Live To Win!
It's not about the destination, but it's all about the journey
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Jackson Hole, Wyoming
0% incline – 5 min
5% incline – 5 min
10% incline – 5 min
15% incline – 5 min
5% incline – 5 min
10% incline – 5 min
15% incline – 5 min
5% – 0%- 7 min (Cool Down)
Comments: Great workout! I could feel my legs burning especially at 15% incline. The walk was mostly through the downtown area of Jackson Hole, but I added a picture of the scenery since it’s so beautiful!!
What is overtraining? Wikipedia defines it well: Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes.
Well I experienced this last week. On a day I was supposed to run, I could feel my body temperature elevated and I didn’t have the enthusiasm that usually occurs on my cardio day. I just didn’t feel right. The problem with the signs of overtraining is many of us ignore them and proceed to complete the workout only to find ourselves injured or disappointed in our performance. I know with myself I always feel guilty for not completing the workout and when I do I am left feeling disappointed because it wasn’t my best.
Some of the signs of overtraining are as follows: Mood swings, repeated muscle soreness, illness, increase in morning heart rate, joint pains, lack of sleep, decreased performance, lack of ability to concentrate, increased injuries, and fatigue. These are just a few of the symptoms. If you go on the Internet and research overtraining, you will find many other suggestions and descriptions. I have been researching the effects myself because I feel like my training is not at its best. Therefore, I have been taking more days off in between workouts to allow myself to recover. I am still dealing with an injury around my upper left hamstring area and have been pushing through my workouts anyway which is not good.
I am one of these people that think a little of anything is better than nothing at all. But when you are injured, that is just not the case. And I struggle with the down time. I feel because I have been pushing myself hard, injured and all, my body has gone into the overtraining mode. When I look at some of the symptoms above, I can pick out several that I am dealing with.
So how do you combat the overtraining syndrome? Take a day or two off and try to relax. Decrease your intensity level, increase your sleep cycle, treat yourself to a massage, stretch, eat clean (diet is everything!!), and don’t get disappointed because you need to take an extra day off! You will find by resting your body appropriately, you will see gains in endurance and muscle strength 🙂
WORKOUTS: I always close by adding some of my workouts down below. All workouts are performed using the NordicTrack X9i Treadmill. Awesome machine!!
5/25/2013 South Kaibab Trail – Grand Canyon 3.41 miles
5/28/2013 Tower Bridge, London England 3.09 miles
In between these workouts I was weight training in my home gym. I actually found on bodybuilders.com a weight training program I am going to try. It’s by Obi Obadike. Obi is considered the world’s most ripped fitness model Obi Obadike Overtraining and Strength workout. The workout is basically as follows:
I’m going to see how this works for me starting next week. I will be sure to blog my opinion on the plan. The one thing I will be adding is on Saturday’s, I will make it my long jogging day.
And my quote for the day is by Michael Jordan….
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.
26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.
I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed.”
Well this week was a mess! I only got 3 workouts in and the rest of the time I was running around like crazy! I am dealing with an injury right now. Pulled something in my upper hamstring area. Had to do a lot of walking and stretching. Here is my rundown for the week:
Tuesday 5/14/2013 – Walked 2.1 miles. It was a boring workout because the street view was so plain. Important thing is I did it! I could feel my hamstring tightening and had to walk this workout.
Also completed an upper body workout. Mostly used dumbbells. Completed 3 sets at around 12 – 15 reps each set. Basically I worked chest, shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps. Had a pretty decent session 🙂
Wednesday 5/15/2013 – 2.1 mile walk/jog. Still a boring run. Plain street view. At least my hamstring is feeling better.
Saturday 5/18/2013 – This was the best workout of the week. Did iFit workout in the Grand Canyon. This was the second part of the West Rim Trail. 3 miles. Treadmill ranged from 6% decline to 33% incline (which kicked my ass!!!).
The scenery wasn’t as pretty as this picture, but it was a nice change from running down a boring street!
I found a quote that I think says it all….. “Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up” – Dean Karnazes. And that is exactly what I do. I know my limits and since I am plagued with multiple injuries ( 5 knee surgeries, 2 ankle/foot surgeries, low back double fusion) there are times I have to make myself slow down or run the risk of injuring myself again.
I post these workouts to keep myself accountable. I don’t expect to have a lot of followers because I know this isn’t interesting enough for some of the folks out there. But for me it means everything. If it will help me stay on track, then I will do it. And if by chance I can help motivate someone else, then it’s all worth it!!
I will end with this cartoon that is so real to me!! I can totally relate 🙂
For my birthday last month my hubby bought me a NordicTrack X9i incline trainer. ( http://bit.ly/12F9Ub9). I must admit I have not been one to like treadmills in the past. I would always become bored just looking at the screen. With the X9i boredom is gone! With the built in android tablet and google maps, I can run anywhere I want to!
I started Training with this machine and will start to post my workouts. I said I was going to start blogging and have never gotten started. I just don’t know what to say 😦 So be patient with me….I’m learning 🙂
I am doing an iFit workout plan that takes me through parts of the Grand Canyon. I did the South Kaibab Trail, which was 3 miles at 6% decline most of the way. The whole workout was in street view, meaning I could actually view the trail as if I was there. Some of the scenery was beautiful! I can only imagine how breathtaking is must be to actually view the canyons in person.