- Joined
- Jun 25, 2011
- Posts
- 689
- Likes
- 126
Been home a couple of days. I'm not going to go into details on this one, however, it involves my stomach and a bathroom. I feel good, kind of fresh in my mind so to say, but my body from the neck downwards kind of disagrees with that feeling. It's okay, I'll soon be good to go back to work. Lots to do there.
Inventory of my training equipment:
- Running shoes
- Kettlebell
- Bodylastics Resistance Bands (yeah, they work damned fine, very good alternative to free weights)
- Gym Rings
- Polar Loop Activity Tracker
- Heart Rate Monitor
- iPhone
- IEMs
Am I missing something here? I've been interested in importing gravity shoes from US but I have no experience with such. I'm thinking because of my lower back and my "supposed" herniated disk (although working out and going twice a week to a massage chair has helped a lot). I've been eyeing GPS watches instead of my activity tracker for running, but truth be told, none of them can do anything my iPhone can't do better with proper apps. Of course, dropping and losing my phone would be disastrous, and losing a watch wouldn't, still, I can't plan my whole life in prevention of losing my gear -- also, it's not like I live in a slum (we live in one of the nicest and most expensive suburbs to Stockholm here), so robberies don't really happen around here. The rumoured iWatch might also be waiting around the corner, and it's rumoured to be centered around fitness as well. I'd probably stay clear of watches.
I don't know what else I would need?
Runner checking in. I use Strava on the iPhone to track my runs. The free version is actually quite insightful. For running, comfortable clothing is probably the most important thing. The 5 toed socks (I forget the company name) were also a really big boon for me and stopped the foot blisters I got from long runs. If you're a big music person on runs, there was also a cool site where you could input your estimated mile time, and they'd find songs that had a bpm that matched your time so you can keep yourself on pace.
Opinions are pretty mixed on heart rate monitors, I tried using one and pacing myself to around ~150-160 bpm but I literally had to slow to what felt like a crawl after a mile or two to keep my heart rate there. I think I'd only use one if I was training for a marathon because for the 5 mile hard runs like I usually do, my heart rate's always at 190+ by the end of it. It's useful to estimate calories burned, but I wouldn't use it as a run pacer until you're planning on running very long distances.
Probably the biggest and best motivation you can give yourself is finding a partner to run with that's a bit more fit than you are, then gradually increasing the distance you run every week or so. Have someone else keep a steady pace forces you to keep up and doesn't allow you to slack off. Best of luck with your fitness routine!