Thursday, January 3, 2008

Making progress


I got to log my first strength workout of the year in my handy dandy sparkly new logbook.

Being a new year and a new log book, I thought to myself, "Self, I wonder if we can increase the weights on any of these exercises?"

And my Self, being equally intrigued with the notion, gave it an honest attempt.

I am pleased to report that I was able to up the weight on about a third of the exercises that I am doing. Surely that's a sign of progress. More muscle mass, right? And doesn't muscle mass equal more strength and a higher metabolism or something like that?

Anyway, I'm sticking to the current weights on the other exercises, and will try this experiment again in another month or so to see if I'm ready to up the weight on any of those at that time.

Side note - I have been doing my stregth workouts at the fitness center at work, not at a traditional stand-alone gym. It's very convenient in the mornings and they have everything that I want at the moment except for a pool. I expected to see several new faces this morning, there were none. Guess the New Year resolutionists are busy taking up space at other gyms. That's just fine with me.

And another side note - Bandit does have a yeast infection in both ears. He's doing better after the first day of ear washing and ear drops, but I'm now concerned about what might have caused this. After talking to the vet and doing some research on my own, I believe he might have food allergies. So we're experimenting with new foods again. First up...a duck and potato diet that has good reviews among the canine allergy community. Of course not all dog allergies are caused by the same thing, but I'll let you know how it goes..

22 comments:

  1. Oh crap! Strength training :-) Poor puppy! Ear infections stink!! Figuratively and literally of course!!

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  2. Good job on the strength training, I embark on that journey soon.

    Sorry about the possible allergies, hope you get it figured out soon. Isn't it amazing the lengths we go for our pets?

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  3. I know I say this all the time but I REALLY need to get my gear together with the strength training. Maybe it would help if I was as organized as you ;-)

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  4. Great job on the strength training. And you're right you will be increasing your muscle mass which would give you more strength(to chase those bunnies!;-)) & a higher metabolism.

    Glad to hear that you have a plan of action on handling Bandit.

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  5. Awesome job being consistent with your strength training. You're getting stronger and stronger!

    I hope you get Bandit's allergy problem figured out (if it is a food allergy). Keep us posted :) Dink has problems off and on. Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly the "poop inspector!"

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  6. Poor Bandit, at least now you know what it is and can treat it!

    Good job on the strength training!

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  7. It's all about the power to weight ratio - so your two projects should result in some free speed this year :)

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  8. Strong women are sexy. Keep it up.

    Duck and potatoes? I love roast duck.

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  9. Good job on the weights. It always takes a concentrated effort to stick to a strength routine. And with your new log book, I'll bet you'll be wanting to fill up those pages! My daughter's dog had the ear problem real bad and went on the same diet. It turned out to be something quite out of the ordinary so I won't even mention it (had to do with some anxiety), but also she found that flax seed in her dog's diet helped quite a bit on other things as well. Good luck!

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  10. Great job on the strength training!

    Our dog had the yeast infection before as well and it was a bummer. :<( Sorry about the allergies.

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  11. Great job on the strength training. I need to get back at her too.

    Feel better, pup.

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  12. your poor puppy - hope he feels better soon!

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  13. Good job on being able to up the weights on a decent amount of your exercises. And lucky you that your gym wasn't super packed with New Years folks.

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  14. Kozmo has allergies!!! That turned out to be the root of all his problems. I have him on venison and rice wet food and vegitarian dry food. And I get his treats from a local place that can insure me that no beef, chicken or pork products are used. One thing that they did stress to me is to take the process of chenging food slowly any drastic change in food will upset their stomachs. Koz wishes Bandit well!
    The personal trainer in me wants to urge you to try and do exta reps on the exercises that you did not increase weight on.
    Take Care

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  15. Way to go on the strength training. I went to log my first run in my new log book and realized I did not have one. Schucks!

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  16. Great job on the strength training.

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  17. Great job on putting some stats on the new log book..

    I have to get myslef back to the gym as well for some strength training..

    Dog and allergies, never a fun time.. Hope you find the right recipe for him..

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  18. Well, looks like you are on a course for success on both: weight training and dog allergies.
    Very best wished for continued good results.

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  19. I remember when my Great Dane got a yeast infection in his ear... supposedly it wasn't too much of a suprise to the vet.

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  20. There's nothing like a new notebook to help motivate! I hope Bandit gets better soon.

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  21. Great job on the training!!

    I hope that your dog gets better soon.

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  22. love to hit the weights.
    keep up the strength training...
    many years as a 190 lb triathlete, i feel some races go very well because i hit the weights hard
    have a great 08

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