Exercising

I think I’m slowly getting the hang of this exercising thing :-)

Two weeks ago, I just stuck to the treadmill and exercise bikes, but only exercised two days. Last week, I did the treadmill, but added weights, ending up with shin splints and very sore arms for the effort. Again, I only exercised two days. Yesterday, I did the treadmill and some weights, but concentrated on my chest and shoulders, ending up with no shin splints, but slightly tight shoulder and chest muscles.

Running on the treadmill is good exercise, but it’s hard to slow down and speed up quickly. You have to press buttons to do either, and if you want to drop three miles per hour, you have to press a button 30 times. Also, it’s hard to gauge relative speed. While the readout might read the actual speed, you don’t know how fast you’re really going because you are still in one spot. They do have a 200 M indoor track, I might try. However, on the treadmill, I try to concentrate on the time I spend running, not the distance. If I do the track, I will likely end up concentrating on laps, which might not be a bad thing. I was normally jogging at ~ 6 mph on the treadmill, but yesterday I brought it up to ~ 7 mph. This forced me to kick up my legs more and I think it helped alleviate the shin splints. If I do the treadmill, I will do that again, but if I do the track, I will go at whatever rhythm seems appropriate.

I think the key to the weight machines is to exercise different muscle groups on different days. Since working on the chest and shoulders yesterday, I’ll work on something else today, giving the chest and shoulders a chance to recuperate.

I’ve more or less given up on the computerized exercise bikes they have. I ride a bike to NIFS, and the computerized bikes seem to suck in comparison. However, they do have a bunch of non-computerized exercise bikes for “spinning” classes. Those bikes are made by Schwinn and are more adjustable for a suitable riding position. Their pedals will even work with SPD and Look style cleats. The downside is that if I wore the cleated shoes out to the floor, I wouldn’t be able to do any running – not comfortably, at least. I’ll have to keep it in mind though.

I wanna ride my bicycle

I bought a bike in January with the intention of riding to work everyday. It seemed like a good idea until the snow and ice started. Snow isn’t so much of a problem. Neither are rain or cold temps. Ice can be a problem, though one that can be dealt with by careful riding. The big problem is ice covered by snow. With snow covering the streets and sidewalks, I don’t know what’s underneath. I’ve had a few wrecks in the past where I slid on ice I didn’t know was there. Even with a helmet, it’s still a pain. Bike wrecks are no fun :-( though they make for some pretty cool scars.

Since the weather has been nicer, I’ve been trying to ride my bike more often, though the general hassle of getting the bicycle in and out of my fifth floor apartment has made walking an easier choice. Still, I’m trying to ride more. It’s not much use having a bike if I don’t ride it.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on a mini-shopping spree for bike accessories. A rack for the back was first because it can keep the water off my ass when riding in the rain. I also got a small pack for the rack to hold my workout clothes for the gym. Today, I got some clipless pedals and a pair of Pearl Izumi shoes. Today, I ordered a new rechargeable light for it, because I lost the battery pack to my NiteRider system this morning. The mini-bungee system on the top of the pack didn’t do a good job of keeping the battery pack in place. However, there are lots of rechargeable lights to choose from now, so the prices are more reasonable than they were 15 – 20 years ago (though NiteRider systems are still expensive). I also ordered a cycling jersey and some “waterproof” panniers. In a few months I may buy some more stuff like cold weather gear, but that’s all I plan to buy for the moment.

Working out

A few weeks ago, I joined NIFS which is basically a gym on the IUPUI campus, though I went for the first time on Wednesday. It’s been years since I worked out, so I have to work myself into it.

My general goal is to become “healthier”. A few months ago at a routine physical (the first one in about 15 years) it was suggested I had borderline high blood pressure. IMO, the blood pressure is fine, but the blood pressure rate increases with only a little exertion, then recovers slowly. A sign I’m getting older, I guess, but poor diet and little exercise certainly contribute. Doing some cardio work, I should be able to better manage the blood pressure in time for my next appointment in October. Improving my diet is also ongoing, especially since I want to lose 20 lbs (from ~200 lbs now to ~180 lbs at some point).

Wednesday I did 20 minutes on the stationary bike and 15 minutes jogging on the treadmill. The bike was too low, but I stuck with it. I set the program to Random since I didn’t know the differences between the various programs. I didn’t like the program that much because it wasn’t that challenging. On the other hand, the treadmill was easier than expected. I didn’t note the distance, but I was jogging at about 6 mph for most of the 15 minutes. After hopping off the treadmill I the “sea legs” feeling. Pressed for time, I headed to the showers then to work. NIFS opens at 5:15 am, but I got there after 5:30 and worked out until almost 6:30.

Yesterday I did 20 minutes on the stationary bike again, but I set the seat higher and selected the “Rolling” program. More challenging, my legs definitely felt it, especially the thighs. I arrived earlier, so I had more time to work out. NIFS has a large variety of weight machines, so I went to one where I sat down and pulled the weight down from overhead. Kind of like a chin-up, but not quite. Twenty repetitions at 70 lbs, then 20 at 90 lbs. After that was 15 minutes on the treadmill, which was a lot more difficult than Wednesday. The stationary bike workout might have had an affect on that, but I don’t know for sure. Either way, it was a challenge.

Since it’s the wee hours of the morning (I won’t get into the odd sleeping schedule) I’m trying to decide what to do for today’s workout. I’ll probably try something not so exerting on the stationary bike, which will hopefully let me do better on the treadmill later. I think I get more of a workout from the treadmill, but the stationary bike is good for getting the legs loosened up. I’ll probably try some more weight machines. While the cardio work is more important to me, doing some work on upper body strength is a good idea, especially since the machines are there.

Closing in

I can tell school is soon approaching. I’ve already seen my bill online for the coming semester, so that’s a big sign right there. I’ve been lucky enough to miss the back-to-school ads (the benefit of not watching TV or listening to the radio), but the new books are starting to show up in the bookstore.

This semester is FREN-F 119 Beginning French III and ENG-L 506 Intro Methods of Criticism/Research, which is supposed to be a class on literary criticism. So, lots of reading and writing for the semester. The past few semesters, my classes each met once a week. This semester, one of them is meeting twice a week. IIRC, one is a Monday-Wednesday class while the other is a Thursday class, but I can’t remember which is which. This semester is worth 8 credit hours.

I’ve been slacking off with the French. While I’ve watched a few French films over the past few months, I’m still pretty reliant on subtitles. However, with the new iPod, I can listen to podcasts and watch video podcasts.

I’ve still been thinking about possible subjects for a thesis. I like the idea of using corpus linguistics to help out, since it seems to be a very valuable tool/skill/method. It’s unfortunate this campus doesn’t seem to offer a class on the subject. The idea of formulaic language skill intrigues me, but I’ve also been thinking of shibboleths, and since this is an election year, the use of language by political candidates during the primary and general election season. I should talk with some professors about this.

For an irreverent look at grad student life, check out PhD comics.