BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

"No equipment" workouts

Assuming that there's more than one of us who's looking at a summer of both fitness and riding...

The Summer 2005 issue of Exercise and Health magazine is full of equipment-less workouts that'll be perfect for motorcycle trips:

pp 24-27: Hard Core! Killer Drills for Abs and Obliques (no equipment needed)

pp 28-30: Back It Up: A Pain-Proofing Plan (no equipment needed, and most look like they'd feel goooood after a day on the bike)

pp 36-38: "No Weights Needed" total body workout (no equipment needed)

pp 52-59: No Sweat! 3 Fast and East Workouts (1 workout uses a resistance band, the other 2 use no equipment)

p 62: Easy/Hard Abs Workout (no equipment needed)

pp 78-80: Side Effects: How to Lose Your Love Handles (no equipment needed)

pp 88-90: Get Flexed stretching/flexibility (no equipment needed)

I'd be hard-pressed to find a more complete no-equipment-needed motorcycle-trip-friendly set of workouts than what's in this issue. Though I think I'm going to photocopy the pages to bring along with me...it seems like each workout page has an ad for sexual enhancement pills on the reverse side. Eek.

Neat back photo

In the "money where my mouth is" department, I took some fitness progress photos yesterday. I particularly liked this one of my back. The lighting was a little weird to start with; plus, I played with the levels a little in Photoshop to make the muscles stand out.

I think it's a fairly decent lat spread, considering that I only started working my lats six months ago (and haven't been lifting heavy lately due to coddling my left shoulder*)

* I managed to sprain my acromioclavicular joint (also known as a Type I AC joint injury). I didn't mention it in the blog as it didn't impact my motorcycling at all.

This week ended the Meltdown Challenge that I was doing with the fitness message board I'm on. So now I need some new goals (without goals, I sit on the couch and watch Buffy even more than I already do).

I'm thinking of making my next goal point the Sport-Touring.net West Coast Regional Meet. It's exactly 2 months from now, which is a perfect time frame for me, fitness wise. Plus, a weekend of friends and lots of riding is a perfect "reward".

If anyone reading this comes to the WCRM: ask me about my fitness goals and I'll buy you a beer. Promise. :)

Random fitness updates

I'm at week 9 (out of 12) of the fitness challenge that I started in late December. My goals were:
1) maintain a sub-20% bodyfat percentage
2) find a sustainable healthy eating plan (I hate to cook and would just eat mac 'n' cheese all day if possible)
3) see if #2 would help increase my energy levels

I'm proud to say that, with three weeks remaining, all three goals have been met. :) Since late December, I've gone from 21% bodyfat to 17.95% (that's a loss of about 5 lbs of fat), have eaten mac 'n' cheese only once -- it's chicken breasts and salmon fillets for this girl now -- and have tons more energy.

Now if only I can stay healthy long enough to put on some more muscle....

Hooray for deltoids

A good shot of post-workout deltoids. Pardon the bizarre lighting in my bathroom.

Fitness update

Well, I know you all have just been dying of curiosity, wondering how the fitness life is going. Fret no more!

Today was stats day. Weight is still 116lbs, no change. Bodyfat % is up from last week, to 21.6%, which I think is a load of hooey. In my own private fantasyland, if I can see ab definition, I ain't above 20%. ;)

I know no one reads this crap for the text, so here's a picture of me squatting 80lbs in my luxurious home gym. Note the Christmas stocking still hanging from the homemade squat rack. We're so ghetto. :)

Personal Trainer class

OK, I promise this isn't turning into a Fitness journal. ;)

Since I've been talking a lot about lifting and routines lately, I wanted to put my money where my mouth is.

I've signed up for the first two classes towards getting a Personal Fitness Trainer certificate through Foothill College:

Basic Nutrition for Sports and Fitness (3 units)
Concepts of Exercise Physiology for Fitness (4 units)

I was disappointed that I couldn't get into an Anatomy and Physiology class this quarter -- by the time I could register, the A&P classes were full. Next quarter, though, I'll be a returning student, and can register in advance.

Ow, dammit

While climbing onto the weight machine last night to do lat pulldowns, I managed to bang my knee on the leg press. Naturally, the bruise is RIGHT where my armored pants press into my leg while on the motorcycle. Sigh. It really is a miracle that my hobbies haven't killed me yet.

I bench pressed 80 lbs last night, though, which is a personal best. Perhapy wimpy to the big burly men in the audience, but that's 2/3 my body weight. :)

Yesterday's workout:

Chest: Bench Press
Set 1: 5 @ 60 lbs
Set 2: 3 @ 70 lbs
Set 3: 3 @ 70 lbs
Set 4: 1 @ 80 lbs
Set 5: 1 @ 80 lbs

Shoulders: Shoulder Press
Set 1: 5 @ 15 lbs
Set 2: 3 @ 17 lbs
Set 3: 3 @ 17 lbs
Set 4: 1 @ 22 lbs
Set 5: 1 @ 22 lbs

Lats: Front Pulldown (machine)
Set 1: 5 @ 99 lbs
Set 2: 3 @ 118 lbs
Set 3: 3 @ 118 lbs

Triceps: Tricep Extensions
Set 1: 5 @ 12 lbs
Set 2: 3 @ 15 lbs
Set 3: 3 @ 15 lbs

Tonight is max strength lower body -- I've been squatting 80 lbs, so I'm going to see if I can get to 90.

Stoopid hips

Ugh, it was one of those weekends where drinking lots of beer and hanging out with friends took precedence over working out and drinking water...which is all kinds of good, until one gets onto one's motorcycle on Monday morning and realizes one's hips don't work.

I've been trying to stretch them out all day -- and have had 30oz of water so far -- but they're still pissed off. It hurts to even cross my legs in a meeting. I can practically feel my hip flexors tightening up just sitting here in my cube and typing this.

Rarrrr. Only 2.5 hours until I can go home to stretch and lift.

Quad muscle!

HOLY CRAP!

While changing out of my workout clothes just now, I turned towards the mirror and THERE'S A QUAD MUSCLE! I distinctly saw one of those vertical quad muscles! Like the one that starts sorta up by your hip bone and does that nice arch along the thigh and then comes back in at the knee!

Now, OK, granted I had to stand JUST SO and turn the lights on JUST SO and hold very still and maybe squint a little....but it was there, boy howdy!

Hello little quad muscle! Ooza good widdle quad muscle!

Good upper body progess

I haven't posted many fitness updates lately, as being sick really put me off my routine. :( Two weeks without lifting or any cardio at all -- ugh. I'm back to lifting now, albeit with reduced weights. It's sort of nice, actually; it feels good to be sore again. ;)

Peter took a set of "progress pictures" for me the other night, so that I can track improvement. I'm going to try to take them once a month or so. I was very pleased with the upper body photos; my shoulders/back have always been my best features (lifting-wise).

I'm starting to look for a squat rack for home, too. Anyone have any recommendations for something small that'll work? I don't need a cage; just a decent rack.