Round 7: Day 50: Kenpo Cardio Plus

It's already past the half-way point in this Round and, disappointed by my progress so far, I decided to up the ante this week with the goal of changing my lackadaisical mindset and kick-starting my way into losing some body goo. So, with the exception of taking one day for yoga, I'm going to pound my body into submission with non-stop cardio this week. I've been slacking over the past few weeks, so it's time for a little corporal and mental punishment.

Kenpo Cardio Plus isn't exactly a heavy dose of either corporal or mental punishment, but it does raise the heart rate and it does highlight some of my weaknesses, namely, leg kicks. I'm usually sore in the buttocks the day after doing this workout, so I thought it would be a good start to a week of pain. As usual, it took me some time to get started, because I was distracted by World Series highlights, having missed the game(!) due to a social engagement. Once I got off the couch, it was a pleasant and sweat-inducing workout which, to my surprise, didn't pound my glutes as much as I had thought it would.

Coupled with the cardio workouts will be a renewed vigilance with respect to nutrition. Most of the time, I find that if I'm gaining weight, it's because I'm not paying sufficient attention to what's going into my body. Recently, what's been going in has been a bit on the crappy side. It can be tough to eat clean. You have to make decisions every time you lift a fork or spoon to your mouth: "is this going to support my health objectives or harm them?". Mental strength is required every time for me. The weekend, however, was good. I managed not to overeat, drank plenty of water, and didn't feel hungry between meals.

It's looking like a good start.

Round 7: Day 48: Mason's Choice

I'm still here; I've just been somewhat delinquent in posting over the past few days. Today I picked up Mason's Choice again for the second time, and really enjoyed it. It takes me awhile to work up a sweat, but there are times in the latter portion of the workout where I sweat freely and am a bit short of breath. Tony is in good humour, and it's an engaging workout.

I'm still battling motivation issues, and I'd say that this Round hasn't been particularly successful so far, even though I'm heading into my second Recovery Week. Time is passing, results aren't being achieved, improvements aren't being seen, boredom is setting in, weight is up, definition is down, and some muscle has been lost. Not a good situation, I'd say.

Since I haven't been particularly intense, I'm not going to make this an official Recovery Week, but rather a rachet-up-the-intensity-with-cardio week. I'd like to spend one week really pushing myself to increase my energy level and to drop some weight (even if it's water weight). I just want to see if I can jump back onto the fitness bandwagon with a really tough week.

I've got a notion in my mind that I'll finish up this Round, take off a couple of weeks, then do a session of pure Insanity. It will be a change of pace, to say the least, and will shake up my fitness regimen. I'm also interested in seeing whether it will help me melt off some stubborn fat.

On to Week 8.

Round 7: Day 44: Diamond Delts

Back to resistance today, with Diamond Delts. It's been about a month since I last did this workout. The last time, I recall, I slightly tweaked a muscle in my neck when doing the two direction shoulder flys, so I had a bit of fear about re-injuring myself. There's always that moment of fear and hesitation when reconnecting with something that gave you some pain. I felt that way about taking up running again, following my calf injury in June of this year. I suppose that it's only natural that your brain gives you a warning about something when that thing has hurt you before. It's a bit like entering into another personal relationship after you've had a particularly painful breakup. You move with caution.

Psychology aside, I think there's another reason that I've been distanced from Diamond Delts for awhile: I didn't particularly feel like doing resistance workouts. There always seems to be a clear reason for things: I don't want to. It's not really a good reason, but it dogs each of us at some point in our lives, and it applies to so many aspects of life, not just physical exercise. But, like other aspects of life, you have to throw out the "I won'ts or I can'ts, and change them to "I wills". Not easy, but ultimately, it's the right thing to do if you want to achieve in your particular endeavour.

Today's workout was challenging. My right shoulder was bothering me, the lingering effects of a rotator cuff injury I suffered while playing baseball as a young boy. My right shoulder always clicks and cracks when I rotate my arm around my shoulder. It's not that painful; it just results in a slightly restrictive movement which normally doesn't bother me when doing pushups, but is noticeable when doing pike presses, because they more fully engage the shoulders, rather than the pecs.

So, I put on a brave face and did the best I could. And, I would say that today's workout was pretty successful, as a result. The next time will be easier, as I get my way back into resistance workouts.

Round 7: Day 43: Kenpo Cardio Plus

Hopping back onto the cardio bandwagon, I chose Kenpo Cardio Plus today, from P90X Plus. Like Friday's workout, this isn't the most intense workout I own, but it does encourage you to work up a good sweat, provided you put effort into it.

Even though I've done this workout many times before, the passing of time has dimmed my memory somewhat. I had some coordination issues trying to make my body do some of the moves and actually had to refer to the TV to make sure that the right limb was moving in the right direction at the appointed time. The most difficult move (to do, that is, not to remember) is the Gladiator. I'm handicapped by a low ceiling in my workout space (about 6'-3" high) so getting a good, high jump with a leg kick could result in a serious concussion. So, my move is a little modified in the name of health preservation and in the desire to spare my country additional medical expenses. Still, attaining a high leg kick is a challenge for my piano string-like hamstrings, and, after 10 repetitions each side, I've had enough of this move. I've never found it to be easy, although I can manage to live through 30 second's worth of effort.

I completed the workout without taking a water break, although I did mop off my face a couple of times. After 18 months, this workout still challenges. I like that about this series, and about all of Tony's workouts. You're challenged to grow and compete against yourself.

Round 7: Day 41: Interval Plus

Buoyed by my (fairly light) cardio workout yesterday, I decided to increase the intensity of my cardio work by doing Interval Plus, from the P90X Plus series. It's been a really long time since I did this workout, and it still rocks. It's not as difficult as an Insanity workout, but it is about as intense a cardio workout as Tony Horton will provide.

Doing this workout has revealed that, despite my consistent effort to run, running is not as effective a workout as interval training. Even though my heart rate never exceeded 147 or so, I burnt a ton of calories, significantly more than I burn during a run with a higher heart rate. Following the workout, I had severe leg shake, something I've never experienced in the hour following a run. I've been tired after a run, certainly, but today, I really felt that interval training beat me up. It's a great feeling, and it told me that running diligently has actually left me slightly out of shape.

As the weather has now pretty much changed for the colder (0°C overnight, complete with frost) and the days are growing shorter, I'm not inclined to head outdoors at 6:30AM for a run. So, my routine is changing back to strictly indoor training (OK, I'm a bit of a suck, but I don't really acclimatize well to cold weather - so what am I doing in Toronto anyway? That's the subject of another story). As such, I'm intending to slowly ramp up the intensity of my cardio training, starting with the One on One series, a little P90X (love the Plyometrics!) and eventually wind up in Insanity-land again, training in a pool of my own sweat. Sure, it sounds glamourous, but I figure I'm worth it.

I had lunch with a friend today. He had a large grilled cheese sandwich with bacon; I had a salad with light vinaigrette dressing. He told me that all this "healthy stuff" might add 3 months to my life. I told him that I'm looking forward to aging with fewer health problems than the average person, and he could feel free to consume whatever pleases him. I guess that was a moment of personal revelation: live healthy, eat clean, and maximize what your genes have given you.

On to Week 7.

Round 7: Day 40: Cardio Intervals

Looking for a little more fat burning, I decided to stick with cardio this week, and selected Cardio Intervals. That was a bit of a mistake, as I think I really was looking for Super Cardio, which is more of a leg burner. Anyhow, I suppose that some movement is better than no movement, and once I put a DVD in the player, I tend to stick with it. It's been so long since I did either workout, that I figured that it's all good, regardless.

Truthfully, this workout is a bit of a lightweight, but as I've been doing so much running as my cardio component over the last few months, moving in an unfamiliar way was good to shake up my body and add a bit of variety to my routine. Normally, I don't find this workout to be particularly exerting, but the leg kicks and the moderate jumping exercises did cause my heart rate to elevate, and I did find myself a bit worn out by the end. It's obviously not the same as running, where my heart rate elevates quite high; on the other hand, it has sufficient irregular movements to keep things interesting and to hit muscle groups that aren't stressed over the course of a run.

Round 7: Day 39: Yoga

Anticipating a stressful day today, I was really happy to have started my morning with yoga. I was going to be making a pitch to a potential client this morning which could alter the very fabric of the universe itself, so I wanted to be sure to make a good impression. Being sweaty, nervous and having your breath coming in shallow, short bursts is not the best way to make a good impression. Thankfully, yoga can assist in countering those symptoms of nervousness.

It's amazing how the simple act of taking a few deep, cleansing breaths can affect your body. Yoga is perfect for helping you to gain control over your mind and your body. Deep breathing, staying in the moment, calming the mind and relaxing the body are what I practised this morning. Staying in the moment and calming my mind were the most difficult, as my mind was constantly distracted by the impending meeting. Nevertheless, I was still able to stretch out my body, so I wouldn't have that clenched jaw and shoulder look at my meeting, and I was able to enter the meeting standing tall and open-chested, breathing deeply, composed and focussed. Thanks to yoga.

Namaste.