Bill’s Training Blog

This is going to surprise many of you. It surprised me! In fact, I’m still a little stunned. Okay, make that VERY stunned.

The plan was for June’s exercise and weight results to be better than May’s. Not only are they not better, they are not worse.

THEY ARE THE SAME!!! (bizarrely the same! … cue Twilight Zone Music)

I am just stunned.

But the differences were in how I got the results:

• May had 16 training (or exercise) days
• June had only 15 training days.

The difference of one day may not seem significant but it is when I was attempting to improve June’s results.

It’s all still learning for me and I plan for July to be better than either May or June. It shows me that there needs to be more focus, and less “just thinking it’s going to happen.”

I love statistics, while 97% of them are made up on the spot, you can’t argue with figures!

Tags:   0 · Exercise · Goals · progressNo Comments.

Exercise Summary: 6.62 km in 40m 57s

This last week has been weird. It started a cold/flu which resulted in me taking drugs and going to bed early. The rest of the week was “okay” but I couldn’t shake the cold, something I ate didn’t agree with me and that made things worse but tolerable. I just kept going.

I was meant to go on a great river cruise Saturday night to farewell a colleague but I was just under the weather and tired. I was in bed at 4:30pm, watch some football then back in bed at 10pm and woke up 10 hours later. Ten hours is long for me. I’m usually on 5 - 6.5 hours sleep. Ten hours means my body is saying, “Whoa, back the truck up fella, let’s have a break.”

This sickness stuff also means I would have had 7 days without exercise. No running, no swimming, no push ups.

Today I got sick of being sick. I went for a run.

I’m still to find out whether this was a good idea. I didn’t do a short run and I didn’t take it easy. It was a medium length run with some sprint bursts.

There were a few catalysts to getting me out there though and I think it is good to note them:

• The weather was good. Bright and sunny. Sure it was only 15C but this is winter!
• I was reading blogs that motivate (Joe, Andrew x 2, Aaron, Steve) If I read those blogs, I feel myself getting restless. Thanks guys for writing well.
• Having the right equipment - having these things (iPod, footpod, new Nokia N95 with GPS) gives me no excuse for not exercising at some level.
• Goals - having the goal of 76kg means there is still the effort to keep moving towards the target. Knowing that sitting on my butt isn’t helping creates a positive tension that I can respond to.

I still felling a bit tired. We were supposed to get to the Feral Brewing Company for some boutique beer and some jazz but as I left my Mother-in-Law’s we were both too tired to get there. Tonight is a DVD and an early retirement.

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I’ll get some more running in maybe a swim.

I’ve also updated my monthly exercise result for June. It’s better than May but still short of my goals. I’ll post that in a day or two.

Tags:   Challenges · Exercise · fitness · goal setting · Goals · run · runner · runningNo Comments.

Last week as attitude readjustment! This week was the flu!

Since my great Sunday, I caught a dose of some bug that was going round. Sneezing, head aches and the like. Looking for sympathy. Getting none!

I was meant to do the 100 Push Ups Week 3 this week but didn’t attempt Day 1 due to feeling a little under the weather. I must also admit that I was a bit daunted at pushing out 25 in the first set. I just didn’t think I was going to succeed. So I avoided it. (See? It’s all in the head!)

Creative Avoidance

I learned years ago that people (i.e. me!) will do almost anything to avoid something they really don’t want to do. And this week was the 100 Push Up Challenge. I just had “other” things to do.

The result is that I am now behind in the schedule and feel like I should repeat Week 2 just to get back in the groove.

Relapse is Not Failure

However, I have also learned that a “relapse” is not a “failure”. You just get back up and continue forward. If you fall down 7 times and get up 8, you’re still in the game! I can’t change the past but I can change my future.

So I plan to do as much of Week 3 as I can. Allow the results to be what they may and then, perhaps, repeat Week 3.

I’ve also thought of slightly modifying Steve’s program. Just something I thought of doing, not to improve Steve’s program or negate it.

Here’s the plan.

If I do Steve’s Week 3 Day 1 successfully I would do a minimum of 99 Push Ups (25, 17, 17, 15, 25). So, basically I’m at the point of doing 100 push ups per day, just not in one go.

So, I’m going to do 100 push ups each day. If it takes me 10 sets then so be it. 100 per day it is.

These past two weeks have been a real slow down in my journey towards health & fitness. Hopefully they are just a relapse.

Tags:   100 push ups · challenge · Exercise · flu · health · influenza · sickness1 Comment

I know this morning’s post was a bit of a whinge. I think I had one of those moments where I saw myself slipping back into old habits and to be honest it scared me. I’ve lost 75% of what I plan to lose and I felt that, for no reason, I was slipping back into an old habit - just not bothering.

But, as I was writing, the exercises I had planned for the weekend were still possible. So, I grabbed my swimming gear and headed for the pool for my “planned” 500m swim.

550m later (50m added for penance and being a whinger!) I headed home feeling better that momentum had moved away from “back sliding”.

I then decided on 25 sit ups (not push ups) before also deciding to do a 10km run in the afternoon.

The FBH and I headed off into town to do some shopping for CN2’s 18th birthday and then we’d go to South Perth foreshore where FBH would sip tea while I ground out the 10km.

Making Small Progress

The last time I did this route I walked for 3 minutes then ran for 3 minutes alternating between the two for the whole run.

That was a few weeks ago so this time I started with a 2km jog, walk a couple of hundred meters and then jog until then next km was reached and so on.

My time came down around 8 minutes from:

• 61m 17 secs to
• 52m 53 secs.

I know that sounds pretty good but the route is pretty flat. No hills or inclines to speak of. All I had to do was put one foot in front of the other.

So I was pleased with the result and pleased my attitude had been given a swift kick in the a$$. (oh, the GMST stands for “Getting My S&^@ Together!”)

On Another Note …

My Adidas shoes that I have had for a while, with orthotics in them, are beginning to hurt a bit so hopefully by Friday I’ll be picking up my new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8’s.

I mention that because:

1. I’m excited - I like new shiny things
2. I am finding that my aerobic level is getting a lot better but the pain in my feet cause me to stop jogging for a while just for a rest.

Hopefully, with the new shoes the running will get better as well.

In the end my Exercise Summary looks okay:

• Swim: 550m
• Run: 10.03km
• Run Time: 52:53
• Sit Ups: 1 x 25
• 100 Push Up Challenge Exhaustion Test: 26

What I am Learning

And what I really am learning is the benefit of making small steps ever day.

Just a few weeks ago …

• I wouldn’t have been able to run 10km in under 55 mins.
• I wouldn’t have been able to push out around 70 push ups except for Steve’s program.
• I wouldn’t have lost the weight that I have.

Everything has been one day at a time.

I am looking forward to the day when I can say I’ve been exercising regularly for a year as Joe Thorne has done.

Tags:   attitude · Exercise · Goals · run · running · swim · swimming4 Comments

Exercise Summary: 4.6km Run/Walk; no time recorded

The above summary says it all. Yesterday was not a good day on the road to health and fitness (pardon that godawful pun!). Sure, I went for the 4km run/walk and while that sounds good, I did it as an afterthought rather than as a planned activity.

You see, the Dark Side revisited yesterday.

The Dark Side is how I used to think:

“I really should go for a run, but I can’t be bothered.”

“I really shouldn’t be eating this crisps and lollies while sitting in front of the TV watching sport, but I will.”

Disappointing.

• I planned to swim 500km yesterday. Nope.
• I planned a 5km run today and try and break 23:00 mins. I can still do that but my mental perspective isn’t what it could be.
• I can still do the 100 Push Up Exertion test today too.

I know that sounds like I’m having a whinge, and perhaps I am, I mean, I’ve only not done the swim and I could do that today too.

The point I’m castigating myself on is the attitude. I am seeing the old self this weekend and I know, really know, that the only way to break out of it is to get on with what I’ve planned. But yesterday I just didn’t want to. I mean I really didn’t!! (okay Bill, they get the picture!)

So this post probably isn’t all that helpful. Except, perhaps, that I can recognise it immediately and therefore do something whether I like it or not.

It’s back to don’t think, just do.

So if anyone else gets “bummed out” occasionally, how do you get through it, over it or around it?

On with the shirt, shorts and shoes. Time to head outside!

Tags:   discipline · Exercise · focus · Goals · planning · running1 Comment

Exercise Summary: 100 Push Ups Challenge: 71 Push Ups (15, 15, 12, 12, 17)

Driving home tonight after a really busy and disrupted week I was looking forward to a quiet night with a glass of wine and a good movie. Well, the wine is an Amberley 2007 Chenin Blanc, the movie is Johnny Depp’s Sweeney Todd. Interesting.

Then, I remembered the 100 Push Ups I had to do, well the challenge, not the 100.

Steve, the original and the best, had just done his Week 2, Day 3 when I remembered. Steve’s fifth set was a fantastic 30 push ups!

I had set in my mind 20. Thirty was out of the question.

All was going swimmingly well until, for some reason on the last set, I hit a wall and the arms wouldn’t push!

I didn’t think quick enough to stop the push and slow down, so down I went … 17!

However, I am seeing progress and just two weeks ago I am sure i wouldn’t have been able to do 71 push ups in such quick time.

Tomorrow is 500m swimming. Bring on the weekend!

Tags:   100 push ups · challenge · Exercise · Goals5 Comments

Today was a good day.

It was weigh in time and after my business trips I felt like I was back on track. As I drove away from the office on my way to Jenny Craig’s for the weigh in I was thinking 500g would be good as a “loss”.

To maintain some consistency I always try and wear similar clothes and ensure my shoes are off and pockets are empty as I step on the scale. And because I am trying to increase my water intake I also try and go to the bathroom (i.e. toilet) before I weigh in. I hadn’t had that much water today so didn’t bother.

Okay, enough preamble … 81.2kg … a loss of 700g!

So, a good day, a good weigh in and, had I gone to the “loo”, it would have dropped another 300g (I went when I got home.) Okay this post is turning gross. Sorry folks!

Forward Planning

I’m beginning to plan the weekend, so here’s an update of the immediate few days activities:

Friday Night: 100 Push Ups, Week 2, Day 3 - 69 in total

Saturday: 500 m swim (this will get me to 1.5km against a 5km target for the month. Not where I want to be but not bad from someone who never used to swim at all)

Sunday: 5km run and try to break 23:00. This will take some mental resolve as I know there’s no pressure to do so. There’s nothing riding on it and just doing a 5km run is a good thing.

Sunday Evening: 100 Push Ups Challenge: Interim Test - do as many push ups as I can

Monday: Back to Jacob’s Ladder - not a fan of the ladder but it’ll help when I do the City to Surf, so I just have to suck it in!

I hope you’re going well.

Bill

Tags:   100 push ups · challenge · Exercise · Goals2 Comments

Exercise Summary: 4km run - 24 minutes; 100 Push Up Challenge: 16, 13, 11, 11, 16

Wow! Day 2 of Week 2 and it was certainly a challenge.

Technically I was meant to complete this set yesterday but completing Jacob’s Ladder on Monday did things to my legs and didn’t feel I’d be giving myself a fair go.

Interestingly, the pain from Jacob’s Ladder set in today so I’m not sure I was doing myself any favours.

Add to that, when I got home I got the togs on and did a quick 24 minute 4km run. Pretty crisp in Perth at the moment but the run warmed me up.

The Push Up Challenge was more of a mental challenge tonight. I didn’t think much about it. I just got stuck into it, remembering to keep a good posture and push from the chest, breathing in on the way down and out on the way up.

I also find that it helps if I close my eyes when in gets harder. No idea why, just does.

The first set of 16 started well but ended up a struggle by the time I hit the 13th push up.

I resolved to just get through the next 3 sets of 13, 11 and 11 as a start and deal with the final set when I got there. Remember that the last time I set a goal for the last set before I started. So I wasn’t overly confident at how I was approaching this set.

Getting to the final set (min of 15) I decided that the 15 would be enough. If I completed the full set that would do. Well, on 14 I got the same feeling of “I’m not gonna get back up” as I started the upward push. But, eyes closed, resolved to finish I got there and did the 15.

Then, I just had to do one more. Just one. But more than the minimum. I decided to get it over with and the final push up as fast as I could. Not think about the pain, the shaking arms or the fact that I might be flat on my face.

Done … 16!

On to Day 3.

What Am I Learning?

The biggest thing I have learnt with all of my training is it really is a case of “mind over matter.”

If I set my mind to it, with no choice of backing out, I am able to achieve a realistic goal. Note that I say “realistic”. I could have said the last set would have been 25. But in my heart and in my mind I would have known from the beginning that I wasn’t going to make it.

So…

• set a realistic goal,
• commit to it and;
• determine that, no matter, what you’re going to achieve it and, voila! it will be amazing how “easily” the goal is achieved.

Bill

Tags:   100 push ups · achievement · challenge · exericse · fitness · Goals2 Comments

Exercise Summary: 100 Push Up Challenge (Week 2 :: Day 1) 56 Push Ups (12, 12, 9, 7, 16.5)

The end of the weekend and I’ve just done the first day of week two of the Push Up Challenge.

This time I focussed on the final set when I started. I set a personal goal of 17. The final result (16.5) was pretty shaky and I almost got back up for the 17th!

Breathing was important and I made sure I breathed our hard on the up stroke.

I must admit round 4 (7 push ups) was more difficult than I thought it would be so I wasn’t sure how the final set went.

I’ll be keen to see how the others went on their challenge but most importantly we are all aiming for the 100 push ups in 6 weeks.

Tags:   100 push ups · challenge · Goals2 Comments

Exercise Summary: Perth City to Surf Route (Abridged) (11.3km): 66:30

Yesterday’s run was great. I planned the day to get a few things done around the house and spend time with the family and decided to do the run in the afternoon. That way, I figured, if it took everything out of me I had the whole evening to recover.

My thinking was pretty spot on!

Just a couple of points to clarify for any Perth people reading this:

• Yes, the Perth City to Surf IS 12km, not 11.3
• Yes, I did take a wrong turn! Happy? 

When I had finished the run I was happy with my time but when I realised the wrong turn had cut 1km off the official length I was feeling a little flat.

The good news, I felt, was that the parts I had missed were flat runs, no hills or anything of significant challenge. So, I was happy that I hadn’t wussed out on a particularly challenging part of the course. I’ll live with 6.5 mins/km for now. (See honey that’s why I need a GPS watch! )

Challenge 1 - Hill 1

One thing the run requires in the first km or so is a 900m (I measured it in the car) hill. I started knowing this and took it very easy (or so I thought) but very soon, probably 300m into it, I decided to go easier (not walk, never walk up a hill) but did slow down. 600m into the hill I was thinking “just get to the top and then you can walk.”

Well, I got to the top and the only real silver lining was that about 1/12 of the run was done and I only had 11 to go.

The next good thing was that I didn’t walk. I kept jogging at a light pace. It was a small decline so that helped. I think I jogged around 2.5km before I decided to have a rest and walk for a bit. And that was after another hill challenge, though not as hard as the first one.

My plan was simply to complete the course so walking at any time wasn’t a misdemeanor but I made sure I ran up every incline and only walked if I felt I had to.

I had set a maximum time of 90 minutes to complete the 12km course but hopefully get in around 72 mins at the average of 6mins/km. So, again, walking wasn’t a problem if I kept to my loose time targets.

Challenge 2 - Hill 3

Hill 3 was similar to Hill 1. Not as steep but reasonably long and, while listening to Matchbox 20 I kept saying to myself, “come on, come on” until I reached the top. I allowed myself a small congrats when I got there an then figured how far I would walk before I jogged again. The walks were generally small (no more than 200m) as I was generally feeling okay.

Small Targets

I found that having small targets I could see was very beneficial.

Anything from:

• the “next set of lights”
• to the usual “next lamp post”
• to the more challenging “just get up the hill”.

I had been told that during the course there may be times when I might think, “This is the last hill” and give it all I’ve got. I’ve been warned to realise there is generally always one more and to maintain my pace. I did that and it worked well. When I saw the water (i.e. finishing area) for the first time, I knew I wasn’t going to collapse and I was going to make it in the time I had set. Woohoo!

It had been a nice cool run and dusk was settling in when I finished so there had been no real heat to bother me. I’ll need to consider that when the race is on as it starts early in the morning and may bring some heat into it.

Finally below 80kg!

There was one other small benefit from doing such a run and that was my weight. I’ll admit this weight is taken while wearing the absolute minimum (sorry about the picture that might create, especially if you’re eating!) but I’m pretty happy about it! I am now on my way to the 76kg goal and this was becoming a barrier, as you will see by the weight loss graph to the right. I had flat lined a little. But no more.

Today is 100 push ups day and that happens tonight, so there’s a 24 hour rest period between the run and the push ups. We’ll see how we go on that.

Just 11 weeks ago …

I was seeing if I could run between lamp posts (walk one, run one) and now I’m doing a City to Surf! And I don’t think I have done anything more than small gains each time with the value of doing the exercise regularly. Andrew over at “Andrew is Getting Fit” has written a good post about the value of blogging about our challenges and goals and how reading other blogs is beneficial too. I have to echo his post and say that hearing of other people’s efforts have inspired me, mostly because I don’t read too many specialist athletics blogs, mostly blogs from people like me who decided to take up the challenge to simply be better. I’ve even changed my tagline from “From Average to Athlete” to “Eat Better :: Move More” simply because that describes the challenge better. I don’t know that I want to be an athlete, just fit and healthy!

Tags: 1 Comment