Pounding Feet, III

A few months ago, I ran six miles. I did it again today, but at 7 MPH instead of 6 MPH.

Next week, I'll increase the speed on the treadmill to 8 MPH and start over again at 2 miles.

I'm also making progress toward my goal of doing 100 push-ups in a single set. So far, I'm up to 64.

At 33, I'm in the best shape of my life.

My Next Fitness Goal: 100 Push-Ups

I've been able to meet and exceed my goal of running five miles at a time. But my recovery from my last run has been slow enough to signal that my body may have reached its upper limit of distance running. A tendon on the bottom of my right foot has bit a bit tender ever since, and I've managed to avoid any permanent injury to my knees, back, or anything else so far in my life by knowing when to stop, or get help lifting something heavy.

Lately, I've been doing mostly bodyweight exercises. I'm now doing three hundred sit-ups in five sets. If I had a chinning bar anywhere, I'd be working on chin-ups.

I think that my next goal will be to reach one hundred push-ups in one set. I'm did fifty-one last Wednesday, so reaching that goal is quite possible.

As for cardio, I'll kick the treadmill up to 7 MPH, run a couple of miles, and see how that works.

Pounding Feet, II

Today, I beat my old record and ran six miles in sixty minutes.

The Value of Running

Jeff the Baptist on the importance of being able to run:

It always amazes me when self-proclaimed serious self-defense enthusiasts are fifty or more pounds overweight. Some of them smoke like chimneys. Now I'm no pro athlete, but I try to keep myself somewhat healthy. Why? Because the first skill you want to have down for self defense is running away. Hotfoot your ass out of trouble. I can do that. My knees will be sore the next day, but the alternative is even less appealing.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife burst into the apartment gym where I was running, and told me that the baby was running a 104 temperature. So I ran back to the apartment to get her ready to go to the ER. And later I thought "This is exactly why I run -- so that I can run when I absolutely have to." There's no substitute for the ability to move quickly in an emergency.

This is also why I have my rule about shoes: I only wear shoes that I can run in, hence my 'no flip-flops' moratorium. You never know when you're going to have to run, so always be ready to do so.

Random Fitness Thoughts

Thank you, dear readers, for your words of encouragement about my running. I've been a lot more aggressive about working out these past few weeks.

I've been focusing on the bodybuilding principle of training to failure. That means to perform an exercise until I can't physically do it anymore. In the past, I've kept my reps at about 10-12 a set, but now I've raised that to 20 or more at lower weights in order to feel the burn. I think that I've succeeded when I feel sore the next day. And I know that I've succeeded when I can do better the next week.

I might, for example, do five sets of push ups until my arms collapse under me. And other than preliminary stretching and a warm-up on the elliptical trainer, that's the only exercise I do that day.

So far, the muscle confusion is working. Today, my belly hurts when I sneeze because of the sit ups I did on Sunday. And I was able to do 10 more sit ups then than on the previous Sunday. That's progress!

Tonight, I'm going to do dumbbell arm curls until they fall off my shoulders.

A while back, I talked about the 100 Push Up Workout, which I did for a while before other life events distracted me. Ultimately, I don't like it because it would prevent me from engaging in other, simultaneous fitness goals.

Pounding Feet

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I ran five miles. I've set it as a goal a few weeks ago and have been building up to it. My inner thighs feel a bit tender today, but I survived.

Caption Contest

Previous contest winner

WINNERS:

Mark the Warrior Heart: Still trying to work off that Last Supper...

John Meunier: Paul said I'd get a glorified body. He didn't say I'd have to work for it.

The 100 Push Up Workout

Jeff the Bapist has been engaging in the 100 Push Up Workout -- a program aimed at moving a person to doing 100 consecutive push ups.

I liked the idea, so I adapted it for my own fitness routine. For three weeks, I've been doing push ups on chest/tricep day instead of dumbbell bench presses and dumbbell shoulder presses. Today, I did three sets of push ups: 40-25-11. On the twelfth rep of the final set, my arms gave out from under me. I've already experienced substantial improvement.

Pumping Iron

The New York Times has a post up about how local, independent gyms are successfully competing with national chains:

Notably, national health club chains fared the poorest in the survey. The magazine found that private studios for yoga, dance or Pilates and gyms at local community centers, schools, work and nonprofit Jewish Community Centers and Y.M.C.A.’s received the best marks. National chains were often criticized for long wait times for machines, problems with contracts or fees, poorer cleanliness and less adequate locker rooms than other gyms.

Most of the time when I've tried to cancel a contract, the financial office responsible won't return my calls, so I'm quite familiar with that problem. I now operate under the assumption that a gym won't honor its cancellation policy.

We all have different needs from a gym, and I have none at all for aerobics classes, full-service shake bars, or in-house spas. Although I imagine that it could be helpful to get a workout and a bikini waxing in the same place, I don't need or want to pay extra for such amenities. Others, however, may have such a need.

Right now, I go to a small town YMCA. Including the aerobics room, it's say that it's about 2,500 square feet in floor space. I have to drive 20-25 minutes to get there, but it's the closest gym. This is what I do:

Monday
Dumbbell bench press (3 sets)
Dumbbell shoulder press (3 sets)
30 minutes stair climber

Tuesday
Chin-ups (3 sets)
Preacher curl (3 sets)
30 minutes stair climber

Wednesday
Dumbbell shoulder shrug (3 sets)
Dumbbell lateral raise (3 sets)
30 minutes stair climber

Friday
Sit ups (3 sets)
Back extensions (3 sets)
30 minutes stair climber

Saturday
Dumbbell lunges (3 sets)
Leg curl (3 sets)
Calf extensions (3 sets)
Run 2.5 miles