I’m 2 weeks into
my training program & feel as though I'm starting to settle into a good routine. I was able to get
into the gym 6 days this week, into the sauna 5 days, & maintained my diet
for the entire week save a few beers at a sporting event on Thursday night. Below I’ve summarized the good, the bad, & the ugly
from the week.
The Good
- Followed a set workout schedule: while the first week was just
about getting back into the gym & dialing in my diet, week 2 was about
following the workout schedule that I put together specifically for the Spartan
race. I found the training regimen very challenging, which is exactly where I
want it to be this early in my training. Now that I’ve set my baseline results,
I can’t wait to start smashing my personal bests week in & week out!
- Attended a second hot yoga class: on Saturday I attended my
second hot yoga class in 2 weeks, a trend that I’m looking to continue as I
purchased a 10-class pass. I had a different instructor this time, however once
again, this instructor kicked my butt. I found the lunge & chair poses the
most difficult, however save a few quick breaks I managed to push through most
of it. My favourite part of the class was that I was able to stretch out my
groin which had been giving me problems in the days prior. After the class I was feeling very loose &
limber, I have a feeling hot yoga is going to become a key part of my recovery
moving forward!
- Dramatically improved my pull-ups: I was able to do sets of 20,
16, & 12 this week compared to 16, 12, & 10 the week prior. I have
identified pull ups as one of the most important exercises in preparation for
the Spartan Race so I am going to be closely monitoring my progress. Previously
in my back workouts, I would expend so much energy on deadlifts that I would
have little energy left for pull ups, treating them more as an accessory lift, however after leading my workout with
pull ups, I got a great back workout in which I was definitely feeling the next
day.
The Bad
- Groin tightened up: when I was in high school I suffered a grade
2 groin strain, followed immediately by a re-injury which cost me an entire
hockey season. Fortunately, since then I have not re-injured my groin, but
occasionally it will tighten up at which time I promptly stop whatever exercise
I am doing (has traditionally been squats). When I was running on Wednesday, I
felt my groin tighten up at which time I slowed my pace & went to stretch
it out. After being careful on Thursday, I felt like I effectively stretched it
out at yoga on Saturday. I will be continuing to monitor it as I move
through my training plan.
- Burpees: I incorporated burpees into my workout for the first time in at least 10 years & it was hard. Really hard. In fact, the most I could do in any one set was 15. Given that the penalty for failing an obstacle is 30 burpees, I clearly have a ton of work to do. Currently I have burpees scheduled into my workouts twice per week, however if I don’t start improving quickly I’ll have to incorporate them at lest 3 times per week.
The Ugly
- Wore a long-sleeve shirt to hot yoga: I have two identical blue gym shirts in my gym drawer, the only difference being that one is short sleeve & the other is long sleeve. I was running late on my way to yoga on Saturday, & in my haste I grabbed the first shirt I saw & ran out the door. When I got to yoga I realized my error, but there was nothing I could do. By the end of the class my entire shirt was a new colour of blue. I swear when I took off my shirt it must have weighed 3 pounds. I will not be making that mistake again.
Week 3 Goals
- Go on a long trail run: this week was another cold & snowy
one in Canada, but the good news is there is warmer weather on the horizon. With
this warm weather is going to come the beginning of my trail running season. My
first trail run is set for Thursday afternoon, & I am a little bit nervous.
Since I am not sure what my current running capacity is, instead of setting a
distance I am going to commit to running for 45 minutes to gauge where my
current running abilities are so I can set up a training program.
- Go to hot yoga twice: I have gone to hot yoga two times over the
past two weeks, however I am looking to increase this to twice per week, especially in light of my recent groin tightening. My
goal for this week is to get to yoga on both Wednesday & Saturday &
continue to increase my flexibility.
- Improve major lifts: I believe it would be unrealistic to try to
increase my results in every single exercise every single week, however my goal
will be to increase in the major lifts on each strength day: dips, pull ups,
burpees, & goblet squats, then at least maintain my results from the previous week on the accessory lifts.
With that, there’s another week in the books. Off to week 3 of this
journey. Arooo!
100 Day Spartan
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