Round 7: Day 18: Yoga

It's been a strange Phase 1 so far. I haven't quite been feeling like my normal self in terms of strength or flexibility. My endurance is still good, but my feeling of motivation has waned somewhat. When I wake up first thing in the morning, I don't really feel like jumping right into a workout, which is unusual for me. I don't think that the answer is to take off a couple of weeks; rather, the solution likely lies in keeping up with the workouts. I'm used to having an off day every now and then, but since starting this Round, it feels more like I've had some off weeks. I'm going to start paying more attention to my nutrition, to see whether there's a problem at that end that's causing these feelings. Although my weight is still stable, I just don't feel quite as fit as I used to.

One thing I haven't done for this Round is to formalize a workout schedule. I've been selecting workouts based on how I feel, but have been sticking to resistance on days 1, 3 and 5; yoga on day 4, and cardio on days 2 and 6. Recently, I've been thinking about switching the cardio and resistance days for 3 days of cardio and two days of resistance per week. I have a Recovery Week coming up next week, so I've got some time to consider the revision prior to implementation.

Today, I practiced yoga. I'm disappointed in my decreased flexibility. It seems to me that in previous months, I've been able to get my nose to my knee when I bend over. My hips and hamstrings just don't seem as flexible as they used to be. Perhaps it's age, perhaps diet, I'm not sure. Knowing that I want greater flexibility was sufficient motivation for today's practice. I tried to focus on form and on the goal of each pose. I did get a good stretch out of my hips, and I managed some slight improvements. I'll remain optimistic that with effort, I'll see some results.

Namaste.

Round 7: Day 17: 100-30-20

Although today was a resistance day, I decided to try out one of the new DVDs I recently received: 100-30-20, from One on One with Tony Horton, volume 2.

The workout, as its name implies, the workout consists of three types of exercises, each repeated the requisite number of times, rotating through skipping rope (100 jumps), an abdominal exercise (30 crunches), followed by a form of pushup (20 pushups). Then, repeat for about 8 sets.

This isn't the most exerting workout I've ever done, but it is a nice, solid, basic workout which touches on three areas: cardio, abs, and chest. Lacking a skipping rope and sufficient overhead clearance to do the skipping portion, I substituted mid-speed jumping jacks, each set lasting about a minute or so. That was sufficient to raise my heart rate and keep my shoulders loose for the pushup segment of the program.

The ab component is as challenging as you want to make it. If you really focus on form, you can get a good burn in your midsection. My only complaint would be that there were no exercises which targeted the obliques. Well, maybe a couple, but they weren't as intense as I'd have liked them to be.

There is an interesting variation on the Military style pushup, where you slide the bars back towards your waist, putting more stress than usual on your arms. It's a very challenging pushup. Also, doing the extra wide pushup took some effort.

Overall, this is a good workout. It moves quite quickly from one exercise to the next, leaving very little time for recovery between exercises. This helps to keep your heart rate elevated, and I did work up a decent (although not Insanity level) sweat. I'd say that it likely belongs in a Recovery Week.

Round 7: Day 16: Run

Fortunately, it's still pretty nice weather. The mornings are dark, and the sun isn't rising until around 7:00AM, but the temperature is still decent at 6:30AM, when I head out for my morning run. There's something nice about running alone in the dark, with the world seemingly still asleep, very few cars on the road, and deserted sidewalks. There's a sense of calm and serenity which I really appreciate. For the duration of the run, I can be alone with my thoughts. There aren't too many moments of solitude like that during the balance of my day, so I take it when I can.

Today's run seemed laborious at first, but lapsed into a feeling of effortlessness. I still don't think that this is the fabled Runner's High, but it is amazing to me that my mind just seems to drift into another dimension while my body propels forward on automatic pilot. I'm not really conscious of my breathing or any pain or discomfort in my body. I just find myself snapping out of my stupor at certain points along my route, such as when I turn a corner or step off a curb or experience a change in grade or ground material. Other than that, the entire run seems to be all in my head.

My time is consistent, as I seem to be running within 15 seconds of my fastest speed. Today's run had me in that zone, but with perhaps the lowest heart rate I've yet experienced. Recovery was swift. Perhaps it's time for yet another extension to the length of the route.

Round 7: Day 15: Chest and Back

Back to the tried and true to commence Week 3. I'm still enjoying this workout, even though I've been doing it for almost two years.

No major gains today, but my numbers were at least holding steady from previous weeks. Decline pushups seem to be getting more difficult, which is surprising, considering all the pushups I can do, and that I've really improved in Pike Presses (from Diamond Delts). I realize that a Pike Press is different from a Decline pushup, but I would think that if I'm capable of a Pike Press, the Decline should come with relative ease. Apparently not.

A friend of mine recently recommended expanding my collection of workouts, so I've recently received additional DVDs to bring me up to date in the One on One collection. I'm looking forward to the new workouts, and will use them to add more variety into the workout schedule.

Round 7: Day 12: Diamond Delts

Sorry for the late posts, but better late than never. My goal this year is to utter a cliché a day, and so far, I'm on track.

It seems that my strength is slowly returning, as my numbers were slightly increased from the last time I did this workout (only a week ago), but I'm still marginally below where I'd ideally like to be. Patience.

Towards the end of the workout, I developed a slight neck strain while doing shoulder flys. How annoying, especially when the tweak came on the second last rep. It's something that's been bothering me now for a few days, but my range of motion is returning, and the pain has significantly decreased. It's just another reminder of how you need to keep on top of form and to concentrate on your work.