owl_girl's Mentor Group for Mommies - CLOSED (Page 4)

The roads in my area are not great for cycling, either.  I wear lots of bright yellow and ride with friends most of the time.  I also avoid some roads all together.

Meditation is the same way I regard running. 

Question of the Day

Do you train with a heart rate monitor or power meter?

I am addicted to my heart rate monitor.  I have a Garmin 305.  My husband got it for my birthday just before I got pregnant.  I used it while I was pregnant to get my milage.  I train by heart rate now.  I do not have a power meter.  I wish I could get one but they are just to expensive right now.  I know it would bring my cycling up to the next level.

If anyone has any questions regarding heart rate training, let me know!

I have a Garmin 305 which I love, but I've gotten away from using the HR monitor strap (bad me).  I should start up again, especially as I move in to harder runs.  The strap is so cold though... (I know, I know, SIUB).   I would love to get a power meter, especially as I log many bike hours on my trainer (a fluid trainer), but they are a bit pricey for us at the moment. 

Ok, this is weird.  I am now the first post on the last 4 pages!!

Great job, Sue!  Can you add all of us as friends so we can see your logs?  It is set to private right now.  We will be able to send you inspires and check on your training that way.

I'm working on a list of all of us Mommies.  It might take me a day or so to finish it.  Check out my log if you want to see it.

Question of the Day

Do you train with a heart rate monitor or power meter?

I wear my heart rate monitor (a timex ironman) when I work out, although I wouldnt say that I use it to "train". I really look at the numbers retrospectively and my usual response to my heart rate is something like "wow, I must be really out of shape because for the 30 minutes I was running my heart rate was 170's". Do you use it during exercise to adjust the difficulty of your activity?

I looked at simplefit.  It looks ok, if not a bit boring.  I suggest the following workout that can be completed without equipment.

ACE At-Home Workout

Training with a heart rate monitor will add a whole new dimension to your training.  If you don't have a heart rate monitor, I encourage you to buy one.  Next, you need to do a field test to determine your appropriate training zones.  Here are the directions to the test:

Field Test to Determine Heart Rate Training Zones

The whole thread is pretty interesting if you have time to read it.  If not, the first post tells you exactly how to perform the test.  I've done the tests for cycling and running many times.  If you have questions, just ask.

Question of the Day

Do you train with a heart rate monitor or power meter?

I use a Polar HRM.  It is a running trainer so it has a footpod and allows me to run outdoors without needing to map my distance ahead of time, which I love!  It has a ton of features but honestly, I don't even use most of them!  I wear it so I know the calories I burned, the total time I worked out and my HR while working out.  It motivates me to work harder

Good morning!  What are your plans today?

I, absolutely, use my heart rate monitor to adjust the difficulty of my running or cycling.  It is important to remain within a HR range that I can maintain.  If you take a look at the thread that I linked to, you will find out how to find your HR training zones.

Most training should be done within zone 2.  Most people are surprised to find that they are training to hard.  As soon as they slow down, their endurance and consistency begins to improve.

I suggest that you do the field test to take your training to the next level.

Working out harder isn't always the best idea.  I am a firm believer in exercising relatively easy in order to remain consistent day after day after day.

The calorie burn that your monitor displays may not be accurate if you just plugged in your age, height and weight.  Are you able to create your own HR zones on that monitor?  I bet you can.  If you do the field test and then plug in your HR numbers, you will get a much more accurate estimate of calorie burn.

Question of the Day

Do you follow a workout schedule?

I do not follow a pre-planned workout schedule.  I base my workouts around my running.  Here is what works for me.

• Mon-long swim (morning) and teach Spinning
• Tues-short run (morning) and hard bike (evening)
• Wed-easy swim (morning) and easy bike (evening) and teach Spinning
• Thurs-medium run (morning or evening)
• Fri-short run (morning) and teach Spinning and medium bike (evening)
• Sat-long bike (morning)
• Sun-long run (morning)

I do not plan rest days.  If I miss a workout, I do not try to make it up.  I just continue with the next planned workout.  I take yoga classes and do yoga at home when I can fit it in.  I am not doing any weight training right now.

For my running workouts, I follow the 10% rule.  My long runs will eventually top out at 15 miles.  Currently, I'm at 9-10 miles for the long run.

For my cycling, I'm loosely following Jorge's Winter Cycling Plan.  I highly recommend this plan if you have a large cycling base.

For my swimming, I just get my a$$ to the pool.

Question of the Day

Do you follow a workout schedule?

This is my current plan until 1/10 when my triathlon program starts:
Monday: Bootcamp and 20-30 minutes of elliptical prior
Tuesday: Spinning AM and Combat PM
Wednesday: Bootcamp and 20-30 minutes of elliptical prior
Thursday: Spinning
Friday: Bootcamp and 20-30 minutes of elliptical prior
Saturday: Running or Step/Combat/Attack Class
Sunday: Off

As of 1/10 I expect it to go something like this:
Monday: Tri training (class is Monday nights for 90-120 minutes focusing on the different disciplines)
Tuesday: Spinning AM and Combat PM (I just love the Combat class!)
Wednesday: Bootcamp
Thursday: Swimming AM and Spinning PM
Friday: Bootcamp
Saturday: Running
Sunday: Off

I might need to do even less Bootcamp and add some more swimming and running..

melmarie80 - 2010-12-30 9:51 AM

owl_girl - 2010-12-30 11:13 AM

melmarie80 - 2010-12-29 6:32 PM

Question of the Day

Do you train with a heart rate monitor or power meter?

I use a Polar HRM.  It is a running trainer so it has a footpod and allows me to run outdoors without needing to map my distance ahead of time, which I love!  It has a ton of features but honestly, I don't even use most of them!  I wear it so I know the calories I burned, the total time I worked out and my HR while working out.  It motivates me to work harder

Working out harder isn't always the best idea.  I am a firm believer in exercising relatively easy in order to remain consistent day after day after day.

The calorie burn that your monitor displays may not be accurate if you just plugged in your age, height and weight.  Are you able to create your own HR zones on that monitor?  I bet you can.  If you do the field test and then plug in your HR numbers, you will get a much more accurate estimate of calorie burn.

I just mean it tells me when I'm slacking.  So I like to maintain a HR of 80% of my max HR during workouts.  So if I'm only at 60% then I need to pick up the pace.

It does, I had to put in my resting heart rate and do a series of tests when I first bought the watch. 

Ahhh.  The Karvonen formula!  That formula is not very accurate.  It was designed to alleviate some of the problems with the "220 minus age" formula.  Unfortunately, it still uses that aweful formula as it's base.  The Karvonen formula is not very accurate for a vast majority of people.

What additional tests did you have to do?