So I do a lot of gym work, but I rarely do much cardio work. Clearly, this has to change. And so, this week I was challenged to a cardio circuit in the gym - 2kms on the stationary bike, then 2kms on the cross-trainer (elliptical trainer), then 2kms on the rower, then 2kms on the treadmill. The aim was to have as little time between the machines as possible, and do the whole thing in as short a time as you can. It was going to be hard......
Fired on from my disappointment and general low feelings from last night, I opened my eyes to the sound of the alarm clock this morning, feeling determined to start to make a change. I had half a wholewheat bagel, and a mug of tea, and spent 20 minutes or so emptying out food that will not help me reach my goal, from the cupboards, fridge and freezer. I then got dressed into my gym gear, put yesterday's workout stuff in the washing machine, and packed a bag with today's clothes etc. Offf I went to the gym....
I did a short warm-up, a wee bit of a stretch, then headed warily towards the bike. So how did I do, with today's workout?
Firstly, I cheated. The cross-trainer was killing me. I've NEVER done more than 6 minutes on the cross-trainer, and always as a warm-up, so when I tried to up the cadence/speed, my legs didn't really understand what I was asking of them, haha. After 10 minutes, my toes started to go pins-and-needley. After 12 minutes, they were going numb, and I kept trying to pick my feet OFF the machine during the motion, which was difficult. After 15 minutes I was slowing to a crawl. So, I called it a day at 1km. Just 1km. But still, a lot more than I've done before....
Secondly. If there was EVER any doubt that I don't do enough cardio work, today's session proved it without any argument. Soooo hard work. My arse was handed to me on a plate!!!!
So.... here we go:
Lap 1- Bike - 2km - 4:15 - av HR 176
Lap 2 - 0:52
Lap 3 - Cross-trainer - 1km - 17:22 - av HR 177
Lap 4 - 1:55
Lap 5 - Rower - 2km - 9:40 (on stopwatch - machine 9:36) - av HR 181
Lap 6 - 1:58
Lap 7 - Treadmill - 2km - 14:51 - av HR 182
Total - for 7km (including the time spent moving between machines and getting set up) - 50:53
The whole thing really just about killed me. Just so difficult... I walked a few times during the treadmill 2km, and halfway through the rowing I was slowing to a sunny-Sunday-on-the-river type of pace and had to really pick it up at the end, my 4th 500m split was the fastest.
So, I think I need to do MORE cardio work!! I should maybe do this session every week. I hated it, but it's the sort of session where an improvement in fitness is going to be quick, and very obvious in the stats etc. which should be pretty motivating. Not sure what to do about my toes going numb on the cross-trainer, mind.... I'm turning to the gods of Google for help and guidance. :D
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