Fitness Travels

As you can tell, skipped last week's blog post as we were on the road for Thanksgiving vacation.  The primary goal of our trip was to visit some of the Northern California colleges that our daughter is interested in applying to next fall.  The secondary goal was a brief getaway to one of our favorite places on the planet: Monterey Bay.  However, a third, and very important goal, was to maintain...or at least not stray to far from...our fitness plan.  We knew that eating on the road can be a challenge, and, frankly, I did not worry too much about sticking to my normal, strict Paleo diet.  I still avoided wheat grains, but I enjoyed rice and potatoes, and even some dark chocolate covered almonds, taffy, and five-nut brittle (how can you resist five-nut brittle?).  Since diet was not at the heart of the fitness plan, we made sure exercise was.  How?  We brought our bikes along:

Our Thule bike rack was one of the best investments we've ever made.  We love having our bikes, and this hitch-mounted rack enables us to take them easily and keep them secure (though the best approach to security was learned the hard way after having my mountain bike stolen from the rack last fall). 

The best thing about bringing bikes on vacation is that you get to explore your destination, often along interesting bike trails, at a slower pace that enables you to truly "see" the area, while getting great exercise.

We were able to get in two great rides along the bike trails and bike lanes around the Monterey Peninsula.  Here are some pics from the first ride that will give you an idea of why we love exploring this way--I did a total of 20 miles while Michelle did 13 and ran for four (she was doing a "brick" in preparation for her upcoming triathlon):

 We also got to take a nice break along the way at a coffee shop with tables looking out across the bay.

Our second ride was equally fun but extremely challenging.  We not only rode a longer distance, we got caught in a rain storm that had us riding into a strong headwind with rain blowing hard into our faces as we made our way around the peninsula, past Asilomar State Beach, and up to the start of the 17-mile drive to Pebble Beach:

Not a lot of pictures from this ride as we were literally soaked and I needed to keep my iPhone dry.  Though it was a tough, cold ride, we enjoyed the novelty of the experience--a great memory to take home with us.

Here are the planned workouts and meals for the week--you'll note a different approach to the workouts this week which I'll explain in next week's post:

Workouts

Tuesday, 11/27

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)
• Pull ups, chair assisted (max reps)

Thursday, 11/29

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)
• Pull ups, chair assisted (max reps)

 Saturday, 12/1

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups

Workout (2 rounds):

• Air squats (max reps)
• Push ups (max reps)
• Planks (max time)
• Pull ups, chair assisted (max reps)

Meals

Monday, 11/26

 

Meatballs & Italian Sausage with Red Sauce over Spaghetti Squash

Tuesday, 11/27

 

Carne asada lettuce wraps

Wednesday, 11/28

Blue cheese bacon burgers on a bed of lettuce

Thursday, 11/29

 

Yakitori lettuce wraps with grilled asparugus

Friday, 11/30

 

Smoky Bacon Chili

Saturday, 12/1

 

Chili burgers

Sunday, 12/2

 

Grilled steaks with brussel sprouts

Recovering Like the Economy

My recovery from the broken arm last June from the solo bike accident (broken right at the shoulder joint) has been slow and (sort of) steady.  Like the economy, I see hopeful signs, but it's taking much longer than I expected, and I've had a lot of setbacks.  They told me at physical therapy that it would be at least six months before I would feel like I had the full range of movement, and possibly longer before I could return to the level of upper body physical activity I had been doing last year.  At the five month point, I still have a ways to go before I have that full range, but I have gained a lot, especially in the last month.  As for upper body work, the closest I've been able to come to my previous workouts has been some Russian Swings and Upright Rows with a  kettle bell, though at far less weight than I had been lifting.  This past week, I expanded that with some bench dips and push ups.  While I was able to do as many as 10 reps of each, it was not without far more pain than I had expected...and considerable frustration.  I have really noticed the upper body going soft even as my leg work has been going very well throughout the injury.  Trying these simple movements this week, I truly realized I was more or less back to where I was when I first started Crossfit exactly one year ago this week.

So, how to move forward?  Well, for one thing, I do need to remember that when I started last November, I was in far worse overall shape than I am now.  Fifty pounds heavier, very little muscle tone, and poor cardio fitness.  These past five months I have continued to work my core and lower body religiously, and I have kept up the cardio work with consistent cycling and walking.  So I think getting the upper body back should be a little easier this time than it was starting out.  For another thing, I do need to keep perspective.  With any fitness journey, there will be setbacks, and it is too easy to let them derail you altogether (harkening back to last week's post).  I think keeping this perspective is a key to success over the long haul.

The good news is, the shoulder is no longer bothering me at all while cycling, even during long rides.  A good example was our 28.3 miler around Lake Elsinore with our friends Karrie and Dave Carlson:

We had a great time, and even on the rough roads west and north of the lake, no shoulder pain at all.  A beautiful day, as you can see, and a great  way to get a workout without realizing it!

I also got a lot of errands in by bike this week, taking the mileage total over 43.  The toughest was a trip down to Kahoots feed store for propane.  I strapped the 5-gallon tank into the re-purposed trailer--no problem pulling it 3 miles downhill.  The ride home hauling a full tank uphill?  Well, I'd have preferred another loop around the lake!  Still, it was a nice feeling of accomplishment.

Here are the planned workouts and meals for the week:

Workouts

Tuesday, 11/13

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds):

• 20 Russian Swings
• 20 ball slams

Thursday, 11/15

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 mountain climbers
• 10 fire hyrdrants
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (3 rounds):

• 15 push ups
• 10 split lunges

 Saturday, 11/17

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (2 rounds)

• 15 push ups
• 15 upright rows 
• 15 dips

Meals

Monday, 11/12

 

Pumpkin Curry chicken on cauliflower rice (Didn't have this last night as planned)

Tuesday, 11/13

 

Carne asada and pollo asada lettuce wraps

Wednesday, 11/14

 

Gyro Salad

Thursday, 11/15

 

Yakitori lettuce wraps with grilled asparugus

Friday, 11/6

 

Smoky Bacon Chili

Saturday, 10/27

 

Chili burgers

Sunday, 10/28

 

Dining out on the road...

So Now I May as Well Really Blog It...

So this was one of those weeks....fell a bit short of my 40 mile cycling goal...30 miles short to be exact.  Missed my 3-days-a-week workout goal...by 2 days.  The only consistent exercise was my daily mile walking the dogs.  Not the week I planned, but things simply got in the way...work, family events, general fatigue.  However, there was a silver lining.  In past years, a week like this would have COMPLETELY derailed me.  Not just workouts out the window, but diet as well.  Unlike those past experiences, I kept the diet in check.  I reminded myself of the 80-20 principle.  This principle, which I learned about on Mark's Daily Apple, has helped me keep perspective on my health-related efforts.  This principle basically means that you focus on staying on track 80% of the time...and in the big picture, I know that I have done so.  In the past, I would have taken an "I've blown it" mentality that would get twisted into a rationale for "really blowing it," going hog wild with eating since I was already of track on exercise any way.  In reading about this principle, a line that struck a chord was "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good."  That was me in the past--if I couldn't be perfect, I let that become the basis for going back to old habits in both diet and exercise.  This time, the perspective enabled me to stay on track with healthy eating, comfortable in the knowledge that I would get back to my fitness routine soon.  And that has me feeling pretty good...

Here are the planned workouts and meals for the week:

Workouts

Monday, 10/29

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (3 rounds):

• 20 Russian Swings
• 20 toes-to-bar or leg lifts

Wednesday, 10/31

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 rolling v-sits
• 10 mountain climbers
• 10 fire hyrdrants
• 10 twist lunges

Workout (3 rounds):

• 15 push ups
• 10 split lunges

Friday, 11/2

Warm Up (2 rounds):

• 15 min walk
• Samson stretch
• 15 sit ups
• 15 air squats

Workout (2 rounds)

• 15 ball slams
• 15 upright rows 
• 15 dips

Meals

Monday, 10/29

 

Meatballs with Red Sauce and Italian Sausage over Spaghetti Squash

Tuesday, 10/30

 

Cheeseburgers on a bed of lettuce

Wednesday, 10/31

 

Crockpot 7-Bone Roast

Thursday, 11/1

 

Carnitas lettuce wraps with guacamole and green chili

Friday, 11/2

 

Brats with peas

Saturday, 10/27

 

Spicy meatballs with bacon-blue cheese Brussels sprouts

Sunday, 10/28

 

Pumpkin Curry chicken on cauliflower rice (Didn't have this last Sunday as planned)