We managed to get in a 50-mile day, about which I was pleased. We even managed to get in a 60-mile day, about which I'm even more pleased. So I think I can truthfully say that we're pretty much where we were at, fitness-wise, prior to going on vacation at the end of the summer.
The signs are all there. The lactic acid build-up that occurs when riding really hard up hills and that makes you wonder whether you can still keep your legs moving when you're near the summit, becomes less bothersome--you feel some soreness but the pain is not such that you wonder whether you can keep moving. I wonder, by the way, what is the explanation behind this aspect of fitness? The weight is still down: by the way, I've been hovering at right around 200 since toward the end of summer, sometimes a pound or two below, sometimes a pound or two above.
I think this signals that the end of cycling season is just about here. We won't have too many more nice days for riding. If we'll see another 50, I don't know. But I hope so--at least maybe one last day this season.
And probably around the beginning of November is when we'll go back to our twice-weekly strength-training workouts (the modified Power90 phase). Less time for cycling, more time--and energy--to work the upper body.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Where I'm at now
This is a follow-up to my post about resuming exercise after vacation, having not done much intense exercise for about 3 weeks. As a means for providing you with what I hope may be helpful information, what were the effects of the 3-week break? And how long has it taken/is it taking to get back to my previous level of fitness?
First, a couple of caveats. Our most intense exercise season is summer, and it's more intense because on some days we're spending 6 or 7 hours exercising (long bike rides). And when we're not spending that long, we're spending at least an hour, and oftentimes more, on the bike. Compare that to the half-hour to 45-minute stints we do in winter. We can expect a big difference in terms of conditioning in those two seasons, right?
Well, when we left for vacation we were pretty close to the peak of that intense exercise period--maybe just a little on the downhill side of it. And now, having arrived back from that 3-week break, we are really beginning to wind down the more intense part of the fitness year: the days are growing shorter and cooler, so the opportunities for long bike rides are dwindling.
How wish we could get in another 70-mile day this season! But we'll be lucky if we can get in one more 50-mile day, I think.
I think that covers my caveats. The salient point to draw from all of that is that we're winding down our intense physical activity season, and so are beginning the portion of the year in which our fitness level is correspondingly lower. What I'll say, in a nutshell, then, is that we won't be getting back soon to the level of fitness we had prior to going on vacation: we'll be aiming for that middle of next summer, instead.
So, how are we doing in terms of getting back into the fitness routine after our 3-week break? Pretty good, I'd say. Those first few bike rides I did not at all have the feeling I had prior to vacation, when I had plenty of strength to get up hills and then recovered quickly afterward. No, it actually surprised me what a struggle it was to get up those hills the first few rides, and how winded I felt. Likewise, that first alternate modified P90X workout was tough, and I felt like I was functioning at about half capacity (lingering jet lag didn't help, either). I was slightly worried.
But we've now gone for our eighth ride or so--including a 34-mile day--and I feel my conditioning coming back pretty good. Likewise, our last alternate modified P90X session went pretty well--only a few "sissy push-ups" during the second half of the routine.
All that to say that, when it comes down to it, it's taken me about 3 weeks of our regular workouts to get somewhere close to where we were before taking our 3-week break. Pretty sensible, when you think about it: a break of X days will require X days of re-acclimation.
I don't know if this formula is age-related. Would I need that much time if I were, say, in my twenties, to get near the condition I'd been in before the break? I would guess not, but that's just a guess.
But this blog is for people around 50 who are getting into, or sustaining fitness, so I'm not really interested in figuring out the recovery-to-age quotient. It suits my purposes to say "hey, if you're around 50 and you take a break from fitness of X days, you'll need about X days to get close to the fitness level you were at when you started your break." I hope that proves helpful to someone.
Sometime soon I'll offer another entry mulling the purpose of this blog, it's direction, and what I intend to do with it as contrasted with other blogs. Stay tuned.
First, a couple of caveats. Our most intense exercise season is summer, and it's more intense because on some days we're spending 6 or 7 hours exercising (long bike rides). And when we're not spending that long, we're spending at least an hour, and oftentimes more, on the bike. Compare that to the half-hour to 45-minute stints we do in winter. We can expect a big difference in terms of conditioning in those two seasons, right?
Well, when we left for vacation we were pretty close to the peak of that intense exercise period--maybe just a little on the downhill side of it. And now, having arrived back from that 3-week break, we are really beginning to wind down the more intense part of the fitness year: the days are growing shorter and cooler, so the opportunities for long bike rides are dwindling.
How wish we could get in another 70-mile day this season! But we'll be lucky if we can get in one more 50-mile day, I think.
I think that covers my caveats. The salient point to draw from all of that is that we're winding down our intense physical activity season, and so are beginning the portion of the year in which our fitness level is correspondingly lower. What I'll say, in a nutshell, then, is that we won't be getting back soon to the level of fitness we had prior to going on vacation: we'll be aiming for that middle of next summer, instead.
So, how are we doing in terms of getting back into the fitness routine after our 3-week break? Pretty good, I'd say. Those first few bike rides I did not at all have the feeling I had prior to vacation, when I had plenty of strength to get up hills and then recovered quickly afterward. No, it actually surprised me what a struggle it was to get up those hills the first few rides, and how winded I felt. Likewise, that first alternate modified P90X workout was tough, and I felt like I was functioning at about half capacity (lingering jet lag didn't help, either). I was slightly worried.
But we've now gone for our eighth ride or so--including a 34-mile day--and I feel my conditioning coming back pretty good. Likewise, our last alternate modified P90X session went pretty well--only a few "sissy push-ups" during the second half of the routine.
All that to say that, when it comes down to it, it's taken me about 3 weeks of our regular workouts to get somewhere close to where we were before taking our 3-week break. Pretty sensible, when you think about it: a break of X days will require X days of re-acclimation.
I don't know if this formula is age-related. Would I need that much time if I were, say, in my twenties, to get near the condition I'd been in before the break? I would guess not, but that's just a guess.
But this blog is for people around 50 who are getting into, or sustaining fitness, so I'm not really interested in figuring out the recovery-to-age quotient. It suits my purposes to say "hey, if you're around 50 and you take a break from fitness of X days, you'll need about X days to get close to the fitness level you were at when you started your break." I hope that proves helpful to someone.
Sometime soon I'll offer another entry mulling the purpose of this blog, it's direction, and what I intend to do with it as contrasted with other blogs. Stay tuned.
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