Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Walking on jelly

Did a killer work out yesterday.

800m warmup
400m at 13kmph
200m at 5 kmph
400m at 14kmph
200m at 5 kmph
400m at 15kmph
200m at 5 kmph
400m at 16kmph
200m at 5 kmph
400m at 17kmph
200m at 5 kmph
400m at 18kmph
400m walk to stop.

2 x 15 reps hang cleans
2 x 15 reps push-jerk
2 X 20 reps alternating lunges
2 x 10 reps squat jumps

Whole thing took about 1 hr 15 minutes. My legs had turned to jelly (and remained jelly like for the rest of the day). The 400m repeats have got to the be the hardest workout I have done. I loved it.

Until next time.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Motivation and how to give up.

Been struggling with motivation issues since my Chicken Pox episode and since my annual event ended.

Started playing a little shuttle this last week. Its been good. The workout itself is not that hard. I remember when I started playing squash, it took me a month to figure out how to play it and I got a hell of a work out during that time. As I got better at it, the workout became less and less strenuous. I thought I was getting better at the game.

Actually, I was getting better at figuring out which ball I could take and which I could give up on even without trying. I realized this when I found that I was getting beaten by the same guy with the same or marginally different scores.

The same thing is happening in Shuttle, only faster. Wow - the knowledge of my body is increasing rapidly. In one week, I am able to figure out all the various ways in which I can give up. Picking up some cool expertise!

Until next time.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Elizabeth Vasanthakumari, Golds and Silver, Rome - Big update!

I've decided to keep my posts short and quick. Just like my running. Now realized that short and quick is a life truth.

Anyway, first off did some pretty interesting running in Rome. Not much - just enough to keep me warmed up. The most interesting aspect of Rome, from a running perspective, was meeting Elizabeth Vasanthakumari. She was part of the 1984 SAF Games Gold medal winning 4x400 team along with P.T. Usha. For having been one of the fastest runners of her time, Elizabeth is extremely humble. Just goes to show that greatness doesn't get into everyone's heads.

Well I came back from Rome, and literally hit the ground running. The evening of the day I landed in Madras, I went to JN stadium for my yearly meet. The rest seemed to have helped. I won golds in 100, 200 and 400. Silver in the 4x100 relay - my team was a little washed out from multiple events. I ran pretty strong. Even the 400 - my favorite event - was a class act. Just goes to show good training can make a duck run.

Anyway, after that event, it was finally time for rest. I took several weeks off. Simply going to the gym and doing some light weights. Not so much for a work out but simply out of habit. It was strangely unsatisfactory. I think it was a case of remorse that my event was now over.

Anyway, I walked into Chicken Pox and that ensured that I was in bed for two weeks. Now its been 5 weeks since I was diagnosed - approximately 3 after I was certified as fully recovered. Just started running again. Managed to do a full 30 minutes yesterday.

Now that thats out of the way, I'll try to post shorter more regular posts.

Until next time.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Getting set for the 100!

The last few weeks have been about getting set for my annual athletic meet on the 21st of June.

Been doing a lot of 40m - 120m repeats and some weight training. Feeling fairly fit. But Im not sure my endurance is where it should be. I feel a lot leaner and feel a little tired. But I expect that should go with the one week rest that begins on Saturday. I will be in Rome for that week but there's going to be no running. A lot of walking but no running whatso ever. So that should bring some life back into my legs.

I bought a new pair of spikes this morning. The previous pair that I had bought thinking I will use it during the meet in December is worn out already. The nails are ground down - almost like football studs and the soul is splitting.

A little concerned that I will have had no experience running with my new pair. But I'll have to wing it. I'll get in one session tomorrow and that has to be enough - not much choice.

So the next post is likely after the event. If I get beaten, I wont post for 6 months until every one forgets that I write a blog and then write as if the meet didnt happen.

Until then.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Getting Addicted

Posting after a long time because I was eye-deep in work for a bit. Also my work outs have been fairly irregular and inconsistent. May be that's a good thing.

Had a couple of interesting workouts in the last 4 weeks.

One was a parkour course - very beginner - that I went through at Zest Pondicherry. Btw, I highle recommend AGAINST Zest Pondicherry. There was a rat in my room - sitting in our suitcase actually - when we returned from the swimming pool that didnt have the filters running with about 50 people in the pool. Very miserable experience. I couldn't resist that plug because I was most disappointed by that resort and the way they handled the whole mess.

Back to parkour. (Parkour is free running - Akshay Khanna does that in one of the Thums Up ads).

Check out this video on Youtube


So they have this parkour course with about 19 odd stations. They have a path marked by display stones. Each stone shows an exercise and number of repetitions. You have to move (walk or run) from one station to the next completing each of the exercises. Exercises start with simple stretching and go on to more advanced one such as hanging from Roman Rings and twisting your body in circles. (Hard to describe - easier to do and show)

Some movements were tricky. For instance, there is a single horizontal bar set at about 2.5 feet at one end and rising to about 3.5 ft at the other end. You are required to hold the bar, jump over it with straight legs and twist underneath it to return to starting position. 15 reps. It was somewhat nasty.

Took me about 14 minutes to complete the course. Not sure if I did all the exercises correctly. But it couldn’t have been much harder. Over all it wasn’t a great experience but worth writing about.

Since then work again had been keeping me off the work out scene till last week. Ok, not just work. A few important parties - social obligations as they are called. Lots of liquor and unhealthy food. Very dark period of my life.

I've had about 3 sessions of intense circuits in the last couple of weeks. Mostly running 400m, 10 pullups, 10 shoulder presses, repeat 5 times kind of circuits.

Yesterday's WOD from www.crossfit.com was brutal.

21 Sumo Deadlift High pull
21 Dips
Repeat 5 times for time.

Took me 37 minutes and destroyed my upper back and deltoids. I'm sitting like an ugly insect while I type this. Fortunately today is a rest day. Going to be very aggressive in the gym tomorrow.

My diet has changed quite a bit. (Except for the 4 dark weeks)

0630 - Wake up - Protein drink - Sci-Mx Whey Protein.
0900 - Breakfast - 6 egg whites and two slices of toast with Jam
1230 - Lunch - Brown rice, Sambar/Rasam and vegetables. 1600hrs
1600 - Snack - Protein drink -
1800 - Dinner - Chicken or Fish Salad
2100 - Movie snack - large bowl of ice cream or a bucket of chocolate - my great regret in life

Much leaner now. But body fat percentage stubbornly stays at 16%. I will get my six-pack eventually - or die trying!

So will post again - hopeful soon.

Until next time.