Couch Potato to 5K...

WEEK 2 - 1/3rd the way done

2008-04-30T01:12:00.003-04:00

Monday was a good day for the run. I woke up nice and early and busted that run out like I was running from the po-po's (or better known as the police to some people.) Finding the right pace was CRITICAL for this run. I know that might sound stupid to some people, but with any run or walk you ever do, finding your pace will be critical in maximizing your exercise. Also during this run, I was trying to teach myself how to properly breath. Seeing as how I already don't know how to properly run and breath at the same time, it makes it a lot harder when your breaths are not in sync with your running as well. I think it's just going to have to something that I am going to have to experiment with as this program progresses. I weigh myself on Friday before the run, hopefully by then I will reach my goal of 290lbs, which would be a weight loss of 17lbs so far. 270lbs is my first major goal, so there is still a good amount of time before that milestone will be hit.... but I'm looking forward to it so much!

By the way, the shoes should arrive tomorrow in the mail... lets hope UPS doesn't screw it up!

Week 1 - DONE!... Week 2 - The Look Ahead?

2008-04-27T00:34:00.005-04:00

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I'm happy to report that Week 1 has been fully completed! I started this running program on Tuesday and repeated it every other day. I can tell you that while the first day was tough, no I take that back, it wasnt so much tough as it was just hard to know how hard to push yourself on each running cycle of the program. After doing it today, it was much easier because I knew of a good pace to keep while I was doing the run... keeping the same pace made it that much easier to complete my workout today. Also as I mentioned in earlier posts, I have kept working my upper body. Today consisted of Bench Press (4 sets of 5 reps at 235lb's!), curls, skull crushers, and standing pulls.

Starting on Monday I will push ahead to Week 2, which will be tougher. The workout will involve the same running program cycle three times this week. This is how the week will pan out for me:

Monday / Wednesday / Friday - Run 90 sec, Walk 120 sec, Run 90 sec, Walk 120 sec, Ect... for 20 minutes.
Tuesday / Thursday - Bench Press: 4 sets of 5 reps at 240lb's, Skullcrushers, Curls, and Standing Pulls

Wish me luck and have a good one.

Ohh and by the way, I have added a weight loss counter to the top of my blog, go to the blog homepage http://www.couchpotatoto5k.blogspot.com to watch the weight drop as this program goes on. I will periodically update this counter as I progress on in this amazing program!

Nike Shoes and Apple's iPod Nano - The Future Is Now!

2008-04-25T22:32:00.005-04:00

Nike Men's Air Max Turbulence + 12, originally uploaded by bubbafb78.

After just running for a few days now, it is imperative that I purchase some new kicks. Looking through the http://www.eastbay.com/ website I came across a slick pare of kicks for only $88.00. The Nike Men's Air Max Turbulence + 12 really stood out as I was browsing the select few list of shoes that will fit over my size 15 feet.

The amazing thing about this shoe is the Nike Technology that is embedded inside the shoe. There is a small red chip that is placed inside of the shoe. Then you connect the receptor into your iPod Nano. After this is complete, you may start running, which will then calculate how far you run, how long you have run for, your average MILE/MIN and it will inform you of how many calories you have actually lost. Talk about amazing... too bad I don't own an iPod Nano. :(

Week 1 - Day 2... COMPLETE!

2008-04-25T02:00:00.005-04:00

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I'm not going to lie to you guys, today was rough. The reasons I believe it was rougher than Day 1 is because I was still sore from Day 1. When you don't run for an extended period of time, you have to expect that there will be a time frame in the beginning where you will feel very sore... and that's how I felt. Before my run today, I grabbed a basketball and shot around for about 30 minutes to loosen up the body, which was good workout in it's self. Not to mention I had a great upper body workout yesterday which I was still pretty sore from.

The run today was the same as Tuesdays run. It consists of a Run (60 sec) then Walk (90) seconds, repeat this until you run/walk for 20 minutes. This week will be fully completed on Saturday, then Week two will be coming at me... and fast.

Tomorrow will consist of another great upper body workout for about two hours and another solid 30 minutes of shooting around, not an actual game, but just shooting the rock and possibly throwing up a couple of trick shots if I'm lucky.

Feeling Sore... But WORTH IT!

2008-04-23T23:53:00.011-04:00

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Granted my legs are feeling sore tonight, but my arms are feeling even worse. Because today was an "upper body" day, that included the bench press, 1 handed rows, curls, and what I like to call, "standing lifts". Bench was a good one today, 235 lb's four sets of five repetitions. My weight today was at 294lbs... only 24 lb's more until I reach my weight goal!

How does the off-day shape up?

2008-04-23T08:39:00.003-04:00

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Yes, today is considered an off day for running, but it's still not an exercise free day! On the " 'tweener' " days, you and I should focus our energy towards trying to go play some basketball and get some upper body lifting done. Now when I say play basketball, I mean you should go shoot some hoops for fun, not go play in an actual game. Remember, on the 'tweener' days you are supposed to rest your legs and give them time to recover for your run the following days!!!

Today's agenda will cover

School from 9-3
Basketball from 3:15-4:00
Upper Body lifting from 4:15-6:00

1st Day.... COMPLETE!

2008-04-23T01:28:00.004-04:00

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Ok guys, I know you are all anxious to hear how the first day of training went... you can breath easy, the 1st day was great! It consisted of running/ walking/ running/ walking/ ect. It wasn't bad at all. The main part of the early training sessions in this program is focused towards ensuring your heart rate stays between the 120- 140 zone, this is the best zone to burn calories. Today was not hard, which I would assume is a major plus for everyone that is interested in trying this weight loss program. Day 1 -COMPLETE!

C25K « If I can

2008-04-22T22:49:00.002-04:00

C25K « If I can

I found this as I was looking through other blogs trying to discover if anyone had actually had success with this program. This person had MAJOR success!

Man Running On Water

2008-04-22T10:15:00.002-04:00

Man Running On Water, originally uploaded by bubbafb78.

It's an amazing day here in _____, Ohio! The high today is 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! Exams are coming up soon, which means summer, which means this extra weight I possess needs to be lost.... and fast! Because of this, today is going to be the first day on the new running program. Run. Walk. Run. Walk. Run, ect.... Thats how today pan's out... I'll let you know how it goes!

Day One- pushed back one day

2008-04-21T16:44:00.003-04:00

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Sadly folks, I had two professors call my groups and I into meetings today to discuss our semester projects, because of these meetings Day One will have to be pushed back a full 24 hours. I had no chance to make the first run today, nor will I be able to run it tonight because I work from 5:15 - 11pm.

Tomorrow is a new day, which means tomorrow is THE day! CAN'T WAIT!

I think it's safe to say after watching this video, I will not be doing my running on a treadmill... too many things can go wrong!

Week 1: IT BEGINS!

2008-04-21T01:20:00.004-04:00

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It's finally here, Week 1 - Day 1 begins tomorrow and I am both nervous and excited. I know that the first week won't be bad at all, which is very encouraging for everyone who starts this program. It looks like Week 3 is going to be where it starts to get hard.

In light of tomorrow being the big day, I thought i'd share this video of a true couch potato. Enjoy and wish me luck!

The Actual Workout

2008-04-18T16:19:00.005-04:00

Week 1: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 2: Brisk five-minutes war-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Week 3: Brisk five-minute war-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following: 1. Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) 2. Walk 200 yards (or 60 seconds) 3. Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) 4. Walk 400 yards (or 3 minutes).

Week 4: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: 1. Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 2. Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) 3. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 4. Walk 1/4 mile (or 2.5 minutes) 5. Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 6. Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) 7. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes).

Week 5 - Day 1: Brisk five-minutes warm-up walk, then: 1. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 2. Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 3. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 4. Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 5. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes).

Week 5 - Day 2: Brisk five minute warm-up walk, then: 1. Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) 2. Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 3. Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes).

Week 5 - Day 3: Brisk five-minutes warm-up walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

Week 6 - Day 1: Brisk five minute warm-up walk, then: 1. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) 2. Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 3. Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) 4. Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 5. Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes).

Week 6 - Day 2: Brisk five minute warm-up walk, then: 1. Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) 2. Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) 3. Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes).

Week 6 - Day 3: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.25 miles (or 25 minutes with no walking).

Week 7: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.

Week 8: Brisk five minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).

Week 9: Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog three miles (or 30 minutes).

Week 10: The 5K HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!

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This program was found at: http://www.gyminee.com/workout_programs/2322

Goals / Pre-Workout Info

2008-04-18T15:54:00.003-04:00

GOAL:

Complete the "Couch To 5k Race" workout plan.
Complete a 5K Race.
Lose 25 lb's.
Increase bench workout to 260 lb's 4 sets of 5 repititions.

PRE WORKOUT PLAN TRAINING:

Minimal Endurance
Weight: 294 lb's
Bench Press: 240 lb's 4 sets of 5 repititions.

Background Information and Purpose of Experiement

2008-04-18T13:27:00.011-04:00

As you can see in the "About Me" section of this blog, I am an ex-offensive lineman who is currently just about to complete his frist year away at college. Due to privacy reasons, all I will say is that I attend a University in Ohio. I no longer need the excess weight that I have carried all throughout high school and the first year of college. While being a 6'3" 300lb's is great for the high school level, sadly it's not to be that size at the college level.

In the beginning of December 2007 I started working out again at the school rec. I had not worked out consistantly since during the middle of my senior year in high school. At this point I was up to 307 lb's.... COMPLETELY unacceptable! That's when i knew I had to make a change in my life.

I started my own workout which I have tried to do atleast 3 times a week. The main parts of my workouts was dedicated to my upper body because I was feeling very weak, in comparison to my peak while I was still playing football that is. My max bench press was 300 lb's in high school. When I started my workout in early December I could only bench press 225 lb's one set of four reps (or repititons), which is an equivalant to 251 lbs. http://www.muscletech.com/resources/tools/calculators/rep.shtml

Since I have started my workout plan, I have dropped to 294 lb's and have increased my bench press to 240 lbs 4 sets of 5 reps which would result in 1 maximum repition of 276 lbs.

The basis of my experiment is for personal satisfaction nonetheless. In this, I plan to have dropped a considerable amount of weight by the middle of summer, but while still putting on muscle.