Good Weekend of Rest Pays Off

The rest helped...

My legs must have absorbed all that rest and fluid like a sponge.

I rode hard and it didn't affect my legs at all. The ride was a hill workout and I rode in zone 4 most of the ride and capped my heart rate at 174 bpm. A new record for me.

Sore Legs

I've run into a bad case of sore legs (too much spinning too soon) so I thought it would be a good time to do a little research on this phenomenon. I gave my legs the weekend off from training and I hope that this will reinvigorate them for tonight's ride.


This article first appeared in TDM Magazine, Issue 1, August 1998.

Sore Legs and What to do About Them
By Annemarie Jutel

Sore legs are common fare for runners, duathletes and triathletes alike, but just how sore is OK, and when you should back off, or seek medical assistance? There are a number of issues to take into consideration, and any smart athlete should know to ask a few sensible questions:

Do I know what made this come on?
Sometimes, it is easy to find the answer just by looking at your training log. You may have gone for an exceptionally long run, or done your first speed session of the season. You may have changed running surfaces, or running shoes. In most cases, your soreness will relate back to something like this - a new feature of training which your body didn't quite adapt to.
Training is all about coaxing your body into progressive adaptation: you run fast "pieces" to teach your body to run faster on a sustained period of time, you go for long runs or rides to enhance your ability to "hold on" in an ironman, you do hill work to strengthen your hill-climbing ability. It all makes sense. Your body adapts progressively, and that adaptation helps you to develop a new skill, or perfect an old one.

If your legs are sore, you may not have given your legs enough time to adapt. Back off. You ran too long? Take short runs until your legs feel comfortable again. You ran on ground that was too unstable? Come back to a firmer surface, and next time you run on sand, cut the time in half. If it is the new shoes, alternate with your old ones to start with, until you have adjusted to the new. If you find that despite the easing off, your legs remain sore, then seek professional advice

What kind of sore is it?
You should be able to distinguish tired muscles from injured ones, but it is not always that easy. Usually tired legs will be bilateral (both sides), whereas an injury is commonly on one side alone. A little niggle is OK when you just start training, but if it doesn't go away once you are warm, and worse, persists outside of training, it is starting to look a bit more serious. You need to get some help. Any kind of intense pain, even if it is just post-race, or post-exertion muscle soreness, must be heeded, and all activities which aggravate it should be suspended. If you can barely walk, there is no sense in running. Hit the pool instead!

Does it effect your gait?
Once again, it may only be post-race or post-exertion soreness, but if it effects your gait, you are heading down a dangerous path. As you limp, you call different muscles into play. You may be swinging your leg "around", instead of "through," changing the entire dynamics of movement. This can help you to "put out" your back, strain your hip, or hurt your other leg. If you are limping, go for a swim, or get on the bike, if you can handle it! If the limp persists, make sure to have it checked out.

How bad's the burn?
There is a kind of sore that has nothing to do with injury but one that you must learn to pay attention too. It is the sore that comes from being over-trained. You might go to run a speed session, and do the first rep just fine, but by the time you get to the second, your thighs are on fire, and you can't keep up the pace. You'd find the same thing on the bike. You get to the bottom of a hill, and as soon as you take the first down stroke on the pedal, you ignite. Your legs just won't respond. They burn going up stairs, for heaven's sake! Well, burn may sometimes be a desirable thing, but in this case, it is flaming message: Back off! Here again, your legs are failing to adapt, even though you may not feel you have been training terribly hard.
Your heart and lungs seem to be fine (although you may be having troubles hitting your max heart rate), but your legs just can't hold out. They are telling you to take it easy. Have a few days off, and several easy weeks (I kid you not!). Ease back into serious training, and you should see some improvement.

Who should you see?
I've got the best possible medical team possible down here. My physio is a NZ rep duathlete, my doctor is a master swimmer, my osteopath treats half the Otago Rugby team, as does my orthopaedist. I know that these folks understand the biomechanics and the psychology of competitive sport training. Hopefully there is someone in your community with similar commitment to sport. If there isn't, it is worth taking a trip to the nearest good-sized town. Talk to the people you train with, and seek advice from them: have they been injured before? Who helped them out?

With good medical care, good training, and a bit of luck, your sore legs shouldn't let you down.

Week Six

That's six full week and counting.
The guy on the right has a six pack... get it... week six... six pack. Besides it's a good shot for the ladies... and no... it's not me.... LOL.

I got reinvigorated this week and did a lot of training... maybe too much. I got to the gym five times this week and by the end of the week I could feel the drain on my body. I did seven days of spin classes in a row and my legs were stating to get fatigued. I must have missed the recovery ride. A recovery ride is supposed to be a bike ride that does not take your heart rate above zone 3. It is supposed to let your body recuperate from the stress that gets put on it from hard workouts while you still give the sore muscles light exercise.

Thanksgiving Day spin class workout was a killer. (Ninety minute workout with the firs 45 minutes of hills and the last 45 minutes simulating a race day (flat rides with some surges and a fast hard sprint on the end).

During Friday's workout I could see the outcome of Thanksgiving. The gym was packed with so many people trying to get an early jump on shedding Thanksgiving dinner. So many people... so many foolish people. If only they would have had only one serving of pie then I would be able to use the weight machines that I wanted to use. At least this will end soon and December is usually a good time to workout.

On a good note, my wife’s mom moved in with us until she recuperates from her surgery. She came through the surgery just fine thank you. Another good note, on Monday I got to the gym early enough so that I would not have to get in the front and lead. Also, I made it through the Thanksgiving holiday without packing on the pounds caused by extra eating. I really have not seen any movement in weight but my body fat count has gone down a little. That means that I am putting on some muscle while still shedding some fat.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 197.4
Light Weight for the Week: 195.4
Cardio Training: Bike 5 one-hour classes (115 miles), Ran 5 miles, Swam 750 yards
Weights: 3 sessions of upper body, one session of lower body
Misc.: Yoga Class
Body Fat %: 12.8

Heart Rate Training Zones

Heart Rate Training Zones

Heart rate training zones are calculated by taking into consideration your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and your Resting Heart Rate (RHR). Within each training zone subtle physiological effects take place to enhance your fitness.

The Energy Efficient or Recovery Zone - 60% to 70%
Training within this zone develops basic endurance and aerobic capacity. All easy recovery running should be completed at a maximum of 70%. Another advantage to running in this zone is that while you are happily fat burning you may lose weight and you will be allowing your muscles to re-energize with glycogen, which has been expended during those faster paced work-outs. Check out the Fat burning zone page.

The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80%
Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular system. The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to run some of your long weekend runs at up to 75%, so getting the benefits of some fat burning and improved aerobic capacity.

The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90%
Training in this zone will develop your lactose acid system. In this zone your individual anaerobic threshold is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates the amount of fat being utilized as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen, is the runners worst enemy, lactose acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactose acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This happens at an individual heart rate for us all and is accompanied by a rapid rise in heart rate and a slowing of your running pace. This is your anaerobic threshold or POD. Through the correct training it is possible to delay the POD by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactose acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the POD higher.

The Red Line Zone 90% to 100%
Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods of time. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibers and helps to develop speed. This zone is reserved for interval running and only the very fit are able to train effectively within this zone.

Attached below is a link to the Lifetime Fitness Heart Rate Zone Chart.

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/modules/heart_rate/heart_rate_training_chart.pdf

Is it Yoda or Yoga?

After another hard spin class last night (aerobic endurance) a 4 mile run was on the docket. Tod, the spin instructor, asked me if I wanted to join his Yoga class. He said the class would relax me and teach me the proper way to breath. This intrigued me. Don't get me wrong, but I think of myself as being quite the master when it comes to breathing... I mean, I've been doing it off and on for most of my life. Anyways, Tod killed us in class and my legs where real sore from the spinning, so I thought what the heck let's give this Yoga thing a shot.

Most of the time when I see a Yoga class it is usually frequented by middle aged somewhat out of shape people. Don't get me wrong, to some I fit this description perfectly. Anyways I convinced one of my friends that if he would take the Yoga class with me I would do kickboxing class with him. He agreed...

Top Ten things I learned about Yoga

1. NEVER EVER do Yoga right after getting off a bike. It is impossible (as I found out) to relax your breathing and take deep breaths when your Heart Rate is still above 150 bpm.
2. Sweating is an issue in Yoga. I was sweating like a pig at the beginning of class and no one else was.
3. Shoes and socks are not required for Yoga.
4. There is a real long (what I will call) sleeping section at the end of Yoga class. It's nothing like spinning. At the end of the spin class we hit zone five (max heart rate). Oddly enough, I don't think this ever happened during the yoga class. Maybe, I was just to relaxed to notice.
5. Go figure... Flexibility is real important.
6. Most men will look clumsy doing it.
7. No Techno, House, Rap, Hard Rock, or Alternative music. Mostly soft elevator music.
8. No special equipment needed. Besides the soft sleeping mat.
9. Not a whole lot of grunting, shouting, yelling or screaming during the class.
10. Even though the instructor was in great shape. The majority of the class was middle aged somewhat out of shape.

Kidding asides, the class was an enjoyable diversion from my typical workout regime and it gave an appreciation on a different method of exercising. If I get a chance, I may even do it again.

I'm back in the pool

Yep that's right, I hit the water again today for the first time in several months. Shoulder held up and I swam an easy 750 yards. Not much... but it's a start.

Week Five

Fifth full week. This was not one of my best weeks... I have not been able to get to the gym as much as I would like with all the things going on with our family. I did manage to get to the gym 3 times and rode all three days. On a good note, I also started to lift weights again. My shoulder has been acting up again and I needed to do something about it. I did upper body weights 3 times as well. My upper body looks nothing like this guy, but my arms were so sore on Tuesday that I could not straighten my arm anymore then this guy. It was kind of funny walking around in this pose, but by the end of the week my arms and body were getting used to the workouts.

On Monday I was stuck in front of the spin class leading again. I think Eric likes it that someone else leads so he has a day off, or it could be that I need to get to the class a little earlier.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 196.4
Light Weight for the Week: 194.8
Cardio Training: Bike 3 one-hour classes (60 miles), No Running this week (ouch)
Weights: 3 sessions of upper body
Body Fat %: 13.2

What are creatine and glutamine

From Ask the Doc...

Q: What do creatine and glutamine do for your body?

A: Creatine and glutamine are both nitrogen-containing compounds that are present in the body and many foods that are eaten in the average diet. Both are packaged and sold as supplements useful for enhancing muscle building in athletes and body builders.

Creatine is part of the energy-storage mechanism in muscle cells, where it is stored mainly as the chemical phosphocreatine, which is broken down into creatine and phosphate ions in the process of generating the major source of energy for intense, short-term muscle activity, adenosine triphosphate ATP. The theory favoring the use of creatine as a supplement is that by increasing the supply of creatine phosphate, ATP can be regenerated faster, thus speeding up recovery from bouts of intense, short-term exercise. It does actually work in some people, although there seems to be a genetic predisposition to effectiveness being necessary also.
Creatine use is associated with increase in muscle bulk, due to two factors: the increased amount of work allowed by quicker regeneration of ATP and the fact that creatine in muscle cells binds water, thereby physically increasing bulk. The latter effect is lost when the person stops taking creatine, and the bulk that comes from water retention is lost quickly.

Glutamine is an amino acid (protein building block) touted as a way to help reduce breakdown of muscle tissue in exercise, increase growth hormone levels, improve the immune system and help the body to respond to stress. The mechanisms for these actions are not known, and most claims for efficacy are based on the observation that with exercise glutamine levels (and, indeed, the levels of all amino acids, which are broken down to energy in the body) decrease. There are no good studies confirming the claimed effectiveness of glutamine in doing any of these things.

Week Four

Fourth full week and I am really liking the spinning. I have been able to get over the 21 day habit forming period and I think that I should be able to go the long haul as long as there are no curve balls thrown at me.

I got stuck again leading the Monday class. At least this time it wasn’t my fault. Some one got there after me and Eric asked if I wanted to lead again so that the late guy could get my bike. I was ok with it and even enjoyed watching everyone else from my vantage point. The classes and gym as a whole are getting packed like sardines.

I am also starting to toy with the idea of using additional supplements besides Gatorade after training. I have been researching this a little and have been intrigued with using either Creatine and/or Glutamine. Both are safe and by all accounts due a credible amount of good, but I would like to do more research on this before I start taking either.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 196.0
Light Weight for the Week: 193.8
Training: Bike 7 one-hour classes, Ran a total of 12 miles.
Body Fat %: 13.2

Third Week

Third full week and the spinning is coming along nicely. I even did a double on Saturday (back to back classes) following a hard hill workout on Friday night. I’m sore from it, but it is the good kind of sore. It has been a struggle, but I can at least see the corner.

This week the Monday class was so packed that there was no open bikes for me when I got there. Eric was good enough to get off his bike and let me use it instead. The bad thing was that I was stuck in front of the class leading the class while Eric did the motivating and speaking portions of the class. There is nothing like leading that will get the sweat going.
What I mean is that I was unable to take a “breather” during the class at all. During a typical class, one can take a break here or there for a half a minute or so to get recovered, but if you’re in front everyone knows if you dog it.

Heavy Weight for the Week: 197.6
Light Weight for the Week: 196.2
Training: Bike 7 one-hour classes (including a back to back), Ran a total of 13 miles.