Calling all Techs - The Techexams cardio workout log

eltoro

i watch girls in bikinis

snadam

just ran one warm-up lap and one cool-down lap during my workout today; total of 1/2 mile. Ill be running 2 miles a week at this point. I plan to up my warmups and cooldowns by double after a few weeks. Not to mention basketball Thursdays. Ill be running circles around them!

Schluep

On Friday I ran 7 miles in addition to the rest of my work-out.

I also tried the Tabata method of timing that Plantwiz mentioned instead of the one I have been using the past few weeks (1 minute on, 25 seconds off for many different activities). I must admit that I liked the 20/10 a lot. I really felt the burn it after the 4 minute push-up Tabata. After the first three rounds I had less push-ups each time, but I tried to maintain my form unlike the gentlemen in the video posted. I really felt the burn on an 8 minute bicycle crunch Tabata as well. I used them for several other exercises and found it to be a very good pace that I could maintain longer than the one I was using. Thanks for posting this Plantwiz. I had read about it before and used it a while ago but have been in a habit of 60/25 for so long that I forgot about it.

On Saturday night I put in 15 miles on the Elliptical while watching Rocky IV.

Sunday was a recovery day.

Tonight I did 6 miles on the Elliptical.

Plantwiz

You are welcome Schluep!

Tabatas are sort of addicting. They burn, but 4 minutes is such a short period of time (except when your in the middle of a tabata) that it's completely doable. What attracted me to them is the flexibility of the activities plus every fitness level benefits. There isn't a lot to push an athletic person over the top....these can.

Appreciate you the comments on how they worked for you.


***

I have some friends who enjoy pyramids. Its nice to have a few ways to mix it up.

BigTone

JDMurray wrote:

147 wrote:

Does weightlifting count?

Hell yes! As long as you are sweating and breathing hard from fast reps and circuit training. That's my only cardio these days (my elliptical trainer is very cold and lonely since I picked up a set of kettlebells).

Dude!

Its so awesome to hear someone else with a set of these. I haven't been working out very often and just did a kettlebell routine yesterday and I am seriously hurting all over today.

Mrock4

I love kettlebells. When I was a bit more active in MMA/Judo, I used to do them a lot. Once I start my classes at the local gracie school then I may need to get some again.

Turgon

Nobody posted in 9 days! Well I did gym yesterday instead of cardio so that doesn't really count. Anyone worked out recently?

snadam

Turgon wrote:

Nobody posted in 9 days! Well I did gym yesterday instead of cardio so that doesn't really count. Anyone worked out recently?

been too busy working out!

im continuing my one 1/4 mile warmup and 1/4-1/2 mile cool down runs before and after my 60 minute workouts. My legs are getting huge

so last week I did a total of 2 miles a week on the treadmill, and 3 hours of 2-on-2 basketball. Thats probably going to be the norm for a while.

Mishra

I signed up for a gym so more cardio/work out to come.

I ran 1.25 miles on the elliptical. I did between 4-7 MPH. Didn't check the time it took.

I'm also doing other gym work but why don't think that is real? >_<

Turgon

Mishra wrote:

I signed up for a gym so more cardio/work out to come.

I ran 1.25 miles on the elliptical. I did between 4-7 MPH. Didn't check the time it took.

I'm also doing other gym work but why don't think that is real? >_<

It's exercise but this is the cardio thread!

Schluep

I have still been exercising regularly including 6 days per week of cardio. Activities this past week have included running, elliptical use, sparring, and jumping rope in addition to my other exercise activities which are done very quickly and in a way to also include a cardio aspect.

I have many hours of Juniper audio information to listen too now that I have access to some of their training online through some work I am doing for one of their partners. I plan to get some of their free certifications available only to sale partners while I have the opportunity and all of the audio will be listened to on a treadmill or elliptical providing a great combination of Cardio and IT Certifications which is perfect for this thread on these boards.

I didn't see much point to posting logs every single day so I gave up on that idea, but I definitely hope this thread stays active. I have been using the Tabata method for a lot of exercising since Plantwiz suggested it and found it works better than my old 60/25 method. Thanks again for this great suggestion.

Mishra

1.5 miles in 15 minutes on the elliptical yesterday.

Plus lots of gym work. I feel huge again.

APA

Thought I'd join in on the fun....

Been training seriously for close to 4/5 years now....... Yep started in highschool- (22 now)

Train 4/5 times a week - good week maybe 6.....

At the moment I've over growing size wise.... I'm actually doing alot of high-rep weight training mixed in with cardio to try and rip down as much as possible....... Just about to duck off now for my arms and cardio session!!!!

I find there is nothing better to relieve the stress of work and study then busting out a crazy workout session in the gym...... You guys agree??? (Well actually I can think I one better scenario but that involves cuddling at the end...... meh....)

Started running again recently as well to find out my real fitness level...... Actually enjoying it as well apart from the fact that I shouldn't have neglected cardio for excessive weight training in the past year....... lol I've learnt my lesson now!!!!!!!

By the way what is this elliptical thing that all of you are talking about.... Don't believe I've heard of that in Aus..... Or is that another word for treadmill???

APA

Oh yeah and I'll log my cardio wise efforts after today's session

JDMurray

BigTone wrote:

Dude!

Its so awesome to hear someone else with a set of these. I haven't been working out very often and just did a kettlebell routine yesterday and I am seriously hurting all over today.

Only your gutes, hammys, and traps should be hurting. If you feel it in your back or arms your form needs work.

Lots of kettlebell videos on YouTube to fix your form.

BigTone

JDMurray wrote:

BigTone wrote:

Dude!

Its so awesome to hear someone else with a set of these. I haven't been working out very often and just did a kettlebell routine yesterday and I am seriously hurting all over today.

Only your gutes, hammys, and traps should be hurting. If you feel it in your back or arms your form needs work.

Lots of kettlebell videos on YouTube to fix your form.

I've implemented my bells into some old school total body workouts so I use them almost like dumbells.

You can do renegade rows, crush curls, and all kind of overhead stuff to hit the parts that swings and snatches miss

Mrock4

Got a shin splint on my right shin..hurts like a mofo, but I had to run the last couple of days regardless. I'm taking a 2 day break from running to try to get rid of it, and am focusing on upper body/abs for this weekend. We'll see how it goes...

Darthn3ss

hrm

i've been dieting for about 2.5-3 weeks now, and joined the gym this last week.

lost about 6 lbs in the first 2 weeks. thats probably slowed a bit, i ran out of food (cooked 5 meals in advance) so i ate crappy for a day or two.

i do cardio and weight lifting.

Turgon

A good gym workout this morning with light weights and high repetitions. Made me perspire and blow a lot so cardio in a sense but not running. 50 dips on the bar. Quite please about that. Housework now and time with my son before doing another lab at home.

JDMurray

BigTone wrote:

You can do renegade rows, crush curls, and all kind of overhead stuff to hit the parts that swings and snatches miss

I love crush curls! High pulls, halos, walking press, and the Russian Twist are killers too.

Schluep

A.P.A wrote:

By the way what is this elliptical thing that all of you are talking about.... Don't believe I've heard of that in Aus..... Or is that another word for treadmill???

It may be called a Cross-Trainer more frequently in some places. It is a device that simulates a combination between an exercise bike/stepper and a treadmill using resistance (typically magnetic) on the pedals that more similarly represent the motion of a runner. Often they include handlebars that move with the pedals, but not always.

Obviously if you are a runner training to run a marathon you would be better off training by running, but an Elliptical provides several advantages in addition to the cardio. It is lot easier on your joints and feet than running since you don't have the pounding motion, and it can also help to develp the muscles in your legs. Increasing resistance to the level you can tolerate for long periods of time will also raise your heart rate more than having the resistance at a low level, which is good for your cardio training. Some of the more expensive ones by certain companies can automatically adjust the incline which allows for more targetted muscle training in your legs such as to focus more strongly on your glutes, quads, hamstrings, or calves. Also, this prevents your muscles from getting used to it always being in the same position and losing some of the benefit to your legs.

Take a look here for a picture and some different information if you ae interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptical_trainer

Darthn3ss

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&resnum=0&q=elliptical&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

JDMurray

The more inexpensive elliptical trainers are not very stable and will rock side-to-side when you get a good rhythm going. I have a heavy-duty NordicTrack elliptical that I bought from Costco Online and I think it's as good as the many-thousand-dollar models you see in the gym. If you are looking to buy an elliptical trainer, be sure you can try out the model you are interested in first.

Schluep

JDMurray wrote:

The more inexpensive elliptical trainers are not very stable and will rock side-to-side when you get a good rhythm going. I have a heavy-duty NordicTrack elliptical that I bought from Costco Online and I think it's as good as the many-thousand-dollar models you see in the gym. If you are looking to buy an elliptical trainer, be sure you can try out the model you are interested in first.

They all have maximum weight recommendations assigned to them as well. Typically the higher the value the more stable the unit will be. Even if you weigh 150 lbs and get on an elliptical with a 250 lb maximum weight allowance it will likely not be very sturdy and limit the speed you can use. Many of the versions marketed for home use are not very stable when compared to the gym quality ones.

Do not buy any of the old traction based resistance ones since you typically cannot adjust the resistance while in use like you can with the magnectic or elecro-magnetic ones.

Another thing you have to watch out for is how high the resistance can go. A 6 resistance on one machine could be the same as a 20 on another. The number used to define the resistance is not important but the amount of resistance is. The precor EFX models are my favorite because of the adjustable cross-ramp you don't find on many brands, but they are gym quality and very expensive unless you get a used one from someone you know (or something like craigslist).

aragoen_celtdra

Hello all. I'm fairly new to this forum and I've been here frequently mostly in the CCNA forums. I'm currently studying for my CCNA exams.

I thought this was a pretty cool discussion as I think that exercise is very important. The only problem with excercise for me is that.. i hate it.

It's somewhat ironic becuase I love sports. I like to play basketball; played volleyball in high school; was really into martial arts when i was younger (I'm 31 now) I didn't play basketball in high school only because I just hated running. I know... how can that be, huh?

But since I got married almost 3 years ago, I've been really trying to find different ways to keep in shape. Nowadays I don't really find the time to do so, especially now that we have a kid. But when I do get a chance, I try to jump on our cheap stationary bike. I don't really have much of a system as to how long or the difficulty of the resistance on the bike. My only gage is how much I sweat. Well, since I don't sweat easily, when I sweat while biking, I consider it effective. LOL.

I did join up with my friends in a community basketball league a couple of weeks ago. In fact we have a game tonight. But my problem is that evertime I play, I'm already winded by the end of the first quarter. LOL

Hopefully I can keep myself motivated by monitoring this thread and get encouragement from people about staying/getting in shape just like I get encouragement for staying on course during my CCNA studies. I think physical endurance is also helpful while studying since I find myself getting tired easily too while reading and working out problems.

Schluep

My Dad started a Sunday night men's basketball group in his early 30s using the gym belonging to one of the local Catholic Church. All of the men chipped in $3 per night to cover the expenses and they had a group of guys playing. He collected the money and wrote out the checks to the Church. He is now in his mid 50s and still plays basketball 2-3 times per week by joining two groups for men 40 and older in addition to his own group that is still going. He has to ice his knees down before and after every game now, but he still plays.

Playing sports doesn't have to end after high school/college and can be a great way to exercise and relieve stress. My Dad loved basketball and playing 2-3 nights per week helped him stay focused and work 7 days per week which he still says he wouldn't be able to do if he watched TV instead of playing ball.

TechJunky

Omg...

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_20TabataPushups.wmv

That is the most intense workout ever.

I just got done playing the video and doing pushups to that time frame, was just looking at the vid as I was doing it and then once I was done I took a 10 second break and replayed the video and then did squats to the same video using his timeframe. I took a step after I was done and almost fell over. I couldn't literally walk.

I then took a break and did situps to the time frame... Lets just say that was the worst 12minutes of my life. I almost puked afterwards.

The guy in the video is an animal. I have no idea how he was able to do 20 pushups each time.


I was only able to do 20 the first 3 sets, then 15, then 9, then 7, then 5 and 5.
Squats were 15,15,15,15,14,12,11,11
Situps were 20,20,15,12,11,11,9,7

would consider myself fairly in shape too. WoW. Great advice! Again, that guy is an animal to do 20 each time.

dynamik

TechJunky wrote:

Omg...

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_20TabataPushups.wmv

That is the most intense workout ever.

I've seen that before. Does the site cover the rest of their workouts? I'm off to bed and just glanced at it quickly. I see they got the aforementioned kettlebells on there too (maybe that was a different thread). I think I'm going to give these methods a try. I was trying to bench 315 and increase everything else proportionally. I'm at 245, and I really don't want to get a whole lot bigger. I'd rather tone up and increase my flexibility. Does anyone here do yoga?

Also, if you want to try something similar, check out The Navy Seal Workout as well. It's basically variations on push-ups, dips, pull-ups, ab exercises, running and stretching. Instead of a flat number of reps, they go in a pyramid (2-4-8-etc-8-4-2) with 15 second rests. It's not a big deal for regular push-ups, but then you go into wide-angle, diamond, dive-bomber, etc. (and then on to everything else). The advanced (and even the intermediate for people like me ) levels are brutal.

Mrock4

Got an APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) tomorrow morning. I'm pretty stressed about it, because I used to be in awesome shape, but now I am barely making it by. This APFT makes or breaks my promotion. Wish me luck, I'm really gonna need it.

If only I could stop worrying and get to bed now..


Edit: Did horrible on my pushups (even though I have focused almost exclusively on those in the last 3 weeks)..but still improved marginally. Showed good improvement on situps, and cut 2 minutes off my 2 mile run, down to a 13:50, so that's good. Also weighed in at 5 lbs lighter than I was 3 weeks ago. 10 to go, and I'll be back at my sweet spot!

TechJunky

Your in pretty decent shape if your doing 2 miles in 14minutes...

7 minute miles constantly is pretty darn good. I dont know your age, but im 25 and I would be happy to run 7 minute miles constantly.