MOWC, you can have your heat and humidity back. 70 minute run w/strides - 70 degrees, 94% humidity. At least I got outside. Another 70 minute workout tomorrow - changing things up a little bit with back to back longer workouts.
Lots of dog walks yesterday; happily they didn’t seem concerned by the fireworks. They were happy to have a visit with their grandma who brought them carrots- one of their favorite treats. Who says dogs aren’t smart? They know what’s good for them!
I am sharing it with you! It was 74 with also 94% humidity. It is horrible. I have to travel this afternoon, so had to get it done this morning. Just 3 1/2 miles so shorter day.
Glad your dogs weren’t bothered, sabaray. We had fireworks AND thunder, so my dog that can hear was quite upset and kept retreating to his safe place. My sister used some serious drugs on one of her greyhounds Sat night for the fireworks at the lake.
It was a nice weekend. Pretty low-key and not very good weather, but I needed rest so it was good. I had a good race at the Freedom Run (4.5 miles) on Saturday and ended up 2nd in my age group. H was 1st in his! Yesterday was a good 11 mile run but it sure was warm and humid. Tonight will be a shorter run.
jym - congrats on the race! I hope you enjoyed it, it sure sounds as if you did well!
FallGirl - nice job at your race and way to go with that improved time!
MNK - I hope your hamstring is feeling better today. Good for you for stopping when the injury occurred!
D and her long-time boyfriend got engaged this weekend! I’m really happy for them. I’m looking forward to being able to participate in abasket’s wedding thread now!
Good news at physical therapy today. Notwithstanding the loud “pop”, very minor damage. No cycling for the rest of this week and plenty of fun rehab exercises to do. PT, who is also a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, did the same thing to herself doing leg presses so we had a good laugh about what knowledgeable dumbasses we are, lol. I think I laughed too enthusiastically however. She then decided to use Graston Technique on me. http://www.grastontechnique.com/home She was equally enthusiastic Also very cool was that she took a load of my brochures to hand out at a networking collaboration meeting she is having with some local chiropractors and acupuncturists. This whole world of fitness and health professionals is so much more collegial, fun and inviting than the world of practicing law, haha!
I’ve had Graston work done, it’s an interesting experience.
Went to an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet for lunch, and limited myself to only one plate of food. Was still probably too much, but at least I didn’t go back for seconds and thirds like I normally do, and no food coma this afternoon. Small victories!
Worked out after work, and got rid of 8 of the exercises on my list, and watched a clock to make sure I waited at least 1 minute between sets. Just did two sets of what was left, at the same weights, so I’m guessing/hoping I should be a lot less sore in a few days.
Just scanned the 65 comments I’ve missed since Saturday - so great to be off the grid - until you get back and have to catch up!!!
Just scanned briefly…but great job to everyone who got out this weekend!
MK - hope you will be ok!
C3 - congrats! Lots of good suggestions and support in that thread!
Sabaray, I agree about food CONTENT after a run - too many carbs and not enough protein can be a disaster!
We had a FANTASTIC time and weather at the lake. Sunny, warm,no clouds. Every. Day! Have to admit that I still have somewhat of a cough - mostly due to the amount of mucus (sorry!) that my body seems to still be producing (it’s clear though now) and some post nasal drip. How does one body produce so much?!! Tomorrow is day 5 of my Z-pack hoping it still continues to improve. Feel fine otherwise!
Themes of the weekend. Sleep. Eat. Sun. Swim. Walk the beach (rinse and repeat many times during the day). Kayak. Eat ice cream/grill/breakfast feasts. Ran at sunset twice - not long, but beautiful!
@notrichenough, here are some additional thoughts in response to the additional info you provided and questions you asked:
Circuit sets - Assuming they involve different muscle groups, no reason to take a 1 minute break between exercises. But keep in mind that doing 4 sets in a row x 2 without any break exacts a metabolic price tag and you may be more tired later on in your routine.
What counts as a body part? Yes, that's the concept. Later on you may refine it a bit further and use "muscle groups" instead.
You can do compound functional movement exercises like squats and lunges without putting compressive forces on your back. First and foremost, make sure you are using correct form. Second, you don't have to use heavy weights. Just holding dumbells at your side can be very effective. Even bodyweight squats can be quite a workout particularly if you focus on a full range of motion. If plain body weight becomes too easy, work towards doing single leg bodyweight squats. Keep in mind that with leg presses, you can end up putting tremendous compressive forces on your lumbar spine because of pelvic tilt. Doing them 1 leg at a time can reduce this but be very aware of whether your pelvis is tilting. Similarly, prone leg curls can cause you to arch your lumbar spine. Be careful. Also be careful of the shear forces on your knees doing leg extensions.
Progressive overload - Resistance training is based on the concept of creating momentary failure, recovering and then doing it again. This repetitive process creates the overload that promotes muscle growth and strengthening by breaking down and then rebuilding muscle fiber. You want the overload to occur in small increasing increments to enable your body to adapt to the stresses. That's the progressive aspect of it. So, for example, if you are relatively new to lifting or are seeking some increased muscle size and strength, you may build your routine around 3 sets of 8-12 reps per set. The first set you may get 12 reps. The second only 10 and the third 8. You keep the weight constant for all 3 sets until you build to 12 reps for all of them. Then you increase the weight by 5% and start all over building to 3 sets of 12 reps. That's just one example of a style of progressive overload. There are many, many others that can be used depending on where you are in your fitness and strength levels, experience and goals. As a general concept, however, always limit the increase in load to 5% to permit progressive adaptation.
4-5 days in between your 2 workouts - That was kinda my Eureka moment. Coupled with the high rep volume you were doing, could really explain why you are constantly suffering from DOMS. Too much time between workouts can result in regression. Rule of thumb, 48 -72 hours recovery between working out the same muscle groups. With lower weight, higher rep routines, 48 hours is usually enough. With lower rep heavy weight routines, you may need 72 hours recovery. If you go out further than that, there is a risk of regression, particularly when you are relatively new to lifting and most of your gains are coming from neuromuscular pathway development that enables more muscle fiber to fire rather than from building more and larger muscle fibers. It could be that you are kinda "starting over" to some extent with each workout because of the large gaps and that this is contributing to your DOMS. When you commented that you recently did 3 workouts in a week and were feeling better, it put the icing on that thought. Even if you are doing only 2 weight training workouts in a week, keep sessions 1 & 2 no more than 72 hours apart. You will still see progress with that kind of schedule and it will help avoid regression. If you can do 3 workouts a week, you will see more noticeable gains.
@notrichenough, each set should be to momentary failure i.e. you can’t do another rep. But the big caveat is “another rep with good form”. As soon as your form crumbles, you are done, even if you could squeeze out another rep with grunting, groaning, shrieking, arching your back, flailing other body parts and turning purple ;). A rep like that is wasted effort and risks injury. Form = effectiveness of the movement.
Michael - I’m curious about your hammy rehab other than Graston? My injury was pretty severe when I popped my calf 10-15 years ago. You could see the red/blue bruise and it was very difficult to walk. I think it took 2 months to stop limping. My family doc indicated there wasn’t much he could do, so I didn’t have any rehab. He said the muscle is essentially like “hamburger” so you really couldn’t sew it together ? Right now I have this deformed right calf where the muscle has formed a noticeable ball looking mass at the top of the calf. While it doesn’t hurt or seem to be impeding me, im wondering if I should (or if I can?) flatten the ball muscle mass?
Ohiopublic, for what it’s worth - my H has a bicep injury that is similar to what you are describing. The bicep has “dropped” (tendon ripped) and it’s a ball below where the bicep should be. He has had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders (don’t ask - one injury through weightlifting, one injury through lifting a too-heavy suitcase overhead) and isn’t willing to undergo more surgery to have this corrected, so he just lives with it. It doesn’t hurt or anything - it just looks different from the other arm, almost like he’s in a permanent bicep contraction but the bicep is too low. I don’t think there is really anything that can be done to flatten the ball.
Ohio, I’m also doing some gentle stretching and strengthening exercises. It sounds like your calf tear was far more severe than what I have. What you describe is what is often seen when there is a severe tendon tear. You ought to see a sports oriented orthopedic surgeon to get your question answered.
@notrichenough, just to clarify my response, you will get to the point where you can do 12 reps without failure on a particular set. That’s ok, it’s a sign of progressing. You shouldn’t continue to increase reps within that set. Instead, you are working towards getting to 12 reps in the subsequent set. You want to stay in the 8-12 rep range for all the sets. Part of the progression is to get to 12 reps in each set before you increase the weight. The 8-12 rep range is what is recommended to promote increase in muscle size with some strength gains. If you were training for just strength, you might limit your reps to a max of 6 in each set but with heavier weights. If you are going over 12 reps, you are starting to get into the muscular endurance range.
Hey- C3B- Thought of you this morning as I ran along the canal in downtown Indianapolis. It’s a very quick trip. I felt tired and hot. 6 miles.
It was lovely that the hotel radio alarm in my room went off at 3 and I couldn’t get back to sleep.
Sounds like a great weekend, abasket! Michael, I hope I never, ever need the kind of PT you do! Glad the injury isn’t extremely limiting.
Went to a Reformer class last night - we had a torrential downpour while I was inside - it was like walking out into a steam room. Miserable. Then this morning - 68 degrees, 100 % humidity at 5:30. Today was another 70 minute workout - no strides - and I was pleased that my HR was manageable and my pace a smidge faster than yesterday. Walked the dogs for a cooldown.
I’d like everyone to remind me of this miserable summer weather when I mention wanting to train for another fall marathon. I need to find a spring one for my next one because this weather is just killing me.
Also very cool was that she took a load of my brochures to hand out at a networking collaboration meeting she is having with some local chiropractors and acupuncturists. This whole world of fitness and health professionals is so much more collegial, fun and inviting than the world of practicing law, haha!