Restart!

It's been a long time since you and I talked. Too long.

Recently, I had a friend turn me on to hiking, and have been doing a fair amount of that while trying to rediscover my workout mojo. I added some walk/jog workouts occasionally, and then added a couple of body weight workouts.

Now I think I've got a pretty good handle on how this can work. Nearby, there is a regional center from City of Tucson Parks and Rec, the William Clements Recreation Center. They have a large, full-sized (plus) swimming pool, a modest but complete weight room, cardio equipment, indoor walking/jogging track, and a full-sized indoor basketball court. The fees are CRAZY reasonable ($2 on a daily basis, $51 for a quarterly pass, and $195 for an annual pass). The gym was not crowded but there were a few people there (I was there @ about 0700).

As part of their package, you have to take a short course to certify that you can use the weight room equipment (it's basically a familiarization course, not really a "certification" per se, but you get the drift). So I took the course from a lovely and knowledgeable young lady, got certified, and hit the basketball court. Forty-five minutes later, I hit the weights, and then finished with a twenty minute power cardio on the elliptical machine. Did a five-minute cool down, and then headed out.

First impressions: I can totally see myself coming down here three or four days a week when time permits, but at a bare minimum I can do two days on my off days. There are quite a lot of choices, too, so the boredom factor should be minimized.

Today's workout

Basketball: 5-minute warmup, 40 minutes of running drills, shooting drills, dribbling drills, and specific activity practice (running the two-man break, rebounds, curl-and-shoot). RPE: 8/10
Weights (all upper body):

• Chest Press: 50# x 12, 50# x 8
• Low lateral row: 50# x 12, 70# x 12, 85# x 8
• Preacher Curls: 45# x 8, 45# x 6
• Tricep extensions: 40# x 12, 40# x 12
• Shrugs: 60# x 12, 60# x 12
• Military Press: 55# x 12, 55# x 12

Elliptical: 20 minutes of intervals (90/10 for 30 sec/1:30), 5 minute cooldown. RPE: 6/10

All told, 60 minutes of cardio and about 35 total in the weights plus warmup/cooldown. Not a bad day's work.

Estimated Calorie Expenditure: Just on the two cardio activities, about 950.