Getting back into shape after an 'extended break' :D

[Caracal]

After a rather long 'break' from my routine (got a new job - moved house etc) i've finally decided to buy myself a little setup and get back into shape!



First on the agenda: Cardio! - then once im comfortable with my BF% etc, and I'm generally getting back into the swing of things, i'm going to start doing some upper-body workouts (leaving legs for the time being).

I've basically stripped down my old routines, so hopefully it'll all come back to me heh

Diet-wise... currently don't have much of a kitchen and because i'll be running 'before' i leave for work, i'll have to eat after my run (cereal + brown bread). Not too sure if i should really bother with any kind of supplements right now (is there anything worth having 15 mins before my run!?)

As for the cardio: I'm doing the 'couch to 5k' plan - but tweaked a little bit. I've started on week 2 (1.5 min run / 2 min walk) and ive stretched each plan to last 30 minutes minimum.

This is how the plan looks:


I use an HRM to track my progress and i'll be posting my cardio results every Friday and my weigh-ins every Monday

Here's my inital run (HR is hideously high - but hey - hopefully it won't take me long to get back to my previous fitness levels!)



Wish me luck!

Any critique/comments gratefully received

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Update: I'll also be doing starting some upper-body routines (most likely Saturday/Sunday - while i'm having a break from the cardio). I'll add the routines once i've finished them...

[sweetdream]

wow. what is that graph? how did you get that online? is that something that you can connect to the computer once you are done working out? I have seen the ones from Nike (I believe) and you it tracks through your shoe or something.. lemme know!

good luck with getting back into the swing of things. I know once I started I can no longer stop! it feels great getting the good ol heart rate up and getting in a good workout!

That is a pretty high bpm HR you achieved on that run. Does your HR normally run high? What is your resting HR?

Remember that as your cardio fitness improve, the measure to pay attention to us your recovery - how quick your HR drops from its high during the recovery period.

As a bare-bones minimum, I'd do a couple of sets of pushups until you resume the weight training. Remember, running is a whole-body activity and your upper body has got to be strong to support it.

I'll be following your journal.

[Caracal]

Thanks for the early replies

-sweetdream: It's from the Nike software that came with my HRM/SDM http://www.nike.com/index.jhtml?l=ni...0510/pid-20510

-pierini: thanks for the tip, i'll squeeze in some pushups As far as my heartrate goes , no it's not normally that high :O I think my resting rate is currently around 60? (haven't actually properly measured it yet though, so that might be completely wrong!)

Here's a chart i made using my previous runs (this is from about 2 years ago):



The red line is taken from one of my early runs (when i just started). The blue line is taken from a run about 3 months later. It's nice 'seeing' improvements in your own recovery rate and overall heart-rate (the brown and green lines are just random bike workouts i think).

Hopefully i'll be seeing similar results soon!

[Caracal]

Monday weigh-in:


Weight_______132.4lbs
Body Fat_____20.6lbs
Body Fat %___15.5%
Hydration____61.7%
BMI__________20.8

[LiftGirl]

You said critiques were welcome, and I'm never shy about giving an opinion, so here goes.

If you're looking to lose body fat, it's a mistake not to start weight training right away. Restricting calories and doing cardio does make you lose weight, but it's easier for your body to break down muscle than to break down fat, so that's what it will do. This results in weight loss, but little to no fat loss and a slower metabolism. Lifting weights tells your body that it needs the muscle so it will keep it around.

Also, it's a mistake to skip weight training legs. They are the biggest muscle in the body. Running is not a substitute for weight training the legs.

[westside24]

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

You said critiques were welcome, and I'm never shy about giving an opinion, so here goes.

If you're looking to lose body fat, it's a mistake not to start weight training right away. Restricting calories and doing cardio does make you lose weight, but it's easier for your body to break down muscle than to break down fat, so that's what it will do. This results in weight loss, but little to no fat loss and a slower metabolism. Lifting weights tells your body that it needs the muscle so it will keep it around.

Also, it's a mistake to skip weight training legs. They are the biggest muscle in the body. Running is not a substitute for weight training the legs.

I agree with everything she says! and If I agree, then its gotta be true right? haha no seriously though, its true! we dont lie!

[Gooseneck]

I remember you. Welcome back and best of luck with your endevours.

[Caracal]

thanks for the input guys - and i also agree that i should be lifting as well, i just don't really have the time (Currently i get up at 5:30, start a 30m run at 6:00, then leave for work at about 7:00).

Something i'm thinking of, is lifting on the weekend (when i have a break from the cardio), work the upper body on the Saturday, lower body on the Sunday (would that sufficient to start with?)

I guess i'm a bit nervous about damaging my knees, because a few years ago (when i was into a 5-day routine) i really hurt my knees doing squats (got a sharp pain right in the 'middle' of my knee).

[minime]

hmm I would worry more about damaging my knees from running almost every day than I would from doing squats!

remember when you are training with weights, form is extremely important. Start with lighter weights until you are comfortable increasing the load without sacraficing your form.

welcome back!

[Caracal]

Originally Posted by minime

hmm I would worry more about damaging my knees from running almost every day than I would from doing squats!

remember when you are training with weights, form is extremely important. Start with lighter weights until you are comfortable increasing the load without sacraficing your form.

welcome back!

I hear ya :P

It's weird.. i REALLY hurt my ankle a few years back, which put me out of action for about 3 months, but i recovered and got back into the swing of things.... but when i hurt my knee doing Squats.. that lasted a LOT longer (didn't really seem to hurt when i ran - just when i did any leg exercises).

So i'm a bit hesitant to re-damage my knee.. but i will start to do some leg exercises (maybe starting off with some lunges?).

I'll post my upper-body plans later

As far as the running is going - im currently on week 2 of the "Couch to 5K plan" (walk for 2mins / Run for 1.5mins) and i seem to be going at 85 - 95% MHR which i guess is a bit too high, but I'm actually enjoying it and don't want to slow down!

I'll update my 1st post with my 'tweaked' running plan later as well.

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Updated the 1st post

[Caracal]

OK so here's the results of my first week running (this is week 2 of the couch-to-5k plan - see my 1st post for more info).

Week 2 (walk 2mins / Run 1.5 mins - total 34 mins)


The graph is 'age-shaded' - with the newest run (today's) being the darkest brown, Monday's being the lightest brown. There isnt a large drop in the overall readings over the period of the week, which i guess i expected (although there still is a bit of a drop!).

But I'm quite happy with my recovery times... despite the fact that i'm maybe pushing too hard? (on the walking sections i drop to ~80-85%, on the running sections i top out at about ~95%). I know that range is too high for the 'fat burning' zone.. but I'm really enjoying it :O

I've noticed that i'm a lot more hyper and 'alive' in the mornings at work now!

As always, comments welcome

[just checked my old run results.... the last time i ran properly, was back in February 2004!!! - so that makes me even more surprised/happy at this weeks results]

[sweetdream]

Originally Posted by Caracal

thanks for the input guys - and i also agree that i should be lifting as well, i just don't really have the time (Currently i get up at 5:30, start a 30m run at 6:00, then leave for work at about 7:00).

Something i'm thinking of, is lifting on the weekend (when i have a break from the cardio), work the upper body on the Saturday, lower body on the Sunday (would that sufficient to start with?)

I guess i'm a bit nervous about damaging my knees, because a few years ago (when i was into a 5-day routine) i really hurt my knees doing squats (got a sharp pain right in the 'middle' of my knee).

first, I really like your avatar pic! lmao

second- it sucks that you don't have a lot of time to do all of the work that you want to do for your body but it is very good to break it up however it works for u!

to be honest I think you are doing a lot of cardio and you NEED to get that strength training in there. I am not sure what your goals are (and looking back you never really mentioned what they were) but strength training is just that, building strength!

BUT ALSO it will give you more energy for your cardio workouts because when u are working your muscles they are basically training your body to extract more oxygen from other parts of your body to them. This is important in turn for aerobic exercise because they more often you strength train the more your body will get used to using more oxygen and your heart won't have to work so hard to get an adequate supply pumping through

hope this makes sense! I am currently studying to become a trainer and it's good to share my new knowledge with the exercise world (i dont have much of one outside of here and my gym- ie. friends ect)

[Caracal]

Thanks for the reply sweetdream

I guess my overall goal is what it was before - to generally improve my fitness and gain some definition eventually. I totally understand what you're saying about the need to do some strength training.

Previously, i worked a 2pm - 11pm shift at work, which gave me aggggess in the morning to get a good cardio + gym session in, but now i'm doing 8-5 i dont have that luxury anymore >.<

But excuses are for losers so i'm going to figure out a way to start including some lifting into my routine.

Update
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OK here's my old routine

Here's an upper-body plan i came up with (taken from my old work out). Routine 1 to be done on Saturday, Routine 2 to be done on Sunday.

The bit's in grey are ones im not too sure about, because i only have a weight bench + dumbells at home (don't have access to a smith machine / cable pull etc). :S

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by Caracal

I know that range is too high for the 'fat burning' zone.. but I'm really enjoying it :O

Don't worry about the "fat burning zone." What is really important is how much fat you burn throughout the day, not just in your cardio session. It's calories in vs calories out. You can burn more calories in a shorter time by working at higher intensities. Plus, higher intensities keep your metabolism stoked all day. You might burn more fat directly in the fat burning zone, but once you stop cardio, you stop fat burning, so you'll burn more overall calories (and therefore reduce more fat overall) by using higher intensities.

Originally Posted by sweetdream

BUT ALSO it will give you more energy for your cardio workouts because when u are working your muscles they are basically training your body to extract more oxygen from other parts of your body to them. This is important in turn for aerobic exercise because they more often you strength train the more your body will get used to using more oxygen and your heart won't have to work so hard to get an adequate supply pumping through

Talia, I didn't know this, and I wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I found this really interesting to read. It doesn't seem that long ago that you were a newbie, and now here you are teaching us!