Well, if you haven't noticed, I have reduced the number of workouts I do in a week. I usually do 6 a week, and the middle one is a yoga or recovery day. But due to my back injury, I am just slowly getting my back strong again as best I can with body-weight workouts and focused Lower Back exercises. So today, I stepped it up a bit by doing everything. I felt good, so I decided to really hit my core hard... but not that hard (a la Yoda).
I started the Intermediate Phase today in YAYOG. The pattern is still the same, but the moves are a little more intense. In this routine, the moves are ones I've done before, so no big surprises here. The four moves are: Dynamic Squats, Military Presses (Pike Push-Ups), Fast Swimmers, and Cross Mountain Climbers. Exactly the same four moves as the Novice: Circuit Training moves. But the big difference was that we did 6 sets this time around instead of just four. It was a little different in that it was Timed Sets. I was thinking to push for some extra, but I thought that I should do one rotation as is before adding anything to it. And it was intense. There was no need for groaning this time, but there definitely was a good burn. The little 20-second break between each move played a huge part in taking something away from the intensity of the routine, but that is why this starts off the week. After a couple days off, this was good to start slowly. I'll be more ready to raise the intensity tomorrow.
For the Arm Shaper, I did Diamond Push-Ups. A variation I haven't done in a while. The last time I did them, I was able to tough my chest to my hands and pump out 30-40 reps easy. Today, I was only able to do 20 reps, and my chest was about three inches from my hands. But strength wasn't my problem, wrist flexibility was. My wrists hurt to much from that low angle, so I didn't want to push it too hard. I still felt I had something left, so I did 4 sets of 5 reps, for a total of 40 reps of Diamond Push-Ups. Triceps were PUMPED!!!
I did a lot of back work with the Fast Swimmers, so I did only the Back Extension moves today, before moving on to the stretch. Also, before the stretch, I did the next step in my Core work, Extreme Core Circuit. I was a little wary of the warm up at the beginning because of the lower back movements, so I didn't go to the extreme limits of my current range of motion. Also, I usually use 2kg dumbbells, but just to be safe, I didn't use them today. I still got a good burn in my abs so I was happy. Intensity level definitely went up. Then I finished off with the stretch routine. Then ended the workout with a good Flow Series.
In the end, I burned around 520kcals. I was actually expecting a bigger burn, but It was individual moves with a rest between. I expect the number to go up with the next routine. But the big win today was with my overall lower back flexibility. Up until last Thursday, I couldn't get past 90 degrees on a forward bend. I could barely touch my knees and ankles. But today, I was so happy I was able to touch the tops of my feet, the tongue of my shoes. That is a big win for me. I haven't done Splits in a long time, so I'm priming up to start that again.
One last thing, I got a tool to help with my lower back rehab. It is pictured below:
Walking and standing, turning and twisting is no problem for my back. The most pain comes when I stand up from a sitting position. It feels like the muscle is swollen and hinders me from standing up straight, so getting up, I look like an old guy all doubled over. But the first time I sat in this thing, with forces me to sit with perfect posture, I got right up and stood tall. ZERO PAIN!!! So now, I use it everywhere. I bring it up and down stairs. I used it in the car for the drive to the airport. No pain. The only down side is that it was way WAY over priced. I felt bad buying it, but I guess it is worth it if it helps my rehab.
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