<p>On some show on TLC about the thousand-pound man (or some such), I noticed that they gave him an exercise machine to use that was basically a bicycle that he used with his arms. (He couldn’t move his legs enough to use a seated bicycle.) I’ve never seen one of those, but for people who have an injury of the legs, it seems to me it might make sense. Not as good – the arm muscles aren’t as big as the leg muscles, so one wouldn’t be burning as many calories – but it seems to me it’s better than nothing, and better than something that might not allow the legs to heal.</p>
<p>Is cycling alone impossible? How can you have time for a run, but not time for a bike ride, don’t they take the same time?</p>
<p>The way to get a good workout cycling, without injury, is low gears and fast rpm.</p>
<p>The bike to run ratio is about 4 to 1- it would take about 4 miles of biking to equate to a mile of running. 20 miles on the bike, which takes me well over an hour, is really not much of a cycling workout. My husband bikes 0ver 200 miles a week in season. Biking during the work week is just not an option for me, due to time, traffic etc.
I’ve done plenty of cycling. I like it. It’s just not a realistic or consistent option for me right now.</p>
<p>MofWC - Hey, I am so sorry to hear that you are on a hiatus. Those hamstring strains can be so difficult to rehab. I KNOW you will hate resting, but honestly sometimes it is the only way. I think I mentioned earlier that I had one last year and I kept trying to do easy workouts, but it wasn’t until I stopped completely for awhile that it finally got better. It was a high hamstring strain, pull, whatever - so it really was a pain in the butt. </p>
<p>I have one piece of strong advice - don’t come back too soon. An extra day or two can make a difference. The good news is that it will get better and a couple of months from now you really will feel great. I know about the loss of conditioning, but if you take care of yourself, you will be back sooner. </p>
<p>Not to worry about the clothing. I have seen your facebook pics and we are lining up to purchase. And if you decide you don’t want to run again and just sit around and eat bon-bons, I will make an offer on your Garmin. :)</p>
<p>You won’t gain weight. You are one of the most disciplined people and you will not allow yourself to pack on the pounds. I hope you treat yourself to a bunch of massages over the next couple of weeks, you deserve it. </p>
<p>We will all be here to cheer you when you return to the road!</p>
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<p>Could have been the Schwinn Airdyne. It has long handlebars that move back and forth as you pedal, thus you can “ride” it using your legs, your arms, or (typically) both.</p>
<p>Here’s video of someone doing “Tabata profile” intervals on an Airdyne: 20 seconds sprit, 10 seconds recover.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.howcast.com/videos/155192-4-Min-Fat-Burning-Cardio-Workout-W-Exercise-Bike[/url]”>http://www.howcast.com/videos/155192-4-Min-Fat-Burning-Cardio-Workout-W-Exercise-Bike</a></p>
<p>Tabata is a Japanese PhD fitness researcher who’s studied interval training using extremely fit athletes doing 8 reps of this 20 second sprint/10 seconds rest “protocol”. </p>
<p>Tabata had two groups of subjects. One did 60 minutes of moderate intensity cardio on an exercise bike, 5 days a week for six weeks. The other did this 4 minute intensity protocol with a warmup and cool down, 5 days a week for six weeks. The interval group nearly doubled the aerobic improvement of the “ride for an hour” group. The “ride for an hour” group showed zero anaerobic improvement, compared to 170% improvement for the interval group.</p>
<p>Now, average joes and weight-lifters try it on Airdynes and get totally gassed in four minutes. The 10 second recovery is like a mirage watering hole in the desert.</p>
<p>8 reps of 20 seconds hard, 40 seconds recover would be very tough. I did 10 reps of 10 seconds sprint, 20 seconds recover today at the end of my iPod workout. My heart rate hit 90% on the third interval and stayed above 90% for the remainder of the 10 reps. And my sprint was increasing from a nice relaxing 45 pedal rpms to 70 rpms.</p>
<p>MOWC - I have a hard time believing that you will even gain two pounds in two weeks! </p>
<p>The good news is that your determination will help you recover and heal from your injury. Many people who don’t have the determination you do would just wither up and hope the injury would heal on its own, but I’m sure you are motivated to do everything the PT told you to do. </p>
<p>As for my woes, another round of antibiotics for me with a recommendation to use the neti pot once a day (I already have one). However, we made a quinoa salad tonight for dinner that I really like. D1 had bought the ingredients (quinoa, green/yellow/red peppers, cucumber, feta and Paul Newman’s balsamic vinegar dressing) when she was home this weekend, but never got around to making it, so we winged it and it was good. First time I’d had quinoa… reminds me of a mix between couscous and brown rice. Will have to figure out what else we can do with it.</p>
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<p>We have one of those at our gym. I’ve seen mostly elderly people using it. I initially thought it might be used for rehab (I’ve seen them in PT clinics before, too), but some people use them for cardio… I’m guessing if they have some serious issues with their hips/knees, etc.</p>
<p>note to self: List interesteddad as the “call a friend” person on “millionnaire”-- he is a master of trivia!</p>
<p>teri-
ok , pleading ingnorance. Quinoia?</p>
<p>quinoa - from wikipedia</p>
<p>Quinoa (pronounced /ˈkiːnoʊ.ə/ or /kwɨˈnoʊ.ə/, Spanish quinua, from Quechua kinwa), a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium), is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a grass. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds.</p>
<p>Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthy choice for vegetarians, vegans and athletes. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.</p>
<p>Like I said, it reminds me of a mix between couscous and brown rice.</p>
<p>I kept running across references to this “Tabata protocol”. There are even on-line Tabata clocks for timing your intervals. When I was trying to decide on an exercise bike, most of the YouTube videos of the Schwinn Airdyne were of firefighters and boxers and weightlifters trying to do “Tabata protocols” and basically collapsing. I was curious to find out who this Tabata dude was. I thought he might have been the monk Uma Thurman trained with in Kill Bill or something!</p>
<p>iPod nazi is a huge proponent of interval training. All of his iPod fitness workouts have intervals for half the workout (and in fact, his exercise circuits are really interval training, too – with a one to one work to rest ratio).</p>
<p>I’d be the last one to know, but don’t most gym cario machines (like treadmills and ellipticals) have built-in interval programs you can select?</p>
<p>After failing to resist the temptation of the Easter candy, I finally had the courage to weigh myself this morning. Pleasantly surprised - only one pound above my target weight.</p>
<p>Haven’t posted here in a REALLY long time, but I’ve been following you all on a regular basis. I’m doing quite well in the exercise department, including weight machines. H thinks I’m looking more toned. I’ve only lost about 8 lbs. since mid January though. I’ve hit the big M, which my doc and others tell me makes losing weight more difficult. In an effort to jump-start my aging metabolism, I decided to try to get back into running. (I used to run regularly and do 10K races, but that was back in the long-ago past before marriage & kids.) I knew I’d be in pain for a while, and I knew I had to work into things gradually. I could deal with the regular muscles aches, but the last couple of days I’ve had a lot of pain/stiffness on the inside of my left knee. No swelling or any visible signs. Advil has been a great friend! Today I didn’t try running and did a sweat-inducing 40 minutes on the elliptical cross-trainer at the gym. My knee actually felt pretty good at the end. Anyone have any insight or wisdom to share? MOWC?? Are my running days over before they really start?</p>
<p>I blew up my new BOSU this am. Boy, do I have a long way to go on that! I made it through just the warm up for calorie combustion then skipped to the cool down! If nothing else, if I would just stand on it each day it probably would help my balance. I can see why this product would work well–little less stress on joints than regular step and you (at least I do) use many muscles just maintaining balance.</p>
<p>Back from the gym…60 minutes on the dreadmill, slow pace, a little over 3 miles. Knee was ok. Trying to alternate activity every few days. Have worked out consistently for 2 and 1/2 weeks. Yay!</p>
<p>I’m proud of you, NM! I did 2 miles last Saturday (40 minutes, so we’re at the same pace; I do a lot of incline) and that’s all I could stand. After about 30 minutes I start thinking that I’ve been there too long and there are things that need to take care of.</p>
<p>somebody said to stay away from snacking. I have opposite rule, snack as much as heart desire, otherwise you will be so hungry that you might overeat at meal time. Just have whole tons of various fruits of your favorite variety in fridge and snack, snack, snack.</p>
<p>Free absolute beginner running workouts.</p>
<p>Just got an e-mail from the iPod nazi with links to two free workout plans for absolute beginner runners, i.e. people (like me) who have been walking, but want to start jogging/running.</p>
<p>The first is three treadmill (or outdoor) interval workouts alternating between jogging and walking with total time ranging from 20 to 30 minutes:</p>
<p>[3</a> Treadmill Workouts for Beginners](<a href=“http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/treadmill-workouts-beginners.html]3”>http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/treadmill-workouts-beginners.html)</p>
<p>The second is an eight week plan to (allegedly) take a beginner running from jogging to running a 5k. These plans are based around three running days a week (two jogging, one interval training) starting at 10 to 16 minutes each day the first week and ending with 35 to 40 minutes a day in week 8.</p>
<p>[Learn</a> to Run](<a href=“http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/learn-to-run.html]Learn”>http://www.mytreadmilltrainer.com/learn-to-run.html)</p>
<p>Cool free stuff.</p>
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<p>How are your shoes? Are they worn down or old? Might need new ones. Also, were you on a hard surface? Asphalt is preferable to concrete. Hopefully it’s just a little tendonitis and will go away. Advil is your friend.</p>
<p>Missy and N.Minn:</p>
<p>Ya’ll would leave me in the dust. It took me just under 43 minutes to walk my new two mile route on Sunday.</p>
<p>It’s all about the process of improvement. There is not a specific target to achieve. Moving is better than not moving. We are not competing with each other, only with ourselves.</p>