Unleashing The Beast :: FitBob

Weight: 211
Time: 9:30am

Warmup: 13min elliptical

45 min Exerbike
45 min Spin bike w/3 climb intervals

Total calories: -1160

Dropped 5 pounds overnight after last Sunday’s ride – clearly didn’t rehydrate properly. Note to self: even if it’s chilly out, make sure to drink enough fluids!

Made it to the gym yesterday to train, but forgot my lock so I went home to grab it and work caught me. Made sure I had everything and went earlier today.

The gym room with the spin bikes had a Zumba class going on, so I cruised on the exerbike until they were done and then jumped on the spin bike. Did three standing/climbing intervals that got the quads so pumped I was feeling them all afternoon.

Weight: 210
Time: 11:00am

2 hour, 29 mile bike path ride to downtown Denver and back with Jay

Total calories: -1227

Finally back out on the bike – woot! Took advantage of a nice day to make the first ride to Confluence Park this year.

Nice & easy two hour ride bordering on the edge of chilly. Need to do a new fit test to determine proper HR ranges for training.

Weight: 210.2
10:00 am

Total calories: -650

Took advantage of a free hour to grab a quick ride. Nothing major, just got out on the bike path and spent the first :30 focusing on high-cadence pedaling (avg. 103) followed by :20 of free ride/flush/cooldown.

Body weight is going up, which is a good sign that I’m not overtraining. (And I’ve been eating carbs at night, which always makes my weight jump a pound or two overnight.) Recovery and fueling the body paramount at this point, so I fret not about it.

Cadence is a funny thing. I had been conditioned by years on the exerbike to keep cadence down near 70. When I started riding regularly a few years back, I had to make a concerted effort to raise my cadence up. After the first year, I was spinning at 85. After the second, 95. Now it seems my bod naturally wants to spin at 105 and it takes some concentration to keep it lower – and I can sit in the saddle and spin at 120 rpm with relative ease. On days where my target cadence is 75 (climbing days, usually), not only does it feel unnatural, but I feel a bit mentally drained.

I’ll try to start posting ride pics, as some have requested, but I generally get in the zone and am so focused on the ride that I don’t think to take ‘em until afterwards.

Weight: 209.4
2:15 pm

Ride: 17.3 miles, 1:05

Total calories: -1010

Yesterday’s long session did the trick for sleep! Not only did I grab a power nap after the workout, but I went to bed at 10:30 and slept through til 8:30. SO nice to get a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

It’s absolutely gorgeous out today, and I took advantage of it by doing the dam loop – down the bike path, up Chatfield dam (the steep side) and back. Tried to keep the HR fairly low, but given how pumped I was to be riding outside, I didn’t worry too much about it and just enjoyed being alive, outdoors, and moving along.

I can feel my body tightening up, muscles are starting to get strong again, waistline is pulling in… Body weight is staying pretty consistent and I’m further buoyed knowing that fat weight is being replaced with muscle weight. I figure another week or two and body weight will start dropping consistently. Historically, I can drop 1-2 pounds of fat a week and not lose any energy – it’s just a matter of time at this point.

Long Duration/Low Intensity, aerobic base-building

Weight: 209
11:57 am

Spin bike: 2:11
Steam/Hottub: 5 min

Total calories: -1121

Took a complete rest day yesterday to give the bod some time to adapt to recent training loads without any stressors. I also haven’t been getting enough sleep the last few weeks; despite going to bed early, my twitchy back and mental chatter have kept me up more than I’d like. I was ecstatic to get 4.5 hours last night, and hopefully today’s longer ride will put an end to that and get me back on a relatively normal sleep cycle.

My lower back has been pretty stiff lately – in addition to adjusting to new training loads, I whacked it on one of those wall-mounted hooks that hold the sprayers at the car wash last week (ouch), so today I decided to change it up and ride the recumbant for an hour.

Book in hand, I sat down and pedaled for an hour, finding it surprisingly easy to keep my HR low and in my aerobic zone (note the flat HR graph above). I sometimes struggle with this, as my natural wont is to go-go-go and it usually takes a concerted mental effort on the bike to keep it low and slow… EZ PZ on the recumbant.

If you haven’t tried one before, I recommend it. It also makes it easier to read a book while riding, which helps the indoor training time pass more quickly…

Weight: 209.2
2:00pm

Recumbant: 1 hour

Total calories: -563

Curious to see if HRM works in steam/hot tub, I wore it in both. As it turns out, the steam room cranks HR up significantly (165bpm), the hot tub not so much (130ish). Also learned that it doesn’t care to be submerged.

Weight: 208.5
9:15 am

Exerbike: 45 min
Plank: 1:00
Ham Stretch: 4 min

Total calories: -593

Took advantage of a break in the weather to get in a short ride, a bit of a late start rebuilding aerobic base for the season, but game on!

Weight: 210.2
12:00 pm

Bike path 11 miles to 470 and back + cooldown spin

Total calories: -580

Light recovery day, 50:50 spinning and elliptical

Total calories: -790

Weight: 206.8
9:00am

60 minute recovery ride

Total calories: -664

Mellow recovery ride to base of Chatfield dam and back. Still some intermittent numbness in left hand, but improving overall.