Training blog - The Pyrenees - page 3 

Day fifteen: Friday 6 April 2007

Rest day.

Day sixteen: Saturday 7 April 2007

Bike.  Another ride today on the Trek Madone, this time covering 37.2 miles.

At the time of writing this, I am much the same weight as a few weeks ago, a good 2 stone overweight.  Today I was constantly marvelling the bike and spent much of the ride simply astonished at how effortless it was to record a decent speed.  Obviously with the excess weight, I am relatively unfit and will certainly be much better conditioned by the time I fly to the Pyrenees.

Needless to say though, I was very encouraged by the average speed of 18.9mph which I am extremely happy with at this stage.  However, much work is to come over the months, especially as I am also teaching myself photography; I would love to return to the UK with some breathtaking pictures to show everyone who is following my progress.

To sum my bike up, it eats miles up rapidly and it doesn't feel as if I'm going fast until I look down at the speed readings!  I'll say it again, the bike is awesome and will definately help me in the mountains as it makes gradients not as steep.  It's a very fast road bike, even for someone as unfit as myself.  I can only improve as the excess weight comes off.

Day seventeen: Sunday 8 April 2007

Rest day.

Day eighteen: Monday 9 April 2007

Rest day.

Day nineteen: Tuesday 10 April 2007

Gym.  Today I felt fairly fresh, having two consecutive days of rest and recuperation.  As was the case in my preparations for the French Alps, such days will gradually become few and far between.  However, I continue to experience sporadic discomfort in my lower back area.

I did the following workouts today:-

Leg extensions:  3 sets of 10 reps at 65kg (+5kg).

Calf raises:  2 sets of 15 reps plus 1 set of 15 at 85kg (n/a).

Rear crucifix raises:  3 sets of 10 reps at 5kg per arm (0).

Inner thigh squeezes:  2 sets of 20 reps at 160lbs (+5lbs).

Outer thigh pushes:  2 sets of 20 reps at 110lbs (+15lbs).

Tricep pulldowns:  2 sets of 20 reps plus 1 set of 15 at 20kg (0).

Kneeling 'Superman' raises:  2 sets of 20 reps (n/a).

Reverse curls (lifts):  2 sets of 30 reps (+5 reps per set).

I left the gym with an acute pain in my right AC bone (the hump which connects the collarbone with the shoulder.  Other than that, I experienced no niggles or discomfort.

Day twenty: Wednesday 11 April 2007

Rest day.

Day twenty one: Thursday 12 April 2007

Gym.  Today, I still experienced pain in the right hand side AC bone, so I was cautious not to over work this area of my body. 

Here's a list of exercises completed today:-

Leg press:  3 sets of 10 reps at 200kg (+15kg).

Close grip chins:  1 set of 8 reps 1 set of 5 and 1 set of 4 at resistance setting '8' (n/a).

Leg curls:  3 sets of 10 reps at 50kg (0).

Ab crunch machine:  2 sets of 20 reps at 50kg (n/a).

Side frame crunches:  2 sets of 20 reps per side (n/a).

Dorsal raises:  2 sets of 20 reps (0).

Kneeling 'Superman' raises: 2 sets of 20 reps (0).

Front planks:  2 reps at 20 seconds (0).

As seen above, I incorporated several "never done before" new workouts into my plan.  Close grip chins were very difficault; my upper body is severely lacking strength and there is lots of room for improvement here.  I have no desire to add muscle mass to my upper torso, simply tone and condition it.  In cycling (especially in the mountains), muscle bulk is a liability.

In addition, I was unable to do the usual 6 front plank reps, as the elbow which I broke last year was particularly painful today.

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