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Training blog - page 26
Day one hundred and seventy two: Wednesday 26 July 2006
Gym. Firstly, an update on ride planning, which has an effect on training.
Today, I have booked the flight from London Stansted airport. Keen to get the best possible deal, it has not been possible to finalise this part of the ride until now. I am pleased to confirm that I will be flying out to Lyon-Grenoble airport on Wednesday 9 August and am due to return to England on Monday 14 August. This will mean that my final day of proper training will be Wednesday 2 August.
I performed nine workouts at Lakenham Sports and Leisure Centre. My body was not too resistant to today's efforts.
To start, I managed three sets of 15 reps on the calf raise machine, using a weight load of 105kg. Shortly afterwards, I did three full sets of 10 reps on the leg extension aparatus, with the resistance set at the current level of 90kg.
Next, I performed seven exercises in the main room starting with 'Superman' ball raises. As is usual, I did two sets of 20 reps. Tricep pulldowns followed, with three sets of 20 reps performed at 25kg. However, managing the full 60 reps was a struggle on this occasion; maybe my triceps were a little tired after Monday's session.
Torso twists came next. Again, I managed the full two sets of 25 reps per side against a resistance of 25kg. Similarly, full sets were achieved on inner thigh squeezes (two sets of 20 reps at 180lbs) and outer thigh pushes (again two sets of 20 reps at 120lbs).
The final two exercises performed were hip flexor raises, where I managed to do the now usual three sets of 15 reps per leg at 52 kg resistance and total hip kickbacks (three sets of 15 reps per leg at 88.4kg resistance).
Exercises not attempted today: leg press, upright rowing bar, dumbell pullovers, leg curls and ab crunch machine.
To complete today's efforts, I performed two sets of 30 hand grips followed by the same number of reps / sets of ab crunches and reverse curls.
Day one hundred and seventy three: Thursday 27 July 2006
Rest day.
Day one hundred and seventy four: Friday 28 July 2006
Rest day.
Day one hundred and seventy five: Saturday 29 July 2006
Bike. Although the previous two entries have been noted as "rest days", I have been out riding my bike to and from the shops, so extra mileage has been accumulated, albeit only a 12 mile round trip per commute.
Today, I used my mountain-bound Specialized road bike for a ride consisting of 4 hours and 10 minutes in the saddle, 71.4 miles at an average speed of 17.2 mph. My legs felt very heavy and lazy. I physically needed to keep pressing on the pedals to get them to wake up.
The weather was good; broken cloud with hazy sun and a light to moderate wind.
I have one final ride on my Specialized bike planned, which will exceed 100 miles. Further mileage will be clocked on the winter training bike when I visit more fundraising destinations, as I bid to reach the £3,000 mark before heading to France.
No more designated rest days are planned before training ends on Wednesday 2 August; the next four days will be a final push before I give my body seven days rest. I will be spending the period Wednesday 2 August to Wednesday 9 August making final checks on my bike, fitting new tyres and brake pads, packing the bike and everything else I need in advance.
Further visits to Lakenham Sports Centre are planned for the forthcoming Monday, plus three other sessions on the exercise bike only, where I will be doing some very low resistance work. The idea here is to not overwork my legs but to keep them involved in a cycling rhythm. My body should be very refreshed with the week's rest, ready to take on the task in hand.
I will also be giving my 30th pint of blood on Friday 4 August; haemoglobin count (red blood cells) should almost be back to normal by 9 August.
Day one hundred and seventy six: Sunday 30 July 2006
Yoga. I put an already aching body through a double session of yoga today; classic and Viniyoga. Today's workout will be the penultimate session with a final series of postures planned for Tuesday 1 August.
I started with two sets of 30 ab crunches on the exercise mat.
Moving on to classic yogic poses, I started with a three minute corpse pose, quickly followed by a series of neck and eye yogic exercises. A 20 second cobra pose (Bhujangasana) came next, with the fifth and sixth postures being a 15 second per leg half locust pose (Ardha Salabasana) on which I performed two reps per leg and a locust pose (Salabasana). Again, I held this posture for 15 seconds. In regards to the cobra pose, I am now finding that my vertebrae and spine are more flexible and am consequently able to look to the ceiling in a more vertical line to my chest.
The next group of poses were a 30 second head to knee pose (Janusirshasana) and a 1 minute forward bending pose (Paschimothanasana). One of my favourite postures was performed next; a shoulder stand (Sarvangasana). The feeling this posture gives is amazing now that I perfected it. My body is now flexible enough for every part to stand vertically up to shoulders, neck and head.
I performed a 30 second fish pose (Matsyasana) next and concluded classic yoga postures with a 1 minute yogic seal (Yoga mudra).
A series of Viniyoga postures were attempted next. A standing forward bend (5 reps) was performed first followed by an upward legs and arms stretch (5 reps). The third posture performed was a bridge pose (5 reps), with the fourth being the Viniyoga variation of the cobra pose (5 reps).
I concluded tonight's session with a knee to chest pose (5 reps) and settled into another 3 minute corpse pose.
Day one hundred and seventy seven: Monday 31 July 2006
Bike. With the intention of leaving my bike locked up in a busy high street, it was not an opportunity to ride my Specialized (mountain-bound) bike today.
I cycled a total of 78.89 miles and averaged 16.3 mph, as I took a rather convoluted route to get to Thetford in order to fundraise.
Occasional rain showers cooled my body and provided welcome relief from the relentless humidity. The last two or three weeks have provided much needed practice in relation to acclimatising to oppressive, sultry conditions which I will no doubt experience in the Alps.
My legs felt ok today with only occasional minor aches and pains experienced. Average speed prior to my arrival at the gym was 16.7 mph over a distance of 72.5 miles.
Gym. On the way home from fundraising, I visited the gym for a session lasting in the region of 2 hours.
There was little point of comtemplating leg presses, calf raises or leg extensions after a 72 mile ride. Upon arrival, I immediately approached the inner thigh squeeze machine and although I managed the full two sets of 20 reps at 180 lbs resistance, my legs certainly reminded me of today's mileage. I had no option but to grit my teeth and call on my inner strength to complete the last 10 reps of the final set.
Outer thigh pushes came next. However, I could only manage one full set of 20 reps at 120lbs as this part of my body virtually seized after the worked muscle groups burned for what seemed like an eternity.
I found a nearby 'Superman' ball and duly performed the usual two sets of 20 reps without any difficaulty. Then came 25kg resistance torso twists (two sets of 25 slow reps) followed by tricep pulldowns. Unfortunately, I could only manage two full sets of 20 reps followed by a last set of only 10 reps.
My legs seemed to struggle significantly on the leg curl machine; I could only manage two sets of 10 reps at 50kg resistance. Most of the reps reached about 80% distance of full travel. The next aparatus used was the ab crunch machine, where I managed the full set of 30 reps at a weight load of 50kg.
This evening's gym session was brought to a close on the upright rowing bar machine. Again, I could do a full number of sets and reps. The first set was a full 15 reps but the middle set only consisted of 8 reps before my body and also mind told me to stop for the day. A quick glance at the wall mounted clock revealed the time was 8.00pm.
Day one hundred and seventy eight: Tuesday 1 August 2006
Yoga. Today was the final yoga session of the seven months training and I signed off with a session of Hatha yoga. Before starting the postures, I did two sets of 30 handgrips.
I started with a mountain pose (tadasana) which was held for one minute. The next posture was an open angle pose (Upavista Konasana) which I again held for 60 seconds.
A reclining pose called a legs up the wall pose (Viparita Karani) followed (1 minute) together with a bridge pose (Setu Bandhasana), in which I remained for approximately 35 seconds.
The next couple of postures performed were a downward-facing dog pose (Adho Mukha Savasana), which I held for 1 minute and a spinal twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana) for 30 seconds.
I concluded the yoga training with a tree pose (Vrksasana) on each leg (held for 1 minute per leg) followed by one of my favourite postures; a 60 second child's pose (Mudhasana).
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