After doing an assortment of chest, triceps and shoulder lifts (core always at the end) I ended my gym work with sprint 8’s on the elliptical.  If you don’t know about these then you are missing out.  Oh, how I love AND hate them.  It’s never a dull workout when you include it.  I mentioned them in a previous post and linked to the creator’s, Phil Campbell, demo of how, why and when you should do them.  Not to scare anyone, but you should really consult with a doctor before engaging in these.  I know, I know, they say that for any workout routine, but sometimes that is just straight ridiculous as walking in a mall could be considered a workout routine and I don’t see anyone needing approval for that. LOL  However, these, if done right, will leave you worn out by the eighth one and if you aren’t prepared then….who knows!  Just look at me after I finished all eight.  Take your time when it comes to building conditioning and don’t jump into things that are way above your fitness level.  It’s like the signs at North Shore, Oahu, around pipeline area, “when in doubt, don’t go out”.  Pushing past your present fitness level is good and it’s the way to build new and improved physical adaptations, but overdoing it can cause an assortment of issues that are unnecessary if we just learn to listen to our bodies.

Following my training session I take a protein mixture and sometimes (depending upon the intensity and duration of my session) mix it with C2O coconut water.  Through research and discovery, sports scientists have determined that for optimum nutrient uptake for cellular repair (i.e. recovery: better and stronger physical adaptations) there is a 30 minute window post training session.  I figure most people know this, but in case you don’t – there you have it.  Also, please query it online and find the various ratios of protein:carb combos that work best for you and your particular activity.  I think it’s pretty standard in a general sense across the board.

I felt so refreshed after that recovery drink that instead of driving to the post office I decided to walk.  It’s about a mile and a half away, so a total of 3 miles of steady walking was extemporaneously added to my daily training log.  Though I had this recovery drink and then followed it by a sandwich and popcorn for lunch, I felt like I needed another snack after I returned to maintain a caloric balance.  I had a homemade yogurt parfait.  So easy to make and enjoy I wonder why people even buy these pre-made to begin with.  Once you mix the different parts of the parfait you have to either add unhealthy preservatives or eat it quickly.  This makes making it the preferred choice for health conscious individuals.  A fresh pineapple was cut, organic raisins were used in addition to shelled walnuts, raw honey and, of course, organic plain unsweetened yogurt.  Its unfortunate that all they had was the low-fat variety at the time I purchased it.  I prefer whole fat for all my dairy products and now science is vindicating all those who didn’t fall for the low/no fat health fad.

Happy Trails!  🙂