Core Commit to Health & Fitness 2016, Final Round: Nov 7 to Dec 31

[ergophobe]

>>sprints

Good job! I've been thinking of doing some too. This summer I spent two weeks at a place that had a track and I did some 400m laps. My "fade" was incredible after a couple of laps. I think I would benefit from some even shorter distances. Usually below 1/4 mile I only do hill sprints.

4/4 here
- three runs, including one that included a bit of brush clearing (aka trail maintenance - got sick of getting scratched up by the whitethorn... ruined a shirt last time)
- one day climbing

I need to get back into strength training... I've gotten so weak, but I'm unmotivated for the strength stuff. Plan is to muddle through to the New Year and then try to put some weight back on in 2017. I'm what I would call 10 pounds underweight for muscle and perhaps 5 pounds overweight for fat.

[littleman]

>unmotivated for the strength stuff.

That's how I am for cardio.  I just hate steady-state repetition.  Sprints though are enjoyable because I push my entire body to the limit.  I am not really built to be a fast person, but I have always admired speed and I love the sensation of moving like that.

>hill sprints

Wow, that would be challenging.  I live directly across a street from a track and turf field, so regular sprints are super convenient.

[ergophobe]

To me running, humping uphill, etc is like a form of meditation. I zone out and if I don't do things like that regularly, my mind gets cloudy. I love strength training, but it doesn't do that for me.

>hill sprints

Wow, that would be challenging.  I live directly across a street from a track and turf field, so regular sprints are super convenient.

I live near a lot of steep hills, so hill sprints are super convenient ;-)

[Rupert]

Ok last week 1 tennis 2 cycles. That was only 3/4 but with a key employee off, we are feeling it.

I guess I could count in a gentle circuit with my girls. then 4/4

Still not run.. stretching...

[rcjordan]

178 after a week of travel. This is better than my usual travel gain but not as good as I'd hoped. I tried to maintain fairly strict low-carb on the road --and given the venue of carb-packed pot-luck dinners & donut breakfasts the motorhome group, I did OK. Still disappointed, though.

[ergophobe]

I'm at 3.5/4 or 4/4 already. Short sessions (2.5-3 mile runs and yesterday I did a short weight session in the morning and another short weight session at lunch).

But that's not why I'm checking in. This morning I went to run up to Sunset Bluff, only 1.4 miles (but about 500+ feet of gain, so...) and in the fresh snow I start seeing big cat tracks. I'm not in the least bit afraid of bears, but the big cats scare me. After a while, they disappear, and then I see another track, then a second going parallel, then a third going parallel. So either that one cat has a route and keeps cycling through that spot... or there was a meeting of three cats. Either way, I was definitely in cougar country. This is about 1/4 mile from the house as the crow flies.

It's an unsettling and primeval feeling to know that you are not the apex species in the woods, that you're in the territory of something that could and just might take you out without any trouble whatsoever.

[simplytheresa]

Whoops! I'm slacking on reporting in, but I've been good with my daily physical activity goal. Between exercise and stretching, I haven't missed a day yet...

Of course, there was a bit of a debate on what counts as "exercise". I found a 7-minute workout app that has 30 second activity rounds with a 5 sec break between them. Really good for that night when I realized at 11p that I was about to miss an exercise day. 7 minutes of exercise seems kind of borderline, but I'm counting it. (1) My goal is really to establish an exercise habit, so getting myself to exercise, even if it's only a short set seems ok. (2) As it turns out, doing as many push-ups as I can in 30 seconds left me feeling sore, and I found I couldn't do nearly as many as when I was doing that 7-min workout more regularly, so I figure I'm getting some benefit out of it.

[littleman]

Wow, scary. Do you carry anything form of protection when you run.  The thing that gets me about running in the woods is that cats love to chase things.  I once encountered a cougar at night.  I was when I was hanging out with some friends in a field (drinking beer) in my college days at UCSC.  The thing walked right past us in a open area, maybe 30 ft. away.  I've seen a bobcat at Yosemite and it was close, but the cougar was on a different level of intensity.  

Last July there was a cougar walking the streets of San Fransisco.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mountain-lion-spotted-and-photographed-in-San-6373037.php
They are all over the state.

[littleman]

Thanks for checking in ST.  I think small duration exercises definitely add up, especially if they are as intense as  maxing out on push-ups.

[ergophobe]

Wow, scary. Do you carry anything form of protection when you run.

Mostly just a loud and annoying voice. I sort of "woof" on the theory that the cougar will avoid me if it hears me coming, but if it happens across me from behind I'm probably dead before I can do anything with pepper spray.

Quick quiz: How many people have been killed in attacks by the following in Yosemite since the creation of the park?
- bears
- cougars
- deer
- rattlesnakes
- attack trees

Last July there was a cougar walking the streets of San Fransisco.

Wow! I guess when we leave them no habitat without people, they'll start living with people... mountain lions feeling comfortable around people is not a good thing.

Really good for that night when I realized at 11p that I was about to miss an exercise day.

Not so good for falling asleep afterwards, but she is consistent these days. I think we're both coming down from peak pudge about a month ago.

[littleman]

>quiz

No idea, but I am going to guess trees have killed the most people.  I remember reading the coconuts kill more people than sharks.

[ergophobe]

Bears: 0
Mt Lions: 0
Rattlesnakes: 0 confirmed (2 possible, but other factors suggest at least one was a bee allergy)
Deer: 1
Trees: 25 (maybe more).

The animals that have killed the most people are, in order, people and horses.

So yes, I am scared of mountain lions, but not as scared as I am of driving to work every day.

[simplytheresa]

Ergophobe is reminding me to check in again at the week's end. 7/7 this week.

- 30+ minute stretching sessions x 2
- 7-min workouts x 2
- run or uphill run/walk x 4

Next week is a travel week, so things will get harder, but not giving myself leeway to push some kind of activity off until "tomorrow" seems to be working for me.

[ergophobe]

Theresa is giving me a little more motivation for smaller, but more regular doses

- four times running
- .5 + 5. weight workouts

Really need to get back on the strength training thing... There might be a New Year's Resolution coming.

[Rupert]

Good work.. team work is always best!  Like you LM, workout with your daughter. 

mine has decided she wont run with me... I talk too much.    I am sure its just a phase.

still last week had 2 good rides with neightbour Jason (He is off to Dubai to play 7s rugby, so it getting fitness and strength and loosing weight fast... (hes only 30)

and a short game of tennis.  so keeping going but not to plan

3/4