Working At It

At the risk of jinxing myself, I'm going to track the week's workout total here despite the fact that I haven't done my Sunday morning spin yet.

I had a successful workout week, with 5 hours total of sweat exercise between rowing, spinning, and kettlebell. The kettlebell stuff is the most intense, but all the workouts are at least solidly in the aerobic zone (the kettlebell stuff is more like a track interval session).

My fitness is improving. Another breakthrough: I had a cortisone shot in my foot and it (along with the prescribed anti-inflamatory) has made a huge difference. As in, my foot pain is basically gone.

So that's all good. I'm enthusiastic about the workouts and feel that the combination of the three exercise practices gives me the well-rounded fitness that I seek. I have two challenges, however: I'm going to have some minor foot surgery in a couple of weeks that'll lay me up for a few days. I just need to avoid having that deter my momentum. The other challenge is my weight. I'm going to ignore that through teh holidays and then attack it somewhat aggressively.

Another Okay Week

I'm starting to string together some consistency. This week included two kettlebell workouts, two spinning sessions, and one row.

I need to go after it harder, and I'll do so. But the week was okay.

I'm not losing any weight and need a new tactic for that.

Progress

I had a pretty good fitness week: 2 spinning sessions 1 rowing workout 2 kettlebell sessions and a 1.5 hour bootcamp that combined a little bit of everything. More on kettlebells: they are Russian, and demand cardivasular fitness while working strength and flexibility. I've worn my HR monitor and find that my HR frequently soars above AT during the toughest bits and rarely falls below the aerobic zone during the recovery parts. It's kind of like an interval session on the track, only different. Here's a video that demonstrates some basic movements. It looks easier than it is. It woirks just about everything.

Oops, I can't figure out the video upload thing. Try this link instead.

A Decent Week Along the Comeback Trail

I was still sick at the beginning of the week, and missed Monday and Tuesday workouts. Wednesday was a monster day; AM spin and PM Kettlebell. Thursday was rest again, Friday, I rowed. Saturday was atough Kettlebell session. I rowed again this morning. Not bad, but I can do better. And I will.

Back To The Pursuit of Fitness and Health

I've moved my novel. If you are interested in continuing to read it let me know and I'll invite you in to the blog where it now resides.

I also have a re-newed committment to health and fitness. Although my weight gain is fairly evenly distributed when compared to the woman shown here, who would be quite trim and svelte were it not for a backside that's gotten away from her a bit--I am concerned about my weight and have an action plan.

Essentially, I spin, row, and do this torture called kettlebells twice a week. That is, I go to two spin classes per week, two kettlebell sessions per week, and row twice per week. This exercise plan, coupled with the always challenging moderation on the intake side, should reverse my lagging fitness trend.

I will let you know how it goes.

A Big Transition

I have a new goal, and I am motivated to achieve it. It’s not a fitness activity but it will have an impact upon my fitness. Here’s the goal: I will complete the first draft of a novel in one year. Here’s what I’ve learned about this goal so far: it takes time and work. Specifically, I need to write about 100,000 words. I have written 7,609 thus far. I have miles to go before I sleep.

I need to write every day, more or less.

In the decade of my twenties I played lacrosse seriously, from thirty to forty I played basketball seriously, from forty to fifty-something I ran seriously. By seriously, I mean I worked at it, kept score, and cared about the results. That doesn’t mean that I was ever much more than a middle-of-the-packer in any of these pursuits. I anticipate much the same with my new pursuit. I’m going to work at it, and I care about it, and I want the result to be the best that I can produce.

If it’s the literary equivalent of a six hour marathon, that’s okay.

So my fitness goal is 30 minutes per day of sweat exercise. No races, no contests, nothing but the minimum requirement for health.

Ongoing Struggles

My foot (plantar fascitis) continues to be a challenge. I've reduced my running to two days per week. I've added cycling and will add swimming to the mix. My weight is up, my fitness down.

I did have a good interval session on the track on Wednesday: 7 X 800m with all but the first one (still warming up) under 3:30. My long run Sunday was a painful process, though, with the foot bothering me throughout.

So I'll continue to find other stuff to do.