Daily Zen - My training Blog

[Zenchan]

Hi Everyone!

New Hive, exciting!

I would like to exercise 4 times a day for the next few days. Go for a short and slow jog, do some quick stretching, go for a bike ride and do some basic srength training.
On top of that it would be nice to pay attention to my diet and to loose a bit of weight.

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

I decided shortly after my original post that I would like to subscribe to Zwift (which is an online game for at home cyclists).

If you don't mind, I will turn this thread into my Zwift journey blog.

First day of Zwift today.
I bought a Zwift Hub smart trainer. Setup was easy, I did not manage to connect it to my phone for whatever reason, but I easily connected it to my laptop, which as it turns out is even better.

You can do 8+ different things on Zwift (race, workout, follow a training plan, free ride, group ride, follow a pace partner (ro-)bot, ride "erg" mode or what I did: "ride routes"). I decided that I would like to ride all of the routes in the game. So I did ride 6 different routes (these are official routes) 2 of them are basically the same route as 2 others just backwards, but anyway I did 52.4 km (or 32.5 miles) in total. which was enough to earn me 2 levels (I am level 3 now). According to Zwift I have burned 950 kcal, and rode for almost 2 hours. I think that is a nice start.

Plan for tomorrow:

https://zwiftinsider.com/route/mountain-route/

Length: 29.5 km (18.3 miles)
Elevation: 682 m

I am trying to follow this plan:

Ride All Zwift Routes and Get All the Badges in 12 Weeks

Ride all 80 open routes using our progressive 60-day schedule.

zwiftinsider.com

but I still need to understand the nuances.

My current estimated FTP is 137 (I didn't do any kind of tests) and my Watt/kg is usually around 1.8.

A very good start, I am very happy.

Zwift is fun, I highly recommend it.

 

[Anek]

Hello!

 

[Fremen]

Welcome

 

[Zenchan]

Day two of Zwift.

I overdid it a little bit. I did 85,1 km / 52,8 mi today. I had to abort my last 15 minutes that I wanted to do (last 7-8 km), because I started feeling sick.
I rode for 3,5 hours in total today. My gu-estimated FTP increased by a couple of points too.
I started using chamois creme, which helped a lot.
A total of 137,5 km and almost 6 hour in 2 days... that might be a little bit too much. (I promised myself to never do more than 60 km / 37.2 mi a day).

Although, for sure I ate less calories than I burned, I still managed to gain weight (I guess mostly water), today at dinner I really craved gherkins and not just that, but the fluid the gherkins are "swimming" in (which is mostly just salt and vinegar water). I guess I have sweated so much, that my body wants extra salt... I need to buy some electrolytes, apparently.

My plan for tomorrow is 3 short routes for 35 km or 21,7 mi in total. I hope that is enough of a recovery.

The day after that is a 65 km / 40 mi planned.

A lot of fun so far!

 

[Zenchan]

It is surprising to me that it is only Day 3 on Zwift, it feels like much more.
44.3 km / 27.5 mi done in 90 min today. 181.8 km / 112.9 mi in total.
My Femoral Nerve is slightly inflamed, so I am not going to push 100 km / 62 mi days anytime soon.
My gu-estimated FTP increased again (it is now 161, the first day it was 137)
I will try to do a minimum of 41 km / 25.4 mi tomorrow. The original plan was 65 km / 40 mi. But if I have the legs I will try to do 71 km/44.1 mi, we will see.

 

[Zenchan]

Sorry for neglecting this thread!

I have been Zwifting every day. In average for 60 kms (37,2 miles), my body is starting to get used to it. I hit my strength plateau, so I started doing Zwift workouts to work on technique, endurance and strength. I am not particularly fond of the workouts yet, but I learn a ton.

I usually try to do a route badge hunt (ride a route I have never ridden before from start to finish), a 1 hour group ride and a workout each day. So far it is really entertaining. I usually watch an old TV show during my workouts, but my group rides and route explorations are challenging and interesting enough that Zwift has my full attention.

When I started, I couldn't do a ride that was longer than 40 minutes, now I m doing a 60 minute ride without any issues almost every day. Great progress. I am loving it.

I decided that Zwift is nice and fine, but it is time to work on some other stuff as well, so I will try to do some running and some strength training too from now on. I would love to incorporate some swimming, but alas, there are no public swimming pools in my vicinity.

I wish you the best of day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Hi!
Sorry for neglecting the thread. I had some new life goals, new skills I wanted to learn and I neglected my health and fitness a bit.
I also went on a Dopamin Detox recently and I feel like a new man.

Current daily goals:

Spoiler: 1. 8+ minutes of Yoga

01. Pigeon left
02. Pigeon right
03. Lying (supinated) Pigeon left
04. Lying (supinated) Pigeon right
05. Kneeling
06. Kneeling backbend
07. Butterfly
08. Wide stance
09. Wide stance Forward Bend
10. Lunge left
11. Lunge right
12. Lizard left
13. Lizard right
14. Quad Stretch
15. High Knee Hug
16. Deep squat

Spoiler: 2. 36 mins+ strength training

01. 20x Pushups
02. 20x Crunches
03. 20x Dips
04. 20x Air Squats +2x6kg weight
05. 20x Cross Crunches
06. 20x Curlbar Overhead Press 22kg
07. 20x Curlbar Curls 22kg
08. 20x Curlbar Rows 32kg
09. 20x Curlbar Upright Rows 22kg
10. 20x Lunges + 2x6kg weight
11. 20x Dumbbell Overhead Press 2x11kg
12. 20x Dumbbell Curls 2x11kg
13. 20x Dumbbell Rows 2x11kg
14. 20x Dumbbell Hammer Curls 2x11kg
15. 20x Arnold Press
16. 20x Dumbbell Extension 2x7kg
17. 20x Dumbbell Kickbacks 2x6kg
18. 20x Front Raise 2x6kg
19. 20x Lat Raise 2x1.5kg
20. 20x Standing Butterfly 2x1.5kg
21. 20x Cross Raise 2x1.5kg
22. 20x Cross Twist Raise 2x1.5kg
23. 20x Bent Standing Butterfly 2x1.5kg
24. 20x Pullover 12kg
25. 20x Bench 40kg
26. 20x Lat Pulldown 28kg
27. 20x Butterfly 2x6kg
28. 20x Skullcrusher 2x6kg
29. 20x Lat. Back Pulldown 28kg
30. 20x Deadlift 70kg

Spoiler: 3. 36 mins+ run

7.8 km

Spoiler: 4. 40+ mins riding my bike

30km

Spoiler: 5. Loose some weight

I am 84.5kg right now, I could go down to 72kg.

6. Sleep as much as possible
7. Eat healthy.

See you later bees!

 

[Zenchan]

I would like to thank you all! Thanks to You I had an incredibly productive day. I usually do 2 or 3 of my activities a day, but I almost never manage to do everything I would like to do! The only reason for that are You, thanks again!

8+ minutes of Yoga (12 static stretches)

Strength training. - It took me 53 mins today, to do everything on my list. It would be nice to reduce it to 36 mins.
Run 7.8 km / 4.8 miles. - It took me 39min 45sec today. I am trying to keep it under 40 min. 36min would be the goal.
Ride my bike for 26km / 16 miles it took me 70 mins.
Loose some weight.
I started dieting the day before yesterday. I already lost some water weight, and I guess my gut is not as full as usual, (it is 83kg / 183 lbs, down from 84,5 / 186 lbs).
I don't feel hungry at all... yet.

• Weigh myself
• Eat healthy foods
• Log my calorie intake.
• -2200 kcal.

8+ hours of sleep yesterday!
Have a great day Bees!

 

[Tileenah]

Congrats!

 

[Zenchan]

Day 2/2

Everything is harder today than yesterday.

1. 11+ minutes of Yoga (12 static stretches)
2. Strength training, 55 min
3. Run 7.8 km / 4.8 miles. - 43 min
4. Ride my bike for 26km / 16 miles it took me 82 mins.
5. Weight loss
   • Weigh myself
   • Eat healthy foods
   • Log my calorie intake
   • -2200 kcal
6. 8+ hours of sleep yesterday

I usually eat a lot of carbs, a little bit of protein, even less fat, and that was my meal plan for today. I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about protein rich foods. Who would have thought?

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

I had game night yesterday. I planned the day, but managed to waste a lot of time and thus no more time left to do everything I wanted to. Fun day though!

1. 11+ minutes of Yoga (12 static stretches)
2. Strength training
3. Run 7.8 km / 4.8 miles. - 45 min
4. Ride my bike for 20km
5. Weight loss
   • Weigh myself
   • Eat healthy foods
   • Log my calorie intake
   • +1800 kcal (Bunch of junk food).
6. 8+ hours of sleep yesterday

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Rest Day!


Quote from Seneca​

 

[Zenchan]

Hike day!
Did around 50km, I listened to so many podcasts, ate a lot of chocolate bars.



Have a great day Bees!

 

[TopNotch]

That's an impressive hike!

 

[Zenchan]

​

That's an impressive hike!

Thanks! When I am out of shape, and, or overweight, I like to go on small hikes (forced marches really). 50km is my max, I can't walk properly the day after that, if I "hike" any more.
I had a full day of rest the day before, so no big deal.

Day 1 (again)​

1. 11+ minutes of Yoga (12 static stretches)
2. Run 7.8 km / 4.8 miles. - 43 min
3. Spoiler: Strength training

   01. 20x Pushups
   02. 20x Crunches
   03. 20x Dips
   04. 20x Air Squats +2x6kg weight
   05. 20x Cross Crunches
   06. 20x Curlbar Overhead Press 22kg
   07. 20x Curlbar Curls 22kg
   08. 20x Curlbar Rows 32kg
   09. 20x Curlbar Upright Rows 22kg
   10. 20x Lunges + 2x6kg weight
   11. 20x Dumbbell Overhead Press 2x11kg
   12. 20x Dumbbell Curls 2x11kg
   13. 20x Dumbbell Rows 2x11kg
   14. 20x Dumbbell Hammer Curls 2x11kg
   15. 20x Arnold Press
   16. 20x Dumbbell Extension 2x7kg
   17. 20x Dumbbell Kickbacks 2x6kg
   18. 20x Front Raise 2x6kg
   19. 20x Lat Raise 2x1.5kg
   20. 20x Standing Butterfly 2x1.5kg
   21. 20x Cross Raise 2x1.5kg
   22. 20x Cross Twist Raise 2x1.5kg
   23. 20x Bent Standing Butterfly 2x1.5kg
   24. 20x Pullover 12kg
   25. 20x Bench 40kg
   26. 20x Lat Pulldown 28kg
   27. 20x Butterfly 2x6kg
   28. 20x Skullcrusher 2x6kg
   29. 20x Lat. Back Pulldown 28kg
   30. 20x Deadlift 70kg
   52 min
4. Ride my bike for 26km / 16 miles it took me 69 mins.
5. Weight loss
   • Weigh myself
   • Eat healthy foods
   • Log my calorie intake
   • -3200 kcal (I didn't eat anything, just a little bit of milk).
6. 8+ hours of sleep yesterday

Great day overall, crushed all my goals. I wasn't sure if I am going to be able to walk properly, as it turns out, no problem.
But my small, stabilizing leg muscles hurt a lot from yesterdays hike. I need to do a lot more stretching.

Long Term Goals:​

1. BMI down from 25.5 to 22.
   • Which is almost the same as saying: My waist to hip ratio (circumference) should be 0.8 or 0.9 not 1.1
2. My Resting Heart Rate is around 47, it should go down to 42 (as it used to be, only 2 years ago)
3. My estimated VO2max is around 52, it should be 56 (as it used to be, only 2 years ago)
4. I have never been stronger, so in this regard, just keep improving. ...Dunno... benching 50kg for 20 reps sounds cool.

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Day 2​

Cardio 1 (42 min run)
Resistance Training (51 min)
Cardio 2 (69 min biking)
Stretching (8+ min)
-1100 kcal

Have a great day Bees!

P.s. I messed up my "bloodsugar system" by not eating yesterday. Woke up lightheaded, drowsy and sleepy. So I skipped my morning run. Ate a lot of carbs and had to do all my workouts after work, with minimal rest in between.
Who would have thought this might happen?

 

[TopNotch]

Not eating is not a healthy and overall effective way to lose weight. Just saying...

 

[Zenchan]

Day 3​

Cardio 1 (43 min run)
Resistance Training (55 min)
Cardio 2 (81 min biking)
Stretching (11+ min)
-1100 kcal (First 8000 kcal down, 8000 kcal is theoretically 1 kg of fat).

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Day 4​

Cardio 1 (42 min run)
Resistance Training (56 min)
Cardio 2 (75 min biking)
Stretching (11+ min)
-1100 kcal

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Hi Bees!

Friday
Cardio 1 (42 min run)
Stretching (11+ min)
Resistance Training
Cardio 2
+/- 0 kcal

I fell asleep after work and slept through the afternoon. I ate something and then fell asleep again. I had slightly elevated temperature the day after and slept even more... I am guessing I've reached my physical limit.

Saturday -Rest Day
16km hike
+/- 0 kcal

Sunday - Rest Day
15 km hike
+/- 0 kcal

I am a little bit disappointed. No weight loss whatsoever so far. I started eating a ton of salt, so I am guessing I gained some water weight, but either way, apparently a high workout regiment doesn't seem to work for me.

So I've decided to go back to my old vegan diet (I used to be a vegetarian for almost 15 years, and a vegan for almost a year). Cut all milk and eggs and similar out of my diet and eat the occasional piece of lean meat once a week or so, and increase my fiber intake in general.

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Day 1​

Cardio 1 (42 min run)
Resistance Training (52 min)
Cardio 2 (93 min biking, not the usual 26km / 16 miles, but 34km/21m)
Stretching (7+ min)
-2800 kcal

I ate a HUGE salad (it took me literally over an hour to chew my way through it), a ton of fruits, vegetables (cooked and prepared) and even some nuts. And after adding it all up, it has almost no calories... weird.
I am guessing I made an error in my calculations... or two.

Have a great day Bees!

 

[Zenchan]

Hi Bees!

I tried out 3 different diets, I tried to hike a lot, exercise a lot, fast, intermittent fast etc. nothing helped. My weight stayed (pretty much) the same.
Oh well..., it is good to know that my body wants to maintain my weight, no matter what. :-D

I gave myself 2 days to eat whatever I wanted (I still ate healthy foods, just a little bit to much) and now I am back to my starting weight. So let's start this again.

Day 1

Exercises:
Cardio 1 (42 min run 8km/5mi)
Stretching (8+ min)
Resistance Training (Strength Training, 52 min)
Cardio 2 (Cycling 13km/8mi 38min)
+/- 0 kcal

Foods:
Breakfast - Oatmeal with fruits
Dinner - 2x Homemade sandwiches with lots of vegetables
Lunch - vegetables with rice.

Have a great day Bees!