July 12 Update: It's About Fitness.

Greetings once again everyone. Pardon the intermission, but I've been busy making travel plans, working, doing homework/essays, and working. By the time I have arrived at a juncture in which I could blog, I felt the desire to do so had already left me. Not so tonight.

I acquiesced to strength training recently; particularly, I am employing Steve Kamb's NerdFitness routine: Superhero workout. If you're defiant at this particular moment and refuse to click the link, I'll include my workout here:

Workout A

4 sets of squats, 4-8 reps. I began at 160#, as I am just a puny runner. 

Three weeks in, and I am repping 190#, looking to increase to 200# this weekend.

3 sets of chin-ups, max reps. I began with a line that looked like 8, 6, 6. My most recent "A" workout yielded 12, 10, 8. 

4 sets of overhead press, 4-8 reps. Again, I'm a puny runner. Started repping 80#, I'm now at 110# with my most recent line being 8, 6, 6.

Workout B

3 sets of deadlifts, 4-8 reps. Began at 140# as I had never done deadlifts in correct form. I'm now repping 190#, recent line: 8, 8, 7.

3 sets of bent over rows, 6-10 reps. Started at 120#, currently at 150#. Line: 10, 10, 8.

4 sets of bench press, 4-8 reps. Began at 140#, currently at 160#. Line: 8, 6, 5.

400m sprints, with 200m walking rest periods. This is less to do with interval training and more to do with maximum exertion running for speed training. I've never really employed sprints in my routine but I'm glad I did.

I enjoy this new routine for many reasons. First, I'm getting strong at a nice pace. Second, my routine takes no longer than 30 minutes typically and works my entire body due to the use of stabilizer muscles in nearly every routine. My plan is to do this routine for three months and then switch over to Crossfit: Endurance.

I will need to be more mindful about wasting muscle this time. I believe I wasted a lot of muscle in my hardcore cardio years and now I'm having to make up lost ground.

Time for some progress pics!

Week 1, June 30.

Week 2, July 5.

Week 3, front profile, July 12.

Week 3, oblique profile, July 12.

All told I've gained about three pounds and the knee pain which had lingered for years has subsided as I anticipated with the strengthening of my quads and posterior chain. With vacation for an entire month upcoming, I am unsure of what sort of access I will have to barbells. If I do have access to a gym with barbells, I'll continue the routine and continue with the updates. 

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by and namaste!