#411: Summer of Changes

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

TURN AND FACE THE STRAIN
I've been making some changes this summer. New goals. New priorities. New approaches to my own fitness. I've changed because of all the goals I achieved in the past year. And I've made a couple of changes in response to circumstances. 

Ouch!

I started the summer wanting to get faster. A six and a half hour marathon is an achievement to be sure, but it sure is a long time to run. I tried adding some speed drills into my program, and started seeing some results, but somewhere along the way, I strained some muscles in my groin and they are taking a long time to mend. It was frustrating at first, not being able to run or swim without pain, but I took the injury as a challenge. Instead of holding on to my frustration, I decided to discover what I could do. 


WALK BEFORE YOU RUN

Every Wednesday at the Y, a group of seniors gathers to walk on the Legacy trail. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these less intense sessions, and decided to try walking instead of running. Last Saturday, while the rest of John's Striders were running the Iron Horse Half Marathon course, I joined a group of walkers who planned to cover the first half. The pace was vigorous, the conversation stimulating, and the sweat was real. By the time we finished the 6 miles, I was convinced that power walking is going to be part of my program from now on.




GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE

A slightly newer model than mine,
but you get the idea.

My $25 yard sale mountain bike has been standing in the garage for several years now. It's a steel framed beauty, a 1995 Trek 800 Sport. I knew it was a waste for it to just lie there unused, and I remembered how much I enjoyed riding it to work a couple of lifetimes ago. I wondered if the less demanding requirements of cycling would be easier on my sore muscles. After pulling the old girl out of the carport, applying a little soap, a little grease, and some new tires, I discovered that I could ride quite comfortably. I now commute to work on my bike, and the extra hour of cardio every day has helped me to break through a weight plateau where I've been stuck for quite a while. I love riding and working on this machine. Mrs P blanches at all the trips to the bike shop for tools and parts, but when she sees how much I'm saving on gas, it softens the blow a little.


FINDING YODA

MUCH tougher than she looks!

Just before the marathon, I asked Coach Carrie if she would be my personal trainer and she agreed. Before we started, she asked me what my goals were.

• To run a 1 hour 10K
• To build strength in my core and upper body
• To get my Body Fat down to 20% and my weight to 240
• To pick her brain about the art of Personal Training

Coach designs each workout with these goals in mind. Since my injury, we've been focusing more on rehab than speed, giving special attention to strengthening the muscles around the hurt ones, and gently stretching to keep my legs from knotting up, (particularly my wood-like hamstrings.) Along the way she is teaching me to use a variety of apparatus like the Swiss ball, the medicine ball, weighted bars, resistance tubes, kettlebells, TRX, and the medicine ball. From time to time, when she is giving me a correction, she'll say, "When you're training someone, you have to look out for this." She is teaching me how to organize workouts and how to help a trainee progress toward their goals. I decided to make myself her apprentice. It was an excellent choice.

TELL THE STORY

I haven't been blogging much, and I don't really know why. This week, my friend Kim came back to Lexington for a visit, and thanked me for inspiring her to get fit. She's stronger, faster, and lighter than she's been in a long time. Kim told me that when she has trouble getting going, she remembers that I'm out there on the road, and it motivates her. Could any writer have a higher honor?

I resolved to be more faithful to FMR. Not to promote myself or to brag. Lord knows, my achievements aren't exactly record-breaking. But reminding people that they have the strength to keep going, to reach their goals, to exceed their hopes - that's my mission in life. I believe that's why God saved me. That's why I need to keep writing: because every now and then, someone is going to find hope in my story, and the courage to believe in themselves. What greater gift could you give to the world?

Peace,

Pennsy

My friend Charlie is running the Chicago Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon as I'm typing this. Here's wishing him good speed, light legs, and pretty young things to hand him Gatorade along the way. Rockit, brother!

Update - the First 3 Day Split

Three fronts, three days. Here's how it's going after the first cycle.

CYCLING
The biking is a good way to commute, but it will be a while before I can make it into much of a workout. For one thing, my ride lasts about 13 minutes. And while I may not have forgotten how to ride a bike, I need to relearn some things about riding well. And there's the mater of getting my big bum used to that little seat again. Bottom line? I like riding the bike to work, but I won't be able to count it as a cardio workout.

LIFTING
I did my exercises in reverse order from Saturday. all the weight was a little heavier. I forgot my mid workout snack, and I missed it about an hour in. The change in order put bench press and pullovers last. I struggled, but I completed my plan. I worked out long and hard. I was tired at the end, but did not run out of gas before I was finished.

WEIGHT
I was a pound heavier at the end of today's workout. I'm not too worked up over that, but I take it seriously. I am going to have to go back to the gym for cardio days. Mrs. P and I went out to dinner a couple times this weekend, so I'm sure I ate more than I ought to have. On the other hand, dining out with my bride is a rare treat that I don't regret. I just have to make up for it now.

Peace,
Pennsy

An Experiment in Intensity

"LIFE! GIVE THE FAT MAN LIFE!!!!" I have devised an experiment.

You get stronger by making the work harder. "Progressive Resistance" is one of the core doctrines of weight training. There are two ways to do this: lift heavier or lift more intensely. I've just started a two-week experiment in intensity.

One of the problems I have encountered recently is fatigue at the end of my workouts. I get through the first few sets under a full head of steam, but eventually start wearing down and am unable to complete my planned routine. I wind up doing lighter weight or fewer reps than I had planned. This slows my progress and leaves me exhausted, not energized like the guru's promised I would be when I started this fat man's journey. So I have a hypothesis...

One major cause of my fatigue is insufficient recovery time between workouts.

I ran a little test this week. My workout on Tuesday was more of a wash out. I couldn't lift nearly as long or as hard as I wanted to. My muscles just wouldn't respond. So I rested. I read. I napped. I cleaned up the old bike, changed all the cables, and tuned up the brakes and dérailleurs. I took short walks. I read some blogs. Yesterday I wrote a program.

Lift heavy, move quickly, rest completely.

DISCLAIMER
THE FAT MAN IS NOT AN EXPERT. THAT'S WHY HE GOT FAT IN THE FIRST PLACE! What follows is a description of an experiment. Don't take it as a prescription.

OVERVIEW
I'll be doing very heavy compound movements (ones that involve multiple muscle groups), chosen to work my whole body, then taking two days off from lifting. Because
this involves so many different exercises, I'm doing fewer sets and reps, starting with a very light warmup of twenty reps, then twelve reps of heavy weight and eight reps as heavy as I can possibly complete with good form. I'm minimizing rest between sets and moving as quickly as I can from apparatus to apparatus. Here's my program.

WARMUP & STRETCH
Light Resistance Bands, Crunches, Medicine Ball Woodchoppers, Pushups (this classic is going to take a lot of work for me. I'm still a pretty heavy load to heave. )

Once my heart rate is up and I have a good sweat going, I do a complete stretch from ankles to neck.

CHEST
Bench Press, 20/12/8
Dumbell Pullovers 20/12/8

UPPER BACK
Lat Pulldowns, Close, Reverse Grip 20/10
Lat Pulldowns, Medium, 20/10
Lat Pulldowns, Wide, 20/10
The pulldowns are a training regimen until I am strong enough to do chin ups. Arnold S says to do 50. Riiiiight.
Deadlift 20/12/8

SHOULDERS
Arnold Press 20/12/8
Lateral Dumbell Raise 20/12/8

ARMS
Preacher Curls, Reverse Grip, 20/12/8
Triceps Rope Pulldown, 20/12/8

BREAK
Yesterday I was pretty wrung out at this point. I had drunk a half gallon of water and was feeling like having something to eat. I'll probably throw something in my bag to nosh on and take a little walk outside to let the lactic acid clear out a little. Then back in for the really big muscle groups.

LEGS AND LOWER BACK
Squats, 20/12/8
Leg Curls, 20/12/8
Good Mornings, 20/12/8

STRETCH, SAUNA, SHOWER

That's the plan: repeat every three days. (It took me three hours yesterday to get through the whole thing.) Walk or bike on the off days. Stick to this for two weeks, and see what the results look like. Change weights on the heavy sets, but not the number of sets or reps. The first set will always be very light to warm up the specific muscle group and to set my form. In the next few days I'll write about each group of exercises and update my progress.

This is one of those deals where I use my blog to hold myself accountable. I'll report in every day on how the experiment is going with subjective observations and as much data as I can stand.

Let evil experiment begin! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!



Peace,
Pennsy