10K to mastery

[Teodor]

Hello, everyone! I'm Teodor, 31 years old, and this is my workout log.

 

Some interesting things have been happening lately in terms of accountability and following through: I said I'd stop smoking and I did, I said I'd cut back on the beer and I did, I said I'd take a beginner-level SQL course and I finished it yesterday... so, truth be told, I've been putting off starting this thread for a few days, because I kind of knew that, once I've done so, I'd actually commit to working out 5-6 days a week. Oh yes, I'm notoriously lazy.

 

Still, being able once again to climb a reasonably long flight of stairs without huffing and puffing has reminded me of the days when I'd play basketball for hours on end, so I decided to stop putting this off and get to it. Plus, summer is coming and I'm looking forward to some trips to the mountains, so I really need to get in shape.

 

The plan is pretty straightforward: start with calisthenics and do 10K reps of each exercise of choice before progressing to a tougher version of it. For example, once I've done 10K regular push-ups, I'll switch to diamond push-ups and do 10K of those before further switching to uneven push-ups. Obviously, at some point there'll be no tougher version of the move (be it push-up, squat, pull-up or whatever), so I'll have to add some weights or start going to the gym. However, this isn't likely to happen in the near future, so I'm bound to have a lot of fun with cali's.

 

How long before I complete 10K reps? Hard to tell, so no objective here. First of all, I'm not planning on going crazy during the first 3-4 weeks, since injuries are not on my wish list for this spring. Secondly,  the time required will vary wildly from one move to another. For example, I'm sure I'll complete 10K squats before I complete the push-ups. Also, I can't make any predictions regarding the frequency of rest days. Still, all things considered, I don't think it should take longer than 2-3 months to complete 10K reps for most moves (except for pull-ups, which are kind of a different animal).

 

With this in mind, I'll be starting out with the exercises I mentioned earlier: push-ups, squats and pull-ups. Along the road, I'll probably add 2 or 3 more (like leg raises for the abs and hyperextensions for the back), but, for now, these 3 and running should suffice. Did I say "running"? Yes, I'm also training to run a marathon in October and win a half marathon (if not a marathon as well) next year.

 

Quick word about the training schedule: I'll be looking to perform as many reps as possible throughout the day, preferably grouped in 2-3 sets at once. I'll do my best to avoid forced rest days, but, if at some point I feel like there's nothing left in the bank, I'll swallow my pride and just take a day off (from the exercise that's giving me trouble, not all of them). Also, to fend off boredom and push myself, I'll throw in some plyometrics every so often.

As for running, while it may sound pretty crazy, I actually plan on going 10K with it as well. 10K kilometers, that is, so I'm likely to still be writing in this thread in 2023 or so.

All said, fastening my seatbelt, opening one more beer and getting ready for a little bit of Netflix. One hell of a ride starts tomorrow.

[Teodor]

3 weeks later and I've finally started (as stated initially, I'm a pretty lazy person).

 

To ease into it, I went for a jog yesterday and ended up running 15 kilometers (about 9.32 miles) in 1:38:08, for an average pace of 6:32 per kilometer and average speed of 9.18 km/h. Not too bad, considering I haven't trained seriously on asphalt in several months; as a matter of fact, my best average pace at a half marathon was around 5:04, about a year ago, following a few weeks of training, so my fitness level hasn't declined dramatically. Obviously, there's quite some work to put in to recover and a heck of a lot more to improve, but I find yesterday's run encouraging.

 

In other news, I'm beginning the calisthenics workouts today: push-ups, pull-ups and squats. Coming back later with today's numbers.