The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

Today feels pretty good when it comes to my fitness challenge.  It started off with a small, CE-friendly breakfast (Kashi Go Lean), then off of the gym with a plan to hit the 8:30am spin class.  Turns out the class was full, so I hit the weights instead.  My triceps and delts are still sore from my last upper body split, so I focused on lower body.  Front squats, split squats, lunges to start (only two sets each though) then hit the machines for leg extensions and leg curls.  I topped it off with some core stuff - back extensions and hanging leg raises (with twists).  Feeling pretty good, I grabbed a bike in the 9:30 spin class and got my cardio in too.

It has been quite a while since I did a full-blown double RT/CT session like that, and I can't remember the last time I did front squats.  They seem to help me keep proper form - I have a tendency to lean forward during squats and I seem to keep back better with the weight in the front.  This was probably my first time in six months on that evil haning leg raise contraption too - but it felt pretty good!  All in all, a good day so far!

Tuesday tends to be a day off from working out for me.  I've convinced my wife to take a pilates class on Tuesdays, so I'm on munchkin duty until 8pm and then usually on bedtime story duty after that, which can stretch as late as 9:30pm before things settle down.  It's not a problem at all - although there are nights like tonight where I could really use an opportunity to blow off some steam and energy at the gym.  But even without working out, there's still time to obsess about food.

I am on a gradual campaign to eliminate all the artificial and excessively-processed foods from our household.  OK, maybe not all of them, but the vast majority.  As a result, my collection of crazy kitchen equipment is growing - I now have a waffle iron (better to make fresh than buy frozen - oatmeal protein waffles anyone?), a rice cooker (for hassle-free brown rice) and a huge collection of free-range chicken carcasses, lovingly collected over the past few months, waiting to be made into stock.  I made a batch of whole-wheat pitas last weekend.  You can bet that I will be sneaking a pasta machine in soon as well.  And with all that, on Tuna Tuesday, I ended up buying a tuna sandwich on whole wheat at the company cafeteria.  Too lazy to even make my own sandwich.  Sheesh.

It's been kind of a good news/bad news weekend when it comes to the challenge.  I've booked three CT sessions, all spin classes, because the timing just worked out well for them and it's been a bit of a challenge synching up the schedules to get those classes in.  And honestly, I think it is a better workout in terms of cardio and weight loss than my fat-ass self huffing on a treadmill for 20 minutes or so.

That said, I do have two reasons I should be getting the running in - my 100km objective, and finishing the C25K program that I'm well into.  In order to hit the 100km, I need to do about 21 runs in the remaining 47 days.  That math is getting kind of tight, unless I can start running outside in the cold evenings, or making some other change.

Today, I did a couple of km after my spin class, and I don't see that as a viable solution at all unless I want to be scraped off the treadmill and dumped in a heap outside the gym by their cleaning staff.  And that is not my goal.

Right now, the running thing is a secondary goal, and the focus will remain on the major goals of CT's, RT's, and clean eating.  The 5% weight loss is also a priority.

Since today is a day off from exercise (Tuesday and Thursday are typically off) I figured a mention of my eating habits might be warranted.  A few principles I'm following include ALWAYS eating breakfast (usually Kashi Go Lean Crunch w/milk, or a protein shake), eating small snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and keeping portion size down.  I've really noticed a difference in how much I eat when I'm not going even hours between lunch and dinner!

Today I lucked into a chick pea salad as a side dish at lunch.  I had no idea how healthy chick peas (aka garbanzo beans) really are!  Lots of protein, some fiber, and a very reasonable amount of calories for an adult-sized serving.  Some onion, bell pepper, and vinaigrette, and I was good to go!!!  I'm going to try out this recipe next time - the humble garbanzo bean may become a staple during this challenge!

Wednesday marked the first day of the challenge and I marked it by eating clean and getting in another midnight run on the treadmill.  The stamina, once again, pretty much sucked during the running - I'm not sure that the late-night stuff is working all that well for me.  However, it's better than the alternative of going all week without darkening the door of the gym.  I think it's about time to move on to week eight on the C25K sched, although the 25 minutes is a real struggle without a minute or two of walking in the middle.  Maybe I'll do another week at the week 7 level before ratcheting it up to 28 minutes.  I really want to get to the 5k/3.1 mile mark over the next few runs - I've hit 2.9 miles and Wednesday was a 2.6 mile day before I bailed.  45 crunches on the swiss ball before hitting the showers was my punishment for wimping out...

I got in my run today - probably week six day three although with my wimpy performance lately it's tough to tell.  I did 2.9 miles (including warm-up and cool-down), and ran for about 25 minutes (actual run time) plus a 90-second break at about 16 minutes.  It actually is feeling good now to run for that duration - I've found a pace that I can keep up and my heart rate settles in right around 150bpm and stays there in steady-state.  Today, I did a few minutes faster, including a 30-second sprint at the end, and it all seemed to go well.  

The next 52-day challenge starts Wednesday, so I need to figure out what my resistance training schedule is going to look like (along with my clean eating menu).  I'm looking forward to it - my weight has kind of plateaued (although I's seeing continued progress in the way clothes are fitting) and I really want to jump-start some weight loss with the goal of losing about 13 lbs by the end of the year (a little more than 6% of by BW).  My last challenge, I dropped that much, so I know it's possible, as long as I stay away from beer and fast food.

Friday, I managed to get in a run right after work (and before leaving to see the Skydiggers, a "quintessential Canadian folk rock band" according to the promo materials.  The run was great - night-and-day difference from the last couple in terms of my ability to get into a "zone" and feel like I could run all day!  I got my 25 minutes in, interrupted only by the short break as I watched my Creative Zen MP3 player dislodge itself from the headphone cord, drop to the belt, bounce around a bit and go hurtling off the end of the belt at an indicated speed of 6.5 mph.  Thankfully, I was able to resist the urge to stop running and try to grab it from between my feet (preventing me from becoming the 6.5mph projectile) and paused the belt in a controlled manner instead!  I don't remember exactly what was playing at the time, but the Zen seems none the worse for wear.

Oh, and the 'Diggers show was outstanding!  Today was a Spin day, and Sunday may be another, then C25K again on Monday.  That's the plan...

My five-hour adventure putting the pool cover on for the winter kind of took over my day Monday, preventing me from getting in my run that day. Between the five hours on my knees on hard concrete (did I mention it took FIVE FREAKIN' HOURS?), two hours freezing at the Oktoberfest/Thanksgiving Parade, and shortened holiday hours at the gym, the 25-minute run wasn't going to happen.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be the midnight run after my M&A class - maybe with the full-body machine circuit as well.  (1 set per machine, as heavy as I can move for 8-10 reps, and you can get an approximation of a full-body workout in about a half hour!)

On a happier note, I did a "proper" upper-body workout using free weights and cables on Saturday.  My strength is increasing noticeably on the seated row and presses (chest and shoulder/military), and holy smokes, I think I see definition starting in my shoulders and pecs!  I felt that great, honest burn in the back and chest on Sunday, and I could feel it in my neck during my Sunday AM spin class (which was a little disconcerting - I could imagine my arms giving out, me falling off the bike and starting a thirty-bike chain reaction similar to dominoes falling!)

After my disaster on Wednesday, I snuck out for another run on Friday evening.  It went a little better - I made it about 22 minutes of running (plus a 2-minute recovery after the first 15) and covered about 4.1km including my warm-up and recovery walking.  At this point, the C25K schedule seems a little bit like nonsense - I'm just running as far as I can for as long as I can and then adding it all up at the end.  I won't consider week 7 over until I hit 25 minutes of running non-stop - this may take a while.

Tonight was W7D1, and it was a bust.  I did end up putting in about 2.6 miles (important in meeting my 200km goal for the fourth quarter of 2009) but from the first 30 seconds of the run I just wasn't feeling it.  REALLY wasn't feeling it  -my legs were sore, my breathing was way too heavy, and everything felt kind of leaden.  Last Wednesday was the same, maybe the late starts (after my night class) just aren't conducive to getting my C25K workouts in.  But it is IMPORTANT, so I will carry on!

I've finished week 6 of the C25K, although I came up short in my 25-minute run yesterday.  I got to 17 minutes, took a 2-minute recovery pause, then did eight more minutes (including the one-minute self-assessed penalty for wimping out!)  Ocverall, with warm-up and cool-down, I hit the 5k distance for the first time (3.1 miles on the treadmill). 

I was almost ready to pass on the whole thing - I'd done the W6D2 run (8 min run/3 min recovery/8 minutes run) on Saturday, then a killer spin class on Sunday; my shins were sore, my legs felt like jello, and I was overall just feeling drained.  The gym was busier than I'd ever seen before, just to top it off - I was ready to go home instead.  I'm glad I did stick it out; even with the unscheduled pause at the 2./3 mark, I felt it was a great run and another step forward!

I'm going to log my distance for the last three months of the year with a goal of hitting 200km, or 120 miles, over that period of time.  i'm at about 5.75 miles so far, with the next run on Wednesday night.