I’m not sure if I slept wrong or over stressed a muscle in my back while working out last night but I have a nasty low grade ache in my lower back this morning. No big deal as I can switch to a purely cardio workout on a bike or elliptical cross-ramp machine for a few days while I let the back sort itself out.
The real problem is that if I did in fact commit an act of nastiness towards my back it means that I was either not using correct technique or was being careless. Neither are good when you’re dealing with your back and weights. I “suspect” that I did hurt my back, and it was on a horizontal cable rower – that’s one of those evil things where you pull with your arms and back to lift a weight. I prefer the machines that isolate your upper and lower arms as they pretty much ensure that your back is protected. Such is life though.
Another owie, and this is a long term one, is resulting from having knees that contain parts built by Dupont and General Motors – I blew my knees apart in while serving in the Navy and had to pretty much give up running and high impact sports due to the pain. I’m getting back into running again as it’s part of a triathlon, and its a great way to burn calories while I keep my heart rate in the target zone. Ouch – I could damn near cry from the pain sometimes and I want so much to quit but my butt and my heart thank me, as do the people who get to watch me run. (yeah)
Anyhow, I’m trying to burn off fat while I increase my strength and endurance – these two things don’t go hand in hand unless you’re a bit of a zealot.
My ideal workout regime (and how I love that word!) would look something like this:
- Monday — Weight training (60 minutes)
- Tuesday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
- Wednesday — Weight training (60 minutes)
- Thursday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
- Friday — Weight training (60 minutes)
- Saturday — Aerobic exercise (60 minutes)
- Sunday — Recreational sports
In reality I tend to spend about 60 to 80 minutes a day on the aerobic side and only about 20 to 30 minutes on conventional weight training. This is simply because weights are boring, I’m a aerobic/cardio slut/masochist and I’m frustrated easily with weights.
Anyhow… I’m going to try to get in a bike ride today and I will go to then gym – at least once!
I should also mention that I am trying to consume less calories and ensure that the foods that I eat are tasty, nutritious and satisfying.
That is difficult as the cottage cheese here sucks and I love pizza. It’s been a long time since I had a thin crust red onion, green olive pizza with garlic pesto instead of tomato sauce, so the prospect of a pizza sometimes consumes me.
I find it just a bit frustrating that while some of the bits and pieces of obscure documentation that I need are relatively easy to obtain, others appear to issued and administered by the Ministry of Frustration. 
