Below are the 2 most recent journal entries recorded in dccaptainmoroni's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
11:59 am	Workout Forgot to add to my initial journal entry the on-again/off-again problems I am having with stroking. It occurs mainly on the right side, but I have this little hitch where the front of the skate curls in. I think it is part of a bigger problem where (based on my coach's advice) I am not allowing the stroking skate to continuously move forward ... I am pushing "back" with it. I haven't exactly figured this out yet since the stroke DOES go backward ... when you stroke. Anyway, fairly good workout this morning. I have to eat before I work out more. Something like fruit or maybe protein drink. I am running out of steam before I am done. 30 min recumbant level 8 22 min treadmill normal approach (start at 3.6 up every 3 minutes .. level 8) 10 min stairmaster (personal best ... I suck at this right now.) 22 min on x-trainer (x-train mode - level 10) 40 crunches on ball long stretch (haven't done enough of that) leg extension 8X (75/87/100) Lower back still twitching ... Tried to do arms ... hurt my back a bit though. Started doing off ice XO simulated moves .. focusing on core/turn/foot alignment/extension stretch. THIS is going to help big time wrt muscle memory POV. Was talking to a gal (Irina) who has been working out for a while in the early mornings. I couldn't tell from looking at her, but she is Romanian. Been here 4 years. Working on citizenship. Nice to talk to. I still would love to hook up with someone ... skater ... to work out together since I am pretty consistent in the am now. And likewise, I need to hook up with some of the folx in the beta class to start practicing together on-ice. Still not sure if I am going to skate today. I will probably lay off today ... Maybe tonite I will open up the new Pilates video I got and start trying to put together an evening off-ice program also. Current Mood: accomplished (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, February 20th, 2006
1:22 pm	1st Entry - Skating, Workouts and overall health 1st entry .... Passed the Alpha test last Saturday. Been skating in total, for, ohh, 8 months or so. Started as an activity to do with my youngest daughter. She never really took to it. Then the other daughter got involved. She likes to go to public sessions now and then and is following my advice on stroking, etc. I started private lessons about 2 months ago. They have helped immensely. So where am I, in all of this? Well, I have lost about 25# in the last 10 months or so. I try to get out to the gym 4-5 times a week, early in am; about 6:15. Once the summer hits, I will be able to start earlier, if needed. Right now, I have to drive my 2 oldest to a church activity every morning. The activity doesn't happen in the summer and the oldest should be driving by then anyway. The gym opens up at 5. That would help me get to work sooner. I have been focusing on a lot of aerobic work; recumbant bike, treadmill, cross-trainer and stairclimber and depending on energy level, performing anaerobic work after that. I try and get no less than 75 minutes of aerobic work in every day. I am going to have to modify that pattern immediately though based on the need for lower body strengthening needed for skating. Skating ... I just graduated from ISI Alpha, will start Beta in 2 weeks. This is going to be a challenge. I haven't done much at all in the backward skating arena and that is the main focus of this class. I started out struggling terribly, like most folx who start out on this activity later on in life. Had to work to get both legs relatively equivalent in balance issues. My right side glide was noticably weaker than the left. It took me a while to figure out that stroking isn't "rocking into" each stroke. I originally had no knee bend. That is improving weekly. I am still struggling with a forward lean at times. If I don't feel that "sweet spot" in the lower back straining a bit, then I know that I am leaning forward too much. It wasn't until recently that I understood the effect of "looking down" wrt pulling your weight forward onto the TP's. For about a month now, I have been working on "sitting back" on the blade, pushing the CofG back, just past the midpoint. The 1st couple of times doing that is a riot. Feels like you have been shot out of a gun. Obviously, I know when I am failing at this, especially when I fall forward out of a stroke. I can noticably tell due to lack of glide speed when I am not back far enough. Having gotten through Alpha, the focus now, from the private lesson POV, on doing efficient crossovers and moving into pushunders. I have a lot to work on. I have drills from Tim now to get on that outside edge, hold it while prepping for the crossover. Tim has given me definitive direction on arm placement (hands on table in peripheral vision), weight on crossed over foot and push out extension. It took quite a while to get onto the outside edges. Need to continue to improve on that. I'll get into the specific drills later, as I get into the daily routine. Overall health-wise, things are in pretty good shape. I have a lower back twinge right now, that might keep me out for a couple of days. Went to the chiropractor today at lunch. I got the sore back when shovelling snow last Sunday. It tightened up on me Saturday morning before my private lesson. Other than that, last week I got a twinge in my left outside ankle when working on crossovers. I think that it is strengthening going on. It isn't debilitating at all. May actually be a good sign that I am pushing to edge of what I can do ... A lot of what we are going on edges appears to really be Delta work. I am hoping to be done with the basic levels by the end of the summer and start Freestyle classes in the fall. I am still thinking that dance is where I want to end up, but being capable of the jumps and spins is something that I want in my repertoire. That's all for now. Current Mood: calm (Comment on this)