Jan

29

Learning The Ropes

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I finally did it! I managed to do 2,500 jumps in 15 minutes! Goal achieved!

This is a far cry from where I started way back in August of last year when I began the Peak Condition Project. On Day 1 of the program, I had to do five sets of 50 jumps. I was lucky if I could do 5 jumps without the Implement of Torture jumprope tripping me. By the time I had completed the whole 250 jumps, I was red-faced, wheezing, and pretty certain I was going to drop dead.

Almost each day afterward there would be an increase in the number of jumps that had to be accomplished. I huffed and puffed and sweated through each routine. I suffered through extreme knee pain and minor foot surgery. By mid-point in the project, I was up to 1,500 jumps. It may have taken me at least a half-hour with breaks every 100 jumps, but I did it. Then the routine switched to timed jumps.

First it was seven sets of 2-minute jumps. Then it increased to six sets of 3-minute jumps. By the end of the program it was up to two sets of 9-minute jumps. The grand finale was when Patrick mentioned that I should keep jumping either 10-minutes or 1,500 jumps—my choice. Shortly thereafter I got the maintenance program sheets and each day it listed 15-minutes of jumprope. If one could do 1,500 jumps in a 10-minute period, how many jumps in 15?

My first attempts at this standard weren’t exactly the best. 1,500 jumps took me quite a bit longer than 10-minutes. Not as long as the half-hour during mid-program and certainly with less breaks, but still more than 10-minutes. I kept jumping.

Eventually I was able to accomplish 100 jumps per minute with just a tiny little break in between. That was 1,500 jumps in 15-minutes. But Patrick had say 1,500 jumps or 10-minutes. That meant I still had to push a bit more.

I slowly grew into doing the jumps in groups of 200, then 300, and eventually 500 with little break inbetween sets. My 1,500 jumps began drawing closer to the 10-minute time period with somewhere between 2,000 and 2,300 jumps in 15-minutes, depending on whether or not I took short 10-second breaks between the 500’s. (Yes, I was managing to do 15-minutes without any breaks. It just depended on how energetic my legs felt that day.)

I don’t know how it started, but somehow I figured that if I could do 1,500 jumps in 10-minutes that I should be able to do 2,500 jumps in 15-minutes. That became the next challenge.

Periodically I would reach the 1,500/10-minute mark, but I would always fall short of the 2,500/15-minute mark. Then there was the moment when I hit the 2,400/15-minute mark. The 2,500 goal was so close I could taste it. Little did I know, though, that it would evade me over a month.

That is, until today. 2,500 jumps in 15-minutes without a break. I totally rocked it, baby!

Jan

21

Sleep Interrupted

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For some reason, Mr. Sandman has been avoiding me the past few nights. My strength exercising has ramped up a bit over the past few days and I have felt a good burn which is followed a wonderful tired feeling. You know, the kind where you will zonk out once you head hits the pillow and you’ll wake up the next morning fully rested and energized. After putting my muscles through their paces, I usually have a light dinner, take a couple or so hours to wind down, and then hit the hay. Unfortunately, just as I’m about to get to that sleepy point, my body suddenly gets a second wind and I’m awake for a few hours more.

Sleep is very important to a healthy body, at least 8 hours minimum. Yeah, I know a person can still function with less. Heck, for years I existed on minimal hours of true sleep—but there’s a big difference between existing and living, and without the 8 hours of pure rest, ya just ain’t living!

Sleep deprivation can cause all sorts of problems. Everything from a little grogginess and problems with attention right up to car accidents and death. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but Americans try to pack so much into their day that a good night’s sleep has fallen to the wayside. This is a shame because more sleep helps you become more productive. Less sleep actually makes you less productive.

I know, this is the kind of stuff that you hear from doctors all the time. But did you know that sleep is also a great way to help you build muscle and lose weight? It’s true. When you exercise and push your muscles, you cause microscopic tears in all that connective tissue. When you sleep, your body goes into “repair mode” and creates new, thicker, stronger fibers to close those tears. In order for the body to do this effectively, it needs complete rest for 8 or more hours.

If you don’t get enough rest, then your body won’t be able to strengthen and repair itself. Amazingly enough, if you push your muscles hard and don’t sleep as much as you should, your body will get weaker over time. Remember, when you exercise, you cause tears in the muscles. No sleep means the tears won’t be fixed. Too many tears and your muscles won’t be able to do the work that healthy muscles can.

So, it’s time for me to try and catch a few zzzzz’s. I think I’ll try to tempt Mr. Sandman with some warm milk. He usually likes that.

Jan

20

Being Alive

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My thighs were killing me today. Of course, I shouldn’t have expected anything different. It had been weeks since I had incorporated leg exercises in my routine. That was because the last time I did the leg workout I managed to make myself nauseous after doing floor jumps. It seems that losing weight has managed to drop my blood pressure down from the high end of normal to where it is now. I guess low blood pressure is okay, but man do I need to be careful when I stand up from a squat position!

After the nausea episode, I backed away from the leg exercises. I figured that my usual morning routine of jump ropes would be enough to keep my legs in good shape. Well, part of my theory was true. It kept my calves in good shape, but my thighs began to lose the definition they once had, so I had to add some of the leg exercises back in to the program. Lunges, squats, and pistol squats were back in but anything that had me close to a squat position for a longer period of time (like the floor jumps and the “creep”) were out.

After only one day, I could see the muscle tone returning to my thighs. Of course, it also meant there would be some soreness from working them after weeks of inactivity, but it felt fantastic! I was energized and so alive! And I couldn’t wait to leave work and get home to do it all over again. I think Patrick has turned me into an exercise junkie.

So a bit of advice: don’t let your muscles rest for more than a few days. If you take a brief break from working out, your muscles will quickly recover. Yeah, you probably won’t be exactly at the peak you were before the break, but you’ll recover in just a few days with little soreness. If you ignore a muscle group for weeks, it will take a bit more work to get back to the shape you were in, and you will definitely feel the ache a bit longer.

Still, I think my thighs are thanking me for finally paying attention to them. And it’s a good feeling.

Jan

19

Back Into The Swing Of Things

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Tonight was good, but tiring. I jumped right back into my full exercise regimen after a week or so hiatus. I had meet some important deadlines at work which, of course, meant that it was an opportune time for me to catch a cold. There was absolutely no way I could take time off from my job, so I had to cut back on something else in order to allow my body to recover. That meant backing off the exercising for a bit.

I feel a bit out of sorts when I don’t work out. I had been part of a rigorous regimen during the months of August, September, and October as I participated in a wellness program called the The Peak Condition Project. Basically, this program is:

“a 90 day plan that gets participants into the best shape of their lives. Using the simplest of materials, adherence to diet, classic kung-fu training techniques, and the power of social networking, PCPers achieve the physiques they’ve always dreamed of, while gaining the knowledge to maintain their success long into the future.”

Although I “graduated” from the program back in October, the things I learned during that time haven’t left. After 90 days it became a part of me and my day-to-day life, like breathing. If I skip a day of exercising, or I don’t eating the properly, or I fail to write a blog entry I feel out of kilter—that something is missing. I don’t like that feeling.

Back to the cold. At first I tried to keep up with my exercise regimen. The first day I managed to complete the whole routine and I ended up really exhausted. The second day I tried cutting back a little, but my body needed more rest that I was giving it. Finally I ended up with jumping rope and ab exercises in the morning for about a half hour. And that’s the way it stayed until tonight. My cold is nearing the end, my deadlines have passed, and I just had far too much energy that needed to be expended.

My exercises are done, I’ve rebalanced my food intake, and I’ve completed my blog entry. There’s only one thing left to do to make it perfect day—get to bed! Sleep is very important for a healthy body and it’s time for me to get my dose of zzzzzz’s.