7-31-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + Anabolic Stretch + Insanity: Cardio Abs + TCF.

7-31-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + Anabolic Stretch + Insanity: Cardio Abs + TCF.

Since my school has entered summer vacation I was able to get home a little earlier today, which allowed me to start my workout earlier than usual.  I was also a lot less tired than usual so I was feeling ready to go.

Since I made a few adjustments to my weights last time, it was my intention to keep the weights pretty close to the same and see if I was ready to increase them for next time.  But since I was feeling good, I raised the weights on the first move right off.  Even the heavy weight was good in that I was able to feel my Lats and Back activate.  I just had to raise and lower the weight slowly and allow myself to find the right flex activation.  Also, I was finally able to get to 10 reps on all three sets of Pull-Ups.  That is thanks to me doing the PU/PU Challenge this last month.  Although, I must admit that I wasn't all that faithful to it.  But I'll keep a regular schedule of PU/PU in August to keep up that strength.  The Progressive set was fine, but the Force Set was easy in the last set, so for the next run, I'll up the weight to 14.5kgs.  The Deadlift was the same, but on the Heavy end of the Drop Set, I dropped the 4kg Dumbbell and had to stop to reset it.  I had to be very careful and deliberate in the move and that was tough.  Finally, the Super Set was good.  Today is the best I've felt on the heavier Reverse Fly.  Usually, my form sort of goes south, but today, I was able to keep good form till the end.  But it was a struggle. 

The Anabolic Stretch was good and tough.  I started off with 3kgs in each hand, but on the last two sets, I had to drop to 2kgs.  I wasn't able to control the hold and it was getting too painful near the end of the minute.  But my Lats got a good stretch while loaded.

I was rather apprehensive to do Cardio Abs because I was wasted, but once I got started, I was okay.  But those static moving holds are brutal.  I still can't hold out the entire time on each grouping.  I've got three more tries before I move on.  Got to Crush It!

Topped everything off with a good Flow Series.

In the end, I burned a good 794 kcals.  A little more than the usual count. Probably due to Cardio Abs.  Getting a little boost burn at the end.

7-30-18 (Monday) Pickle-Ball.

7-30-18 (Monday) Pickle-Ball.

The semester has ended and I have no more classes during the day.  I just have to get my grades in and make some emergency changes to my syllabus and I will be totally free of office work.  I, of course, still have to prepare for two summer seminars I am teaching, but I can take it easy for a few days before I have to think too much about those.

SOOOO, I have time this Monday to do a little workout.  I was planning to do a morning resistance workout, but since John will be busy the rest of the week with his stuff, we decided to play Pickle-Ball today.

We played for a little longer than usual because of the break, but we weren't sure if there would be students coming to use the gym so we were a little wary of what was going on just outside the doors.  But past a certain time, we were safe and could play worry-free.

We got in four games.  But the first three games were extremely competitive and took almost an hour.  The first game, I jumped out to a big lead, 12-2, but then John kept on fighting and worked his way back.  I wasn't playing badly.  I mean I wasn't junking a lot of balls into the net like on Friday, but John just picked up his game and I had a lapse in concentration.  But I eventually won 15-10.  The second game, I was the one who fell behind, but John's biggest lead was only 5 points.  But I kept coming back to almost tie, then John would jump out in front again.  I finally caught him at 14-14.  There were several points in the game where we were stuck on a certain score for several serve changes with no points.  The game took a long time, just over 20 minutes.  I prevailed in the end, 16-14.  The third game was like the first, except I fell behind again in the beginning, but I caught up before John could get too big of a lead.  There were several lead changes in this game also.  A lot of really good shots, too.  But I finally took the game, 15-13.  The fourth and final game, I took matters into my hands and blew John out of the water, 15-2.

It was a really good session, and I am glad to get back to my "Sweeping" ways.

In the end, I burned a good 1091 kcals.  It was quite humid in the gym again so we sweat a ton.  I'm going to miss Pickle-Ball this next month.

7-29-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

7-29-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

A typhoon is heading this way and will hit tomorrow.  But it is far enough away that it is pushing some clouds our way.  Those conditions made it perfect for tennis.  Not too hot, and not too cold.

My back was still pretty achy so I didn't really want to push too hard, but when I got to the courts, there were only 6 people there.  Everyone knows I wanted to play singles and we usually don't because of the number of people.  But today, I had the chance to play singles right from the beginning.  But because of my back, I was a bit hesitant to play.  I wasn't able to move or serve with my regular agility or range of motion, but I had to make due.  We started the game and we started with two breaks of serve, the and hold and break and a break and hold.  The score ended up being 3-3.  But we had to stop because by that time several more people had come.  Once I'm back to 100%, I plan to push the singles whenever I can.

There were only 10 people, so we split the courts where one court was for doubles matches and the other for the regular menu.  I started playing in the first match with my tournament partner.  We won 4-0.  An easy win and we were able to try some different strategies.  We tried more poaching today to try and get the read and timing of it right.  I went into the drilling after the match and it was tough!  We did a ball-feed drill and the balls just kept coming first to the forehand, then backhand, then alternating.  I was dying after my turn. 

In my next match, I partnered with another older guy, but we made quick work as well winning 4-0.  By this time it was getting hotter and we decided to use both courts as match courts so we wouldn't get too tired.  In my final match, my serve took a vacation.  I was teamed with the same older guy and we did go up 3-1, but We fell apart and ended up losing 3-4.  That was my first loss in almost a month.  And it really didn't sit well with me because my partner had thrown in the towel and was not playing smart tennis. 

Not my greatest showing, but considering my back and the heat, I think I did pretty well.

In the end, I burned a good 2104 kcals.  Right shoulder and forearm felt good today.

7-27-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

7-27-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

It rained for a good part of the day yesterday so I knew it was going to be really humid in the gym today.  So I decided to give the Spandex a try in that venue as well.  Worked great.  It kept the sweat from flowing into my shoes as hoped.

Today was a little bit of a disappointment for two reasons: 1. I lost a game.  This is the first game I've lost to John is almost two months.  I was on a good roll there, but I guess it had to come to an end sometime.  2.  Right at the beginning of the first game, I noticed that my lower back was getting that wrenched feeling.  I played to the end, but I had to let up on some of the shots I would have tried for had I been feeling 100%.  But I'm not going to use that as an excuse for losing the game.    On the positive side, I totally crushed John in the other three games.

In game one, I won 15-5.  I was a pretty quick game, I jumped out to a lead and held it till the end.  I hit a lot of good shots where I wanted to hit them and ended points quickly.  No Mercy.  In the second game, my rangefinder turned itself off.  I was just junking balls into the net and couldn't get anything into the court.  I dropped to a 2-12 gap, but I slowly worked my way back, but it was too little too late.  I ended up losing the game 11-15.  I roared back in the third game, winning it in under ten minutes, 15-1.  In the final game, there were a lot of good shots and a lot of service changes.  The score doesn't really do the quality of the game justice.  But I won the game 15-5.

This was the second to last Pickle-Ball session before Summer Vacation, but we'll see if we can fit some games in when we are off school.

In the end, I burned a lower than expected 919 kcals.  Probably due to my limiting my movement because of my back.

7-26-18 (Thursday) HY: PU/PU Challenge + Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + Anabolic Stretch + Insanity - Cardio Abs + TCF.

7-26-18 (Thursday) HY: PU/PU Challenge + Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + Anabolic Stretch + Insanity - Cardio Abs + TCF.

Today was a morning workout so I am glad to be able to start my day off with a good burn.  I'm also beginning Round FOUR of the BULK Phase in my Body Beast Program.  That is four of six rounds so I hope to get through the six rounds by the middle of August.

On the worksheet, today's round in the NEON YELLOW numbers.  Last time, I went a lot lower than the previous time because my form was terrible and I wasn't really activating the target muscles, the Chest.  I was able to keep good form all the way through last time with the lower weight, so I decided to stay in that range, but maybe go a little heavier.  But even before the workout started, I decided to get the Push-Up Challenge finished.  I think, in hindsight, that that was a mistake.  In order to get all the reps in, I pushed it hard and sort of burned out a little too fast.  I felt tired on the first move of the routine already and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to stick with the weights I had chosen.

For the most part, I was able to get through with the same weights as last time, but I hit my limit on more sets, starting with the last two sets in the Force Set.  Same weight, but man, that was tough!  Then on the next set, the Progressive Set, I hit the limit on the last of the ascending (Heavy) and the last of the descending (light).  When I say "Limit" I mean I wasn't able to do the whole set non-stop.  I had to take a mid-set break, or I had to come off the bar, or put the weights down and shake it out.  Just not a continuous rep flow.  But the rest of the routine was actually pretty good.  I almost lost it on the Combo Set, but I stuck it out all the way to the end.  By this time I was feeling really spent and burned out, so I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to do the Decline Push-Ups, but to my surprise, I was still able to pump them out.  The only big increase was on the Russian Twist.  For some reason, I was able to jump from 26 reps last time to 40 reps this time, and that was in 30-seconds, feet up, with a 10 kg dumbbell. I guess my abs are getting stronger... or my range of motion was a lot smaller.  Oh, and no Calf Raises again today because my legs were still tired from Bulk: Legs on Tuesday.  But I finished off with a good Anabolic Stretch on my chest.

The good thing about Round FOUR (and the rest of the Bulk Phase) is that I think I'll be able to up my resistance workouts to three a week for August because this is the last week of school so I will have more time to workout because Summer Vacation starts next week.  So no more Mondays off.  Monday is now going to be a resistance day in the morning.

This being the beginning of a new round, I start a new Ab routine.  I was looking to up the intensity so what better than Insanity: Cardio Abs.  There is one routine that I am itching to try that I haven't actually done yet.  Maybe for round 5 or 6.  Stay curious!  But Cardio Abs was back to Cardio to start and then the Crunchless moves.  It really upped the ante from X2 Abs with the "Activation" principle.  All those reps in the C-Sit position, I was dying and burning!  It was brutal.  I have four more runs so hopefully, I can improve my showing.

Topped off the workout with a good Flow Series of balanced time and flow.

In the end, I burned a good 783 kcals. 

7-25-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

7-25-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Today was supposed to be on the hard courts, but due to a summer festival in the area, and the fact that there would be no parking around the courts, forced us to move the practice session to another facility which just happened to be the indoor facility.  Unfortunately, there is no convection in the indoor facility so it was like a steam sauna there.  So, again, in order to preserve my shoes from becoming the intake of a sweat-falls, I used the spandex.  It worked like a charm.  I was also using a new Arm sleeve to keep the sweat from my arm in check so it wouldn't drip down past my wristband and soak the grip on my racket.  Also worked well, but I still had to switch rackets almost midway through.

There was a new record of 24 people in attendance but luckily there were two courts and we kept a good rotating pace so there was a lot of good practice.  The menu was regular but I am now in preparation mode as of last Sunday so every stroke, every rally, every service is, in my mind, in a real game situation.  I have just over three weeks to prepare and I have to up my mental game and not give in to fear, doubt, or pressure.

Here is a picture of my serve.  It is supposed to be a GIF, but it doesn't seem to be moving.

In the end, I burned 1477 kcals.

7-24-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

7-24-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

Final workout of Round 3.

Only a few changes in the weights today from last time.  Most of the changes either came at the beginning lighter weights or the heavy weights.  Like in the first set, I upped the first two sets but kept the heavy set the same.   In the next Progressive Set, I upped only the light weights, etc.  The only set where I upped all the weights was the first Super Set.  My legs were really feeling it today.  There were definitely shaking by the end of the Progressive Set.  I hit the limit of the Calf Raises for the left leg.  I almost cramped out, but I was able to hold it in check.

All the other routines were fine.  I still didn't make it to the end of the Static Hold Bicycles, but I made it to the 12th rep before tapping out.

In the end, I burned up a good 1003 kcals.  On to Round 4.

7-22-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

7-22-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

On Saturday night, a notice was circulated around the Tennis Club that there would be a tennis tournament on August 19.  I usually play tournaments with my son, but he is scheduled to still be in Tokyo on that day so I put it out there that I wanted to play and if anyone wanted to be my partner, just let me know.  Within seconds, one of the elite players in the club responded with a resounding, "I'll play with you!"  So it was set.  I would be playing with one of the Elites.  I was hoping he would step up, so I was happy.

So, today, instead of the regular menu, we started right off with matches.  Gaku (my new doubles partner) and I paired up and played a young team.  We demolished them to LOVE.  Then, just to keep things interesting, we split the teams and played again.  This time I lost at 2.  Gaku and I paired up again to play another young good team and again, we destroyed them.  Again, to LOVE.  It was good to play with Gaku so we can learn each other's style and movement patterns.  We played several more matches and we won all the matches we played together to LOVE.  I did get in some serving practice, but aside from that, it was all match play.  My serve was extremely erratic.  I would serve a couple awesome, unreturnable serves, then turn around and hit a string of double-faults.  Just not happy with that.  But the highlight of the day was during the last match.  We were playing Mixed Doubles, Gaku's partner was a young woman that he has paired with a lot in the past and in tournaments so they play well together.  While my partner was a senior citizen, Gaku's partner's mother.  She was a former State Champion, but due to age...  Anyway, we were down Love-4 and it was my serve.  I quickly went to LOVE-40.  But I didn't give up, I hit a lot of good points in the end, and I eventually won that service game.  It is almost like a miracle for me to come back from LOVE-40 down.  It felt really good.

In the end, I burned 2102 kcals.

7-20-18 (Friday) HY: PU/PU Challenge + Pickle-Ball.

7-20-18 (Friday) HY: PU/PU Challenge + Pickle-Ball.

I again went to the gym early to set everything up and get my Challenge reps done and dusted.  Just 5 sets of 7 reps of the different variations.  Good little pump me up to start the session.

It was sort of an up/down day.  In the first game, I jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but couldn't maintain it.  John slowly but surely came almost all the way back, but I finally was able to close it out 15-13.  The second game was a little different in that we were pretty close all the way to 11-8.  A lot of lead changes and such. Then I just put it away with some crisp volleying and shot-making, 15-11.  Those two games were the first games in three weeks that John made it to a double-digit score.  The next two games brought him back down to a single-digit score, 8 and 3 respectively for the last two games.  But in the middle of the last game, I felt the sweat-gates open and the sweat just started pouring down my legs and into my shoes.  YUCH!!!  Also, at the beginning of the third game, I felt like I hit a slight wall and my legs just started feeling really weak and tired.  I had to really push to keep myself going.  I felt better in the final game, but still not at 100%.  But the most important streak for me now is the Consecutive Win Streak.  I'd have to check to make sure, but I don't think I have lost a game to John in almost two months.  It was a good day.

In the end, I burned a good 1226 kcals.

7-19-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Shoulders + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

7-19-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Shoulders + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

Another morning workout on an empty stomach.  I am still extremely surprised that I don't feel starved during these morning workouts.

Anyway, I really like doing Bulk: Shoulders in the morning because it is a shorter workout, but I can get a good burn and work a lot of tertiary muscles.  I kept the same weights as before for the most part and I hit the Limit on more moves today, especially during the last Progressive Set.  I really wanted to keep good form today, and for the most part, I crushed it.

Check out the worksheet below for the specific numbers. 

After my Anabolic Stretch, went right to Abs.  I'm still gassing out at Abernom and midway through the final move, Static Hold Bicycles.  But I got to 10 reps this time.

I was able to pump out the Pull-Ups and Push-Ups for today's Challenge.  And I topped off the workout with a good Flow Series.

In the end, I burned a modest 712 kcals.  Actually, a little more than I had expected.

7-18-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

7-18-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Third time at the Kamoike Public Courts and I love the hard courts, but I'm finding out that most of the other members don't like the hard courts.  Too Bad! I really like them because I can feel the ground keeping stable. 

I was kind of the savior tonight because I took two baskets of balls on Sunday and those baskets were the only baskets that were in play tonight.  The two other baskets didn't show up.  Also, there were over 20 people who came tonight so on the two courts there was a good amount of waiting.  The menu was the same as usual, but we were rotating in and out pretty quickly.  I was riding a good wave, hitting a good series at times then just unable to control the ball at others.  So it was an average evening.

Here is a shot from the video:

As you can see, I was giving the long spandex a try again.  And because of the humid conditions, I was spared the waterfalls of sweat into my shoes.  I need to burn through these mediocre practices and get more consistent.

In the end, I burned a good 1551 kcals.  Back to normal with the burn on Wednesday nights.

7-17-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Arms + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

7-17-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Arms + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + PU/PU Challenge + TCF.

I thought I was going to go a little lighter today, but I was feeling really good, so I actually went up on a few of the moves.  But for the most part, I stayed with the previous weight.  See the worksheet below for the numbers.  By the time I got to the last Progressive Set, I was burning out.  Triceps were on fire and those 5's were weighing a ton.  All around good routine and by extension, good workout.

The Anabolic stretch was good.  I tried to go up to 3kgs for the light load, but even that was too heavy, so I stayed at 2kgs.  Worked on both Triceps and Biceps.

Moving into Abs, I'm still not able to get through the whole routine without a break, but I got close.  The Abernome and the Bicycle Hold cramped me out.  Had to take a break.

Ended with Day 17 of the PU/PU Challenge that really pumped me up.  And the usual Flow Series.

In the end, I burned a good 702 kcals.  It was a good burn for upper body and just Arms.

7-16-18 (Monday) Yardwork.

7-16-18 (Monday) Yardwork.

Today was a National Holiday, but we had a normal day of work.  But I didn't have my night class.  That makes two weeks in a row with no Monday night class.  I'm getting spoiled.  I was fully intending to do a regular resistance workout when I got home, but once again, I changed my plan because of the weather.  The weather was beautiful so I decided that I needed to cut the jungle that is my yard.  I hadn't touched it since before rainy season started and the weedy grass was almost chest high.  Also, I just bought a new hand mower and I was excited to try it out.  It took some doing to get it assembled, but once it was all put together, I was a mowing maniac.  Unfortunately, the grass and weeds were way too long for the little hand mower to affectively cut the blades down to size so I had to get the weed-wacker out and cut the long stuff down to about 7-10 cm.  Then, I was able to adjust the cutting depth and do some real damage.  It worked like a charm.  It was almost sunset by the time I finished so that was it for my workout today.  Plus, mosquitos had a buffet of my blood so I was pretty itchy.  I even had a bite on my lower lip. OUCH!  I wasn't wearing my HRM so not calorie count today.  But I would guess I burned around 400-500 kcals.  Not a bad day's work.

7-15-18 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + PU/PU Challenge.

7-15-18 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + PU/PU Challenge.

The last couple tennis sessions were in extremely humid conditions.  And because of those conditions, the sweat would pour down my leg and puddle in my shoes.  I was told that long spandex would help with that problem.  So, I decided to give it a try.  More on that later.

There were only about 12 members today (we assumed that it was because of the heat that people didn't come) so we did something a little different.  The two courts were split, one court was Volley/Stroke and the other was Serve/Return.  We did that for a little more than an hour and then we  started to play games.  While two games were going, there were 4 people waiting.  So, basically, we were trading courts and switching partners.  As time went on, some people came and some left but games kept on going.  Today, I had a perfect record.  I won all my matches with whoever was my partner, and I won all my service games with a wicked slice serve working on the Deuce court.

It was a great day.

In the end, I burned a good 2341 kcals.  I was too tired to do the PU/PU Challenge right after tennis, so I did it later in the evening.  Still got in all the reps.

7-13-18 (Friday) HY: PU/PU Challenge + Pickle-Ball.

7-13-18 (Friday) HY:  PU/PU Challenge + Pickle-Ball.

I got to the gym a little earlier than usual today because I wanted to get the Pull-Ups done and dusted.  I was pumped up and ready to play.  I was feeling good, and I played the way I felt.  After the last session, I really wanted to make up for that disappointment.  Long story short, we ended up playing FIVE games because I summarily dismantled John.  Today was my day and John didn't score more than 8 points in any of the games.  The point totals were between 3 and 8 points.  The worst of the games were the last two.  I was just on FIRE!  I was chasing down balls like crazy.  There weren't any, if any, WOW shots, but play was solid, fundamental.  I had a great time, but I'm not too sure about John.

In the end, I burned 1265 kcals.  A good day's burn.

7-12-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + TCF + PU/PU Challenge.

7-12-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + Anabolic Stretch + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + TCF + PU/PU Challenge.

I was a little nervous about this routine because to me, this is the toughest routine in the Bulk Phase.  But once I actually get started, things are pretty smooth.  The first Super Set wasn't that much different.  I faded a bit on the Pull-Ups, but did all the Rips.  I went up a little bit in weight on the following Progressive Set.  Just 1.25 kgs.  Felt good, but just about hit failure on the reverse progression, but not quite.  As per the notation last time, I went up by 1.25 kgs for the Force Set.  Here too, just about hit Failure, but barely made it.  On the next Single Set, I wanted to go even heavier on the Drop Set, and I tried to go up to 31 kgs, but I couldn't balance my 2 kg dumbbell and it fell off.  So, keeping safety in mind, I stuck with the 30 kgs. for the heavy weight but only went down 2 kgs for the lighter weight.  That was a tough set.  I kept the same weights and what not for the final Super Set.  But I was able to up the Rep Count to 12 reps on the Plank Rotation within the time limit.

The Anabolic stretch was tough, but I got it in.  I wasn't going to do the hang, so the Pullover Hold was the move.  It took a bit to find the actual Back stretch, but it was good once I found it.

I was able to get through the Ab routine today with an average amount of Burning and Moaning.  Those moves are still really tough, and the Activation is a chore.  I wasn't able to make it through all  20 reps of the Iso Bike,  only got to 10 reps.  By the end of this round, I want to get through all 20 reps.

I finished with a good Flow Series. but then remembered the PU/PU Challenge and eventually knocked out the required reps.

In the end, I burned 690 kcal.  A good average burn, but way above average Burn!

7-11-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

7-11-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Today, the weather was almost perfect for tennis except for the humidity.  One big difference was the venue for the practice session.  For the first time, I got to play at the newly resurfaced Kamoike Public courts.  They are all hard courts so it was like coming home.  Everyone was worried that playing on the hard surface would make them more tired than on the Omni courts, but for me, I actually felt a little more energized.  Movement without sliding came back to me pretty quickly.  I didn't get a sense for what everyone else was feeling about the surface, but I hope everyone liked it so we can play there every Wednesday.

The menu was the same, starting with Volley/Stroke.  I went to volley first and got to do it the whole time.  The next round went up to three people so I was happy to have gotten in a good volley session.  For Serve/Return, I usually like to Return first so I can have uninterrupted serving practice in the next rounds, but people beat me to the spot so I started off serving.  But it worked out because there wasn't enough time to go for a second round, so I still got my serving in.  During the Serve round, I went up against one of the Elite and beat him at his own game.  I was so happy that I could out volley him.  Thankful for the extended volley practice today.

Finally, we went to game sims. I was also able to play well there because I was active and moved well.  Footwork was also good.  NO SAND!!!

I was leaving puddles everywhere I stood and remnants of raindrops where ever I played because the sweat was just pouring off of me.

In the end, I burned a good 1654 kcals.  Happy to be at and over 1500 for the Wednesday sessions.

7-10-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + Anabolic Stretch - Chest + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + TCF.

7-10-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + Anabolic Stretch - Chest + P90X2 - X2 Ab Ripper + TCF.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I've done two resistance days in a row.  But there was no problem because yesterday was Legs and today is Chest.  No worries, and my legs are not that sore either so it's all good.

Today, I'm starting the third round of the Bulk phase.  There are 6 rounds in all so I'm almost halfway through.  I'm going through a big change in my methodology, though.  The last two times I went through the Chest routine, my form totally SUCKED!!!  I knew it, but I was too worried about keeping the weight at or higher than before.  This time, I'm thinking about and focusing on PERFECT FORM.  Plus, Since I was activating tertiary muscles to aid in the lifting of the too heavy weights, I wasn't able to really hit my target muscles.  I'm not going to write out all the changes here because you can just look at the worksheet.  I went down where I needed to and stayed when I needed to.  But as you can see, I needed to go way down in order to be able to activate my Chest muscles.  I also really wanted to pace myself so I could do the Push-Ups at the end.  The last two times I went through Bulk: Chest I couldn't hardly get one full Push-Up done.  This time, I did all the reps without stopping.  I also went all the way down on each rep.  But I was dying at the end of each set.  My form was fine, but my breathing was terrible.  I had to bear down to get it done.  But this was a much better pace for me.  Oh, and I didn't do any additional Calf Raises this time since I had done a ton yesterday.

I was able to do the Anabolic stretch on my chest, but it hit a lot of places around my chest as well.

New Round means new Ab routine.  This round I have chosen P90X2's X2 Ab Ripper.  And I could not get through it.  Those static holds are brutal after each rep.  Major burn and major moaning.  I took several small breaks throughout the routine.  Without them, I probably would have cramped up.

In the end, I burned 682 kcal.  Glad to be going down in weight and focusing on form.  I really need to watch my mechanics for each move so I don't injure myself.

7-09-18 (Monday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Anabolic Stretch: Legs + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

7-09-18 (Monday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Anabolic Stretch: Legs + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

Today is a Monday and I'm working out!  Basically, I don't have my night class tonight, so I'm free!  Excited to get a workout in on Monday.

After the last time, I decided to not go up in weights for my legs. What happened last time was that my legs were actually fine the next day, but the day after that, I was in pain with every step, and it just happened to be Pickle-Ball day so I was dying with every step and lunge for the ball. (But I still won 3 out of 4 games.)  But I did actually end up going up on a few moves and sets.  As you can see below, I went up on the last set of the first move, but only by 1 kg.  I went up on the middle weight for the next Progressive set, but only by 1.25kgs.   I went up by 2.5kgs on the Force Set, and it was actually fine.  On the next Progressive Set, I went up only on the Heavy weight by 1kg.  I also went up on the Drop Set of the first move in the Super Set, and on the second move, I went up on the last set.  No upping the weight for the Calf Raises, but I was able to get to 50 reps without stopping.  Although my calves were BURNING at the end.  Again, I did the double, or both legs in each round.  Hoping all will be well the second day.

The Anabolic Stretch was really tough today because it is a weighted balance move.  I'm in the Single Leg Straight Leg Deadlift position.  I wanted to hold it for One Minute, but I could only take 30 seconds with a 30-second rest.  For five rounds on each leg.  I like the Anabolic work, but I'm wondering if it will actually have any effect on my muscle growth and sculpting.  But for now, I'll keep doing it.

Abs were fine, but I am still getting my moaning on from the burn.  Abs are just so frustrating.  I can sense them getting stronger, but I can't see the results because of my FRACKING HARD TO GET RID OF BELLY FAT!!!  But I can't stop now.  Topped it all off with a good Flow series.

In the end, I burned a good 910 kcals.  Pretty much what I expected from Leg Day.  Actually, it was a bigger burn than I expected.

7-08-18 (Sunday) Tennis + PU/PU Challenge.

7-08-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

There was a ton of rain over the weekend so tennis was moved from the outdoor facility to the indoor facility.  But unfortunately, there was only one court for three hours.   Menu was basically the same, but things moved extremely slowly.  For some reason, whenever we play at the indoor facility, people seem to creep out of the woodwork and come to practice.  There was another 16 people on just one court for three hours.  No games, but a pretty long Game Sim period to get everyone playing.  Because of the rain, the gym was extremely humid and I sweat like a waterfalls.  By the end of the session, my shoes were soaked, like I had jumped into a pool with my shoes on.  But since it was in the afternoon, I brought my change and I took a nice shower at the gym.  Refreshing!

Today was not a rest day, but I got home late and so I did the PU/PU without the HRM later in the evening.

In the end, I burned only 1510 kcals.  Way off my usual Sunday Tennis calorie burn.

7-06-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

7-06-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

Fridays are huge for me because I look forward to Pickle-Ball so much.  But today was a day that I could have done without.  Long story short, I still swept all the games, four games in all, but the way I got to the wins was so messy and junky, it was more frustrating and disappointing than glory in victory.

The first game was a usual warm-up game, and I was making the regular handful of errors but played pretty cleanly.  I didn't hit any "Incredible" shots in this game.  A lot of my points were off of John's errors.  My serve was pretty unreturnable for most of the day. Or at least John wasn't able to return many of my serves.  Game One score was 15-9.  In game two, things started to fall apart, but it wasn't really noticeable.  The one big thing was that the number of longer rallies was really low.  Most of the points were less than five strokes.  Again, many were just bad returns of serve.  I started to hit my forehands into the net a little more, but not so much as to cause alarm.   I hit some really good serves that cut a really tight angle.  The Game Two score was 15-11.  Game three is where it totally unraveled.  Right from the start of the game, I was unable to keep anything over the net or in the court.  It was so bad that I was down by 3-12.  But lucky for me, John seemed to fold as well.  My serve also started to shank.  I hit more faults in this game alone than did in all the other games this week and last week combined.  It was just mind-boggling.   Then, this happened at least 10 times.  I would hit a great wide serve, I would get the return I expected, but then I would shank it into the net or out.  And the opposite court was wide open.  But I was able to chip away and the lead, finally taking the game 15-12.   The final game was going to be a blowout, I had a 13-2 lead, then I just couldn't score, and John came back to 6 points, but then I finally closed out the match.  In that disastrous third game, every time I hit a bad shot, I would say something like, "COME ON!", or "NO!".  But finally, I just shut up and got down to business.  I would say nothing on my bad shots and just play.  I think I was able to concentrate and focus more when I wasn't distracted by my own commentary.

In the end, I burned 1031 kcal.  I hope to be a lot better the next time you return.

7-05-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Shoulders + Anabolic Stretch - Shoulders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + PU/PU Challenge - Day 5 + TCF.

7-05-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Shoulders + Anabolic Stretch - Shoulders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + PU/PU Challenge - Day 5 + TCF.

Before my morning workout, I started drinking the Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda Fat-Burn drink just to see if it works.  Not a bad taste, but we'll see what it does.  I really hope it works.

Since I still had a little soreness in my shoulders, I decided, as with the other routines, to keep the same weights.  I was able to do all the sets, but was starting to burnout during the second Super Set.    But just before that started, I made a mistake on the last set of the Progressive set.  Last time I started it with 6 kgs, but ended with 8.75 kgs.  This time I started with 6 kgs and ended with 6kgs.  When I saw that I ended with 8.75 kgs, I went ahead and did that set also.  So I got an extra set in there.  As for the Super Set, as per notation, I upped the weight a bit, and was at my limit by the third set with only 6.25 kgs.  I hit failure on both moves of the Super Set.  OUCH!!!  I must have been pretty worn out because I hit failure with the same weights on the Reverse Fly Progressive Set.  But finally, I was able to up my rep count for the Plank Twist on both rounds.  I'm going for it next time!  Shoulders were fried!

I got my Anabolic Stretch in for the shoulders in but it seemed to stretch only one set of shoulder muscles instead of the three, but I'll stick with the program and see what happens.  Maybe it is stretching without me noticing.

Ab work was a bit better this time as well.  Got through with some moaning and groaning and burning, so it is pushing the work.  Followed by the Push/Pull-Up Challenge.  And capping it off with another smooth and clean Flow series.

In the end, I burned a nice 638 kcals.  Again, pretty much on par for a Shoulder workout.

7-04-18 (Wednesday) Tennis + Push-Up/Pull-Up Challenge Day 4.

7-04-18 (Wednesday) Tennis + Push-Up/Pull-Up Challenge Day 4.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that I started the 30-Day Push-up/Pull-Up Challenge again because I felt that I was losing strength in those muscles and exercises.  I probably won't keep to the schedule religiously, but I'll get most of the sets in through out the month and then keep on doing sets through each week to maintain a good level of strength.  But anyway...

Today was a rainy day, so we had our practice session at the indoor facility.  Unfortunately we only had one court.  On top of that, there was a record 19 people at the session, so there was a lot of time between hits.  The menu was the same as usual, and I was pretty erratic on my strokes.  Volleys were okay, but that is about it.  Not much to say about today with all that going on.

When I got home, I quickly went to the Pull-Up bar and knocked out the required number of Pull-Ups and do the Push-Ups before taking a shower.  Already feeling better and stronger about each rep.  Endurance is still an issue.  I still burnout way to fast.

In the end, I burned a nice 1565 kcals.  Pretty much par for Wednesday Tennis.

7-03-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Arms + Anabolic Stretch - Biceps & Triceps + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

7-03-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Arms + Anabolic Stretch - Biceps & Triceps + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

I was feeling a bit of soreness in my shoulders so I decided to keep the same weights overall.  But for the Hammer Curls I felt the need to go down a bit in the weight.  You can see the worksheet for the numbers.  Even with the lower weight, I was still hitting failure on the back half of the Progressive Set: Hammer Curls.  Biceps are really weak compared to the other muscles I work.  The one rise in weight I had was the final move, Weighted Crunch.  I actually went up to 10kgs.  I used a dumbbell instead of plates, so I held the weight on my chest instead of behind my head.  In that position, I was able to use a heavier weight.  So, I guess I should keep using the plates, but I wanted to try it with a dumbbell.

I finally found the Anabolic Stretch program so I did the stretch for both my biceps and triceps.  I did five sets of a one minute hold and a 30 second rest for both.  I could really feel the pull.  I actually felt pretty good to stretch with a load.

Abs were better today than last time.  I was able to get through the whole program without a break, but with moaning and burning.  And I also got in a good Flow series to cap off my workout.

In the end, I burned a good 713 kcals.  Not bad for Arms.

7-01-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

7-01-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

Today was hot, but not as hot as it could have been.  There was some rain earlier in the week, but it cleared up from yesterday and today was still relatively not burning hot, but still "hot".  The menu was pretty much the same as usual, but we took about an hour for match play.  It was a good day.  I won all my matches, and won all my service games except for one.  I was able to get out of some jams, like being 15-40 down on my serve.  I was able to bear down and hit some good serves to get back to even.  I'm feeling the groove a lot more recently so I am pretty happy.

In the end, I burned a good 1953 kcal.  Since we played more matches today I waited some so the count is still below 2000.

6-29-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

6-29-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

Today was a good day.  I was able to pretty much do what I wanted.  I got another sweep.  I felt bad again because John hasn't won a game in a long time.  I'm just getting better and better.  I am sure that the tennis is helping my Pickle-Ball game a lot in that I am able to focus on the ball a lot better and strike the ball solidly.

This is the first time for me to not allow double-digits to my opponent.  I was able to keep him to all single digits.  But at the same time, every game, there are a few places where we just sort of get stuck and can't progress past a certain score.  In the past, the one who breaks the stalemate usually goes on to win the game.  Recently, that person is me.  I got the 15 points, but here are the point totals for John: 6-8-4-7.  John made the comment that I raised my game to another level.  I think I agree with that assessment.

In the end, I burned a good 1221 kcal.  I'm going to have to do something so John can enjoy something during our sessions as well.  If he keeps losing, I'm afraid he won't want to play anymore.

6-28-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

6-28-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Back + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

I totally had everything going this morning, but my HRM had a problem so I got no calorie burn count today.  Very unhappy.  This isn't the first time this has happened, and whenever it does, I sort of feel like I wasted my workout.  I know I burned calories but without a number it doesn't seem real.  I know, it's stupid, but a huge motivational factor for me is seeing that number at the end of each workout.

I pretty much kept the same weights as the last time on the 12th.  I was happy that I could do 10 reps on the first two sets of Pull-Ups, and then one more initially on the third set than last time.  That is a huge positive for me.  I went up a little on the Force Set because of the "light" notation from the previous time.  13.25kgs seems to work because by the fourth set, I was really feeling it.  If I go up to 14.5kgs, I definitely think I will hit failure by the 4th set.  I also went up big on the Drop Set of the Dead Lift.  I went up to 30kgs.  This time I balanced my 4kg dumbbell and hung my 1kg hand-weight.  Balancing them was a bit tricky, but it workout pretty well.  I could really feel the difference 5kgs makes.  Then for the Drop, I switched out the 4kg weight for the 2kg weight.  The final rise was on the Plank Rotation, first set.  I went up to 7.5kgs on the first set, and kept it for the second.  Still only 10 reps.  I was pretty tired and winded by the final rep.

For some reason, my abs were really taxed today.  I wasn't able to hold the Clock Work rotations off the ground.  I had to come down for a rest.  And then a few time afterwards, I had to break.  Unlike last time, when I went all the way through with Chalene and no breaks.  Maybe my abs are weaker in the mornings. Who knows?

In the end, due to the HRM Malfunction, I have not calorie count.  Overall a good solid workout today.

6-27-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

6-27-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

HUMID HUMID HUMID!!!!

We played at Kenko no Mori Park today.  The temps were nice, but the humidity was stifling.  Sweat started to pour out of my body as soon as I started to move.  But my strokes themselves were pretty good today except for the fact that I couldn't maintain a long rally.  But the one thing that I was happy about tonight was the fact that I was able to overpower one of the elite but older players in the club.  He likes picking on me, so I was happy to give him a whopping!

The session menu was the usual with an extra long Point Simulation.

In the end, I burned a good 1704 kcal.  But a lot was due to the humidity and the sweating.

6-26-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

6-26-18 (Tuesday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Chest + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + TCF.

I started Round TWO of the Bulk Phase today.  And I return to Chest.  I really wanted to increase the weight today, but I had a little bit of a kink in my shoulders so I decided to keep the same weight as last time.  Today is the Orange numbers.  Right away I felt that today was going to be a tough day.  I felt the weight was too heavy from the second round of the first super set.  I couldn't go to 22kgs on the Drop Set, and even the lower weight pushed me to my limit.  I got taken to the limit again on the Force Set, set 5.  Then again, I hit the limit on the Progressive Set going down.  I was pushed to the limit on the last two sets.  Again to the limit on the final round of the Combo Set.  I couldn't make it to 8 reps.  On the Multi Set, I was absolutely dying on the Decline Push-Ups.  Again, totally burned out. I could only go halfway down on the first two rounds, then only one-third on the final set.  Each to limit.  Then, I did a couple sets of Calf Raises just to keep them in good shape.  Talk about BURN!

I wanted to start the second round adding the Anabolic stretching, but I couldn't find the PDF on my iPad. So I didn't do it.  I will start it as soon as I find the PDF.

My Ab routine for this round is the ChaLEAN Extreme routine, "Extreme Abs".  I was pretty happy that I was able to get all the way through it without too much doubling-over burn.  But it was a nice change from last round.

Topped everything off with a series of Tai Cheng Flows.

In the end, I burned 910 kcal.  A lot for this workout.

6-24-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

6-24-18 (Sunday) Tennis.

HOT HOT HOT!!!  We were worried that it might be rainy today, but it turned out to be a really clear day with relatively few clouds in the sky.  It was humid and hot in the sun.  It is not so hot because the shade still offers some relief.  So whenever possible, we stood in the shade.

Today's menu was the usual line up. Stroke/Volley and Serve/Return.  We also got some matches in.  I was on fire today.  In the first match, I lost my first service game, but after that, I was a rock.  For the first time, I won all the matches I played.  My serve was clicking as well.  I was so happy that I was able to hammer one of my rocket serves in at the body of one of the best members for a winner.  I'm still having trouble getting the Deuce Court wide serve to cut out.  But I am getting better at handling the pressure.  No dink serves, and no double faults on game points.  I did hit a few double faults, but they were at the beginnings of games, none at a critical point of the game.  All around good day today.

In the end, I burned 2026 kcal.  Since we took almost the full last hour for matches, I was watching matches a couple times.  For this reason, I only burned just over 2000 kcals today.

6-22-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

6-22-18 (Friday) Pickle-Ball.

When I woke up, my legs were a little sore, but not as bad as I thought they would be.  Famous last thoughts.  As the morning progressed, they got stiffer and stiffer.  The worst thing was trying to get out of my car after the hour long drive to work.  The sitting position just killed me.  Then moving after that was like torture.  I went to the gym a little early to try and move and stretch.  It helped a little, but the usual lunging for shots was rather painful.  During the warm-up I was constantly trying to stifle the groans and moans of pain.  But for some reason, and I'm really not sure how this happened, I totally dominated in the first two games with incredible shot making and movement.  I took the first two games with ease: 15-3, and 15-4.  But then in game three, things got a lot closer and John edged in front, and I was constantly trying to catch up.  But in the end, he just got too far for me to catch and he took the game 12-15.  But then I came back in the fourth and final game and took command back. 15-8.  But it was a chore to move after that.

In the end, I burned 970 kcal.  It was a good day, but I'll have to rethink the schedule of when I do Legs.

6-21-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Beast: Abs + TCF.

6-21-18 (Thursday) HY: Body Beast - Bulk: Legs + Beast: Abs + TCF.

I didn't do Build: Legs because I figured all the squats and lunges I was doing during tennis and Pickle-Ball were more than enough to get a good leg workout.  But, I figured I'd give it a try today since I had the opening in my schedule and it was a relatively short routine.  Also, I didn't want to do incredibly heavy weights so I stuck with the lighter end of what I usually do with legs, or so I figured from my memory.

As you can see from the worksheet below, I kept it pretty light. The progressive set went up to 22 kgs. so not so heavy.  Then 12 kgs for the Force Set, I figured it was pretty easy but I started to feel the need to push.  Right around the second Progressive Set I was starting to feel the strain.  As you can see, the weights were getting lighter and lighter as the moves got harder and harder.  I was really dying on the second to last Super Set.  That Alternating Side Squat really hammered my inner thighs.  But before that, the Stiff Leg Deadlift was brutal.  I used lighter weights than usual, but they ended up being almost too heavy because I was really trying to activate my hamstrings.  And BOY did I ever.  On the final Super Set, I did double of everything.  Not only one side per round.  On the Calf Raises, I couldn't make it to 50 reps, so I split it into two sets to get the 50 reps.  The second set was sort of like the Breakdown set in ChaLEAN Extreme.  Just a little more to push a little further.  I did both right and left in both rounds, hence, double.  For the Beast Abs, I didn't do the spelling backwards, instead I did a mirror spelling.  It makes a lot more sense to do it that way to even the movement out.

By the end of this routine, I was feeling the soreness setting in already.  I was really nervous about what was going to happen to me tomorrow and the Pickle-Ball.  Would I be able to move at all?

In the end, I burned 879 kcals.  Great work out which led me to the decision to keep doing Bulk Legs in the rotation.

6-20-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

6-20-18 (Wednesday) Tennis.

Rainy Season is in Full-Swing now.  I was hoping to play outside today, and the member in charge of reserving courts was only able to get one court for Wednesday's practice.  No warm-up, just starting right off.  It was better than the last time we had no warm-up, but it took some time to get my timing.  But once I did, I was feeling pretty good.  But the feeling went up and down.  At times I was stroking the ball very nicely, and at other times, I was junking it into the net.  I rarely over hit now as an unforced error.  Most of my errors in into the net or wide because of my slow reaction time.  But tonight was about as good as I could expect.  I almost didn't go tonight, but I didn't want to go more than one week without playing tennis.

In the end, I burned 765 kcal.  I'm hoping that Sunday's weather will be good enough to play the full time.