"You want me to do what?"

Monday, May 09, 2011

I’d given my next door neighbor a fitness test about three weeks ago and yesterday we went over to celebrate her 60th birthday. I immediately began bugging her about starting a workout program with me. She’s been a member of Fitworks for some time, but has been sporadic about going there and was hoping I’d put something together for her to do in the basement with the free weights she has. “I can do that…but how about coming to the park with me and I’ll put you through a real workout where you burn some major calories…and have some fun.” She raised her arms over her head to mimic lifting weight and said, “I need to do some lifting for tone though.” I suppose I hadn’t been too clear on what exactly I do when I go to the park. “I’ll have you lifting rocks and logs and using the bands. You’ll get a complete ‘toning’ (I hate that word) workout while you’re having some fun, getting a little dirty and improving your cardiovascular fitness, too.”

I’m not so sure the woods are for her. Again…it means going somewhere to do the workout, which can be a huge stumbling block to commitment. If she’s got the stuff in her basement to work out, I can construct a program to suit her needs. Personally…I have to get ‘out’ and have goals if I am going to succeed.

I did get out last night, taking a good ride on my Waite Hill course. I found the wind in my face on the first half of the ride…it’s normally the opposite…and so my times for check points were way behind. I thought it was more than the wind…that I was just dogging it, but once I had the wind at my back, I picked up the lost time quickly and made it home in exactly the same time as I had when I last rode the course.

The knee was a little sore throughout the evening so I wrapped it with my cold pack. It’s not getting worse…which is encouraging…but it’s not getting better either. Some of the soreness I was feeling had to do with the yard work. As with any new workout, pain peaks at 48 hours and that’s where I was, feeling every bend I’d done in the yard on Saturday. I think I’ll keep the runs to once every three days and keep it in the 30-minute range. Tomorrow I’m hoping to drag my brother Jeff to the park for the survival workout.

Bike duration: 87 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1300.