Hello,
I've been working hard and am glad to tell you a little of what I've been doing. I've tried to write in quite a concise manner, without cutting things that might be interesting to someone, somewhere, sometime.

February 5th 2006

XC-SKIING

My xc-skiing  is going well, even though warm weather and rains  gave us  a lousy January.

I took a 1 hour private "catch-up" lesson to fine-tune some of my technique and put me in the right direction as to what to practice most. I learned of changes in technique since the time when I skiied, but Sylvie Girard, the trainer from Montéréski, was really encouraging that I have an excellent glide, weight transfer and style. Of course she also told me of 8 things to work on. I had a chance to jot them down with her after the lesson, so I can remember them.

But the weather is really lousy, even near Québec City it rained all week-end, so I have no idea when I'll be able to practice.

I'm also doing  Winter Hiking when there isn't enough snow for xc-skiing with my walking poles and a pair of "anti-skid detachable safety soles" .

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WEEK OFF

Between my two weights programs I took  a week off  to try some other stuff. I did group classes in :

BUNS OF STEEL ~ Amélie makes us work the hardest. I think of my boyfriend each time my glutes burn! LOL
CARDIO LATINO ~ Took this class right after "Buns of steel" so even if it is a low intensity workout.. I was happy.
CARDIO TAE-BOXE ~ I was very pround to follow as if I had already taken this class. My fencing legs helped me quite a bit.
PILATES ~ This was a beginners class.. I learned mostly about breathing and the basic positions.
SPINNING ~ I had never thought of pedaling backwards with resistance, nor of pedalling standing up but without arms.. fun. good workout.
YOGA ~ The teacher wasn't to keen on having me in class since it was an intermediate group, but actually I followed very well.

I learned a things that I'll be able to integrate in some of my training.

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NEW PROGRAM ~ # 5

For strenght training I started  a new program on Jan 25th. The Cheif trainer from my gym made it up for me from my book "Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness". This is how it goes. :

WORKOUT : twice a week / almost always tempo at 3-0-3 / 30 secs between sets when not alternating sides or supersetting.

1) Forward Lunge with DB bicep curls, 2 x 15 ea side ;

2) Forward Lunge with Opposite knee Reach with DBs 2 x 15 ea side ;

3) Hip extensions on swiss ball 2 x 15 ;

4) Pulley / Cable Row on swiss ball 2 x 15 ;

5) Staggered stance cross diagonal row with DBs 2 x 15 ;

6) DB flat Bench Press with elbow away from body 2 x 15 ;

TWICE
7) Lateral DB Raise with straight arms 2 x 15 ;
8) Front DB raise with straight arms, back against wall 2 x 15 ;

9) Dips 2 x 15 assissted ;

TWICE
10) DB palms-up Wrist curls 15 ;
11) DB palms-down Wrist curls 15 ;

12) Squat to double-arm overhead diagonal wall reach with Medicine ball 2 x 15 ea side ;

TWICE
13) Legs extensions with lower back and shoulders firmly to the ground 15 ;
14) Hold crunch postion with hands at ears and legs on the ground : max time

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CARDIO

2 x a week I'm starting to alternate between the three variations of HIIT suggested for xc-skiing
15 sec - 90 sec : 12 times
1 min - 2 mins : 9 times
3 mins - 3 mins : 6 times

and 1 x a week I do a 60 mins Cross-Ramp or Cross-Country program. (That's like hills)

I'm still mostly on the elipticals but do some Stair-Climbing as well or other machine every week.

My warm-ups before weights are 12 mins stationary cycling. (no specific WUs are needed for endurance workouts)
My warm-ups before groupe fitness is 12 mins rowing machine.

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GROUP FITNESS CLASS :
I switched my class to "Buns of steel" , 60 mins
30 mins leg oriented cardio.. / AveHR at about 75%
30 mins glutes / hammies / quads / abs... burn baby burn!

I do a 12 min warm-up on the rowing machine and some push-ups and dips before the class and 20-30 minutes stretching after.

 

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WEEKLY TIMETABLE
all in all it looks something like this :

 

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DIET
I bought the Fitday PC andI logged for a full 3 weeks and learned alot, and am getting the hang of eating well and controlling my night-time snacks.
I'm not loosing weight, but I think that I am toning and leaning down .
Here is my three week (Thrusday to Wednesday) summary :

My calorie intake and calories spent in sports was like this :
(maintenance according to Fitday = 7 x 1,924 = 13,468)

Week 1's summary :
Calories eaten : 10,467 Calories spent in WOs : 3,613

Week 2's summary:
Calories eaten : 10,262 / Calories spent in WOs : 2,963

Week 3's summary :
Calories eaten : 12, 075 / Calories spent in WOs (lite-week) : 2,557

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STATS

AGE : 52
HEIGHT : 5'6"
WEIGHT : 133

RESTING HEART RATE in the morning : 47
MAX HEART RATE estimate : 180 would really need to check that

MEASUREMENTS
Arms : 11" relaxed, 12" flexed
Waist : 26"
Thighs : 21" relaxed
Calves : 14,5"

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FITNESS PICTURES

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ACHES AND PAINS

LEFT SHOULDER :
Still don't have full Range of motion but otherwise it's OK . I will work on it though!

RIGHT ELBOW : gets worst as soon as I use my hand event just a little, I'll see my Physiotherapiste again on Feb. 20th.

RIGHT HAMMIES TENDON : I'd give it a 9/10.. almost OK

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So this is it for this month :)

Sorry if the style is rather boring, I didn't want to make it longer than necessary, and thank-you dearly for reading my update.