Training blog - page 6

Day thirty two: Wednesday 8 March 2006

Rest day.

Day thirty three: Thursday 9 March 2006

Gym.  A very good session at the gym today.  I chose to use the exercise bike for a quick five minute 130rpm warm up, simply to minimise the risk of any leg injuries.  Firstly, I was introduced to an exercise called hip flexor raise.  I did one set of 15 at 31.7kg per leg, but was advised to do 3 sets of 15 per leg.  I decided to do just one set today then start these on the next visit.  Another new exercise followed; total hip kickbacks.  Again, I did one set of 15 at 36.2kg per leg but will be increasing these on Monday 13 March.

I did my usual leg presses, but unknowingly (until I had done 2 sets of 10) managed 165kg, because two of the disks I placed on the aparatus were 20kg ones rather than 25.  It was only when I looked up that I noticed they were thinner than the weights I usually use.  Once I realised, for the third set of 10, I decided to not only replace the two 20kg disks, but added a 10kg disk to the usual 175kg total load.  No change on leg extensions.  For calf raises, I was advised to go down to the June target weight load of 120kg but do sets of 15 reps instead of of 10.  I managed these, but feel my calf muscles will take a few weeks to adjust.  Next, I tried some tricep pulldowns at the usual resistance of 20kg, because I only wish to tone the arms, not build muscle bulk.  I'm please to say that I did two sets of 15 reps but should be able to do the full 3 sets of 20 next visit.  I experienced only mild pain through the broken elbow.  'Superman' ball raises were unchanged, as this is primarily a balancing exercise (core stability) only.  Inner thigh squeezes were at an unchanged weight load but squeezed 3 sets of 15 reps in two stages; stopping halfway through the range of travel before completing the rep, so that my thighs were feeling the full resistance.  Outer thigh squeezes were also unchanged but did 3 sets of 15 reps at 100lbs.  Torso twists were unchanged, as this is also another toning exercise which benefits my particular riding style.  Leg curls were another exercise in which there was no change.  Finally, I did try some pullovers but found after three reps at 10kg that my elbow and thumb were not quite ready to resume this particular exercise.  I'll try again next Monday though; after all I'm hoping I'll have more movement in these joints.

Day thirty four: Friday 10 March 2006

Rest day.

Day thirty five: Saturday 11 March 2006

Yoga.  With my arm/thumb injuries still healing, there remain some exercises I cannot do, such as ones which involve using my arms to support my whole body weight.  An example would be a hand balance.  I have discovered some new exercises which will help with toning different parts of my body and also assist with effective breathing.  I am hoping this will become useful in the mountains, where breathing becomes more and more difficault, the greater the altitude.

For today's session, I started with a Mountain pose (Tadasana) in an Iyengar yogic form, then successfully performed a Warrior pose II (Virabhadrasana).  I then went on to do some Kripalu yoga, firstly a Simple pigeon pose (Kapotasana), stages 1 and 2.  Some Viniyoga exercises followed, namely a forward stretch, standing forward bend which I repeated a total of five times, upward legs and arm stretch; again repeated five times,a bridge pose with the same number of repetitions, a cobra pose x 5, a knee to chest pose five times and finally to wind down from the session, a corpse pose which I held for approximately four to five minutes.

Overall, I feel I am starting to reap the benefits of Yoga.  Each and every time I perform different exercises, I notice my body attempting to adjust to new rigours.  I will be increasing the number of Yoga sessions every week and will be looking to increase the number of different exercises I can do at this moment in time.

Day thirty six: Sunday 12 March 2006

Bike.  I decided to participate in the Sunday Velo Club Norwich club run today, mainly to see where I am at in terms of endurance on the bike.  I clocked 50.18 miles at an average speed of 15.2mph.  I did start to tire after approximately 45 miles, so this served as a stark reminder of the work ahead in getting fit enough to ride 106 miles in June.

In regards to an overall assessment of where I am at at the present time, I would say I'm in the region of three to four weeks behind with work on the bike, ahead of schedule if not on schedule in the gym (most exercises) and two weeks behind on Yoga.

I will make every effort to be ready for the 20 June.  However, due to limitations imposed on me by the accident, it may be necessary to put the ride back to the first week in August (at the latest).  If I had not resumed training so soon after breaking one of my elbows, I'm sure I would be looking at a date in September or October.  A final decision on a date for the ride will be taken on 15 April 2006, but as it stands, I am firmly focused on reaching decision day first.   In the meantime, of course I will continue to follow my six month training plan and do my utmost to claw back the four weeks.

Day thirty seven: Monday 13 March 2006

Gym.  Today, I did a two and a half hour session at Lakenham Sports and Leisure Centre.  Firstly, I spent approximately 25 minutes on the exercise bike, warming up the legs for the massive stress I was about to put on them.   I did my usual 3 sets of 10 reps leg presses, but this time at an increased weight load of 190kg; my June target of 200kg is now well within sight!  I expect to be able to leg press at least 250kg by June, which will give me significant leg strength for the mountains. 

Of course though, it is not all about leg presses; other exercises strengthen different but equally important muscles, which are crucial in performing leg presses.  As usual, leg extensions followed, but again I decided to test my legs by increasing to 60kg; only 10kg short of the target set.  My legs coped admirably, only starting to significantly struggle about 5 reps into the third and final set.  The next exercise was calf raises (three sets of fifteen reps), where I again kept the weight disk load at 120kg.  I am now starting to feel an incredible aching/burning sensation ripping through the calf muscles, I guess due to the increased number of reps per set.  "No pain no gain" now goes through my mind when working on this part of my legs but I am sure I'll reap the rewards when grinding up the unforgiving and relentless gradients. 

All other exercises were unchanged with the exception of hip flexor raises and total hip kickbacks; on this visit I did a full 3 sets of 15 per leg on each newly introduced workout.

Day thirty eight: Tuesday 14 March 2006

Rest day.

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