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Training blog - page 14
Day eighty eight: Wednesday 3 May 2006
Bike. At last, the weather seems to be improving! On my winter training bike, I took the opportunity to do some more fundraising during today's ride, however, I stopped more times than expected; a combination of asking people for sponsorship and also heavy rush hour traffic. Surprisingly, my computer indicated an average speed of 15.2mph over 44.46 miles.
My legs felt very good, especially when powering up hills. I cycled well within myself, at an intensity to benefit aerobic efficiency, with nothing of note assisting anaerobic efficiency.
Day eighty nine: Thursday 4 May 2006
Rest day.
Day ninety: Friday 5 May 2006
Gym. Mixed fortunes today at the gym. Firstly, I warmed up with calf raises which I performed very well; doing these first meant that my feet were not slippery in my training shoes. I raised one set of 15 reps at 120kg followed by two sets of 10 reps at 90kg. The reason why I have temporarily reduced weight load is due to my instructor noticing that over time, I had subconsciously diverted from the proper calf raise technique. As soon as I become reacclimatised to the correct position, I will work back up to 120kg. I can say though that my calfs seemed to be worked significantly more than previous weeks.
I continued to leg press 250kg, although I didn't quite manage 3 sets of 10 reps. However, I came very close; pressing two sets of 10 plus 6 reps of the final set. Better news on the upright rowing bar; I lifted the weight of the bar plus 5kg total weight disks for two complete sets of 15 reps and 10 reps of the second set. Again, agonisingly close (like leg presses) to completing all three sets. A significant improvement on both exercises.
Next came leg extensions and my quadriceps lifted the usual three sets of 10 reps at 80kg. 'Superman' ball raises were unchanged at 2 sets of 20 reps, using alternate arms and legs.
In regards to leg curls, my hamstrings were hurting excessively so I backed off after doing 1 set of 10 reps at 55kg. I will be speaking to my instructor very soon for advice on whether to revert back to 50kg; I have not improved at the new weight load. Inner thigh squeezes were unchanged at two sets of 20 reps at 155lbs, as were outer thigh pushes at 2 sets of 20 reps at 110lbs.
I attempted to pull down 20kg with my triceps but feel that my weakened elbow was still not ready to pull an extra 5kg. I managed 3 reps at 20kg before performing the usual three sets of 20 reps at 15kg. Torso twists were unchanged at two sets of 20 reps per side at 25kg. Ditto on hip flexor raises at three sets of 15 reps at 45.3kg.
Keen to improve on total hip kickbacks, I attempted these at a new weight resistance of 73kg. They key to doing these kickbacks successfully is to keep the body as still as possible and kickback a straight leg without using the rest of the torso as leverage. I managed these fairly easily.
Finally, another piece of positive news came on pullovers; I used a 15kg dumbell and managed two sets of 20 reps without too many problems. My weakened elbow hurt for the first 5 reps only. I'm still one set short of a full effort though but have to be happy with this improvement considering this was the first session with a heavier dumbell. I left today's session with aching calf muscles.
Day ninety one: Saturday 6 May 2006
Rest day.
Day ninety two: Sunday 7 May 2006
Bike. My calf muscles continue to ache from Friday's gym session. Today, I cycled at an aerobic intensity. Due to wet roads I chose to use the winter training bike. With my legs feeling strong, I cycled 42.50 miles at an average speed of 17.3mph. Approximately three miles from Norwich (on the return journey), I had a near miss with a wild rabbit. It was being hunted by a bird and in a moment of panic/survival mode, almost ran across the road two or three metres in front of me. Fortunately, thanks to being fully focused on the ride, I managed to spot the potential hazard in advance. I currently have a total of six gear combinations available to me; both chainrings combined with the three lowest rear sprockets.
Within the next 7/14 days, I will be starting hill intervals on my other bike and am currently using the training rides not only to clock mileage in my legs but to hopefully discover additional gradients which will improve hill climbing ability.
Day ninety three: Monday 8 May 2006
Rest day.
Day ninety four: Tuesday 9 May 2006
Bike. Yesterday, I was fundraising for pretty much the whole morning and early afternoon, before heading to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for an appointment with the Orthopaedic Surgeon. He was very pleased with the progress I have made and has said that no further appointment with him is necessary. I reiterated my desire to not have the one remaining K-wire removed until after I have come back from the French Alps at the earliest.
A note about "rest days". I am usually fundraising on these days and to travel to certain areas means using my bike, so although this training blog does not indicate this, I am normally on my bike on most days.
Firstly, I decided to have a training ride today, at a steady pace, which was hindered in any case by rush hour traffic. I cycled 36.24 miles at an average speed of 15.8mph. This mileage included today's visit to the gym and the return journey home.
Gym. Today's gym visit went very well, with the exception of leg presses.
Firstly, I calf raised 3 sets of 15 at 90kg using the correct technique then moved on to the leg press aparatus where after 3 reps at 250kg, I sustained a tweak in the abductor area (right leg). I immediately abandoned these for the day. No change on leg extensions. Good news about the upright rowing bar; I have now reached two sets of 15 plus 12 reps of the final set at bar weight plus 5kg weight disk. So close! As usual, 'Superman' ball raises were unchanged.
Regarding leg curls, I spoke with an instructor who agreed it would be best to revert back to 50kg; my gluteus muscles would benefit more from a complete curl than half a curl. In any case, I have reached the target of 50kg set by my instructor.
On inner thigh squeezes, I have increased weight resistance from 155lbs to 160lbs and found the extra 5lbs manageable. Outer thigh pushes were unchanged. Tricep pulldowns were unchanged, as were torso twists.
The only exercises not attempted today were pullovers, hip flexor raises and total hip kickbacks.
On the next visit, I will be aiming to increase outer thigh pushes to 115lbs and should at last be able to do three sets of 15 reps at the current weight on the upright rowing bar.
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