The Chronicles of the Great Nerd Warrior » Gym

2010 Gym #18: Slow mile, some hoops and weights…

dante8 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:44:47 +0000

Tonight we returned to the gym, where I ran a relatively slow mile (10:17) and then lifted some weights. We only did a few machines, it was pretty full up there so PW and I went downstairs and played a little basketball. It was nice to work out again, and I’m eager for the dojo tomorrow night.

That’s about all there is from me right now, not much else to report!

2010 Gym #17: Running and weights…

dante8 — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 17:21:28 +0000

Tonight it was running and weights at the gym. I did my mile in 9:30 and moved up a bit in weight on the lat pulldown machine and the bench press. I’m already slightly sore but it felt good to work out again!

That’s all for now… more gym in a few days.

2010 Gym #15-16: Pain and recovery…

dante8 — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:25:33 +0000

Tasha and I began our rededication to fitness this week. On Monday and Thursday, we visited the gym. I was sore most of the day Tuesday, but it began to abate yesterday. I ran a mile on Monday in 9:56. Today, I ran it in 9:49. The best part was my first four laps (out of 10) felt pretty good, as if I could do it forever but I hit a sharp downturn around lap 7.

We did weights, which felt pretty good. The assisted chinup machine is fun, but that’s about all I look forward to during the weight portion of the workout. We ended up the night with an ab workout on the big rubber exercise balls. Tomorrow night is karate again, and that’ll make four workouts this week.

2010 Gym #13: Running and Weights, again!

dante8 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:02:34 +0000

Today I took my new iPod shuffle for a test drive at the gym. Tasha and I headed out right after work and got there early, did a 10 minute cardio warmup and then weights and were done by 6 pm. After that, it was off to a relaxing evening of working on side projects and hanging out around the house. We’re expecting a big snow overnight so hopefully tomorrow will be a snow day!

More tomorrow!

2010 Gym #12: Running and Weights…

dante8 — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:06:50 +0000

Tasha and I went to the gym this afternoon. I ran a mile in 9:54 (which is good for me) and then we both did our normal weight routine.

Paul and Kara did not join us today, opting to take Kara’s new mountain bike out for a spin. We’re going to go over to their house tonight, where the girls are going to watch a movie and us guys are going to play some guitar. It should be a good time!

Now I’m headed out to get our customary Chick-fil-A lunch and Tasha needs to go to the fabric store. The excitement never stops around here.

2010 Gym #11: Pushing it…

dante8 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:31:40 +0000

Yesterday, we hit the gym. I wasn’t particularly feeling like it, but I made myself run 1.5 miles prior to our weights workout. I worked hard on my pace, making sure to slow down my earlier laps so I wasn’t roasted by the halfway point. I opted for a 5/1 negative split, meaning I ran five laps, then walked one. I got through it in 18 minutes, which wasn’t that bad considering I was actively trying to keep a slower pace at the beginning of the run.

For the rest of the workout, I upped many of my weights (especially the arms) and was feeling it this morning. It is partially my own fault, I opted for a cheeseburger instead of my protein shake and I think that the protein shake helps my muscle recovery much better. But cheeseburgers taste good.

That’s all for today, you’ll get my karate update tomorrow morning since I somehow got one day behind.

2010 Workout #10: Happy Birthday, Tasha!

dante8 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:05:20 +0000

Happy Birthday, Tasha! Today is her actual birthday, so at her request we’re spending a lazy night around the house watching TV and playing video games.

But before the birthday laziness, we went to the gym! I ran a mile in around 10 minutes (closer to 10:30) and then lifted weights. Tasha did 2.25 miles in 10 minutes on the exercise bike and she lifted weights too!

Time to go relax!

2010 Gym #9: Pushing past the limits…

dante8 — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:34:49 +0000

I was warned. At work today, PW told me that I could expect 20 minutes of cardio tonight at the gym. When I got there, he was on the treadmill and already had a sweat going. He stopped his treadmill and told me “I have a challenge for you tonight.” He then told me we were going to run a 10 in 10. That’s 10 laps (a mile) in 10 minutes. And there would be some sort of penalty for not getting it done in time.

Now, up to this point I was happy to get 2 miles in in 23 minutes and that was without a marathoner “motivating” me. So he ran pace for me as we went, and I made it through the first half fairly well and had plenty of time to spare. My lungs were screaming, especially my right one. Paul wanted to teach me the technique of negative splits, where you start slow and gradually ratchet up the pace. He said another way to do it was run a certain number of laps, then walk a certain number of laps to achieve the same thing.

I got it done, however I was beat and looked like a half-boiled chicken for the rest of our workout. We continued to blast the legs for the rest of the workout, which also included sets of chinups and 15 dips. I was happy to have pushed past my limit, but its not something I want to do every workout. My lungs really hurt during the run, and my lack of lunch was readily apparent as we got into the weights. It felt like I hit a cement wall about halfway through.

That’s all for me right now, I’m going to install Windows 7 Ultimate on my Eee PC. Hopefully I’ll use it a bit more with a good OS on there.

2010 Gym #8, Karate #22: Afternoon Workout

dante8 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:33:25 +0000

This afternoon, Paul and I met at the gym for a workout. It started out with 20 minutes on the treadmill for another two miles in the books. After that, we did a smallish karate workout that consisted of basics, blocking/punching combinations, and Heian Shodan. It was a nice leisurely workout for a Sunday afternoon!

The rest of the evening was taken up with our grocery shopping and watching the closing ceremonies. Good times.

2010 Gym #7: All by myself…

dante8 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:50:14 +0000

Tonight I got off work and headed to the gym, just to get a text message when I arrived that Paul had just left work and wasn’t sure when he was going to get to the gym. That’s fine, I was already there… why not make the most of it? So I did.

Two miles on the treadmill (took me 23:21, really sad) and then three sets of 15 reps on the weight machines which included the chinups and dips. Since I was by myself, there wasn’t near as much waiting between sets and I was able to get all of my weights done inside of 35 minutes. This was probably pushing it a bit and I will likely be sore tomorrow. Thankfully, we got our shipment of protein shakes from Kara so I got to treat myself to a vanilla protein shake to top off my workout. It actually tasted great!

More soon!