I took the day off from work today so I could go and watch my wife at her tennis lesson. She was saying that one of her coaches was teaching an unusual form and wanted me to come and see it. So, we parked right next to the court and I watched from the car. Now that I see the coach's style of play, I can help my wife sift through basic form and personal taste form. As a teacher myself, I generally don't like saying another teacher is flat wrong, but there are times when one has to call a spade a spade and help the would-be student out. This is one of those times. I won't say anything to him directly, but I will correct what he has been teaching my wife. After the lesson, my wife and I went out to do a little shopping and ate out. I had a guilty pleasure. I had the seasonal Starbucks Frappuccino, Strawberries & Cream. Luckily, here, they only offer it in the Tall (small) size. Then, when I got home, I relaxed a while, then got to my workout. Oh, I also should mention that when I got up this morning, my right Hip Flexor was incredibly tight and painful. Bearing weight was extremely painful initially, but with a few steps, it became bearable. Standing up from the sitting position was the worst today.
Today's target muscles were Shoulders, Back, and a little Legs. And of course core, which is the blanket focus the Lean Phase. I've really liked the way I've been doing the Pull-Ups these past few resistance routines, so I decided to keep it going today. The four variations are written on the worksheet, so I just did a set before each regular move and then at the end. A total of ten sets, 3-3-2-2 of the variations. I increased the reps a little, but the last variation, I went full set and did 10 reps in each set. The very last rep brought me to failure. But I felt strong during all the sets. And I'm really happy that I stuck with the full range of motion. As for the regular routine, I pretty much kept everything the same. I had a few issues though, with move #3. Single Hamstring Curl with Lateral Raise. First of all, for some reason, I was have some major balance issues. My leg would go up, arms up, then I'd start tipping to one side and would have to catch myself and put my foot down quickly. It happened more times than I would like to recount, on both sides. Then, the weights, same as last time, seemed heavy today, especially on my left shoulder. A bit painful, it was. So I was happy that the next shoulder raise move went down in weight. The lower weight was much better but still tough. The next issue was with move #4. Runner's Lunge with Double Arm Row. The move itself was fine on both sides, but the issue came with the Extreme Set. It was just the rows, still bent over, and still with the heavy weight. During the slow set, I felt a little tweak in my lower back. Then for almost all the rest of the routine, I felt pain there at certain twisting or bending angles. I was really worried. But I think I was careful enough so that the pain subsided by the end of the routine, and I don't recall any pain during the abs routine. WHEW!!! Dodged a bullet there. The final issue was with move #6. Plank with Single Arm Row. The right side was fine, killed the abs. But the left side had the same pain on the negative side of the move. The first rep, OMG the pain on the lowering of the weight. I also felt a little "Snap" sort of like a tendon snapping back into position. I had to adjust the angle at which I was lowering the weight a bit. That "Snapping" feeling happened on the first 3-4 reps, but lessened with 5-6, and didn't happen after that. The pain also decreased, but I was careful to control the weight on the way down. The rest of the routine went smoothly. I felt good and strong throughout.
I moved right into abs. Today was the first time for me to actually CRUSH this routine! I kept up with Chalene, I stayed at her pace, I hit all the transitions, did all the reps, and took no breaks and did not rewind the video. All the while burning out my abs. I got a new burn sensation today because I finally was able to control the movement of my core. Not just jerking up and falling down. That burn is REAL!!!
I was in sort of a time crunch so I moved right to the Flow and flowed right out of my workout and into the shower. Felt really good afterward and now.
In the end, I torched a good 1107kcals. My room was really hot, so midway through, my wife came and turned on the AC. The calorie count would probably be a little higher, but I probably would also be exhausted from the heat. Anyway, Great way to crush my workout today, finishing the week successfully. Happy Weekend, everyone!
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