New week = another rest/cross-training day to start. I’m starting to get into the rhythm of this program – it is nice to have structure to my training again.
I’ve been looking for a core routine that is good for my situation – namely, someone with considerable discomfort when rolling on the coccyx & a weak lower back. Both P90X and Insanity were no good for this and while DDP Yoga gets a lot of great reviews, I’m not prepared to drop more money on a DVD program (even if it does star my favorite pro wrestler of all time!).
This search has been occuring off and on for quite a while, but my goal of adding core work to my cross-training days for RW:C Break-1:30 has made me get serious about it. At one point, I had found a pretty good routine, but I couldn’t remember where I found it. Isn’t that always the way of things?
But today I remembered where I found it! One of the more popular running blogs on the web is Strength Running. If you poke around the site long enough, you will find that the man behind Strength Running, Jason Fitzgerald, has what he terms the “Standard Core Routine“. This was what I was looking for!
Its not the high cardio type of workout that you find in a Tony Horton DVD. The Standard Core Routine is a half dozen moves that you could (and perhaps I should) do every morning. There is no rolling on my coccyx and it hits all the major core muscles, including the lower back.
I’m going to stick with the Strength Running “Standard Core Routine” for a while and see if it gives me the results I’m looking for. I can’t see it being worse than the nothing I’m doing currently!
The rest of cross-training was just going to the local Y to play around in the cardio room. No plan, save for just getting my heart rate up a bit and doing something to be active. Stacy can tell if I haven’t been running for a day or two – it shows in my mood pretty clearly, apparently. In the end, it was 30 minutes on the stationary bike watching ESPN and a 2000m row for time. Fun and different, and no pounding on my legs.
No GU today, since I can’t see needing a pre-workout for a goof-off day at the gym. But the rest of my nutrition is aces, Racing Weight has been a real game-changer for me. I stopped trying to lose weight through severe caloric restriction and have balanced my diet around the DQS table. I eat more and feel better.
I’ve been working my way through the Racing Weight Cookbook while also figuring out the DQS of some of my old favorite meals (Cheeseburger Salad! Yay!) and adding them to the arsenal. Even if the weight loss is slower, my training is worlds improved and my mood is so much more positive.
Back to the track tomorrow, with a slow increase in mileage. Like it says on my Columbus Marathon in-training shirt: “You have to train to triumph.”