First December swim

It took a while, but I finally mustered the guts to go for a swim this month. I've been scared to do so, given the delicate state of my shoulder, but Kelly and Jessica really wanted to go, so that was enough to talk me into it. The two of them are having a little competition called the "Iron Santa" this month, where they each want to do a full Iron Man during the month, which is something like 180 miles cycling, 26 miles running and 2.5 miles swimming. Neither of them had logged any pool time so they joined me at the Roy Rec Center.

Fuzzy photo at the pool. I'd make a poor surgeon with my shaky hands.

We actually went yesterday, but it was Zack's wedding later that day, so I didn't have time to blog about our workout. I just did a simple ladder set, throwing in 50 yards of breaststroke for every 100 yards of freestyle. Didn't want to overdo it.

Warm up
200 free
Core
Ladder set 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350
Cool down
400 free and breast easy

My shoulder didn't hurt at all after, which is a good sign. I'd like to squeeze in at least one more swim before the end of the year.

Total distance: 2,000 yards

Bachelor party recovery

Well, my body is in a weird state right now. Kelly, Wes and I celebrated Zack's upcoming wedding with a full 24 hours of drinking, junk food and video games. Today, in an effort to start recovering from it, I went to the gym. I'll need to go one more time extra to help knock off some of those extra calories.

So, today I started with a walk on the treadmill on a heavy incline, which kicks my ass worse than running at 6 mph. I did that for 20 minutes and then rode the bike for 20 minutes more. I finished up the afternoon with some upper body weight training before calling it a day.

Tomorrow, if my shoulder is feeling up to it, I might go for a light swim. No guarantees, though.

Total distance: 1.25 miles uphill treadmill, 8.2 miles cycling

More circuit training

After taking a few days off I got back to it today. I decided I wanted to do the circuit training again, but I wanted a little extra, so I rode the bike for about 15 minutes to get warmed up and get my blood flowing.

Grilled chicken, pecans, lettuce, spinach, blue cheese, apples and craisins.

I did the same circuit as last week, but I pushed myself a little harder this time around. I was already sucking wind by the 10th station (out of 20). When it was all said in done, I was happy with myself for not half-assing, so I rewarded myself with Wendy's for lunch. Not burgers and fries, though. I inhaled one of their apple pecan chicken salads. Those things are super tasty and don't pack more than 400 calories. It's quite filling, too.

Total distance: 5 miles cycling, 30 minutes circuit training

Circuit training

I did my first session of circuit training today. It was tough, but not so much that I felt like vomiting. I suppose that's what I was most afraid of. Here's the gist of how it works.

The circuit training section at the gym

1 minute intense cardio (jumping jacks, high knees, running in place, mountain climbers, etc.)
30 second rest
1 minute weight training
30 second rest
Repeat through all 20 stations (10 cardio & 10 weight)

There is a light on the wall that alternates between green and red to set your pace. It really gives you a full-body workout, mixing cardio and weight training. You really get an upper body and lower body mixture of exercises. There are even two ab stations in the mix.

Anyway, it's not a gigantic workout, but something nice I can throw into the mix once or twice a week to supplement everything else I do.

Total distance: N/A (30 minutes of circuit training)

Cycling madness

It's strange how my exercise has evolved over the past two years. I started out doing primarily swimming, then added some running, then slowed down the swimming and added some cycling. After my shoulder and knee injuries, that's turned into mostly cycling with a bit of running and almost no swimming.

My shoulder still hurts on a regular basis, despite hitting the pool only a few times this past month. I'm truly just weary of going back to the doctor, so I can get another bullshit diagnosis that doesn't tell me anything new and doesn't offer any new way to fix it. I'm no doctor, but I really think my rotator cuff is torn, especially after reading about Gordon's surgery and the type of pain he had before it. That would explain why it continues to hurt even though I rarely swim and I regularly do the tendinitis strengthening exercises I was given after my last visit to the clinic.

Oh well. Tons of cycling seems to be working for now, although I miss the water so much. I just don't consider myself a dryland guy. Prospects for a new job are in the works and with Jen being pregnant, I want to start fresh with a new workout regimen and better diet when the new year starts. I have to set an example for the rest of the family.

Today though, I just rode the bike before doing some light lifting and ab work. I signed up for a 30-minute circuit training session at my gym tomorrow, so I'm kind of excited for it.

Total distance: 9.7 miles cycling

Rare Sunday workout

Already, this new gym membership is paying off. Before, especially during the winter, I rarely worked out on Sundays because in Utah, everything shuts down on that day of the week. In warmer months, I occasionally squeezed in a run or something outside, but now I can go any Sunday I want.

I didn't do anything crazy, basically considering today a bonus, but with some football games on in front of me, I rallied off 30 minutes on the bike in what seemed like a blink of an eye. I followed that up with a quick one-mile run on the treadmill and called it good.

Not bad ... for a Sunday anyway.

Total distance: 9.7 miles cycling, 1 mile running

Day 2 at Planet Fitness

I kept it short and sweet today, because I had some errands to run. But I made it to the gym, which I suppose is 75 percent of the battle. I did a 30-minute bike ride and called it good. I pushed it hard and cranked out some good mileage. Yesterday's weightlifting left my shoulder a bit sore, so I avoid upper body work today. I'm very impressed with Planet Fitness so far. The convenience of it is nice and the facility is brand spanking new, so the joint doesn't smell like sweat yet.


Yep. ESPN in the locker room.

 Total distance: 9.35 miles cycling

New gym: New motivation

Today I started at a new gym. Earlier this week I noticed a Planet Fitness was opening up a few blocks down the road from my house with a big advertisement that said "Only $10 per month NO CONTRACT!" I was interested and went in to take a tour. Sure enough, there really are no gimmicks. It's a very nice facility with tons of machines and the fee never changes. And the real kicker for me, was that it's open 24 hours during the week and the weekend hours (including Sunday) are still quite long. That sold me and I immediately signed up.

Only one small part of the gym. The staff is very helpful, too.

I've been having a very hard time staying motivated and I have all sorts of excuses why I haven't been working out much, but in the end, I truly think stress is the main factor. And what usually helps with stress? Exercise. I don't want to work out when I'm stressed, but it helps with the stress every time I do. Kind of a Catch-22.  

Anyway, I went in for my first "trial run" today and I was quite pleased. There weren't very many people in there, and I could plug my headphones into the machines and watch any of the plethora of TVs on the wall. I did a nice long ride on one of the stationary bikes before hitting the weights and just like the machines, everything was brand new. I followed that up with a short run on the treadmill to round out my full hour of cardio and then went home.

So far, so good. I have a feeling this is going to work out nicely, even though they don't have a pool. I'll still have to hit the Rec Center for that in the winter.

Total distance: 14 miles cycling, 1.5 miles running