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07-07-2008, 2:50 AM Gensis Joined on 07-07-2008 Posts 5 Story to 10k and fitness Ok, several years ago I was a very fit individual, infact long before I had heard of C25K I used to do 15KM short courses around Melbourne twice a week as part of my training. Now if we fast forward from that you'll find I became 18, discovered alcohol, girls and a whole range of other things, which in turn meant that I played less of my chosen sport, trained less and eventually became unfit. Fast forward a fraction again and you'll find I decided I'd take a career path that required some fitness, or so you would have thought. Who would have thought there was in fact very little fitness required to adorn a blue uniform. A small fraction forward again and I started back at the gym, not the 7 day a week training regime I used to do when I was young, but none the less a relatively intense weights program. So with a bit of bulk back about me I decided I'd give the cardio a kick start. I began lightly with some rowing, cycling and running; this is where we hit a snag, it stopped after a week. You see I love the weights work outs and I love being fit, but I loathe cardio and especially after years of long distance running, I loathe running. So I started to research ways to get my cardio back, and shed a few kilo's (weights don't burn all that much fat around the love handles people) and I discovered C25K. So here is what I have devised -  my ultimate goal is to be able to run 10Km's again (I'm not interested in all that much distance can you tell), I also want to keep my muscle tone, so I have spent some time putting together a weight's routine to work in conjunction with some interval training. Effectively it is a 34 week program, all going well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now what it consists of - Weights (3x week) consisting of Day 1 - Chest, Legs, Upper Arms and stomach, Day 2 - Shoulders, Forearms and stomach and Day 3 - Biceps, Triceps and stomach. This is to be combined with C25K for nine weeks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Effectively the program would be Weights Day1, W1D1, Weights Day 2, W1D2 etc etc. Every 10 weeks of weights results in a one week rest from weight based exercise. At the conclusion of C25K a one week rest would well and truly be in order before beginning on Gateway to 8K following that a week to two weeks rest before beginning Freeway to 10K. Now all this looks good on paper (screen???) but will it work? Only time will tell that, what will be more interesting is tomorrow, W1D1, as Weights Day 1 was today, I must admit I'm interested to see if I can do it and still have it in me. I will update this as regularly as humanly possible, update one will be tomorrow as I have the day off work. Here's to good health!    Report

07-08-2008, 12:02 AM knoddie Joined on 02-09-2008 Perth, Australia Posts 206 Re: Story to 10k and fitness You have it in you...no doubt about it. Watch this.  Nine weeks is nothing. All the best with it. Rob    Report

07-08-2008, 3:43 AM Gensis Joined on 07-07-2008 Posts 5 Re: Story to 10k and fitness Well today was a good start, too good perhaps, I did my first interval session and was surprised at how much energy you do exhert stopping and starting all the time, also realised that while it may well only be 10 weeks until 5Km's it will be a long journey. However it didn't stop me going to the gym afterwards and doing a weights session. Tomorrow is a day off exercise due to my work roster (i'd love to routinely take Saturday and Sunday off but it's just not an option in my line of work), but the day off is well earned, the legs did a large weights workout Monday and then the interval training today. What I have found odd is I am looking forward to Thursday which will be my next run, and also Sunday when I can say I have completed the first week of this long journey. Thanks for the support Knoddie, I'm looking forward to getting back up to 10Km's, I have a few fun runs that 'd love to take part in but have to get the fitness up first and as my dad use to say to me, I have to get the Km's into the legs! Stay tuned for the next update, most likely at some stage Thursday!    Report

07-08-2008, 7:06 AM Melly Joined on 06-23-2008 Posts 161 Re: Story to 10k and fitness I'm glad your first day went well!  I found that to be the hardest day so far I also find myself looking forward to the next run, ready to mark that one off the list!  (I never thought I'd look forward to running!!) I bet you'll find the 9-10 weeks to 5k go by fast and your fitness level will steadily increase, especially with your weight routine.  Great idea, by the way! Good luck and keep us posted! Next up: More 5k running!    Report

07-10-2008, 9:20 PM Gensis Joined on 07-07-2008 Posts 5 Re: Story to 10k and fitness Ok, well not sure if I will fill this out each day or not, but who know's I read that online fitness blogs keep you motivated, might be a handy thing! Yesterday I did W1D2, was much easier than I had anticipated and I was a bitsurprised the half hour ended so quickly. The running aspect also seemed easier which was good as it kept me wanting more, I had still managed to work up a bit of a sweat by the end which made me happy but was left wanting more. Today, well I am about to head off to another weights session, I wish I could have set times for my training routines and do them in the morning each and every day but due to rostering it's just not possible. Though this way I do have something to look forward to at the end of the working day! Well until next time, thanks for the support! P.S to anyone interested I am using a service called Podrunner, it's free and found at http://www.djsteveboy.com/intervals.html it's not bad, I'm not a fan of the style of music in general however it does get you motivated to run, I have been impressed so far to say the least.    Report

07-12-2008, 3:32 PM Gensis Joined on 07-07-2008 Posts 5 Re: Story to 10k and fitness Well there you have it. Week 1 is down. I must admit I struggled yesterday, struggled for the motivation to complete W1D3... nothing more than having a cold, it being 5 degrees outside and with a wind chill factor of about 2, but I sucked it up, rugged myself up and pulled my finger out. I must say at this point, by the end it was hard yards, I had to push as after 8 hours of work prior to it I had no energy, but once I was in the warmth of my steaming hot shower I felt fantastic and was extremely happy with myself for not letting myself "just do it tomorrow". So today is a well earned rest day, all beit at work, I am looking forward to going home to bed after work and getting some rest to get over this stupid cold. Monday should be a weights session, though I have work a normal day shift (sigh) and it may be easier to mirror Monday and Tuesday and do the run Monday and the weights Tuesday, will just see how we travel there, either way both will be getting done! Well that's it for me, to anyone having motivational issues remember you're not alone, all of us at some stage feel that "I just can't be bothered" downer, and those are the days you need to dig deep and just get out there and go, I reminded myself yesterday that it is only 30 minutes of the 1080 minutes I am awake on average a day so how could I justify not being able to find the time. Finally if you are truly having motivational issues watch the video Knoddie posted as a response to my intial first post, it's brilliant, one of the best motivaional things I have seen, and to think it really was just a television commercial. Well until next time people, stay safe!    Report

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