Five Chin-Ups!

Since I'm paying $80+/month to belong to Crunch, I try to stop by occasionally. I actually really dig them - good classes, nice facilities, funky vibe. And I think whoever is their copywriter is kind of a genius. Very clever.

This morning I had 45 minutes to kill between clients and classes so I popped in with the intention of just getting in a good sweat on the elliptical machine since I can't run yet and not doing much cardio is driving me nuts.

Well, after a pathetic 12 minutes on the elliptical, I got off because my achilles started yelling at me. With no particular plan in mind, I grabbed an overhead bar and started doing chin-ups. To my surprise, I easily did five!

Since one of my goals is to be able to do 10 pull-ups and I've thus far only made it to three, I was shocked at how easily I banged them out. Chin-ups are usually a little easier for me than pull-ups, but not having practiced them specifically (I usually focus on pull-ups) I was pleasantly surprised. Hoping to hit 10 by the end of October.

And maybe by the end of the year, I'll be able to do 10 of these. Right now I can only do one... So hard!

Moderation vs. The Food Coma

Yesterday I indulged my sweet tooth a number of times. There was an iced molasses cookie and an adorable mini chocolate cream pie from Susie Cakes as well as way too many bowls of Cracklin' Oat Bran. I don't believe in denying yourself the things you love when it comes to food. But I do believe in striving to make the majority of our culinary choices healthy ones. Or at least having moderation as a distant goal.

With yesterday in mind, I thought I'd tip the balance back in that direction with my mid-day meal today. This was my fourth meal of the day, as I'm trying to eat a small one every 2-3 hours. The problem is that some of them end up being not-so-small...

I made a juicer concoction that was a departure from the usual green or purple elixer. It had carrots, fennel, red cabbage, and an orange. And the salad was a simple one this time: greens, red pepper, tomato, blueberries, sunflower seeds, balsamic, chicken. Verdict: Fennel is awesome. But I should have put it in the salad. It was pretty nasty in the juicer.

My challenge when it comes to eating is that although I get inspired and eat pretty healthy much (but definitely not all) of the time, I haven't quite trained myself to stop at that magical "pleasantly satisfied" point. I often keep going and end up in the "holy-crap-food-coma" zone, whether it's a healthy meal or not. And that's no fun. 

I realize that it all comes down to choice. And that no one is making me reach for that fifth bowl of cereal. So, why is it that even if we know we are going to feel like crap after eating that last serving of whatever, we still do it? I find myself, after only a moment's hesitation, saying "F it!" and going for it. 

Some people assume that those of us who "work out for a living" can eat whatever we want. Ha - I wish! Athletes who are competing or training on an elite level have a whole different set of needs when it comes to nutrition obviously. I can't speak to that. I'm not there yet.

However, for people like me who are active all day and also happen to love good food, it's no cakewalk. Being active all day also makes me hungry all day. Sure I make super healthy salads a couple times a week and am obsessed with my juicer. That doesn't mean I don't cave and eat crap just as often. 

My biggest weakness right now is cheese. Well, and pastries. Especially of the chocolate croissant variety. Actually any kind of dairy. Like the plain tart frozen yogurt from Tuttimelon. I like it with granola.

Oh well. It's a journey, right? Sometimes moderation wins the battle. And sometimes the food coma wins the battle. I guess the important point is who is winning the war. 

Posture: Stand Tall and Be Proud

Today I went to the 6am and 7am Basic Training classes to work out, since I wasn't teaching. Michael Krick and Michael Medeiros gave us a great Lyon St. stairs workout with tons of tough shoulder stuff.

Among the many plank and push-up variations we did, holding a push-up position with your feet flat again a wall is a new favorite of mine. There were wood choppers and wrestler drills, some band work and of course lots of stairs.

Sadly, I didn't participate in much of the stair climbage other than walking them gently a few times. This whole not running thing is getting pretty old. The achilles is healing nicely, but man I miss running! Other types of cardio are just not as satisfying. Exercising patience...

After the classes, several of the instructors got to talking about people's form and how important it is to constantly correct form and encourage good posture. As Jenn Pattee pointed out, "if someone doesn't have good posture when they're walking, how can you expect them to have good form when they're tired and lifting something heavy?"

That got me thinking. I know good posture is important. We all know that. But why? What are the compelling reasons that will motivate us to really work on correcting our posture? Let's take a look.

The Cleveland Clinic has a good breakdown:

• Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment so that muscles are being used properly
• Helps decrease the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in arthritis
• Decreases the stress on the ligaments holding the joints of the spine together
• Prevents the spine from becoming fixed in abnormal positions
• Prevents fatigue because muscles are being used more efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy
• Prevents backache and muscular pain
• Contributes to a good appearance

I chuckle at the last one, but at the same time acknowledge how true it is. Good posture makes a HUGE difference in how confident, attractive, and healthy a person looks. 

Below are the most common departures from good posture. When I see people out and about with really poor posture I desperately want to gently place my hands on their shoulders, tell them to stand up straight and maybe send them to my chiropractor.

So hey, if you see me slouching, tell me! Put your hands on my shoulders and give me a playful reminder. Let's help each other stand up straighter and hold our bodies the way they were meant to be held so they can function properly and do all the amazing things they are capable of if we just treat them with a little respect.

Stand tall and be proud of who you are. After all, there is no one like you and you need to embrace just how rad you are. Own it.

Control Your Body. Be an Athlete.

I discovered yet another weakness during my workout with Alhaji today. We did some exercises that involved bounce-passing or tossing a medicine ball on the grass. It doesn't bounce particularly well and its surface is deceptively smooth so it's quite hard to catch. After watching me fumble around awkwardly for a while, he said "control your body." 

This was a poignant comment for me, not just for during physical training but for my day-to-day life as well. Lately I've been thinking that I need to slow down, focus, do one thing at a time and do it well. I think many of you can relate, yes? Sometimes I get so excited and/or motivated that I try to multitask to the point where I can't possibly do any of the things I'm doing well.

At one point we were sitting in a circle with our feet off the ground tossing the ball around. It takes a lot of abs to maneuver in that position as it turns out. After watching me get hit by the ball a few times when I missed it, Alhaji said "Be an athlete. Move your legs." Oh. Right. Funny how sometimes even the simplest solutions don't come to us during times of duress (like when heavy things are being thrown at you.)

Remembering that I am quite capable of being a coordinated and even graceful person, at least with things like dancing or running, I decided to shift my thinking and, well, be an athlete. Move like an athlete. Think like an athlete. Quick feet, mind sharp, always watching what's going on around me. Ready for anything. 

It's about being present in the moment I think. And learning to trust your body. 

Performance Evaluation at UCSF

The day before I turned 30 I went to the UCSF Human Performance Center to do a "Performance Evaluation," figuring it would be an interesting way to find out where I currently stand, athletically speaking. It felt symbolic, given my entering not only a new decade but also a new chapter of my life, where I am focusing on fitness both professionally and as a lifestyle.

The last time I was in really good shape--as far as true athleticism goes--was back in high school cross country. Let's just say that in the 10 years since then I haven't exactly maintained that level of fitness. As I slowly ease back into the world of real training, I am interested to see how my now 30-year old body reacts to the challenge.

The rest of this post gets a little nerdy. If you'd rather watch a super coordinated dude do crazy drills on a treadmill, click here.

Disclaimer: I only have a rudimentary understanding of all this stuff and am excited to be learning more about it, but am by no means an expert or anywhere near it.

Body Composition

The first segment of the performance evaluation tested my body composition. Based on a weight of 152 lbs. and height of 69.5 inches, my BMI was 22.2, which falls squarely into the middle of the "normal" category. Cool.

Next up is body fat percentage, which ended up at 18.8%. Specifically, that's 28.61 lbs of fat mass and 123.81 lbs. of fat free mass. That puts me into the category called "underfat," which is sort of a weird classification. I have decided to rename it "sporty spice." (The categories are obese, overfat, healthy, and underfat.)

Lactate Threshold

For this test, they had me run on a treadmill. Every 3 minutes they took some blood, requested my RPE (rate of perceived exertion), then increased the pace. During this test they are looking for your lactate threshold, which is the point at which lactic acid begins to accumulate. It is sometimes called the anaerobic threshold or onset of blood lactic acid (OBLA).

Mine was somewhere around a heart rate of 175, while doing an 8-minute mile pace with an RPE of 16-17. On the graph, it's the spot where there is the largest jump between dots, in between RPE 16-17 and HR 175.

And here we've got the jump happening as I dip under the 8-min mile point. It's interesting to see because my HR was increasing at a very even pace, as was my RPE and then the BL makes that obvious jump. Voila! Lactate threshold.

So what's the point? Well, the threshold is a function of both genetics and effective training, so it's a valuable tool to measure fitness, and especially distance running performance. Training at the threshold has been found to improve performance and the capacity of the aerobic system. It's where some of the magic happens.

VO2 Max

Next up, they measured my VO2 Max, or maximal oxygen uptake. They did this by keeping me at a steady pace (10-min mile), but increasing the elevation of the treadmill until I was a big blubbering panting mess. Oh, and did I mention I was wearing a sexy snorkeling-type mouthpiece attached to a tube that I had to breath through so they could collect the data? And that it makes you slobber uncontrollably? Ya. It was awesome.

VO2 max is particularly useful in predicting the potential of an athlete when it comes to endurance-oriented activities. My VO2 max was 50 ml/kg/min. That puts me in the "high" category on the VO2 norms chart. I'll need to step it up another few points to get into the "athletic" or "olympic" categories, apparently. My "VO2 at threshold" was 46.3, which just barely falls into the "athletic" group... So you're tellin' me there's a chance. Ya!
 

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Btw, have you ever tried running with your nose plugged? Not comfortable. Nor flattering.

By now, I'm sure some of you have decided you want to go subject yourselves to this kind of testing. I highly recommend it if you want to gain a better understanding of your body and its potential, and especially if your training could benefit from these kinds of tools. Contact my friend, Joe Smith, at the Performance Center. He'll take good care of you. Tell him I say hi. And that he better not tell anyone what songs I had on my motivational playlist during the test.

Presidio Ride & Lyon St. Stairs

Today was going to be a rest day, but by the afternoon I was so restless and antsy that I realized I need to get out and sweat.

That's part of my fitness philosophy: SWEAT EVERY DAY.

Without any real plan in mind, I hopped on my bike and headed to the Presidio. It seemed like there was a wedding reception or cocktail party happening in every other building, which made me feel sort of anti-social for spending the entire day alone and knowing my night would be the same. But, that's exactly how I wanted it. Once I was warmed up and getting going, it felt great to be out riding in the mist.

After an easy 30 minutes on the bike, I stopped at the Lyon St. stairs and spent about 20 minutes doing a lot of stretching, some easy stair repeats (slow jog or walking) to gently test out Mr. Achilles, squats and incline pushups. I had no intention of doing anything hard - just wanted to sweat and get my joints moving.

That's another part of my fitness philosophy: JOINT MOBILITY. Rotate, rotate, rotate. Several times a day too, not just before you exercise.

Ultimately, I'm really glad I worked out, even though it was super mellow. It's amazing how much better you feel after even a little bit of moderate exercise.

Balance, Fireman's Carry, and 19-pack Abs

My entire upper body, especially the lats, have been sore all week. And practicing pull-ups with a student after the 8:30am class yesterday made them hurt even more. Thanks for spotting me, Danny!

Luckily when I met with Alhaji today, he totally ignored the pull-up bars. Today we focused on gently testing out my healing achilles and starting to jog. In between easy laps on the grass, we did a variety of resistance band exercises that killed my shoulders and abs. He likes to mess with the band while you're pulling it, which forces you to concentrate and balance.

At one point I was squatting while holding this bar attached to a resistance band and started to lose my balance. It occurred to me that if I let go of the bar it would whiplash back at him and probably smack him in the face. So I hung on to it desperately and ended up toppling over while still clinging to the bar. Pretty sure it looked like a humanoid version of cow tipping. Not that anyone was watching. It's the Marina green. No one works out there.

I'm finally starting to appreciate just how important balance is. As a person who has lived with clumsiness her entire life, I've become accustomed to constant bruises and minor accidents. But the more I work on agility, coordination, balance, posture, other mind-body awareness skills, the more respect I have for their benefits.

During our workout, we started chatting with a dude nearby who is preparing to enter the Marine Corps in October. Alhaji made him carry me across the field in a fireman's carry (see photo below for example), which was great! Then he made him carry him across the field. The poor guy was struggling. I like outdoor workouts that incorporate elements from the surrounding environment. Like future Marines.

Today we also did a lot of abs, since apparently one of my goals is to have a 19-pack. There was lots of sitting on my ass with my feet up off the ground while a 12 lb. medicine ball was being flung at me from different directions. I kept trying to nail Alhaji in the face with it, but my dead arms could barely manage a weak little toss most of the time.

Another nearly impossible exercise for me is when you hang from a bar and lift your legs straight up in front of you. Since I want to be able to do pull-ups with my legs in the L-shape, it's an obvious intermediary step. My legs are starting to grasp the concept, but so far their execution is laughable.

Another challenge I've discovered: my girly hands. Don't be mistaken, they're anything but dainty. I didn't earn the nickname "Alien Fingers" for nothing. I have freakishly long fingers and strong hands, but apparently the delicate palm skin of a newborn. Long before my arms or shoulders give out, my hands throw up the white flag. I'm assuming they'll toughen up soon enough though. I've already got some baby calluses forming. And one big fat blister. Hot.

Alhaji also gave me a new directive today, which I shall attempt to follow: I can only drink one night per week. Yikes, that's going to be a tough one. But I am serious about training, so I may as well do it right, right? Cheers!

Less Coffee = More Juice?

I love coffee. But mint.com has been yelling at me lately for spending too much money in coffeeshops. So I'm taking a break. Not sure for how long. A week? A month? We'll see.

In the meantime, I thought I would experiment and see if drinking less coffee might result in drinking more juice? Instead of coffee first thing in the morning, I'm starting with a big glass of Odwalla orange juice. If I don't drink coffee (which usually means a vanilla latte or some sort of iced sugary deliciousness), I am also much less likely to go the pastry route and be inspired to go the produce route, as it turns out.

Today I whipped up a little concoction in my Breville juicer consisting of Swiss chard, asparagus, brussel sprouts, cucumber, parsnips, and red cabbage. While I love juicing because it helps me consume produce I wouldn't normally buy and prepare, I know it's good for you to actually eat the vegetable and not just drink the juice because eating roughage is like brushing the insides of your intestines clean. My answer to this is to eat a few bites of everything I juice. That means eating raw asparagus, parsnips, brussel sprouts etc too. And they are surprisingly tasty raw!

To complement the green-stuff-in-a-cup, I made a simple salad with greens, roma tomatoes, sunflower seeds, apple, balsamic, flaxseed, and brewer's yeast. Feels light, satisfying, and healthy and like it might make up for the obscene amounts of cheese I ate last night at Sara's darling garden party.

Mountain Biking Around the City

Today was my fourth session with my new trainer, Alhaji Turay. After spotting him by the marina green monkey bars while teaching boot camp recently, I was sold. It didn't take much convincing before Basic Training founder Jennifer Pattee and I both decided to work with him three times a week. Holy crap.

The first three days introduced us to a bunch of challenging moves focused on power, as well as some agility drills. Turns out I kind of suck at the fast, agility-focused, quick footing type of stuff. Can't say I'm surprised. Master P over here is actually just a big clumsy white girl tryin to be a ninja. Some things just don't come naturally to my kind.

As long as we're complaining... I'm nursing a little case of achilles tendinitis right now. Really frustrating!! Fortunately, with the help of Dr. Robert Minkowsky and his combination of cold laser therapy and skin rolling (along with lots of resting and stretching, and wearing my super sexy Thermoskin plantar fasciitis sock at night), it's gotten way better. I've now started jogging gently on it. Yay!

Anyway. Today with Alhaji was entirely different. I met him and Jenn at 12:30pm with my mountain bike expecting an hour of hill repeats and resistance training or something like that. Not so much. After destroying the pull-up bars (one of my goals is to be able to do 10 pull-ups so he's got me working hard on those) and some of the other wooden equipment there for a bit, the next three hours were spent biking through the presidio, past Lincoln Park golf course, out to ocean beach, back through Golden Gate park, and finally back to the marina green. 

Along the way, there was a lot of riding through bumpy grass and on trails. At one point we were running and attempting (but usually failing miserably) to jump and climb over the big brick walls by the St. Francis Yacht club (it was low tide), and another time we stopped to do bunny hops and backwards bear crawls up a steep grassy hill. 

I am now mushy-legged, mud-spattered, and totally stoked after an unexpectedly long and tough beating.  Much to my own surprise, I'm also starting to wonder if I'm actually a biker and not a runner. As much as I heart running (even when I'm injured and not allowed to do it, grrrrr) there is something so care free and exhilerating about riding that I'm falling for it rapidly. Road biking vs. mountain biking? Jury's still out. So far it's a tie.