DanBailey.net cyclist, writer, font designer, geek

Tonight’s Workout

Tonight: E2 ride, 90 minutes. Zones 1 and 2 (endurance), mostly 2. Should be okay, legs are a little heavy/tired from last night. Hoping that vitamin intake, plus the creatine intake last night will help keep the muscle soreness down prior to tomorrow night's next session on the weights.

Weight goal: 175 lbs.
Current: 200 lbs.
Starting Weight: 205 lbs.
Percentage of Goal: 16%

The weight routine is tough, and time consuming. In order, it goes like this:

1. 10 minutes of brisk walk/light jog warm-up.
2. 10 minutes of stretching.
3. Core package: Russian Twist with 10 pound medicine ball, Back Extension with same medicine ball, Crunch (same ball), Reverse Crunch, and the Supine Bridge.
4. Legs: squat (strength building) followed by the ball lunge (stability).
5. Chest/Shoulders/Back: Bench Press (strength) followed by the seated row (stability).
6. Shoulders/Upper Back: Lat Pulldown (strength) followed by the dumbbell shrug (stability).
7. Power Building: squat jumps (plyometric, 8 reps, 2 sets).
8. 10 minutes of stretching.
9. 10 minutes of brisk walk/light jog cool-down.

At Last! Change!

I'm now into Base 1 for my cardio/gym work and the Strength phase of my weightlifting. This means that cross-training for cardio is no longer an option until August or so, when I need to start with the cyclocross prep. It also means adding a new variety of cardio workout, which has been limited to endurance work (E2) and spin-ups (S1). I now get to add single-leg riding (S2) to the mix.

The weight program is also changing. My core muscle package remains much the same, but will change weekly for variety. On the weights, I'm into strength building, with a mix of stability exercises. After all that's done, I have one power-building plyometric exercise -- in this case, squat jumps -- before my cool-down work.

I'm pretty excited about this. Tonight: weights program, followed by 60 minutes of S1 (spin-ups).

In four weeks, cardio moves into Base 2 (more variety!), and eight weeks from today, I move into the power-building phase of my training (more plyometrics stuff, heavier weights/fewer reps, and a lot more pain).

It's coming together nicely. At the end of Base 1, I need to re-run all my testing -- LTHR, CP60, Wingate -- to see how things are coming along. Pretty psyched.

Hey Hey It’s Training Day

Nice quiet day off yesterday. Spent a large volume of time on the couch with Kate, watching the Olympics. Did briefly venture forth to hit the grocery store for snacks, dinner ingredients and some of the stuff for lunches this week.

Training resumes tonight. I've got weights, and a 90-minute E2 ride. Easy, but then in the "Prep" and "Stabilization" phases, everything is. We move to Base 1 for the Joe Friel system, and Strength for the weight system, both on February 28th. Thank god. Because light weights and E2 rides are getting pretty goddamned monotonous.

It's weird, but since I've started working out again, a lot of my little aches and pains have gone away, my digestion problems have resolved themselves, and I'm sleeping a lot better. I guess that last item is not much of a surprise, but it's definitely a good thing.

Tonight, I also need to make time to read Chapters 12, and 14-18 of the Cyclist's Training Bible.

Training Continues

Weight room at the OTC in Colorado Springs. From Flickr user klm_digital_snaps. CC licensed.

I wasn't terribly consistent last week in my training. The good news, though, is I can already feel my body starting to respond to the stresses I'm putting on it.

Last night, I did 90 minutes of E2 (endurance work, zones 1 and 2) on the stationary trainer. It, like most stationary work, is rather bland. However, I felt noticeably stronger than I did two weeks ago, and when you compare my heart rate and my power output, I'm noticeably producing more power at similar heart rates. Very good.

Tonight: weights.

I'm still not in the strength-building phase -- that doesn't begin until the week of February 28th. Tonight, though, I'll be adding a new exercise to each of my areas (upper, lower, and core). Thus, tonight will look like this:

Upper:

• bench press
• dumbbell shrug
• bicep curl
• seated row^*

Lower:

• squat
• hamstring curl
• calf press
• dumbbell lunge^*

Core:

• reverse crunch
• back extension
• crunch
• side plank^*

* New exercise this week.

So I think that -- for now -- the switch to Snap Fitness is sufficient for my basic needs. The close locale certainly makes getting there a lot easier, and makes me more inclined to go on a regular basis.

More Training

Spent an hour on the stationary trainer last night. I was very bored and had a hard time finding a comfy position on the seat. And I get to do it again tonight. Yay.

I hate pre-season training. God, how I hate it.^*

* It probably wouldn't be so bad if I lived somewhere warm enough where I could ride outdoors year-round. Also, I suffer through it because I know it'll make me appreciate my road time more come spring, and I need to be ready to race this year.