Yes, and yes, but it was mostly the knee-buckling thing that had me worried.

I do not know how I managed to miss this post all week.

It feels like my left knee has a weakness to it that the right doesn't. When I get tired, and am walking, it snaps into "locked". I've had this going on for a while now. And I've always been a "lock my knees when I stand" person, ever since I can remember being chastised for it when I was a kid in PE class.

I was trying to figure out today (at the gym, poking Dad's legs!) what muscle(s) it might be that is/are weak. I should look in an atlas.

[The knee was sore all week after that walk, and kept want to lock. So until today (see next post, had a great time at the gym!) I didn't do much activity.]

I went to the gym today, and had a blast! Friday is also Dad's lifting day, and I've not yet settled into the schedule that I want, so I was lifting today as well. But he was not as chatty as usual, except for in the car going there and going back.

Here's what I did:

• BG right before was 104 mg/dL
• warmed up for ~12 minutes on elliptical set on middle incline
• pullups: warmed up with 80# 6 times (felt SO easy LOL) then did what I thought would take me to failure in 6-8 reps---160#. By the twelfth, I was annoyed so stopped, and will just raise the weight next week. That's what I get for not keeping very good records, and for not checking my gym journal right here, the main purpose of which is to have one place where I can record stuff that I won't misplace! gah
• leg lifts: up and down 9 times as a warm up, then held for 30 seconds, 31 seconds, and 32 seconds, resting between for 10 seconds, and 15 seconds, respectively
• pushups: I warmed up by doing 6 on my hands and knees, the joints were all right angles; then I stretched out and did my usual knee pushups (angled); I did 16 of them with good form, and then on the 17th, my form broke (pushed myself partway into cobra pose before my asinine decided it would also lift up )
• squats: I warmed up by doing 160# on the leg press, about 10 times; then I did 15 squats! I was very well pleased.
• Right after squats, while I was still huffing and puffing, BG was 99 mg/dL
• Then I cooled down on the elliptical, and then did some stretching.
• Right after this, BG was 100 mg/dL so basically unchanged (in the past, I've had the SAME DROP of BLOOD register 100, 104, and 126, so I figure all of today's numbers are about the same--although, that glucometer gave up the ghost a couple days later...oh well, I take the numbers at face value)
• 90 minutes after leaving gym (I meant to do 60 but forgot to set the timer), BG was 94 mg/dL.

In spite of the stretching, I'm starting to develop some soreness in my deltoids, lower abdomen (but that might be due to pending TOM), and calves.

One thing I did NOT do is rest 3 minutes between exercises. Already, what I did took a total (including warmup, cooldown, and stretching) of ~45 minutes. Is it okay to hussle to the next exercise??

I have to check to my earlier posts to see if this is true, but memory told me that 16 pushups was a new personal record, and 15 squats as well! I'll bask in self-congratulations for a while, maybe check in on reality this weekend.

Zig,

Pull ups, reps: It's okay to stop and add weight during the exercise, or you can continue with the lighter weight to failure. The number of reps isn't important as long as you reach failure. I use 6-8 reps because it saves time and there's some evidence that it's best for bone strength.

Leg lifts: This is an exercise that you can eliminate from your program. The other exercises (esp. pushups and squat) engage the core muscles as much as they need to be at this point. Leg lifts mostly engage hip flexors anyway, and there are better exercises you can do for core muscles if you still want to.

Pushups: What you're doing is fine, but if you want to save time you can increase the resistance to get the reps down to the 6-8 range. There are a variety of ways to do this, and I can post some pictures or links if you'd like.

Squats: Same thing as with pushups. You can shorten the exercise by adding weight/resistance.

Soreness: Some soreness to be expected if you're doing personal bests. Delts could be from pushups, lower abdomen from leg lifts, calves might be from stretching tendons during squats. Stretching will not help muscle soreness. Good warmups seem to help, as does getting in an ice bath post-exercise, but I'm thinking that the chances of you getting in an ice bath are about the same as mine: slim and none.

Rest periods: Generally, you get the best results from doing the most work. Rest periods just need to be long enough to allow max performance in the exercise. If that 's less than 3 minutes for you, that's fine.

Otherwise, great job!

Sam

Okay, getting to failure >>> # of reps, but fewer reps to failure (might be) better than more.

I started doing these about 18 months ago because I noticed that my left leg doesn't like lifting high enough for the stairs (no prob with right). Left swings out, instead. But now that you mention it, the leg lifts haven't really helped in that sense. I also noticed THEN, that leg lifts helped with walking comfort (as to lower back) but that's probably due to their effect on the core muscles.

What are some better core muscle exercises? You said "at this point"---when might I consider adding them?

Yes please, Sam, thanks. Other than switching to "real" pushups or filling my backpack with stones and trying to do pushups, I can't think of how to increase the resistance on these.

Okay, there are some handweights I can hold while I do these. Will that work? There's no proper cage thing for squats (very low-expense gym, so limited equipment), or free weights, other than some hand weights, and a weighted ball.

Ummmmm... yeah... really probably not gonna happen Do you mean literally an ice bath? Like a bathtub of cold water with ice in it? Or what about a shower under only the cold water? Gad, makes me shiver just thinking about trying it, but (I might be insane) also curious about it...


Thank you so much, Sam! I really appreciate the time you're taking to give me all these tips, it's very generous of you.

"Okay, getting to failure >>> # of reps, but fewer reps to failure (might be) better than more."

Yes.

"What are some better core muscle exercises?"

Variations on the plank. Here's a sample of plank variations performed at a very advanced level:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1b...be_gdata_player

(Planks can be performed from the knees or from the feet.)

In general, I don't think anyone should be doing exercises that involve rolling or twisting the spine.

"You said "at this point"---when might I consider adding them?"

If you changed to exercises that isolate the target muscles from the core muscles. Doing bench presses instead of push-ups or leg presses instead of squats, for example.

"Other than switching to "real" pushups or filling my backpack with stones and trying to do pushups, I can't think of how to increase the resistance on these."

Actually, the backpack thing is not a bad idea, but a sandbag(s) would be better than stones. Otherwise, you can do push-ups from your feet on an incline, which could be a wall, horizontal bar, or bench. The greater the incline, the lower the resistance. Here's an example of a push-up performed with a bench:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9To...be_gdata_player


"Squats...Okay, there are some handweights I can hold while I do these. Will that work?"

Yes. Here's an example with dumbbells:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2GS...be_gdata_player

Here's a "Sumo" squat (dumbbell inside thighs, low position):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cGi...be_gdata_player

Here's a "Goblet" squat (inside thighs, high-position):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLv3...be_gdata_player

These examples use dumbbells, but you can use whatever you can hold in your hands, and one is not "better" than any other. Use the one that is most comfortable for you.


"Soreness...Do you mean literally an ice bath? Like a bathtub of cold water with ice in it?"

Literally. Like a bathtub of cold water with ice in it. That's why pretty much no one other than elite athletes actually does it.

For the rest of us, the best way to minimize soreness is by doing a good warm-up and not changing exercises too frequently.

Again, what you're doing now is fine. These suggestions won't necessarily make your workout "better", but they should save you some time. If you want to make changes, there's no hurry. Experiment with what works best for you and make changes at a pace that feels comfortable.

Sam

Ahh, some new exercises to play with! Thank you, Sam!

This week will be the first week where I do (almost) all of my exercise plans, so this week I'll keep doing the same things as last Friday, sans leg lifts, and trying out a new pushups posture. Oh heck, I'll also add a couple of those small handweights to my squats and see what happens. Maybe. Right now I'm feeling really pooped! (post-sprints session)

Until now, lifting has happened once a week at its most frequent, and sprinting about once per week.

I definitely felt the challenge of a shorter bunch of days off today. Last Friday I did all those squats, and man did I feel it on Saturday. Sunday too, but it waned as the day progressed.

Today, no soreness from squats, but those sprints were ROUGH. I don't remember 30 seconds taking so long last time I did them.

During the first one, I looked at the timer on the machine when I was ready to stop, and it read :10. I blinked, and actually got annoyed that the machine was on the fritz again! lol Nope, just me, my legs, and my discomfort-averse brain, pooping out early. So I pushed and pushed, but I'm afraid that the lion chasing me would have caught me today---at least 3 of the 4 sprints!

Right before I started, BG measured at 101 mg/dL.

I forgot to test immediately after the last sprint, but after about 4 minutes of cool-down when I remembered, BG was 129 mg/dL!!!!!! I did a little more cooling down, trying not to panic, and remembering what Sam said about women and 140 mg/dL and all that.

But that's the highest number I've ever seen, EVAR. I can only imagine how much higher it was right after the sprints. But I am very curious about it, so will make a stronger effort to remember to test on Wednesday, as soon as I can safely climb down off the elliptical after the last sprint. I could bring my folding music stand to have the glucometer handy for that test...hmmm... that's a thought....

1 hour after all exercise ceased, so after I was done cooling down and stretching, BG registered at 98 mg/dL.

I'm proud of what I did today, because it was (1) not easy for me, and therefore (2) less fun; nevertheless (3) I did it anyway, and (4) did it as well as I (think I) was capable of.

Today's gym excursion:

1. 12 minutes warm up on the elliptcial trainer
2. Warmed up for pullups by doing 100# 6 times
3. Pullups--did 6 at 200#, then a partial one; rested about a minute and did one more, then another partial one, so I consider this to be 6
4. Rested for a couple minutes (slowly strolled around during this time)
5. Warmed up for squats by doing leg press at 160# 6 times
6. Used the two 8-lb handweights to do squats (these are the biggest they have here ). Did 12 of them, then stopped because I felt unsteady on my feet. I think I could have done a couple more, but I did not feel confident. How do you go to failure on squats?
7. Measured BG to be 111 mg/dL. I think it's safe not to measure on lifting days, I don't seem to get anywhere near 140, though this was a tad higher than this morning's FBG.
8. Rested a little more after taking BG.
9. Warmed up with 6 pushups from knees (hips at right angles to calves/body). WOW! Definitely felt weak here.
10. Did 2 pushups on the bench edge, but was scared, so got back into my usual position and did 7 pushups from knees with body straight. I definitely felt weak!
11. Rested (gasping) for a little bit.
12. Plank: I achieved the position 3 times, each held for approximately 0.3 seconds! Is this sort of exercise time additive?? Can I claim to have held it for 1 second?? LOL That was so challenging, I'm going to try it again on Friday. In that video it looked so easy...
13. 6 minutes cool down on elliptical
14. Streeeeeeetching felt so good today

Interesting note: I did not feel sore today from sprints yesterday. But I did feel tired, like having less get-up-and-go going up the stairs. In spite of that, squats went fine today, so I think I need to challenge myself more there.

Zig,

[*]Pullups--did 6 at 200#, then a partial one; rested about a minute and did one more, then another partial one, so I consider this to be 6

Resting so you can complete additional reps in a set won't hurt you, but it's not going to help very much, if at all, either. When you can do 8 reps at 200# without resting, add a little weight.

[*]Used the two 8-lb handweights to do squats (these are the biggest they have here ). Did 12 of them, then stopped because I felt unsteady on my feet. I think I could have done a couple more, but I did not feel confident. How do you go to failure on squats?

I keep forgetting that you're doing bodyweight squats. Don't worry about getting to failure on squats. Just do as many reps as you can do safely. (Sometime in the future, if you're going to be doing planks for core muscles, you could think about switching to the leg press.)

[*]Plank: I achieved the position 3 times, each held for approximately 0.3 seconds! Is this sort of exercise time additive?? Can I claim to have held it for 1 second?? LOL That was so challenging, I'm going to try it again on Friday. In that video it looked so easy...

The guy in the video has probably been doing planks for years. When you can do what he did, you are officially a studette. To lower resistance for planks, do them from your knees instead of your toes.

Interesting note: I did not feel sore today from sprints yesterday. But I did feel tired, like having less get-up-and-go going up the stairs. In spite of that, squats went fine today, so I think I need to challenge myself more there.

I think you should take at least one day off between exercise sessions. There is such a thing as “general” fatigue. Being tired from sprints, for example, will affect performance in exercises like pushups. If you want to get out of the house, just do some light aerobic work to warm-up and then stretch at the gym, or do some walking.

Otherwise, I think you're closing in on a program that will work well for you.

Sam

Wednesday 29-Feb-12:
walked 19 minutes, briskly enough to increase breathing rate (didn't check heart rate)


Thursday 1-Mar-12:
walked 15 minutes, not briskly enough to increase breathing rate (again didn't check heart rate)


Plan for Friday: sprints, and plank play again. Trying to go to the gym every day and accomplish something is too much, too ambitious. It doesn't demonstrate my understanding of the importance of the rest period; really all it does is reinforce my CICO mentality (of which I'm trying to rid myself!).

So I'm taking to heart Sam's advice to rest more. This week, then, will have seen 2 trips to the bym, which disappoints me, but I think it's better for me. Assuming I do tomorrow what I plan to do, of course!

ETA: also walked this morning for 16 minutes.

Friday 2-Mar-12:

Today at the gym, I did sprints and plank-ish.

Sprints:

• Warmed up on ET for ~10 minutes
• 4 30-second sprints on ET, separated by rests of 3 min, 2.5 min, and 2.5 min
• ETA: right after 4th sprint, took BG (was panting and hands were shaking, not easy, and I got blood all over my t-shirt, oopsie) --- was only 102 mg/dL. I'll probably test once more after sprints, since I did have that 129 last time, just to make sure, but maybe I can assume my BG stays under 140 during sprints?
• Cooled down on ET ~3 min

Plank-ish: I achieved the posture 6 times this time, though each was held only about 0.3-0.5 seconds. Part of that short time was b/c the effort to get into the position made me breathe too shallowly after those sprints---I was still a little winded from the sprints, but the gym was closing and I wanted to get to everything so rushed. (In hindsight, I should have done plank-ish after warming up, before sprints, because I can always walk around outside after the gym closes to keep cooling down and finish catching my breath).

In spite of TOM, I felt very energetic today, especially after the gym workout. I attribute that to all the cream I (accidentally) had in my tea after breakfast. (I tried a new chai with some cream, free-pouring. I thought I was pouring 1/4 cup, but it was 1/2 cup---3 times oopsie).

Okay, good, this gives me a nice long-term goal. I am going to watch it again and make a list of the variations, in case the video goes poof. My goal is to be a studette by January 2018, so 6 years from now. I wonder if that's doable?



I was hoping if I pushed myself into a daily regimen that I'd need less rest time. Don't ask me why, it does not make sense, and it belies my gym experience since I've been going (a couple years).

But I think this is good advice, and I've decided to act on it. So I'm going to rest at least 1 day between these strenuous sessions (I like long leisurely walks, so will do that if time permits; also have added short pre-breakfast walks as well that I'll keep doing daily). And the sessions themselves will alternate either sprints+plank-ish (like today) or squats+lifting (like last Tuesday).

If I do that say MWF, then one week will see 1 sprint session and 2 lifting, and the following week will see 2 sprint sessions and 1 lifting. Is that too little? I have had difficulty figuring out how to juggle on a weekly basis:

• 3 sprint sessions per week
• 2 lifting sessions per week
• squats and sprints not on the same days
• at least 1 day rest between everything

In fact I don't see how I can do all of that in a week without breaking one of those guidelines.


Then again, recovery is important, too, so maybe I don't need to do all of that every single week. Which is how I settled on the plan I outlined of alternating days and within that pattern alternating exercises.

If I do that say MWF, then one week will see 1 sprint session and 2 lifting, and the following week will see 2 sprint sessions and 1 lifting. Is that too little?

No. I think that's just right for you now. Keep in mind that even though you're only exercising for a few minutes at a time, it's at 100% intensity.

Right now, I'm alternating sprint and lifting sessions with two days off in between, but because I go to the gym on weekends, that means either 2 or 3 sessions a week.

I have had difficulty figuring out how to juggle on a weekly basis:
3 sprint sessions per week
2 lifting sessions per week
squats and sprints not on the same days
at least 1 day rest between everything
In fact I don't see how I can do all of that in a week without breaking one of those guidelines.

Suggesting 3 sprints and 2 lifting sessions per week was a mistake on my part, and I apologize. I might have thought you'd be going to the gym on weekends as well, but even then it's too much.

Okay, thank you, Sam! This is so reassuring, because this schedule already feels more doable, in terms of energy.

Today I took a 15 minute short walk in the morning, and then this afternoon (in 63-degree weather and in a direct sunbeam no less!) I took a 1-hour stroll. It felt very good, not just because of the sun (though that helped), but my legs didn't feel tired at all except right at the very end when they were starting to think about considering whether or not to ask "Are we done yet?" That's totally new for me. Until recently, exercise sessions and walks took so much more out of me, I could never have done a long stroll the day after a sprinting session. And I don't want to push that, I want to enjoy it.

Sunday 4-Mar-12:

• 15 minute walk in morning

Monday 5-Mar-12:

• 15 min walk in morning
• 10 min warmup on ET at gym
• pullups: 100# 6x to warmup; 200# 3x then 180# 3x (felt TIRED, especially left arm/side)
• squats: forgot to warmup on leg press; holding 8# weights in each hand, did 12 squats
• pushups: 5 warmup on knees at all right angles; 12 angled from knees (though I had to move locations after doing 6 of them---second surface was harder, so more comfortable on my wrists which weren't angled backward)
• 5 min. cooldown on ET
• streeeeeeeetching

NOTE: I'm not sure how to get over my fear of falling on my face by doing pushups against the side of the bench instead of from my knees. Maybe it feels too low?? On Friday, I will try setting the bar at 400# (so it won't move) and finding a height at which I can do pushups like leaning against the wall. But the bar wiggles from left to right. So I might still have that fear. But I'll try it and see, it can't be worse than the bench. Unless it can? sigh




Tuesday 6-Mar-12:

• 15 min walk in morning
• about 30 minutes total of walking with 3.5 year old nephew; did a lot of lifting (of him, and his baby brother) All of this (walking and lifting of tiny monsters) was sporadic and distributed across about 2 hours