Forgive me, for I have sinned...
It was a sunny but cool day yesterday – perfect for running.
I hauled the stepper out of the cupboard. Some days I’d just rather be indoors.
I did 25 minutes of stepping – a quick warm up, then 45 seconds of all-out effort followed by 15 seconds of rest every minute. I’m mentally weak – I’d rather do intervals on the stepper for 20 minutes rather than run a few timed laps around a track. It’s not the same, I know.
Apart from that, I did short runs over the weekend where I ran slow and felt flat. I was dissatisfied with that again, because I didn’t like my running form towards the end. Arched back – eww! I need to do more strength (especially midsection) work – I feel like running, with the state I am currently in, is only exacerbating my back problems. (Another reason why steppers are “in” at the moment – I can get my heart rate going without injuring myself by maintaining relatively decent form.)
Weights are good. I’m alternating 2 or 3 sets per body part for upper body on Day 1 with 2 or 3 sets for each lower body part on Day 2. I don’t really count reps, even though most of the exercises end up in the 20- to 30-rep range. I’m doing ab work and stretching on both days. I suppose you could say I'm putting more emphasis on strength work, and less on running.
The debate about running, exercise biking and rowing has opened up in my mind again. Running, to me, is the best thing when it comes to getting my heart rate up. Going on an exercise bike doesn’t quite do that, but there’s less impact involved, and a higher cadence which gets those legs moving. Rowing machines are a bit iffy when it comes to getting my heart rate going, and while there are strength benefits involved, I’m not convinced about my rowing form – I think it’s a recipe for further lower back pain.
I suppose I’m a bit muddled about what my goals are – I know I’ve been flitting from one to another over the past few weeks. The thing is, all I want from any form of exercise is to be relatively healthy, and I feel I could achieve that on 20-30 minutes of exercise every other day. But maintaining that level seems so basic and lame.
Any thoughts?
9 Comments:
Swimming gets my heart rate up like crazy. Though it's not a good way to lose weight...figure that one out. My neighbor swears rowing is the best. The exercise bike doesn't do it for me either.
I'm trying to do a min of 45 cardio 4x a week. Now that you sent your heat wave over here that's even hard.
12:29 PM
I know what you mean about getting your heart rate up with running. But isn't it important to cross train as well?
And you need to rest and take care of your back. Maybe you need a holiday!
1:14 PM
You can also rotate all those activities on different days - in this case your body won't adjust to only one type and won't stop burning calories (like despite miles I run it's not influencing my weight anymore, but when I crosstrain more, it is). I also like stepmachine a lot. You might consider to jump from one machine to another during one session after 10-20 min too. Really keeps HR up.
2:31 PM
To me Try you are not the kind of guy just to do your exercise routine each week. You like to compete a bit even if it is against the clock or your PR's. Alot like myself.
Keep experimenting while the back gets stronger. I was just lamenting to myslef about the lack of strength work I have been doing lately due to my increased running mileage training for this Marathon. There is only so much time....
4:14 PM
i would like to suggest a lot of things for your back, but none of them would be like encouragement.
take it easy...enjoy the stye...take time to smell the slop. :D
12:37 AM
Try, I think you hit the million dollar question. What are your goals? What do you want and once you answer those questions (and great questions that constantly change) then you can decide what you want to do and train for.
Good luck!
3:59 PM
At least you worked out.
Biking doesn't seem to get my heart rate up as well as running either, but it's good cross training. I've read an article somewhere that equates spin speed to running speed, but of course now that I want it, I can't find it.... :(
7:08 AM
I think that some exercise, whatever it may be, is better than no exercise at all.
4:23 AM
There's nothing basic and lame about "maintaining your health", no matter how you do it - and that includes steppers :) Oh how I know the feeling of confusion as you wonder "why on earth do I *prefer* the idea of exercising inside on such a gorgeous day?" I don't know if there's a good answer for that question - but you might as well just do what you feel like doing!
9:23 AM
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