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A busy week kept me from getting in much in the way of working out, but still enjoyed what I did.

Friday
Did an easy 1000 yard swim. Very easy like a warm-up. Just wanted to stay loose.

Saturday
A very active day! Started off this morning with the following swim:

300 easy warm-up

8 x 25 drill on :45 - odds are 3 rt/3 Lt/3 full fly, odd are heads-up free

8 x 25 drill on :45 - odds are 12.5 underwater, 12.5 stroke, evens are double-acting back

8 x 25 drill on :45 - odds are fly AFAP with fins, evens are kick on back

100 easy

1000 yards

Early this afternoon, I took my dog out to the track and we did a 1.5 mile walk/ run as follows:

Walk 400 meters

1600 meters as follows:. Sprint the straights, walk the curves

Walk 400 meters

This evening, I bowled 4 games. Hoping to join a league this summer!

Decided to challenge myself with a good set today. I have been reading up on some various sets by coaches. Apparently, with both swimming and running, interval work involving efforts of 3 to 5 minutes are ideal for snapping your body into shape. So, I gave it a shot today in the below workout.

Reverse 400 I.M. Drill

5 x 300 on 4:30 - odds are kick with fins, evens are swim (no fins)
Kicks are as follows:. 100 dolphin on back, 100 back flutter, 100 dolphin on back
Swims are as follows:. 100 free, 100 back, 100 free

100 easy

2000 easy

On the kicks, I got lots of rest. The swims, however, did not feel so good. I did not get very much rest. I was a little discouraged, but I tried to remind myself that a good bit of my training has been kicking with fins. What could I expect? In any case, I had to start somewhere, so today was the day. Hope to improve on this in the next month.

Instead of my typical kicking with fins workout, I decided to do a little aerobic set without fins during my lunch break swim today. Still have a good bit of way to go on my conditioning, but hoping to start a base now. As I mentioned before, I will have more time this summer when I am off. Anyway, here is the workout from today:

200 easy swim

On the following set, the last 25 of each swim is backstroke. The rest is freestyle.

50 swim on :50
100 swim on 1:40
150 swim on 2:30
200 swim on 3:20
150 swim on 2:30
100 swim on 1:40
50 swim on :50

100 easy

2 x 25 fly with fins (all-out) on :45

50 easy

2 x 25 fly with fins (all-out) on :45

150 easy

1400 yards

The goal to burn some good calories continues. After 3 days of working my legs, I felt a little sore..On Saturday and Sunday, I did a 3 mile run/walk. This morning, I got the following workout in:

3 x 500 kick with fins on 7:30

100 easy

8 x 25 back on :30

4 x 25 fly drill - 3 rt/3 lt/3 full on :30

100 easy

2000 yards

On Wednesday, I walked two miles at lunch. That night, I bowled 5 games.

On Thursday, I did the following workout:

200 easy swim

4 x 25 underwater dolphin kick with fins on :45

4 x 25 back drill - alternate 25 left with 25 right - on :30

4 x 50 back descend on 1:00

4 x 50 dolphin kick with board - no fins - on 1:00

4 x 25 fly drill - 3 rt/3 Lt/ 3 full on :30

100 easy

Total: 1000 yards

Bowled another 4 games that night.

I don't feel like I have gotten in a whole bunch, but even with what little I have done, I feel like I have made progress. One thing is for sure - I feel better in the water than I did a couple of weeks ago.

Friday, February 10
Warm-up: 300 - 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim
5 x 100 Free on 2:00 Descend - Get 5 seconds faster with each 100
5 x 100 Dolphin Kick on Back on 2:00 - Get 5 seconds faster with each 100
200 fly drill
100 easy

I was really surprised as did as well as I did on the sets. I used to do these type sets when I was preparing for middle-distance races. On the kick set, I was just a few seconds off where I was 6 years ago.

Tuesday, February 14
4 x 500 kick with fins on 7:30
Odds: Alternate 100 free kick with board and 100 back kick (no board)
Evens: Alternate 100 dolphin kick on back and 100 back kick
100 easy

I am loving working my legs. My approach here is to strengthen my core before I start using my arms more. Unfortunately, during the 6 year break I have taken, I have gained 15 pounds. I want to make my core strong before I place a demand on my shoulders to pull more weight than they are used to. In the process of strengthening my core, I am also hoping I can drop a few pounds. My goal is to add 500 more calories of activity per day while cutting back 250 calories on food. I don't do diets well, so adding more activity and cutting out 250 calories a day seems like a manageable goal.

Since I started working full-time three years ago, I have found it all too easy to avoid working out. I am not a morning workout fan and sometimes have to be in my office by 7 a.m., so mornings typically have been out. I have an hour for lunch, so my excuse has been that I did not have enough time to get in a "real" workout. The end of the day has not been a good time because of typical mom duties and because I sometimes feel like I have been hit by a mack truck. So, my new motto is, "Doing a little is better than doing nothing at all."

I figure I will get in a little bit on the days I work and try to use my days off from work to get in longer or more challenging workouts. I am off during the summer, so hopefully, I can get in shape now and hit it harder this summer. I did not get a chance to blog yesterday, so I will include my workout from yesterday as well as my workout from today.

Tuesday
5 minute spin on stationary bike

3 rounds of the following:

5 push-ups
10 leg-lifts/knee raises in captain's chair
15 bicep curls
15 shoulder raises

Wednesday
600 easy swim with fins

3 x 100 I.M. Drill - 20 seconds rest between each 100

100 easy

Well, January was not a great month for starting back. First the flu, followed by food poisoning, and then low iron. After going through all of that, it feels wonderful to be back to "normal." I got in a quick swim at lunch today as follows:

300 Warm-up:. 100 swim, 100 kick with fins, 100 pull

6 x 200 on 3:15 - odds are kick on back with fins, evens are free swim with paddles

100 easy

I am wondering if anybody else out there has sat out 6.5 years of Masters swimming. I would love to hear about your early stage workouts and your ideas about getting back in shape.

Got a bad, bad case of food poisoning last week, and so I have not been in the water in a week! I got in today at lunch and took it very easy.

300: 100 swim, 100 kick flutter with fins, 100 free swim with paddles

2 x 300 kick with fins on 5:00

100 easy swim

I know that this is ridiculously short, but I am still very weak. My goal in getting back in shape is to build up my core first. I always had a strong core and strong kick. I believe these both took a big load off my shoulders. Before I start doing too much with the arms, I want to make sure I have that great core strength again.

After several years of being a couch potato, I am now back and trying to remain consistent. My age (50) and my time away from consistent workouts will make this a challenge. I am starting out easy. Below is the workout I did today:

200 Reverse I.M. to warm up

4 x 75 dolphin kick w/ board on 1:30

4 x 75: 12 kicks on side, 3 freestyle strokes, 12 kicks on side on 1:30

4 x 75 6 kicks on side, 3 strokes, 6 kicks on side on 1:30

4 x 75 regular free on 1:30

100 easy

Yesterday, hit the weight room for some core work. First did a 30 minute spin class (I was late.). Then, did the following workout:

2 sets of 10 push-ups with bosu ball

4 sets of 25 sit-ups on incline with 12 lb. medicine ball

2 sets of 20 leg/knee lifts

100 bicycle crunches

Today, meant to have an active rest day, but got in a very small workout while encouraging kids on son's cross country team. It was 100 degrees when practice started. Got in 1/2 mile walk/jog to warm-up and then did 3 x 400 jogs with them, trying to encourage those who were struggling on the second half of a 6 x 400 set. Then did a 1/2 mile cool-down. Despite the heat, everybody was in good spirits after the practice.

Tomorrow, hope to slide into the club pool for a 2,000 meter workout before it opens up for 4th of July activities. Each year our pool has a greased watermelon water polo match on the 4th. Lots of good pizes for team that wins. Always all-men and a real macho kind of contest. About 7 years ago, I snuck in on the contest and those guys didn't know what to do. Rednecks have honor when it comes to women, so I was able to get away with much more than any of them ever could.

If I think about it, I will post a pic tomorrow of the brawl.

Summer training is fun but can be a challenge. Vacation and changes in pool schedule can make it hard to stay on a schedule. The last two weeks have been busy, busy, but got in a few runs, swims, and lifts.

I have gotten started on my high reps/low weights program. Wow! What a whole different workout! It plain old wears me out, but that is a good thing. My weight-lifting guru contact said that 3 sets of 15 was plenty. I had planned to do 5, but he said that many sets was overkill. Today, did the following workout:

Warm-up: 8 minutes on the gauntlet

Bench press: bar x 10, 3 sets of 65 x 15

Lat hi row: 3 sets of 90 x 15

Overhead press w/dumbells: 3 sets of 20 x 15

Lat pull-down: 3 sets of 100 x 15

Leg press: 3 sets of 150 x 15

Leg curl: 3 sets of 20 x 15

Leg/knee lifts: 3 sets of 20

Calf raises: 3 sets of 70 x 15

Cardio workout: spin bike bike for 15 minutes, brisk walk (4.0 mph) for 15 minutes, 10 minutes on gauntlet

Got my run in on Friday evening. Did 3 miles straight running at a 9:16 per mile pace. Followed run with a 15 minute walk.

Saturday morning, got up early and did a swim at the club pool before it opened. Workout was as follows:

300 free
200 dolphin kick with board

300 back
200 breast kick with board

300 free
200 dolphin kick with board

3 x 100 fly - 3 rt/3 lt/3 full
200 breast kick with board

2000 SCM

Finished up three weeks of heavy lifting and will now take one week of active rest on the weights to deload. On my next round of weight-lifting, I am going to be doing higher reps and lower reps. I need to debulk a little bit without losing too much strength. I've been on my program for two weeks and have had some modest results but really would like to see a five to eight pound drop. Whether it is muscle weight or fat, I have an ideal weight I race well at and I would really like to get down to that weight.

Upon checking, I have had a 1-2% drop in body fat since starting a couple of weeks ago, but no weight loss. I guess that it is the better way to aim for losing weight - make my body become a better calorie burning machine. Still, I do need to drop pounds and lifting heavy weight probably is not going to make it happen too quickly, so after next week, I think I will go to doing 5 sets of 15. I know it seems like a bunch of volume, but it has worked well before. Also plan to go from 30 minutes on my cardio to 45 minutes.

Yesterday, I actually went up on time on my cardio. Did a 50 minute moderate ride on my road bike averaging just 16.2 nph.

Today, hit the weight heavy for the last time before going into deload. Here is what I did:

Warm-up: 8 minutes on gauntlet, stretching

Bench: bar x 5, 3 sets of 105 x 4

Hi row: 90 x 5, 3 sets of 110 x 8

Military press w/dumbbells: 3 sets of 40 x 8

Lat pull-down with cable: 3 sets of 100 x 6

Hammer curls: 2 sets of 15 x 10

Triceps press: 2 sets of 40 x 10

Squats: bar x 5, 95 x 20

Captain's chair leg raises: 2 sets of 20

Calf raises: 2 sets of 80 x 10

Twist crunches: 2 sets of 25

Cruches with 12 lb med ball: 1 set of 25

Knee raises on bench: 2 sets of 25

Hoping to take a short run in a little bit.

Tuesday, got in a good swim down at the club pool. Love swimming in cool water and the outdoors! So much easier!

Warm-up: 1000 - 200 kick, 200 swim, 200 pull, 200 kick, 200 swim

4 x 50 fly with fins: 25 kick/25 sprint on 1:15

100 easy

4 x 50 back with fins: 25 kick/25 sprint on 1:15

100 easy

4 x 50 free with fins: 25 kick/25 sprint on 1:15

200 easy

2000 SCM

Followed by 2 mile run/walk - Alternated 4 minutes run with 1 minute walk

Wednesday - 1.5 mile walk

Thursday - A busy day ahead, so just got in the pool to warm-up basically:

200 kick on side with fins

200 breast pull with fins

4 x 50 fly 3 rt/3lt/3 full

200 back with paddles

4x 50 fly: 3 rt/3 lt/3 full

1000 SCM

Not much time yesterday, but got in an upper body workout:

Warm-up: 5 minutes on treadmill

Bench: bar x 10, 3 sets of 105 x 3

Hi row: 90 x 10, 3 sets of 120 x 5

Military press w/dumbells: 2 sets of 15 x 10

Lat pull-down with cable: 2 sets of 85 x 10

Hammer curls: 2 sets of 15 x 10

Leg/knee lifts: 2 sets of 20

Followed with 1.5 mile walk

Today did another brisk 1.5 walk. Hoping to swim and bike tomorrow.

Hit the weights and did the following:

8 minute warm-up: 4 min. on treadmill, 4 min on rowing machine

Bench press: bar x 10, 70 x 6, 90 x 4, 105 x 2

Hi row: 90 x 5, 3 sets of 110 x 8

Military press: 2 sets of 30 x 10 (used barbells)

Lat pull-down (machine): 90 x 5, 2 sets of 120 x 8

Squats: bar x 10, 1 set of 65 x 20

Leg lifts: 2 sets of 20

Bicycle crunches: 1 set of 100

Prone Back Extension: 2 sets of 10

Followed workout with 30 minutes on gauntlet - Level 11 - Fat Burner.

Tuesday morning hit the pool for a swim workout and followed it with a spin on the Schwinn Spinner bike. Did a long warm-up as I am not a morning person. Workout went as follows:

Warm-up:
100 swim, 100 kick,300 pull
2 x 200 dolphin kick on back with fins
1 x 100 back pull with paddles

Sets:
4 x 75 with fins on 1:45 - 25 drill/25 kick/25 swim - odds were fly and evens were back

3 x 200 - 100 pull/100 kick - odds were free, #2 was back

100 easy

Followed immediately with 30 min spin on stationary bike. Sweated buckets!

Wednesday
Active rest - walked 1 mile with dog

Thursday
30 minute sprint run/walk with dog - 2 minute warm-up walk and then alternated 3 minute run with 2 minute walk. Once I had done about a mile, I really pushed it and sprinted the runs. Got 2.5 miles done in 25:17(this includes the 2 minute warm-up walk). Walked another 5 minutes.

Followed run with a 30 minute ride on my bike. Love biking in my neighborhood - very few cars and I know where the dogss are. Did 8.25 miles, averaging 16.3 mph. Average HR was 152.

I am a day behind on blogging my workouts, so this is actually yesterday's workout. Still following my resistance workout/cardio plan. Hit the weights as follows:

10 minute warm-up on treadmill

Bench: bar x 5, 65 x 5, 2 sets of 95 x 8

Lat hi row: 90 x 5, 2 sets of 110 x 8

Military press: 30 x 5, 2 sets fo 50 x 8

Lat pulldown with cable: 3 sets of 85 x 8

Hammer curls: 2 sets of 12 x 10

Squats: bar x 10, 2 sets of 95 x 8

Captain's Chair knee/leg lifts: 2 sets of 20

Seated calf-raises: 2 sets of 70 x 8

Hit the gauntlet and did 30 minutes of the fat burner workout at level 10. I was pouring sweat by the time I was done. According to the machine, supposedly I burned 380 calories in 30 minutes, but who knows how much I really burned. Guess I should have worn my HR monitor.

More swimming to come. I promise. Have been out of town the last few days taking a personal trainer certification course. I'll know in a couple of months if I passed. Kind of excited to start training people as working out is my passion. I have lots to learn because I am pretty old school on my weight room stuff. Learned a bunch of things with the stability ball - something I have used before but rarely use now. Also, learned a bunch of new exercises to work the core.

Also, I am excited about a plan for my training that a personal trainer came up with. This guy is a guru - has a special ops background and has trained others for the same. Anyway, I have finally come up ith a plan where I can try to lose a few pounds, drop the body fat, yet still stay strong.

First, I've been told I will have to train in the morning to get my metabolism going. Not wild about this as I am not a morning person but it can't hurt, especially since I have hypothyroidism and take my meds in the morning. I wake up with a slow metabolism until the synthroid can get in my blood, so working out in the morning is probably not a bad thing.

Second, I am to follow my resistance workout with 30 minutes of cardio. So I will lift weights first and follow it with a 30 minute workout on the treadmill. Of course, I will warm-up 10 minutes before lifting weights. I am going to treat my swim workous like a resistance workout because I train for power and speed, using fins a good bit. I will follow each swim workout with a 30 minute spin on the bike.

I plan to try this for one month and see how it goes. Before starting my plan last week, I got 2 miles of easy running in on Wednesday, May 30. I officially started my plan on June 1 and did as follows:

10 minute warm-up on gauntlet

Bench press: bar x 5, 65 x 5, 2 sets of 95 x 6

Lat hi row: 90 x 5, 2 sets of 110 x 6

Hammer curls: 2 sets of 12 x 10

Squats: bar x 5, 2 sets of 95 x 8

Seated calf-raise machine: 2 sets of 70 x 8

Captain's chair: 2 sets of 20 bent knee/straight leg raises

30 minute workout on treadmill: 1 mile alternating 2 min walk at 3.5 mph with 1 min run at 7.0 mph, 1 mile alternating 1 min walk at 3.5 mph with 1 min run at 8.0 to 9.0 mph, 5 min. cool-down walk.

Last night, feeling inspired, I did a treadmill workout at the hotel: 5 minute walk, 2 miles alternating 2 minute walk at 3.5 mph with 1 minute run at 8.0 moh, 5 minute walk.

Did lots of exercises at the personal training seminar today, so think I will call it a day.

Looks like tomorrow will be another weights/run day as the weather is supposed to be crappy. Tuesday looks like a good swim/bike day.