An Active Weekend Experiment

Other than a very active snowboard season, I'm usually not a weekend warrior.  Typically I use the weekend to recover from the cumulative stress of my highly intense workweek workouts.  However, as my retirement date draws near, I find myself concerned with how I'm going to structure my workouts and how I will use the days of the week, once "Monday Morning" becomes meaningless.

Currently, I hit the gym, and/or my main workout of the day, immediately after work, no thought required.  It is an ingrained habit.  When I have an unstructured day, if I have a chance to think about it, it becomes really hard to do that workout.  It's always too easy to talk myself into doing something else.  Habits and routines rule.

So, both while on vacation the week before last, and this past weekend, I have started to experiment a bit with early morning workouts.  I have tried it in the past and absolutely hated it.  I dreaded getting out of bed, my joints ached and felt vulnerable, and, my strength and endurance were noticeably reduced, as much as 30%, in some exercises. Still, the thought of "same time, same station," I'm convinced,  is the only way I'm going to be able to maintain the discipline I need to achieve the goals I have set for myself.

The results of this little experiment have been promising.  I have been able to get out of bed, feeling motivated and not dreading what's to come.  That my friend, is the key on which to build.  You simply cannot sustain something you hate or dread. Granted, the runs have been slow and the weights have been light, with very low overall volume.  Still, Im encouraged.  I think I can buld on it.

More to come.

Vacations Can be a Challenge

I'm always amazed at how much conditioning can be lost in just a week or two of inactivity.  For me,  every week off requires three weeks to get back to the same level of conditioning I was in, prior.  That may seem like a long time, but it has proven to be the case, for me, over at least the last 3 decades.  If I try to rush back faster, it just doesn't work, the percieved level of effort goes "through the roof," and I end up just where I would have been had I followed the plan to ease back to my previous levels.

However, on those times when I do at least a little running, a little lifting, keep my overall activity level pretty high, and eat well, every day, I can cut that time in half. And, that's just what I did over the past week while vising Cape May, New Jersey.  (A beautiful locale, by-the-way).  I ran every morning, lifted for just 15 minutes four of the nine days I was away, and walked and cyled with my wife every day. 

I also ate well, enjoying myself, but did not exceed the calorie targets I had set.  That was critical, as I'm approaching a couple of Fall bodybuilding contests, I have my eye on and, keeping my body fat down to the 5% range is crucial in any hopes for placing well in any "Natural" contest.  Conditioning usually trumps size in drug free competition.

I did chest, delts, and tris on Monday, legs, yesterday, and will hit back and bis today.  I think I am hitting the intensity just about right and my soreness is just noticeable without being a detriment.  I'll also be doing some 150 meter sprints after my post workout cardio today.  That, more than anything may make me sore.  Time will tell.

My advice to anyone, is stay active during your vacation time.  You can scale back, but don't be a couch potato.  The comeback is just too hard and painful, otherwise.
 

Catch Up

I find it hard to believe that its been almost two weeks since I last posted.  I really thought my enthusiasm was going to get me to write something almost every day.  Nevertheless, I'm back with a short catch-up post.

I have been able to get all of my workouts in over the past two weeks and believe I hit the right balance, working hard enough to stimulate increasing fitness without getting into the area of over-training.  I will say, I have been more than normally fatigued over the past two weeks, so have been really focused on staying within my recovery zone.

I had a treatment from my accupunturist this past Monday and it seems to have improved both my overall mood and my energy levels.  I find that energy, for me, is more often tied to my emotional state than to any changes in workload, nutrition, or recovery.  That emotional state seems to just run in cycles without apparent connection to real world events or stressors.  So I just need to ride-out the low points in the cycle and stick with my routines, albeit in a conscious, controlled manner.

I do believe that this most recent bout of "depression" was fueled by "decision fatigue" related to whether or not I want to retire this year and what, specifically, I want to do in the first couple of years of my retirement. I have not reached any firm decisions but have been able to put the constant mental grappling on the "back burner."

On a training note, I'm going to start doing some trampoline work this afternoon in preparation for the upcoming snowboard season.  I can practice several dozen grabs and spins in 15 or 20 minutes, numbers that might take a couple of hours in the terrain park.

The Possibility of Injury is Never Far Away.

I ran into Sanjay Ayre at the gym on Thursday.  He's an Olympic Gold medalist (Sidney Games) from Jamaica.  I see him a couple of times per year.  Since he's a 400 meter guy, I asked if he'd take a look at my forma and give me some tips, some time in the next couple of weeks.

Track and Field is one of the areas where I aim to compete. 200, 400, long jump, and possibly the javelin.  Talking with Sanjay and getting a feel for what kinds of times and distances would be competitive in the 60-65 year old age group got me fired up.  I think I am close right now and with a little work, may be able to do well.  My aim in most of the sports I'm targeting is to do well, not necessarily win.  It's the "all roundedness" I'm after and. to my way of thinking and assessing" the better indicator of athleticism.

Particularly for the sprints and jumping, staying healthy enough to practice and compete is going to be the hardest thing to do.  More-so than using ultimate strength, trying to use ultimate speed, at my age, seems to lead to more tweaks and injury.  Long and through warm-ups and lots of foam rolling and self massage seems to help, but being vigilant is best.

The Bad Days Make the Good Days Possible

I haven't written in over a week.  I completed all of my scheduled workouts and actually hit some personal bests on a set or rep, here and there. It was one of those weeks where I just felt depressed and overwhelmingly tired before I got to the gym, most of the time, yet pressed on, nevertheless.

I often tell my gym-mates that the bad days are the ones that make the good days possible.  Even when you're tired and just don't want to do your training, its usually best to get dressed, show up, and start.  Once you get going, things may turn around and even if they don't, you're making some inroads that will result in positive gains.

That said, I think it requires a very good degree of body awareness and experience to know when you are actually verging on over-training and need a rest.  Some of the newer wearables claim to be able to correlate biometric data like temperature, heart rate, and respiration against performance markers and then provide guidance on whether or not to throttle back or put the pedal to the metal, but I believe there is no substitute for well considered experience.  Long-term success absolutely requires you to know your own body and how it responds to both short-term and long-term training and potential over-reaching.

If you're just starting out, you will make mistakes and that's okay.  Just pay attention and make sure you learn from them.  Also, it's important to bear in mind that the formula that works this year, may not work next year.  You're body is constantly changing and you have to be fully aware and change your approach accordingly.

 

Always be Within Striking Distance

It's back to my "home gym" Supreme Sports today.  I did like the equipment at the Columbia Gym, but living about 200 yards from the Supreme parking lot makes the choice a "no brainer." Legs are on tap today with a bit of cycling and rowing to finish up.  Starting next week, I may include some swimming as a final bit of my routine on leg day. I'm still considering some competition in the shorter swimming events.

The local schools started today so I expect a few less High Schoolers to be in the free weight area when I show up today.  Not that I mind them being around, but the place has a different atmosphere when it's just the regulars.

I didn't do any training this past weekend, restricting my exercise to 2 walks on both Saturday and Sunday, totaling about 4 miles on Saturday and 3 yesterday.  I feel recovered.  I had played with the idea of a short run and swim before dinner yesterday, but opted for the short walk instead.

I'm looking at a couple of Pro bodybuilding contests later this Fall.  I'm sitting at about 6% body fat having brought it down from about 8% over the past 8 weeks. I always lose very slowly, even when it's only a couple of pounds, ensuring that I don't lose strength or any precious muscle size as a prep.  I could compete at this weight, but am within a couple of weeks of truly ripped condition if I do decide to go for it.

I like to always be within 5 pounds of contest weight, so that I can prep quickly and without much effort, if the mood strikes.  Some contend that you can't get bigger and stronger at such a low body fat level.  I believe that its calories and macros that make the difference no matter what particular body fat level you're at. So if I'm eating to gain, I will gain, even while maintaining single digit body fat.

Always be within striking distance, I say.

Sometimes You're Just Tired

Yesterday was back and biceps.  I'm still traveling to the Columbia Gym while Supreme Sports has it's two week "shut down" for maintenance and renovation.  I worked hard and fast.  It's hard to campare reps and poundages on anything but barbell exercises because slight diffreence in machines can make comparisons tough..  Nevertheless, I did good.

My intent after driving home was to do a 3.5 mile run followed by a few sprints for form and then finish with a 500 yard swim..  Somehow, the twenty minutes it took me to drive home and then change into my running/swimming gear caused me to lose my "momentum."  I was able to complete my run fairly comfortably, but the 97 degree heat index took a bit more of a toll than I thought. 

After finishing my last sprint, which felt great with good extension and range of motion, I turned to head to the pool and was just overcome with the feeling that, "this is too much."  I considered for a moment and then decided that I was indeed just too tired to have a productive swim. 

I walked home, had my post recovery meal, stretched and used the foam roller for a few minutes and then just crashed.  I was just really tired for the rest of the evening and headed to bed at 9:00 grateful that I had heeded my notion to skip the swim.

If this had been even 2 or 3 years ago, I would have pressed on with the swim.  But, I have gotten just a bit wiser over the past 18 months.  I have always been in tune to what my body has been telling me, but often just pressed through.  Now I listen and a recover better than ever. 

Let's hope the new found wisdom pays off in the long run.  Sometimes you're just tired.