Mobility, Walking, C25K

I never did get around to doing the Prasara Yoga cool down routine I should have done after my last Lift Heavy Things workout. Yesterday I did my scheduled IntuFlow joint mobility workout. That twenty-three minute routine based on making circles with body parts from your head down to your feet is quite invigorating. I also went for a thirty-four minute, two and a half kilometer walk. For the day I walked in excess of 9K steps. I misplaced my pedometer later in the evening so I'm not sure of the exact total.

Today is a running day. I started with normal combination of an IntuFlow warm up routine and FitSugar's active running warm up routine. Also as usual I added some extra leg swings and toe raises. With my body completely warm I started Couch to Five K Week Four Day Two.

miles/yards km/metres

Stage Distance Time Pace WU 381 metres 5:00 13:05 1 413 metres 3:00 7:15 1R 137 metres 1:30 10:54 2 701 metres 5:00 7:07 2R 182 metres 2:30 13:41 3 394 metres 3:00 7:36 3R 113 metres 1:30 13:15 4 679 metres 5:00 7:21 4R 205 metres 2:30 12:08 CD 355 metres 5:00 14:03 Total 2.83 km 24:00 8:28 inc WU/CD 3.57 km 34:00 9:31

Calories burned: 329

Calories burned (including warm up): 453

This was just a small improvement over my last run, eight seconds per kilometer faster. Including the warm and cool down walking my pace was actually one second per kilometer slower. I should try and keep my walking pace up around 5km/hr for all the warm up, recovery and cool down walking. I finished with twenty minutes of Prasara Yoga. I held each posture of the cool down routine for forty-five seconds. I'm slowly, slowly getting better with the rabbit, kneeling arm thread, and pigeon poses which are the most challenging for me. Tomorrow is another recovery day. I'll do more yoga and walk.

Day Off and then Lift Heavy Things

Today's workout began with nine minute Intu-Flow warmup routine from The Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. I followed that with the following giant set warm up. I did two sets of five reps each. The brief warm up giant set came from Turbulence Training.

• Lying Hip Extensions
• Knee Push Ups
• Stability Ball Leg Curls

I then did two circuits of the following exercise which are from the Primal Blueprint Fitness Lift Heavy Things program. I rested for thirty to sixty seconds between exercises.

1. Knee Push Ups 30, 27
2. 2 Leg Assisted Pull Ups 20, 20
3. Assisted Squats 50, 50
4. Elevated Jack Knife 25, 25
5. Knee-Hand Plank & Side Planks 65-45L-45R,  65-40R-40L (seconds)

Knee push ups first set 20+7+3=30, 17+6+4. Pull ups 20 straight, 13+7. squats 50 straight, 50 straight. EJK 25 straight. 21+4=25 ( mental fatigue more than physical ). Total time 34 minutes plus 4 minutes for the giant set warm up. going to have to skip the Prasara Yoga cool down for now. Miles and I are going to a Furman Football game. Got to shower and jet!

IntuFlow, C25K, Prasara Yoga

I don't seem to be able to post regularly even though I'm working out regularly. Two days ago I did my normal IntuFlow recovery routine. It was a nice twenty-four minute joint mobility program. It always makes me feel better and I hope it is really improving my mobility.

Yesterday I started my warm up at home with a brief IntuFlow routine. A bit later I continued warming up with FitSugar's active warmup for running outside Master Kim's while my son was in Tae Kwon Do class. I did some extra leg swings and toe raises on the curb, too. Then off to run Week Four Day One of the Couch to 5K running program.

miles/yards km/metres

Stage Distance Time Pace WU 408 metres 5:00 12:14 1 412 metres 3:00 7:16 1R 101 metres 1:30 14:47 2 682 metres 5:00 7:19 2R 204 metres 2:30 12:14 3 405 metres 3:00 7:23 3R 115 metres 1:30 12:56 4 657 metres 5:00 7:36 4R 203 metres 2:30 12:16 CD 376 metres 5:00 13:15 Total 2.78 km 24:00 8:36 inc WU/CD 3.57 km 34:00 9:30

Calories burned: 328

Calories burned (including warm up): 453

Even though this was a significant increase in interval lengths, overall distance and time my average pace was almost a minute per KM faster than last time! I'm quite proud of myself especially since I'm only running once every four days. The extra recovery time and recovery routines I've plugged into my program seem to be working. Once I got home I cooled down with eighteen minutes of Prasara Yoga.

Today was recovery only. I did a sixteen minute Prasara Yoga recovery routine. I can actually get fully into all but one of the postures in this routine as opposed to the cool down routine. I have trouble with at least three, maybe four of the postures in the cool down routine.

Yoga, Sprinting and Kettlebells

Yesterday, Sunday 20121007, was a recovery day. I did a brief, sixteen minute Prasara Yoga routine. I also went for a forty-one minute, 3.20KM walk. Total steps for the day 8443.

After a 14 minute warm up with an Intu-Flow routine combined with FitSugar's active warm up for running, today's workout had two main components: sprinting and kettlebell swings. Before getting started started with the sprints I walked between 500M and 600M. The temperature is about 50^°F so I felt the extra warm up was needed.

6 intervals 50M sprinting at 50% speed with 50M walking

6 intervals of 50M sprinting at 80-90% speed with 100M walking

I ran on the football field at Mauldin Middle School while my #1 son, Isaiah, was at his Tae Kwon Do class. By the time I finished running and walking back to my car it was time for me to drive around the corner and pick him up. The combined warmup walk, intervals and walk back to the car was 26 minutes and I covered 1.90KM. After picking up Isaiah, I then stopped to fill up the car's gas tank and drove on home.

When I got home I proceed to do kettlebell swings. First a quick warm up.

5 touch and go reps with 20 pounds at Point A

5 touch and go reps with 20 pounds at Point B

5 reps with 20 pounds full swings

Then on to the work sets.

3 sets of 25 reps with 20 pounds full swings 

Some explanation would probably be helpful. Point A is on the ground a few inches in front of and midway between the toes with feet at shoulder width. Point B is roughly inline with and midway between the heels again with feet at shoulder width. I've seen video of Crossfitters raising the kettlebell straight above their heads on swings but I stop around shoulder height as suggested by Tim Ferriss. Swings only took eight minutes for warm up and work sets. I cooled down with my normal Prasara Yoga routine. With holds of 40 seconds in each pose the yoga took about nineteen minutes. Tomorrow is an Intu-Flow recovery routine day and Wednesday will be Week Four Day One of Couch-to-5K.

Hills Hurt but Couches Kill

The last two Saturdays I stayed in bed reading until 1030 or later reading. This morning I got up at 0600, cooked breakfast and took one of our cars to get an oil change. While the oil was being changed I went for a run, C25K Week Three Day Three. Part of the run was a long, painful hill climb. But I remembered: Hills Hurt but Couches Kill.

miles/yards km/metres

Stage Distance Time Pace WU 396 metres 5:00 12:37 1 196 metres 1:30 7:38 1R 116 metres 1:30 12:54 2 389 metres 3:00 7:42 2R 218 metres 3:00 13:44 3 213 metres 1:30 7:01 3R 125 metres 1:30 11:57 4 412 metres 3:00 7:16 4R 241 metres 3:00 12:26 CD 335 metres 5:01 14:59 Total 1.91 km 18:00 9:24 inc WU/CD 2.64 km 28:02 10:35

Calories burned: 240

Calories burned (including warm up): 364

Before I left home I did an Intu-Flow warm up. After I dropped the car off I did the FitSugar active warm up before starting my run. My run was slightly faster today than Week Three Day Two and much faster than this same workout earlier in the year. Once I got home I did a Prasara Yoga cool down.

Yesterday, I didn't post but I did do an Intu-Flow recovery routine. Tomorrow is a Prasara recovery routine.

20121004 Lift Heavy Things

Today's workout began with nine minute Intu-Flow warmup routine from The Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. I followed that with the following giant set warm up as I need to be particularly careful to get fully warmed up and loosened up before tackling any real work. I did two sets of five reps each. The brief warm up giant set came from Turbulence Training.

• Lying Hip Extensions
• Knee Push Ups
• Stability Ball Leg Curls

I then did two circuits of the following exercise which are from the Primal Blueprint Fitness Lift Heavy Things program. I rested for thirty to sixty seconds between exercises.

1. Knee Push Ups 26, 20
2. 2 Leg Assisted Pull Ups 20, 20
3. Assisted Squats 40, 40
4. Elevated Jack Knife 25, 25
5. Knee-Hand Plank & Side Planks 60-35R-35L,  60-39L-40R (seconds)

Total time on calisthenics was thirty-four minutes but I again I increased my reps, or time in the case of planks, on each exercise. Push ups were a little better. I still had to take  two quick arm shaking breaks to make it threw my sets. Pull ups only one break per set at 15 rep mark. Squats great improvement. Forty reps per set no leg shaking, just brief pause at the top a couple of times, like 1 or 2 seconds max.

Elevated jack knives first set paused at 20 reps to shake arms and hands out before banging out the last five reps. Second set paused at 19 reps.Planks I equaled my times on the first set. Second set I improved my side plank times by 4 seconds on the left side and 5 seconds on the right side. Now to cool down with some Prasara Yoga. Eighteen minutes total, forty seconds per pose. Slowly getting more flexible. Tomorrow is C25K Week Three Day Three.

20121003 Prasara Yoga Recovery

Fifteen minute Prasara Yoga recovery routine. Tomorrow is primal blueprint fitness lift heavy things bodyweight workout. Can't wait!

Intu-Flow and Days Later C25K Week 3 Day 2

On 20120927 I did an Intu-Flow recovery routine as scheduled. It was a nice twenty-three minute joint mobility, low intensity workout. Then somehow I let myself get off track until today.

Today, 20121002, I warmed up with a combination of Intu-Flow and FitSugar's active running warm up. Total time fourteen minutes. I did a few extra leg swings and also some calf raises on the steps.

Once I was thoroughly warmed up I did Week Three Day Two of the Couch-to-5K plan. Week Three consists of what I think is a weird little workout. After the normal five minute walking warm up I ran for ninety seconds, then walked for ninety seconds. The next interval was 180 seconds running followed by 180 seconds walking. Then I repeated that 90-90-180-180 sequence and cooled down with another five minute walk. That brought me right back into the carport where I started.

miles/yards km/metres

Stage Distance Time Pace WU 334 metres 5:00 14:59 1 196 metres 1:28 7:30 1R 121 metres 1:30 12:18 2 408 metres 3:00 7:20 2R 225 metres 3:00 13:18 3 196 metres 1:30 7:36 3R 122 metres 1:30 12:16 4 385 metres 3:00 7:46 4R 228 metres 3:00 13:08 CD 355 metres 5:00 14:04 Total 1.89 km 17:58 9:31 inc WU/CD 2.58 km 27:59 10:51

Calories burned: 240

Calories burned (including warm up): 362

As you can see above I was a good bit slower this time than on my last run. I guess that's to be expected consider my mini-break from training. Once I got inside I did a Prasara Yoga cool down routine in which I held each pose for forty seconds. That was an improvement of 10 seconds per pose over the thirty seconds I had been doing. Tomorrow is Prasara Yoga recovery routine.