I was in bed by 22:30 last night, but didn't get to sleep until nearly 23:00 for some reason . . .
While I was a little bit sore yesterday for most of the day, I was feeling pretty good by late evening. This morning I was right in the middle of the most astounding, delicious dream when the harp-chorus alarm on my iPhone woke me. Damn !
I was feeling refreshed and alive this morning. I had that very subtle stiffness that reminds me I've been exercising, but I LOVE that sensation. I was down the stairs and in my ute before I knew where I was, but I knew where I was going -To The Gym ! The staircase at the back of the pub is very steep, and it has been pretty painful to negotiate, especially going down, but it was not at all painful this morning.
I was feeling pretty good, so decided to spend a bit more time on the bike warming up,
Bike - 20 mins
Feeling before - GREAT
Feeling during - good
Feeling afterwards - relaxed, warm & ready.
Cals expended - 160
Treadmill - 36 mins
Brisk walk - 10 mins
Jog - 10 mins
Hard walk - 16 mins (incline work)
Feeling before - GREAT
Feeling during - good to very good
Feeling afterwards - Ahhh - Now that's why I came to the gym this morning ! ! !
Cals expended - 520
Summary
Total Workout - 56 mins
Energy Burned - 680 cals
Comments
Starting to feel better within myself already; paying a lot more attention to my diet, getting to bed on time in the evening and getting out of bed in the morning are the main obstacles. Attention to detail and the results will follow.
One thing that I have always studiously avoided is counting calories burned. I have always looked at elapsed time, effort levels and heart rate. Because for the first time in my life I am paying closer scrutiny to the nutritional content of my food, I was surprised to see the difference in calories burned during walking & running vs cycling. I have always found running to give me the best results fitness wise, but the impacts to my body have been unsustainable longer-term. I typically end up with muscle soreness that gets really uncomfortable so I have to stop. But I see why it's "the king of cardio workouts". Sheesh ! I burned energy at nearly three times the rate compared to cycling. But I have made another astounding discovery - the treadmill has an incline feature. With the incline set at max (15 degrees), I burn energy at almost the same rate on a brisk walk as I do when jogging at a good pace on the flat. Better still, there is almost no impact "hillwalking" compared to jogging. Have to keep this little trick to myself !
