Fun & Fitness over 50

It helps that I'm such a geek.

I'm currently doing a program based on "The Heart Rate Monitor Workbook for Indoor Cyclists" by Edwards and Reed.
Actually, it's based on the tried and true concept of working out hard and then recovering for a day or 2 or 3 with easy workouts. Right now, I really haven't been doing any hard workouts. I'm just building my baseline by either taking easy rides outside on the bike or, when the weather is dicey, doing one of the workouts from the book in the gym on the stationary bike.

I like doing their programs because you have to focus on controlling your heart rate. It makes the time pass quickly and I like it better than trying to read or watching the television. It's also easier doing a focused workout like this on a stationary bike because you can pay closer attention to your numbers without worrying about traffic or running off the road or into an immovable object.

For example, today's workout was called "Ironsides. It gains you 93 training points and burns 279 to 363 calories in 42 minutes. Training points are intended to indicate the amount of training or "load" in a workout and is determined by multiplying the number of the heart rate zone by the number of minutes spent training in the zone. The zones are numbered one through five and go from lesser to greater intensity.

The sequence for the workout is indicated below and as you can see, the heart rate is varied quite a bit. It can be a challenge to keep it steady and just where you want it.
This appeals to my nerdy nature and, as I said, helps to pass the time because you are focused on maintaining the heart rate rather than how hard you are working or whether it is painful or tiring.
Actually, the hardest thing to do is to keep my heart rate DOWN rather than up. This is easier on a stat bike in the gym though than out on the road. I think because you have to deal with varied terrain but also because there is the element of balance to deal with that you don't have on the stationary.
The first section of the book deals with easier workouts in what are called the "Health" zones, Zones 1 and 2, 50 to 70 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate with occasional brief forays into zone 3, a "fitness" zone.
My idea for training this spring is to go through all these easy workouts to gradually build up a base which hopefully will get my body used to moving again on the bike without getting hurt.
Then, as I move into harder workouts and develop some soreness as a result, I will dip back into the easier workouts for recovery and so progress through the book and harder "real" rides out on the road.

At least, that's the plan.