Exercise and Fitness - high intensity interval posting

[baxus]

12 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Baxus - keep working or we'll call you Ballast instead.

You may joke about that, but that's exactly what I'd be in a boat at this moment.

I remember one time, almost two years ago, when I just got back to rowing and the eight was one man short for a training with another crew. I got in a boat, did 2x500m sprints at 30-32 strokes per minute. I kept my pace, but after those few minutes I couldn't open my water bottle. We went back to the pier, where I barely got out of the boat and another guy (who was not deemed good enough for the sprints) got in the for the much lighter remainder of the eight's session.

I know that would not happen now, since those sessions are not planned for the moment, but still... I like to be up for the job when I take it on.

Had a sore throat yesterday and today, worked through it yesterday, but decided to skip training today just in case. I'm starting my new job on Tuesday, and I wouldn't want to skip it because I'm down with whatever.

[3CityApache]

Still stick to my running every second day routine and it seems to work quite fine. After 101 km in February, I already made 45 km in March. And there is a small improvement of the pace as well. I often run with my brother-in-law lately, and since he's 9 years younger, he dictates the pace I wouldn't make running on my own. Few days ago we managed to make the last, eight kilometer in 5:05, which is very good for me. If not for the painful knee, it would be perfect.

[Iskaral Pust]

I'm never clear on how runners report their times. Are you saying you ran 8km (5 miles) in 40:40, and you consider that a fast pace?

Congratulations on exercising so consistently and maintaining good discipline.

[3CityApache]

Actually I was just saying we managed to make only the last km of our run in such a pace, previous seven were a bit slower. And yes, I consider a pace of 5:05 minutes per km during an outdoor run of more than 5 km fast. For my capabilities at least.

[baxus]

2 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

I'm never clear on how runners report their times. Are you saying you ran 8km (5 miles) in 40:40, and you consider that a fast pace?

Congratulations on exercising so consistently and maintaining good discipline.

I can't say about all runners but I usually look at average time per km for training runs. For races (I pretty much do only half-marathons) I count the total time.

As for what makes a fast pace, everyone is specific at any given time. For example, I've had periods when I'd consider 10km at 5'30"/km average pretty slow, and now after months of sitting around not training I'd say that's not bad at all.

[Iskaral Pust]

Thanks all for clarifying. I tend to describe the total time for total distance but if I was going to say it any other way it would be average time per mile (and I'd include "per mile" as I said it). There seems to be different conventions and most people here speak in km.

As to speed, I think that depends on distance, conditions and, of course, individual expectations. I usually run on a treadmill (level & no wind is easier) and rarely exceed 3 miles because I get bored. So 5-6 minutes per mile feels fast (~4 minutes per km) but I'm not sustaining that for more than a mile. I usually start with a slow mile of 8.5 minutes (~5 mins per km) to warm up and then increase the pace for a second and possibly third mile. So I might average a pace around 7-7.5 minutes per mile (~4.5 minutes per km). But of course that would be slightly slower if I had to pace myself and conserve energy for a 5 mile (8k) run.

Treadmills require you to specify your pace in mph, so I think in those terms as I decide whether/when to change pace. I start at 7mph and finish at 12mph, so it's easier to track total time than to remember my average pace per mile, which varies by distance anyway.

Sorry for tangent. It's helpful to have benchmarks.

At my best ever timed run near the end of high school, I ran a mile in 4:30 on an outdoor track, so all of my current running still feels slow by comparison (and treadmills are weird) and I expect dedicated runners to have higher expectations.

[3CityApache]

I rarely run on treadmills, but when I do, I feel like my pace is at least 30 seconds per km quicker than during outdoor running. But anyway I never said I was a quick runner. My PB for 10k is 54:06, which makes it just 5:25 per km on average.

[zelticgar]

I'm the opposite, i always feel like I run faster outside and it is a struggle to hit the times on the treadmill. At my fastest I was around a 6:15/per mile pace 5k and it was always very hard to maintain that pace on the treads.

I think in general people measure themselves in terms of two factors:

• total time to total distance = i.e. 3:15 marathon
• Pace per mile/km over total distance = 7:30/per mile over marathon or 6:15 per mile for 5K

I mostly focus on pacing versus total time for training. I try to keep my training pace about a minute over my race pace for half marathons - so training runs are around 8:15 while i know my race pace with be 7:15 or so. I used to mirror race pace and it resulted in constant injuries. Occasionally I do some speed work at the track but I'm at the point where races are more about hanging with my friends versus competition. My end game is to stay injury free but to keep training. Slower is better for that.

[Iskaral Pust]

Tonight was squats, dead lifts, calf press and single leg squats with Dumbbells to finish. Both squats and dead lifts were 250lbs for the heaviest sets. For squats, that felt better than last time. For deadlifts, which I had not done for several weeks, it felt easier than for squats despite me being depleted after squats.

It was a pretty tough workout. I was breathing heavily throughout.

I have never done squats and dead lifts together before, having been warned not to combine big lifts, but it went pretty well.

[Starkess]

Yes, I usually look at my total time and distance and my average per-mile time.

For me, race pace is anywhere from 7:30 (5k) to 9:00 (half marathon). A normal steady training run I'd aim for about 9:30 at the slowest, and for long runs my goal is usually to keep it below 10:00 min/mile, which I consider my baseline "jogging" rate. I think of myself as a pretty average runner, kind of slow for someone who runs consistently, but for races I do finish usually in the top 25%ish overall and 15%ish for women, so I guess I'm not *that* slow.

Today I went for my long walk instead of a run. It was nice to get moving, and I'm definitely in no condition to run, but man did I get jealous seeing everyone else out running. Beautiful running day (sunny with a light breeze, about 65F). Ah, well. I'll be better soon, and I'm not training for a race right now.

Speaking of which, I am starting to get the bug to find a race! It's been a couple months now. Need to figure out how my summer is going to go a little bit more clearly (it really is up in the air in a giant way right now), but a June 10k might be nice.

[ithanos]

On ‎4‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 2:35 PM, Iskaral Pust said:

Last night I did some burpees, body weight squats and push ups after midnight in my hotel room.

Good stuff. I've got another work trip planned for next month and I'm keen to continue the hotel room routine I used successfully back in January; 30 secs of burpees, 30 secs rest & repeat for 10 rounds. My burpee speed has improved since Jan so I'll be targeting 100 burpees.

When I started crossfit (almost 2yrs ago) it was immediately clear that my upper body strength (chest, back and grip strength) was lacking. More so I had poor joint mobility, particularly in the ankles and wrists. So I had consciously been putting on weight for the past 18months, in the hope of bulking up, whilst providing workout stimulus, so that I could implement a cutting phase. I had gone from 85kg to over 100kg in that time. To be honest I didn't think it would work - or rather I had indulged some bad eating habits too freely and wasn't confident of being able to make the nutritional tack. However I hit upon a sweet confluence between my nutrition and training that started in mid January which has resulted in me cutting/leaning out 8kg. A rate of 1kg a week. When I lost weight before, it was fat & muscle. Now the fat is sluicing off and the muscle is staying put! I'm at 92.5kg now and I'm fitter, stronger and faster than I ever was at 85kg.   

[aceluby]

Nice work ithanos!  It's amazing how much a diet change for the better can impact results.  I seem to have plateaued in the 180-185 lbs (80-84 kg) range, but am perfectly happy with that as I have gained good muscle definition and maintained a 10-12% body fat range.

Over the weekend I got a lot of good sessions in and have a well deserved rest day today.  I have a full week of classes planned for Tuesday through next Sunday that I'm really excited for.  I just love going to my studio.  I've met so many great people and the teachers are awesome.  It's just really nice having a place where I can meet new friends so easily.

[baxus]

Today I weighed myself and the scale showed 2kgs less than on March 1st, when I went back to training.

I still have about 3kgs total to drop which probably means dropping more than that of fat and regaining some muscles but it's a start.

My throat is still sore, so I'll skip training today and tomorrow. Hopefully, everything will be ok by Thursday and I'll be able to go to practice then.

[Iskaral Pust]

This morning was shoulder press, wide lat pull down, lat raises (should be called deltoid raises) and biceps.  Early morning workouts usually lack some oomph because I have no fuel in my system, but the 2x50lbs dumbbells shoulder press sets felt easy this morning.  The 160lbs shoulder press machine also felt easy until the 7th rep, when it abruptly got very heavy.  This is why I don't usually bench press before breakfast.

[Curious Rorge]

The "lat" is short for lateral raise. Which is an exercise for your deltoid

It has nothing to do with your " lat" muscle, which is short for latissimuss dorsi

[The BlackBear]

Had a thing with my shoulder all last week but got back into it. I want to enjoy Deadlifts, but I just don't.

[OnionAhaiReborn]

2 hours ago, Leap said:

Just jumped again from 16min run to 20min, which was tough. The whole run was tough though, I think I would have been better off doing it this morning. It was a pretty slow run, probably somewhere between 6 and 7mins per km. I did try to throw some sprints in there which might have helped, but generally I struggled to maintain a good pace. Thursday is my next run, and I'll probably go for another 20 minutes then. Friday is my next leg day, after all. 

It's been two weeks now since I started trying to eat more healthily and exercise more. The eating has had it's ups and downs - although I've done well to cut out alcohol and cheese, I've eaten probably too much carbs for the amount of running I'm doing. But I am getting a fair amount of protein by eating a lot of eggs, tuna, chicken/turkey and bacon. I will probably cut down on the latter now as it's too fatty... this life is hell.

The exercise has gone well so far though. I've been going to the gym consistently. It's kind of early days to look back and reflect, but I know for a fact that posting on here every time I do a run helps me stay committed. 

If you're concerned about getting the right ratio of carbs/protein/fat, you might want to try tracking with My Fitness Pal (or another app, I'm sure there are others), instead of going purely by 'feel.' There's still some guesswork involved, but it's more consistent and logging helps keep you on course.

Keep up the good work.

[Iskaral Pust]

3 hours ago, Curious Rorge said:

The "lat" is short for lateral raise. Which is an exercise for your deltoid

It has nothing to do with your " lat" muscle, which is short for latissimuss dorsi

That makes sense, thanks.  I see some people do lat raises in front of their chest instead of to the side, so I overlooked the connection to a lateral motion. (I do both)

 

[aceluby]

Killed myself yesterday, focused mostly on legs.  Holy cow am I tired and sore today.  Also stepped on the scale and fluctuated up ~5 lbs.  Gotta nip that in the bud and get back to my pre-vacation eating habits.

[baxus]

3 hours ago, Leap said:

On my way out about 15 minutes later, I almost walked into this guy who was literally just wearing boxer shorts - no shorts/trousers whatsoever.

If I'd known this was allowed I'd have been doing it for months. 

It's funny how wouldn't even be caught dead at the gym wearing boxer shorts only, but I have no problems working out in rowing all-in-one with top part pulled down to my waist.