It’s a muggy day for a bicycle commute, even one that lasts only 15 minutes, and this morning it’s made more challenging by the soreness in my left shoulder. I must have strained a muscle there while lifting last night. In fact, my upper body is pretty sore all over, which I didn’t expect after... Read more »
I'm not going to pretend it hasn't been awhile since I've posted (these things are dated, after all), but real work comes first and I've been catching up after a week's vacation. (Yeah, I could've posted while on vacation . . . whatever.) It doesn't mean, however, that I've been slacking off in the workout department.
I was back in the gym last night for a pretty rigorous, fast-paced workout: 10 miles on the bike (average heart rate of 114) and a good half-hour of upper body and (a little) ab work on the machines. Worked up a pretty good sweat. Felt pretty good about myself. Then, this morning, I stumbled... Read more »
I’ve been comparing notes recently with Hodding Carter, the 45-year-old writer whose new book, Off the Deep End, chronicles his manic pursuit of a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic swimming team. Carter, who 20 years earlier won Division III All-America honors for his alma mater, Kenyon College, uses his pursuit of Olympic glory as... Read more »
I’ve been riding my bike into work recently, but today, which promises thundershowers after work, I decided to hoof it. My lovely wife will drive me home after the gym if the forecast holds true. I had almost forgotten how delightful it is to walk. Indeed, a couple of blocks into my trek, I realized... Read more »
I’m getting more accustomed to the new machines at the gym, so I can’t use that as an excuse for blowing off my workouts until recently (Monday). I did play 18 holes of completely humiliating golf last week, and I’ve been on my bicycle some, but I have to say I’m kind of out of... Read more »
Well, I didn’t get to the gym on Wednesday (worked too late — not enough time for a good workout. . . . so, sue me! Geeze.), but I managed to get downstairs last night for a little sweat-a-thon. I did 25+ minutes on the treadmill while watching CNN talking heads lip-synch something about the... Read more »
I skipped the gym last night and stayed home from work today in hopes of thwarting a cold bug that’s had me sniffling and sneezing — though not yet completely miserable — for a couple of days. And, while there’s ample evidence to indicate that exercise can help cure the common cold, older guys like... Read more »
My Friday workout felt hasty and ill-conceived, sort of a circuit-training approach without the “training” part, as I wandered from treadmill to ab-cruncher to lat pull-down to chest press, etc., etc. — all crammed into about 60 minutes of low-energy grunting (I really need 90 minutes to do this right). Part of the problem was... Read more »
I rode my bicycle to work this morning, even though I chose to wear the inexplicable sneaker-khakis combo (see “If the Shoe Fits” below) previously designed for walking. So, that means I’m destined for the dreaded treadmill tonight at the gym. Walking builds bone density, after all, and if I don’t hoof it to work,... Read more »
My goal this morning was to walk into work (I’d left my bike in the office due to yesterday’s thunderstorm) wearing my sneakers and schlepping my workout gear and computer in my backpack. But then I noticed how dorky my sneakers looked with these khakis (you can imagine, no?) and slipped on my regular brown... Read more »
OK, so I promised that I would report on last night’s workout — specifically focusing on my 10 goals for the evening. Overall, my goal-oriented approach took time away from stuff I would normally do (I so missed brutalizing myself on that lat pull-down machine….), but it also cajoled me into other arguably constructive —... Read more »
Everybody in the fitness biz talks about hitting plateaus in your workout regimen, times when you don’t seem to be progressing toward your goals and, thus, need to change your routine. I manage to avoid plateaus not by changing my routine, but by refusing to set any goals. Now, I know this can be a... Read more »
Two interesting questions lodged themselves in my pea brain after last night’s workout: 1.) Do certain foods make you stronger? and 2.) How hard should my heart really be beating when I’m busting my butt at the gym? But, first, a little context. Several weeks ago, a couple of personal trainers walked by as I... Read more »
After my Crapmobile episode on Monday, I was anxious to get back on my regular workout schedule, so last night I hit the gym after work and went through my regular routine — except I built in some time between the elliptical machine and the strength training room to actually do some stretching!!!! It’s a... Read more »
I trekked through the beginnings of a classic March blizzard yesterday morning, workout gear in my backpack, fully intending to hit the gym after work. Really I did. Then, about 3 p.m., my lovely wife called me on my cell to notify me that the Crapmobile (my 17-year-old son’s not-so-affectionate moniker for our ’91 Honda)... Read more »
Jeeze, has it been 11 days since I last posted something here? You’re going to assume, of course, that I’ve also been derelict in my fitness regimen and simply didn’t want to pen one more pathetic post about how hard it’s been to get to the gym. But, no! I’ve been keeping up rather nicely... Read more »
The great thing about Minnesota is that the weather is always pretty reliable. It’ll be mercilessly frigid for three months every winter and then insufferably sweltering (with mosquitoes) for two months every summer. It’s never a surprise — just an inexorable drifting across our meteorological River Styx (above, with apologies to Dante, et al.). But... Read more »
True to form, when I finally got to the gym on Friday I completely overdid things — piled on the poundage and lifted to failure, just as I had promised myself. By Monday, my upper body — especially my arms — felt like I’d gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali in his prime. (OK, the... Read more »
Talk about failure (see previous post). Five times this week I have schlepped my workout gear across the icy Mississippi to the office and four times I have schlepped it back home with me, unused. As I’ve previously mentioned, reality intervenes: domestic responsibilities, work deadlines, the list goes on. At least I’ve been able to... Read more »
It was kind of slow going this morning, due to the patches of glare ice hidden beneath a couple of inches of new snow. Lots of slipping and sliding on the sidewalks. At one point I could envision catastrophe — “Geezer breaks hip while foolishly walking to work in snowstorm” — but, instead of panicking,... Read more »