Usually, I attend the festivities at Fort Edmonton Park every year to celebrate Dominion Day (Canada wasn't a country yet), but this year an opportunity came up that I couldn't pass up. I am going to be a caddie at the ATB Financial Classic presented by TELUS golf tournament. This is a Canadian Tour Event being held in Edmonton.
I have thought about volunteering for this for the past couple of years and this year it finally worked out. I am guaranteed to work for the first 2 days as I am on the bag for Jesse Gibson - an amateur out of Saskatchewan. If he makes the cut, then I will be on his bag for the entire weekend as well.
I know that I am going to learn a lot about the game while out there and I am going to have fun, but I am also glad that I have been in the gym lately as I am sure the bag is going to be heavy. The weather is supposed to be cooler and breezy so that won't be a problem but we go out in the last morning pairing tomorrow and the last afternoon pairing Friday. This means that we will be having 2 long rounds. Things get backed up as the day goes on so I am sure that we will be backed up a bit on Thursday and really delayed on Friday. Ah well, I get to hang with some serious golfers at one of the prestigious clubs in Edmonton - the Edmonton Country Club.
Anyway, I will post updates as to my experiences each evening if I have the energy. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 18
A special Wednesday edition of the workout updates.
With Canada Day being tomorrow, I moved my Thursday workout up to Wednesday. Yesterday we worked on legs and core and today we worked on chest, back, shoulders, and arms. I may have trouble washing my hair tomorrow.
We started with a superset of seated rows paired with hanging rows. Seated rows on the hammer machine with 125 pounds on each side. As this is a one handed machine, the other side can't help so there isn't a great way to cheat. The hanging rows consisted of laying under the TRX, grabbing two straps and lifting my own body by using the rowing move. Needless to say, I worked to failure doing both exercises. I needed some spotting on the seated rows and had to take a break during the hanging rows. Not a good start, but I don't mind working to failure as I know where my limits are. Just to finish we did some negative bicep curls with 50 pounds. Seven reps with a count of 7. One set only! Yay! Mainly because my biceps were activated in the 2 rowing exercises.
From there we moved onto some chest exercises with some single arm dumbbell bench presses. After five per side, I then had to hold the other weight at arms length while pressing the other one for another 5 per side. After that, I then did some flys to finish. This was done 3 times with 20 pound dumbbells.
After the chest work we did some shoulder presses (20 pounds), lateral raises (7.5 pounds), and tricep extensions (70 pounds).
To finish the day I did Supermans while laying on the bosu ball and holding a heavy pilates ball in front of me to add some weight to the exercise.
All in all, I think that I had a good day and I feel pretty good tonight. No cardio this week so no workout updates until Tuesday of next week.
With Canada Day being tomorrow, I moved my Thursday workout up to Wednesday. Yesterday we worked on legs and core and today we worked on chest, back, shoulders, and arms. I may have trouble washing my hair tomorrow.
We started with a superset of seated rows paired with hanging rows. Seated rows on the hammer machine with 125 pounds on each side. As this is a one handed machine, the other side can't help so there isn't a great way to cheat. The hanging rows consisted of laying under the TRX, grabbing two straps and lifting my own body by using the rowing move. Needless to say, I worked to failure doing both exercises. I needed some spotting on the seated rows and had to take a break during the hanging rows. Not a good start, but I don't mind working to failure as I know where my limits are. Just to finish we did some negative bicep curls with 50 pounds. Seven reps with a count of 7. One set only! Yay! Mainly because my biceps were activated in the 2 rowing exercises.
From there we moved onto some chest exercises with some single arm dumbbell bench presses. After five per side, I then had to hold the other weight at arms length while pressing the other one for another 5 per side. After that, I then did some flys to finish. This was done 3 times with 20 pound dumbbells.
After the chest work we did some shoulder presses (20 pounds), lateral raises (7.5 pounds), and tricep extensions (70 pounds).
To finish the day I did Supermans while laying on the bosu ball and holding a heavy pilates ball in front of me to add some weight to the exercise.
All in all, I think that I had a good day and I feel pretty good tonight. No cardio this week so no workout updates until Tuesday of next week.
Operation 204 - Chapter 17
Sorry for the late post on this one, but I had another curling meeting after the gym and didn't get home until late. I was way too tired to post an update, so I am doing that today.
Last night was another leg and core workout. I got there a bit early so I did a 15 minute warm-up on the elliptical to get everything moving. I had another treatment from my chiropractor yesterday too so my arm was bugging me a bit, but ice helped that problem.
To start the day, we set up a superset consisting of split squats and leg presses. We started with just the bar on the squats, then upped the weight. Three sets later we settled on 25 a side. Then off to the leg press where we started with 6 plates, moved to 8 plates, then added a 9th - a total of 405 pounds. Once we got that settled, we started the superset. Split squats first followed by the leg presses.
Once we completed that fun circuit 3 times, it was onto the next slice of heaven. This time it was squats paired with walking lunges. This time, we upped the weight during the superset for the squats so there was no warm-up round. Squats started at 35 per side then walking lunges with 15 pound dumbbells in each hand. Back to squats - this time with 45 per side then onto walking lunges - same weight. Final round of squats - 60 per side then walking lunges still with the weights. I'm not sure how, but the hallway always seems to grow longer for the trip back. Not sure how they do that.
For the core work, we did a superset consisting of Superman's with an added arm movement, decline bench sit-ups with a medicine ball and a double twist at the top of each sit-up, and finally an plank. Unfortunately - is that the right word...should I use fortunately...hmmmmm - we ran out of time and were unable to get to add weight to the plank. I tweaked my lower back a bit and we wanted to ensure that we didn't do more damage. We did run through this bit of fun twice (except the planks) so I am sure that Karissa will have more for me today.
Oh yeah, that is my other news, my next workout is today as Thursday is going to be a busy day for me. I mentioned that I was going to post about that too so I will do that when I get a chance. It is going to be a fun weekend.
Last night was another leg and core workout. I got there a bit early so I did a 15 minute warm-up on the elliptical to get everything moving. I had another treatment from my chiropractor yesterday too so my arm was bugging me a bit, but ice helped that problem.
To start the day, we set up a superset consisting of split squats and leg presses. We started with just the bar on the squats, then upped the weight. Three sets later we settled on 25 a side. Then off to the leg press where we started with 6 plates, moved to 8 plates, then added a 9th - a total of 405 pounds. Once we got that settled, we started the superset. Split squats first followed by the leg presses.
Once we completed that fun circuit 3 times, it was onto the next slice of heaven. This time it was squats paired with walking lunges. This time, we upped the weight during the superset for the squats so there was no warm-up round. Squats started at 35 per side then walking lunges with 15 pound dumbbells in each hand. Back to squats - this time with 45 per side then onto walking lunges - same weight. Final round of squats - 60 per side then walking lunges still with the weights. I'm not sure how, but the hallway always seems to grow longer for the trip back. Not sure how they do that.
For the core work, we did a superset consisting of Superman's with an added arm movement, decline bench sit-ups with a medicine ball and a double twist at the top of each sit-up, and finally an plank. Unfortunately - is that the right word...should I use fortunately...hmmmmm - we ran out of time and were unable to get to add weight to the plank. I tweaked my lower back a bit and we wanted to ensure that we didn't do more damage. We did run through this bit of fun twice (except the planks) so I am sure that Karissa will have more for me today.
Oh yeah, that is my other news, my next workout is today as Thursday is going to be a busy day for me. I mentioned that I was going to post about that too so I will do that when I get a chance. It is going to be a fun weekend.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 16
I told you that I may have a post today, and I do.
I almost didn't have one today as I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the gym or not. Today was the day that I needed to decide if I was going to the gym or going for beers. I can tell you right now, the beers were calling my name. It was a long week. So, near the end of the day, I thought about it and decided that the two events weren't mutually exclusive. So I did both.
I went to the gym and again was able to use the elliptical for 50 minutes (45 minutes at 75% of my heart rate and 5 minute cool down). However, unlike Wednesday, the elliptical made me its bitch today. It was tough. Not on the lungs and heart, but on my legs. After the week of leg workouts, my legs were ready to throw in the towel. I was able to fight through it somehow (I am paying for it now) and averaged 150 bpm for the entire 50 minutes. I think that the elliptical read my post from Wednesday and made it harder on me for pwning it then. It pwned me today.
Yes, I typed pwned. If you don't know the word, look it up. If you had to look it up, you better look up noob too.
After that workout is when I went for beers. They tasted even better because I worked out. And, beer is actually good for you after a workout. You don't have to believe me, but check out this story.
Anyway, I have some new news that I will deliver in a post tomorrow. No gym for the weekend, but Operation 204 will return on Tuesday.
I almost didn't have one today as I wasn't sure if I was going to make it to the gym or not. Today was the day that I needed to decide if I was going to the gym or going for beers. I can tell you right now, the beers were calling my name. It was a long week. So, near the end of the day, I thought about it and decided that the two events weren't mutually exclusive. So I did both.
I went to the gym and again was able to use the elliptical for 50 minutes (45 minutes at 75% of my heart rate and 5 minute cool down). However, unlike Wednesday, the elliptical made me its bitch today. It was tough. Not on the lungs and heart, but on my legs. After the week of leg workouts, my legs were ready to throw in the towel. I was able to fight through it somehow (I am paying for it now) and averaged 150 bpm for the entire 50 minutes. I think that the elliptical read my post from Wednesday and made it harder on me for pwning it then. It pwned me today.
Yes, I typed pwned. If you don't know the word, look it up. If you had to look it up, you better look up noob too.
After that workout is when I went for beers. They tasted even better because I worked out. And, beer is actually good for you after a workout. You don't have to believe me, but check out this story.
Anyway, I have some new news that I will deliver in a post tomorrow. No gym for the weekend, but Operation 204 will return on Tuesday.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 15
Thursday's edition of my workout saga.
I have been told that I actually have readers. Not sure I believe them. There may be a test later just to see if people are actually paying attention. Anyway, enough small talk, let's get to the workout.
Today the arm felt good, so we decided to test to see how good. I have to say that it held up quite well today and only pulled a bit on a couple of exercises. Nothing major, so my chiropractor is doing a good job.
We started with some warm ups consisting of extreme drop lunges (ones where I have to touch my elbow to the inside of the ankle on the same side while doing a lunge) and some shoulder warm ups with a light weight.
From there we moved onto finding some weights to do my superset for the day. I think that my lovely and attractive trainer Karissa sometimes underestimates what I can do so it took longer to find the weights I could work with. The superset consisted of dead lifts, upright rows, incline flys and finally lateral raises with the addition of bringing the weights in front of me before swinging them back to my sides then down.
So on the dead lift we warmed up with a set with 10 per side, then a set with 25 per side, then a set with 35 per side. Karissa decided that this was the point that I would stay for the superset.
We then moved onto the upright rows. We did a set at 35, then a set at 45, then a set at 55, and finally a set at 65. This was going to be me weight for the superset for upright rows.
Onto the incline bench where we started with 15 pounds for the flys. We moved to a set at 20 and a final set at 25 which was where we stopped for that portion of the superset.
Sitting up on the bench we used 7.5 pound weights for the lateral raise portion. We did one warm up set with those to make sure I could.
The flys and the lateral raises tweaked my arm a bit, but it wasn't too bad so we continued on.
So, after finding the weights for my individual elements we started the superset. Start with dead lifts, move to upright rows, then onto the incline flys and finally the lateral raises. Three sets of 8 reps for each and my day was complete. This was another day where I could surprise Karissa with my progress so I am sure that I am going to pay for it on Tuesday when I meet with Karissa again. I am not sure if she hates me or likes me, but she keeps working with me so it must be less hate :)
Anyway, not sure if I am going to do cardio tomorrow or not as I think that I need a beer after work. I'll take my stuff just in case, but it may not get used until next week.
I have been told that I actually have readers. Not sure I believe them. There may be a test later just to see if people are actually paying attention. Anyway, enough small talk, let's get to the workout.
Today the arm felt good, so we decided to test to see how good. I have to say that it held up quite well today and only pulled a bit on a couple of exercises. Nothing major, so my chiropractor is doing a good job.
We started with some warm ups consisting of extreme drop lunges (ones where I have to touch my elbow to the inside of the ankle on the same side while doing a lunge) and some shoulder warm ups with a light weight.
From there we moved onto finding some weights to do my superset for the day. I think that my lovely and attractive trainer Karissa sometimes underestimates what I can do so it took longer to find the weights I could work with. The superset consisted of dead lifts, upright rows, incline flys and finally lateral raises with the addition of bringing the weights in front of me before swinging them back to my sides then down.
So on the dead lift we warmed up with a set with 10 per side, then a set with 25 per side, then a set with 35 per side. Karissa decided that this was the point that I would stay for the superset.
We then moved onto the upright rows. We did a set at 35, then a set at 45, then a set at 55, and finally a set at 65. This was going to be me weight for the superset for upright rows.
Onto the incline bench where we started with 15 pounds for the flys. We moved to a set at 20 and a final set at 25 which was where we stopped for that portion of the superset.
Sitting up on the bench we used 7.5 pound weights for the lateral raise portion. We did one warm up set with those to make sure I could.
The flys and the lateral raises tweaked my arm a bit, but it wasn't too bad so we continued on.
So, after finding the weights for my individual elements we started the superset. Start with dead lifts, move to upright rows, then onto the incline flys and finally the lateral raises. Three sets of 8 reps for each and my day was complete. This was another day where I could surprise Karissa with my progress so I am sure that I am going to pay for it on Tuesday when I meet with Karissa again. I am not sure if she hates me or likes me, but she keeps working with me so it must be less hate :)
Anyway, not sure if I am going to do cardio tomorrow or not as I think that I need a beer after work. I'll take my stuff just in case, but it may not get used until next week.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 14
A special Wednesday edition of the Operation 204 saga. I think this may become a regular occurrence, so be prepared.
Today was cardio day. I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to after the leg workout yesterday, but I felt good after work so I decided to make the elliptical machine my bitch. I did.
I was able to get to my target heart rate within the first 6 minutes and then maintained that for the next 39 to total 45. The 5 minute cool down saw my heart rate drop to about 130 so the recovery is a bit slow. That will change as I go. My average heart rate for the entire 50 minutes was 150 which is just below my target of 154. Considering the warm up and cool down, I was able to be at 154 or higher for the entire 45 minutes.
I was able to get through this one fairly easy compared to last week. Amazing how cardio stays with you for a bit and allows the body to get to that level quicker. I will look at bumping my target heart rate to 80% of max next week. I hope to get one more cardio day in this week - possibly Friday.
Short update as I really didn't do anything else. See you tomorrow.
Today was cardio day. I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to after the leg workout yesterday, but I felt good after work so I decided to make the elliptical machine my bitch. I did.
I was able to get to my target heart rate within the first 6 minutes and then maintained that for the next 39 to total 45. The 5 minute cool down saw my heart rate drop to about 130 so the recovery is a bit slow. That will change as I go. My average heart rate for the entire 50 minutes was 150 which is just below my target of 154. Considering the warm up and cool down, I was able to be at 154 or higher for the entire 45 minutes.
I was able to get through this one fairly easy compared to last week. Amazing how cardio stays with you for a bit and allows the body to get to that level quicker. I will look at bumping my target heart rate to 80% of max next week. I hope to get one more cardio day in this week - possibly Friday.
Short update as I really didn't do anything else. See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 13
Another Tuesday, another ass-kicking.
I have to tell you, when I tell Karissa to push me, she pushes me. She is one amazing trainer. I am not just saying that because she reads this. I really mean it. I think she knows that I am not one to suck up here to get is easier on Thursday.
So, let's get into what we did today.
We started up with some warm-ups consisting of hockey lunges paired with shoulder raises while lying on the bench. This was more to stretch the shoulders out. I wanted to do more, but unfortunately, my arm won't let me. My chiropractor beat me up again but the arm is starting to feel better. Hopefully next week I can push the upper body a bit more.
After that, we moved onto some leg exercises. We did squats with larger weight this time and we upped the weight after each set. We will push that a bit more once I stop locking my knees at the top. That's an easy correction.
After the squats we did lunges but this time I held weights and had the back leg on a bench. Not an easy exercise and the legs were screaming by the end of it.
From the legs we moved onto chest and back. First with seated bench press which we modified somewhat to protect my arm. After that we did seated rows on the hammer machine and again we upped the weight each time. I surprised Karissa again with the weight that I could do. She didn't think that I could do it, but I did. We are getting closer to working to failure which is where I need to be right now.
I think that I am doing much better than I could have just 2 short months ago, but Karissa is the ultimate judge on that one. If she would just sign up on Google, she could comment here, but no, she doesn't want to do that.
Before I leave this post, I do have to say that my trainer has the best smile I have ever seen. I am going to soon start having to use new material just to ensure that I see it every workout. Time to start thinking up a new routine.
Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow as Wednesday is the day for cardio.
I have to tell you, when I tell Karissa to push me, she pushes me. She is one amazing trainer. I am not just saying that because she reads this. I really mean it. I think she knows that I am not one to suck up here to get is easier on Thursday.
So, let's get into what we did today.
We started up with some warm-ups consisting of hockey lunges paired with shoulder raises while lying on the bench. This was more to stretch the shoulders out. I wanted to do more, but unfortunately, my arm won't let me. My chiropractor beat me up again but the arm is starting to feel better. Hopefully next week I can push the upper body a bit more.
After that, we moved onto some leg exercises. We did squats with larger weight this time and we upped the weight after each set. We will push that a bit more once I stop locking my knees at the top. That's an easy correction.
After the squats we did lunges but this time I held weights and had the back leg on a bench. Not an easy exercise and the legs were screaming by the end of it.
From the legs we moved onto chest and back. First with seated bench press which we modified somewhat to protect my arm. After that we did seated rows on the hammer machine and again we upped the weight each time. I surprised Karissa again with the weight that I could do. She didn't think that I could do it, but I did. We are getting closer to working to failure which is where I need to be right now.
I think that I am doing much better than I could have just 2 short months ago, but Karissa is the ultimate judge on that one. If she would just sign up on Google, she could comment here, but no, she doesn't want to do that.
Before I leave this post, I do have to say that my trainer has the best smile I have ever seen. I am going to soon start having to use new material just to ensure that I see it every workout. Time to start thinking up a new routine.
Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow as Wednesday is the day for cardio.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 12
A surprise Friday edition of my workout updates. Instead of going to the bar for a beer or 10, I decided to go to the gym instead and try to lose some weight.
Today was a cardio day. No weights, no lunges, no wall sits, no bosu balls, none of that at all. Today was just the elliptical. If you think it was easy, think again.
In order to do this right, I had to find a target heart rate to workout at. Because I am just starting my cardio work, we decided that 75% of my theoretical maximum would be a good point. I also know that the formula of 220-age is not a good one to use, so Karissa found a different calculation for me that takes into account reserve heart rate. The formula is (220-age-resting heart rate)*target heart rate (as a percentage of max)+resting heart rate. For me this came to be (220-41-80)*.75+80 = 154 bpm.
So for 45 minutes, I maintained a heart rate of 154 bpm and then had a 5 minute cool down to get the heart rate to come down to a more reasonable rate (it got to 128 by the time my cool down was done).
I was going along just fine for the first bit but then the legs started to go wobbly. There were a few times that I was thankful I was holding on to the handles as well as I almost went down. The last 5 minutes were a struggle to get through, but I did. I was able to get through the entire 45 minutes and felt good when I was done.
The thing I like most about cardio is the way my lungs feel when I'm done. It feels like I get a lot more oxygen in for the next few hours. Probably my imagination, but it's how I feel.
Anyway, I plan on adding 2 cardio days to my workout so expect extra updates.
See you Tuesday.
Today was a cardio day. No weights, no lunges, no wall sits, no bosu balls, none of that at all. Today was just the elliptical. If you think it was easy, think again.
In order to do this right, I had to find a target heart rate to workout at. Because I am just starting my cardio work, we decided that 75% of my theoretical maximum would be a good point. I also know that the formula of 220-age is not a good one to use, so Karissa found a different calculation for me that takes into account reserve heart rate. The formula is (220-age-resting heart rate)*target heart rate (as a percentage of max)+resting heart rate. For me this came to be (220-41-80)*.75+80 = 154 bpm.
So for 45 minutes, I maintained a heart rate of 154 bpm and then had a 5 minute cool down to get the heart rate to come down to a more reasonable rate (it got to 128 by the time my cool down was done).
I was going along just fine for the first bit but then the legs started to go wobbly. There were a few times that I was thankful I was holding on to the handles as well as I almost went down. The last 5 minutes were a struggle to get through, but I did. I was able to get through the entire 45 minutes and felt good when I was done.
The thing I like most about cardio is the way my lungs feel when I'm done. It feels like I get a lot more oxygen in for the next few hours. Probably my imagination, but it's how I feel.
Anyway, I plan on adding 2 cardio days to my workout so expect extra updates.
See you Tuesday.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 11
Another Thursday, another workout. Pretty tired tonight after this one, and I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong, Karissa put me through my paces, but I felt energized after today. It really hit me once I got home. Oh well.
I had mentioned that I was going to try for a cardio day yesterday, but after Tuesday, my hamstring tightened so much that I didn't want to push it on anything. It was still tight today, so we worked on stretching it out so I could complete my workout. We did some warm-up exercises to begin with a step lunge where I had to try to touch my same-side arm to the inside of my ankle. Then onto some shoulder warm-ups then onto squats while facing a wall and only being a couple of inches off the wall. Repeat that 3 times, then move onto the next exercise.
After that warm-up we had to work on the hamstring so we rolled it out and stretched it to loosen it up. Once that felt better we moved onto squats where we upped the weight after each set. We paired the squats with knee roll-ups but instead of using the ball we used the straps on the TRX. Much harder - both the exercise and getting my feet into the handles. Repeat 4 times.
After that we moved onto my superset for the day which were single-leg leg presses, scorpions (I'll explain in a bit), and what we call bosu belly floundering. Let me explain that too.
The scorpion exercise is one where you get into a plank position with your hands on a bench and one leg on the stability ball. From this position you twist your other leg under and over. Essentially a twisting motion while trying to keep your balance on the stability ball. Not sure why they call it a scorpion. I think it may be because your trainer is doubled over laughing which may represent a scorpion. Or they named it that to make it sound cool as opposed to what you actually have to do. It is extremely difficult is all I know.
The bosu belly floundering is the name for this strange movement when I had to balance on the bosu ball on my stomach then touch my heels with the same-side hand. You can imagine what I looked like on that one. I was floundering all over the place trying to keep my balance and twist around to touch my heels. I am so glad we aren't recording my sessions for as a teaching aid. It would hit YouTube a bit too fast for my liking.
Well, let's see if I can get to my cardio work tomorrow. Hopefully see you then.
I had mentioned that I was going to try for a cardio day yesterday, but after Tuesday, my hamstring tightened so much that I didn't want to push it on anything. It was still tight today, so we worked on stretching it out so I could complete my workout. We did some warm-up exercises to begin with a step lunge where I had to try to touch my same-side arm to the inside of my ankle. Then onto some shoulder warm-ups then onto squats while facing a wall and only being a couple of inches off the wall. Repeat that 3 times, then move onto the next exercise.
After that warm-up we had to work on the hamstring so we rolled it out and stretched it to loosen it up. Once that felt better we moved onto squats where we upped the weight after each set. We paired the squats with knee roll-ups but instead of using the ball we used the straps on the TRX. Much harder - both the exercise and getting my feet into the handles. Repeat 4 times.
After that we moved onto my superset for the day which were single-leg leg presses, scorpions (I'll explain in a bit), and what we call bosu belly floundering. Let me explain that too.
The scorpion exercise is one where you get into a plank position with your hands on a bench and one leg on the stability ball. From this position you twist your other leg under and over. Essentially a twisting motion while trying to keep your balance on the stability ball. Not sure why they call it a scorpion. I think it may be because your trainer is doubled over laughing which may represent a scorpion. Or they named it that to make it sound cool as opposed to what you actually have to do. It is extremely difficult is all I know.
The bosu belly floundering is the name for this strange movement when I had to balance on the bosu ball on my stomach then touch my heels with the same-side hand. You can imagine what I looked like on that one. I was floundering all over the place trying to keep my balance and twist around to touch my heels. I am so glad we aren't recording my sessions for as a teaching aid. It would hit YouTube a bit too fast for my liking.
Well, let's see if I can get to my cardio work tomorrow. Hopefully see you then.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 10
Another Tuesday, another workout, another blog post. A couple of extra items in this one too.
First, an update to my last chapter. It turns out that I only did 10 minutes on the stair climber. It only felt like 15 minutes because I hate stairs. Karissa pointed that out to me but she didn't leave a comment as she didn't want to sign in to do so.
Second, I went to see my chiropractor today and asked about that damn pain in my arm. Turns out that it isn't anything too serious and he was able to work much of it out today, but there is more to go. It is an old injury that is well ingrained now so the muscles and tendons don't want to move much. It is right where the muscle attaches to the bone and that is why the pain when I use that area. It just doesn't want to move. I have to see him again next week, so I will keep you posted.
Finally, my workout. Today was not a good day and I really didn't feel much like working out, but my ever perky trainer Karissa was able to keep me motivated. Mainly by completely understanding what I was going through. Sometimes you just have to get through the workout. Missing is not good and it is only an hour. I worked through it.
This time we started with some warm-up exercises that included wide stance walkouts, drop lunges and some basic shoulder warms up using some light weights. From that we moved to walking lunges paired with lat pull downs. I think that I surprised Karissa again as I am maintaining my form as I perform these exercises. She doesn't have to correct me much during any of my workouts so that is a good thing. The legs were starting to go by the end of the lunges as I had walked a fair amount while golfing yesterday so it was a battle to get through them. Oh yeah, to add some extra punishment to the walking lunges, I had to do them while holding a bar parallel to the ground above my head for the entire walk. That makes it surprisingly tougher.
After that little slice of heaven we moved onto leg press paired with upright rows. Again I surprised her by not having to lose my form to complete the task. We also found a new norm for my leg presses. I think that I am going to get her to up the weight again. We are at 7 plates and I can power through 10 reps relatively easily. The hardest part of the exercise is getting into the damn chair.
From there we moved to my last double set of dead lifts and barbell shrugs. I know I haven't mentioned it to anyone here before, but I hate shrugs. They could possibly be the worst exercise ever developed IMHO.
That was it. The hour flew by but by the end of it my mood was a lot better. Somehow Karissa just has a way of making me feel better. I think it's her smile.
I have been warned that Thursday is going to be "fun". Fun for a trainer means new exercises that will cause them to go home and laugh themselves to sleep as they remember the forms their trainees took while floundering all over the place while trying to do what the trainer can do with ease. This is going to be one those times that I'm glad I don't vlog.
See you Thursday - unless I do an entry tomorrow after my cardio workout. We'll see what happens.
First, an update to my last chapter. It turns out that I only did 10 minutes on the stair climber. It only felt like 15 minutes because I hate stairs. Karissa pointed that out to me but she didn't leave a comment as she didn't want to sign in to do so.
Second, I went to see my chiropractor today and asked about that damn pain in my arm. Turns out that it isn't anything too serious and he was able to work much of it out today, but there is more to go. It is an old injury that is well ingrained now so the muscles and tendons don't want to move much. It is right where the muscle attaches to the bone and that is why the pain when I use that area. It just doesn't want to move. I have to see him again next week, so I will keep you posted.
Finally, my workout. Today was not a good day and I really didn't feel much like working out, but my ever perky trainer Karissa was able to keep me motivated. Mainly by completely understanding what I was going through. Sometimes you just have to get through the workout. Missing is not good and it is only an hour. I worked through it.
This time we started with some warm-up exercises that included wide stance walkouts, drop lunges and some basic shoulder warms up using some light weights. From that we moved to walking lunges paired with lat pull downs. I think that I surprised Karissa again as I am maintaining my form as I perform these exercises. She doesn't have to correct me much during any of my workouts so that is a good thing. The legs were starting to go by the end of the lunges as I had walked a fair amount while golfing yesterday so it was a battle to get through them. Oh yeah, to add some extra punishment to the walking lunges, I had to do them while holding a bar parallel to the ground above my head for the entire walk. That makes it surprisingly tougher.
After that little slice of heaven we moved onto leg press paired with upright rows. Again I surprised her by not having to lose my form to complete the task. We also found a new norm for my leg presses. I think that I am going to get her to up the weight again. We are at 7 plates and I can power through 10 reps relatively easily. The hardest part of the exercise is getting into the damn chair.
From there we moved to my last double set of dead lifts and barbell shrugs. I know I haven't mentioned it to anyone here before, but I hate shrugs. They could possibly be the worst exercise ever developed IMHO.
That was it. The hour flew by but by the end of it my mood was a lot better. Somehow Karissa just has a way of making me feel better. I think it's her smile.
I have been warned that Thursday is going to be "fun". Fun for a trainer means new exercises that will cause them to go home and laugh themselves to sleep as they remember the forms their trainees took while floundering all over the place while trying to do what the trainer can do with ease. This is going to be one those times that I'm glad I don't vlog.
See you Thursday - unless I do an entry tomorrow after my cardio workout. We'll see what happens.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Golf - The most frustrating fun one person can have
I don't understand why I put myself through the pain of golfing, but I do.
I golf in the Men's night at The Ranch every Monday with some pretty decent golfers. I am told that I am in the top 10% of all golfers in that I break 100 consistently, but I am not quite sure I believe that stat. Anyway, I break 100 consistently, but I rarely break 90. In fact, this year, I have had a hard time breaking 95. It has been a very bad year. Until tonight.
Tonight I went out and shot 82. I don't think that I have ever shot 82 before. I think that I have come close before, but never hit 82. I had a good round, but it wasn't great. I played consistently tonight. I never shot worse that 2 over on any hole, but I never had a birdie either. I had 3 tries for birdies, but none of the putts fell.
Also, for the first time this year, my driver started to work. I was able to hit it straight and long. I changed one small thing while warming up on the range and it seemed to work. It made me happy.
So, that is the story of my night tonight. I think that I am going to be talking about this tomorrow to anyone who will listen.
See you tomorrow with my workout update.
I golf in the Men's night at The Ranch every Monday with some pretty decent golfers. I am told that I am in the top 10% of all golfers in that I break 100 consistently, but I am not quite sure I believe that stat. Anyway, I break 100 consistently, but I rarely break 90. In fact, this year, I have had a hard time breaking 95. It has been a very bad year. Until tonight.
Tonight I went out and shot 82. I don't think that I have ever shot 82 before. I think that I have come close before, but never hit 82. I had a good round, but it wasn't great. I played consistently tonight. I never shot worse that 2 over on any hole, but I never had a birdie either. I had 3 tries for birdies, but none of the putts fell.
Also, for the first time this year, my driver started to work. I was able to hit it straight and long. I changed one small thing while warming up on the range and it seemed to work. It made me happy.
So, that is the story of my night tonight. I think that I am going to be talking about this tomorrow to anyone who will listen.
See you tomorrow with my workout update.
Friday, June 11, 2010
File under WTF
This is in today's Globe and Mail. Not sure I would ever think of doing something like this. What do I mean not sure - I am sure I would never do this.
Ultramarathon
“This Sunday in New York, a small knot of runners will start running around the block,” Benjie Goodhart reports for The Guardian. “They will resemble any other running club although they might look a little slow. They will run one lap of the 0.5488-mile [883-metre] block. Then they will do it another 5,649 times. The 3100 Transcendental Race is the longest certified foot race in the world. Every day for the next six to eight weeks, the entrants will race from 6 a.m. until midnight – averaging 75 miles a day. For no payment or prize.”
I know that running is considered healthy by many. Not by me, but that is for another discussion. But, there has to be a point where running becomes unhealthy. Isn't it everything should be done in moderation. I am sure that running for 18 hours a day isn't considered moderation.
Ultramarathon
“This Sunday in New York, a small knot of runners will start running around the block,” Benjie Goodhart reports for The Guardian. “They will resemble any other running club although they might look a little slow. They will run one lap of the 0.5488-mile [883-metre] block. Then they will do it another 5,649 times. The 3100 Transcendental Race is the longest certified foot race in the world. Every day for the next six to eight weeks, the entrants will race from 6 a.m. until midnight – averaging 75 miles a day. For no payment or prize.”
I know that running is considered healthy by many. Not by me, but that is for another discussion. But, there has to be a point where running becomes unhealthy. Isn't it everything should be done in moderation. I am sure that running for 18 hours a day isn't considered moderation.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 9
Another day, another workout. Somehow I made it through and I did it while surprising my trainer.
I started out as I always do with a quick warm up on the elliptical. I knew we were doing shoulders and back today so the elliptical helps warm up my shoulders. Also, my legs were still stiff from Tuesday's workout, so the warm up was tough.
After that, we moved onto the stair climber for 15 minutes of pure hell. At least I think it was 15. It may have been 10, but if I am wrong, Karissa can leave a comment telling me that I am wrong.
From there we moved onto the sets of lat pull downs coupled with these things called renegade rows. Let me tell you about those. Imagine a plank, a push up and a dumbbell row all in the same exercise. We start with a plank on the dumbbells, then shift to one side row the other side and then do a push up. Repeat for each side. I think my hands still hurt from placing the majority of my weight on a small dumbbell bar to to the plank and push up. Also, when rowing one weight, the other one is holding all of my weight. The only good thing about this exercise is that it works the entire core as it engages for balance while rowing.
After that little slice of anti-heaven, we moved onto another duo where we did dumbbell rows and negative bicep curls. Negatives mean that we slowly lower the weight before curling it back up. In fact, the lowering was done to a very slow 7 count. Karissa must have thought that I wasn't working hard enough as on one particular set she had me hold the weight half-way down for a little bit of extra pain. Also, on the rows, we increased the weight each time. We went from 25 to 35 to 40 to 45. Going into it, Karissa thought that I would max out at 35 so I surprised her. This means that she will push me extra hard next time. So, to sum up, we went from row to curl to row to curl...
Once we were done that it was time for my superset of the day. This time it was a dumbbell shoulder press, followed by a front barbell shoulder press, followed by a lateral raise, followed by a lateral raise with the added benefit of swinging the weights in front of me until they touched then back out before lowering.
During all of this we did find that my arm injury is going to be a major hurdle. The pain is like someone stabbing me with a knife in my arm while I am trying to lift the weight. I am going to have it checked out next week, so we'll see what it is then. Keep p watching and I'll update you when I know something.
We also decided that I should add a day of cardio with these workouts so that means 3 times a week into the gym starting next week.
Oh yeah, one last thing. I forgot to tell you all that Karissa is looking even better lately. She has changed her trainer and her workout regimen and it is paying off. If you are single, you may want to head into the downtown location of World Health and see if you can meet her. It is worth your time. She is going to make me pay for this, but it is worth it.
See you next week.
I started out as I always do with a quick warm up on the elliptical. I knew we were doing shoulders and back today so the elliptical helps warm up my shoulders. Also, my legs were still stiff from Tuesday's workout, so the warm up was tough.
After that, we moved onto the stair climber for 15 minutes of pure hell. At least I think it was 15. It may have been 10, but if I am wrong, Karissa can leave a comment telling me that I am wrong.
From there we moved onto the sets of lat pull downs coupled with these things called renegade rows. Let me tell you about those. Imagine a plank, a push up and a dumbbell row all in the same exercise. We start with a plank on the dumbbells, then shift to one side row the other side and then do a push up. Repeat for each side. I think my hands still hurt from placing the majority of my weight on a small dumbbell bar to to the plank and push up. Also, when rowing one weight, the other one is holding all of my weight. The only good thing about this exercise is that it works the entire core as it engages for balance while rowing.
After that little slice of anti-heaven, we moved onto another duo where we did dumbbell rows and negative bicep curls. Negatives mean that we slowly lower the weight before curling it back up. In fact, the lowering was done to a very slow 7 count. Karissa must have thought that I wasn't working hard enough as on one particular set she had me hold the weight half-way down for a little bit of extra pain. Also, on the rows, we increased the weight each time. We went from 25 to 35 to 40 to 45. Going into it, Karissa thought that I would max out at 35 so I surprised her. This means that she will push me extra hard next time. So, to sum up, we went from row to curl to row to curl...
Once we were done that it was time for my superset of the day. This time it was a dumbbell shoulder press, followed by a front barbell shoulder press, followed by a lateral raise, followed by a lateral raise with the added benefit of swinging the weights in front of me until they touched then back out before lowering.
During all of this we did find that my arm injury is going to be a major hurdle. The pain is like someone stabbing me with a knife in my arm while I am trying to lift the weight. I am going to have it checked out next week, so we'll see what it is then. Keep p watching and I'll update you when I know something.
We also decided that I should add a day of cardio with these workouts so that means 3 times a week into the gym starting next week.
Oh yeah, one last thing. I forgot to tell you all that Karissa is looking even better lately. She has changed her trainer and her workout regimen and it is paying off. If you are single, you may want to head into the downtown location of World Health and see if you can meet her. It is worth your time. She is going to make me pay for this, but it is worth it.
See you next week.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Buddy Holly at the Mayfield
On Sunday night, we went to the latest show at the Mayfield Dinner Theatre. This one is called The Buddy Holly Story.
I can honestly say that I was dreading going to this performance. Most of these shows at the Mayfield really suck. The same actors seem to appear for all of the musical productions that the Mayfield puts on but this time there were a few different actors and they were refreshing to see.
Also, this one differed in that there was an actual story to it without just a medly of songs that the artists would have performed.
The play is very well done and the actors/musicians are very talented. Both of the actors that are splitting the duties of Buddy have done this character before in London and one has even performed for Buddy's widow. Also, the voice was spot on, the music was tight, and the acting was passable. If the Mayfield had more shows like this one, I think the popularity would increase. In fact, the house was packed for this one.
I am going to give this production a 7 out of 10 - which is amazing if you have ever heard my comments concering the other musical productions.
I will give another review after I get to see the next production in August.
I can honestly say that I was dreading going to this performance. Most of these shows at the Mayfield really suck. The same actors seem to appear for all of the musical productions that the Mayfield puts on but this time there were a few different actors and they were refreshing to see.
Also, this one differed in that there was an actual story to it without just a medly of songs that the artists would have performed.
The play is very well done and the actors/musicians are very talented. Both of the actors that are splitting the duties of Buddy have done this character before in London and one has even performed for Buddy's widow. Also, the voice was spot on, the music was tight, and the acting was passable. If the Mayfield had more shows like this one, I think the popularity would increase. In fact, the house was packed for this one.
I am going to give this production a 7 out of 10 - which is amazing if you have ever heard my comments concering the other musical productions.
I will give another review after I get to see the next production in August.
Operation 204 - Chapter 8
Sorry it's been a while since I last left a note here, but I haven't been in the gym lately. Life got in the way, as it sometimes does.
Anyway, today was the first day of the second stage in my training. It was the day to up the weight and lower the reps. My system has been shocked enough, so it's now time to build the muscle.
Today we worked on legs and chest. We did squats and leg presses until we found a weight that would make me work to get 10 reps out (it took about 3 sets to find that weight) then we did 3 sets of squats and leg presses 10 squats and 10 leg presses followed by a break. Repeat 3 times.
From there we moved to my superset for the day. We did dumbbell bench press on a slight incline, then chest flys (same incline), then chest flys where we had to twist at the end to have my pinkies trying to touch each other (again, on the incline) then over to the Smith Machine where we did speed presses followed by 3 pulse presses (that's where you bounce the weight twice on the chest before pressing it all the way to the top). That last bit seemed to really hurt one part of my arm (I think I have a slight tear in the muscle in one spot on my left arm) so we changed that last item to just bounce presses. 8 reps on the second superset and 10 on the last. All the other items were 10 reps.
On Thursday we move to shoulders and back. I am sure that it is going to be another painful day. That being said, I feel quite good tonight. My body is tired, but it is the good tired - the kind where you know you did something, but not enough to kill me. Check with me tomorrow and Thursday to see if I still feel the same.
See you Thursday.
Anyway, today was the first day of the second stage in my training. It was the day to up the weight and lower the reps. My system has been shocked enough, so it's now time to build the muscle.
Today we worked on legs and chest. We did squats and leg presses until we found a weight that would make me work to get 10 reps out (it took about 3 sets to find that weight) then we did 3 sets of squats and leg presses 10 squats and 10 leg presses followed by a break. Repeat 3 times.
From there we moved to my superset for the day. We did dumbbell bench press on a slight incline, then chest flys (same incline), then chest flys where we had to twist at the end to have my pinkies trying to touch each other (again, on the incline) then over to the Smith Machine where we did speed presses followed by 3 pulse presses (that's where you bounce the weight twice on the chest before pressing it all the way to the top). That last bit seemed to really hurt one part of my arm (I think I have a slight tear in the muscle in one spot on my left arm) so we changed that last item to just bounce presses. 8 reps on the second superset and 10 on the last. All the other items were 10 reps.
On Thursday we move to shoulders and back. I am sure that it is going to be another painful day. That being said, I feel quite good tonight. My body is tired, but it is the good tired - the kind where you know you did something, but not enough to kill me. Check with me tomorrow and Thursday to see if I still feel the same.
See you Thursday.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Operation 204 - Chapter 7
Good day everyone!
Today was my first day of working out by myself without the aid of a trainer pushing me. Much harder this way. Let me tell you why.
First, I really didn't feel like going to workout today, but I know that is just inertia exuding its influence on me (Damn you Sir Isaac Newton). So, I grabbed my gym clothes and made my way to World Health.
Once I got there, I had to choose which workout I wanted to do. I wanted something that wasn't too painful as I knew that I had to self-motivate, but it had to be something that was going to push me a bit as the next phase of my training begins next week. So, I chose the workout that I did in Chapter 2, but I upped the weight where I could.
It started out well enough with the sets of bench squats paired with dumbbell fly's. I then had to wait for some equipment to open up to do my single leg presses paired with machine pull downs. I then moved onto the dreaded part of the workout - my core.
This was the part that I really had to talk to myself. It was the superset of bench knee tucks with the stability ball, alternating supermans, bicycle crunches and finally side planks. I am sure that I looked like an idiot talking to myself between sets to get myself ready for the next one, but it worked. I was able to complete everything and I did it in less than the hour that it normally takes me. I was quite proud of myself.
Unfortunately, I haven't noticed a lot of change in my weight - I have dropped 2 pounds. But I have noticed changes in the look of my body. The fat that was on my arms and legs has disappeared and my pants are starting to fit a bit looser. So, I am going to assume that my body is producing enough muscle to compensate for the fat loss. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it.
Stay tuned for Thursday when I have to do my second workout alone. I am going to have trouble choosing a workout that I want to do and can talk myself into completing, but I will do it.
Today was my first day of working out by myself without the aid of a trainer pushing me. Much harder this way. Let me tell you why.
First, I really didn't feel like going to workout today, but I know that is just inertia exuding its influence on me (Damn you Sir Isaac Newton). So, I grabbed my gym clothes and made my way to World Health.
Once I got there, I had to choose which workout I wanted to do. I wanted something that wasn't too painful as I knew that I had to self-motivate, but it had to be something that was going to push me a bit as the next phase of my training begins next week. So, I chose the workout that I did in Chapter 2, but I upped the weight where I could.
It started out well enough with the sets of bench squats paired with dumbbell fly's. I then had to wait for some equipment to open up to do my single leg presses paired with machine pull downs. I then moved onto the dreaded part of the workout - my core.
This was the part that I really had to talk to myself. It was the superset of bench knee tucks with the stability ball, alternating supermans, bicycle crunches and finally side planks. I am sure that I looked like an idiot talking to myself between sets to get myself ready for the next one, but it worked. I was able to complete everything and I did it in less than the hour that it normally takes me. I was quite proud of myself.
Unfortunately, I haven't noticed a lot of change in my weight - I have dropped 2 pounds. But I have noticed changes in the look of my body. The fat that was on my arms and legs has disappeared and my pants are starting to fit a bit looser. So, I am going to assume that my body is producing enough muscle to compensate for the fat loss. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it.
Stay tuned for Thursday when I have to do my second workout alone. I am going to have trouble choosing a workout that I want to do and can talk myself into completing, but I will do it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)