Monday morning - normally a full body strength day for me, but I tweaked my knee doing trail work on Saturday (already much better) and decided to take 'er easy on the legs this AM. Started my workout with a nice 20min. warm up on the trainer (as opposed to my normal jump rope and punching bag routine) and then transitioned into some of the major upper body muscle groups: 3 sets of pull-ups using 3 different grips, offset pushups with a medicine ball, bent over single arm rows and dips. Nice little burn there...makes that bike feel so light on the trail!
Then I headed inside for a core blast. Time was running short so I super setted 10 core moves into one 20min blast furnace session. Oh yeah. It all revolves around the core.
Through the years I have accumulated a vast mental rolodex full of different core exercises but these two websites are a perfect place to refresh one's memory or get some new ideas.
http://www.coreperformance.com/
http://www.usd.edu/track/Bug's%20folder/Core%20Strength%20Training%20Manual-picts_files/Core%20Strength%20Training%20Manual-picts.htm
Main thing is to keep your body guessing when it comes to strength work. My body is very used to the cycling motions so creativity on strength days is essential for me.
Enjoy your workouts!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Weekend News
Action packed weekend for the McWeSSons. Friday was beautiful: 70 degrees, sunny, and perfect for an outdoor photo session with KR.
Yeah, it's January. Welcome to the deep South! I love it!
Cut to Saturday and it was cloudy and rainy with a high of 44. Drats! (Not enough people say drats these days.) Not the best day for riding trails or roads, and I have a strict 'no trainer' rule on the weekend so the fam ran some errands (Circuit City for nada and Fresh Market for a lotta). Then I headed over to the Ridgeland trails for 3 hours of knee wrenching (literally) trail work. The rock garden is complete...inasmuch as trail is ever complete...it will evolve and require some upkeep. I'd show you a picture but I left my camera in my pocket the whole time. BOO!
Came home and got to hang out with KR. We ate and played and then got a call from Lolly that her car battery had died. Double drats!!
Sooo, Sunday morning's first item was jumping off and then driving to replace the battery. (In MS that's bat-tree). Mission accomplished and off for a quick ride in 42 degree weather with a fast group of 8 on the aforementioned ridgeland trails. Fastest ride I've done since early November (excluding my interval sessions) and I felt pretty dang good. Sveet!
Got to come home and party with KR. We cleaned the house up, did some laundry, played in the ball pen and jump swing, and watched some Noggin. Good stuff!
Getting close to KR's (and my) bedtime so I'll leave you with this.
Reminds me of an older song by the Lost Boyz:
I can't escape this life that I'm livin'
I'm in the mix, I'm in love with 2 women
That's word to moms, I got two honeys on my arms
and I don't wanna let none of them go.
Minus the double negative and the fact that Mr. Cheeks was juggling two ladies in a romatic way...you get my gist.
Yeah, it's January. Welcome to the deep South! I love it!
Cut to Saturday and it was cloudy and rainy with a high of 44. Drats! (Not enough people say drats these days.) Not the best day for riding trails or roads, and I have a strict 'no trainer' rule on the weekend so the fam ran some errands (Circuit City for nada and Fresh Market for a lotta). Then I headed over to the Ridgeland trails for 3 hours of knee wrenching (literally) trail work. The rock garden is complete...inasmuch as trail is ever complete...it will evolve and require some upkeep. I'd show you a picture but I left my camera in my pocket the whole time. BOO!
Came home and got to hang out with KR. We ate and played and then got a call from Lolly that her car battery had died. Double drats!!
Sooo, Sunday morning's first item was jumping off and then driving to replace the battery. (In MS that's bat-tree). Mission accomplished and off for a quick ride in 42 degree weather with a fast group of 8 on the aforementioned ridgeland trails. Fastest ride I've done since early November (excluding my interval sessions) and I felt pretty dang good. Sveet!
Got to come home and party with KR. We cleaned the house up, did some laundry, played in the ball pen and jump swing, and watched some Noggin. Good stuff!
Getting close to KR's (and my) bedtime so I'll leave you with this.
Reminds me of an older song by the Lost Boyz:
I can't escape this life that I'm livin'
I'm in the mix, I'm in love with 2 women
That's word to moms, I got two honeys on my arms
and I don't wanna let none of them go.
Minus the double negative and the fact that Mr. Cheeks was juggling two ladies in a romatic way...you get my gist.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Almost forgot!!
The weather was warm enough this past weekend to wear the Craft bib shorts (previously poorly reviewed) on a 3 hour MTB ride and, I stand corrected (happily I might add)...they are simply marvelous!
My apologies and all who read this and need a new pair of bibs should seriously consider the Craft Pro Race bibs!!
You know McWeSSon don't abide by no foolin'!
My apologies and all who read this and need a new pair of bibs should seriously consider the Craft Pro Race bibs!!
You know McWeSSon don't abide by no foolin'!
What's up with the gut?
A little update for you cycling fans out there: the base training has been better than ever this year. Big hours on the weekends, strength training, yoga, and intervals during the work week. The last 2 weekends have included 6+ hours of ride time and 5+ hours of trail work. Adding a new section of trail to the Ridgeland trails this year with the TCMBA trail master J. Polk. Last weekend we addressed some areas that were screaming for a couple of expert level rock gardens. I love it.
The body has responded to the training wonderfully...until last Sunday. Starting feeling fatigued, then got some sort of stomach bug, took two days off, and am just now getting back in the swing of things.
The human body is an amazing thing: subject it to the rigors of year round training and it responds like a finely tuned sports car...eat some bad food or touch the wrong door knob and you're knocked down for the count.
Oh well, it happens...and I've found that we tend to come back stronger than before. One notable exception being the lovely Mrs. Gunn-Rita Dahle...
Yee-haw it's Friday and tomorrow I'm hitting the dirt!!
The body has responded to the training wonderfully...until last Sunday. Starting feeling fatigued, then got some sort of stomach bug, took two days off, and am just now getting back in the swing of things.
The human body is an amazing thing: subject it to the rigors of year round training and it responds like a finely tuned sports car...eat some bad food or touch the wrong door knob and you're knocked down for the count.
Oh well, it happens...and I've found that we tend to come back stronger than before. One notable exception being the lovely Mrs. Gunn-Rita Dahle...
Yee-haw it's Friday and tomorrow I'm hitting the dirt!!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
"Why is everybody laughing?"
Redneck baby
KR is happiest when punching her parents in the FACE!
1st trip to the MS Museum of Natural Science. Voted MS's #1 tourist attraction for 2006!!
I'm still not sure whose hair she inherited...
Whachoo talking 'bout!?!
I'm sweating like crazy! And for what? Some silly blog post?!?
Hello dere Miss Lady
Too much fun! Wheeeeeeeee!
Yeah, this is the look of someone who has achieved utter domination! Get some!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Product Reviews
Let's presume for a moment that more than 4 people take a peeky here now and again. Granted if I blogged more people might be more interested to read more but hey I got a life to live and stuff. (That sentence used the word 'more' 3 times - horrible). Anyway, I have some new gizmos thanks to Mr. Claus and I thought a product review might be in order.
Rating Scale:
5 = Radtastic!
4 = Not too shabby!
3 = Meh...
2 = Thanks but no thanks.
1 = COME ON MAN!!
1. Craft ProZero sleveless and longsleeved base layers - rated for temps between 40-60 degrees F and made of 100% polyester, Craft describes these baselayers as a second skin and I concur. These baselayers blow away the competion (UnderArmor, PearlIzumi). My biggest problem with other brands was core temp. regulation - I was always either too hot or too cold. Not to be confused with 'too cool' because that is a personal problem having nothing to do with gear. : )
Final Rating: 5 out of 5 - Radtastic!! Highly recommend for hiking, biking, running, camping, etc.
2. North Face OG Striped Sock - presumably OG stands for Original Gangster - at least that was the initial use of OG back in 1991 according to Ice-T. It nows seems to stand for anything remotely associated with the year 2006 or earlier. Kinda like when you hear 30 somethings say, "Oh, that's the bomb!" Is it? How old are you? But I digress. The socks are made of 100% merino wool which made me skeptical but the price was right and the socks were navy, mid calf, and had 3 stripes at the top. I know right, that's OG! I have ridden in these twice now, in sloppy MS winter conditions and they are DA BOMB!! No itchiness, feet stayed dry and warm! Perfection! Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - I am too scared to dry them as I fear they will shrink.
3. Craft Pro Race bib shorts - for me it is a complex issue because I love the bike riding but I hate the bike shorts. 3 items of concern with bike shorts: 1: chamois - needs to have plenty of padding and rear and frontal coverage, 2: fit - should be form fitting, i.e. no loose or baggy areas - read chaffing, 3: fabric should be thick enough to compress a little but also breathable. No shorts have ever worked 100% for me. So, I decided to get some really nice shorts. Mail order of course as Craft is not sold in MS. The fit is quite nice, the fabric is genius, the chamois has gel inserts and after 60min. on the trainer the rear was better than ever. Final Rating - 3 out of 5. Why? Coverage! The chamois stops a bit short and that is scary because chaffage is simply unbearable. I must say that there were no issues during my stent on the trainer but 60min. on the trainer is NOT 3 hours in the woods. This item needs more testing. I never see it going higher than 3 but it could end up at a one.
Adios.
Rating Scale:
5 = Radtastic!
4 = Not too shabby!
3 = Meh...
2 = Thanks but no thanks.
1 = COME ON MAN!!
1. Craft ProZero sleveless and longsleeved base layers - rated for temps between 40-60 degrees F and made of 100% polyester, Craft describes these baselayers as a second skin and I concur. These baselayers blow away the competion (UnderArmor, PearlIzumi). My biggest problem with other brands was core temp. regulation - I was always either too hot or too cold. Not to be confused with 'too cool' because that is a personal problem having nothing to do with gear. : )
Final Rating: 5 out of 5 - Radtastic!! Highly recommend for hiking, biking, running, camping, etc.
2. North Face OG Striped Sock - presumably OG stands for Original Gangster - at least that was the initial use of OG back in 1991 according to Ice-T. It nows seems to stand for anything remotely associated with the year 2006 or earlier. Kinda like when you hear 30 somethings say, "Oh, that's the bomb!" Is it? How old are you? But I digress. The socks are made of 100% merino wool which made me skeptical but the price was right and the socks were navy, mid calf, and had 3 stripes at the top. I know right, that's OG! I have ridden in these twice now, in sloppy MS winter conditions and they are DA BOMB!! No itchiness, feet stayed dry and warm! Perfection! Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - I am too scared to dry them as I fear they will shrink.
3. Craft Pro Race bib shorts - for me it is a complex issue because I love the bike riding but I hate the bike shorts. 3 items of concern with bike shorts: 1: chamois - needs to have plenty of padding and rear and frontal coverage, 2: fit - should be form fitting, i.e. no loose or baggy areas - read chaffing, 3: fabric should be thick enough to compress a little but also breathable. No shorts have ever worked 100% for me. So, I decided to get some really nice shorts. Mail order of course as Craft is not sold in MS. The fit is quite nice, the fabric is genius, the chamois has gel inserts and after 60min. on the trainer the rear was better than ever. Final Rating - 3 out of 5. Why? Coverage! The chamois stops a bit short and that is scary because chaffage is simply unbearable. I must say that there were no issues during my stent on the trainer but 60min. on the trainer is NOT 3 hours in the woods. This item needs more testing. I never see it going higher than 3 but it could end up at a one.
Adios.
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