my fitness goal - October 2012

my fitness goal - October 2012

I like having a public record of what I'm working on, especially when I don't have an upcoming event hanging over my head and forcing me to focus my workouts. I'm at a point where I'm in pretty good shape and I'm happy with what I've been doing, fitness-wise.

That said, I'm also someone who likes to experiment with different workouts - exercises, frequency, intensity, and keeping a journal helps me make sense of the results.

One of my problems is that I've been getting really sore after my intense workouts. I feel ok the day after a workout, but day 2 is brutal, and day 3 I'm still too sore to push myself hard again. Maybe it's age related; maybe it's because I switch up my types of workouts frequently; maybe it's because I push myself really hard. Whatever it is, I'm going to stop trying to force 3 or 4 of these workouts each week, and give my body more rest in-between workouts.

So, all that being said, here's my plan for the next 40 days (10 workouts after the first one):

1.) A "Hard Workout" every 4th day - the kind of high-intensity workout that makes my whole body sore: Cross-fit, Kettlebells, Intervals - that sort of thing.

2.) A Moderate Cardio workout in-between each of the Hard Workouts: Jogging, Swimming, Versaclimber, Playing with the kids - anything that gets me moving at a moderate pace for 20-ish minutes.

Schedule / Results

Hard 1 October 1: Kettlebells - swing, clean, press, snatch, lawnmower pull (multiple sets)

Easy 1 October 3: 15 minutes versaclimber, easy pace

Hard 2 October 5: Kettlebells - one arm swing, snatch, lawnmower pull, burpees, mountain climbers (multiple sets)

Easy 2 October 8: played frisbee with my kids (20 minutes)

Hard 3 October 9: Fit-20 - pull-ups, circular push-ups, box jumps (15 mins)

Easy 3 October 12: rode bikes with my kids (about an hour)

Hard 4 October 13: Run 3.6 miles

Easy 4 October 17: played 20 minutes of soccer w/ some kids on my son's team

Hard 5 October 17: NOPE - October 18th instead. Kettlebell, Inverted Rows, Suicides. multiple sets, 16 minutes.

Easy 5 October 20: played 20 minutes of soccer.

Easy 6 October 21: hiked for a couple hours - family hike in Sedona.

Hard 6 October 21:

Hard 7 October 25:

Easy 7

Hard 8 October 29:

Easy 8

Hard 9 November 2:

Easy 9

Hard 10 November 6:

Easy 10

Hard 11 November 10:

Easy 11

Let's see if this schedule is something I can build on long-term.. I'd also be interested in hearing if anyone has tried something similar..?

-Chris Butterworth

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