January 9, Wednesday - Tennis.
Tonight was again a slow start with regard to the number of members. So the on-time people were able to get a good warm-up done. The drill menu was as usual, but with a small number of members, there was zero rest time. It was a constant rush of hitting on both sides of the net. What I mean is that, for example, when we do Stroke/Volley drills, the stroke people have to take turns while the volley people are set and usually don't have a break. But today, even the stroke people didn't have any break because everyone was moving quickly and there was always an open position. We did a little Service/Return practice as well. However, we only did one round because the time was short. I was on the return side, so I had to go up against a lot of good servers. Unlike Sunday, I was really feeling my contact point tonight a lot more. I was striking the ball really well, and my timing was much better than Sunday. Then we did Game-Sims, and I was able to hold off the better players and snag several points from them as well. I was able to control the ball with the weaker players to extend rallies which was a good cardio workout for me. It was a good night.
In the end, I burned a higher than average 1711 kcals. I wish I could keep this contact feel or at least call upon it at will during matches and tournaments.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Jan. 8, Starting LIIFT4 Week 3.
January 8, Tuesday - LIIFT4 - Week 3 - Chest & Triceps 50/50 + TCF.
I'm finally getting back to a regular workout from today and it starts with LIIFT4 Week 3's routine for Chest and Triceps with HIIT for the second half. It boils down to three Supersets, two chest moves, a chest and triceps move, and finally two triceps moves. All three rounds each. Joel said to go up in weight for week three, but since I have been away from resistance for almost two weeks, I am keeping it close to my previous weight which is pretty much all I could handle at this point. The chest moves were standard moves as well as the triceps moves, but the third round on all the sets, I was really feeling the target muscles strain and I know I'm going to feel it tomorrow. The HIIT today was the killer. Just three moves over three rounds, but the moves were brutal. Especially the 60-second move, 180-degree Squat-Jumps. That is usually a 30-second move, so doing for 60 seconds was exhausting. Then a speed move for 45 seconds, Soccer Run. Again, seems harmless, but after the Squat-Jumps, keeping the speed up is very tough. The capper move is Lunge Jumps, always a brutal move. By the time the third round rolled up, I was breathing really heavy, but I pushed it so I wouldn't drop my rep count. It was a great workout, and I love the resistance/cardio combo so the calorie burn was at a good level for the short duration of the workout. The Ab work was also short, but for some reason, I'm always dead after the third round and I really felt the burn.
Of course, I finished off with a good Flow Series.
In the end, I burned a good 713 kcals. For the shorter workout, the main routine was listed at 37 minutes, but I need to take a little extra time between some of the moves because I have to switch plates on my dumbbells and I can't finish in 30 seconds allotted for rest time.
I'm finally getting back to a regular workout from today and it starts with LIIFT4 Week 3's routine for Chest and Triceps with HIIT for the second half. It boils down to three Supersets, two chest moves, a chest and triceps move, and finally two triceps moves. All three rounds each. Joel said to go up in weight for week three, but since I have been away from resistance for almost two weeks, I am keeping it close to my previous weight which is pretty much all I could handle at this point. The chest moves were standard moves as well as the triceps moves, but the third round on all the sets, I was really feeling the target muscles strain and I know I'm going to feel it tomorrow. The HIIT today was the killer. Just three moves over three rounds, but the moves were brutal. Especially the 60-second move, 180-degree Squat-Jumps. That is usually a 30-second move, so doing for 60 seconds was exhausting. Then a speed move for 45 seconds, Soccer Run. Again, seems harmless, but after the Squat-Jumps, keeping the speed up is very tough. The capper move is Lunge Jumps, always a brutal move. By the time the third round rolled up, I was breathing really heavy, but I pushed it so I wouldn't drop my rep count. It was a great workout, and I love the resistance/cardio combo so the calorie burn was at a good level for the short duration of the workout. The Ab work was also short, but for some reason, I'm always dead after the third round and I really felt the burn.
Of course, I finished off with a good Flow Series.
In the end, I burned a good 713 kcals. For the shorter workout, the main routine was listed at 37 minutes, but I need to take a little extra time between some of the moves because I have to switch plates on my dumbbells and I can't finish in 30 seconds allotted for rest time.
Jan. 6, Tennis Sunday
January 6, Sunday - Tennis.
This is the first regular tennis practice of the year, and the first practice after that disastrous January 2 tennis tournament. It started off slowly because there weren't many people there. Only about 6 to start, but people started slowly dribbling in as the day wore on. We ended up with about 15 people in all at the end. But the drill menu was as usual, but we started to play matches earlier that usual because of the low numbers and we all got to play about three matches. The first two matches I was not playing well. I was playing with virtually zero confidence in my strokes and serve. I just wasn't feeling my contact point today. I just felt off and it showed in my play. My partner and I lost that first match 2-4. Then, because we lost, we played the next match as well. Same partner, we did a little worse, and I still couldn't win a service game. I was falling behind early and I just couldn't come back. We eventually lost 1-4. My partner is a good player, but for some reason, whenever we pair up, we can't seem to win. This has been going on since I entered this tennis club. Last year, we paired up a few times, but lost each time. For my third match, I paired with another good player. Again, I lost my first service game, but the other team also wasn't doing any better, so we were able to break back. Eventually, we were down 2-3 and I was up to serve. The pressure was on. Twice on the day, my service games were taken to Deuce/Game Point, and I had lost it. This time as well, I was taken to Game Point and this was to be the final game because of time. Thankfully, I was able to pull it off and we took that game, my first service game with of the year. However, it ended 3-3 so I still didn't have a win this year.
In the end, I burned a good 2247 kcals. I was moving a lot in the warm-ups and drills because of the small number so I was very happy.
This is the first regular tennis practice of the year, and the first practice after that disastrous January 2 tennis tournament. It started off slowly because there weren't many people there. Only about 6 to start, but people started slowly dribbling in as the day wore on. We ended up with about 15 people in all at the end. But the drill menu was as usual, but we started to play matches earlier that usual because of the low numbers and we all got to play about three matches. The first two matches I was not playing well. I was playing with virtually zero confidence in my strokes and serve. I just wasn't feeling my contact point today. I just felt off and it showed in my play. My partner and I lost that first match 2-4. Then, because we lost, we played the next match as well. Same partner, we did a little worse, and I still couldn't win a service game. I was falling behind early and I just couldn't come back. We eventually lost 1-4. My partner is a good player, but for some reason, whenever we pair up, we can't seem to win. This has been going on since I entered this tennis club. Last year, we paired up a few times, but lost each time. For my third match, I paired with another good player. Again, I lost my first service game, but the other team also wasn't doing any better, so we were able to break back. Eventually, we were down 2-3 and I was up to serve. The pressure was on. Twice on the day, my service games were taken to Deuce/Game Point, and I had lost it. This time as well, I was taken to Game Point and this was to be the final game because of time. Thankfully, I was able to pull it off and we took that game, my first service game with of the year. However, it ended 3-3 so I still didn't have a win this year.
In the end, I burned a good 2247 kcals. I was moving a lot in the warm-ups and drills because of the small number so I was very happy.
January 2, New Year's Singles Tennis Tournament
January 2, New Year's Singles Tennis Tournament
Well, I joined it again, the year's first tennis tournament. I was feeling pretty confident to at least get one win in the Round-Robin Group Stage. The day started off pretty well. My son and I both were entered so we got ready and headed off for the tennis facility. I didn't have a first round match, so after warming up, I had to wait about 35-40 minutes. That pretty much iced me and I was feeling cold because the location of the facility is at a higher elevation than my home, so I got a chill. Needless to say, it affected my play in my first match. I was stiff and wasn't moving well. My opponent was already warm from playing in a first round match so he was pretty hot, not to mention a lot younger than me. I barely eked out a game and was destroyed 1-6. I was feeling a little better for my second match, and was feeling pretty good, going to 3-3 holding serve. But once I was broken, that was it. My mental game crashed and I couldn't get it back. I ended up losing 3-6. I was put into the consolation tournament, and again, I was iced with no first round match. And it was even colder in the afternoon that it was in the morning, so I was actually feeling that full body shiver and chill. I had to wait for over an hour in the cold. Same scenario, but this time, I wasn't even able to get a game and was bagled. Going into the tournament, I was feeling all kinds of confidence, but this tournament just knocked it all out of me. I began to question whether or not it was worth continuing tennis if I played like that crap. It also gave me new motivation for getting Pickleball started up and going here in my area. But for the sake of my fitness and exercise, I will continue Tennis until I get Pickleball up and running.
Here are a few pictures from the disaster of a day. This is a bit exciting because this will be the first video that I am uploading to this BLOG! Hope it works.
Well, I joined it again, the year's first tennis tournament. I was feeling pretty confident to at least get one win in the Round-Robin Group Stage. The day started off pretty well. My son and I both were entered so we got ready and headed off for the tennis facility. I didn't have a first round match, so after warming up, I had to wait about 35-40 minutes. That pretty much iced me and I was feeling cold because the location of the facility is at a higher elevation than my home, so I got a chill. Needless to say, it affected my play in my first match. I was stiff and wasn't moving well. My opponent was already warm from playing in a first round match so he was pretty hot, not to mention a lot younger than me. I barely eked out a game and was destroyed 1-6. I was feeling a little better for my second match, and was feeling pretty good, going to 3-3 holding serve. But once I was broken, that was it. My mental game crashed and I couldn't get it back. I ended up losing 3-6. I was put into the consolation tournament, and again, I was iced with no first round match. And it was even colder in the afternoon that it was in the morning, so I was actually feeling that full body shiver and chill. I had to wait for over an hour in the cold. Same scenario, but this time, I wasn't even able to get a game and was bagled. Going into the tournament, I was feeling all kinds of confidence, but this tournament just knocked it all out of me. I began to question whether or not it was worth continuing tennis if I played like that crap. It also gave me new motivation for getting Pickleball started up and going here in my area. But for the sake of my fitness and exercise, I will continue Tennis until I get Pickleball up and running.
Here are a few pictures from the disaster of a day. This is a bit exciting because this will be the first video that I am uploading to this BLOG! Hope it works.
2019 Happy New Year! A new plan.
2019 Happy New Year!
The new year has begun but unlike years past, I am not planning an over zealous workout regime to start my year off. I am actually planning on reducing my resistance days and increase my yoga and flexibility days. Over the past few months, I have noticed a very large dip in my flexibility and in my mobility due to the lack of flexibility. Also, gaining muscle has not really seemed to help in my quest to burn my belly fat, so I am taking a different approach this year.
I am going to really try and control my diet and lose as much belly fat and fat in general before I start back to heavy duty resistance training. I will be doing resistance to maintain muscle mass, not to increase it. Also, due to my work schedule, there are days which I am unable to workout at all, so instead of feeling guilty about that or, pushing myself to do something that I really don't feel like doing, which is waking up at an ungodly hour to workout (I couldn't do that anyway because of my "would-still-be-sleeping" family), I just decided to incorporate it into my workout schedule and so I will be working out 4-5 days a week as opposed to the previous 6 days a week.
As for set days, Sunday and Wednesday are already set for Tennis. I average a 1500-2300 calorie burn on those days, plus two resistance days most likely on Tuesday and whenever I can fit it in, on days that I don't have night classes. The worst news regarding my workout is the loss of my Pickle-ball partner. Due to severe arthritis, he has decided to stop the activities with heavy and aggressive movements and instead to more low-impact workouts like walking or stretching. I hope that he will come back some day, but for now, he is out indefinitely, maybe for good.
I will also be doing body-weight moves a lot more as maintenance. Something like 30-50 push-ups a day 5-days a week, and some core moves. I also want to get back to doing Pull-Ups as well. Later in the Spring, I plan on getting a set of parallel bars to so I can do Triceps Dips. I am also toying with the idea of getting into suspension training, using something like that TRX system or some knock off of it. I have held off on doing it till now because I don't really have space to do it, but I figure if I just be careful with my pull-up bar, I should be able to use that to suspend from. Or, I can work something else out.
On the days where I can't workout, I plan to walk around my campus for at least 30 minutes. I put out the money to buy those "Reflexology" insoles so I want to test that Eastern method out and see if pressure points on my feet really do have any influence on my health. That is how my 2019 is shaping up, so I'll keep this BLOG updated on what and how I am doing with this different take on my fitness journey.
The new year has begun but unlike years past, I am not planning an over zealous workout regime to start my year off. I am actually planning on reducing my resistance days and increase my yoga and flexibility days. Over the past few months, I have noticed a very large dip in my flexibility and in my mobility due to the lack of flexibility. Also, gaining muscle has not really seemed to help in my quest to burn my belly fat, so I am taking a different approach this year.
I am going to really try and control my diet and lose as much belly fat and fat in general before I start back to heavy duty resistance training. I will be doing resistance to maintain muscle mass, not to increase it. Also, due to my work schedule, there are days which I am unable to workout at all, so instead of feeling guilty about that or, pushing myself to do something that I really don't feel like doing, which is waking up at an ungodly hour to workout (I couldn't do that anyway because of my "would-still-be-sleeping" family), I just decided to incorporate it into my workout schedule and so I will be working out 4-5 days a week as opposed to the previous 6 days a week.
As for set days, Sunday and Wednesday are already set for Tennis. I average a 1500-2300 calorie burn on those days, plus two resistance days most likely on Tuesday and whenever I can fit it in, on days that I don't have night classes. The worst news regarding my workout is the loss of my Pickle-ball partner. Due to severe arthritis, he has decided to stop the activities with heavy and aggressive movements and instead to more low-impact workouts like walking or stretching. I hope that he will come back some day, but for now, he is out indefinitely, maybe for good.
I will also be doing body-weight moves a lot more as maintenance. Something like 30-50 push-ups a day 5-days a week, and some core moves. I also want to get back to doing Pull-Ups as well. Later in the Spring, I plan on getting a set of parallel bars to so I can do Triceps Dips. I am also toying with the idea of getting into suspension training, using something like that TRX system or some knock off of it. I have held off on doing it till now because I don't really have space to do it, but I figure if I just be careful with my pull-up bar, I should be able to use that to suspend from. Or, I can work something else out.
On the days where I can't workout, I plan to walk around my campus for at least 30 minutes. I put out the money to buy those "Reflexology" insoles so I want to test that Eastern method out and see if pressure points on my feet really do have any influence on my health. That is how my 2019 is shaping up, so I'll keep this BLOG updated on what and how I am doing with this different take on my fitness journey.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Dec. 31. NEW YEAR'S EVE.
Finishing 2018 with the TRI-Challenges.
Let me start by giving my review of the Challenges I did this month. December started off as a Quad-Challenge because I was doing 4 different challenges, three set up here, and a personal one of Pull-Ups. Near the end of the month, I had to abandon the Pull-Up challenge due to an injury in my left shoulder. The three other challenges were unaffected.
Burpees were fine until the rep count got up around the '40s. Then, they just weren't fun anymore. If there were off days, like every 5 days or so, it may have been different, but 31 days straight was tough. And with a compound move like Burpees, 45-50 reps take a LOOOONG time. I'm glad I did it, but I'm more glad it is finished.
The Pike-Up or V-Up challenge was a good one. There were several days when I doubled up on ab exercises because an ab section was embedded into a workout, and I made the mistake of doing this challenge after the routine. Then, I would barely get to 20 reps before I would have to take a break. But near the end, when I entered my Tennis Tournament Prep and I wasn't doing any regular routines, this challenge (along with the other two) became my main workout for each day. And, I was able to hit 50 reps in a single set. Then I'd have to finish out the last 2-10 reps in an extra set.
The Push-Up Challenge was my favorite. Since my month off from any type of regular exercise in September, when I started doing Push-Ups again in October, they were slow and labored. I really wanted to get back that explosive power I had previously so I was really putting a lot of expectations on this challenge. Well, I think I crushed it. By the middle of the month, I was feeling the power again and pumping out reps was much smoother and less labored until I started hitting my max zone. Today, I hit a personal record of 60 reps in a row. I was extremely happy with this challenge and my performance in it. As I said earlier, These three challenges ended up becoming my main workout this past week because I entered my tennis tournament prep period (I have a single tournament on January 2). So I was very thankful that I had this to get me up and moving on days when I didn't play any tennis. But it was definitely tough when I had to do the high reps after practice. I hope to do this type of challenge again.
Let me start by giving my review of the Challenges I did this month. December started off as a Quad-Challenge because I was doing 4 different challenges, three set up here, and a personal one of Pull-Ups. Near the end of the month, I had to abandon the Pull-Up challenge due to an injury in my left shoulder. The three other challenges were unaffected.
Burpees were fine until the rep count got up around the '40s. Then, they just weren't fun anymore. If there were off days, like every 5 days or so, it may have been different, but 31 days straight was tough. And with a compound move like Burpees, 45-50 reps take a LOOOONG time. I'm glad I did it, but I'm more glad it is finished.
The Pike-Up or V-Up challenge was a good one. There were several days when I doubled up on ab exercises because an ab section was embedded into a workout, and I made the mistake of doing this challenge after the routine. Then, I would barely get to 20 reps before I would have to take a break. But near the end, when I entered my Tennis Tournament Prep and I wasn't doing any regular routines, this challenge (along with the other two) became my main workout for each day. And, I was able to hit 50 reps in a single set. Then I'd have to finish out the last 2-10 reps in an extra set.
The Push-Up Challenge was my favorite. Since my month off from any type of regular exercise in September, when I started doing Push-Ups again in October, they were slow and labored. I really wanted to get back that explosive power I had previously so I was really putting a lot of expectations on this challenge. Well, I think I crushed it. By the middle of the month, I was feeling the power again and pumping out reps was much smoother and less labored until I started hitting my max zone. Today, I hit a personal record of 60 reps in a row. I was extremely happy with this challenge and my performance in it. As I said earlier, These three challenges ended up becoming my main workout this past week because I entered my tennis tournament prep period (I have a single tournament on January 2). So I was very thankful that I had this to get me up and moving on days when I didn't play any tennis. But it was definitely tough when I had to do the high reps after practice. I hope to do this type of challenge again.
Dec. 29. Saturday night bonus tennis.
December 29, Saturday. TRI-Challenge + Bonus Tennis Practice.
Saturdays are usually off days for me, but since the tennis tournament is coming up on Wednesday, I was invited by a member of my club to have an extra practice with another member who is planning to play in the January 2 tournament. So, the three of us went to the courts on a frigid Saturday night and practiced some match play in the singles format.
We started off with a little warm up, then did a little Stoke/Volley and Serve/Return and Smash practice, then we got right into singles matches. Out of the three of us, I have the least amount of tournament experience. This will be only my third singles tournament in two years. The others have played in several tournaments throughout the year. So I just wanted to try and get my head and mental game used to the singles format. I played in the first two matches, and I lost both matches 3-4. They were really good matches and close. The one match between the other two players, it wasn't even close, the younger guy won 4-0. So I didn't have to wait that long to play again. There wasn't a lot of time left, so we played Tie-Breakers. I easily won my first tie-breaker, 7-3, but lost the next one, 4-7. I lost the final tie-breaker 6-8. I should have won that one because I was up 6-3 serving, but I choked and lost five straight points. Weak mental game. I was stroking the ball well, and I hit some solid shots, and I was working points well, but when it came right down to it, my decision making failed me. I would try to hit the low percentage shot when I wasn't even in a good position or the ball was not in a good position. I need to be more patient and wait for my opportunities instead of trying to create them when it is ill-advised. Also, I caught myself on the majority of my service points instinctively walking to the doubles serving position instead of the singles position. And at times, I wasn't moving into the center because I was expecting my partner, who was non-existent, to be there to cover the return. I think I got the hang of it though, I was doing better by the end. All in all, it was a good practice that showed me what I need to do and what I need to be aware of on the 2nd.
I forgot to mention that before leaving for tennis, I did the TRI-Challenges so I wouldn't have to do them all tired and sweaty when I got home. Good decision!
In the end, I burned a good 1609 kcals. A good burn for a cold session. I'm ready as I'll ever be for the tournament!
Saturdays are usually off days for me, but since the tennis tournament is coming up on Wednesday, I was invited by a member of my club to have an extra practice with another member who is planning to play in the January 2 tournament. So, the three of us went to the courts on a frigid Saturday night and practiced some match play in the singles format.
We started off with a little warm up, then did a little Stoke/Volley and Serve/Return and Smash practice, then we got right into singles matches. Out of the three of us, I have the least amount of tournament experience. This will be only my third singles tournament in two years. The others have played in several tournaments throughout the year. So I just wanted to try and get my head and mental game used to the singles format. I played in the first two matches, and I lost both matches 3-4. They were really good matches and close. The one match between the other two players, it wasn't even close, the younger guy won 4-0. So I didn't have to wait that long to play again. There wasn't a lot of time left, so we played Tie-Breakers. I easily won my first tie-breaker, 7-3, but lost the next one, 4-7. I lost the final tie-breaker 6-8. I should have won that one because I was up 6-3 serving, but I choked and lost five straight points. Weak mental game. I was stroking the ball well, and I hit some solid shots, and I was working points well, but when it came right down to it, my decision making failed me. I would try to hit the low percentage shot when I wasn't even in a good position or the ball was not in a good position. I need to be more patient and wait for my opportunities instead of trying to create them when it is ill-advised. Also, I caught myself on the majority of my service points instinctively walking to the doubles serving position instead of the singles position. And at times, I wasn't moving into the center because I was expecting my partner, who was non-existent, to be there to cover the return. I think I got the hang of it though, I was doing better by the end. All in all, it was a good practice that showed me what I need to do and what I need to be aware of on the 2nd.
I forgot to mention that before leaving for tennis, I did the TRI-Challenges so I wouldn't have to do them all tired and sweaty when I got home. Good decision!
In the end, I burned a good 1609 kcals. A good burn for a cold session. I'm ready as I'll ever be for the tournament!
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