Tonight's workout was extremely satisfying. Beforehand I really didn't want to go. And I mean really. I was tired after work, and had already eased into the couch to enjoy Food Network, and it was getting later and later. I forced myself to go though, after messing up on the schedule 2 or 3 times earlier this week, also due to being "too tired".
And I was glad I did. Only about 15 minutes into the cardio, I was feeling great - energized, more awake than I had been all day, and I didn't feel like I was overexerting myself. By the end of my 40 minutes of cardio, I was incredibly glad I had gone to the gym. Afterwards, I even ran around the market (literally, I couldn't decide what I wanted and walked across the entire length of the market at least a dozen times) for nearly an hour, and still didn't feel tired (by this time it was 10:30pm).
Now about the actual effort involved in the cardio. I'm proud of myself, yet confused. I love to use the elliptical machine, and I set the incline and resistance on it to match the intensity level of that minute - so I had 6 incline, 6 resistance for my intensity level 6, and so on. That means I was doing 10 incline and 10 resistance for intensity level 10, which is the machine's max. Last time I also did this, but it took alot out of me to get through that minute (I keep the same pace, as measured by strides per minute, throughout my 40 minutes - which becomes more difficult as the incline/resistance increases). This time, it was still a bit difficult, but I wasn't sputtering for air like I was last time. I completed my 20 mins of "easy" cardio at a level 6 incline and level 5 resistance - something I could barely even do last week, and now it's incredibly easy. I'm really proud of that because it seems my actual fitness level is improving quite well, but then I'm left to ponder - what can I do next? Sure, I could try to do it faster, but I'm already going at quite a clip. Even the fastest techno music I listen to while doing it is slower than I'm going.
I'm a bit leery to try changing machines - at my gym there's the elliptical machine, treadmills, recumbent bikes, and some crazy thing that looks like a 2-track treadmill. I already know not to bother with the bike (I sit all day as it is, don't need to sit at the gym too), and I've always been just a horrible runner. You know that side pain you get from running too long (or is it a combination of dehydration/not enough nutrients/running too long?), well I get that nearly immediately when it comes to running. I haven't actually tried running since high school sports, 5 years ago. I had great success using the elliptical machine on a previous weight-loss endeavor, which I shall post about soon, so I was all set to do that again. But in the last endeavor, I don't think I used the incline option at all, and resistance was at 2 max - I tried higher and just could not do it. Perhaps I shall give the treadmill a shot next week and see how my running skills fare now.
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Gooooo Kym! I'm rooting for you!
I call that side pain "a stitch". I get that sometimes when I'm running too. My P.E. teacher from jr. high says to get rid of it by fully expelling air from your lungs. Maybe we're breathing too shallowly during those instances.
It works for me, although it's not instantaneous - it could take 5-10 minutes for the pain to go away. So next time you run, try breathing in deeply and exhaling deeply, to the point your ab muscles are tensing to get rid of all the air. You don't need to exhale deeply each time you breathe, but every once in a while.
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