What have you done today to improve your physical preparedness?

myright · Mar 16, 2010

OwenM said:
80 pushups to pre-exhaust, then about 6 or 7 sets of 40-50 with those "Perfect Pushup" things(which I love) in different positions.
4x40 of both dumbbell curls and overhead presses with 30lb. dumbbells.
Not a real workout, but a fantastic pump.

6 miles of hills. No pack. 1hr. 12min.
Wore my MP3 player for the first time today
I'm sure my poor knees will thank me later for running down some hills to speed things up. Got surprised by dogs, and almost run over wandering out into the wrong side of the road. Made me think of the wolf attack thread. Maybe no more MP3 player...

I LOVE running with my ipod but won't do it outside. I like having all my senses when I'm out, especially on trails.

6 miles of hills sounds like a good time. I'm going to get 4-6 of hills and uneven terrain on Saturday with my brother. I'm getting ready for the Toughmudder.

OwenM · Mar 16, 2010

Had the MP3 player for the elliptical at the gym. That was my only real reason for a gym membership, since I've got gobs of free weights and other stuff at home. I let the membership lapse and cancel after getting into walking hills these last couple months. Like getting outside every day SO much more. Since turning into a total gear freak over outdoor wear lately, I get to "test" stuff every day, too

batosai117 · Mar 17, 2010

I WAS doing good until this past Friday (spring break - we get one at the Academy too). I started eating food that wasn't good for me (fried anything) and I had my first coke/sprite in a long time. I feel terrible and haven't ran since last Thursday.....and I'm eating a bowl of honey bunches of oats right now

Ugh, it doesn't taste as good after reading this thread and seeing everybody sticking to it and doing great

Keep up the good work guys :thumbup:

TheZenful1 · Mar 17, 2010

J's Knives-N-More said:
I WAS doing good until this past Friday (spring break - we get one at the Academy too). I started eating food that wasn't good for me (fried anything) and I had my first coke/sprite in a long time. I feel terrible and haven't ran since last Thursday.....and I'm eating a bowl of honey bunches of oats right now Ugh, it doesn't taste as good after reading this thread and seeing everybody sticking to it and doing great

Keep up the good work guys :thumbup:

Let's go J, I got faith in ya.

Myself, I did 1.3 miles in 18 minutes interval style, no weights today. Short time put into it today, I stayed extra at work to assist the Police in removing some knuckleheads.

myright · Mar 17, 2010

J's Knives-N-More said:
I WAS doing good until this past Friday (spring break - we get one at the Academy too). I started eating food that wasn't good for me (fried anything) and I had my first coke/sprite in a long time. I feel terrible and haven't ran since last Thursday.....and I'm eating a bowl of honey bunches of oats right now Ugh, it doesn't taste as good after reading this thread and seeing everybody sticking to it and doing great

Keep up the good work guys :thumbup:

Hey J - good to hear from you. Hell, man everyone needs to cheat on the diet every now and again. The trick is not letting that cheat turn into a new lifestyle of eating horrible and surfing the couch

Take 'er easy and best of luck in the academy.

j williams · Mar 17, 2010

Lets see....

I just got in from the Gym....Lifted my ass off today.

I do full body circuit training with little to no rest in between workouts. Then repeat the circuit 4x. Im drained. Its a great mix of cardio/weight training. Gonna go for my daily run this afternoon, and do ab work tonight. Still dropping 3-4lbs a week. Diet is 100% perfection. I have been on this regimen for quite some time, and im still amazed at how hard it can be to say no to the beers and junk food. Especially at work. EMS is the devil when it comes to keeping a clean eating schedule. Actually can see my abs now though.....Trust me guys, its sooo worth it. You want this.

Off lifting days(if you can call them that) have been Plyometrics in the AM, followed by a run/ride. Wish I had a pool nearby to swim.

myright · Mar 19, 2010

j williams said:
Lets see....

I just got in from the Gym....Lifted my ass off today.

I do full body circuit training with little to no rest in between workouts. Then repeat the circuit 4x. Im drained. Its a great mix of cardio/weight training. Gonna go for my daily run this afternoon, and do ab work tonight. Still dropping 3-4lbs a week. Diet is 100% perfection. I have been on this regimen for quite some time, and im still amazed at how hard it can be to say no to the beers and junk food. Especially at work. EMS is the devil when it comes to keeping a clean eating schedule. Actually can see my abs now though.....Trust me guys, its sooo worth it. You want this.

Off lifting days(if you can call them that) have been Plyometrics in the AM, followed by a run/ride. Wish I had a pool nearby to swim.

Right on, bro :thumbup:

ab workouts are my enemy too but the results are more than worth it! I don't have definition yet but I'm getting there.

I've been lifting pretty hard lately - I just really enjoy it. I think I'm going to take a week away from my normal lifting routine and do only kettlebell workouts then do a week of circuit type training as well.

I used the P90X Plyo workout for a while and absolutely loved it. That's a damn good workout.

j williams · Mar 19, 2010

yeah the P90X was created by the devil himself I think. Some of the workouts are super hardcore. The ab ripper x is badass, and the Plyo is insane. Not for the weak.

myright · Mar 21, 2010

Yesterday I got out with my brother and some of his friends to do some trail running. We did a total of 4 miles which consisted of a lot of hills. I don't normally do hills at all since the area I live in is very, very flat. We are sea level in most places. On top of the hills we did a 1.5 mile loop in the life course which has 20 different stations set up in it. For every station that I didn't fee like doing (head rolls, etc.) I did 10 push ups.

It was a tough day and my abs are killing me now from some of the workouts along on the run. I had a blast. It was muddy, wet, and beautiful out. Great day.

eygen · Mar 21, 2010

I run 4 miles every day (trying to push it up to 10 within the next few months). I have a really nice unpopulated forrest to run through. Sometimes with music, sometimes without.

Bought new running shoes a couple of days ago. Comfy, but they better be for what I paid for them

myright · Mar 21, 2010

eygen said:
I run 4 miles every day (trying to push it up to 10 within the next few months). I have a really nice unpopulated forrest to run through. Sometimes with music, sometimes without.

Bought new running shoes a couple of days ago. Comfy, but they better be for what I paid for them

I finally broke down and went to an actually running store and shelled out some cash for a quality pair of running shoes. I got a pair of Brooke Ghost's and they are amazing. They fit my foot perfectly. I normally get my sneakers at an outlet and don't get an opportunity to really try them out. The place I went to analyzed how I step and also had a treadmill in the store for me to try them out on.

4 miles a day is good stuff - Keep it up :thumbup:

batosai117 · Mar 21, 2010

myright said:
I finally broke down and went to an actually running store and shelled out some cash for a quality pair of running shoes. I got a pair of Brooke Ghost's and they are amazing. They fit my foot perfectly. I normally get my sneakers at an outlet and don't get an opportunity to really try them out. The place I went to analyzed how I step and also had a treadmill in the store for me to try them out on.

4 miles a day is good stuff - Keep it up :thumbup:

Wow, that sounds really neat

When the Academy started I went to a local store and just analyzed a bunch of Nike's, wish we had something like that here (unless we do and I don't know about it

). My runs are 1.5 miles and I'm hoping to up that gradually to at least 3 and then add a little more during time.

Keep it up fellas, J.

j williams · Mar 21, 2010

Ive had really good luck with Asics.... However all feet are differant.

It is REALLY important to get your feet analyzed by professionals when you get into longer distance running. You can really screw up your lower extremities and your back with unproper footwear.

skitertank · Mar 21, 2010

j williams said:
EMS is the devil when it comes to keeping a clean eating schedule.

:thumbup:thats the truth! my day job i work EMS and thats a constant struggle which sucks because eating right is important to me. outside of that, i train and fight mma so my physical fitness is very good all around,but..i have a heretitary history of high bp and just learned that my mass gainning diet of heavy foods, high in sodium and cholesterol has JACKED up my bp to very unhealthy levels. so effective 2 days ago,ive cut back to half the amount of sodium prior which puts me at roughly 1700mg or so a day and two more days a week of heavy sprints and running.ive already dropped quite a bit in two days and im giving myself three weeks to bring it down to healthy levels.

H2H907 · Mar 21, 2010

Kettlebells and yoga. Followed by six eggs, a moose steak, a side of bacon and two pints of Guinness.

joesrx · Mar 21, 2010

Go to Brooks or roadrunner.com. Any site the focuses on running and they can walk you through what kind of sneaks to get. It makes a big difference.

OwenM · Mar 22, 2010

At my work we have large tanks about 12' in diameter, and 90+' high. They have long steep staircases crisscrossing between them to their tops, which are connected by catwalks.
I sometimes climb a ladder up the side of one, then take the steps down, and do it again, and maybe again.
Dissatisfied with my performance on the return trip up a very steep trail that gained over 500' in less than half a mile last week, I decided to add those stairs to my "practice hiking", and started last night with 8 trips up and down, plus the two flights you have to go up to get to the bottom. Because you have to go back down after each trip, it isn't the same as just going straight up continuously, but it's better than nothing.
Going to gradually increase(don't want to get too sore) this from 8x to 16x continuous, and do it on the same days I do my 6 miles of "fastwalking" hills.
Planning to go back to the same place again in the first week of May. Maybe I won't have to take a water break, or stop two more times to catch my breath next time around

rdgarbo · Mar 22, 2010

2 miles on tread mill and leg presses.

myright · Mar 23, 2010

OwenM said:
At my work we have large tanks about 12' in diameter, and 90+' high. They have long steep staircases crisscrossing between them to their tops, which are connected by catwalks.
I sometimes climb a ladder up the side of one, then take the steps down, and do it again, and maybe again.
Dissatisfied with my performance on the return trip up a very steep trail that gained over 500' in less than half a mile last week, I decided to add those stairs to my "practice hiking", and started last night with 8 trips up and down, plus the two flights you have to go up to get to the bottom. Because you have to go back down after each trip, it isn't the same as just going straight up continuously, but it's better than nothing.
Going to gradually increase(don't want to get too sore) this from 8x to 16x continuous, and do it on the same days I do my 6 miles of "fastwalking" hills.
Planning to go back to the same place again in the first week of May. Maybe I won't have to take a water break, or stop two more times to catch my breath next time around

:thumbup:
Hills are a killer, brother!!!

OwenM · Mar 23, 2010

Turns out those steep stairs were pretty killer, too. 84 flights, which I mistakenly thought wouldn't bother me much after all the hill walking and hiking lately. My quads are actually visibly shrunken, and they and my calves are so sore I can't walk straight. Screwed up the walking schedule for the next couple of days...
Must be the week for over-estimating myself.
My first free weight foray in awhile was just 4 sets of 20 reps on the bench press. 1 set with 135, and 3 with my body weight. Had to rest over 5 minutes between sets to feel ready again, and was running out of gas toward the end of each one. That last set it probably took at least a full minute to squeeze out the last 4 reps, and I'm pretty sore from just 3 "working sets."
So now it hurts any time my arms or legs move...nice:foot: