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Exercise update
Sep. 27th, 2011 05:29 pmToday, I realized that on Sunday and Monday, I'd done extended workouts. My goal right now is 150 second intervals, 60 running, 90 walking. But Sunday, I'd tried longer running with correspondingly less rest, and Monday, I'd done the same amount of running, but cut back on rest.
Sunday, I'd felt a bit bad. Monday, I felt better, but not *good*. So, today, I went back to 60 running, 90 walking(But I did do 11 intervals). I feel pretty good today, no need for a nap, or anything. This is really important for me - I'm treading a bit too close to the line of making exercise such a pain that I decide to skip it. This is doubly true because I'm facing dual challenges - getting my heart stronger (or, to avoid worrying folks, should I say "developing greater aerobic fitness"?), and getting my left hip engaged, and turning my left leg straight[1]. It's easy to say "aw, hell, time to exercise *again*," because my hip is sore, my leg is achy, and I know it might make me tired.
The thing I have to remember is that there is no time limit here. In the end, if, at the end of every month, I'm just a tiny bit more fit than I was the previous month, I'm making progress. And it doesn't take *that* much to accomplish this - 20 minutes, three times a week, should be enough to keep my heart getting just a bit stronger each month. And, there's nothing that says that I'm a failure if I take a full year to ramp up to jogging three miles, for example.
But still... Sigh. There's the whole macho "I'll just work *really* hard and rapidly become a world class athlete!" Which is ridiculous. It doesn't happen. Bodies build up slowly (at least, without chemical help), and you need a strong foundation before you can "just work really hard".
Heh. And that's one of the reasons it's becoming so important to me. When I turned 40, I started becoming more interested in being fit, and now, at 45, I'm realizing how I never got nearly as close as I wanted, so now, well, now I want to get there, and not let it get away... at least, not as far away as its gotten.
[1] My sciatica seems to have been caused by my left leg being turned out. I'd long suspected something funny was going on there, and now I know. And go figure, it takes more than a few months to undo the effects of years of having my hip work funny.
Sunday, I'd felt a bit bad. Monday, I felt better, but not *good*. So, today, I went back to 60 running, 90 walking(But I did do 11 intervals). I feel pretty good today, no need for a nap, or anything. This is really important for me - I'm treading a bit too close to the line of making exercise such a pain that I decide to skip it. This is doubly true because I'm facing dual challenges - getting my heart stronger (or, to avoid worrying folks, should I say "developing greater aerobic fitness"?), and getting my left hip engaged, and turning my left leg straight[1]. It's easy to say "aw, hell, time to exercise *again*," because my hip is sore, my leg is achy, and I know it might make me tired.
The thing I have to remember is that there is no time limit here. In the end, if, at the end of every month, I'm just a tiny bit more fit than I was the previous month, I'm making progress. And it doesn't take *that* much to accomplish this - 20 minutes, three times a week, should be enough to keep my heart getting just a bit stronger each month. And, there's nothing that says that I'm a failure if I take a full year to ramp up to jogging three miles, for example.
But still... Sigh. There's the whole macho "I'll just work *really* hard and rapidly become a world class athlete!" Which is ridiculous. It doesn't happen. Bodies build up slowly (at least, without chemical help), and you need a strong foundation before you can "just work really hard".
Heh. And that's one of the reasons it's becoming so important to me. When I turned 40, I started becoming more interested in being fit, and now, at 45, I'm realizing how I never got nearly as close as I wanted, so now, well, now I want to get there, and not let it get away... at least, not as far away as its gotten.
[1] My sciatica seems to have been caused by my left leg being turned out. I'd long suspected something funny was going on there, and now I know. And go figure, it takes more than a few months to undo the effects of years of having my hip work funny.
