Getting Healthy is Hard
There’s no doubt about it, HIIT keeps you humble. At the end of my fourth (and last cycle) today I was a sad excuse for sprinting. It reminds me of seeing little kids running across the playground, and when they’re almost there, they start almost falling forward, chest out, legs and arms flailing behind them, looks of exagerated agony on their faces. I probably looked something like that this morning. In my head, I’m and ugly little red head, whining about how hard it is.
Today I did 4 cycles, same as Monday, with pretty much the same times. 6 minutes warming up. Four cycles of sprinting and resting, 7 minutes cooling down. 19 minutes back at my car. And as I said, the last cycle was pretty sad.
I also went to a new park today. It’s much longer and has nice straight stretches that are far away from the off-leash dog park. Not that it helped my performance, but it did give me less to worry about. The rain was coming hard, and the puddles were huge, which also gave me something to think about as I struggled to wait for the 30-second mark. I’ve been wondering though, I’ve lived in Eugene and Portland, Oregon my whole life, and both are considered very runner-friendly. How do other cities compare? I was just appreciating how there are several parks within a mile or two that have nice bark trails for running, and I’m not even in the higher-priced areas where the parks are nice. Do parks in other cities have running paths? I know that Loyola in New Orleans had an awesome park with jogging paths and exercise stations, same with Honolulu. But those are only two cities, and I can only think of one park in each city. What about others? If you live in a bigger city, let me know what it’s like to run there, and if the city does much to give you a safe place to do it off the streets.
Oh yeah, the scale. 230.2 lbs and 30.4% body fat. Not bad. I’ll be stoked when I see 225, however, with my birthday this weekend, I might be eating pretty bad. So who knows when I’ll see it.
Feb 21st 2008
hi how long should hiit last on a bike?
May 10th 2008
I use to be just like that. I talked to this personal trainer one day and he said the best way to stay motivated is to make a journal of exactly what you do every single day. Honestly it really work when I looked at it on paper it was different. When you see no improvement on paper in terms of reps, sets, and distance and haven’t done anything you feel like a lazy asshole that day then get motivated to get on them running shoes and pull out the wieghts.
Aug 14th 2008
Hi, I did a google on HIIT as I want to add it to my routine. Like you, I hated running. Notice the past tense. I now like running because I’m now on a hormonally balanced diet called the Zone Diet. You can google it for more information, but it is a moderate, balanced diet that yields amazing results. Joslin Diabetes Centers recommends a diet that is almost identical. Dr. Sears, the creator, has worked with athletes that have brought home 24 gold medals. Jenny Thompson was the most prolific Zoner medalist and her count was just surpassed by Michael Phelps a day or two ago.
Christian Vande Velde is a Zoner - he recently finished 5th in the Tour de France.
I’d also recommend spending some google time on “pose running.” It has helped me a lot, but takes some time to get your calf muscle strong enough to support the work load.
I’m a decade your senior and I feel better than ever - and I mean this factually. I really really do feel better than ever. I effortlessly lost 25+ lbs of fat while adding ~70 lbs to my bench press - I started pretty weak.
My foundation is the Zone Diet, pose running is a great tool and I hope to add HIIT as another tool in my arsenal.
Best of luck in your exercise adventures.