The Do You Work Out Zone

[shadows papa]

Originally Posted by PapaC

I could sure use it too.

Well. I finally got the nerve after discovering that I don't *mind* pool swimming as much as I thought I would to visit my local pool. Prior to that I'd been swimming in lakes.

A brief history. I started T in 2003 making navigation around gender binary change areas in fitness club/rec centres an 'issue'. Since I was already self conscious about my size, I took to the trails and swam in a lake 20 minutes from home. when I moved to the west coast in 2006, I found another lake 7 minutes away but didn't want to deal with men's changing areas.

I've been told that yes some pools the men's area has like ZERO privacy. Forget that.

Anyway, long story short, buddy of mine did some research and happy to say that almost all pools in my area have 'family' change areas, including my local pool which is less than 5 minutes away. I no longer have any excuses to not do my favorite workout in the winter. Nothing is going to stop me now.

Right now I'm not bothering with stats. I'm just showing up to do a solid 1-2 hours of swimming (non-stop) 5 times a week. That's the goal. Between 2002-2005 (although 2004 was the main year), I lost a total of 125 lbs, and keep off most of it (100-110lbs) over the last 4 years. That's an achievement in of itself but I got a lot more to go as I'm still over the 350lb mark.

Today my routine consisted of 2 breast stroke, 2 front crawl, alternating between the two. I also want to work on more upper body so today when I swam front crawl I did so with no kicking (love doing that... I really feel the burn in my shoulders).

I gotta long way to go but the journey is all part of it.

Good luck to rest of you and your routines. Glad to be here to help motivate each other!! (woot!)

Hey there PC! Welcome to the thread! Sounds like you got a plan for the winter time months. I have upped my swimming to 4 times a week; 3 coached workouts and one on Saturday morning where I just zone out and SWIM till I get tired. I tried going for a mountain bike ride yesterday,but after careening off a tree and sliding down a 10 ft embankment in the first mile,I realized my heart and head weren't in it so I came home.I also took today off,as it has been 3 weeks since a full day off of working out for me. Climbed back on the clean eating wagon this morning,because when I eat crap,I feel like crap! Tomorrow is circuit training day at the gym(this is the last week of this routine and I'm happy to see it go!) I will be designing another 3 week routine that will be more about developing strength with a 20 minute treadmill run before and after. Tomorrow is also my day off work,so if the weather continues to be gorgeous, I am going for a road bike ride! Happy Monday everyone! Shad

[SnackTime]

Originally Posted by TheSqueeze

I think I have a half-ironman in me. The swim is the toughest part of tri-training for me. I just can't focus for that long in the pool/open water. I become a time checker and find myself watching the clock and counting down the time until I am done. I need to re-engineer my brain for swim training and make the commitment to getting it done.

Good luck with re-engineering your brain on the swim part of the training!

Originally Posted by SelfMadeMan

Stacy and I just joined a fitness club and I am SO happy about it! My main workout right now is heavy on the cardio and also focusing on my arms/back. Feels so good to be taking my life back and getting healthier!!

Congrats on joining a fitness club! Keep up the the great work!