I've been dragging. Last week was my active recovery
rest week because I got sick. Go figure... I was at the pediatrician's
office three times in three weeks and the ER once. I must have put on my Germ-o-Vision glasses because everywhere I looked I saw germs. On the chair, on the garbage can, on the patient table, on the check-in pen (I half wanted to grab the mini-pen I keep in my pint-sized purse). But I knew that doing so, and no matter how many times I washed my hands or used the magic gel and magic wipes, there was no avoiding breathing the same air as those that were there for their sick appointment. The good thing is that I feel that I got off easy. It could have been so much worse. I ended up going through a few boxes of tissues, lacking in the energy department, going to bed early, and whipping up my get-well-soon tea+agave nectar and was able to make it through the day just fine. I managed to do yoga twice but that was it!
This week I started back up with STS and am on Mesocycle 2, Week 1 (weekly update post to come next week). Today was a cardio day and I knew that I wasn't going to get to a spinning class because (a) the kids are off from school and I'm NOT putting them in the gym nursery so they can get sick AGAIN! and (b) I've been avoiding the classes there because I can't seem to be ready and make it to the class after dropping Ryan off at preschool I think I might be becoming antisocial.
I just finished the Spinerval Competition 28.0 Aero Base Builder VI cycling DVD (with my bike still set up in the kids' art room and them right in front of me collaborating on a story and typing it into their computer)... and it was just what I needed today.
All the previous Spinervals DVDs have been gut-wrenching interval workouts that really push me to my limits and get my heart rate into an anaerobic zone and leave me spent. I knew that there was no way I could handle that today so I popped in this baby which promised to be a lower intensity workout. Lower intensity at home on an indoor bike sounds like it could be boring (and it was when I was doing it on my own two weeks ago). Working out at a lower-intensity allows you to stay within an aerobic heart rate zone and is very important for building a good cardiovascular foundation. This good endurance base is what is needed before going on to more advanced workouts like the intervals and longer training distances. The DVD jacket says that the tape is 60 minutes but it's really 55 minutes... though if you throw your own stretching on the end, which I do (and I highly recommend), and which you need to do, since like all of the rest of the Spinervals that I've tried, do not include a stretching section, then it would come to a solid 60 minutes.
The goal with this DVD is to keep the effort at 75-80% for most of the workout, a do-able and non-threatening level and there's enough gear shifting and cadence changes to keep it interesting. I loved being able to choose my own gearing for this workout and focus on the cadence. Usually Coach Troy will tell you what gears you should be in (or what level for spin bikes in the newer DVDs) so this was a nice change. I also really enjoyed the is-he-crazy?-oh-no!-look the two girls that are behind Coach Troy exchange as he announces the last set in the workout. Classic.
I was sweating a ton from this DVD and feel like I got a very good, solid workout that will still allow me to walk up the stairs function as a normal human being today. It was a fun workout that went by quickly and I'm really glad I ended up purchasing this one since it will be a good change-up from all gut-busting interval ones and it is one that look forward to doing again. Doing only high-intensity is like buying a ticket to the land of overtraining.... no thank you!
Spinervals Competition 28.0 Workout Breakdown
Warmup
8 x (60 sec @ 70-80 rpm cadence, 20 sec recovery)
1 minute recovery
12 x (45 sec @ 80-90 rpm cadence, 15 sec recovery)
1 minute recovery
16 x (30 sec @ ~100 rpm cadence, 10 sec recovery)
1 minute recovery
20 x (15 sec @ 100+ rpm cadence, 5 sec recovery)
Cooldown
Total Workout time: 55 minutes
Today continues our internationl lunch tour. Since the kids had yesterday and have today off from school we are giving our tastebuds a treat. Yesterday it was the delicious Indian buffet and today we head to Thai. Later we have dentist appointment for all three of us.... and then we have to stock up on food. Wegman's here we come! Some book shelves are calling my name ("Lisa, clean me off so when the carpet guys stop stalling and are finally ready to lay down our carpter they can move me" I can hear them whisper.). Let's see if I am going to answer them today or wait until tomorrow.