Notes by Nectar

I had another good week at the gym.

I had my usual Sunday morning session with Trevor. I got to the gym and one of the ladies in the building was there with her daughter. We started chatting about exercise and it turned out that she’s a client of the doctor who gave the talk at Fitness First the week before. What a small world!

I did a 5-minute warmup on the bike and then moved on to the treadmill for 22 minutes:

• 1 min x 5 km/h
• 2 min x 5 km/h (5% incline)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (5.5% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (6% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (6.5% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (7% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (7.5% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (8% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (8.5% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (9% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5.5 km/h (9.5% incline, 3-kg weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (no incline, no weights)
• 1 min x 5 km/h (10% incline, 3-kg weights)

After that I did the following circuit twice:

• Alternating clean and sweep x 10 on each side (15-lb weight)
• Mountain climbers x 20 on each side
• Wide sumo squats x 20 (20-lb weight)
• Combined deadlifts/bent-over rows/kickbacks x 10 (10-lb weights)
• Treadmill x 2 min at 7.5 km/h
• Rest x 1 minute

The first exercise, the alternating clean and sweep, involved placing a 15-lb weight on the floor. I had to squat to pick it up with my right hand, ‘clean’ and then ‘press’, and then squat to put it back on the floor. I’d stand upright, squat to pick it up with my left hand and do the same thing. It was not easy.

After that circuit I did some stretching and was done for the day.

I woke up really sore on Monday – my deltoid muscles, my inner thighs, my quads. Everything seemed to hurt. My knees were aching too so when I went to the gym I decided I’d just walk for 30 minutes instead of alternating it with jogging. I started at 6 km/h and every 5 minutes I’d increase the speed by 0.1 km/h. So in the last 5 minutes I was walking at a pace of 6.5 km/h. I managed to do 3.11 km. After that I did two sets of lower body exercises and some sit-ups and that was it.

I had yoga at home on Tuesday morning and was still sore – I felt even more stiff than the day before, especially around my thighs. My upper body seemed to have recovered.

Trevor asked me if we could meet at 8am on Wednesday instead of 8.30. I agreed because I want to make the most of this motivated phase I seemed to be going through! I did my 5 minutes on the bike and then spent 10 minutes on the treadmill:

• 1 min x 5 km/h
• 2 min x 7.5 km/h
• 1 min x 5 km/h
• 2 min x 7.5 km/h
• 1 min x 5 km/h
• 2 min x 7.5 km/h
• 1 min x 5 km/h

Trevor told me that I was going to do a series of six exercises – but… I would do the first exercise and then do a 100 m jog on the treadmill. I would then do the first and second exercises and do a 100 m jog on the treadmill. And so on. It went like this:

• Good mornings x 10, treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h
• Good mornings x 10, combined squat/press x 10 (10-lb weights), treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h
• Good mornings x 10, combined squat/press x 10 (10-lb weights), mountain climbers x 10 on each side, treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h
• Good mornings x 10, combined squat/press x 10 (10-lb weights), mountain climbers x 10 on each side, tricep kickbacks x 10 (15-lb weights), treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h
• Good mornings x 10, combined squat/press x 10 (10-lb weights), mountain climbers x 10 on each side, tricep kickbacks x 10 (15-lb weights), leg press x 10, treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h
• Good mornings x 10, combined squat/press x 10 (10-lb weights), mountain climbers x 10 on each side, tricep kickbacks x 10 (15-lb weights), leg press x 10, lateral pulldown x 10, treadmill x 100 m at 7.5 km/h

My legs felt like jelly after I’d done all that. I think I only stopped for water once and that was on my way to the leg press machine in round five. Out of all of them, I think the combined squat/press was the hardest for me. And by the end of those six rounds, I’d done 50 of them!

I did a few lower body stretches after that and was finished for the day.

I went back to the gym on Thursday and did a 5-minute warmup on the bike. I then did 3 km on the treadmill in 26:48 – already an improvement from the week before. I was quite thrilled about that. I did two sets of lower body exercises and went home.

I didn’t work out over the weekend.

Low point of the week? My knees are still aching a bit – both of them.

High point of the week? I worked out five times this week again! Apart from Tuesday, I didn’t eat too badly either – but I did have a few glasses of wine at the weekend.

Weight loss? Still up and down – just when I think I’m starting a downward trend it climbs back up again. Very frustrating!

Read more updates here.