More Cardiovascular Endurance Training Than I’ve Done in the Last 10 Years, Combined!

Today’s Workout Log

Speed Camp

Warm-up

3/4-mile jog from meeting spot to nearby school

Workout
Core Work Circuit (all exercises back-to-back-to-back for 4 straight minutes)

Leg lifts from push-up position (10 per side)
10 push-ups
10 Straight-Leg Lifts in a reverse pike position on butt

Dynamic Warm-up

40-yard high-knee walks
40-yard Toy Soldier walks
20-yard Pike walks
20-yard Roundhouse Hip Extensor walks

Stair Runs

10 laps up and down a set of about 30 steps (one foot per step)

Interval Runs

40-second jog
20-second run
Keep alternating for 9 minutes!

Ending Exercise

Hanging in top position of a Chin-up (57 seconds)

Cool-down

3/4-mile jog back to meeting spot

Workout Journal Notes

I loved last week, because it was all about explosion and competition, but this week was quite the opposite, with more endurance work than I’ve done cumulatively over the last 10 years!

It rained and poured for hours yesterday, so our field that we usually use was sopping wet.

No big deal, right? We’ll just drive over to the nearby school and use their track.

Wrong! We’re jogging to the nearby school, which suddenly seems much less “nearby.”

Since I’m all about HIIT and sprints, that 3/4-mile jog was farther than I’ve run at one time since we were forced to run miles in high school.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared though, since we were going at a fairly slow pace.

Once we got to the school, we did something else different by jumping right into the core work, which is usually saved until the end.

The 4-minute circuit wasn’t too bad, until he started delaying the count on the push-ups, making us hold for up to 10 seconds in the bottom position.

After that, Paul, the trainer, got an evil gleam in his eyes when he saw a nice steep set of stairs leading up to the school.

We went up and down at a moderate pace, but my legs were definitely feeling it by the 10th lap.

Now that we were all nice and tired, it was time for the “real” workout!

We hit the track and did intervals of 40-second jogging and 20-second running for a total of 9 long minutes.

Of course, this was right up the “Bionic Boy”’s alley, and he blasted through it, lapping me at least 2 times, possibly a 3rd, but my brain wasn’t too reliable at that point.

I certainly didn’t break any records, but, again, I was reasonably pleased with my effort, given all the heavily endurance-based training we were doing.

Finally, we ended on the school playground by holding ourselves in the top position of a chin-up for as long as possible.

I thought this was my time to shine, since I’ve been doing so many Dead Hangs at the end of my weight training workouts.

The first of two groups went, and the longest was 27 seconds.

Then, I was part of the second group, along with the Bionic Boy. I felt great at first, but at about the 30-second mark, my left hand started to slip.

I gutted it out for another 27 seconds, for a total of 57, before my left hand slipped off, while BB held on for another 10, dropping at 1:07.

That one hurt! I got beat in the endurance-based interval training, as expected, but I’m supposed to excel in the core/strength area!

Even with all the distance we covered and running we did, I already feel completely recovered, and I can’t say enough how glad I am that my body is adjusting so well to the added training.

I certainly hope we don’t do so much endurance stuff on a regular basis, as it may start to conflict with my muscle-building efforts, but it was surprisingly enjoyable as a change of pace.

Now, let’s get back to the head-to-head explosive style stuff!

My trip to see “The Dark Knight” in IMAX has been delayed until tomorrow, which will allow me to leave earlier in the day, and the weather is supposed to be much nicer.

The closest IMAX to me playing TDK is in Virginia Beach, so I’d rather go when the sun is shining and be able to hit the beach before and/or after the movie.

Also, I’ll be interested as always to see where my measurements are tomorrow, and I’m expecting the distance running we did today to bring my weight down slightly, since my ectomorphic body loves to start dropping pounds at any chance it gets!