Moving!

It's been a crazy couple months.  I received a job offer I couldn't refuse in Minnesota, so that turned Chris and my world upside down quite a bit!  It was a great opportunity for me to do what I love and the area is BEAUTIFUL!  The bluffs and river are scenic and the city of about 30,000 offers enough for us to do but is still small enough to not be too chaotic.  It's great to be able to get everywhere in 5 minutes too!  There are trails around the lake, other hiking trails, a YMCA, running clubs and all sorts of activities that we can do to help maintain a healthy lifestyle!  There's even a triathlon right here in June!  Here's a few photos of the area....enjoy!

Ann

New Personal Record on leg press!

What started out as a slow workout ended awesome with me hitting the 700 pound mark on leg press for 6 reps!  So stoked!

Ann

Rehabbing herniated disc-Update

Well, I'm about 11 weeks post herniated disc, L5/S1. Didn't have much relief until I received an epidural 5 weeks ago. Shooting pain down the leg and calf almost gone but my back and hip still get sore. Since the shot and initial improvement following it I have seen a little improvement but nothing earth shattering. Slightly concerned that I'm approaching the 3 month mark and don't feel anywhere near healed. Haven't been able to do much other than light walking on the treadmill and some swimming with a swim buoy between the legs. Hoping this doesn't drag out 4, 5, 6 months and they say "let's operate". It would end my season. As it is I wanted to do a 70.3 and thinking that may be a long shot at this moment since I would need to start training around mid Feb or by the first of March. Trying to keep perspective of things saying to myself it's ok if I have to stick to sprints or maybe a late season Oly vs. not doing anything this year. Also doing some hanging on the inversion table to see if that helps!

Rehabing my Herniated Disc

Well, I'm about 6 weeks into my herniated disc problem.  The disc is pressing on the nerve root coming out of my spine at L5/S1 that goes to the left side.  My back hip area was hurting pretty good and after 2 rounds of predizone I honestly didn't see much difference.  I have been doing cobra stretches which haven't helped much but I'm told they work to compress the disc back into the spine over time.  Instead of prednizone which caused me some sleepless nights and irratibility I opted for a heavy round of Advil which seemed to work as well, if not a little better than the predizone.  This past Tuesday I went in for an epidural shot of cortizone in my back.  I will tell everyone right here and now that when it comes to needles I am a wuss!  I was a little scared to do this but the doctors gave some IV to sedate me a little and before I knew it I was done!  Over the past couple days my back has felt a little achy like when you do too much yard work but the nerve issue into my butt and leg is almost gone.  I still get a numb feeling in my toe which I'm told is not a good thing.  They want the numbness and pain to be moving up towards my back and out of my leg.  Stay tuned.......

Chris

Weight Day in the Gym!

Had a good workout today hitting the large major muscles.  At this time of the year we are focusing on more endurance so our weight days are shorter and fewer.  I started out doing Smith Bench.  I did 4 sets and hit 110 pounds o my last set at 3 reps.  Next I did Narrow Lat pulldowns to work my back and tris.  I did 4 sets and hit 110 pounds as well on my last set for 5 reps.  Then finished up on Leg press...I was excited to do these since legs are always my strong area.  I did 5 sets and on my last set I PR'd doing 630 pounds at 3 reps!!!!!  SO EXCITED!

Ann

Great couple days of workouts!

So Sunday we went to the gym.  I did some"speed work" on the treadmill.  I ran 2 miles and did it in 15:45 so I was happy I was able to get it down below 8 min per mile.  Even when I train outside I rarely do that speed!  Hopefully it's a start of a good thing.

Ann swam on Saturday, so she wanted to do some lifting.  I had her do chest and core.  She did an awesome job, benching over 120 pounds and was able to hit 135 pounds for one rep!  She also was able to go p in weight on Pec Deck and Cable Crossovers.  She finished up with a medicine ball bounce for 3 sets and 3 sets of Kettle ball swings!

First "Brick" of the year!

Decided to try my first "Brick workout of the year.  Started off on the treadmill and ran 2 miles at around 7 MPH or so and came out to 16:20 for a time.  Then jumped on the bike and kept in the 90 RPM range for 10 miles.  Of course I didn't want to end it there so I jumped back on the treadmill and ran another mile.  So in effect I guess I did a super sprint Duathlon!  LOL!

Chris

Triathlon Endurance Training

My endurance for whatever reason is down from a few months ago so I've been trying to add more metabolic training to not only burn some fat but to build up endurance.  Yesterday I had a simple but effective workout:

10 minute cardio warm-up on the elliptical machine

5 sets of the following:

2 minutes boxing

1 min wall sit

30 seconds plank

30 seconds decline situps with medicine ball

On about set 4, I started to crash/bonk.  I took a short break then decided to push through.  Good and short workut that burns a lot of fat and helps with endurance.   

Ann

Chest Day!

Had a GREAT weight day today, hitting my Chest/Pecs hard!  Got up to 45LB plates (90Lbs total) on the Smith Machine Bench Press, 120Lbs on the Pec Deck, 35Lbs on Dumbbell Incline Press, and 50Lbs on the Cable Fly (Pic below).  

Ann

Lunges!

If you want to build a "balanced" leg that will help in all areas

 of your fitness then lunges are a great workout!

Bodyfat and weight coming back into line....

After my "bulk phase" in the winter I added a fair amount of muscle mass.  Along with it I also added a little bodyfat which is very common.  At the height of my bulk I was up to about 13+% bodyfat and a weight of about 165Lbs.  Since I've started a "cut phase" about 6 weeks ago I have now dropped my body fat down to about 9.5% and weight to about 160.  My race weight during the summer last year was around 145 to 150Lbs. at about 9% bodyfat so the additional 10+ pounds this season are mostly in the form of muscle this time around.  I would like to drop maybe another 5 or so pounds just to make running and swimming a little easier but I really don't want to drop all the weight because that will mean I've lost muscle.

Diet is similar to what I was eating during my bulk phase but with less calories and around 2100 per day.  I used to eat an additional meal in the early afternoon consisting of a vegetable, wild rice and some type of lean meat and have replaced that with 1/2 cup of oatmeal.  I've also try to avoid a lot of carbs in the evening because if you have a surplus of carbs at night it tends to turn into fat storage (at least on me).

Goals will be to lose another 1 to 2% bodyfat and drop another 5 or so pounds in the next few weeks.

Chris

A new "Personal Record" on the Leg Press Today!

Had a good workout and on my 4th set of close leg presses was able to do a new personal best of 600 punds (just plates)!

Had a fun time at WJFW (Channel 12) last evening!

We had a fun time helping out the YMCA during the "Y-watch segment during the 5 O'cock news!  When we get the video we'll post it up!

Chris

New Personal Record!

Was extremely excited yesterday!  Felt great in the gym and was having a pretty good lifting day.  Did some warm up sets on the close leg sled machine and then started to hit it heavy.  My last set Chris added 10 more pounds to my previous record of 550Lbs.  I not only did it but I did 9 rep!  I couldn't believe I was able to do that heavy with that many reps.  Chris joked that he should have added even more.  Anyways, I was thrilled and it made my day!

Ann

Injured....

What can I say, didn't even know how it happened.  Doing chest yesterday and felt pretty good.  Got to the end and was doing pushups on a BOSU Ball and felt some pain in the shoulder.  By the time I got home I could tell it was injured.  Now rest and ice.  Not good.

Chris

Our first public appearance!

Workout 1-19-12

Great Workout! Legs today for me! PB'd on squats with 245lbs @ 6 reps on my 4th set and PB'd on close leg press with 500lbs @ 6 reps! Ann meanwhile blasted 45lb DB Incline Presses, PB'd on the Pec Deck with 140Lbs at 8 reps and Pb'd with Decline Bench on the Smith Machine with 90lbs at 8 reps! Way to Go Babe!