No, it wasn’t an April Fool – we really did go at that time. My running partner Nick needed an early start and I was more than happy to tag along. WHY? Because running with someone else is so much easier, and also harder to get out of! We just trotted along this morning just under 10mins/mile until Nick left at 6m. I still had an hour before the kids got up so added another 4 miles – 10m miles which I wasn’t expecting to do today so a big bonus. The power of additional motivation.

Chest session at gym.

Incline flyes with twist 10 x 3kg, 8 x 4kg, 5 x 5kg
Barbell Chest Press – 10 x 30kg, 8 x 35kg, 5 x 40kg
Dumbbell Pullover – 10 x 6kg, 8 x 10kg, 5 x 14kg
Dumbell Chest Press – 10 x 12kg, 8 x 14kg, 5 x 16kg
Upright Flyes (cables) – 10 x 2.5kg, 8 x 3.75kg, 5 x 5kg

Once again I was doing each set until near failure, apart from the pullover, which I need to up the weight on so I did the whole thing again.

Same as before except the pullovers went up to 10kg, 14kg and 18kg.

I really pushed it with the new weights program today. As I have now signed up for a half-marathon with 3000ft of climbing I need to make sure the legs can hack it. As with all strength and size programmes I ensured I was maxing out at the end of each set.

Warm-up
2000m row, level 10, 7:58

Squats – 40kg x 10, 50kg x 8, 55kg x 5
Front Squat – 20kg x 10, 25kg x 8, 30kg x 5
Leg Curl – 40kg x 10, 50kg x 8, 52.5kg x 5
Walking Lunges with Dumbbell – 10kg x 10steps, 12kg x 8, 14kg x 5
Calf Raises – 40kg x 15, 40kg x 15, 45kg x 15

Then Repeated the whole thing.

Long run on Saturday as running on Mother’s Day would be a big no! Got up at 4:30 and left at 5:00 and it was a lovely morning as I ran up to Letchworth and halfway down the hill into Hitchin before turning round and retracing my steps. 10 miles at 8:50 pace and 67% WHR is a great result for me at this stage of big race training and an indication that I can start speed training soon as the base is built.

One of the simplest ways to maximise your workout is to make sure you are working the muscles on both the contraction and relaxation phases of the exercise. For example on a bicep curl, bring the weight up to a count of 2, but lower down to a count of 4. This ensures that you are working the muscle to lower the weight, not just letting gravity do the work for you.