Round 6: Day 34: Upper Body Plus

Modify, modify, modify. That's how I'm approaching the issue in my left calf, which I'm now treating as a minor injury. I'm going to discontinue cardio exercises which involve jumping or landing on my foot (as opposed to my ear?) to give my leg time to heal. In the meantime, if I can find some non-impact cardio routines, I'm going to pursue them.

In that vein, today's workout brought me back to the good old days of P90X+, with Upper Body Plus. I haven't done this routine in about 10 months, and had actually forgotten how to do some of the individual exercises. As a result of requiring a short tutorial in some of the movements, my numbers were down slightly in a few exercises. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable 41 minutes. This routine moves rather quickly from one move to another, leaving little time to record results, but it does manage to keep your heart rate elevated somewhat. So, this can serve as a mild cardio workout, as well as an upper body workout.

I found some of the upper body moves a bit tiring (I know, they're SUPPOSED to be) and it may not have been the best decision to focus on the upper body again, one day following Diamond Delts. However, I felt that there is sufficient variety in the moves so there wasn't a singular focus on the deltoids. The entire upper body is worked: chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps and forearms.

I'm going to continue with this Round, but I'm going to have to revisit some of the workouts, specifically the cardio routines on Day 2 and Day 6. I'll probably look to workouts like this one, and Core Synergistics, and I'll review Plyo Legs again (modifying as required to remove the jumping moves, if there aren't too many) and perhaps I'll place extra focus on ab work during those days. Managing injury successfully is part of anyone's fitness journey. With proper care and attention, this will pass, and I'll be able to get back to cardio work.

End of Week 5. Looking forward to healing, and Week 6.

Round 6: Day 33: Diamond Delts

Has anyone noticed that I tend to start each post with "I"? No doubt, due to my massive ego and my "it's all about me" attitude, and my understanding that the universe revolves around me. Or, it could be that I'm just not the best writer, at least when it comes to making personal log entries. You should see my business correspondence: short, concise, accurate and sweet; completely unlike my writing here.

I (there I go again) had a major breakthrough with today's workout: several exercises saw an increase in weight. Perusing the log sheet prior to engaging in the workout, I noticed that for several workouts, several exercises were stuck on 12 reps. I decided to challenge myself by pushing heavier weights and accepting a corresponding decrease in repetitions. Surprisingly, my repetitions didn't decrease too dramatically, usually dropping from 12 down to 9 or 10. I'm going to stick with the new weight for a few workouts, try to increase the repetitions, and then run through the whole sequence of events again, with even heavier weights. I'm hoping that this approach will help to break through a plateau and stimulate more muscle growth.

Oddly enough, prior to starting the workout, my energy level was really low, and there were a few minutes where I was seriously considering not even working out at all. When I finally got my mind right and decided to work out, I thought that I would only run through 18 exercises and skip my self-imposed bonus round of an additional 6 exercises. When I got to my bonus round, my attitude had completely changed, and I was really excited (well, as excited as one can get doing Pike Presses with their legs elevated) about the extra work. By the time the workout was over, I felt great: energized, exhausted, sweaty -- all things good. Then, I hopped on my bicycle and pedalled into work, for a little heart-pumping cardio.

Tomorrow, I'll see how my calf feels before my cardio routine. I have an Insanity workout schedule, but may have to change that if my leg requires some extra rest. I'll listen to my body and see.

Round 6: Day 32: Yoga

I felt ridiculously strong and alert this morning. I've been sleeping really well over the last couple of nights, and no doubt that's contributing to my sense of well-being. So, well-rested and enthusiastic, I leapt into yoga this morning. There's nothing like the feeling of practicing yoga when you're feeling strong and exuberant. Downward dog felt particularly good, as I stretched out my left calf. It's feeling a little better, although still somewhat tight, and I'm champing at the bit for it to be back to 100% already, as the weather is great and I'm looking forward to being more active outdoors. Still, I don't want to rush things, and will likely dial back the intensity of my cardio workouts until I feel completely confident that I can leap up and down on my left leg without suffering any consequences. If I can do Hot Foot from P90X's Plyometrics workout, I'll know that I'm back to normal.

Mostly everything else in my body felt nice and loose today. I'm not experiencing any hamstring issues, and was able to put my face on my knees during the straight leg seated hamstring stretches, with both hands wrapped around my outstretched foot, palms around the heel. I'd say that it's just about time for a yoga block. It's so enjoyable to see improvements in flexibility. It's mentally empowering to know that with some effort, patience and consistency, you can turn back the hands of time. What's age? It's just a number.

Namaste.

Round 6: Day 31: Just Arms

I was not in the mood for working out today, having overslept by a half-hour, and awakened feeling groggy. It's been a little humid here in sunny Toronto recently and, without air conditioning, the heat and humidity takes a toll on your energy level. Oversleeping is another matter. I forgot to set my alarm clock, and my internal alarm was off by a bit. Nevertheless, one must stir from one's slumber, and get to the business at hand.

I was reading a post by Steve Edwards (BeachBody) the other day about his Workout From Hell (WFH) and his note about how he exercised to failure. Tony also mentions at one point during the Just Arms workout about using heavier weights and doing fewer repetitions with them, even with slightly sketchy form, so that the last 3 reps are killers, rather than picking a lighter weight, maintaining perfect form, and cranking out more reps. The objective of that approach is to increase size. Of course, there I was, with a slightly lighter weight, doing more reps with perfect form. I suspect that Tony was addressing me. Note to self: increase the weights.

Although I felt a bit fatigued, the workout went well, and moved along at a nice pace. I managed to keep up with Tony for most of the workout, but took a couple of pauses near the end, specifically during Side-Tri-Rise and Hammer Curls. My body did give up during the Hammer Curls, where I was only able to complete 6, using 35 pound weight. That's a new low for me, but some days are going to be like that.

Side note: I've been more careful recently not only about what I'm eating, but when I'm eating. I had slipped a little bit into a habit of snacking at night, which resulted in a bit of a weight gain. I was trying to convince myself that I was gaining muscle, but it didn't look like it, and there's no use trying to fool yourself. I'm now becoming more strict with the timing of my meals: I'm not eating anything after I finish dinner. I find that if I get a little hungry later, I drink a glass or two of water, and my hunger pangs subside. Sometimes, especially during hot weather, I tend to get a little dehydrated, so I'm making sure to keep up with my water consumption throughout the day, which also helps with feelings of hunger.

My body is still sore in places from the 30-15 workout I did a few days ago; my leg is still bothering me, although I'm capable of riding my bicycle, and my arms are worn out from today's workout. It sounds like I'm ready for some yoga.

Round 6: Day 30: Insanity: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Ouch. I thought that my left calf had sufficient healed from last week's running mishap, but apparently, it has not. I'm walking without any tightness or pain, which led me to think that a little Insanity this morning would be just fine, but within a few minutes of the warmup, I felt pain in my left calf, and decided to call it quits for today. I don't want to risk serious injury, so I'll back off from the cardio workouts for awhile, or at least the Insanity workouts. I'm going to monitor how I feel over the next few days, and will likely substitute a One on One workout this Friday for Insanity. In other words: modify.

I'm still feeling well enough to ride my bicycle to the office, so I think that my calf strain is rather minor, and I don't think that I'll have to suspend cardio workouts entirely. Just easing back a little bit on the foot pounding is all that's needed, so I'll look for some workouts which will accommodate that requirement. I have Plyo Legs available, or Cardio Intervals, or Super Cardio, or even Kenpo or Kenpo Cardio Plus. There are options which allow me to continue, rather than suspend. Fortunately, my leg isn't too badly off.

So, I'm experiencing a minor disappointment on Day 30, one-third of my way through the Round. I'm not going to completely restart this week, as I've only missed one day. Learning to deal with minor setbacks is an important lesson in your fitness journey. As long as you realize that this is just a blip in a lifetime of workouts, you'll be OK. It's important not to get off-track and give up on working out. If you take too much time away from your workouts, you may very lose motivation. I'm not going to let that happen. I'll just dial back the intensity a little bit, but carry on.

Bring It!

Round 6: Day 29: 30-15

It was nice to end Recovery Week and get back into a regular week, especially starting with 30-15. I have a huge crush on this workout. It's long, challenging and still engaging. I'm still unable to reach 30 pushups in the final two rounds, but have managed to eke them out during the other ten. My pushup numbers are improving on those last two rounds, now up to 24 each. I find the transfer from the pushup bars to the floor really energy-draining.

My nemesis, other than the last two rounds, seems to be wide pushups. I struggle with these, but grimly crank out thirty each set, some with butt-in-the-air breaks, but I manage to achieve my goals. I've never been particularly adept at this kind of pushup, likely because my back muscles aren't what they should be. This is still one of those workouts which exposes my weaknesses, which is a reason I keep coming back to this workout and am still enjoying its challenges. I don't really want to do what I'm good at; I'd rather improve at what I find difficult. There's a greater reward in overcoming a larger challenge than a smaller one.

Looking forward to this week.