My current cardio routine

A couple of weeks ago I posted my resistance training routine, so now it's time for the cardio routine. I've always hated cardio and consider myself a cardiovascular wimp. I never thought I'd ever be doing this much cardio...

Every weekday (Monday - Friday) I run 4 miles when it gets dark (around 8:45 PM these days). I'd estimate my pace to be around a 9:30 mile. I pretty much just jog, but sometimes I run.

On Tuesdays I do Mike's spin class and Thursdays I do Ryon's. Both are at noon for 45 mins at Pure Austin.

On the weekends I swim a mile. It's always in a lake, not a pool, and I usually breast stroke half the way.

Of course, I'm out climbing about 16 hours per week, usually spread across the weekend and one weekday. Climbing is an interesting sport though. When I say I'm out climbing for 16 hours, the vast majority of that time is not actually spent climbing. Most of it is spent hiking, talking, tying knots, belaying, trying to stay hydrated and out of the sun, etc.

So to recap...

• M-F - 4 mile run
• TTh - spin class
• SSu - 1 mile swim
• 2-3 days per week - rock climbing

It sounds like a lot, but it's really not. Most of my nights are spent bored, reading on the interwebtubes. We should hang out... post a comment!

All by my lonesome

Anyone who's climbed with me at Seismic (aka Maggie's Wall) on the Barton Creek Greenbelt has undoubtedly heard me say "someday" while gazing up at Lonesome Dove, the horizontal roof finish to Diving for Rocks. Well that day was yesterday. Here's the story in pictures (click for bigger pics).

The crux for Diving for Rocks involves a pretty dynamic movement. On the shorter end of 5'8", I can comfortably deadpoint it. Most people straight up dyno; few people hit it completely statically.

(a) thinking about it (b) going for it (c) sticking it!

My pull up strength is pretty good. When it comes to climbing, I usually play up my strengths and downplay my weaknesses.

(a) feet come off (b) campus-ing! (c) setting feet again

I didn't actually lead the climb, my friend Tyler did. So I had to clean the route.

(a) getting set on the ledge (b) flagging so I can reach better (c) got it!

Eventually, I make my way to the sport chains indicating the finish of Diving for Rocks. Now it's on to Lonesome Dove, the completely horizontal roof. Unfortunately, my friend Steve didn't get any pictures of me transitioning from vertical to horizontal... that's the trickiest part. Actually he probably did, but didn't want to embarrass me by showing how awkward (and scared) I looked doing the move! :)

Getting setup. That foot cam / heel hook is critical.

Clipping the other sport anchor (Tyler only got one in before me), and smiling for the camera!

Checking out the view.

My reward for a job well done. I poured 91% isopropyl alcohol into it. Involuntary noises followed.

And that's that. The climb is more mental than physical/technical once you figure out the beta. It's super fun though. Guess it's time for the red point (I've already red pointed Diving, just not Lonesome).

Many thanks to Steve for taking the pictures and his wife Beth for giving me a fantastic belay. Also to Tyler for being such a great climbing partner and encouraging me to actually do it (and for setting the TR with no prior practice or beta, nice!).

My current resistance training routine

Here's my resistance training routine. It's pretty easy. I don't believe in killing yourself in the gym (rather achieve your goals via dieting and nutrition). Every exercise is supersetted and each is done for 3 sets, 10 reps each. There is a strong emphasis on abs and shoulders. The supersetted exercises are grouped together.

Monday - Back / Heavy Abs

• wide grip pullups
• straight leg medicine ball lifts (lying on a decline bench)

• tbar rows
• straight leg lifts (hanging from a pullup bar)

• close grip cable rows
• weighted crunches (on decline bench, hold weight straight up with straight arms)

• reverse curls without thumbs (forearms for climbing)
• machine crunches

• broomstick with rope and weight on end (forearms for climbing)
• machine bicep curls (a vanity exercise)

Wednesday - Chest / Shoulders

• incline dumbell press (4-5 sets, increasing weight)
• bent over rear delt dumbell raises

• flat barbell bench press
• rear delt machine (reverse pec deck)

• machine chest flies
• smith machine shoulder press

• tricep pulldowns on cable machine
• machine shoulder side laterals (chicken dance machine)

• dumbell kickbacks
• dumbell side laterals

Friday - Legs / Light Abs

• squats on smith machine (5 sets, increase weight)
• plate drag on bosu ball

• leg press
• medicine ball lifts (between knees) on flat bench

• quad extensions
• some weird ab machine where you push forward with straight arms
• seated calf raises

• hamstring curls
• medicine ball (or 25 lb plate) twists (for obliques)
• standing calf raises

Notes

I don't really rest... meaning I don't sit and do nothing. I rest by walking between stations, getting a drink, racking the weights, etc.

Workout should take about an hour.

The only exercises I do to failure are bench press, machine flies and the leg lifts. It is not by design, it's just freaking hard sometimes.

I vary the exercises sometimes, especially the grip (wide to narrow and vice versa).

Top Ten Video Games

These are my top ten most enjoyed video games over the course of my life. It's not the what I think the top ten best games are or the top 10 games that I would like to be stuck on a desert island with. They are the top 10 games that I have played the most and given me the most enjoyment. They are not ranked.

Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)

I played this game years after it first came out (a year after Xbox 360 came out actually). It was mind blowingly good. I don't know how to describe it other than saying when you get good, you really feel like a ninja... jumping around and doing crazy ass moves and stuff. The gameplay (combat and movement) is just amazing.

Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)

My friends and I logged thousands of hours playing this in college. We would fill our room with people and round robin all day and night. First 3D fighting game with near perfect hit detection, amazing graphics, deep and fulfilling combat system... it was perfection.

Quake 2 (PC)

Another game which I logged a ridiculous amount of hours with. First networked FPS with near perfect hit detection. This is the game that got me serious about modern first person shooters.

Super Metroid (SNES)

Great swan song for classic side scrollers. I think this game still holds up today.

Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)

This game is a masterpiece. Everything about it is fantastic: graphics, level design, character design, pacing, gameplay, sound, atmosphere.

Final Fantasy IV / II (SNES)

First game that really introduced me to video games as a medium for storytelling. It's like reading a book... you get attached to characters and there is a level of emotional investment. It's sad when it's over... like your adventure with close friends has come to an end.

Final Fantasy VI / III (SNES)

Like Final Fantasy IV / II except bigger and better. I'd say this is the greatest sprite based RPG ever.

Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)

Like Final Fantasy VI / III except even bigger. Spent upwards of 70 hours fully exploring this game. So much to do, so much to see.

Street Fighter 2 (arcade/SNES)

What can you say about the game that started it all?

Final Fantasy XI (PC)

I had to list at least one MMORPG. This was my favorite. It had a unique and fun combat system (chaining special and magic attacks with other players). MMOs are weird. It's so weird having a second life online complete with friends, a job, etc...

Lead climbed a 5-9

That's not me, it's Tom Slider

I went rock climbing outside for the first time this Saturday. We did a 5-8, two 5-9's and a 5-10 (which I couldn't do, ugh).

I'm am a total newb. The most I've done before this was go through a belaying course at the gym. AJ and his friend Jason basically taught me everything right there on the rock.

At the end if the day, on our last route, they asked if I wanted to lead it. I said, "Heh, I don't think that's a good idea," but they persisted. So tried it.

Lead climbing is a lot more intense (read scary) because you can actually fall a distance instead of the few inches you "fall" when you're top roping. Clipping in is particularly nerve racking because you only have one hand on the rock and it's also the point when you fall the farthest.

They said I had the Elvis leg going a few times.

I did end up falling (just 5 feet or so) and got nasty bruise on my bicep where I hit the rope and a scrape on my shoulder from hitting the rock.

I'm pretty sure I'm scared of heights.

Lost $100 in a pool shot bet

I hung out with AJ last night and we went to play pool. Pretty early on in the night, he jokingly asked if I'd give him $100 if he made this ridiculous shot.

The shot was pretty outrageous for casual pool player. It was a bank shot that had to barely kiss the ball to fall into the side pocket. Both our jaws dropped when he did it.

I paid him the money because I was serious when we made the bet. I was so sure he wasn't going to make, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.

He kept trying to give the money back, but I said it's cool if he used it to pay for drinks and food all night, which he did... and spent he all 100 of it by the end of the night.

Killer Spin Class

According to my Polar heart rate monitor, my average heart rate was 101% over the course of a 45 min spin class. The max was 106%. Thats 193 bpm avg, 204 bpm max. That's really good for me, who's a self proclaimed cardio wimp.

The spin class was great. It was an instructor that was new to me and she challenged me just hard enough to where I was constantly giving full effort. Sometimes if the instructor is too hard, I just give up, ya know?