Working up to full assery

[avram]

Gymmed again today. In the normal scheme of things, I’d have started with 20 minutes on the treadmill, done a bunch of stuff with weights, then stretched. Today I tried out some advice from Hot Point Fitness — not the actual plan, which I mean to start Sunday, but incorporating a few of the ideas into what I’m already doing.

Instead of treadmilling, I tried out the elliptical trainer, which scares the hell out of me. I’ll have to try it again tomorrow. I wound up warming up on a recumbent bike machine, but stopped after ten minutes because of a combination of my foot slipping off a pedal botching up my rhythm and a muscle in my left groin starting to ache. I was unable to find my pulse points (I swear I used to have a pulse), so I was unable to determine whether I was getting my heartbeat up to useful levels. Still, when I stopped my legs felt like lead, something I haven’t felt since my first days at the gym, so either I did something right or I was working at the forward edge of my abilities anyway and couldn’t have done better.

On to weights. In stead of doing two reps of ten (or twelve), I did three reps of ten, with stretching between. This seemed to work pretty well — I could feel it was a serious workout (I’ll probably ache tomorrow), but it wasn’t beyond my abilities. Well, actually, the third rep on the military press was more than I could do, so I finished up early instead of doing some leg stuff. I’ll try to do more on Friday.

I also spoke to someone about getting my body fat percentage measured. This is part of the Hot Point Fitness plan, as is measuring one’s various circumferences. I need to get a tape measure.

In purchasing news, I got a kitchen scale today. Hot Point Fitness comes with a nutrition plan. Oh, and I weighed in at 283.5. Even the old, half-assed method works if I actually do it, but I mean to go forward fully assed.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

If you're having a hard time finding your pulse points, buy a heart rate monitor. Even if you're not having a hard time, buy one anyway. You can get a basic one for $40-$50, and it makes a huge difference, if only for the convenience of being able to just glance down and see where your heart rate is. If you spend a bit more, you can get one that will allow you to program in a target zone, with an alarm that goes off when you get out of the zone on either side.

-Josh

[avram]

Thanks, I think I'll do that. I'm planning to be in the Union Square area tomorrow anyway, so I can stop off at, er, whatever the name of that sporting goods store is that's on 18th and Broadway. Paragon? Whatever, i can stop off there and price the things.

I do worry about the pickup being able to detect my heartbeat through my chest hair. It'd suck to have to shave a patch every day.

[(Anonymous)]

Don't worry, it'll work. It takes a little time to get used to having a band around your chest, but pretty soon you won't even notice it. The amazing thing for me was discovering that I didn't have to work out nearly as hard as I thought to get my heart rate up into the target zone. Made going to the gym a *far* more pleasurable experience...

As for price, it's like every other electronic device: if you feel like it, you can spend a ridiculous amount of money, but the base models are just as good at the basic functionality. Nashbar (www.nashbar.com) has 'em in prices from $25 all the way up to $260.

-Josh

pulse points

[(Anonymous)]

If you're having trouble finding your pulse points, ask me and I'll show you how. The wrist points are just a matter of knowing where to put your fingertips. As for the ones in your neck -- Do you know those cat toys that consist of a bit of cloth or a feather at the end of a long switchy piece of wire? The pulses in your big neck veins are so marked that if you attached the end of one of those cat toys to your neck, your pulse would be easily visible at the other end.

--tnh