Weekly Workouts – The Brick

Good morning y’all!  I think last night was my coldest night in Texas – that didn’t stop me from getting up and out there this morning!  Instead of running outside I did a Brick workout at the UT Rec Center.  For the remainder of this week they’re offering a “Try Before You Buy” trial period for their Spinning and TexErcise classes (normally there’s a semesterly fee for each) so I jumped on the chance to Spin fo’ free.

I’m no triathlete but did steal a page from their training book today.  Often times they’ll complete workouts called Bricks:

A brick workout is two or more types of training combined, commonly biking followed by running.  It’s a great workout to target complimentary muscle groups.

The Spin class was pretty easy since it’s the first week back from break.  I think they’re wanting to ease all the newbies into it (which I completely support, Spinning is tough and can be very intimidating).  Regardless, I was able to adjust resistance to still challenge myself and it felt great to be back on the bike.  Our class was about 40 minutes long.

After the Spin, I did a quick series of arm weights before hopping on the treadmill for some lactate threshold work.  (I know I’m throwing around fancy terms…maybe that means school is working?  I promise to explain as we go – if you have questions, always feel free to contact me!).  Basically for LT, I’m not going to run for very long or very far but the time I do spend running will be tough, pushing me past where I normally am comfortable – but not for long.

0-2 minutes     Warm-up walk with 1% incline (keep the incline throughout the workout)

2-6 minutes      jog at comfortable recovery pace (for me 6.0)

6-8 minutes     recovery walk

8-12 minutes     run at your first pace + 1.0 (for me 7.0)

12-14 minutes     recovery walk

14-18 minutes      run at your second pace + 1.0 (for me 8.0)

18-20 minutes     recovery walk

20-22 minutes     run at your third pace + 1.0 (so hard, 9.0)

22-24 minutes    recovery walk

24-25:30 minutes     run at your fourth pace (9.0)

25:30-27:30 minutes     recovery walk

27:30-28:30 minutes     run at your fourth pace (9.0)

28:30-30     recovery/cooldown walk.

So you can see you don’t spend much time running but I’m learning that it’s crucial to developing fitness to spend some time in challenging work zones.  Try this one once a week and you’ll elevate your metabolism, increase your speed and lose fat!

For all of you suffering through temps in the 20s and below, give the treadmill a chance!  Have a great Wednesday – I’ll be in class and then adventuring to San Antonio to watch my Grizzlies!!!

Delicious and Active

Last night I met up with several of my runners who hit exciting milestones in races over the weekend.  We celebrated over dinner and drinks at Alchemy in Cooper Young.

Ran 5 Miles Straight!

If you’ve been following my journey for a while, you know that my favorite drink is the Two-One-Two at this very restaurant.  It’s a refreshing mix of grapefruit juice, tequila (key ingredient) and aperol (not sure what that is).  I’m not sure if I’m happier with YoLo in my hand or this drink….

The Best Drink.

I was almost distracted by a new drink on their menu – the Tequila Mockingbird – a blend of watermelon puree, tequila and lime juice (do you notice a common denominator in my drink choices?) but I stuck to tradition and wasn’t disappointed.

I was joined by Jen, Becca and Linda who I’ve run with for almost 2 years now.  We shared racing stories and caught up on dating, families, work, fitness and fun.

Running Girls

We split the duo of dips – flatbread with hummus or black bean spread to go on top.  An excellent start to the meal.  I chose the brussel sprouts and seared scallops for my dinner.  The menu changes pretty regularly and both dishes were new to me.  Normally I love what I choose but struck out on taste and amount last night.  The brussel sprouts had too much glaze or sweet vinegar or something.  I ate a few bites but didn’t finish the small plate.  And the scallops were good but should not have been pluralized.  I’m pretty sure they just sliced one scallop thinly and spread it out over the plate.

Tiny scallop.

Thank goodness Becca shared her chorizo mac and cheese with me.  It helped fill the extra space in my stomach – and I know how great (very flavorful) a dish it is.  I was a happy girl by the end of the night and look forward to seeing those girls for our Wednesday morning run.

This morning I worked my old shift at the desk and caught up with some favorite members.  Seems everything is rolling right along, just like it did when I worked there.

After a couple hours I left for another favorite eating stop at Cafe Eclectic close to my old stomping grounds at Rhodes.  I ordered the granola and yogurt with a side of eggs.

Cafe E Breakfast

Asa and I had a good catch up and then I hung out to write a bit before heading for some fitness at Inside Out.

Trainer/Client Love.

Tour de Memphis: Fitness Edition

Inside Out Gym spoiled me rotten with their designer spin bikes.  I can’t take a spin class anywhere that compares to the ones here.  So I hopped on my old instructor bike and rotated through the 3 hand positions, spending one minute in each for a total of 8 rounds (24 minutes).

I had a little energy left and did an endurance round on weights.  I did three rounds of fifteen repetitions of: pushups, cable lat pulldowns, bicep curls to overhead presses and tricep pushdowns.  Gotta save some energy for the track workout tomorrow 🙂

 

Happy Monday!  Hope your week is off to a delicious and active start.

 

 

 

 

 

Musical Wednesdays – Hell on Heels

I first heard this song in one of Lisa’s Spin classes at Inside Out Gym.  Spinning has its typical songs – the techno mixes, top 40s pop hits, Sandstorm, workout re-mixes, you know the drill.  A great Spinning instructor has the ability to select music that’s going to strike a chord with the audience (in all my years Spinning, Sandstorm has never done that – although I do manage to stay on beat), maybe not every class member and maybe not every time but Lisa got me in her class a few weeks ago with Pistol Annie’s Hell on Heels.

Hell on Heels

“….I done made the devil a deal. He made me pretty. He made me smart and I’m gonna break me a million hearts. I’m hell on heels, baby I’m comin’ for you.”

Since I rarely wear heels, maybe make mine “Hell on Wheels….”, and make it my motto for the year – watch out boys.

Do you have any “non-traditional” workout songs that inspire you?