Shoulder Pain, Back and Hilly Lunch Ride

With all the training I do, telling people how I hurt my elbow not from weights but from bowling got a chuckle from several people.  Well, I have something that tops that.  Yesterday, I think I actually hurt my shoulder while putting lotion on.  It definitely wasn't from training as I worked out my legs yesterday.   I was reaching over and putting lotion on my right shoulder when I felt a twinge on my left shoulder, which felt like my rotator cuff.  I thought it may have just been an isolated twinge, but I actually felt it on occasion through random movements throughout the day.   Great.

This morning I worked my back and was a little tentative never knowing when I'd feel that sharp pain on my shoulder.  I was extra careful not to do anything that would cause it to hurt, but that made it hard to really focus on the movements as I normally would.  Nonetheless, I still got 4 exercises in for my back with a rep range of 40+ each.  I did an alternating isolated cable pull down, seated rows, pull overs (machine) and angled rows (machine).  I also did abs and a half ass effort on lower back.  I typically do lower back before abs, but I wasn't able to do so since the lower back equipment was tied up.  Doing lower back after abs makes me nervous since I always think my abs may lock up. 

For cardio today, the plan is to do some hills during our lunch ride.  It should be an interesting one considering that my legs feel pretty tight from yesterday's workout.  I was considering bringing my R3 as the compact crank would be very helpful, but I think I'll just man up and ride the standard crank on the BMC. 

Leg Day

Although I did chest yesterday where my back workouts usually follow, I went ahead and worked out my legs since I'll be going to lunch for a work celebration.  I figure that since I won't have any cardio today, I may as well trash my legs in the gym...so I did.

As an example, my first set for calves were 90 reps each leg.  I did 2 additional high rep sets increasing the weight some for each.  I did another calf workout and just kept blowing them out. 

I also did some alternating leg extensions and leg presses where I was pushing pretty hard for as many reps as I could.   The sets were pretty intense where I would have to stop to catch my breath within a set and then continue on until my legs couldn't perform the movement anymore.  I was sweating up a storm on each exercise. 

I finished off with a couple sets of hamstring exercises (seated leg curls) and although it was just 2, each set was performed with a minimum of 50 reps. 

I'm glad I'm not riding my bike at lunch today. 

Back on Track

Back in the gym this morning and hopefully back on track with the training and diet.  It's not that I've been too bad and not training at all.  It's just that when I don't follow a regimen, things aren't as automatic as they could be.   I'll probably be on Met-Rx this week for dinner to kick start my diet.  Let's see how that works out for me.

I had a good chest workout this morning having skipped it yesterday.  Still light weights, explosive movements, and high reps to failure.  5 exercises with 3 sets each.  I also did core training and my lower back seems to be better and able to do what it used to.  My abs were cramp free as well. 

For today's cardio, I plan on getting in a bike ride during lunch with the guys.  We'll probably do more hills, but I'm open to any route.  It doesn't sound like we'll be doing a crit for a few weeks, so training for the Death Ride would be our MO for the next 2 weeks.

Thursday-Monday Training and Diet

Having been off since Thursday, I took a break from blogging but that doesn't mean I haven't trained.  I have been pretty lax on my diet, but I do intend to go back to the same rigors of training and dieting starting tomorrow.   Here's what I've done the last few days:

Thursday
I got into the gym early in the morning just like I would when I was at work.  I had to get in and out though since I had to run an errand for the kids' breakfast, but I got a quick shoulder workout done.   Diet-wise, I did have some Chinese food with family for lunch, and while I didn't indulge in fried food, I did try out some other stuff I normally wouldn't eat.

Friday
I got to ride with a couple BRCM team members for a 40+ miler.  It could have been longer, but I'm glad I got to get back pretty early to hang out with the family.  I had sushi with the wife for lunch, and a chicken burrito for dinner.  Not too bad.

Saturday
It was suppose to be a rest day, but I did shoot some hoop with the kids while we were at a graduation party.   I had more sushi with the kids for lunch, and a chicken taco at the party.  Since I was going to ride up Baldy on Sunday, I also gave in to my wife wanting to order McDonald's 50 piece chicken nugget.  I think I had about 13.   No fries though.   Not the best pre-ride meal...the things I do for my wife and kids.  HA

Sunday
Had a big ride up Baldy with almost 4 hours of seat time.  This was a good ride and I felt I was able to burn off all that I ate the last couple days before.  I did have a couple beers at the end of the ride, and then ate out with the family for dinner.   I had a burger! 

Monday
This was my last day off, and while I was thinking of working out in the morning, I ended up sleeping in with the wife.  It was nice to get some sleep after waking up at 4 a.m. on Sunday.  Instead of weight training, I went mountain biking with the wife in some nearby hills where there's a flag overlooking Dana Point and San Clemente.  It was a light trainer, but there was a couple decent hills to go up.  My meals today were just okay, but I can't wait to be back on the wagon again tomorrow. 

Quick Leg Day and Lunch Ride

I have to get kids breakfast (croissants) and drop them off at school this morning, so I didn't have a lot of time to work out.  I was pretty much in and out of the gym in 40 minutes or so, which is not a lot of time but better than nothing.  Since I didn't plan to do tomorrow night's crit, I went ahead and hit legs again.

I did 3 sets on the calf extension machine, 3 sets of leg extensions, 1 set of seated leg curls, and 1 long set of leg press machine.  Plus, I also squeezed in some crunches.  I was able to work up a pretty good sweat despite the short time there, and my legs feel pretty worked.  Good enough.

I'll be out on the bike again for lunch and will probably suggest to do more hills.  I have my R3 at work, and climbing on that bike is a lot more enjoyable.  I'll try to attack on the hills again, but I won't expect too much from my legs.

Post b-day Workout and Cycling

After celebrating my birthday with my kids with some frozen yogurt and some angel food cake last night, it was time to pay the piper this morning.  I stayed up a little late, but still managed to get up and get my back workout in.  I did 4 different back exercises with a high rep range. 

I also did my core training this morning, but focused on my lower abs vs. upper.  For my lower back, I'm still seemingly recovering from having injured it a little when I increased the weight and/or as a result of doing the Bear ride.  I'm still having trouble getting to the same number of reps I used to do, but I'll keep working on it again. 

For today's lunch training, I hope we can get a good hill training ride in.  With the kids' promotion from elementary school this Thursday where family is coming over, I don't think I'll be able to do this week's crit.  Thus, training for the Death Ride it is. 

Yesterday's Ride, Chest Day and Cardio again

Yesterday's 80+ miler bike ride did work my legs some, but it wasn't too bad.  I felt sleepy when I got home where I tried to take a nap, but my legs were a little achy making it difficult to do so.  Based on the weekend eating celebrations, I only had to have 2 gels and 1 Shot Bloks yesterday.  I also had 3 bottles of Ultima with some to spare.

I had thought about skipping the gym this morning given that I turned 44 today.  However, because of easing up on my diet a little the last couple days, I decided otherwise.    I had a GREAT chest workout today, and was still in "race" mode in there.  I got in 5 exercises and just went for it on each set.  I also got my core training in, but I backed off a little on the lower back both on weight and reps.  Last week, when I stepped up the weight, I felt some random twinges subsequently...not good. 

For my lunch trainer, I'll be doing some more cardio.  I may bring in my bike though just to get some miles in depending on what we do this Thursday now that a new series is starting on the crits.  We'll see.

Yesterday's Race, Arms and Lunch Cardio

Finally got a crit race in yesterday, and one of the concerns was how to prepare for the race nutrition-wise.  Without working out in the morning, I felt hungry throughout the day but ended up eating regular food.   I also drank a lot of water at lunch and after, and all of this seemed to work for the ride.  I also had oatmeal later on in the day, so I felt good for the race...despite having to pee 3 times before the race.  I did have one shot blok before the race just as a precaution and did not have any cramps throughout.  

For today, I worked out my arms and got 4 different exercises in with a lot of reps.  Mentally, I was in race mode thinking I had to push harder and faster each rep, so it got pretty intense.  I had to cut it short though as I had to run an errand in the morning.  I skipped core training as a result.

It looks like there's some drizzle this morning, so I'll probably skip riding at lunch.  My legs feel good though, so I'll probably work on some interval training on the elliptical. 

Shoulder and Lunch Cardio

Although it was tough to get up this morning where sleep just felt good, I still managed to make it to the gym this morning on auto pilot.  I was wondering how my workout would be given my slow start, but today just proved to be that slow starts don't necessarily mean bad workouts.  It was actually pretty good.

I did my shoulders today and mentally, my mindset was that each set was like a sprint where I kept pushing and pushing each rep until I just couldn't go anymore.  4 shoulder exercises with a couple core exercises to add to it.  The lower back training is still with a little more weight, so the strength training in that area continues.

My cardio training for today will probably be on the elliptical although I wouldn't mind bringing my bike in for a little spin.  However, I'd really like to save my legs for tomorrow night, so I'm going to give them a break...I hope. 

Weight, Back Day and Cycling

After weighing myself yesterday, I was not too happy with what I saw.  I expected 153ish, but the scale showed an additional 2 lbs.  I suppose it's okay for now, but I hope to turn this back around in preparation for the Death Ride in 4 weeks.  I think the alcohol "poisoning" on Saturday contributed greatly to this additional weight where my body seems to be holding a lot more water (as a defense mechanism) than normal. 

The effects of alcohol probably also contributed to me not remembering what my pin# was to get into the gym.  I must have sat there for a couple minutes trying to remember what it was. The funny thing is I went yesterday and didn't have this problem. 

I did finally manage to get in and get my back worked out.  4 exercises 20-30+ reps.  Core workout completed also.  Pretty decent workout and was able to push through a couple of sets when I wanted to quit. 

For lunch today, I hope we can do a mixture of hills and flats where I need to work on sprints in preparation for a crit this Thursday.  I did do cardio yesterday and felt good, although my left inner thigh did tighten up for a bit mysteriously.  It went away after I toned down the intensity on the elliptical, but it was definitely surprising and unexpected.

Weekend and Today's Training

Did the Big Bear ride with the Broadcom team this weekend, and these guys make it so humbling.  Just when I think I'm pretty trained up, I'm shown just how much more I need to keep going.  Just about everyone had turned it up in the beginning, and it's amazing how they can push so hard and have enough to finish.  I really wanted to manage my pace to limit the time at the stops, but it was hard to do so when everyone was pushing the pace early on.  I didn't do too bad getting to the top just behind the monster, Shannon, but having cramped after really bummed me out.   I really need to figure this out before we do the Death Ride.

As for my nutrition, I never really felt hungry at all during the ride.  My loading up since Thursday seemed to help a lot.  I'm not sure the beer I had the night before had anything to do with the cramp, but maybe I probably could have still drank more water beforehand.  For the ride, what I had was 3 waffles, 2 packages of Shot Bloks, 2 Honey stingers and 1 Zipvit.  I also had 4-5 bottles of electrolytes.  I would have kept drinking more, especially on the climb up to Onyx.  However, I'm not sure what was going on but every time I took a drink on that climb up, I would get a little dizzy.   I wonder if that had anything to do with the lack of oxygen up there.

The beerfest after the ride was ridiculous.  I'm not sure why I drank as much as I did, but it was definitely not good for me.   I wasn't able to eat again until around 11 PM, so I probably absorbed more alcohol in my system as a result.  I felt sick up through yesterday, so I probably won't be doing that any time soon.  I did eat a little more freely yesterday to take a break from my diet for another day, but today, I'm back on the healthy wagon.

Today, I trained my chest this morning and did push a little harder to kick off my reset (meaning the training starts for the next ride).  I also kicked it up a notch from all the crap I was talking regarding crits from the liquid bravery.   I know most of it was just talk, but I do want to help the team do well on our next outing.  I even kicked up my core training by increasing the weight for my lower back.  I realize my lower back strength still could use some improvement given how tired it had gotten from the climbing, so I hope the added weight helps.

For lunch, I would like to ride again but will just save it for tomorrow.  I'll do some elliptical work instead and try to sweat out some more of the weekend's alcohol.

Biceps, Core and Light Cardio

I decided to work only the biceps today and spare the triceps for this weekend.  I'm thinking I'll be doing a lot of standing and climbing, which taxes my triceps, where I want to spare them for that.  I decided to do only 2 sets of each bicep exercises so I can have more variety while still keeping the rep count very high.  My left elbow/forearm is still healing, so the light weights is just what the doctor ordered. 

I also did my core training.  I'm still a little gun shy when it comes to pushing it with my abs, but fortunately no cramping again today.  Next week, I'm going to add a little more weight to my lower back training.

For cardio today, it's going to be a mellow elliptical session during lunch.  Fat burning and suppressing anxiety would be the goal.  This should be the last of my training this week. 

I did shoulders today in lieu of legs to save the latter for this weekend.  My legs actually felt pretty worked after yesterday's ride, which to me is unusual.  Yes the ride was tough, but the way they felt after was beyond what I expected despite.  I need to make sure they're fresh for this weekend, so the leg workout may not allow for this.  One thing to note though was I was trying a different stroke on the bike yesterday (focusing on the top of the stroke), so this change may have been a factor...that or I had not fully recovered fully from Sunday.

For my shoulder workout, I'd say it was a pretty good one.   I did alternating side dumbbell raises, alternating isolated shoulder press machine, bilateral front dumbbell raise, and rear delt machine.  Reps were high and when I couldn't do anymore, I'd catch my breath and do a few more until they just hurt.  I actually broke a pretty good sweat. 

I also worked core today including abs.  I was a little worried that my abs would cramp up again, but they held out today. 

For lunch today, the training plan is to ride again and this will be the last time this week.  I'm looking just to spin today and will really make a concentrated effort to do so.  We'll see.

Back Day with Double BB Lunch Ride

I got in for my back workout this morning, but I was still feeling the effects of my abs cramping up from yesterday.  Thus, I wasn't really wanting to push too hard.  Plus, I thought it's better to be safe and not get hurt for this weekend's ride.   I got 4 exercises in:  alternating isolated cable pull downs, machine rows, isolated angled rows (alternating) and lat pull down machine.  I also did my lower back.  I skipped abs just so I don't injure them.

Today, we'll probably doing the flatter route, which I'm open to change if others insist on hitting the hills one last time.  Either way, I'm ready to get on the bike again and looking forward to it.

Yesterday' Ride, Chest Day and Serious Ab Cramp

Yesterday, I did an impromptu century ride with co-worker (Vince) where I didn't really think we were riding that far.  Fortunately for me, I overloaded on sashimi the night before, so I was definitely raring to go.  I think about 30-40 miles in, I asked Vince how far are we going today, and when he said to the top of Torrey Pines, I knew it was going to be a long day on the saddle.   Ultimately, we managed to do it with only a couple water stops where I had a total of 4 bottles of Ultima all together (didn't finish the 4th).  I also went through 3 gels and ate 2 waffles and 1 package of Fig Newtons.  For the waffles and figs, I ate at the 50, while the gels, I had one right before going up Torrey and 2 on the way back.  I also had 1.5 packages of Shot bloks to keep any cramping at bay.  I thought my right quad was going to cramp at one point, and while I took a Shot Blok to suppress, I found how really focusing more on the upstroke during an offseated position helped the cramping from even threatening any further.  Once I realized this, I pretty much pulled for most of the last 15-20 miles.  I hope it works out the same for the Bear next week.

When I finished the ride, I didn't think I was too tired, but I pretty much crashed right after getting home.  I was actually still tired this morning, so although I awoke to go to the gym, Lisa talked me into getting back in bed with very little resistance on my part.  Ahhh...sleep. 

I did manage to get a good chest workout at work today, although I did feel like my strength was a little zapped from the ride yesterday.  I still got in 5 exercises, and with the focus of speed over intensity seeming to benefit cycling, this style persisted vs. just high reps. 

I also did some crunches on the machine at the gym, but I was feeling a little apprehensive today since I worked pretty hard on my chest.  Sometimes, I think all the bearing down I do when I lift weights tires my abdominals as well, so I stopped at what I thought was a reasonable amount of reps.  I got up from the machine, felt good, started heading to the shower and spat my gum out in the trashcan just outside the ladies' locker room.  I missed, so when i went to pick it up, BAM...my abs locked up.  I actually had to wait a few minutes before it finally released, but it hurt so much that even now (8:15 PM), I still feel some lingering pain when I sit down, get up, or do anything that involves my abs.  I probably didn't drink enough yesterday after the ride, so the lesson here is hydrate AFTER the ride too.  I guess the typical beerfests after rides were actually good for me.  HA

From 5-3-11: Back Day and Bike Gears

Accidentally posted this in the wrong blog originally - HA HA

For starters, I ended up not riding yesterday and just doing cardio on the elliptical.  I didn't think anyone was going to ride only to find out that Eddie and Todd went out.  Bummer.

For today, I worked my back and only managed to get 4 exercises in:  wide grip pull downs, alternating reverse grip rows, narrow grip standing angled pull downs, and cable pull overs.  I backed down some only because I don't want to get hurt right before this weekend's big ride.  That'll be the case for the rest of the week.


For today's ride, the plan is to test out the bikes as a lot of us have gotten new gears.  I already tested mine out on Saturday, but I had some work done on it yesterday to get rid of some rub in the taller gear. I also swapped to the Eastons, so this would make for a good trial run.  I just went to check the tire pressure, and sure enough, got a flat this morning.  Better it happened earlier  than right before or during the ride.

Quick Arms and Lunch Cardio

This morning, I got to the gym a little late after realizing I left my wallet at home and having to go back to get it (so I can pick up some donuts and croissants for the wife and kids after).  As a result, I was only able to get 3 exercises in for my arms (2 biceps and 1 tricep).  I was able to do 3 sets for each exercise and each set had a minimum of 25 reps.  Good enough.

I also managed to do some abs before I ran out of time, but no lower back training. 

For lunch, I'll be doing some cardio on the elliptical today and the question I'm asking myself is whether I want to do intervals or just take it easy.  I think I'd like to do intervals given I skipped legs this week, but we'll see how I feel by lunch time.  I didn't want to ride my bike today as I'd like to save up for a final trainer this weekend before the Bear ride. 

Shoulders and More Riding

Typically, legs would follow my back day but I decided to skip it and go ahead and do shoulders to get back to my normal schedule.  With the short week, the additional cycling over last weekend, and how I don't want to train legs too close to the weekend, it seems like a good idea.  However, next week is the Bear ride, so I'll probably skip it for that too. 

I got my shoulder workout in with 5 different exercises:  side lateral raises via machine, alternating shoulder press, front cable raises, rear delts (machine), and machine military press.  Working to failure is tough when the movements are explosive, so I had a good one today.

I'll be riding again at lunch today and hoping to get some good training in.  A few of the guys will be out because of a crit tonight where I wish I could go with them, but I'll have to settle for training only.

Back again and Lunch Ride

It's been since Thursday when I last got up early to go to the gym, and as expected, I couldn't just get up without snoozing the alarm.  I'm hoping to do better the rest of the week and even more so next week when I should be fully back on schedule.

I did my back this morning and got 5 different exercises in:  reverse grip pull downs, alternating cable pull downs, reverse grip rows, standing angled close grip rows, and cable pull overs.  I also did my lower back and my abs for my core training.  The workout again focused on speed vs. intensity.  I had to remind myself that getting the movement from point A to B as fast as possible (with resistance) was the goal and up until I can't do it with good form and/or where I can't breathe.  Essentially, I'm trying to turn myself inside out while weight training just like I would if I was on a really fast pace ride (e.g. Como).

During lunch, I'm hoping to get a good ride in.  My legs feel a lot better than yesterday albeit still not 100%.  Had I been able to do the crit tomorrow with the other guys, I probably would just be taking the bike for a spin today.  However, now I can turn up the intensity, so I hope to get a good ride in.