I got on the bike at spin class last night, which was a good thing.
I had not exercised at all for over 10 days, so I wondered what last night's ride would be like. Right from the start, my calves were aching and I thought that it would be a terrible night. But, they warmed up and felt good. Our instructor said that the goal was to stay just below the anaerobic threshold. I'm not sure exactly where that is for me, but I have been going with 150 BPM because that's about where I start to breathe heavily. Lifetime Fitness offers some sort of analysis (for a fee, I'm totally positive) where they will figure that out for you and I may actually do that, just so that I know. Anyhow, I struggled to stay below 150 and I actually spent quite a bit of time over that level.
At the end, I checked the heart rate monitor and I was at a new personal best for an hour class at 822 calories. I asked the instructor what he burned and he said 934. Wow, that's a ton. He's in his early fifties. I hope to be doing that five years from now. Something to shoot for, I guess.
I really thought about skipping last night. But, I have a wedding tonight so I won't be able to work out, so in the end, I knew I had to get there. I'm glad I did. Next class is Saturday morning. The one thing about this stuff is that after a period of struggle, picking oneself up and starting over is a good thing. Just forget about the proverbial spilled milk and open a new carton, so to speak.
I hope to do something with these posts in the future besides ruminating on my own workouts. I have started to read a lot of different sites that focus on fitness and I am thinking that maybe I'll do some aggregating for your reading enjoyment.
Right from the start, my calves were aching and I thought that it would be a terrible night. But, they warmed up and felt good.
That happens to me all the time when I run. I always have to remind myself that I'll settle in to a good pace so I don't quit after five minutes.
Agreed. About ten minutes into my spinning classes, my surgically-repaired knee gets really creaky and my calves get sore, but about five minutes later, they've loosened up so much that I completely forget. I have increased my pre-class stretching and that has been alleviating the problem somewhat, but not completely.
What I felt was an unusual feeling. That is, my calves felt absolutely dead and they don't normally feel that way. But, as I said, that went away.
Our instructor said that the goal was to stay just below the anaerobic threshold. I'm not sure exactly where that is for me
Using The Repository and Free Dictionary, it appears that threshold is at 80% of maximum heart rate.
Yeah, but I can exercise above the 80% threshold for my age for a very long time (and I'm not to be mistaken for an elite athlete), which makes me think that that isn't quite right.
Maybe what he was talking about is the top threshold, rather than the aerobic to anaerobic boundary. That seems to fit better with your bpm number.
No, he was explicit in staying in aerobic territory and instructed us to stay under the anaerobic threshold, backing off if necessary. I worked to stay at or below 150, which is above the 80% threshold for a person my age.
Then I'm a bit confused. It seems the 80% was right, at least as a general guideline. You assert you can exercise above 80% for a long time and suggest your threshold is higher than 80%. If so, then now I'm following.
The 80 pct threshold is an empirical figure, different for each person and a function of fitness and genetics. What you get on the machines is a ballpark average that is soleya function of age. If you can crank at 150 without being winded, your threshold has probably moved up.
This.
In the spirit of what I wrote in the post, I hope to post some information that I've found in this area next week.
This week was the first time in a while that I succeeded in exercising before work all five days. Last week I went only once, on Tuesday, and man did I feel it on Monday of this week. The next day was so easy I thought I was not trying as hard, but nope, I did an iota better. I bumped up the intensity today and felt pretty good, so I'm hoping that carries over to next week.
Dressing changed. Doc says get tour ass into rehab. Since they did not repair any soft tissue, I just have to worry about my pain tolerance.
single malts, baby. none of that blended stuff.
I took the sling off, did some exercises -- itty-bitty arm swings, "crawls" up the wall and over a table to work on ROM. jiminy crickets! I am not a fan of pain.
on the brighter side, we made a corned beef yesterday -- 6 hours in the crockpot in apple juice, then roasted at 350 for ~45 minutes. Reubens tonight.
on the less bright side, I am experiencing one of the better known side effects of narcotic pain killers, DESPITE a healthy appetite and lots of fiber. I would very much like to get moving, if you know what i mean.
*anticipates joaks about bS being full of it*
liquor is a foreign language to me
it helps to be a coinasewer.
There is a great scene in Trainspotting that you may want to review, doc.
never seen it. is it on Netflix? I may have to look for it.
I weighed 176 today, which is officially the most I've ever weighed. Less than 10 lbs to my goal now.
Are we going to intersect?
Not quite. My goal is 185, which is a 30 lb increase from my starting point.
Werd to meat: wish you could be here.
My dad and I are going later this morning.
piling on:
Doc, I'm a bit jealous, but I'll be okay.
oh yea, thanks for rubbing salt in my wounds.
mmmmm. salt rubbed pork.
8 mi afternoon run in Palermo / Recoleta. Warm so plenty sweat / chafe!
Neat route thru historic Argentine parks / monuments etc.