Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

Parent Cafe
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<p>Nice job on the 100 miles, SWDad! And BCE on the the running miles.</p>

<p>My niece competed yesterday at the USA collegiate national triathlon in Arizona. Under 3 hours for the Olympic distance (1.5/40/10 K). I’m using that for inspiration in perseverance! </p>

<p>Gym day. 3.25 miles on the treadmill. I kept the slow and steady pace, but let my heart rate rise without walking. It slowly drifted up and plateaued in the 140’s 20 minutes into the workout, but it felt good. H says that I look like I’m not working as hard, and now I’m only apple red (vs. cherry) in the face. Progress, or at least it feels like it. My average HR on the treadmill ended up at 130. MoWC, I’m guessing your HR range was a little tighter than mine :slight_smile: I added weight machines–mostly upper body.</p>

<p>Deb T, I am at the very section you’re talking about in the Benson HR Training book–the beginning of the stamina training. What I struggle with, is keeping my HR low enough that I’m building the base (that is will I ever be able to keep it at an average of 65-75% without breaking for walking spells, especially in the southern heat) vs. letting it go up to what feels like a comfortable (mostly) 85% to keep running for the 3 plus miles. Or, do these workouts, like today’s, in which the HR did climb up, undo the work of getting the base? So many questions. But I guess my plan is to keep with the low HR training most of the time (book says it takes 12 to 16 weeks), and then do the once a week with the faster/shorter running intervals, and maybe one day of slow but steady all running.</p>

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<p>Cross posted, with idad “For geezer fitness, there’s probably a place for some of both!” I think this is what my plan boils down to.</p>

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<p>I didn’t know that the BAA did the 5K the day before the marathon. That’s something that I could run!</p>

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<p>BC, that sounds like it could be fun. I also think there’s another advantage to your adding another race or two into your annual schedule. When you do just one big race a year it’s easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself and get psyched out. If you build in another chance or two for success you alleviate some of that stress. It’s a thought anyway!</p>

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<p>Okay, I’m tired today. 35 minutes of elliptical intervals this am coupled with an upper body circuit and some lower body; this afternoon I literally just finished day 1, week 4 of C25K with a little additional running/walking thrown in so 3.03 miles in 36:01. I started running Runkeeper along with the C25k program to get a better idea of distance; Runkeeper also gives me some idea of grade/elevation changes. Tried the Omnis today and definitely prefer them to the Nikes. </p>

<p>Tomorrow is a rest day! If nothing else I need to wash my fabulous exercise wardrobe. ;)</p>

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<p>I cut the grass (well, the half that needed it) for the first time this year. Usually I feel out of shape with the first cutting…the lawn mower is so HARD to push up the hill…but not this year. I guess I met one of my winter stay-in-shape goals!</p>

<p>I still plan to push most of the mowing on to the college kid when he comes home. ;)</p>

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<p>Mom music - let me know the secret of getting the college kid to mow.</p>

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<p>I’m reading the Benson Heart Rate Training as well (thanks to whoever originally suggested it). I’m 50 so my maximum heart rate would be 170. I routinely get to 160 -165 and live to tell about it. I can subtain that for about 10 mins. I was exercising at about 135 bpm and my personal trainer told me to up it since I could talk and wasn’t out of breath. She went on to explain (much like Benson does) that maximum heart rate is sort of meaningless. But I was still concerned because 65-75% of MHR has always been the party line.</p>

<p>So I started researching it and came across this…</p>

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<p>Though I’m not an expert on this by any means, what iDad says makes sense. Practice for endurance if you are doing an endurance sport, otherwise HIT might make more sense. When I do HIT, I can really feel it the next day. I’m tired and my HR is a little higher than normal for about a day. (Benson explains all this in his book). When I stay at 135 -140 I don’t feel tired but I definitely get more of a ‘runner’s high’.</p>

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<p>Here comes some whining. Day 6 of Cipro, which, I think is working… slowly. :frowning: Mr B says no running or he’ll lock my running shoes. 4 more days…</p>

<p>It really sucks to be ill! For the past few days I’ve been sitting on my butt, doing weights and some housework, and not much more. Today, I snuck outside and weeded 1/3 of the vegetable garden. It is still too cold to plant anything in there, but the weeds are growing like wildfire. They needed to be shown who’s the boss around here. :)</p>

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<p>MomLive- The problem is that the formulas for max HR are not accurate for very many people. You really have to test it- which can be done without a stress test, but it requires that you push yourself to almost failure (not of the heart- just where you have to stop running, biking etc). I was tested years ago in a max stress test with a cheering section (keeps you going longer) and my max has changed very little since then. I have seen close to it at the end of hard 5Ks.</p>

<p>Most trained athletes use the heart rate zones to keep from training too hard too much of the time. I don’t have any problem exceeding my aerobic zone unless my legs are totally trashed, but I sure can go over it too much!</p>

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<p>^That makes sense. Benson says that max heart rate is genetic and doesn’t change. Though if people are out of shape they will have a hard time reaching it. He says it has a lot to do with the size of the heart. He also said many women naturally have higher MHR because their hearts are smaller. </p>

<p>I am really glad to know that the max HR is variable from person to person. When I first started working out at the higher level, I was really scared that I was overdoing it. Now I can usually easily tell where the aerobic zone is vs. anaerobic for me.</p>

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<p>I’ve been mulling it over, and I don’t think I’m going to do official low heart rate training at this time because I really don’t want to wear a chest strap! That doesn’t mean I never work out at a slower pace; I do. I just don’t think I’m going to drop it down to the pace where it ends up being run/walk. I’ve been gradually adding to my distance on a weekly long run which I do at a casual pace for more of the time, and I’m happy with that. The most I see myself being interested in working up to are 10K races, and that’s not a priority for me right now. Still enjoying 5K and want to get faster so I’m doing the weekly long run, trying to make sure I’m running outside and hitting low rolling hills from time to time, intervals, medium and/or shorter length runs, and an occasional tempo run. Run 3 to 4 days a week.</p>

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<p>It’s HUGELY variable from person to person and is not a sign of fitness- I.e. it isn’t “better” to have a higher max. My daughter’s max is much higher than mine, which makes her training zones a lot different.</p>

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<p>I googled “facet thermal ablation” and what came up was almost all links for an organization called the Laser Spine Institute.</p>

<p>I looked into this outfit before I had my back surgery, and what I found didn’t fill me with confidence. There are a <em>lot</em> of complaints.</p>

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<p>That’s exactly what Benson says in his book. He said max HRs are like salaries…do not discuss because it’s not a sign of fitness.</p>

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<p>I’m sure everyone is a little different, but I’d bet the house that, if you can sustain 160 bpm heart rate for about 10 minutes, your true maximum is somewhere north of the age predicted 170. If it really were 170, 160 would be 94% of max and 165 would be 97% of max. Almost by definition, heart rates of 95% of your max are not sustainable for more than a minute or two. </p>

<p>To get your heart rate to 95%, you’ve got to be at the point where you can’t get enough oxygen to your muscles and that is not a sustainable situation. Exercising at 95% of max heart rate is a short-term endeavor!</p>

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<p>I think I’m becoming carb intolerant! This was the second day in a row I had a sandwich for lunch and the second day in a row that I felt lousy after I ate it. Not to mention putting on two pounds overnight… </p>

<p>I look at not liking to eat bread as a good thing! To show you how little I eat it, I bought a loaf of Pepperidge Farm rye bread at Christmas for turkey sandwiches. Never had one and put it in the freezer. I threw it out unopened this week and bought fresh for my Masters sandwiches. Had four slices (two sandwiches) and put the rest in the freezer. Bet I end up throwing that out.</p>

<p>I had reached that point with the breakfast biscuits, too. The last couple of times hiking, I’ve gone to KFC at 10 am and gotten chicken strips instead.</p>

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<p>^ hmmm… Interesting…
I haven’t gotten to that point yet, to whit today: I had 4 large medjool dates, which just exploded my carb count for the day. I felt absolutely fine. Filet mignon and creamed spinach for dinner.</p>

<p>40 minute cardio dance class, followed by 2 hours of brisk walking with Nordic poles.</p>

<p>Cals 1312
Carbs 99 g
Fiber 10 g
Protein 71 g
Sugars 27 g</p>

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<p>BB- whining is allowed in your case. Hang in there for the next couple of days. Better to hold off on the exercise until you have the all clear, then jeopardize your full recovery. Remember, sometimes in fitness it takes more discipline to NOT do something than to do it. Hoping that the day you are allowed to go run, is a perfect blend of sunshine and cool breezes…</p>

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<p>gravity colonic anyone?! had one loved it, feel great</p>