Speaking of Obama, wow! Just beware, I can hear Rush Limbaugh's hate machine cranking out some massive rpm's in preparation for the unleashing of the fury. But congrat's to the President-elect and hope that he can do a better job than the current POTUS.
Regarding the photos of my winter training equipment, be prepared for here they are with some details. The first photos will be of the equipment I will use for the Joe Friel prescribed strength training days (three per week). For the Build 1 phase Mr. Friel calls for strength training in the anatomical adaptation mode which means light-ish weights with high reps. The eight exercises I use for this phase are squats, lat pull-downs, leg extensions, chest press, seated row, hamstring curls, upright row, and abdominals. For the squats, leg extensions, and seated row I use this Smith Machine:
For the lat pull-downs, chest press, hamstring curls, upright row, and abdominals I use my Nordicflex Ultralift which is pictured here:
Mr. Friel's program also calls for two days of cross training per week. For this purpose (and since my wife also likes them) we purchased an elliptical machine. The elliptical is much gentler on my knees and provides more of a full body workout than running (although I will probably also do some running). The elliptical we purchased is seen here:
For my indoor riding days I will use my old Univega Sportour-S on my Elite Real Axiom trainer (pictured below):
The Real Axiom trainer is much like a Computrainer (much less expensive) in that it allows you to create and ride "courses" using their software. The trainer adjusts its resistance to simulate uphills and downhills. You can also purchase famous TDF, Giro, Vuelta stages as well as some world championship's and classics routes and ride them. The only limitation is that he resistance unit tops out at around 6% so when you are riding Alp de Huez and you see the slope increase to 10.5% the difficulty is only in your head. However, 6% in my mind is adequate for the hills you will encounter in the MABRA region. Just don't tell my vicious 'irradiated eyes' coach (pictured below):
You may note that there is no one suffering on any of the equipment in the photos. While this is true, my wife will avow that they are being used, much to her dismay. Also, all these photos were taken in our recently finished basement. Bye!
