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.

Round 7: Day 6: Run

The inevitable march towards winter continues, as evidenced by this morning's run. What used to be a pleasant experience, up and out at 6:30AM in mid-summer heat and sun has changed to awakening in darkness and entering a cool, sombre and forbidding world.

But it's not all bad. The air was somewhat crisp but refreshing, and darkness gave way to a beautiful sunrise midway through the run. My mind completely blanked out as I was running, almost like I was on automatic pilot. Before I knew it, the circuit had been completed, and my time was as fast as I've ever achieved. I think it's time to add a little more distance. I'm definitely capable of it, as it doesn't take too long to recover. All I need to do is to map out the circuit extension, or perhaps create a new route entirely. There's a nearby ravine which would be a pleasant addition, both in terms of hill training and adding some beauty to the trip.

Much of my body soreness has dissipated overnight, it seems, making me a little more optimistic about heading into Week 2. I still haven't printed out a schedule for the new Round, so far sticking to the principles of the last schedule, but I'll likely get to updating within a week or two. It's nice to have an idea in advance of the workout, and also to check on the frequency of workouts. More information is better.

Looking forward to a rest day, then bring on Week 2.

Round 7: Day 5: Diamond Delts

In spite of the restful and calming effect yoga had on me yesterday, coupled with an excellent sleep last night (I slept in this morning!) I still felt stiff and sore from the week's workouts. Obviously, it's going to take more than a couple of days to settle into my new exercise regimen. I was hopeful and optimistic that soreness would dissipate within a few days, but it seems like I should face up to the possibility that this could last a week or longer. C'est la vie.

As in my workouts earlier this week, I reduced the weight on several exercises, due to general body fatigue and an awareness of protecting my lower back from sustaining any injury. It still amazes me how much strength my body has lost over the past few weeks, as even with the reduced weight, in several exercises my number of repetitions still decreased. I had thought that a weight reduction would result in a repetition increase. Not so, at least for today. This was just one of those days where you Do Your Best and Forget the Rest. Occasionally, there will be days like this. I just haven't experienced too many of them (thankfully) and hope that they remain few, and far between.

The weather this week has taken a turn for the worse, and it looks like September is going to be a cool month. I'm still optimistic that I'll have numerous opportunities to run outdoors and, it appears, that tomorrow will temporarily banish the cloud and rain, and afford us a sunny day. I'm already looking forward to the end of Week 1 and a one day recovery on Saturday.

Round 7: Day 4: Yoga

Considering all the aches my body is currently experiencing, having just returned to my workout regimen, I was both looking forward to, and dreading, yoga. Over the past few weeks, I've felt a bit of tightening in my hamstrings and, due to a bit of stress on my back, a little residual soreness and constrained movement when bending forwards. Both of these areas get a lot of attention during a typical yoga practice.

Mentally, I was really prepared for yoga. Physically, not so much. Just bending over at the start of the practice made me realize that I've lost a bit of flexibility in the past few weeks. My hands didn't quite hit the mat in the manner they used to, and it felt like my hamstrings were preventing my legs from completely straightening out. My range of motion improved as the practice went on, but it was really a challenge today. My right hamstring in particular felt tight, especially during the hamstring stretch portion of the practice, but I was still able to grasp the bottom of my heel and get my nose relatively close to my knee. It's a challenge to keep the leg straight during this pose, but I felt that I was coming reasonably close to success.

Sore as my body was, I felt much better following yoga. It wasn't the full body massage feeling I've had on previous occasions, but it definitely took the edge off, and eased the worst of the soreness. Remember, this is only Week 1, and there's bound to be some soreness at the outset of a program. In time, my body should adjust. I just hope that time comes sooner, rather than later.

Namaste.