouts each week, I cut my number down to 75. If we choose to continue through March I will add them back. I don't do multiple hour workouts like I once did