New Workout Routine

I have a number of workout routines worked out on a weekly basis. I have tried hard to maintain that intense workout schedule. But weekly workouts are just too much for my brain to handle on an emotional level. I have established my new goal as losing fat while gaining minimal amount of muscle, that means a lot of cardio and very little strength. Hence my new workout routine:

- 20 minute treadmill
- 20 minute spin bike
- 4 sets 10 reps of:
     - dumbbell curls
     - reverse push downs
     - back extensions
     - squats
- 100 situps
- 20 minute swimming

Runner's Knee

(image obtained from http://www.artintercepts.org/)

Runner's knee is the overuse of knee joints causing arching pain around the knee cap. This is mostly due to overuse of the knee in activities such as running, biking, or just any kind of cardio workouts; weak leg muscles that puts body weight on knee joints; and/or other traumatic events involving the knee. Embarrassing to say, I suffer from runner's knee every once in a while. After two days of short 10-minute cardio workout, I could feel the intense pain the next day morning in my knee joints, which forces me to take break for a day or two. And if I persist on running, the condition will worsen until I can no longer walk. After not able to walk for a month or two, I learned my lesson to give my knee a rest.

A good cardio regimen can be easily established after running 10-15 minutes everyday for 30 days. 30 days is usually a good way for your body to get use to the burning lungs and dry throats for a certain amount of time. However, with the runner's knee, the running regimen is difficult to establish. Usually what I ended up doing is weights for one day, then cardio for another. But without both in one day, it is difficult to obtain the complete post-workout satisfaction.