Training

1/11/11 - AM: 120 minutes on the spinbike (Cross Training)…threw in a movie to make the time pass quicker. Angels and Demons was the flick pick for the day. PM: Joined my Riverfront crew for some Winter training. 30 minute workout in the tanks + 30 minutes in “R” on the erg.

1/10/11 - AM: 75 minutes in “R” on the erg. PM: Strength Training; 40 minutes of cardio

1/9/11 - 6K Test.

1/8/11 - AM: 3 hour Cross Training = Cross Country Skiing in Massachusetts! Was awesome.

1/7/11 - AM: 75 minutes in “R” on the erg. PM: Strength Training, 35 minutes cardio

1/6/11 - AM: 120 minutes on the spinbike (Cross Training). PM: 30 minutes in “R” on the erg. Bonus: 45 minute spin class at lunch

1/5/11 - AM: 75 minutes in “R” on the erg. PM: Strength Training; 20 minutes of CT cardio

1/4/11 - AM: 120 minutes on the spinbike (Cross Training). PM: 30 minutes in “R” on the erg.

1/3/11 - AM: 75 minutes in “R” on the erg = easy pace. PM: Strength Training but missed due to travel delays

1/2/11 - AM: Sub-max 6K (not full out); 15 minute warm-up and 15 minute cooldown. PM: Off

1/1/11 - AM: Happy New Year’s! Full day of Cross Training. Went for an 1:40 run (estimating I covered 14-15 miles) out at the West Hartford Reservoir. Beautiful, sunny day. Perfect way to bring in the new year. PM: Off

12/31/10 - AM: Strength program with 45min cardio. PM: 75min on the erg. Last ergo of 2010…great way to bring in the New Year!

12/30/10 - AM: 120CT (120 minutes, Cross Training) = 45min Arc Trainer, 30min on the erg, and last 45min on the elliptical machine. Solid workout. Tiring because it’s long but not necessarily “hard” - the point is to build your anaerobic base; which simply takes time, time, and more time. PM: 45min on the erg. Felt great with this workout…solid 45 minutes of strong work and kept my heart rate in an “R” (restoration) state.

12/29/10 - AM: 75mins in “R” on the erg - not all out but hard enough to get a sweat going and solid workout in. PM: Strength Program with another 35 minutes of cardio.

12/28/10 - AM: 120CT (120 minutes, Cross Training). I broke it out into 45 minutes on the Arc Trainer (it resembles the movement of a Gazelle); 30 minutes bike, and the last 45 minutes on the elliptical. PM: 30 minutes on the erg in “R” (light and easy, just enough to get the body warmed up and a little sweat going).

12/27/10 - AM: 75-minute run PM: Strength Training scheduled (missed due to travel back to CT).

12/26/10 - AM: 75-minute run (about 9 miles); PM: sub-max 6K with 15-minute warm-up and 15-minute cool-down. Adds up to about a 55-minute workout.

12/25/10 - Officially an “off day” — it’s Christmas! AM: 30 minutes on the bike…decided to do a little something since I had been completely off a couple days before.

12/24/10 - AM: 80 minutes in “C” - Home in Louisiana, ergs are a little hard to come by. Took advantage of some cross training and the warmer weather and went for a 60-minute run outside then jumped on my parents’ elliptical for an additional 20 minutes. The run was fantastic. One of my favorite things to do when I come home is to train outside with the early sun on my face, breathing in the full air (Baton Rouge is nearly at sea level). 20 minutes on the elliptical at a high clip to keep my heart rate in zone-while watching TV and catching up on the morning news -and I was set. Endorphins flowing and Christmas Eve breakfast aromas starting to fill the air! PM: 30-40 minutes of cardio and Strength Training.

12/23/10 - Travel Day …headed home for the Holidays with an early AM flight. Ended up having a travel day from Hell and didn’t get to my hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana until the evening. By the time I grabbed dinner with the family and had a chance to catch up, I was beat after having roughly 3-4 hours of sleep the night before. Decided to get to bed early so I wouldn’t be exhausted the next day. Since I took the day completely off (aside from my running through the Chicago O’Hare airport!), I’ll trade it with an extra workout on Christmas Day (originally planned as entirely off). The takeaway from this is that things happen and you have to be flexible; you can’t stress out about things you can’t control and if it impacts your training schedule, modify and adapt. As long as you pick up and work hard the next day, you won’t be set back by missing one workout. Don’t get too caught up in “making up” workouts because that can throw off your recovery-which is extremely important. Small adjustments can be made, but most importantly, wake up the next day ready to get after it!

12/22/10 - AM: 80 minute workout on the erg = (10-20-40-10). With the results of my lactate test, I now know my Heart Rate zones and am better equipped to train more effectively. This morning’s workout was 10 minutes in “R” (Rest or Regeneration) - 20 minutes in “C” (Compensation) - 40 minutes in “EXE” (Extensive Endurance) - and then a final 10 minutes in R again to cool down. PM: 30 minutes of cardio (I chose the lovely Precor, Intervals, level 6) - plus “Day 1″ of my lifting program which took about another 30 minutes. My program includes core lifts like bench press, dead lift, squats, power clean, and lat pull interspersed with abdominal exercises and smaller muscle focused lifts as well. Rowing truly uses the entire body so it’s important to have a balanced strength program, making sure your paying attention to all the larger “powerhouse” muscles as well as giving some love to the smaller “detail” muscles and always continuing to build your core. I’m already feeling stronger as my body adjusts to the mileage on the erg and hitting the weights like I did a few years ago in college.

12/21/10 - AM: Lactate Test @ GMS. Early morning to get to GMS for a Lactate Test at 6:45am. Woke up 4:20am to make sure I ate something substantial before the testing. The body generally needs a good 2-3 hours to digest and get the energy working in your system. The test consisted of three separate 7-minute pieces. The 1st piece was pulling 160 watts; 2nd @ 200; and 3rd @ 240. By the last piece, you’re really starting to work-that’s the point After each piece, ”GMan” takes a little pinch of blood from a small prick in your ear — this is testing the blood lactate levels — all the while monitoring your heart rate levels throughout the exercise. The science identifies your heart rate “zones” in which you should be working in (varies based on their level of fitness, biology, etc.) PM: 2×40 minutes in “C” (Heart Rate zone)

12/20/10 - Rest Day before Lactate Test tomorrow (which will be pretty rigorous - test is usually 3-4 7 minute pieces on the erg at a high rate…pretty taxing on the body). AM: This morning’s workout was an easy 60min = 40 on the erg / 20 on the spin bike. Enough to get a good sweat going, heart rate up in the “R” zone and move the junk around your system a bit. PM: Rest, Eat and Hydrate.

12/19/10 - Day after 6K Test. AM: 100 minutes in “C” — harder than R (for me, heart rate between 155-165); you should be fatigued by the end of this workout but could still do some more if you had to. Worked off the sliders with my training partner 4×25 minute pieces with 2:30 rest intervals. PM: 45 minutes in “R”