Skip to main content

Exercise Notes

Yesterday was Day 2, post cardio (7.5K run). As I was preparing for my ripping core workout, I mused over my appearance. Zuzana from Body Rock TV is always gorgeous- me, on the other hand, I am a mess when I workout: typically morning pre-shower, no makeup or better yet crusty leftovers from the day before, hair pulled back with a headband to keep it in place during the plyos, abdominal splint with tensor bandage wrapped over top from thorax to hips. O ya- sexy. Fortunately unlike Zuzana I am not working out for an audience- an argument for how the you-are-your-own-home-gym beats the gym entirely as well. Also fortunately I clean up reasonably well, and post workout with muscles pumped, I get purdy fast :)

My workout was interesting and introspective. During plank I could feel my lats supporting my body weight, relieving my anterior delts which really helped with the upper body fatigue. I felt this especially during the Reptile exercise with the alternating side rotations. I set a PB for max reps 2 rounds, using 45:15 intervals. Woot.


Yesterday was also November 01, so an opportunity to review my performance for October. I averaged 4 days/week exercising, which is pretty much on track with my work:rest goal which is allowing me to increase the intensity of my workouts. I increased my monthly cardio by about 1 hour- that's about +15%. More importantly, my HR Zones broke down as follows:

Warm Up/Cool Down 20% total time, down from 30%
Maintain/Lose Weight 30% total time, down from +35%
Improve Cardiovascular Fitness 35% total time, up from 20%
Increase Athletic Performance 15% total time, up from 5%

So at a glance I am satisfied with the adjustments I made during October. The extra rest helped me to push my HR during my dedicated cardio workouts, reaching the target zones required to make improvements. I hope this will prevent me from hitting a plateau.

Well I just put the baby down for his A.M. nap. Enough writing about working out- time to get after it! This is Day 3, post core, so although I was thinking time challenge strength workout I am now reconsidering and leaning towards a cardio burn. I am off to hit the bike! What does your workout look like today?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kate's Guide to Getting the Correct Sports Bra!

I wear an unusual size and it took me years to unlock the secrets to bra fitting (and finding!) I suffered for years in improperly fitting bras, and during exercise I would wear 2 or 3 just to get the support I needed.  E very woman needs support while performing sports; not having proper support means that there is extra stress put on the back during various activities. Even low-impact exercise s done without the support of a sports bra can result in strain on the upper back and shoulders that can result in pain or worse- injuries that may develop over time. Sports bras affect a woman’s posture. Exercising without support can result in slouching to prevent painful bouncing which throws the back and hips out of alignment and impedes form, leading to potential injury. The most common mistakes are when women wear a bra that is too small in the cup and too loose around the body for example a 38e instead of a 36f. Note: When you go down a band size, go up a cup! Step 1: T
Post a Comment
Read more

I don’t have a Diastasis- Why is my abdomen still distended postpartum?

I get asked this question all the time! Here is my answer: Research has shown that 100% of pregnant women will develop some degree of diastasis recti. A diastasis is a lateral separation in the abdominal wall between the recti or “six pack”, due to a stretching of the midline connective tissue or “linea alba”. Although some diastasis will heal postpartum, in many cases a separation will remain without restorative exercise. Distention from DR will present as a doming in the midline. Women who heal a diastasis spontaneously or through restorative exercise may still find that their abdomens are distended, particularly after a meal and/or at the end of the day. If there is no diastasis, why is this? This abdominal distention does not occur in the midline, but rather across the entire abdominal wall. This is due to a weakened hypotonic TVA- transverse abdominis muscle. The TVA is the deepest anterior abdominal muscle, wrapping around the midsection like a girdle, with a left an
4 comments
Read more

Stretches for Achy Hips!

Without rehabilitation, the postnatal body has a non optimal core. From Diastasis Recti to pelvic floor dysfunction, inhibited multifidus/lower back muscles (especially in the lumbar spine), thoracic immobility (tight ribs), and possibly abdominal adhesions from a C-Section incision- there are a multitude of maternal physiological impairments to consider. The body continues to perform by enlisting non optimal biomechanics to compensate for the lack of core strength. Compensatory strategies help to achieve the stability, strength and endurance that the core is not providing, but exacerbate deteriorating movements in a snowball effect. This is very evident in the pelvis. When the deep stabilizing core is unable to provide adequate pelvic stability control, the smaller muscles that are designed to help the core take on too much of the task. They become stuck, gripped, and can cause referred pain throughout the body. Knowing to stretch the common overused and v
Post a Comment
Read more