Spin!

Glorious! Relieved to find that I do not feel horribly out of cycling shape: the strength and conditioning I have been doing is adequate short-term proxy.  Very keen to increase weekly volume but probably have to wait a couple more weeks bf that is realistic.

1hr spin!

Weights!

Gosh, I like this. I am finally really doing a proper squat with the bar - we have just been working on form, Josh is a stickler for this stuff, I am excited that am making enough progress to be unleased on the "real thing"...

Will miss Monday and Tuesday weights, alas, but will have makeup session Friday for one of those so that really I'm only missing one. Still somewhat struggling to get by from day to day, but the end of winter is really in sight now, and exercise will become much easier once I can have short frequent runs outside. It is clear to me that I need a better strategy for next winter: I think I will have to get a Columbia gym membership on top of my Chelsea Piers one so that I have a close-to-home option on days I don't have much time and it's too cold to run outside.

1hr

Bench!

Hahahaha, moment of totally reinventing the wheel as I did my sets at the bench: LIFTING HEAVIER WEIGHTS IS MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE THAN LIFTING LIGHT ONES...

I should really be doing some cardio now but I am utterly tapped out and have two reports to write by nine tomorrow morning, and decided to shut things down, shower and head home. Not complaining, love my job and don't really mind winter either, but I think given total life/work stress and cold weather that this is not the week to try and ratchet things up again. Have a work trip early next week to a campus where I am promised swimming pool access (woo-hoo!) and will try and get back on the proper exercise volume thereafter....

(I'm sorry I'll miss the spring break week in mid-March, but I should be able to get approximate workouts from Josh and do them at the well-equipped World Gym at Brent's - don't know that I will do the full hour on my own, but can do a key .5hr workout on the three key lifts without it seeming implausible. We are just starting a ten-week strength cycle and I don't want to miss a big chunk of it.)

Ah, I am so hungry for more exercise! But telling myself to be patient as the last thing I need is a respiratory ailment.

1hr upper body

Deadlifts!

This powerlifting thing has been such a blessing - I am horribly underexercised these last couple weeks, it really doesn't contribute to a feeling of good mental and physical fitness (combination of weather and family crisis have between them really limited total time and energy for anything much productive), but during our session this evening I was overwhelmed with a sense of physical wellbeing. Happy lifting chemicals! I think the deadlift is my favorite of the three lifts; I am only regretful that a work trip early next week will make me miss Monday and Tuesday sessions....

1hr weights (deadlifts, rows)

Workout of bliss!

My minor stomach ailment lasted through Tuesday evening, and then yesterday though I really could and probably should have exercised, I just didn't have it in me by the end of the day to do so. (I'm not someone who hates the cold, it's fine, but it stops me from running outside and makes it a lot harder to get to Chelsea Piers than it even is otherwise - problem with belonging to a gym that's pretty much an hour away on public transit.)

So I was just elated to be back at powerlifting this evening! We continued to work on squats (I'm still just working on form, not using a real bar, though I did have a "pretend" bar today with chains hanging off it!), then some excellent conditioning stuff at the end (sprints with the sled, walking lunges with dumbbells). By the end of the workout, I felt better than I have all week - it was fantastic.

1hr squats plus conditioning

Spin!

Tough weekend. Minor stomach ailment of some sort struck me Friday - nothing dramatic, just feeling faintly queasy and with no appetite. Went to Philadelphia Saturday to provide moral support in close family member's ongoing health crisis. Sunday still kind of under the weather, plus knackered.

But today I did good work triage - skipped an 8:30 meeting and instead got substantive work done (finishing one and a bit of three reports I need to submit by Wednesday morning), then came to Chelsea Piers for midday spin, which I have been very much missing. It's so cold all this week that I don't anticipate being able to run outside, and I really want to get back to regular swim-bike-run as well as the lovely powerlifting.

Still feeling a little queasy off and on - in the taxi on the way down, near the end of class, now after eating some food. Will use best judgment as to whether I really want to do a second workout today; it might be wiser not to, we will see how I feel in a bit.

:55 spin

Conditioning!

Hahaha, really I like this even better than lifting heavy weights - it was a good session.

1hr funny conditioning exercises, including (nomenclature!) "suicides with the Prowler"....

SHORT run

Had mixed up schedule, thought I had a Skype trainer date with Lauren but she was en route to a talk. Managed to tip myself out the door late afternoon when I could have stayed in bed, so we will count it a huge win - legs like bricks from yesterday's workout, everything tight and tense, didn't have long enough to really get into it, but it was a beautiful day in Riverside Park, sunny and no wind to speak of and paths surprisingly clear for the most part. :28 as 6:1 jog-walk, and looking forward to much more running in coming weeks once the temperatures warm up a bit!

Squats!

Still just working on form, it's all good. Then we did misc. conditioning stuff which I thoroughly enjoy even when it involves (not my skill set) throwing a medicine ball very hard against a wall. Tough day for other reasons, very good to have the chance to blow off steam in a totally different setting.

1hr lower body

Bench!

I was horribly tired all day - slept badly and not enough, had to be at an 8:30 meeting, etc. etc. Didn't get down to Chelsea Piers for midday class, alas, and next couple weeks are probably dodgy on that too given the early meeting. Weight-lifting was extremely enjoyable: we benched today instead of doing deadlifts, it is altogether less taxing and I feel that my form has significantly improved over the six weeks or so I've been doing this.

We were done just about in time for me to scramble myself into shoes for 6:30 spin - then I remembered I'd ordered FreshDirect delivery in the 8-10 window, which meant I needed to get home pronto, plus I know perfectly well that a loud intense spin class is not conducive to good sleep - but I really hope I can get out for a run tomorrow, or perhaps something pre- or post-lifting if that doesn't happen. Pondering various schedule options and as always feel that there is some magically awesome system just beyond the range of my apprehension that would make it near-effortless to get in 10hr/week of exercise....

1hr upper body

SHORT run

but very happy to get out there. Friday was too cold for me to run and there wasn't sufficient time window for anything else, Saturday was a wash due to EPIC night out on Friday and then today although I woke up feeling pretty well-rested basically turned into nap, nap, nap - any time I tried to do anything I found myself back in bed. (Really it was a taxing week, I'm not surprised.)

Around 4:30 I realized I'd better get my act together and get out if even just for a very short one, and that was what I did. It was really nice, I wish I'd gotten out sooner - slushy and a bit of a mess underfoot, but no ice to speak of and temperatures damp in high 30s, very good for tender lungs.

I am going to make this coming week an EXEMPLARY exercise week if I have anything to say about it!

:30 with last few mins walking recovery

Conditioning!

The main guys in the group are coming off a ten-week strength cycle, so instead of squats today we just did misc. conditioning kind of stuff. This week has been rather taxing - I am knackered!

1hr misc.

Weights!

Bench day. B. came again, that was fun....

1hr upper body

Weights!

B. came, that was fun (hahaha, possibly more fun for me than for him!). 1:15 or so, deadlift-centered plus misc. other bits and bobs. Really enjoying working on technique and strength - this is a good fit for me.

Weather now getting truly dreadful, just hoping class tomorrow won't be canceled!

1:15 strength

Run!

Friday and Saturday just didn't work out for exercise, but I had a very nice slow run just now - not too cold.

1.25hr as 4:1 jog-walk