Chicago and Marine Corps Marathon Training Recap, Week 10

Wow! Double-digits in weeks of training for these marathons! While I’ve slacked in recent weeks, I tried to kick it up a notch this week and fit what I could into a busy week. The stats:

I look like I’m about to sneeze

Sunday, 8/27:  45 minutes of strength training

Monday, 8/28:  Rest day

Going old school

Tuesday, 8/29:  5.1 mile run

Wednesday, 8/30:  45 minutes of strength training/35 minutes of cardio/10 minutes of strength training

Thursday, 8/31:  12-hour work day

Friday, 9/15:  12-hour work day

Saturday, 9/2:  10 mile run

 

I had to do some workouts at home, so I decided to pull out some of my old workout videos. Don’t laugh! These babies are staples in my fitness routine! The Original Buns of Steel came out in 1987, featuring former pole vaulter Greg Smithey. If you’ve never tried it, let me tell you, it will literally kick your butt. When I first bought it (30 years ago!) it took me an entire month to be able to get through the whole thing without stopping. Seeing it now, it is sooooo corny with all of that turquoise and fuchsia spandex and of course, leg warmers! And Greg’s narrative? I want to die laughing every time I hear it.

Let’s get physical!

Then in the early 90s I got into doing step aerobics at home. My favorite remains Step Reebok: The Video. Released in 1992, it features Gin Miller, the inventor of step aerobics.  It is an awesome mix of cardio and strength training. The step tape has a very industrial and almost militant feel to it. I think if any of the participants cracked a smile during taping they would have gotten 50 lashes. But I tell you, this, too took over a month of practice to get through the whole thing without stopping.

I wasn’t able to get a bike ride in this week, but I am hoping to get one ride in per week for the remaining weeks before the marathons. And I will definitely be doing my workout tapes! Watching them today gives me the giggles.   And hey, why mess with success? I have relied on these videos for great in-home workouts for three decades!

A 10-miler to end the week

How about you? Have you done either of these workouts? Do you have any old tried and true workouts that you have stuck with over the years?

22 Comments

  1. I LOVE that you still have Step and Buns of Steel. So this begs the question… you still have a working VCR?? I *think* we have one in a closet but I’m not entirely sure it’s still functioning!

  2. I’m so impressed that you were able to get in workouts despite back to back 12 hour work days – that’s super impressive!!

    I’ve never tried any of those workouts but I do have a Jillian Michaels DVD that I really like.

    1. Author

      Those 12 hour work shifts really mess things up for me…add a two-hour round trip commute to the mix and it’s pretty much impossible to work out on those days.

  3. I have done P90X, and that was a great experience for me…and SO humbling, especially the first week! I no longer follow the program, but still incorporate many of the workouts (in some form) on my own. Yes, it was all the rage several years ago, but looks totally cheesy now LOL

  4. Ha! I have never done either of those workouts, but how fun that you pulled them out and gave them a go!

  5. Oh my gosh, what a blast from the past! I still have that Step Reebok video but I don’t have a VHS player anymore. That was a favorite of mine. I also had another step video that I loved–what the heck was it? It was really dancy and I struggled with the moves. I used to love step aerobics.

    1. Author

      Our VHS player has one foot in the grave so the tape is intermittently grainy, but I’ve done it so many times I just need to hear the prompts. I have a few other step aerobics tapes–I never liked the ones with the dancy moves. I was able to buy a copy of Buns of Steel on DVD.

  6. Since I have a Reebok Step, I must have done that video! Gin Miller is a great fitness instructor – she might smile these days. 😉

  7. Last night I went back to my Jillian Michael’s DVD and did a workout. It was a killer as it’s been over a year since I’ve done those workouts! So worth it though!
    Great week!

  8. Wow buns of steel brings back memories! Old school workout for sure!

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