Lets just say I'm at 1

Have been way too busy to post recently, between punctured bike tyres and 250 mile round trips to buy a campervan there hasn't been much time, oh and tennis elbow is still bugging me.

However managed an ultimate warrior last night so that's good.  Need to get something done as I'm moving house in a few weeks and will have to carry everything down from the third floor and up to the 4th

4

Bike all fixed and running again but I really need more sleep. Another 28 mins ride in this morning. Should be able to make some of that up on the way home, assuming my bike doesn't break that is!

Bike
Out - 27:49

3

oh was I tired this morning. Pottled in on the bike and hoping to go a bit faster on the way home.

Bike
Out - 27:16
In - ?

Yeah I managed half an interval on the way home before my pannier rack broke and I had to nurse my beast of the streets home.

2

Cycled to work this morning but didn't bother with any intervals on the way in. May try for a few on the way home instead when my body is a bit more awake. No pain from the knees on the way in so it seems that raising the saddle on my wheels has fixed that problem. My elbow is also getting better so I may try to tackle an UW upper body later in the week.

Bike
Out - 23:48
In - ?

I don't know what my home trip time was because I stopped to by flowers for my wife (no special reason, well, other than it was her). I did get in 5 intervals on the way though.

1

3 hours spent walking around Deep Sea World today

1

Took yesterday off completely (even took the lift instead of stairs at work). Now that I have the habit of getting some exercise on a regular basis its time to get the habit of resting. Our bodies do not get fitter and stronger from the exercise we do. Exercise basically damages our muscles, the improvement comes from the repairs that the body goes through. No time to rest means no time to repair and no improvement.

Bike
Out - 27:25 (16mph headwind uphill)
In - 20:36

Also made it to training last night. First session of the club I set up and since I'm in charge I kind of have to go.

2

Decided to try for an extra interval this morning. I also started them at a later point in the trip to try and hit less lights. That makes 4 intervals today and to be honest that 4th one was tough, still without a challenge there is no need to improve. As I said before, if I can get some discipline then things will start to change.

Bike
Out - 21:59
In - 23:47

1

did nothing that could really count as exercise over the weekend and am not really bothered by this. My run of 18 days now has me in the habit, I hope, so it should be easier from here. I'm also trying to let my arm heal up a little before I start using it again. As such I will most likely reverse the UW this week and do lower body first and save the upper body for later in the week. Managed a few sets of intervals this morning on the way in.

Bike
Out - 23:41
In - 23:15

Also completed an UW lower body

4

up and biked in to work this morning. Realised that it was only my brain that was tired and in terms of exercise it is not required and can therefore go take a flying ...

Tried something new on the way in today. Intervals. Interval training is perhaps the best way to get your body to burn off fat. It doesn't take long to do and will have the body chew through fat reserves for about 36 hours afterwards. Not a bad return for 20 mins of work. Basically I'm going to start throwing structured sprint sets into my commute to work. Blast it for 30 secs (ramp it up to very nearly the max), cruise for a minute (but not slack) then repeat. Did 3 sets this morning and hope to build up to 6-8. It also gets me places faster as evidenced by the 'Out' time.

Bike
Out - 22:47
In - 20:43

3

UW with the upper body today. A good workout though I seem to have done some damage to my left elbow. There is some sort of tweak in there when I lift a weight on it. I'm thinking Tennis Elbow at this point. Going to back down on using it so a lighter weight and less chin ups. I think the chin ups are what caused it in the first place. I'm also going to chew on some ibuprofin for a week or so and see if that helps. If no change then it may be doctor time.

I also weighed in today at 90.08kg. This is an increase in general on when I started. I'm not too concerned however as I know I have a daily calorie deficit. The other thing is that with the UW workouts there is a focus on increasing muscle mass and that is something I'm beginning to notice. Its particularly obvious on the Lats (back muscles under the arm) as I've noticed less room there for my arms to move and the Pecs. An increase in muscle mass will lead to an increase in weight as it is heavier than fat. This is a course that should not continue indefinitely though, if it fails to begin decreasing then i'll have to have another look at what I'm eating.

2

Tackled another UW workout today, lower body set

1

Well  I am back to 1. I fell ill in the middle of last week and decided to take the rest of the time as recovery. Gave me an opportunity to catch up on some stuff and enjoy a 4 day weekend. I have new tyres for my bike which is great as they are puncture resistant though my riding time to work has taken a bit of a nose dive. This one is much heavier than my old bike and I can really feel it, especially in the mornings. I head to work at about 6:45am and the 1st part of the journey is 1.1 miles uphill.

Bike
Out - 24:52
In - 22:08

18

managed to get in maybe 15 mins of cardio, certainly no more than that

17

Back on the bike!

My new bike is now functional and I'm back to riding to work. The hope is that this, combined with running, will help me shed the fat while the Ultimate Warrior stuff will generate larger muscle mass.

I forgot to start the stopwatch this morning but it was over 30 mins to get here. The reason is below:

A period of exceptionally windy weather is expected to cross the northern half of the country during Monday. Wind gusts of 60 mph are expected widely with gusts of 70 mph probable across parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Some very exposed areas may see gusts as high as 80 mph. Winds will start to ease from the west by evening.

That's the weather warning from the met office. I'm in the effected area and it was, of course, a headwind.

16

Shattered, today I am absolutely wrecked. Didn't sleep well though which is why.

Todays exercise barely counts but was quite intense so I am counting it. At the start of each week in the Ulitmate Warrior programme there is a Warrior Challenge. It's a short intense burst of exercise that tests your physical ability in a particular area. This week was number of chin ups in 3 minutes. I didn't do as well as I would have hoped but I gave it everything, couldn't use my arms at the end of it.

15

An upper body set from the Ultimate Warrior. I also upped the weight on the bar to make it harder

14

2 straight weeks without a break. Sure there have been a few light days but I've managed something everyday. If I can make it through the weekend then I'll have a week of biking to work ahead of me. If I can keep this up then I may succeed in my aim of making exercise a habit in my life once again.

Today was another go on the Ultimate Warrior, lower body this time. I think I'll have to up the weight on the bars for the next time though, it was just a little too comfortable.

13

Hard session with the weights today. Another Ultimate Warrior set (upper body) though since I did the right amount it was much easier, also faster as I already knew what each exercise was. Also spent a 10 mins or so with the skipping rope. It is such an energeric workout, also really good for my martial arts.

In other news I got my new bike so will be riding to work again as of next week. I also picked up a chin up bar so that i don't have to hang off the door frame all the time. It doubles as a dip bar and a sit up bar and can be stored in the corner so that is really handy.

12

very light weights session. Was going to take the day off but my body wanted to do something.

11

Not a huge amount today, quite a gentle session by all accounts but still a good one. Was stiff as a board so headed into the garden to practice some Tai Chi, it can give a really good workout (done properly) and I find it a great way to loosen off stiff muscles.

I wasn't able to go fast at it as the grass was only seeded recently and I didn't want to shred it. Its the back of a tenement block and was recently a patch of mud. I spent a lot of time and effort making it into a lawn (mostly because my wife asked me to) so don't want to kill it.

In other news I'm getting a new bike on Thursday so will be back to cycling next week. YAY!