Friday, September 23, 2016

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.

Monday, September 12, 2016

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.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

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.