Coming into Focus

First of, I am obviously still not over my cold or my run! I did go to the gym last night. I lifted weights (back, chest, tris, bis) and then called it a night, postponing swimming until today. I was exhausted. I managed to go home, fix a simple supper, and clean the kitchen. Then it was a hot bath, a little relaxing, and off to bed by 9:15 for this girl.

I did get up and run 2 really good miles this morning. And the gym will happen tonight. Food was very much on track yesterday. I love that I can have a day of “heavy” eating, and go right back to normal the next day. In the bad old days, one day off plan left me off plan for days. Even if I “planned” to go “off plan”!

I perused another weight training book last night – this one by a guy named Vince Gironda. I had never heard of him, but apparently he’s a fitness guy from the late 50s or so that opened a gym in Hollywood. Arnold endorses a 6 day a week plan (3 day split twice) in the initial muscle gaining phase. Vince says a 2 or 3 day split twice.

I think I may go with the 2 day split twice a week once the marathon is over. Four days a week at the gym is probably about as much as I can handle. Since it will be summer, that will keep my weekends a little flexible. I plan to keep this schedule until school starts – then we’ll see what happens. Arnold’s program emphasizes a lot of heavy compound movements – which is great but you must have a partner to do his workout. If hubby is working in town he has agreed to lend a hand (have I mentioned how wonderfully supportive he is?). So, we’ll see what is up with that.

As far as cardio – HIIT with 2 of those lifting sessions and swimming with the others, at least to start. I will continue doing my walks & runs in the early morning, hitting the gym after work. And my walk at lunch of course. Once the marathon is over, I think my long runs on the weekend will look like this: 15 mile /7 mile /7 mile. A very long run every third weekend will let me keep a pretty high level of distance, but let my weekends be a little bit flexible to accommodate vacation plans.

On the food front, I am going to start with the 1500 calorie, 40/40/20 plan, and modify as needed to keep the fat moving along. The nice thing is my doctor checks my bodyfat every time I go, so I have access to a consistent measurement to let me know how I’m doing in that regard. If the scale isn’t moving, my pants & doctor will let me know whether its because I’m building muscle. :-)

I have found that to prevent a letdown after a fitness accomplishment, it’s helpful to have a completely different challenge waiting in the wings. I am already getting excited about this new program. It is radically different from my focus today, which I think is good. Mixing it up forces your body to improve in order to adapt. Fitness ruts suck.

What’s your next goal?