Daily Quote: "Use cross-training before you get injured as preventive medicine and to offset potential peer pressure. Variety reduces stress because you're less dependent on one activity to satisfy your exercise high." --Marc Bloom, "Marc Bloom Running."
The nice aspect about "FIRST Training" is the cross-training, my favorite being the upright stationary cycling, which comes very close to accomplishing my exercise high...nothing beats running for an exercise high!
Today's workout is from the book, "Runner's World, Run Less, Run Faster," if you own the book the workout is on page 107, Cross-Training Workout #1 ((XT#2):
1. Mode: Upright Stationary Cycling (45 minutes.)
Workout: 10 minutes easy spinning as a warmup, alternate resistance between a PE level of 4 (Effort Level 4: Hard. Noticeable increase in breathing; difficult to talk in full sentences.) for 1 minute with 4 minutes of fast spinning at PE level of 1 (Effort Level 1: Easy. No increase in breathing rate; can go all day.); all with cadence of about 95 to 100 rpm. Repeated this six times. Finished with 5 minutes easy as a cooldown.
Note: When I'm cycling at Effort Level 1 (easy), I set the Life Fitness Cycle at setting level 4, and Effort Level 4 (hard) at setting level 14. I'm improving as I raised my hard setting from level 13 last week.
Average heart rate during the 45 minutes was 156 pm, but cardiac drift due to the intervals was 177 bpm. (Note: my maximum heart rate is 188 bpm) Definitely a hard effort! Might take a week or two for my body to adjust to Level 14 on the upright Life Fitness Cycle.
I had planned on running my first Long Run on the roads tomorrow, but the weather forecasts states the high temperature in Vegas will be 101 degrees with blazing sunshine and hot. Maybe I can accomplish the 20 miler on the roads if I awake early enough?!? Running earlier would mean less sleep, but I can always take a long nap afterwards. If not, I'll be back on the dreadmill...can I handle the mental struggle of running 20 miles on the dreadmill again? Hard to believe we're still having 100+ degrees this late in the year. Normally I would be training on the roads during the first week of September. Frustrating!
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2 comments:
Do you stand to pedal, like in a spin class, or do you stay seated through your workout? Good job on getting your heart rate up so high, I finally have enough quad strength to get my heart rate up for more than a few seconds, but it has taken weeks!
Howdy Wendy! I stay seated throughout my upright stationary cycling workout.
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