10-31-17 (Tuesday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Total Body + ChaLEAN Extreme - I've Got Abs + TCF.

10-31-17 (Tuesday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Total Body + ChaLEAN Extreme - I've Got Abs + TCF.

I was able to get a good start on my resistance today.  I didn't want to get a full lower body routine in a day before tennis because I'd be too fried, but Total Body was just the right mix to give me a good workout and work everything.  I made a few adjustments to the routine compared to the last time almost a year ago.  Here is an outline of the main changes:  Of the three sets per circuit, I kept the first two sets the same weight and same rep count and increased the weight on the final set while reducing the rep count by a few reps.  On a few moves, I started off with a lighter weight, but ended with almost the same weight as the last time.  The moves that involved more lower back, I used a lower weight to protect from injury.  On the final cardio move of circuits 2 and 4, I did the rep count stated by the trainer.  To see this differences, see the worksheet below. 

I started off with the core warm up but did the stated number or reps.  It was really good to get through that because my abs were feeling it early on.  After the first round of Circuit 1, I ended up having to do two sets of Push-Ups in a row, Clapping Push-Ups, then regular Push-Ups.  That was pretty tough.  I started to need an extra long break between rounds.  Circuit 2 was pretty standard all the way around, but that Squat Jump, a lot like Star Jumpers in YAYOG really took it out of me.  Fried my energy pretty quickly.  My legs started to burn hard in Circuit 3.  I really felt it in the third round with the heavier weight.  Much longer breaks just to catch my breath now.  I really wanted to protect my back on those Dumbbell Clean-Press move, hence the lower weight by 2.5kgs to start. I was so blown that I could only bring myself to do the stated number of Broad Jumps, 10 reps.  Over all, it was a great routine.  I know I'll be sore tomorrow, but I plan to have enough energy to play some tennis in the evening.  I was happy in the the final circuit that I could still pump out 15 reps at 22kgs of Dumbbell Bench Presses.  I was thinking to drop to 10-12 reps, but I still felt strong at 12, so I kept going to 15.  I was planning to do the 30-Day PUC today, but I was to fried to try.  I'll do it tomorrow for sure.  That means I'll have two days in a row.

I upped the intensity for my abs, which means I switched ab routines to the next level.  O man did I feel it.  I felt strong at first, but the burn came quickly.  But the odd thing is that it didn't debilitate me.  I felt the strength to push through the pain for at least a little while longer before failure.  The weighted move burn was more amplified because I used a much heavier weight for the one-arm move.  I usually use 4kgs, but tonight I used the 7.5kgs.  HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Finally, I topped everything off with a good Flow series.  My whole body was feeling the resistance burn and the cardio burn together.

In the end, I burned 1249kcals.  Keeping on Keeping on!

10-30-17 (Monday) HY: Golf + Lower Body Stretch + TCF.

10-30-17 (Monday) HY: Golf + Lower Body Stretch + TCF.

The last time I went golfing was about two years ago.  But I figured it was time to go again.  I had the time, and no schedule conflict, so I went.  Monday was off from work because of the weekend festivities.  This is an annual thing but I couldn't go last year for some reason.

It was a beautiful day!  The sun was out only a few small clouds in the sky, a chilly breeze blowing, great conditions.  My group consisted of two regulars, a bi-monthly warrior, and me.  Everyone was really cool and nice, so it was a fun round.  No social nerves.  Let me give you a little history.  20+ years ago when I actually started playing golf, I played a lot, sometimes 2-3 times a week.  I got pretty good.  My handicap was down to 13.5.  But when I came to Japan, I didn't play for several years, then I went a few times with my father-in-law.  And a couple times a year with some co-workers.  Then those co-workers found several other members of the staff who played golf and formed sort of a club.  Now, that club plays about 4-5 times a year.  It is with them that I played today.  Golf is a game that has to be practiced in order to improve.  Playing once or twice a year won't make you better at all.  So, I wasn't really trying for a low score today, I just wanted to enjoy the round.  So as a hint, if my enjoyment is based on the size of my score, I enjoyed myself a huge amount.  It was pretty much around my average.  I hit a handful of really great drives, a few good putts, a lot of relatively satisfying shots, and a huge mess of junk shots.  No miracles today, not a one.  To put my round in terms of a workout, I walked, jogged, ran, climbed mountains and steep inclines, and swung clubs well over a hundred times in the course of over 6 hours.  Several times I ran the "Serpentine" chasing my wayward shots.  My calves got a great workout climbing the steep inclines, I could feel a cramp coming on.  I would be a great golfer if I could just clean up my game and not hit a series of duff shots.  A duff shot is when you hit the ground before you hit the ball and so the ball travels only about 10 yards.  What happened to me all to many times today was I would hit a straight long drive, then hit 3 duffs.  My putter was also on vacation.  Very rarely would I 2-putt.  Usually, I 3-put or more.  Sense of distance and sense of direction were also on vacation.  Approach game, on vacation.  I almost never game myself a chance to 2 putt.  But overall, it was a good day.

When I got home, I was exhausted.  My legs were starting to tighten up, so I took the time to stretch them out, especially my calves.  I really needed that.  Then, to finish my day, I went with the Flow series.

In the end, I burned just under 2500kcals during golf.  Nice big burn!

10-29-17 (Sunday) HY: Walking + Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-29-17 (Sunday) HY: Walking + Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

This day was almost a bust.  According to the weather forecast, the typhoon was supposed to skirt along the east of Japan around 3am, and then be gone by the morning.  But what happened was that it pretty much NOT that.  It ran up the eastern side of Japan, and slowed during the night so that it was pretty much right on top of us in the morning.  I had to go to work early, and then jet off to catch tennis.  Luckily, the organizers moved to an indoor court so even in rain, we could play.  Anyway, the reason why I had work on Sunday is because the school was having their annual School Festival and as an adviser for freshmen, I had to go and show support.  But with the typhoon, it became sort of a manual labor day.  It is a two-day event.  Saturday was rainy but not to bad I heard (I didn't go on Saturday).  As usual, the tents and awnings were left up for the next day.  Well, the high winds and heavy rain play havoc with all that stuff.  So, all the booths and things had to me dismantled put away and all the stuff was moved indoors.  So, for the time that I was there, I was moving like crazy.  I was not dressed for it and I sweat through all my clothes.  I wish I had my HRM on, because I was walking all over the campus, up and down countless flights of stairs, carrying this and that.  But I did happen to meet some former students and took a few moments to catch up.  So that was nice.  Luckily, a lot of people were working really hard, so everything got mostly done relatively quickly.

I was able to dash off to tennis as planned.  We only had one indoor court, but the members were few, so we were able to do a lot of hitting and practicing.  We also all had a chance to play a couple set matches with different partners.  My first partner was an intermediate player.  We were playing again two very experienced players.  We were able to hang with them for the first round, but then they got wise and started to pick on my partner.  A lot of effort went into the match, but we ultimately lost the set, 6-3.  My second match, my partner was one of the really experienced guys and we were going against another experienced guy and a heavy-hitter but intermediate player.  There were a lot more longer rallies in this match.  The score was tied to the last game.  Everyone pretty much won one service game and lost once so with no ad scoring, at 5-5, the winner of the next game wins.  To make a long story short, the score was deuce and they chose to sever to me.  GREAT!!!  (sarcasm dripping profusely)  My partner said to me, "Don't worry about it, just go for it."  So, I went for it and crushed it.  The opponent got a racket on my return but it didn't come back over the net.  That felt good.  We still had time left, so we did stroke practice.  Since I have been playing a lot more regularly as of late, I find that I am able to really find my groove a lot quicker.  I'm able to feel the ball and see the ball better as well.  So I'm really liking my clubs.

When I got home, I was tired, but I had to get the last day of the Pull-Up challenge done.  So, I went right to my bar, stretched out, then went for it.  Today, "No coming off the bar breaks" was my goal.  Hanging breaks for a breath or two was fine, though.  Today's menu,  3 sets of three grips,  Pull-Up 8 reps, Chin-Ups 7 reps, Parallel Grip 6 reps.  The protocol says to take up to two minute breaks between sets.  I took less than that and was able to finish in less than 18 minutes.  I got a great pump and I was really happy that I could reach my goal, not mid-set breaks off the bar.  And full range of motion on each rep., no half reps allowed... EVER!  BUT, since I did leak over into a fifth week, I'm going to do a couple extra days of the Pull-Up Challenge to finish right.  My next day will be eccentric, then the final day again.

Then, I finished off with my Flow series.  Also did several extra rounds just because I could.

In the end, I burned a whopping 1420kcals not including the initial walking stuff.  I think I would have topped 2000 if I were wearing my HRM.  Great start to my week.

10-28-17 (Saturday) Upper Body Stretch.

10-28-17 (Saturday) Upper Body Stretch.

So the big question was this, "Should I stay within the schedule of the 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge and do the final day on Saturday?"  Well, when I woke up, my lats and shoulders were feeling okay, but as the day progressed, I felt the soreness and tightness set in.  Also, there was a little soreness in my left rib area.  It was the soreness that, in the past, became more painful and actually made it impossible for me to do pull-ups for a while.  So, I decided not to risk pulling a muscle and take a break.  Instead, I took some time to stretch out my shoulders and lats.  Biceps and Triceps were also quite sore, so I stretched them out as well.

Confession time:  I was left alone Saturday night.  My wife and daughter had their respective activities.  When the last person was gone, I suddenly realized how hungry I was.  Along the same time, I opened my email and I found a coupon for Pizza Hut, "Buy one medium get the second one free."  Something in my brain clicked.  I WANTED PIZZA!!!  I figured that two medium pizzas, if I got the light cruse, wouldn't be that bad.  TWO SAVES!  Save #1, a typhoon was upon us.  That made me feel like not wanting to go out or I would have gone to get the pizzas.  Save #2, I got through my whole online order and clicked send.  The site said it would take 40 minutes for delivery.  The last time I ordered pizza via online, I got a confirmation email.  This time, the email never came despite me pushing "order".  If the weather was better or if the order went through, I would be feeling really crappy today, for sure.  So, I ended up have a shake instead.  Someone is looking out for me and saving me from myself.

10-27-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - Triometrics + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-27-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - Triometrics + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

Today was a good day.  Got some good work done, made it home in time to take some relaxing time before my workout, on top of that, no time crunch.  So I could just do my thing.

When I woke up this morning, my arms weren't feeling too bad, but as the day progressed, soreness slowly crept in and cause me the soreness pain I was expecting.  But I was able to stretch out my arms a few stretches at a time so by the time I was ready to start my workout, I didn't feel that bad.  However, I was a little worried about how I would perform during the Pull-Up Challenge.

Cardio was up so I chose Tony to lead me today.  It has been a while since I've done this routine, but I figured, "Hey, it's only 30 minutes.  No Prob!"  As I have said in the past, "Famous last words."  I thought with all the tennis and Pickle-Ball I've been playing as of late, I'd be fine with my leg strength. NOPE!  From the very beginning, my legs were feeling it.  I made it through the first couple moves okay, but when I got to that Warrior 3 Squat or Lunge, That killed my working leg.  I couldn't last to the 3rd version.  I was already burned out after the first 40 seconds.  Then, from then on, several of the moves took me out before the third version.  So, instead of taking a break and not doing the third version, I took a break, rewound the DVD and then did the third version.  I ended up doing that on several of the moves.  By the time the 30 minute routine was over, about 35 minutes had passed.  Not including the cool down.  My legs were SCREAMING!!!  I will have to revisit Triometrics again!  Sooner than later.

I moved directly into abs.  I was happy that I felt stronger than previous go-throughs of this routine.  I am hoping that that is because of my abs and core getting stronger.  I got an intense burn, but recovery was better with just a few quick and strong exhales.  I may move to the next ab routine up the ladder next week.

Today's Pull-Up menu was just two versions: 3 sets of 6 reps of Chin-Ups, and 5 sets of 8 reps of Pole Vaulters.  This is the first time that the Pole Vaulters set count was odd, so I decided to even it up, I would do both grips in one set and just do 4-4.  But no break between, just a grip switch.  So I did one set of Chin-Ups and then two sets of Pole Vaulters twice, then finished with one set of each to finish.  All three Chin-Up sets were good to the end, except that just before the very last rep, I took a short Hanging break for a couple of breaths.  Then on sets 4 and 5 of the Pole Vaulters, I just about hit failure on the eighth rep.  Eccentric was brutal, I just didn't want to drop down.  I've got to stay in control.  Also, on the last two sets of Pole Vaulters, I took a little longer break, just to shake out my arms, between grip changes.  But I was happy to get it done.  Now, my next issue is if I'm gong to finish off the Challenge within the 30 days, or go an extra day and do the final day on  the final schedule day which is tomorrow.  If I'm feeling good, I will, but I'm not making any pledges or promises.  I will let my body decide when the time comes tomorrow.

And the grand finale, a good calming Flow series.

In the end, I burned a good 910kcals.  Good way to end my week.  By getting cardioed out and pumping myself up with Pull-Ups!!! Happy Weekend, everyone!

10-26-17 (Thursday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Arms & Shoulders + Power 90 - Ab Ripper 200 + TCF.

10-26-17 (Thursday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Arms & Shoulders + Power 90 - Ab Ripper 200 + TCF.

I was in a serious time crunch today.  When in this situation I normally wouldn't do a full resistance routine, but for some reason I decided to push through with one.  In hindsight, it probably would have been better if I had done a short cardio routine and gotten today's Pull-Ups in, but unfortunately, I think I was just thinking about not doing resistance for three days and not wanting to make it four.  So, as you can see, I took a second day off from the Pull-Up Challenge.  Which means I'll have to do two consecutive days, something I really didn't want to do.  Plus, I'll have to do it on my full-off day, Saturday, if I'm going to complete the challenge on schedule.  I guess it will all depend on how sore I am on Saturday night.  But I digress.  Today, I only had 2 hours for working out, 90 minutes if I wanted to eat dinner before my class.  Long story short, I didn't eat until after the class.

The routine starts off with a 90 rep Ab warm up that burned out my abs in the second round.  I couldn't get all the way through without a break.  The final move was Shoulder Circles.  Not sure I see the logic in doing an ab focused warm up for an Arms & Shoulders routine.  If it is an effective warm up, I appreciate someone telling me why.

You can see what I did on the worksheet below.  I basically stuck with the same weight range as the last time I did it about 10 months ago, but I took the middle weight and did that twice and the heavier weight once at a lower rep count.  I started off with 10 reps, but then bumped it up to 12 for the first two rounds.  And 8 reps for the heavy round at first, then I bumped it up to 10 reps.  The heavy round always took me to failure.  8 and 10 were good sets.  By the end of the routine, my arms were pumped, but totally fried.  I really tried to slow down each rep to maximize my Time Under Tension (TUT).  I've been hearing a lot about TUT and it sounds like good solid science (not that I could differentiate from bad weak science).  So I'm hoping that I'll see gains soon.

My abs felt recovered, but time was short, so instead of Chalene, I went with Tony's short but sweet Ab Ripper 200 for more abs.  The last 3-5 reps on the last 4 moves were brutal.  Just about to failure, and surely the burn.  It was a good little routine.  Perfectly fit into my time constraints.  Finishing off with a good calming Flow series.  I finished everything in an hour and fifty-five minutes.   WHEW!!!

In the end, I burned a good 1070kcals.  A little surprising for an upper body routine, but I'll take it!

10-25-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X2 - Recovery and Mobility + TCF.

10-25-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X2 - Recovery and Mobility + TCF.

Finally a somewhat regular schedule has come and I was able to fit in a Mid-Week Recovery day.  Pickle-Ball and Tennis on consecutive days necessitated a big foam rolling day because my legs were feeling it.  I went straight through the routine, save one big change; I doubled the foam rolling sequence... the WHOLE sequence.  I hit every part of my body that had a hot spot and I squashed it.  I lost some flexibility in my hamstrings, but I am slowly working to get it back.  The huge discrepancy between my left and right hip flexor is still there, but I'm still working to even that out as well.  It was nice to take the time to really roll and stretch.  It was also very refreshing.

I was able to finish out with a nice Flow series so I was very centered and focused all day.

In the end, I burned a lite 250+kcals, but I feel like a million bucks!

10-24-17 (Tuesday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-24-17 (Tuesday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

Due to schedule changes the Thursday tennis session was moved to Tuesday!  LUCKY ME!!!  I was able to get the fast track home which means I was able to get to the gym early, warm up, and start playing.  Also, because of the shift, some members weren't able to come, so there ended up being only six of us, two came late.  So after a good warm up, we started playing a match.  The big thing I am happy about is the fact that Pickle-Ball yesterday didn't affect my tennis any.  In fact, it may have even helped me some, but in ways I can't tell.  I still needed to get used to the surface again, but it came in time.  I was serving very well in this set.  I didn't lose a game, and I hit several service winners and a few aces.  But my flat serve was off.  So my slice serve was it.  My strokes were okay, but I felt a little tentative at the beginning.  But as the set went on, my confidence grew.  My partner and I won the set, 6-3. 

Then, the other team traded with us and my partner and I went to the practice court.  For most of the match time of the second match, we were doing cross-stroke practice.  My forehand really felt good, and I was able to get into a rhythm.  But my backhand just couldn't handle the bounce acceleration.  My timing was just so off.  Try as I might, I was late 75% of the time.  Finally, near the end, we got into a good rhythm.  That is the kind of drilling I like, it is long and I am able to find that all-important rhythm.

We played in the third match and my serve was up and down.  Thankfully, more up than down.  I had three service games in this set, and I won them all.  My partner also had three service games and lost them all.  On my serve, I would get into trouble with my serve, hitting consecutive double faults, then ace and service winner my way out of the jam.  Then in the next game it would go the other way.  Jump up, then crash with double faults.  But I always found a way to pull the game out.  This set, my strokes felt very solid.  A definite and direct result of the previous practice session.  At the end, the score was 5-5 and I was serving.  I already said that I won all my service games so you know we won 6-5, but again, I got down, then a good serve saved us.  It has been a while since I played as well as I have tonight despite the bad shots.  My volleys were a lot better.  Everything all around was better than last Thursday.  I'm really looking forward to Sunday for more tennis.

When I got home, I went right to my Pull-Up bar to knock out 56 pull-ups for day 2 of the final week in the Pull-Up Challenge.  Today's menu was 2 sets of 6 reps of Parallel grip, 2 sets of 6 reps of Pull-Ups, and then 4 sets of 8 reps of Pole Vaulter Pull-Ups.  I felt stronger today, and the first round was quick.  the first two sets of the second round were a lot easier than Sunday, but I could feel the pain and strain coming.  I was able to get first of the final two sets of Pole Vaulter Pull-Ups done straight with just a couple hang breaks for just a breath.  The fourth and last set, I was able to get 6 reps, but then I had to come off the bar.  My forearms were screaming at that point.  I needed to shake them out.  But instead of doing just the last 2 reps, I knocked out a total of 4 reps before failure hit.  So, a revised total of 58 Pull-Ups.  Two more days left and I'm done!

I ended with a good Flow series.

In the end, I burned a good 1607 kcals.  Very good day today!

10-23-17 (Monday) HY: TCF + Pickle-Ball.

10-23-17 (Monday) HY: TCF + Pickle-Ball.

Finally!! Got some regularity back!!!

It has been about three weeks since John and I last played Pickle-Ball, so I was anxious to get back out on the court.  So anxious that I got there about 20 minutes early so after getting my stretching and warm up done, I was able to do a long series of Flows traveling the distance of a court.  The odd thing is that on the very first Flow, I sort of lost track of what I was doing and didn't know what moves I was connecting to each other.  But somehow I ended up in the right place.  From then on, I was able to focus and all the Flows from there were on point.  It is really nice to have a big open private place to Flow.  The lines that are at my shoulder width are a huge bonus so I can keep my feet on track.

We got right to it when John arrived.  Our warm up was good, so we began the match right away.  I was able to jump out ahead and stay there for the whole game.  There were times when I sputtered a bit, but I never relinquished the lead. Once or twice John came back to tie, but I was able to rebuff those advances and take the first game.  A lot of good shots from both ends.  We were also able to play with the actual rules.  Up until today, we always started serving from the deuce court.  But a bit ago, I asked my brother and he told me the real decided of service, even or odd points.  If I have even points, I serve from the deuce side.  Odd, from the Ad side.  Easy, but make a big difference in terms of game flow.

We switched sides and resumed the match.  This time, John jumped out ahead and I just couldn't catch up.  I got up to tie him a couple times, then promptly fell behind again.  Not until I tied at 10-10 did I break through and take the lead.  I fell into a tie one more time, but then I charged to the victory.  There was one great point we played, that I eventually lost, that I was hustling hard chasing down balls literally left and right, but I just couldn't put it away.  Good game.

The third game, I again, jumped out to a huge lead, then got stuck at 14-3.  Then John made his move and fought his way back to 14-11, but it was too little to late.  I was lucky to take that game as well.  This is my very first "No Excuses" game sweep of John since we started playing a year and a half ago.  I swept him once before, but it was when John had just gotten back from vacation to the UK and still had a lot of Jet Lag.  So I don't count that sweep as a real Sweep.  But this one, we were both on top of our games, the temperature and conditions were perfect.  No excuses today.  I got my 3-Game Sweep!  I was winded and my legs were feeling it, but I was happy.

In the end, I burned a satisfying 1200+kcals.  Unfortunately, we're gong to have to miss next week because of scheduling, but we'll be back in two weeks.  From that point on, we will not have any scheduling problems or anomalies until January.

10-22-17 (Sunday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Chest and Back + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + Unlock your Hip Flexors.

10-22-17 (Sunday) HY: Supreme 90 Day - Chest and Back + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + Unlock your Hip Flexors.

Well, all the plans for today went out the window along with the approaching typhoon.  Too much rain so my daughter's Field Hockey game was cancelled.  I was planning to go and watch it.  But since it was cancelled, I instantly thought, "Hey, I can go to tennis practice", but no.  All that rain forced the cancellation of the practice as well.  So I spent the morning watching game 7 of the ALCS.  GO ASTROS!!  I was pretty sedentary all day, watching TV and working on my computer.  But I finally got to it in the early evening.

Since I finished YAYOG, I was looking for something to fill in the rest of this month because I want to start a little body-weight challenge program come November.  Also, this week looks like I'm going to be doing tennis and Pickle-Ball in the middle of the week, so I wanted to do some resistance training.  I was thinking of continuing on with P90X3, but something just didn't click in my mind when I was going through the routines.  Then I saw the Supreme 90 Day disks.  I figured, why not give that a once around just for this week.  So, I dusted off the program and started from the beginning.

Chest and Back is basically a Super-Set routine. Two moves done in succession in three sets.  There is a total of 5 rounds and sort of a Burn out set at the end.  There is something that I've wanted to try since I saw it on YouTube.  A YouTube trainer was talking about unbalanced weights.  So during a move, I hold a heavy dumbbell in one hand and a lighter dumbbell in the other.  That is supposed to force the body to find balance and grow muscle faster with lighter weights.  I was going to give it a try with this program, but there are only three sets so I would be off by one set.  So, I'll have to try that with another program.  I'm not going to go through every set because the worksheet is below and what I did is there.  But I will say that I felt good.  I pushed myself hard and the burn and pump came on strong.  The one thing I did change was the fourth round.  For the first move, Upper Cuts, instead of using dumbbells, I used bands.  The first set just Black, then for the last two sets, I added the Blue band.  The reason why I changed it was because when I do that move with dumbbells, I find that I am using too much biceps than chest and this move is supposed to be all about the chest.  And when I do it with bands, I can activate my chest way better than with dumbbells.  And boy did my chest feel it.  I was able to really concentrate on activation of the chest much better.   The Burn out move, I just about hit failure at the end.  I just had to gut out the last three reps, and I was counting closely.  PUMP AND BURN!!!  Great routine!

In the warm up of the main routine, there were a lot of ab and core moves, but I wanted more, so I stuck with Extreme Abs because I still didn't feel totally comfortable with it.  I couldn't get through it without a break, so before I step it up, I want Extreme Abs to be easier than before and no breaks.  Today was the most solid run since coming back to it last week.  So I figure that I'll stick with it one more week.  But I got a great burn.

I was a little nervous about the Pull-Ups because I worked my back today.  The run today is 2-sets of 5 reps of Pull-Ups, 2-sets of 5 reps of Chin-Ups, and 4 sets of 8 reps of Pole Vaulter Pull-Ups.  The first round was fine, I felt strong.   But the second set of Pole Vaulters, I started to wear out.  I did 8 reps straight with one grip, then the second set I switched grips.  I knew I wouldn't be able to do that on sets three and four.  Second round, again, the Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups were fine but a lot more taxing.  I was able to get through the third set of Pole Vaulters without coming off the bar for a break.  But I did come off the bar to switch grip.  I took a few hanging breaks for just a breath.  The final set of 8, I ended up cutting the set in half coming off the bar and taking a shake it out break after 4 reps.  I really had to fight to not just drop down.  Good eccentric work was a bonus.

I was feeling tightness at the end, so I did the Unlock your Hip Flexors.  All the sitting today caused some tightness.

In the end, I burned a good 904kcals.  I'm looking forward to this week.  And I just realized that I didn't do my FLOW!!!  How could I forget that!  So, I'll probably do a short series before heading off to bed which is right now.  Good Night!

10-20-17 (Friday) HY: 30-Day PUC + YAYOG - Advanced: Circuit Training + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

10-20-17 (Friday) HY: 30-Day PUC + YAYOG - Advanced: Circuit Training + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

I was able to get home with enough time to do a full workout.  But I had to get right to it, and not dilly-dally.  So that is what I did.  But I did take my prep a little slower than usual just to relax a little bit before getting started.

As I started to do my YAYOG warm up, I was thinking about the Pull-Up Challenge.  I didn't want to be totally fried when I did the Pull-Ups, so, on the fly, I decided that after the warm up, I would do the Pull-Up Challenge first.  I really didn't want to do two pull-up days in a row, but I got through it. But the biggest factor in my decision to do it today was the fact that if I didn't do it today, I would be forced to do it on Saturday, pushing the start of Week 4 by one day and I would lose the off day for pull-ups at the beginning of the final week of the Challenge.  And the final week has 4 Pull-Up days so I'll have to do two days in a row sometime.  But not today.

Day 3 of Week 3 is the last day for the week.  48 total Pull-Ups with the three variations, Chin/Parallel/Pull done in 3 sets of 8 reps for the Chin-Ups, then 2 sets each of 6 reps for the Parallel and Pull-Ups.  So basically, two round of the three grips, then one extra set for Chin-Ups.  The first round was a breeze.  The second round was fine, but I could feel the strain coming on.  Still, I was able to stay on the bar for all three variations.  But I did do a few hanging breaks, but just a breath.  The last Chin-Up set was brutal.  But I was able to get in 5 reps, then I had to come off the bar and shake out my arms and hands.  I pumped out the last 3 reps barely finishing the final rep.  BURNED OUT!!!  But I was glad to get it done and out of the way.

Today finishes off YAYOG!  Novice and Intermediate Phases are great, but the repetition of 8 sets for the Advanced sort of takes the fun out of it.  I wish there was more variation in the advanced phase.  8 sets of the same four moves gets a little tedious.  But I really wanted to finish it up, so I hammered it out. The four moves are: Iron Mike's [16] (basically full range of motion Jump Squats), Bouncing Push-Ups [14] (Plyo Push-Ups with only the upper body coming off the ground),  V-Ups [10], and One-Legged Hip Raises [10] (alternating legs each set).  The first two sets were fine.  I started to breath heavy after the third set.  We are supposed to get a 30 second break after each round, but after the third round, I have no idea what why, but between the 3rd and 4th round, then again between the 5th and 6th rounds, the break was considerably shorter for some reason.  But I was so winded that I added a few seconds as a break.  Actually, almost a whole minute.  Then I added a few more break extensions later on.  Not between each set, but maybe every other after that.  By the time the final set rolled around, I was spent.  Only will power got me through.  As for reps, the average rep count is in [brackets] after the move name above. Great routine minus the variation or charisma. 

I felt that the ab work in the main routine was enough, but after thinking about it. I figured, "What the Hey!"  And I actually got a little further without a break this time.  But the cramping was coming on hard, and I blasted my abs again with this routine.  Then I finished with the Flow Series.

In the end, I burned just under 900kcals.  So glad I got everything done in time so I coud fully enjoy my off day.  But I will probably do some stretching and Foam rolling.  Happy Weekend!

10-19-17 (Thursday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TFC.

10-19-17 (Thursday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day PUC + TFC.

Yep, another Tennis day, 2 days Back-to-Back days is unusual.  But today was with my older club and on a gym floor.  Needless to say, since playing a lot on Clay and Omni-Courts for the past month or so, timing was a huge issue.  I tried to prepare early for my strokes, but the shooting skid of the ball on that slick gym floor proved too fast for this old dude.  During the warm up, I was more late than on time with a lot of my shots.  But I slowly got used to it.  In my first match, I was still having trouble and it showed.  My serve was okay, at about 60%.  Twice in the set, I literally had a game on my racket and it netted the ball.  That means since we play No-Ad scoring, when the score is a deuce, the next point wins.  Over the course of the evening, about 4 times I lost the game at deuce.  I was not happy.  Anyway, we ended up losing that first set 6-2.  A change of partners and a little more practice under my belt, and a little rise in confidence, we won the next set, 6-1.  Even though we won, I still wasn't feeling comfortable on court.  I didn't feel like I was able to hit out on the ball.  I felt too tentative, and I don't like playing tentative tennis.  I want to play to my strengths.  But a few shots pumped me with confidence.  On shot I hit with a lot of top spin and the opponent let it go because he though it was going out, but the spin pulled it down and it dropped in.  My slice serve was okay but not reliable.  My first serve was gone.  In the last set, everything sort of fell into place.  I started hitting out, with more power and accuracy, with my forehand, but my backhand down the line was totally gone.  And in the last set, I finally won a love game on my serve.  We won that set, 6-2.  It was a lot of fun.

When I got home, I went right to the Pull-Up bar and after some stretching, I got to Day 2 of Week 3 of the 30-Day PUC.  Today, it was 3 sets of 7 reps of Pull-Ups, and 3 sets of 7 reps of Parallel Grip.  The Pull-Ups were fine, I felt strong on them. But I started to wither on the Parallel Grip.  The third set was brutal, but I battled it out.  Since I started to lose fat, I have also lost fat in my hands.  That is causing a little problem with loose skin there.  I have trouble when holding the bar too long, the skin get too pressured and it hurts.  Plus, the pads on my bar are getting too compressed, so not enough padding now.  But I pushed through.  And I stayed on the bar the whole time, for each set, of course.  I got a good pump and an awesome burn.

Then I finished with a good Flow series.

In the end, I burned a bit under 1500kcals. Felt good to pump those Pull-Up out.

10-18-17 (Wednesday) Tennis.

10-18-17 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Today was another Tennis day!  Unfortunately, it was raining so practice was moved from the closer out-door park to the further in-door facility. 

The session menu was the regular rotation of drills.  Stroke and Volley, Serve and Return, Double points play, and, for the first time, serving points.  It is a lot of good pressure when everyone is watching you.  Luckily, I didn't make a fool out of myself.  I had a lot of sweat going on so that was good.

In the end, I torched almost 1500kcals. 

When I got home, I was planning to do the 30-Day PUC but I just felt so tired that I decided that that was it.  No more, just hit the hay early.

10-17-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Ladders + Lower Back Stretch + TCF + Foam Rolling.

10-17-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Ladders + Lower Back Stretch + TCF + Foam Rolling.

As predicted, I was feeling it this morning, Upper Body and abs.  I was very glad that today was Ladders.  This is definitely the easiest of the three Advanced routines.  Plus, I had to do this routine late evening around 9pm.  That is usually too late, much too late for me to workout, but I didn't want to accidentally take an off day, so I had to push myself to get it done. 

Today's four moves were Lunge with a Twist and One-Legged Warriors.  With all the tennis I was doing, my legs feel strong, so the Lunge and Twist were no problem.  Neither was the Warriors.  But having to keep my arms up, really killed my shoulders.  Had to shake them out a few times, but I knew it was coming.  Still doing the 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 rep count.  That count would kill me in the next move.  With the Half Dive Bombers ( I did Full Dive Bombers) and T-Y Thumbs Up, again, my shoulders were absolutely rubber.  But overall a great routine. 

I did a lot of sitting today, so this Lower Back Stretch was just what the doctor ordered.

In the end, I burned over 600Kcals.  Felt good to get back into the flow of things around here.

Later that evening, I did a lot of rolling as an attempt to relieve the tension, especially in my hip flexor and Lower Back.

10-16-17 (Monday) HY: P90X3 - Eccentric Upper + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-16-17 (Monday) HY: P90X3 - Eccentric Upper + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

I was still sore and tired from the big day of tennis yesterday, and I really didn't feel like doing any crazy insane cardio, so I went with what I thought would be an easier resistance workout.  To quote an 80's comedian, "HA HA Very Funny, Mother Father!"  What was I thinking??? "Easy" resistance workout???

Before I started, there was one thing that I decided I would do.  Since I'm also doing the 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge, I decided to use the step ladder to get up to the top of each Pull/Chin-Up instead of doing the full UP.  Regarding the Pull/Chin-Ups, after doing the Week 2 of the 30-day PUC (two days of eccentric, 5 sets of 6 reps) Tony's 3-Count seemed a little fast.  I like the 5-7 second count because it prevents me from actually rushing to get the reps in.  So I slowed it down and put a lot of tension into the muscles.  Great sets, but they wore me out.  Also, I did all the Push-Ups on stands when possible.  I kept the weights of pretty much every move along with the set rep count.  I was happy that the weights I did the last time were still good for me, and not too heavy.  The one different thing that I did was do two sets of the Triceps Skyfers.  The first set I did on the ladder with one foot up for 5 reps each.  When I finished, I figured that my form was awful because my hips didn't go up at all.  So I did another full set with my feet on the ground and got my hips as high as I could get them.  Overall, it was a good routine, and I still felt strong.  Great pump and burn.

I jumped right into the Abs.  I wanted to step up the intensity so I went up a level.  And MAN was it tough.  I had to take a break at least twice during the routine because of the burn.  I couldn't take the burn, and had to tap out.  But eventually I got it done.  I'm going to feel it tomorrow.

I was a little worried about today's Pull-Ups because of the Eccentric Pull-Ups I did in the previous routine.  It took me a while to get through the sets of Parallel Grip and Chin-Ups.  Biceps were hurting!  For some reason, I'm much stronger on the Pull-Ups than the Chin-Ups.  I was burning out quick. 

Finishing off the workout as usual, with a Flow series.

In the end, I was a little surprised to make sure, but there were no anomalies.  I burned only 597kcals.  A bit low for such a high voter turnout.

10-15-17 (Sunday) Tennis.

10-15-17 (Sunday) Tennis.

Today was a big tennis day.  It was my new tennis club's yearly event.  First time for me, though.  We went to a park that was about a 2 hour drive away from the city, so I had to wake up at like 5:45am on a SUNDAY to catch my ride at 6:45am.  Luckily I had packed everything for the outing the night before. 

The facility was really nice, but we had to set up the nets on the courts and do all that prep.  When we opened the door to the shack where the nets were kept, cockroaches fell from the top of the door.  We all sort of just jumped back shocked, freaked, and there wasn't a lack of shouts and shrieks, either.  An these babies were HUGE!!!  They reminded me of those Scarabs in The Mummy movie, they were that huge!!!  But we finally got everything set up and the practice started.  There were a lot of first timers, so it was fun getting to know them and the regular member I haven't talked to yet.  The tennis practice was great, except for the fact that the wind was very strong.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to "Catch the wave" or "Ride my Rhythm".  I hit my share of good and great shots, but I couldn't sustain a long rally.  We played for around four hours, but the good thing was that it was forecast to rain, so the clouds were thick.  But thankfully, it didn't rain.  So, the conditions were as follows:  Cloudy, windy, and cool.  I didn't even sweat that much.  After the tennis, we all moved to a large cabin the club had rented and had a BBQ.  It was delicious, and I was able to control myself and not over eat.  In fact, I stuck mostly with the veggies.  But I did have some beef and chicken.

When I got home, I was dead tired, so there was no extra workout afterwards.

In the end, I torched over 2000kcals.  Not a bad day's of work.

10-14-17 (Saturday) Walking.

10-14-17 (Saturday)  Walking.

Saturday is normally my off day, but the weather was absolutely perfect along with the temperature.  I couldn't NOT GO OUTSIDE!!!  So I took a walk with friends from church for over 2 hours.  It was beautiful.  I look forward to doing that again! No HRM, but I sweat a lot.  My back was a little achy, but I powered through.  Happy to be where I wanted to be on a Saturday like this.

10-13-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-13-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

I went for the morning workout today.  Also, I did something new.  Usually, when I do morning workouts, I have a shake, then do the workout.  But today, I flipped them around.  Since it wasn't a high intensity workout, I tried doing it on an empty stomach.  So, I got right to it.  It wasn't that bad.  I didn't feel all that hungry, and I didn't feel like I was going to faint from low blood sugar.  I wonder how I would have felt if I had done a more intense routine, like something from P90X or Insanity.

The yoga was good.  I felt very solid today.  I crushed pretty much every move.  My balance was much better on everything from Half-Moon to reverse Half-Moon, to the Crow pose.  In fact, I held it for the whole time. Woo Hoo!  It has been a long time since I was strong enough to do that.  Toe Bind was good, the Wrap was good, everything just felt good.  I was very happy with my performance of the Yoga.

I had to do the second and final day of the Week 2 schedule of the 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge.  I didn't want to do it cold, so I decided to do it after yoga.  I wasn't looking forward to it because I knew how much it was going to hurt.  Although, it didn't hurt as much as before, it still totally wasted me.  It felt good to get those negatives out of the way.  One big thing with the negatives is that that version really works the forearms.  They were just dying the other day, and they were dying today.  I was able to get a little further before I needed to take a split, but it was good.  There was a little progress.

Finishing off with my Flow series.  Great start to the day.

In the end, I burned just over 600kcals.  Looking forward to the next week's sets.  I'm looking for some good epic days.  Happy Weekend!

10-12-17 (Thursday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Timed Sets + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + TCF.

10-12-17 (Thursday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Timed Sets + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + TCF.

I only had about 90 minutes to complete my workout because of a night class after a full day schedule.  So the time crunch was on. 

The last time I did the Advanced Timed Sets, I was about dead at the end.  Mark said that this was the toughest routine in the program, and last week, I truly thought it was.  The four moves done for 8 sets each for 20 seconds, then a 20 second breaks between.  The first two sets were fine, just warming up, good form, and relatively steady breathing.  The next two sets, I started to feel the grind, but still relatively strong.  The next two sets were TOUGH.  Muscles started to feel the burn, and form started to wain, but I was able to keep it in check.  The last two sets were BRUTAL, a true test of fortitude.  The BURN was on and for each move, strain and pain.  The first two moves were the worst of it.  Star Jumps is just so not cool to start a routine with.  The second move was "Half" Dive Bombers, but I did full Dive Bombers.  The Pain and Strain were killers definitely in the last two sets.  The third move, Oblique V-Ups, I really pushed it ion this move,  I did each rep as fast as I could but with good form, full range of motion, a jerk-pause at the top and bottom to prevent momentum, and steady breathing to air out the pain.  I was able to hammer out 20 reps on both sides in the last two sets. OUCH!!!  The final move, Hip Raises, the real challenge was to keep my shoulders above my hands.  I kind of let things slip a bit allowing some momentum to help me swing my hips into position.  At the end of the routine, I didn't feel as dead as the last time.  I felt pretty good actually and I was able to move on to the next routine quickly.

I had intended to step up to Extreme Abs, but because of the limited time, I stuck with Ab Burner.  My abs were already somewhat fried because of the Oblique V-Ups earlier, but I was able to power through.  I did have to take a break in stride (no need to rewind the DVD), by just putting my feet down for a moment, but it was quick, just to relieve the cramping coming on.  Abs were feeling it.

The Flow series at the end was solid after a big "Blank Out".  I was 3/4 of the way through my first Flow when I suddenly forgot what the next movement was, so I started over and got through.  Because of that miss, I did a double series, luckily I had the time.

In the end, I burned just over 600kcals.  I knew I was going to feel it all night and the next day.

10-11-17 (Wednesday) HY: Lower Back Stretch + Foam Rolling.

10-11-17 (Wednesday) HY: Lower Back Stretch + Foam Rolling.

Uh-Oh, I think I overdid it a little on the splits and hamstrings.  My lower back was feeling a little strained.  I was lucky it didn't go out again.  So, today I thought I should take it easy and stretch it out and try to relieve the soreness and tightness.  So today was just about giving my back a break and letting the muscles relax.  The stretching and rolling did a lot to help recover.  It was also good because I had 4 classes today so my back was tight from that also.  No HRM, so no burn count.  Good session.

10-10-17 HY: P90X3 - The Warrior + Splits + TFC.

10-10-17 HY: P90X3 - The Warrior + Splits + TFC.

After a big day of tennis and a brutal YAYOG Advanced workout, I was feeling a little worn out, so I went with an intense but slower paced routine.  I also wanted something "full body", and something relatively new or "not-done-in-a-while".  It has probably been more than a year since I did The Warrior so I thought I'd check it out, and sure enough, it was exactly what I wanted.  Like YAYOG Circuit training, there are four moves in five sets.  But unlike YAYOG, there are different moves for each set, but the focus is the same.  So, I liked the variety MUCH more in this routine.  The focus of the moves are, first, an upper body move, then a cardio move, then an abs/core move, and finally an explosive legs/lower body move.  Each focus point was hammered each round.  Although there were only five rounds/sets, each move was a minute long so the total workout time was more than YAYOG.  The great this is that since there was a tough ab move in the routine, I didn't feel the need to do a separate ab routine afterward.  I got the burn I needed already.  By the end of the routine, my arms and chest, core, legs, and cardiovascular system were pushed to their limit resulting in an intense, full body burn. 

All that done, I was able to cool down and move right into the next part of the workout.  I was feeling good, and I was feeling tight in my legs, so I decided to revisit my splits training.  I went through the full routine, borrowing a lot from Tai Cheng's Neural Reboot 4 routine as usual.  As expected, I lost distance in my splits, and I was pretty tight in my right hip flexor especially on the Straddle Splits.  But after a few shakes of the leg, I was able to get the muscle back into position and go down so the stretch hit my inner thighs.  I started off the session about 25cm up but finished around 18cm.  Hamstrings are still a big problem so I did a little extra to stretch and loosen them up.  But the biggest problems are still my Hip Flexors.  I'll have to push those every chance I get to maintain a good level of flexibility.  Then I finished off with a good series of Flows.

In the end, I burned a good 700+kcals.  Surprisingly good workout today and shorter than usual.

10-09-17 (Monday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Circuit Training + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

10-09-17 (Monday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Circuit Training + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TCF.

Today was a national holiday, but I had to work.  I would usually play Pickle-Ball on Monday, but my playing buddy took the day off because of the national holiday.  So, I was free to start back on the YAYOG program. 

I finish the first round of the Advanced Phase with Circuit Training, that 4 moves done consecutively in 8 sets.  Each move is done for 20 seconds with 10 seconds for transition time.  Then a 30 second break between sets.  But Mark cuts that time down several times, sometimes in half.  The 4 moves are Iron Mikes 12-16 reps (Full RoM alternating Jumping Lunges), Bouncing Push-Ups 12+/-, V-Ups 10, and One-Legged Hip Raises 10.  Through all the moves and all the sets, I was able to keep my pace and rep count constant.  There were times when I was dying, and times when I caught a second wind so I could squeeze out a few more reps, but only like 1-2 extra.  My average rep count is what the number after the move name stands for.  My legs were absolutely dying from the Iron Mikes.  I felt a twinge of a cramp coming on, so I shored up my form and stayed careful.  I was able to hold it together for all 8 sets.  The Bouncing Push-Ups were actually a good move for me.  I felt strong to the 6th set, then the last two sets were extremely tough, but I squeezed out a few extra reps in the last set.  But I got air on each rep to the end.  The V-Ups almost killed me.  I was supposed to keep my feet off the floor, but in the last half, I had to start tapping down on the last couple to few reps.  The burn hit hard.  The One-Legged Hip Raises were fine, but just doing them really wore me out.  I needed every second of each 30-second break which is why I was not happy when Mark cut some of those breaks.  So I rewound a bit to get the whole break plus a few seconds.  When I finished the routine, it took a while for me to catch my breath and recover. 

My abs were tired so I was debating on whether or not I should or could do an ab routine.  But I decided to go ahead and do it thinking to modify when needed.  I needed it only once between moves when I had to put my legs down.  But aside from that, I went through cleanly.

The second week of the 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge introduced the negative Pull-Ups.  I have done negative Pull-Ups with Tony in X2 and X3, but those reps were usually on a 3-count up and down.  This time, the focus was on the negative so I had a step ladder under me to assist me getting my chin back above the bar.  I was supposed to do 5 sets of 8 reps alternating Parallel grip with Pull-Up grip each set.  I got the first set done without any breaks, then I went down hill from there.  My arms burned so much introducing a new kind of pain.  I had no idea that there could be another kind of pain in working out.  I thought I had experienced everything, but I guess I have a lot to experience yet.  But I was able to get at least two reps consecutively each set.  Getting it done.

After a good shake out, I finished with a Flow that was more difficult than usual because I could barely lift my arms.

In the end, I torched a nice 905kcals.  Time for bed!

10-08-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + Lawn Work + Foam Rolling.

10-08-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + Lawn Work + Foam Rolling.

Another big tennis day.  Straight tennis for 3.5 hours.  It could have been super awesome except for the fact that it was in the low 90's and the sun was bearing down like crazy.  But despite that, I still had a great time.  Good news first.  The past few times with my new tennis club was great just to get out on the court and swing free, but I didn't feel comfortable with my swing and my stroke in general.  I just felt like everything was just off. I couldn't put my finger on anything specifically wrong, but something was just not right.  Well, today, for the first time in a long time, I felt my stroke coming back.  I felt hints of being comfortable, I was swinging and striking the ball solidly.  Albeit ever so fleeting, I felt I took a step in the right direction today.  And my serve, when we started the serving drills, I wasn't getting anything in.  I was just netting the ball or it was flying long or wide.  Just wasn't striking the ball well.  On top of that, my shoulder was hurting, like I was doing something to throw it out of joint.  But about half-way through the drills, something clicked on the deuce side, and I starting really feeling the ball.  I started hitting my spots and powering my first server IN!  The AD side was still a problem, but at least I started to feel it.  Another step in the right direction.  In the last hour, we started to partner up to play matches.  Unfortunately, this is where the weakest part of my game came into play; the mental game.  Although I was starting to feel it during the practice sessions, come game time, I couldn't get it going.  Sure, I hit a few good shots and played a few good points, but overall, I was still netting the ball way too often.  I didn't win any of my service games, but at least I didn't double fault whole games away like I did last week.  My serve was okay, I hit a few aces every game, but then I hit a few double faults as well.  I need a stronger mental game and I need consistency.  That is what I hope to improve over the next few months.  Then, come January, I plan to play in a singles tournament where I hope to put my experience into practice.  One thing I learned as well, my present water bottle is not big enough for 3.5 hours of tennis on a hot day.  I could have drunk twice as much, but I was being conservative with my water consumption since I only had one bottle.  I made it last to the end of the session, but I bought a 500ml bottle of water for the drive home.

When I got home, it was clear that the soreness and fatigue were starting to set in.  It was also clear that our lawn had turned into a jungle and if I didn't do something about it today, I wouldn't be able to get to it for another two weeks or more, so it had to be today.  So, without taking a break, I went straight in and got it done.  Weed wacked, raked, and disposed of the cuttings.  But I drank lots of water.  Still hot, but got it done.  The bad thing is that my right forearm was starting to cramp.  All then tennis, then a static grip on the weed wacker... OUCH!  I tried switching hands, but the control was terrible so I switched back.  After the first clearing of the cuttings, I usually go back and cut again, but by this time, my neck was burning, and it looked "good enough" so I left it at that.  I'll do a more complete job the next time around.

By this time, it was almost 3pm and that was enough.  I took a shower and had lunch.  One of my favorite dishes prepared by my wife.  I was tempted to take a nap, but I have to sleep early tonight so I fought the urge.  My hip flexors and lower back were really aching by this time, so much so that walking was a bit difficult.  Pain with every step.  So, later in the evening, I rolled out my back and stretched out my hip flexors.  I wasn't able to get them as loose as I was hoping for, but it feels a little better. 

In the end, I torched a whopping 3012kcals.  I don't even remember if I have ever burned that many calories at once before.  Good start to a new week.  But wait till next week, it's going to be epic.  Oh, today was supposed to be the start of Week 2 of my Pull-Up Challenge, but because my right hand/forearm was too racked, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep hold of the bar, so, I'm going to start tomorrow.  Week 2 is a series of negative Pull-Ups.  Oh GLORY!!!

10-07-17 (Saturday) HY: Foam Rolling + Lower Back Stretch.

10-07-17 (Saturday) HY: Foam Rolling + Lower Back Stretch.

Today was a regular off day, but I realized that I needed some extra rolling stretching because of the tightness I was feeling so in the evening, I got out my roller and rolled out some hot spots and stretched out my lower back for about 45 minutes.  If felt a lot better, so I was able to sleep a lot better.

10-06-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + TCF + Foam Rolling.

10-06-17 (Friday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + TCF + Foam Rolling.

I got home early today, and got right to the workout.  I was thinking to do an intense but short cardio routine today, but since mid-week or there about, my body started to feel worn down.  I didn't take a mid-week recovery day on Wednesday as planned because of my schedule opening up, so I decided to try to do a recovery routine today heading into my off day.  It seems a bit odd to me to do a recovery day just before an off day, but five straight days of high intensity workouts, I figure, why not.  I mean, my body is feeling worn down, so why not give it some dessert before a rest.

Today's X3 Yoga didn't have any big problems as far as the flexibility moves or balance moves.  There were small problems, but nothing that knocked me over.  Right Half-Moon was better than the Left, Crow was a little weak, CRUSHED the Wrap and the Triangle poses.  Hamstrings are still tight, but getting looser.  Lower back is releasing a little faster now, but still not able to stand straight up as quickly as before.  I'm glad I can touch the floor in a forward hang, though.  It was a refreshing routine.

The Flow series felt a lot more solid today for some reason.  I was glad to get it done well.  The foam rolling was a heaven sent.  Focused on the lower body and when finished, my legs felt so refreshed.  But it was painful in the moment. 

In the end, I only burned 284 kcals, but the hidden benefits are to many to count.  Looking forward to my off day!  Happy Weekend, Everyone!

10-05-17 (Thursday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Ladders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TCF + Lower Back Stretch.

10-05-17 (Thursday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Ladders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TCF + Lower Back Stretch.

Back to an in-house workout.

First time in a while for Advanced Ladders, but the progression was the same as all the rest, Two two-move circuits.  The first pair of moves was a Front Lunge with a Twist, and One-Legged Warrior.  Luckily, the ladder was only up to 4 reps, but I still did the 1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 X2 progression.  I was already dying at four reps, so I don't know if I would have lasted for an 8-rung ladder.  I had some major problems with balance on the One-Legged Warrior all the way through, so next time I'll have to work that out.  But the Front Lunge with a Twist was fine.  Got some good stretch on the Hip Flexors.  The next two moves were Dive Bombers and T-Y Thumbs Up.  This time it was full Dive Bombers.  The first ascending set was fine, but my shoulders started feeling it on the descending side.  Then the second round was brutal all the way around.  Shoulders were burning.  Again, I was worried about the up-coming Pull-Ups.  But I was able to do all the sets without any mid-set breaks, and I was able to keep good form all the way through.  The T-Y Thumbs Up were a great lower back and shoulder move, so I was burning all over that.  The cool down stretch was heavenly.

I moved right into Abs with Chalene.  I was able to get through the whole routine without any pauses or breaks.  But I was really breathing hard to relieve that burn.  It definitely burned.

After swinging out my arms and shoulders, I went into the Pull-Up Challenge.  Today, the progression started with Chin-Ups, then Parallel Grip, then Pull-Ups. Rep count was 5-4-6, but I had to do the Parallel Grip three time and the other two, only twice. for a total of 34 reps.  The first round was fine. I crushed each variation.  I was feeling good on the first two, but on the Pull-Ups, I was dying fast.  I ended up doing only 5 reps.  Just one more and I would have been golden, but I barely got the 5th rep then I had to come off the bar.  After swinging out my arms, I went back to the Pull-Ups and got in another 4 reps.  Then I did the 4 reps of the Parallel Grip, so I actually did a total of 37 reps.  Arms were PUMPED!!!  After a good swing out of my arms and shoulders, I did a Flow Series and ended.

I had a night class so when I got back from that, I stretched out my lower back.  I needed it especially today because of the class time without my supporter chair.

In the end, I burned a good 615+kcals.  I got in all I wanted today, so it was a good workout all around.

10-04-17 (Wednesday) Tennis.

10-04-17 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Today, I was planning to take a take a Mid-week recovery day and do some yoga, or Mobility and Recovery.  But then I realized I didn't have my night class, so I decided to go to my new club's mid-week practice session.  It was at a place I had never played tennis at before so I left early and got there early enough to get in some extra warming up.  The evening's menu was pretty much the same as Sunday's, but there wasn't time for a regular match.  I was dressed for cooler conditions, but it turns out that the courts were indoor, so I was hot.  I sweat a lot, but I didn't have time to get a drink, only between drill sets.  I got to practice all the facets of my game: Stoke, volley, serve, and doubles points.  With the early warm up, and the cool down with all the other clean up duties of the last group on the courts, it was all about three hours.  Great workout!

In the end, I torched over 1800kcals.  When I got home, again, my hip flexors were aching along with the rest of my legs.  My right shoulder was a little tender also, but I need that to get used to the serving motion.  On my way back.

10-03-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Timed Sets + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TFC + Lower Back Stretch + Unlock Your HF.

10-03-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Advanced: Timed Sets + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + 30-Day PUC + TFC + Lower Back Stretch + Unlock Your HF.

I got right to it once I got home.  I wasn't in the mood to mess around.  A meeting went way longer than it should have discussing things that didn't need to be discussed.  So I wanted to blow off some steam.

I started the Advanced Phase of YAYOG tonight with Timed Sets.  To be honest, I am not a fan of the Advanced Phase, not because it is tough, because it is boring.  I like variety in my workout but this specific phase is the 8 rep phase.  Today, only 4 moves but for 8 sets each.  To me that is just a cop out for a trainer.  "Here, do this one move for 20 seconds, 8 times."  Just boring.  But my desire to actually finish the program is stronger than my desire to escape the boredom so I went all in.  The four moves in today's routine were the same four moves from the Intermediate Circuit Training routine: Star Jumps, Half Dive Bombers (but I did full... sort of.), Oblique V-Ups, and Hip Raisers (I used push-up stands so my butt would clear the floor.)  Yes, the Star Jumpers Killed me, but I didn't slack off.  I pushed even harder in the last two sets.  I didn't want my rep count to drop, so I crushed it.  But I was dead.  I had to recover quickly so I tried to control my breath.  For the Dive Bombers, I was considering doing four sets of Dive Bombers and four sets of Pike Push-Ups (Pike Push-Ups are the modification for this move) all the way up until I finished the fourth set of Dive Bombers, but something inside my head wouldn't let me switch moves, so I stuck with Dive Bombers.  But my arms and shoulder were SCREAMING, so I did a little modification.  Going under the fence is fine, but in the later sets, going back under the fence was way too intense, so instead of going back under the fence, I just went straight back from Up-Dawg to Down Dawg on a few reps.  But my arms were just rubber after that.  Luckily, I crushed the Oblique V-Ups.  But my arms were so blown, here's what happened.  On the Oblique V-Ups, I was supposed to put my upper arm behind my head and touch my elbow to the rising knee.  But being in that bent position for that amount of time, started to burn too much, so I just put my arm up straight and then behind my head when I could.  THE BURN!!!  The final move, Hip Raisers, is the easiest of the four.  I just tried to keep a good range of motion.  On the last couple of reps in the later sets, my shoulders and triceps were, again, SCREAMING!!!  But I gutted it out.

I was planning to do the Pull-Up challenge right after the routine, but my arms were just too fried, so I did the Abs next.  Happy to say that I made it all the way to the weighted moves, but that got me.  Too Fried!  But just a little break and I was able to finish to the end of that ab routine.

Day 2 of the 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge was pretty much the same as Day one, but the order was different, plus there were supposed to be an increase by 2 reps.  There was also a change in variation order.  Today, it was Parallel Grip, then Pull-Up, then Chin-Up.  The rep sequence was 4-6-5 twice, the I added two reps of Parallels.  I actually noticed some improvement in the fact that I didn't need as many breaks in the second round.  Especially on the Chin-Ups.  If my arms weren't fried before, they sure were after this challenge.  I also had the hardest PUMP on!

I could barely lift my arms for the Flow series, but once the Flows started, I Flowed as I should.  It actually soothed some of the burn during the Flows, but it came back once I stopped.

Finally, since I was sitting a lot today in meetings without my special chair, I felt a little tight, so I did the lower back stretch.  It felt so awesome.  Got nice and loose. 

In the end, I torched a nice 906kcals.  I topped out at 190bps on my HRM.  Mark from YAYOG said today's routine is the toughest in the program, so I'm looking forward to the next routine.  Tomorrow's recovery day is definitely needed.

Here is my calendar for the month of September.  I string of blanks at the beginning of the month because of my back, but I slowly got back into it, so now I'm going to crush all my challenges!

10-02-17 (Monday) HY: Pickle-Ball + TCF + Foam Rolling.

10-02-17 (Monday) HY: Pickle-Ball + TCF + Foam Rolling.

After that big tennis day yesterday, it wasn't my first choice to play Pickle-Ball today.  My hip flexors especially were feeling sore after tennis.  Luckily, they weren't feeling too bad this morning, but I was a little sore.  But Monday is the only day my playing partner and I have a matching free period in our class schedules so it has to be on Monday if we play at all.

As we started warming up, it was like "Old Hat".  We haven't played in over a month with each other, but we seemed to be firing on all cylinders.  Then we started a match.  Right away we could both feel the match pressure.  (We talked and realized that after the match was done.)  I realized that my footwork and body positioning was way off.  John wrong-footed me more times than I can count.  Hit behind me more times than I care to count.  But I was getting in some good shots as well.  I eventually took the first game 15-8.  The second game was more hard fought, but my downfall was the first 5 points.  As John was serving first, I let him jump out to a 0-5 lead.  So, throughout the whole game, I was playing catch up.  Once I got to within one point of tying at 11-12.  But then the rally gassed out there and he closed it out.  I lost 12-15.  In the final game, we were both pushing ourselves to the edge.  Offense and defense, Netplay and baseline play.  It all sort of came together... for me.  I took the final game 15-4.  But in the middle of that final game, my quads just started to burn.  So many squats and lunges, dropping to get the ball.  It truly was a leg workout for the times.  It was great to be back playing, and I look forward to Mondays.

At home in the evening, my hip flexors started to get sore again, so I tried a Flow series and then some Foam Rolling to loosen them up.  Stretching hurt a little too much at that point.  But definitely back to Unlocking my hip flexors tomorrow.

In the end, I torched a nice 1000+kcals during the Pickle-Ball.  No HRM for the evening activities.

10-01-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge + TCF.

10-01-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge + TCF.

I love it when a month begins on a Sunday, because I can begin new challenges at a real beginning.  That said, I am beginning two new things this month, and here they are:

Today, I started the month as an official member of my new tennis club.  The funny thing is its name: LEG RUN TENNIS CLUB.  They meet twice a week for 3 hours on Sundays, and two hours on Wednesdays.  So including the warm-ups and cool-downs, that adds half an hour to each session.  I went last Sunday, but unfortunately it was raining on and off and finally on so we could only play for about thirty to forty minutes.  So today was my first real session.  The menu was hard.  After the warm-ups, we started with half-court rallies, then moved to volley-stroke practice.  Trading places every few turns.  It has been exactly 40 days since I played tennis for longer than half an hour and my timing was way off, the ball looked like a golf ball, and my footwork was slop.  I didn't feel comfortable on court.  But that is what practice is for.  The longer I was hitting, flashes of control started to break through, but it's a long journey back.  Next we moved to Serve and return practice.  That was a mess as well.  Remember, 40 days!  But I eventually got a few serves in.  Then we moved to forehand/backhand drills on one court while the second court had a match going.  My first time up, I was run ragged and on my last ball, I dove for it and ended up rolling on the ground.  It is a clay court and I was wearing a white shirt.  You can imagine what I looked like after that.  Then, overhead smash practice.  Finally, the drill court moved to doubles practice, starting with a feeder.  That was a mess for me as well.  I just couldn't get anything over the net.  Then I got my chance to play on the match court.  I would give myself a 45%  The first game I served, I won it at love.  I was serving incredibly.  But the second game I served I double faulted away the whole game.  But as for other aspects of the match, I made some good shots, but more bad than good.  Therefore, 45%.  It was a great day!  I hadn't worked that hard at tennis in years.  It was good to get to do drills again.  I need that muscle memory to kick in and remember the good form and movement from my younger years.  I don't need to do it as fast, I just need to do it.

The second thing I'm starting this month is a little thing I found on YouTube, a 30-Day Pull-Up Challenge.  The goal is to build Upper Body Strength.  Since I have been doing YAYOG and since my back injury, I haven't done any Pull-Ups.  Since Pull-Ups are one of my favorite moves, thanks to Tony, I wanted to get back into doing them.  I found this challenge a couple weeks ago, but didn't feel ready for it then.  But I was feeling good, so I decided to give it a go starting this month.  It came coupled with another 30-Day Challenge, that I was considering doing as well, but I was already too tired today to do anything more, so I decided to save the other challenge for next month.  It is starting off relatively light.  Today, three grips, Pull-Up, Chin-Up, and Parallel Grip.  Just two rounds of those three at a rep count of 4-6-5 reps, for a total of 30 reps for the day.  The first round was fine, but I felt it bad.  In the second round, the Pull-Ups were fine, but the Chin-Ups were brutal.  I had to hang for a moment after rep 3 and 5.  Then on the Parallel Grip, I need a hang after rep 2 and 4.  But no coming off the bar.  And these are full range of motion reps, no 100-120 degree elbow bends, I go all the way down.  After those 30 reps, I was feeling pumped, but tired and worn... but GOOD!

I finished the day with my Flow series.  It was nice to calm myself and breath in a controlled manner.  That is IT!

In the end, I torched a nice 1700+kcals from the tennis.  And so it begins...