Round 7: Day 11: Yoga

In the blink of an eye, 12% of this Round has passed. I can't believe how quickly time moves, especially when you're having as much fun as I am.

The fun never stops when it's yoga day. Yoga always arrives at the perfect time of the week: always a Wednesday, which is kind of an ambiguous day in the work week; always on Day 4 of the workout week, providing a well-deserved break from the heart-thumping and pounding of cardio and the pushing and pulling of resistance workouts. Yoga, with its mind-calming and body relaxing results, brings physical soothing and mental and emotional regeneration when I most need it.

Physically, I'm still experiencing a bit of tightness in my lower back on the right-hand side. It's not serious enough to prevent me from pursing any of my workouts, but it's just annoying enough to limit me from a completely full range of motion. I notice it when I bend over and place my hands on the floor, and when I engage in hamstring stretches on the right side. Yoga is slowly releasing the tightness, but I think it will take another few weeks, perhaps to the end of the first Recovery Week, for my body to respond in full and for full movement to be restored. In the meantime, I'm focussing on my stretches and will not give up. The solution is to do more yoga, not less.

Namaste.

Round 7: Day 10: Just Arms

Like I did a couple of days ago, I decided to repeat Just Arms this week because I was a bit underwhelmed by my performance last week, and wanted to challenge myself to do better. I'm competitive with myself in that respect, never really being quite satisfied with the status quo, and desiring to push for a better me. That is, after all, one of the key reasons I work out: I want to be a better me.

Tony (Horton) gives some food for thought during this workout when he states (paraphrasing, here) that you do well with the things you're good at; you get great when you do the things you struggle with. I wouldn't say that I particularly struggle with exercises in this workout. Lifting weights is not quite the same thing as struggling to complete a single pushup, because you can always lift lighter weights if necessary. The importance of what Tony is saying is his message to jolt you out of your comfort zone. Doing so will stimulate your body to respond. When you stress different parts of your body by working out and force previously sedentary or underused body parts to work, those parts grow and improve. The result will be a better you.

That's why I pursue a varied workout routine, not repeating on consecutive days a particular type of exercise. I give my body an off-day between resistance workouts to rest; similarly, there are rest days between cardio workouts. I may not be good at all the workouts, but I do a bit of everything to ensure that my body continues to grow and to improve. Variety is the key to staying interested, to sticking with your program (whatever it may be), to positive changes (physically and mentally) and ultimately, to overall success.

Round 7: Day 9: Run

As I threatened last week, or some posts ago, I decided to increase the length of my circuit, as I had felt that I had excess energy upon completing the standard route. I basically took my standard route and added an extension mid-way through to extend the overall distance by about one-third. The extra distance took me through an adjoining neighbourhood and through a nearby ravine, so it was nice to see a change of scenery with different houses and a little detour through nature.

The run through the ravine was especially nice because I was able to run on some dirt paths and grass. It was really pleasant to feel the softer ground underfoot, a most welcome change from asphalt or concrete. Also, I don't particularly enjoy running adjacent to cars. It's a pleasure to leave (albeit temporarily) the sounds and smells of the city behind for a little bit of silence, punctuated by the sound of my feet hitting the trail and my somewhat heavy breathing.

My mind really wandered during the run. I had as song stuck in my head (Wind Up, by Jethro Tull) which accompanied me in various forms throughout the run. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, just a strange one, but it really must have occupied my thoughts because the run didn't seem to last long at all. I only periodically glanced at my heart rate monitor to confirm that I was in my zone, but never felt particularly stressed.

I'll likely pursue the same route again. It has a number of hills which were challenging but enjoyable, and the landscape, especially at this time of year with the trees starting to change colour, and really nice.

Round 7: Day 8: 30-15

I was still smarting (mentally) from my relatively poor showing in 30-15 last week that I decided to try it again to see whether improvements could be made. Thankfully, improvements could, indeed, be made. I wouldn't say that I crushed the workout, but I was able to post higher pushup numbers than last week, returning to numbers that I've been consistently achieving for the last few workouts. Thirty pushups was the norm, the exception being the last couple of rounds of standard-to-chataranga pushups, where I only managed to squeeze out 22 each. Those are really tough, coming at the end of the workout when your arms feel like jell-o.

I was particularly pleased to see that my strength and endurance had returned during the course of the week. Also, I was no longer feeling muscular soreness. The workout still feels like a bit of a cardio routine, as it moves rather rapidly from one exercise to the next. This made it all the more satisfying to complete the workout with improved results.

It's a good start to the week.