Becks Workout: enjoyable fatigue

I'm tired. I got back from the gym about a half hour ago and the workout is weighing on me. That and I'm about to get started on my Press-Enterprise story and just trying to prepare for that.

Anyway, I started the Beckham Workout with, of course, Week 1. And after Day 1 of Week 1, I came away with some mixed results.

In case you didn't read it or skipped over it, I came across the Beckham Workout in this month's Men's Health magazine, as he's on the cover... covers, actually. Both sides.

Anyway, here's the workout which is modified for the average guy.

For Becks: 5-minute run; Intensity: 85 percent Maximum Heart Rate (MHR); Rest: 4 minutes; Sets: 3
For Average Guy: 5-minute run; Intensity: 75 percent MHR; Rest: Until your heart rate is 60 percent of your MHR; Sets: As many as you can do in 30 minutes.

Now, I got a heart rate monitor a few months ago so I've come to know how hard I run at certain heart rates. For me, 75 percent of my MHR is about 142 beats per minute, and usually my cardio sessions typically stay above 160. So that's a bit less intense than what I am used to. However, I think that I could use a bit of a change of pace with my workouts and, who knows?, maybe I'm not working out properly. For me, working out isn't about losing weight but trying to improve my fitness. I've got it in the back of my mind to run a half-marathon next summer after I run a pair of 10Ks this fall.

Anyway, the workout itself was... well, I guess I should explain how I view my cardio sessions. I like to think of them as getting from Point A to Point B. I can get there with an intense workout or a lighter workout or a mix but as long as I get to Point B, I'm happy. Just depends on what I want out of them.

This particular Beckham Workout was a bit of a joyride. It was like cruising with my windows open, radio blaring, enjoying the scenery, like I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. I did want to open it up a bit and take off but I didn't. It was enjoyable - the workout - but wasn't overly taxing.

Afterward, I ran two miles on the treadmill. I just needed to get that pent-up energy out of my system. And I did.

The Beckham workout stats: my average heart rate was 133 and my max was 155. For my two-mile run, my average hr was 171 and my max was 186. Still, the first part of the workout did have an affect on the run as I was pretty fatigued, especially during the last half mile.

The workout is good because it incorporates intervals which I love. I'm all about the intervals and mixing up speeds and such, and that's what benefits soccer players. I notice myself when I play a cascarita, or pickup game. I usually can find an extra gear even after having played for more than an hour and I attribute intervals to that.

It makes perfect sense then that all five weeks of the Beckham Workout is about mixing intense workouts with rest periods. It's not just "Run 5 miles" and that's it. You run hard, rest, run hard, rest, do that over and over again and you build up your fitness.

I'm thinking of trying the Week 1, Day 2 on Friday (the mag recommends performing each challenge twice a week) so I'll let you know how that goes. I'm guessing it'll be another enjoyable ride.