Archive for the ‘Workout’ Category:
100Pushups: Back On Track
Last week I took a break because of elbow and wrist soreness and pain, this week I’m back on track having gone to Body Pump on Tuesday and restarting the 100 Pushups regime on Monday. I just finished up Week One, Day Two with good results despite the layoff.
What I like the most about the idea of doing 100 pushups is that it’s very much high repetition, low weight training. High reps, low weight is the same idea behinds Body Pump so the two are very in tandem. I know a lot of guys prefer to do low rep, high weight in order to build muscle mass so it’s a bit incongruous to work on your stamina. As much as I respect larger muscle mass, I don’t see the point. The one benefit of more muscle is that you have a higher metabolism but outside of that I don’t see the purpose.
One thing to note when you’re doing these pushups, the period of rest as the days progress increases. You’re supposed to rest 60 seconds between “sets” on Day one, 90 between “sets” on Day two, and 120 seconds between sets on Day Three. Keep that in mind if you’re doing these.
Anyway, Day Two was a success with only minor soreness and clicking in my elbow so we’ll keep going. On the last max-out set I was able to do nineteen pushups.
Subscribe to the comments for this postWeek1, Day 1 of 100 Pushups
Yesterday I wrote I was doing the 100 Pushups plan and fired off 27 pushups in the initial test. I was surprised at rattling off 27 because I really thought I was only going to get somewhere in the low 20’s - body pump is really doing its thing I think.
Today, I did the first day of exercise which consisted of more and more pushups. According to the tables for Week One, I had to do 10, 10, 8, and 6 pushups, with sixty seconds rest, followed by a “pushup until failure” phase of at least 7. On the “pushup until failure phase” I was able to get out 12.
The 10, 10, and 8 pushup rounds were pretty casual. I didn’t feel particularly fatigued but near the end of the 8 I was starting to feel it. The round of 6 was less nice and then the maxout round really took whatever I had left out. I think the last three pushups were barely “good” and then I stopped. I didn’t want to do bad form pushups just to get the number higher, because that’s not particularly useful.
So, day one is in the books and already I’ve done 46 more pushups than I would have today. 
Importance of Breaking Routine & Monotony
After you get a routine down, your brain consciously and subconsciously starts to figure out ways to make it more efficient, to use less energy, and consume fewer calories. It’s totally natural and there’s almost nothing you can do about it, it’s what took us from the trees and put tools in our hands. However, this very skill that has enabled so many things is something we always have to combat in our workout routines. Have you heard about how “your body adapts to the exercise” or that “you’re plateauing because your body is getting used to it?” That’s what I’m talking about.
In addition to adapting, your brain also gets bored. When you first start doing a routine, it’s fresh and new and exciting. You look forward to straining that muscle, feeling the pump, and then stretching it afterwards. It makes you feel alive as you feel the sensations in different muscles. After a while though, you recognize the feeling and it’s not so fresh and new anymore. The routine becomes… well, routine.
That’s why it’s important to vary your workout regime and introduce new types of exercise.
The prime example is in the twice-weekly Body Pump classes I’ve been taking. Every few weeks, they begin varying the motions you go through for each body group. They introduce new exercises or new positions along with new songs. While it’s a little tricky to follow along, the variation does keep you continually interested in the class.
This can apply to nearly anything, just give it a little change, work that muscle a little differently, and you’ll see dividends. This isn’t some novel idea I came up with either, people have been saying it for ages!
Photo: Alexpgp
Itchy Legs When Running, Walking
One minor concern that I experience when running or walking outside in the cold (it’s not cold now, but I didn’t research it until now) is a mild itchiness on my legs around the thighs. It’s not serious enough to stop me from running or walking outside, but if I can prevent it then I can avoid a bit of the mild discomfort I experience.
It turns out I should count my lucky stars because some people get it a lot more seriously than I do. These two Ask Metafilter (1, 2) have some crazy stories from other people and links to things that are downright scary. A lot of the answers amount to links to conditions such as Exercise-induced anaphylaxis (as in Exercise-induced anaphylactic reactions, or allergic reactions) and cold urticaria. Being allergic to the cold seems a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it? I, like many, always thought it had to do with sweat coming out of pores and just being mildly irritated.
If those seem a bit outlandish to you, as they did to me, other explanations include:
- Reaction to detergents - It could be that my body doesn’t like the detergent I’m using, though my itchiness is only in the legs and I wash all my clothes.
- Blood circulation - Some have said that the itchiness just comes from blood circulation, that it goes away after the first mile. To be honest, I don’t really notice if the itchiness starts in the beginning and goes away, or persists for a long time. I have always ignored it and kept on going because it wasn’t that bad.
- New to exercise - Another commenter stated that it happened a lot when he first started working out but less so now, I can’t remember if it was worse when I was younger… dang my memory is going too.
Oh well, either way I’m not taking any drugs for it because it’s only mildly irritating, so I guess I’ll just power on through.
Almost Didn’t Go To The Gym Today…
I’ve been going to a Body Pump class at my local gym every Tuesday and Thursday for at least a month and it’s been great. As you know, today is Thursday and I almost didn’t make it today. In fact, I had a whole bunch of excuses lined up… here they are:
- My wife’s been a little sick lately and last night she was coughing and kicking and I didn’t get a good night’s sleep,
- I was going to meet my friends for lunch and the class really pushes into the lunch period,
- I was tired, see the first reason,
- It’s okay if I miss it.
Reason 1 is a pretty good reason and reason 2 is a so-so reason, reason 3 and 4 were just pile on reasons to validate my decision to not go. That was, until JD of Get Rich Slowly and Get Fit Slowly and asks me if the stay at home moms at the gym would miss him if he didn’t go today. I told him I was tired and that he was enabling me to sit at home and not work out. Then he said he was putting on his shorts and going to the gym. I put on my workout clothes and went to the gym.
Funny thing is, JD lives in Seattle and I live near Baltimore (that’s two different coasts). We don’t work out together. But that little chat threw all the reasons out the window and I headed over to the gym despite my sluggishness. Good for me!
