CompuTrainer Class: Aerobic Training III

Today's workout was the following (slightly different from last week but still with a focus on lower aerobic effort):

• 1:25 total workout
• 10-minute warm up to warm up the trainer
• 10-minute warm up
• 17-minute aerobic effort with two 2-minute spikes in the middle; 2 min active recovery
• 4 minutes of 1-leg drills; 2 min active recovery
• 4 spin-ups, starting at 85 for 30 seconds, increasing to 110 for 1 minute, holding 110 for 1:30, going back to 85 for 30 sec (or maybe 2 min), then repeating (4 total times; big chain ring); 3:30 active recovery
• 1 minute at 95; 2 minutes at 115
• 1 minute at 95; 2 minutes at 110
• 1 minute at 95; 4 minutes at 100 (moved to big chain ring)
• Short cooldown

During one of the spikes in the 13-minute effort and during a couple of the spin-ups, I actually felt like I hit a 6 effort level on a scale of 1 to 10. I didn't necessarily stay there, mostly because I was focusing on keeping my HR lower while still doing the same amount of work. Unfortunately, I have NO IDEA what my HR was, even though that was what I was supposed to be focusing on. Polar HRMs are not reliable for me; I know Todd's work well because Lisa, Cali, Jerry, and Tammy had no trouble with theirs today. Mine on the other hand kept cutting in and out and would frequently come back up saying my HR was about 42 or 62 or 82 or 51 or 218—it was registering all over the board, but I know I stayed pretty consistent, around 160 or 165.

The afternoon one was one I'd done before, so I knew what to expect. Good thing, too, because it was HARD. Wall squats in general are hard, but doing a total of 12 minutes throughout the workout is almost ridiculous (I say "almost" because I did it, so it wasn't too crazy).

The methodics looked like this: phasic 20 seconds, tonic 30 seconds, 5 deep breaths rest, phasic 10 seconds (PTP), followed by a 3 minute ISO. The exercise order was this:

• Bent over lateral delt PTP, wall squat ISO
• Bent over front delt PTP, wall squat ISO
• Leg curl PTP, wide push up ISO
• Hip flexion PTP, wide push up ISO
• Biceps curl PTP, wall squat ISO
• Bent over triceps extension PTP, wall squat ISO
• Leg extension PTP, wide push up ISO
• Hip extension PTP, wide push up ISO

The wall squats were definitely tough, and I had a hard time finding a place for the push up (I ended up between two bikes in the women's only room at MFY). But it was a great accomplishment to finish!