Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Most high school pools or the ones you find at the Y are 25 yards. Long-course (Olympic) pools are 50 meters.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

500 yards in 12:30 should be easy if you make a few trips to the pool and get used to non-stop swimming. It's either 10 laps at the local HS pool (as SP said, they're usually 25 yards each length) or it's 10 lengths of an Olympic sized pool.

I'm not a fast swimming, but my general target is 55-60 seconds per lap at my pool.

If you have nine weeks to build for this, you should do fine. But make sure you get plenty of running in. And for each of those runs, through in a 400-meter interval where you really push the pace a little bit. Eventually, build that to 600 meters, then 800 meters. A 2400 meter run (1.5 miles) is actually a pretty good challenge to hit 11:30 if you are not running regularly - or even if you are running regularly.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I have run in the past and I try to cycle (actually you cycle, I just take my bike out for a spin around the block by comparison) but I do want to get back in shape and just don't have the time to workout during football season.

The swimming is what's going to hurt the most. I haven't really done it on a regular basis since I worked at the Y way back when I first got out of college.

The workout has you run 3 days a week, pushups, situps and pullups 3 days a week and swim 4 days a week. I'm just looking to shed a pound or two and build up some stamina.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm guessing this has been asked before, but I'm lazy... which is kinda the point of this post. :

The much-anticipated gym in my apartment building has finally opened. I can work out without even going outside. However, I have no clue what to do.

I usually take classes, but they're all at night thus far, so that's not really going to help. There are supposedly going to be regular pick-up basketball games on Friday nights and possibly Saturday afternoons, but that doesn't normally fit around my work schedule either.

The gym seems to have the usual assortment of machines and some light free weights. Should I splurge on a few sessions with a trainer to try to figure out what the @#%@# is going on?

Also, suggestions on how to get motivated without someone at the gym waiting for me would be much appreciated. I've had an incredibly old recumbent bike and a pretty decent elliptical in my apartment for years, and I can count the number of times each has been used on one hand. My neighbor wants to meet up in the morning, but I don't know how reliable she'll be -- and she's no more experienced in the gym than I am.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

PD--I don't know any way to motivate yourself other than to ask, how bad do you want it? If you don't want to exercise, lose weight etc, then don't. If you do, seems like you have some options.

It's easier if you don't envision this as a major life ordeal. Look at your weekly schedule, figure out three times you can get into that new gym and spend 30-45 minutes walking on a treadmill or elliptical. Just every other day, less than an hour.

Then, when you've done that for a couple weeks, add some time for light weights. If you have access to a good trainer, get a couple of sessions so you can start with a program that won't leave you in so much pain that you never return. Do your weights before your cardio, btw (a whole different subject).

If you're not working out at all right now, and you add just those three (or four) days, you're going to see some results pretty fast, especially if you eat reasonably well.

At some point, those results will be all the motivation you need to keep going, increase your workouts, challenge yourself.

But really, to get started, you just have to want to do it.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

PD,

My best suggestion for your last issue (motivation) is this: Put your money where your mouth is. Bet someone you can't do it -- money, trinkets, a steak dinner, whatever. Pick a time frame, pick a number, and go. I know I've done really well in situations like this, mostly because I hate to lose at anything. Knowing there is something tangible and real at the end, not just "the possibility of what I'll look like," was a complete difference-maker for me.

Also, read the Biggest Loser thread. There are some great motivational stories there as well, if that works better for you.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I am searching for a good pair of spandex-like shorts to wear under the shorts I wear to the gym. Under Armour's spandex shorts are too thick and scrunch my sack too much. I'm looking for thinner spandex that also lets the junk breathe. Any suggestions?

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Thanks. Will look into those.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm working with a coach for the first time and he's notorious for his demanding workouts - which is what I need, too easy to not push hard when there's no one to be accountable to.

Yesterday, Thanksgiving, was supposed to be a 3-hour day in the saddle with a 30 minute run and his usual set of abductors, adductors, lunges, crunches, squats, dead lifts, step ups, etc.

Today, he's got me scheduled for a 4-hour ride and tomorrow I'm supposed to do two cyclocross races (Men's 35 and Men's C) along with a warmup.

That's gonna hurt these old legs of mine.

After the weekend, he said the easy stuff is over and it's on to 12 weeks of hard stuff with lots of intervals, speed work and intensity.

Pray for me

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

The workout week is complete. It's been fairly cold, there has been a massive holiday that involved a day of travel, and I still managed to squeeze 181 bike miles (including two cyclocross races), 6 run miles and 2 swim miles into it all with 40 hours of work to boot.

I think I'll pop a Red Bull before I drive the 95 miles home from the basketball game tonight

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

My bench meet didn't go well today. I made my opener, 200. I lifted 215 easily on my second, but the judges said I beat the press command and it got red-lighted. I thought I didn't beat the command, but it is what it is. I once got a gift when I really did beat the command a few months ago, so I guess it all evens out.
I tried 230 on my third lift and got stuck halfway up.
Not a good meet, but my training wasn't what it should have been.