So the new job is going great. I like it alot. I am still just a temporary contractor, but things seem to be going well and I am hopeful that this job will become permanent.
I’ve been working for about 6 weeks. Before January, I was working 6-7 hours a day. Since January, I bumped that up to a full 8 hours a day. Let me tell you, it’s been alot harder to squeeze workouts in with just that extra work time eating up my day.
I had this crazy idea to do crossfit WOD (Workout Of the Day). It’s a very short but very intense workout you can get from http://www.crossfit.com. There has been only one day where I felt I could actually do the workout, and even then, I had to greatly modify it to make it doable. Also, alot of their workouts require gym equipment. Today’s workout does not require a gym, but Haha, look at it:
Three rounds for time of:
Walk on hands, 100 feet
Hold handstand against wall for two minutes
15 Handstand push-ups
Um, right. Not going to happen.
I got up a little early this morning to try and do something, but it wasn’t early enough to hit the pool. It’s too dark still to do a short run. So, here I am sitting at my computer blogging.
I am thinking about ordering P90X DVD workouts. The go for about $75 on ebay. Those are like crossfit, but more reasonable and you don’t need a gym. I just want something short and intense that will help keep me fit. My theory is based on an article I read a while back where researchers found that short intense all out efforts were just as effective for building endurance as long steady workouts. Here is an article that describes that study: http://ezinearticles.com/?Intense-Workouts-For-Busy-People&id=3232053 What do you think? Is that theory valid?
Thanks for your comments, everyone. I was thinking of maybe just doing 1/2 of each P90X workout maybe 3x per week. I don’t think I could find time to do these for 1 hour a day plus my other stuff.
Careful with those CrossFit WOD’s. I was feeling great after a half marathon in October and decided to go in to my local CrossFit gym to workout the next night. I had been working out there for about three months and was loving it and hating it at the same time. ; ) We did a workout called the Nifty Fifty that started with 50 box jumps. I made it through the workout but something didn’t seem right. My running suffered to the point that I finally went in to see the doc. An MRI showed that I had suffered a stress fracture of my tibia. For me, I think it was a combination of the tough plyometrics and not resting enough after the long race but I think I’ll avoid jumping for a long while. Silly rookie move on my part and I paid for it big time.
I also have the P90X dvd’s and love the workouts. I tried really hard to do them and train for a sprint tri with no luck. I simply ran out of time. Like the above person stated, workouts are at least an hour and some are longer but they are INTENSE!! and the people look great doing them so you want to try to keep up. You do need a chin up bar and some weights which Im sure you have. I have seen some results from several people who have used and still continue to use the dvds. You will probably love them, I know how hard you love to work out!!!
Tracy 🙂
Hi Carol,
When my buddy talked me into sprint triathlons in 2006, I had ZERO cardio base other than medium intensity efforts with weights at the gym. For virtually the entirety of 2006 my run workouts were 1 all out 100% 5k effort a week, some weeks I missed them. I started the year not able to go much more than a mile without a little walking. By September of that year I was routinely running my somewhat hilly course around my home in ~21 minutes with only a little stretching for a warm up.
I don’t know how well this strategy would work for someone with a much bigger engine and bigger base than I had.
Hey Carol, The P90X workouts are at least an hour each some are 90min so I don’t think it will be the short workout you’re looking for. I have a number of friends that have used it with great results. I could only do 3/4 of the workouts when I tried it this summer because I am weak!
My initial reaction from this blog report was “gosh – maybe I will do what ever Carol decides to do!” I quickly glanced at article – I am just not so sure about it. Good luck.
So funny about your post. I was thinking about ordering the P90X dvds myself after watching the infomercial. Some of the amazon.com reviews said that the DVDs often don’t play, faulty manufacturing etc, so I’m not sure.
If you do buy them, let me know what you think.
Whole heartedly agree with this article. I used to work in NY commuting 3.5-4 hours a day, working 8-10 hours a day, and fit in noon workouts running to the gym 2blocks away working circuit training 3 days a week (mix cardio and weights), 2 spin classes evening or noon, and weekends spent one on long run and one off day to prep for 1/2 marathons. I was well prepared for those races.
I now work from home but when I travel I employ similar techniques.
Planning is soo important!