Training for the Colorado Rockies

Colorado is home to Rocky Mountain National Park, land of wildlife, tundra and 14,000-foot snow-capped peaks. It is also our destination come August 6th, when we head to the town of Estes Park and embark on an adventure among these mountains known as the Colorado Rockies.

I've been training at the gym for many, many months, in anticipation of possibly summiting Mt. Ida whose peak juts skyward at an elevation of 12,880 feet. (For those who are wondering, the highest I've climbed is 11,000 feet, on a trail known as Gaylor Lakes in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park.)

My routine at the gym consists of an eight-minute warm-up, then 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, then an hour of weights, usually on machines as opposed to free weights. Lately I've started to do more free weights, as they offer three-dimensional movement and therefore simulate real-life activity better. And lastly, I do 10 minutes of stretching, ab crunches, and yoga positions on a nice yoga mat on a hardwood floor.

During each visit to the gym, I use any one of three cardio machines: the treadmill, the cross-trainer, and the stairmaster. I rotate between them to add a little variety to my routine. I also rotate between the weight machines and target a specific "muscle group" on each visit: 1) back and biceps, 2) chest, shoulders and triceps, and 3) legs (quads, hamstrings and calves). I've also been told that I can do leg exercises every time, so I try to squeeze some in at every visit.

Today I ran on the treadmill and actually did pretty well. I warmed up for eight minutes by walking at a speed of 2.6 mph, gradually increasing to 4 mph. By then my heart rate (detected by metal sensor bars on the treadmill that you hold with both hands) was up to about 110 beats per minute.

Now, a little refresher on target heart rates. During any physical activity, there is that heart rate you reach at which your body starts to burn fat. To calculate that, it's (220 minus your age) x 65%. For me, at the age of 33, that would be 122 beats per minute. Now there's also a heart rate at which you're actually doing cardio training, which is (220 minus your age) x 80%. For me, that number is 150. During vigorous exercise, my heart rate can go up to the low 170s. Unfortunately, this is when I start to get light-headed and have to back off a little bit.

So today, I ran at a speed 5.5 mph for 10 minutes straight without stopping. Now that doesn't happen very often... in fact, that was dang good for me! Normally, after about five minutes of running, my heart rate goes up to about 168, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, feel the blood pumping in my head and have to stop. Not today!

After that, I brisk-walked on an incline, all the way up to the max the treadmill would go. (I'll be hiking in the mountains, remember?) Then I reset the incline back to zero, ran again at 5.5 mph, did some more hills, and cooled down. After all that work for almost an hour, I only burned about 300 calories. It's really an eye-opener as to how much work you have to do to neutralize the effect of a 280-calorie Snickers bar!

Then for weights today, I targeted the back muscles, and did squats with a mere 70 pounds of weight, as anything heavier would probably aggravate my sore right hip. I also did some hip flexion exercises for said soreness, an injury I think I incurred while hiking the Superstition Mountains last January.

Yes, I'm continually sore in three places now: my right hip, my lower back, and my right shoulder (this from working with a mouse all day). Oh, time flies, I'm 33 and not getting any younger. My body isn't as invincible as it was when I was twenty.

Right now I only visit the gym once or twice a week, which is better than nothing, but I know I could do better. This challenge has to do with our pet dogs, but that's a story for another time. Let's see how well I do in August, out there among the craggy peaks of the great Colorado Rockies.