Maybe kickboxing with hand-weights wasn't such a great idea

 

You know what they say about chest pains, especially in women? It’s enough to strike fear in almost anyone. We’ve all heard the warnings about ignoring potential heart symptoms. Sure, we might let things go for a while, but if the discomfort persists, most of us will begin to wonder what’s up.

 

Enter my physician.

 The last time he and I discussed heart health was a few years ago – right before I ran my second full marathon. I was a little concerned about some tightness in my chest and wanted his go-ahead before toeing the start line.

 “If you’ve been training for a marathon, your heart is healthy,” he said. “Roll back the weight training till after the race.”

 

Um, sure.

 Never mind that I can easily name three of four running friends and a couple of super-fit family members who take medication for atrial fibrillation and other heart-related issues.

 I heard what I wanted to hear. And I went ahead and did the marathon. And more.

 

Fast-forward a few years.

 The chest pains came back and were even more pronounced. What’s more, they lasted for days and days.

 I contacted my physician again. He ran an EKG, which was normal. Then he asked me if I was still working with weights.

 Well, yes. So maybe the chest pain had more to do with picking sturdier hand-weights for kickboxing lately. I guess I’ll scale that back for a while.

 Gotta love a simple answer.

 

Related Items:

·        Cross-Training – Ever tried suspension training?

·        Mixing it up: Cross training adds spice and fitness

·        Parked: Can't go in the gym till devices are charged up

 

 

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Cross-Training – Ever tried suspension training?

Sometimes trying a new fitness class is worth the risk. This week, I was sort of at the end of my rope, having missed a favorite group exercise class. My calendar competed with me and won, so it had to be so.

Hoping to regain my workout momentum, I sampled a suspension training class. This session employed the TRX system, with which I was quite unfamiliar. It didn’t look all that trying, so I decided to give it a whirl.

TRX photo by Pixabay / permission granted

Color me impressed. One hour on that fitness framework, and I was hooked.

What is suspension training?

This mode of exercising uses ropes or straps attached overhead to make participants work against their own body weight to build strength, balance, flexibility, joint stability, and endurance. 

Hey, I need more of all of those things, I thought.

The TRX system at our gym employs a rigging of webbing (with handles) that are affixed to a sturdy rack (looking something like a traditional playground swing-set).

Group class photo by www.localfitness.com.au with permission

 

I plunged into the program tentatively at first, but soon found myself stretching my own limits with each exercise we performed.

Guess it’s time for me to suspend disbelief in suspension training – at least, if my sore muscles have any say in the matter. And I’ll be back for more.

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40+ miles behind schedule … but that’s OK

Sometimes it’s alright to be a little behind. Here we are, entering the second month of the year, and I am already at least 40 miles behind schedule. To meet my year-end goal of 2,019 miles in 2019, I ought to have logged more than 165 miles by now. 

But I haven’t.

Blame it on the polar vortex, which clobbered the American Midwest with remarkably low (as in way below zero) temperatures and crazy-cold wind chills. Schools closed. Banks closed. Store and businesses closed. Doctors’ offices rescheduled appointments. Hairdressers canceled. Sports teams and music instructors called things off. Mail delivery ceased.

Worst of all, the GYM CLOSED for two whole days.

And they canceled classes (including my running/speed class) almost all week.

Ugh. All but a few runners opted to stay indoors and wait the polar blast out. Some racked up miles or practiced cardio, strength, or other fitness work on their own workout equipment at home. Others cranked up YouTube workout videos to get themselves pumping.

OK, I did a little of that during the polar vortex days (and nights). But I also caught up on a lot of desk-work. I cleaned out a few closets and cupboards. And I made an entire quilt. It’s really cozy and turned out pretty nice.

But quilting and de-cluttering didn’t exactly bump up my year-to-date mileage.

So now I have some catching up to do. I’m pretty sure the miles will add up a lot faster in the warmer months, especially once half-marathon season begins. And when my full marathon training starts (later in the spring), I’ll definitely make up for lost time.

Sometimes we runners need to cut ourselves a break.

I’ll be back – even if I did eat some comfy carbs during the polar blast shut-in days.

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Step counts - Do you ever wear your tracker on your ankle?

Counting steps is big business these days, especially for runners. We love tracking our workouts, whether we are training for marathons, jogging for fitness, or hiking woodsy trails for fun.

“If it’s not tracked, it doesn’t count,” some will say. "It's almost a crime."

So what happens when we climb onto the elliptical (or a bicycle), trot onto the treadmill, climb onto the stair-climber, or push a jog stroller to run?

Ding! Not much. Those wristband activity trackers don’t seem to record the actual distances we cover, if our hands are not swinging.

What’s a step-counter to do?

Lots of people remove their wristband activity trackers from their wrists and fasten them to waistbands, belt loops, running belts, hydration pack straps, bras, and other spots that tend to bounce along with their feet. Many of us strap those trackers to our ankles.

I’ve even seen people pushing shopping carts through grocery stores and mega-marts, with activity trackers wrapped around their ankles.

And I confess: I buckle my Garmin to my ankle when I’m working out on machines at the gym. But I’ve ran into a strange sort of trouble for it. Actually, it was more like an interrogation.

“What are you in for?” one guy asked me recently.

I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly. I took out one earbud and asked him, “Excuse me?”

The guy pointed at my ankle. “What were you busted for?”

“Nothing,” I said. Then I busted out laughing. I should have said, “Three counts of low battery charges,” or something like that.

I guess you might say I’ve become a prisoner of my own device. But I think I'll stop wearing those black-and-white striped running tights at the gym.

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