# Ponyboy's Preseason Punishment



## ponyboy (Jan 13, 2004)

All right, since I'm offically out of the IM comp and focusing on increasing my endurance to have a kickass tri season I will begin today.  

My background: personal trainer for almost five years and corporate wellness centre manager for the last two - bodybuilding for most of that time - competing twice in fitness model shows and not placing well (too small).  Took 8th out of 15 in my first one and no idea in the 2nd.  I now have two jobs - work about 55 hours a week and also take courses via correspondence (currently chemistry) - my time is VERY limited.  

After my last show I got sick of the bodybuilding competitive circuit and a friend convinced me to enter a short triathlon - a "try a tri" which was short.  Gave me something different to train for and I found I really enjoyed it because it was a new physical challenge.  Inspired me to take a spinning course and change the way I look at training by learning new approaches and techniques.  My first season was not a good one, but I had fun and I learned a lot.

Last seasons peak race was a sprint distance:  750m swim, 30km bike and then a 7km run.  I finished it in 2 hours 4 minutes, which was quite slow but not bad for only having trained for eight weeks.  

Goals for upcoming season:  Finish an Olympic distance triathlon which is a 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run.  Also complete a half marathon in October (21km running race).  I also have about 3-4 other races planned as "B" races for the season, which begins in May and ends in October.  So the first few months of this year is spent building an aerobic base for the first bit of the season.  

Current program:  Weights 2x per week - total body and core strength focused.
Running 2x per week minimum 35 minutes.
Cycling/Spinning 2x per week minimum 45 minutes.  
Planning on adding 1 swim workout per week - this may change if my job does over the next little while as well.  Assing 10% to my workouts every two weeks.  I need to be able to run for an hour at least and spin for 90 minutes.  Then we'll work on speed.   

Nutrition is pretty good in terms of choices - I'm shooting for 2500-2800 calories a day at a bodyweight of 183 at this point.  I'm a little higher on carbs than a bb diet due to my increased aerobic workouts.  Goal weight around 165-170 which will make running and swimming a lot easier.  

That's all for now - if you actually read this.  Feel free to post away with comments and support - I know I'm not a typical bodybuilder anymore, but if you can learn something from what I do, then so be it!


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## P-funk (Jan 13, 2004)

Damn, an Olympic distance triathalon is no joke.....good luck to ya.


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## naturaltan (Jan 13, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by P-funk *_
> Damn, an Olympic distance triathalon is no joke.....good luck to ya.



Hey P-funk ... I don' t know about you, but any distant triathalon anything is no joke! 

Good luck to you PB.  You've got a lot of work ahead of you.  This journal will make for good reading.


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## P-funk (Jan 13, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by naturaltan *_
> Hey P-funk ... I don' t know about you, but any distant triathalon anything is no joke!
> 
> Good luck to you PB.  You've got a lot of work ahead of you.  This journal will make for good reading.




Yeah, I here that...I wouldn't run a mile if it was down hill!!!  In fact you couldn't pay me to runa marathon.  If someone told me that I had a choice between running a marathon or getting killed I would say "okay, let me get a meal and then kill me."....lol


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## oaktownboy (Jan 13, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by P-funk *_
> Yeah, I here that...I wouldn't run a mile if it was down hill!!!  In fact you couldn't pay me to runa marathon.  If someone told me that I had a choice between running a marathon or getting killed I would say "okay, let me get a meal and then kill me."....lol


i knew i wasn't the only one who thought like this


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## ponyboy (Jan 13, 2004)

If you think I'm crazy now, wait a couple of years until I'm doing my first Ironman.  That's a 2.4 mile swim (4000 meters or 400 laps of a typical pool), 112 mile (180 km) bike ride and THEN you run a marathon after all that.    Takes most people 12-14 hours of constant movement.  Crazy ass but I'd love to be able to say that I did it, just like I love telling people I can deadlift double my bodyweight or do standing squats on a stability ball.  

I noticed that I write a lot and I'm long winded when I write. Oh well.  I'll try to keep it interesting.  

Ran tonight:  6.2-6.3 MPH pace and I took my time up to 40 minutes. 

 Total distance:  4.1 miles or 6.56km.  I'm going to stay at that time until next week or the week after when it goes up to 45 minutes.  

Big interview tomorrow which I am really nervous about because I REALLY want this new job.  It would be a great step forward in my career because I would finally be in a management position again like I have wanted for a while.  Plus I could tell my current employer to take a flying leap, which would feel good too.


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## P-funk (Jan 13, 2004)

good luck with the interview.


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## Monolith (Jan 13, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by ponyboy *_
> do standing squats on a stability ball


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## P-funk (Jan 13, 2004)

I love standing squats on the stability ball....used to do them all the time.


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## ponyboy (Jan 14, 2004)

Had a great interview, I think.  It was mostly just so that the staff that is already training there could meet me and get an idea of what I'm all about.  I think we got along okay.  I know it is down to me and five other guys, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I think I have the best balance of fitness/wellness experience and business skills to be a good manager.  They said they should let me know by Friday.   

Probably no workout today unless I get one in tonight - I'm working until 7pm tonight.


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## naturaltan (Jan 14, 2004)

good luck with the interview ... sounds like a great opportunity.

I'm with Monolith ... what is a standing squat on a stability ball?


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## Jenny (Jan 14, 2004)

Haha, I love the name of this journal  I agree with the others, any triathlon is no joke! An Ironman is practicly insanity 

Hope you get good news on friday!


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## ponyboy (Jan 14, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by naturaltan *_
> good luck with the interview ... sounds like a great opportunity.
> 
> I'm with Monolith ... what is a standing squat on a stability ball?



Take a stability ball, stand on it without any support (requires excellent balance and core control) and squat (ass to heels if possible).  Takes incredible balance.  It usually takes me about six months for clients to be able to do this.  I can do it holding a 25 pound plate on my chest at this point.  

In case anyone wants to try this, I always do it inside a power rack or safety cage so there is something to grab onto if you lose your balance.  You can take a nasty header doing this.


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## ponyboy (Jan 15, 2004)

Holy crap last night was a nightmare.  It took me 2.5 HOURS to get home from work, which is only 50km away (that's 32 miles to you US people) because of snow and ice and stupid traffic.  Frigging Canada.  I'll take any southern state any day of the year.  I also found out my new Saturn SUV totally SUCKS in the snow  It was sliding everywhere.  Good thing I know how to drive properly.  

Good news is that I get to skip work today because all my appointments cancelled.  I'm going to try out my new trainer with my new bike for the first time!  Yee ha!


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## ponyboy (Jan 19, 2004)

Had my assessment on Friday and got some really eye opening news.  This guy is a Level 2 CHEK practicioner and really knows his stuff about imbalance and biomechanics.  He came up with the following things about me:  

My transverse activation is almost zero - meaning I'm not getting any internal core support when lifting.  
My breathing is messed up - I'm only breathing from the top part of my lungs and not getting enough oxygen transfer.  
My pelvis is out of alignment.
My hip rotators are out of alignment - my right hip could rotate 35 degrees and my left only 12 degrees.  Holy crap.  
My hamstrings are short because of an impingement on my sciatic nerve on my left side.    
My left hip is an inch lower than my right.  
I have a very weak lower back and my lumbar spine is pretty flat.
Other short tight areas - my right obliques and my lats were the big ones.  

So I'm making some changes to my routine for 6-8 weeks.  Here are some of the exercises I'm adding to my routine if anyone is interested:   

Breathing - learning to diaphragmatically breathe.
Hyperextensions on a swiss ball to strengthen the lumbar spine.
Nerve Flossing to loosen up the nerve on my left side.
Lateral Oblique crunches on a stability ball.
Full ROM squats with no weight until my pelvis is back in alignment.  
Hip Lifts for my left side to raise it back into place.  
Transverse 4 point activation to train my core activiation.  
Stretching : lower back, lats, and many other areas that are tight.  

Did the first workout this morning and I must say it was interesting.  There is a big difference when you are correcting imbalance rather than lifting heavy, but it tires you out just as much.  We'll see how things progress.


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## P-funk (Jan 19, 2004)

damn, sounds like the guy really ripped you a new one!!


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## ponyboy (Jan 19, 2004)

It definitely was a big eye opener, but as a trainer it also opened my eyes to making sure these are issues that I start to check out and train with my clients.  It doesn't matter if you can lift 250 pounds if it is putting too much strain on your system.  It was a pretty cool learning experience.  

Nerve flossing rocks - you have no idea how funky you can make your body feel.  Fun with biomechanics.  Woo hoo.  

Plus hopefully in the long run it will help my running and swimming.


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## ponyboy (Jan 20, 2004)

Decided I'm going to put down some deep thoughts in here like in NT's journal - it's therapeutic to read that type of stuff.  As soon as I have any I'll let you know.


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## ponyboy (Jan 20, 2004)

Just found out I got a 3rd interview for that job.  It's down to me and one other guy.  I'm going to kick his ass.  

That is all.


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## naturaltan (Jan 20, 2004)

go and kick some a$$ pb!


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## ponyboy (Jan 21, 2004)

Did my program this morning.  Worked 15 hours yesterday.  Woo hoo.  Here's what I accomplished:  

Diaphragmatic breathing. (10 deep breaths 10 seconds in, hold 2 s, 10 out)
4 point TVA activation. (10 seconds on/8 off)  
Stretching - McKenzie Press and Prayer Stretch 2x each

Triset:  Lateral Stability Ball flexion
            Ball Hyperextensions
            Hip Lifts (left side only)
2 sets total 12-15 reps each.  

Nerve Flossing - 2 times 10 reps each.  
Doesn't sound like much but it took me 25 minutes.


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## ponyboy (Jan 21, 2004)

Just finished a 35 minute rid on my trainer.  Goddamn its boring riding when you aren't going anywhere.  I managed to get through it by watching reality TV - flipping back and forth between The Apprentice and American Idol.  

I think I'm addicted to television.  I watch way too much of it whenever I have free time, which is pretty rare.  I should be doing things that are more productive.  

My hours at work got cut today - effectively a two day per week layoff    Means I'm going to be hit pretty hard financially unless I get this new job.  So I'm going to kick some ass and get it.  Today was just generally not a good day so I'm glad it's over.  Tomorrow will be better.


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## P-funk (Jan 21, 2004)

when is the next interview??  Hoep you get it.

Can you get any private (cash) clients outside of the gym to make up for the money you are losing there??


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## ponyboy (Jan 22, 2004)

Yeah basically I'll have to try to fill my two new days off with clients to make up for the shortfall.  My budget is going to be stretched pretty thin for a couple of months though, because as you know it takes time to build those clients.  Good thing I already bought my expensive bike.


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## ponyboy (Jan 23, 2004)

30 minute run yesterday - breaking in new shoes so it felt a little funny and I started to get some shin splints.  It will take time for them to form to my feet.  

Pace:  6.2 MPH, distance 3.12 miles or 5km.  Then stretching.

I'm getting my final program update from my trainer today with all of my stretches and corrective exercises written out - I'm going to make sure I post it just in case anyone is interested.  Hopefully this will help bring me into better balance and support everything I'm trying to do.  

Got another shot to the head yesterday.  Not only did I find out that my entire contract may be in jeopardy so I might be out of a job entirely in 60 days, but I also broke up with the girl I've been seeing for three months.   Not that it's a bad thing, but it was just like wow what a craptastic week.  

Good news is, things can only go up from here.  I'm going to refocus and plan for the future.  Nothing and nobody is going to stop me!


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## atherjen (Jan 23, 2004)

Love the new attitude hun!


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## Dale Mabry (Jan 23, 2004)

I have done the reebok movement screens which are pretty cool, I can only imagine how complex Chek's FAs are.  Isn't amazing how when you think you are totally keyed in an expert can come in and tell you 50 things that are wrong with you?


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## ponyboy (Jan 23, 2004)

Yeah those guys really know their stuff.  I've taken two of his courses (Back Training and Core Conditioning) but to be a certified CHEK practicioner the course (1st stage of 5 stages!) is $1500 US and you have to usually go to San Diego or NY for a week.  They rarely offer them in Toronto.


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## ponyboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Just finished a 45 minute ride on my trainer.  Damn it's boring, but I had a movie on so the time went by slightly quickly.  There is brutal weather here today so I didn't go into the office.  Tomorrow may be the same - expecting 15 cm. of snow tonight!  

On Friday I got my final corrective routine from my trainer, and I did the first full workout/stretch today - it was actually a lot tougher than I thought because I'm pulling against everything my body wants to naturally do.  

I also had coffee with a friend of mine on Sunday morning who was trying to convince me to do a 1/2 marathon in May.  I'm actually seriously considering it.  It mean being able to run about 13 miles, however - I'm going to have to increase my runs quite significantly before I can think about running for 2+ hours.


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## ponyboy (Jan 26, 2004)

I'm having one of those introspective evenings where I've been thinking about a lot of things.  Currently one of my biggest problems is that I waste a lot of my time doing things that are totally unproductive.  I'm lazy.  And I'm in the mood right now to change that.  The truth is, if I want to change, I have to change myself just like people who want to exercise - it's just a different approach, but the end result is the same.  You want to change something about yourself to feel better and accomplish more than you have before.  

I wrote a big note to myself and I'm going to put it right beside my door so that I get up every day and I see it before I even leave my room.  It's going to say:  

"What are you going to do to make your life better today?"

Because that is the question I always never answer every day when I just go through the motions.  I know that I can do great things, but I have to get off of my ass and do them instead of wasting day after day with excuses and procrastination.  Just like following the quote in my signature.  If I want to change, then I have to change.  

There will be more events to come in the near future!


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## P-funk (Jan 27, 2004)

hmmm, the note to yourself sounds like a great idea.


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## ponyboy (Jan 28, 2004)

Yeah it's been working so far - I had a nice productive day yesterday shovelling snow for myself and some of my neighbours.  Man I can't stand winter.  

Been feeling sick over the last couple of days - I think it is because I partied too hard on the weekend and now I'm paying for it.  It will pass, I'm sure.  

Just had the 3rd interview for the position I've been trying for and got a big indicator of how small a world it is - the other guy getting interviewed was someone I went to school with!  I'm way more qualified than him, so hopefully I got the job and can start a new future moving forward.  I'm going to try to run today if I possibly can but may hold off because of how I feel.


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## ponyboy (Jan 29, 2004)

Okay first thing:  Got the job!    Actually it was funny because I knew the other guy they were interviewing - an old friend of mine from school!  Small world...   

Bad news though - I walked into the third interview and they informed me that they weren't looking for a manager anymore, just a full time trainer.   

Now, I'm not about to say that I don't want the job anymore because I don't know what kind of pay scale they are offering, but I'm worried now because I'm afraid it isn't going to be enough to justify me leaving my currently full time position.  I'm going to find out when I call them this morning.  I'm also weighing the pros and cons of each situation and hopefully will come up with something.  Barely slept last night because I was running over everything in my head.  I'll keep you posted.


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## ponyboy (Feb 1, 2004)

Well, my week from hell is finally over - lots of new changes going to be happening in the next couple of weeks.  New job, new place, new hours, new clients - it's going to be awesome and I'm so looking forward to it.  Some people don't like change, but I am not one of those people.  

I taught a 45 minute spin class on Saturday and was surprised at how winded I was in a short time.  I'm still fighting off that illness, but ever since my stress levels have dropped it has been fading slowly away.  This week will be a good one to get back on track and start my serious training again.  It was a good party weekend as well.


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## P-funk (Feb 2, 2004)

congrats on the new job pb.


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## ponyboy (Feb 3, 2004)

Thanks bro!  I'm looking forward to devoting more time to training and training myself - hopefully my new schedule will allow for some flexibility and let me settle into a good routine.  Since the new gym actually has a pool I will be able to start swimming, which is going to rock.  I need to work on my technique badly.  

Went for a run this morning - nothing major, just 5k at an easy pace.  Just getting my body geared back up after my illness last week.  I need to start doing long runs on the weekends so I'm either going to devote Saturdays or Sundays to that - likely Sundays which means no more late Saturday nights for this kid.  

It is SOOO hard to be motivated to do anything at work right now because I know I'm leaving and can't wait.  I'm still waiting on when they want me to let the members know which could be interesting.  

I think I'm going to go shopping today.


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## ponyboy (Feb 7, 2004)

Been feeling crappy again over the past few days so it has been hard to get any sort of workouts in.  Went in today and did the following from my routine:  

McKenzie Press-ups (stretch) x2
Prayer stretch x2

Lateral Side Flexion (right side) superset with
TLF stretch (left side) x 3

Cervical extension Swiss Ball crunches superset with
Neck Flexor stretch x 3

Swiss Ball hyperextension superset with quad stretch
superset with piriformis stretch (left side) x 3

Hamstring towel stretch (3 left, 1 right)

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt my first long run in a while and go for 60 minutes and just see what happens.  Should be able to get 6 miles in I hope.


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## ponyboy (Feb 8, 2004)

Well, my longest training run of this season has ended, and it wasn't difficult at all - it was just kind of boring.  Good thing I have my mp3 player with me at the gym.  I'm sure once I get outside it will be different because there are more distractions.

Time:  60 minutes with occasional water breaks every 7-10 minutes for 15-20 seconds.  

Distance:  5.8 miles or 9.3 kilometers.   

I'm going to keep at that time for my long run for the next week and then add five or ten minutes every two weeks and see what happens.  Once I can get up to 90 minutes I will be fine for my half marathon if I do choose to run it.  

Another thing I realized is that I have to replace these calories I'm burning off - 900 burned off today and that's two meals that I need to add to my daily schedule in order not to deplete myself.


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## ponyboy (Feb 11, 2004)

As the days go by I'm looking more and more forward to switching jobs.  I have just landed one more client and he has already told me he has someone else for me as well.  Hopefully things will take off soon!   

One thing I love about my job is sharing knowledge and making people realize things about their bodies - how to listen and evaluate what they are doing to themselves and how to make little changes that improve their daily quality of life.  

Back to my workouts:  

Last night I did a brick workout - which means two types of cardio back to back, most commonly biking and running.  So I did a 30 minute spin class and then hopped off the bike, put on my shoes and hopped on the treadmill and ran for 15 minutes.  

The great thing was that I got on the treadmill after the bike and it felt quite easy - so much so in fact I ran at 1/2 a mile per hour faster than I usually do.  So I got in a good 45 minute workout and I don't feel very tired today.  I'm going to try to keep all of my workouts around 45 minutes at this point.  

Noticed yesterday even with all this cardio I'm still up at about 183 pounds, which is fine with me for now.  By the time season starts I'm going to want to be down about 10 lbs. but I'm hoping to maintain as much LBM as possible - but I'm not going to stress about it.


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## ponyboy (Feb 11, 2004)

Okay just reposting my tentative race schedule so that I have a record of it.  I have my A races and my B races which are no less hard, but I'm not going to bust my ass to do well or finish them.  

May 8th:  Duathlon (4k run/20k bike/4k run) - B race

May 30th:  1/2 Marathon (21k run) - A race (I just want to finish it)

June 26th:  Sprint Triathlon (750m swim/20k bike/5k run) - B race

July 11th:  Sprint Triathlon (750m swim/20k bike/5k run) - A race (I want to beat my ex-girlfriend's ass )

August 22nd:  Sprint Triathlon (750m swim/30k bike/7k run) - B race (but want to improve on last year)

September 11th:  Olympic Triathlon (1500m swim/40k bike/10k run) - A race (my key race for the summer )

September 25th:  Duathlon (4k run/23k bike/4k run) - B race

That's the summer laid out - now I just need to keep getting in shape!


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## atherjen (Feb 11, 2004)

wow that is quite the scedule PB!  You have my best wishes to kick some butt! sounds very intense


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## ponyboy (Feb 11, 2004)

Thanks Jen!  I'll be keeping very close track on preparation!


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## ponyboy (Feb 12, 2004)

Did a quick 5k run tonight before training a client.  Managed to get it in under 30 minutes, which is great.  Then stretching of course.  Felt like no problem at all.  

I realized today that I'm really neglecting my bike and swim training but that will change when I start my new job - access to a pool!  I'm so stoked about that.  Plus I will finally be able to get into a regular routine again after everything that has been going on over the past couple of months.  

Plans are to take it easy until Sunday and do another long run of 60 minutes (or more!).


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## ponyboy (Feb 15, 2004)

Long run day:  went harder this time than last time and it paid off.  

60 minutes:  6.13 miles or 9.8 kilometers.  Basically a 10k run although I'm fairly sure if I was outside it wouldn't take me anywhere close to that long to run 10k.  It will be interesting when I actually do get outside (when it's not -15 bloody degrees) to run and see what my speed is like.  Right now the tmill will have to do.  

Also noticed that my legs are getting bigger.  Welcome side effect, because they have always been my smallest body part.   

It's been a good weekend - date Friday, date today and then starting the new job tomorrow and hopefully putting in a bid on a new place to live.  Things are looking up!


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## greekblondechic (Feb 15, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by ponyboy *_
> when I start my new job - access to a pool!  I'm so stoked about that.



Skinny dipping?


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## ponyboy (Feb 16, 2004)

Hey!  Who you calling skinny...?


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## ponyboy (Feb 17, 2004)

Well, had my first day at my new job and there was good news and bad news, but I'm planning on turning it all into good news.  

I don't know if regular fitness clubs are like this place, but there was certainly some changes that needed to be made.  Members doing improper movements all over the place, and even other trainers doing improper things to their clients or just going through the motions with a down expression on their face.  The room that was used as an office was totally disorganized and messy with crap everywhere.  Not a good image to project.  

Plus basically I was left there with nothing to do except "supervise the floor" which meant watch people work out.  I introduced myself around a little bit but it's going to take time to get to know the members.  The other trainers were friendly enough.  There's a lot of work to do though.  I also feel this morning like going in there and totally revamping a lot of stuff I saw, but I know that it isn't my place to do so just yet.  

I have so many ideas for programs and ways to recruit clients that it isn't ven funny - I just need to get the green light so that I can go and kick some serious ass in this place.


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## naturaltan (Feb 17, 2004)

How did the pay work out for you PB?  Are you now a fulltime trainer or did they actually need a manager?


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## ponyboy (Feb 17, 2004)

They didn't start me as a director, unfortunately but for the first three months I am on salary to give me time to build up clients - so I'm getting paid for the time I am there (40 hours) plus extra if I do end up training people or doing programs or assessments.  It's not bad, and the potential for a good amount of income is there, it's just going to take some time and patience.  

I'm also planning on making a big time power play into that director position if it does come up.


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## ponyboy (Feb 19, 2004)

Workouts over the past couple of days:  

Tuesday I did a brick workout with 20 minutes of cycling followed by 10 minutes of running.  The treadmills at the new club are old, so they feel like running on concrete unfortunately.  

Yesterday I actually did some lifting for the first time in a while:  

One Armed Swiss Ball Dumbbell Bench:  25x12, 30x12, 35x10

Barbell Row:  135x12, 155x10, 155x10

One Armed Swiss Ball Shoulder Press:  20x10, 25x10, 32.5x8

Stability Ball Squats:  Hard at this new place, but I got off a few.  

Hyperextensions:  2 sets of 12 reps.  

Cervical Extension Crunches:  2 sets of 12 reps.  

Hopefully I'm going to be able to swim today!


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## ponyboy (Feb 19, 2004)

Did a bike workout today instead of swimming.  Only because I was strapped for time and forgot my swim gear.  I'm going to make a point of having it with me tomorrow and actually try to get into the pool.  Apparently this new place is pretty quiet on Fridays anyway.  

Did 10.7 miles today in 30 minutes, or about 17km, which is a pretty good clip for me.  If I can race at 34 km/h I'll be blowing past most of my competition.


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## ponyboy (Feb 21, 2004)

Got in a swim workout yesterday for the first time in a while, and boy was it tough.  I only did 500 meters total which was nothing in terms of time, but it is totally obvious that my swim needs a LOT of work.  

Also found that swimming in a hotel pool can be a little annoying with a whole bunch of little kids around.  Even though there was a lane marked off they were still fishing around.  I'm just going to have to start going on different days and different times to find when the quiet times are and swim then.


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## ponyboy (Feb 25, 2004)

Omg...this past few days have been hell.  I am trying to put something together to buy a condo and the whole process is killing me, plus I have had no time to do anything.  My days over the past few have started at 6:30am and finished at 9:30pm.  Hopefully after today things will be resolved and I won't have to be running around the city after work every day.  

Also, my body isn't used to working out almost every day so it's starting to feel quite tired.  I went from 3 mild workouts a week to 5-6 hard ones a little too quickly.  I think I'm going to take today as a rest day or just stretch.

Monday I did an hour of weights:  

One Armed Dumbbell Bench on Swiss Ball 3 sets
Barbell Row 3 sets
One Armed Shoulder Press on Swiss Ball 3 sets
Squatting on Swiss Ball 3 sets
Back Extensions 2 sets
Cervical Flexor Crunches 2 sets

Then yesterday I did 45 minutes cycling on the stationary bike:  

45 minutes, 16.5 miles travelled or 26.4 kilometers, which means a pace of 35.2 km/h at an average of about Level 11 resistance.  I have no idea what that means, but if I can do even close to 35 km/h on my real bike I'll be ecstatic.


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## ponyboy (Feb 26, 2004)

Did another swim workout today, which went a lot better than the last one and actually felt pretty good.  

I think I did about 750 meters or more total, which amounts to 30 laps of the pool that I was in.  I also ordered a book that will hopefully help me with my swim technique.  The hardest part is knowing that I have to learn how to swim properly with both sides of my body - the opposite than normal side felt incredibly weird and hard to swim on.  

I also entered my first race, which is kind of a warmup for tri season - it is a 10km race right down the main street of Toronto!


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## ponyboy (Mar 1, 2004)

Okay, weekend was a little slack, but the weather here in Toronto was so nice I actually got to run outside!  Which felt amazing!  

I went running Sunday with a female friend of mine who is recovering from an injury, so we didn't go very fast, but we were probably out for about an hour - didn't feel like I was even doing anything because of the pace, but it felt so good to be in the sunshine and working out at the same time.  If the weather keeps going like this maybe next weekend I can get my bike out for the first time.  

Plan this week is for another swim workout Thursday, a longer run Wednesday hopefully with two guys from my gym and weights today combined with a bike ride for at least 30-40 minutes.


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## P-funk (Mar 1, 2004)

Damn man, you love cardio!!!  lol, good for you


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## ponyboy (Mar 2, 2004)

Actually I don't like the cardio - at least not in the gym, it's really boring.  Outside is a totally different story.   

Yesterday did a 45 minute bike ride - went about 16.5 miles or 26km.   I had the resistance at level 12 most of the time.  

Then some easy weights:  

Front Barbell Squats
Hyperextensions
Swiss Ball Squats

But wasn't focused and didn't really have enough time.  I think I'm going to do a more serious weight workout today.  Tomorrow hopefully running and then swimming Thursday.


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## ponyboy (Mar 4, 2004)

Well, yesterday was probably one of the toughest training runs I have EVER done.  Went running with two guys from my gym who run together on a regular basis.  We were supposed to do 10km or just over 6 miles, so no big deal.  What I wasn't prepared for was their speed.  

After about 5km they both kicked it into high gear and I had to drop back at about 8km.  After we finished they told me we had just done 10km in under 50 minutes, and the last 5km was done at a pace of under 7 minutes a mile, which is WAY faster than I am used to.  They beat me to the finish by about two minutes.  It felt great to know that I could actually run that fast though.  

I did 10km in 48:30, which for me is definitely a personal best time, and they also said that it was a hard run for them as well, so the simple fact I could keep up made me feel great.  

Then today I did a 50 minute bike ride - went about 25 km, which is fine with me after yesterday.  

Good news is all this cardio is getting me totally ripped at this point although my weight is not dropping.  For some reason my body is preserving muscle because I'm eating like a horse.  So far it's paying off to be doing this type of training.


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## ponyboy (Mar 8, 2004)

Okay, update on training progress....no, I haven't been slacking off at all.  

Sunday I participated in a really cool charity event which was a 6 hour spinning marathon in support of a hospital here in town.  I taught for an hour and spun for another hour as part of a team and helped raise money.  Altogether we raised almost $10,000!  It was a really cool day and a lot of fun.  

Today I did some easy cardio (funny how 30 minutes is now EASY) with a combination of treadmill and bike - ran about 3km and then hopped on the bike and rode another 9km.  Then some weights:  it was push muscle day I figured.

Ball Dumbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Flye
Ball Crunch
Wood Chop (for obliques)
Lower Ab crunch on Roman Chair
Tricep Rope pressdowns

Swimming tomorrow and then Wednesday is another psycho run hopefully with those other guys again.  It was fun last week - let's see how hard we can go this week!


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## P-funk (Mar 9, 2004)

Damn man, you are insane!


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## ponyboy (Mar 10, 2004)

Yeah, but the scary thing is, not only am I enjoying it, but I'm not wasting away all my muscle at the same time.  

Did a great swim workout yesterday - I got a new book on how to swim properly and it helped immediately.  It told me to focus more on my stroke count, or the amount of arm strokes it takes to go one length of the pool.  I did a lap just normally like I would swim anytime and I got 26 strokes.  

Then I followed the principles of balance and slow movement, etc that the book described and ended up with 20 strokes!  Plus I don't think my speed was any slower because my form was so much better.  Over 750 meters that would be 300 strokes saved.  Plus, once my form gets better I can probably drop that by another 4-5 strokes.  Weird.  The idea is to swim easier, not harder and reduce your drag so that you slide through the water like a fish rather than thrash around.   

Running today - we'll see how it goes this week!


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## ponyboy (Mar 11, 2004)

Did a good run yesterday at a bit slower pace than last week with one of the other trainers.  We did about 9km with a break in the middle for about 10 minutes - I think it took us about 50 minutes in total.  At the pace we were going yesterday I figure I can finish my half marathon.  

With all this training I'm doing I'm really looking forward to racing in only six weeks.  My first race is an easy 10k and my first goal is to break 50 minutes, which I have actually already done at this point.  

Took today off from training and might do another swim workout tomorrow, but that's it - I can tell my body is getting tired.


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## ponyboy (Mar 14, 2004)

Well, took Thursday off and then Friday I decided to push myself a little bit because I wasn't feeling 100% and figured I could use a good workout.  I decided to do a 20km sprint on the stationary bike just to see how fast and how high I could get my heart rate.  I set the bike at level 12, which seems to be a high enough level that there was some resistance but it wasn't killing me, probably equivalent to a nice cruising gear on my bike.  

Results:  20km (or 12.5 miles) in 26 minutes.  I was hammering at about 100-105 RPM's and my heart rate after the first 4 miles got up to about 150 and then stayed at around 160-170 for the remainder.  

It's not like I could ever come close to that speed in real life, but it was fun to try it and see what happened.  That would have me at a speed of 41.6 km/hour  

Took yesterday off helping a friend paint her apartment and then today I'm going for a nice long run with my friend.


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## P-funk (Mar 14, 2004)

when is the triathelon that you are planing on doing?


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## ponyboy (Mar 14, 2004)

First one is only 8 weeks away, in the middle of May.  It's actually a duathlon, which is a run-bike-run because the water is still too cold to swim in usually.  My first real triathlon is in June.  

May I've got a 10k race on the 2nd, the duathlon on the 16th and then the half marathon on the 30th.  Going to be a busy month!


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## P-funk (Mar 15, 2004)

damn, that is a lot of running!  Good luck to you.


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## ponyboy (Mar 18, 2004)

It's been a crazy week, so here's what I have gotten up to so far:  

Monday - Bike workout - just did 45 minutes of riding, at a very slow pace because I wasn't feeling well.  No point in killing myself if I'm only going to get worse.  

Tuesday - played some squash with a client for about 30 minutes and that was about it.  

Wednesday - Did a tempo run because I was feeling a bit better - only about 5km but I did 4 minutes easy pace, and then 1 minute hard pace with some changes thrown in every cycle.  I did the 5km in under 30 minutes at a 1% incline as well, which is supposed to better mimic running outside and it still didn't feel extremely hard.  

Today - Played some more squash with a client and then did some lifting for back, but I couldn't get into it.  I gave up after a few sets of deadlifts and some cable pulls.  

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get in a swim workout and if that doesn't work, then hopefully some core work.


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## ponyboy (Mar 24, 2004)

Been having problems with my right leg this week - it is just very sore and tight - I've been stretching the snot out of myself for the past couple of days trying to get rid of it but it's not going away  .  

Sunday I ran 4km and did the same Tuesday.  Today I biked for about 15 minutes and got through about 10k at Level 13, which is higher than normal and it felt just fine.  It makes such a difference when you have something to distract you like a book or a TV show.  I also played squash again yesterday and today for about 20-30 minutes each time.  

Been trying to find time and motivation to get into the pool - but since I don't have to swim until July my motivation just isn't there.


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