March 31, 2019, Sunday - Tennis.
Today was a beautiful day. The weather was sunny with a little cloud cover, but it was cold and windy. Not like two Sundays ago, but windy enough to stop play a bit. Only 14 people today, so a lot of matches after some regular drills and some feed drills for volleying.
I played two and a half matches today. I won both matches and we were tied 2-2 in the third match before time forced the end.
In the first match, I was paired with a former partner. And we crushed the opponent, 4-1. Not a lot of flashy shots, but a lot of solid strokes and net play. In my second match, I was paired with a guy who worked in the US for a few years so we could communicate in English. Here again, we crushed our opponents 4-0. In the third match, Everyone lost their serve so we tied at 2-2.
Although it was windy, I could play well. The funny thing is that if it wasn't windy, a lot of the awesome lobs I hit may very well have gone out. Today, my lob was ON!!! I hit like 8 lobs in the three matches and they were high and close to the line, and all in, and all for points. Another shot that was really working was the backhand service return slice drop shot. I was able to get some good spin and drop them into the middle of the tram lines about a meter to two meters from the net. I felt on in a lot of ways. But the one way that I wish I would have felt more "on" was with my basic stroke. I just didn't feel it on my forehand today. I didn't feel confident about it. All in all, it was a good practice.
In the end, I burned a good 2084 kcals. Anything over two grand is a good Sunday.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
March 28-29, Two days of Yoga.
March 28 - 29, 2019, Thursday and Friday - P90X3: X3 Yoga + TCF.
I have really been feeling not good these past few days with the only respite being when I played tennis. In this condition, I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle the weights with the next today days in LIIFT4 being Legs/HIIT then Shoulders and Arms. Plus, my legs have been extremely gimpy as of late. After tennis on Wednesday, my left ankle has felt extremely sore and I have been limping around on it in the mornings and especially going up and down stairs. So I decided to hold off on the weights and do a recovery session period. So, on Thursday and Friday, I just did, as my main routine, X3 Yoga. It felt good to get back into some flexibility training since I have all but quit for a long time. On the first day, I was able to do the Wrap move on both sides relatively quickly, but on the second day, I wasn't able to get the right Wrap hooked in quickly to hold the pose for the full time, but I did eventually get it. The Left side was fine. But I definitely need to work on flexibility more.
I was glad to get this work in and take it easy on myself because of my condition.
In the end, on Thursday I burned 317 kcals, and on Friday I burned 309 kcals. Nice little burn for a recovery set.
I have really been feeling not good these past few days with the only respite being when I played tennis. In this condition, I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle the weights with the next today days in LIIFT4 being Legs/HIIT then Shoulders and Arms. Plus, my legs have been extremely gimpy as of late. After tennis on Wednesday, my left ankle has felt extremely sore and I have been limping around on it in the mornings and especially going up and down stairs. So I decided to hold off on the weights and do a recovery session period. So, on Thursday and Friday, I just did, as my main routine, X3 Yoga. It felt good to get back into some flexibility training since I have all but quit for a long time. On the first day, I was able to do the Wrap move on both sides relatively quickly, but on the second day, I wasn't able to get the right Wrap hooked in quickly to hold the pose for the full time, but I did eventually get it. The Left side was fine. But I definitely need to work on flexibility more.
I was glad to get this work in and take it easy on myself because of my condition.
In the end, on Thursday I burned 317 kcals, and on Friday I burned 309 kcals. Nice little burn for a recovery set.
March 27, Tennis Day.
March 27, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
It was another very odd evening practice session. I was announced that we had reserved THREE courts for the entire practice. Usually, it is just two, but since so many people came the last week, I think that they wanted to accommodate everyone and have everyone play. When I got to the courts, there were only six people there. Then a few more came a little later, but there ended up being only 12 people who came to the practice. Again, after about thirty minutes of warming up, (I had a really good warm-up. I hit with a member who is sort of a hacker type and we like to just crush the ball. So we were really going back and forth with a lot of power) we got into matches.
Anyway, the one big difference was that instead of playing to four games, we played a full set to six games. I've always wanted to do that so I was looking forward to the matches.
My first match was mixed doubles. Me and another good guy player each paired with an advanced beginner female. I have a complex when playing with beginners in that I can't bring myself to hit hard or away from them. And in that effort, I often hit too weak and the ball goes into the net. On top of that, my girl was the weaker of the two so that wasn't good. Anyway, we got crushed 1-6.
In my second match, I paired with the guy I had just played against. We played another pair of good members. We ended up losing 4-6, but it was a good match. Below is a video of my first service game. Kind of a mess, but I was able to close it out.
It was a good practice with match play on a Wednesday night. That almost never happens, but I hope it happens again!
In the end, I burned a good 1557 kcals. For these few hours, I was able to get my body strong with adrenaline and feel no ill effects from my cold. But when I got home, the tiredness and exhaustion soon set in.
It was another very odd evening practice session. I was announced that we had reserved THREE courts for the entire practice. Usually, it is just two, but since so many people came the last week, I think that they wanted to accommodate everyone and have everyone play. When I got to the courts, there were only six people there. Then a few more came a little later, but there ended up being only 12 people who came to the practice. Again, after about thirty minutes of warming up, (I had a really good warm-up. I hit with a member who is sort of a hacker type and we like to just crush the ball. So we were really going back and forth with a lot of power) we got into matches.
Anyway, the one big difference was that instead of playing to four games, we played a full set to six games. I've always wanted to do that so I was looking forward to the matches.
My first match was mixed doubles. Me and another good guy player each paired with an advanced beginner female. I have a complex when playing with beginners in that I can't bring myself to hit hard or away from them. And in that effort, I often hit too weak and the ball goes into the net. On top of that, my girl was the weaker of the two so that wasn't good. Anyway, we got crushed 1-6.
In my second match, I paired with the guy I had just played against. We played another pair of good members. We ended up losing 4-6, but it was a good match. Below is a video of my first service game. Kind of a mess, but I was able to close it out.
It was a good practice with match play on a Wednesday night. That almost never happens, but I hope it happens again!
In the end, I burned a good 1557 kcals. For these few hours, I was able to get my body strong with adrenaline and feel no ill effects from my cold. But when I got home, the tiredness and exhaustion soon set in.
March 26, Still feeling weak and tired from my cold.
March 26, 2019, Tuesday - Yard Work.
I was feeling pretty weak still today so I decided to take it a little easy and just do some yard work. The yard hadn't been manicured in almost 4 months and the weeds/grass was at "Bush" status. Plus, the weather was beautiful and I wanted to take advantage of that and be outside for a while. My wife tried to stop me because since my issues were coming from my lungs, mowing the lawn probably wasn't the best thing to do. But, I changed her mind. So, I wore my protective goggles and a surgical mask to keep out as many airborne particles from entering my lungs as possible and I got to it. It took me about 90 minutes and I was getting a good sweat on as well. And while I was doing the yard work, my quads were feeling a good burn from all the squatting and what not.
I didn't wear my HRM so I'm don't know how many calories I burned, but I would guess it was close to 350-400. It was a good nature workout and my lawn looks beautiful!
I was feeling pretty weak still today so I decided to take it a little easy and just do some yard work. The yard hadn't been manicured in almost 4 months and the weeds/grass was at "Bush" status. Plus, the weather was beautiful and I wanted to take advantage of that and be outside for a while. My wife tried to stop me because since my issues were coming from my lungs, mowing the lawn probably wasn't the best thing to do. But, I changed her mind. So, I wore my protective goggles and a surgical mask to keep out as many airborne particles from entering my lungs as possible and I got to it. It took me about 90 minutes and I was getting a good sweat on as well. And while I was doing the yard work, my quads were feeling a good burn from all the squatting and what not.
I didn't wear my HRM so I'm don't know how many calories I burned, but I would guess it was close to 350-400. It was a good nature workout and my lawn looks beautiful!
March 24, Sunday Tennis.
March 24, 2019, Sunday - Tennis.
Today, there were very few people. So, after doing a good warm up, we did a few quick drills, the regulars, and then played matches for almost two hours.
I don't remember all the details of the matches, but It was nice to get a lot of match play in. I played a total of four matches and my record on the day was 2-2. If I'm playing with a good player or someone at my level, we can usually win, but if I am clearly the superior player on the team, I have trouble leading the team to victory. This is somewhere that I need to improve on.
The wind was really blowing really hard all over the courts today so keeping the ball in play was rather tricky. We also had to stop play a few times because big billows of dust were being kicked up by the wind. I'm pretty sure I breathed in a lot of dust and ash and whatever else was in that wind. When I got home, I was feeling a little sick and I couldn't take a deep breath without coughing. So I ended up just taking short quick breaths. Not a good sign.
In the end, I burned a good 2343 kcals.
Today, there were very few people. So, after doing a good warm up, we did a few quick drills, the regulars, and then played matches for almost two hours.
I don't remember all the details of the matches, but It was nice to get a lot of match play in. I played a total of four matches and my record on the day was 2-2. If I'm playing with a good player or someone at my level, we can usually win, but if I am clearly the superior player on the team, I have trouble leading the team to victory. This is somewhere that I need to improve on.
The wind was really blowing really hard all over the courts today so keeping the ball in play was rather tricky. We also had to stop play a few times because big billows of dust were being kicked up by the wind. I'm pretty sure I breathed in a lot of dust and ash and whatever else was in that wind. When I got home, I was feeling a little sick and I couldn't take a deep breath without coughing. So I ended up just taking short quick breaths. Not a good sign.
In the end, I burned a good 2343 kcals.
March 22, X2 Yoga: Wrap Test time
March 22, 2019, Friday - P90X2 - X2 Yoga.
Success!!! I was able to do the wrap on both sides while barely hooking my fingers together!
I was sweating like crazy just as the Single, Double, Triple Flow started and I didn't stop until Corpse pose at the end.
Today, my Half-Moon pose on my right side was much more stable that it has been than in the past. Since I'm doing more yoga, I think I'm seeing a lot of improvement. It was nice to get a good long routine of yoga in. It's been a while.
In the end, I burned a good 444 kcals.
Success!!! I was able to do the wrap on both sides while barely hooking my fingers together!
I was sweating like crazy just as the Single, Double, Triple Flow started and I didn't stop until Corpse pose at the end.
Today, my Half-Moon pose on my right side was much more stable that it has been than in the past. Since I'm doing more yoga, I think I'm seeing a lot of improvement. It was nice to get a good long routine of yoga in. It's been a while.
In the end, I burned a good 444 kcals.
March 21, Starting final week (8) of LIIFT4.
March 21, 2019, Thursday - LIIFT4, Week 8, Day 1 - Chest and Back Circuit + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Block 1
Rotating Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Decline Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Dumbbell Pullover - 22 kgs
Wide Row - 12x2 kgs
I upped the weight on the first two moves, but kept the same weight on the third move, and then lowered the weight by .5 kgs on the last move. Odd weights, but I had to do it that way to keep the Block moving, or I would have had to really switch plates after every move and I just didn't want to take the time to do that. So, this block was good, but not a killer. I did try to active the target muscles a lot more, though.
Block 2
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs (upped 1.25 kgs)
Flys - 17x2 kgs (upped 2.5 kgs)
Dumbbell Rows - 17x2 kgs (same)
Reverse Flys - 7.5x2 kgs (upped 1.25 kgs)
This block was tough with almost all the weights raised over last time in week seven. The first round was the toughest because once I got warmed up, I was able to do the moves well. But I was close to failure in the last round.
Burnout
Push-Ups - 30 seconds
Back Extensions - 30 seconds
Wide Push-Ups - 30 seconds
I was able to do get through the first three-and-a-half Push-Up moves on my toes, but in the last move of the second round, I was spent. I had to go to my knees to finish it out. But I got back on my toes in the final round. I kept moving, but at a slower pace. The back ext. was no problem except for my range of motion. I just can't get my knees high off the ground at all.
Core Block
Dumbbell Prayer Crunch - 30 seconds
Floor to Ceiling Leg Lifts - 30 seconds
I got through all the rounds, but I was dying in the final round. I mean seriously tripping out from the strain. Very tough!
In the end, I burned a good 588 kcals. I was in sort of a time crunch so no Shoulder Care today.
Block 1
Rotating Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Decline Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Dumbbell Pullover - 22 kgs
Wide Row - 12x2 kgs
I upped the weight on the first two moves, but kept the same weight on the third move, and then lowered the weight by .5 kgs on the last move. Odd weights, but I had to do it that way to keep the Block moving, or I would have had to really switch plates after every move and I just didn't want to take the time to do that. So, this block was good, but not a killer. I did try to active the target muscles a lot more, though.
Block 2
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs (upped 1.25 kgs)
Flys - 17x2 kgs (upped 2.5 kgs)
Dumbbell Rows - 17x2 kgs (same)
Reverse Flys - 7.5x2 kgs (upped 1.25 kgs)
This block was tough with almost all the weights raised over last time in week seven. The first round was the toughest because once I got warmed up, I was able to do the moves well. But I was close to failure in the last round.
Burnout
Push-Ups - 30 seconds
Back Extensions - 30 seconds
Wide Push-Ups - 30 seconds
I was able to do get through the first three-and-a-half Push-Up moves on my toes, but in the last move of the second round, I was spent. I had to go to my knees to finish it out. But I got back on my toes in the final round. I kept moving, but at a slower pace. The back ext. was no problem except for my range of motion. I just can't get my knees high off the ground at all.
Core Block
Dumbbell Prayer Crunch - 30 seconds
Floor to Ceiling Leg Lifts - 30 seconds
I got through all the rounds, but I was dying in the final round. I mean seriously tripping out from the strain. Very tough!
In the end, I burned a good 588 kcals. I was in sort of a time crunch so no Shoulder Care today.
March 20, Tennis indoors.
March 20, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
Today was an odd day. I thought there would be only a few people because it was announced that there would only be one court from the second hour, but for some reason, there were almost 20 people there tonight. A lot of people who hadn't been in attendance for a long time. So, the practice was mostly regular drills, nothing out of the ordinary.
I was stroking the ball pretty well, so I was happy about that.
In the end, I burned a good 1423kcals. It was a good burn. Also, my legs were on fire most of the evening. I'm guessing because of the HIIT yesterday. Especially my left quads were on FIRE!
Today was an odd day. I thought there would be only a few people because it was announced that there would only be one court from the second hour, but for some reason, there were almost 20 people there tonight. A lot of people who hadn't been in attendance for a long time. So, the practice was mostly regular drills, nothing out of the ordinary.
I was stroking the ball pretty well, so I was happy about that.
In the end, I burned a good 1423kcals. It was a good burn. Also, my legs were on fire most of the evening. I'm guessing because of the HIIT yesterday. Especially my left quads were on FIRE!
March 19, Finishing off Week 7 of LIIFT4.
March 19, 2019, Tuesday - LIIFT4, wk7, d4: Full Body HIIT + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
This is the first time for this new routine style, Full Body HIIT. So I was interested to see how it would go and what moves it was made up of. So here is the rundown of today's routine. The times are a little different for each set, but there are still three rounds for each set. The times will be noted next to each move:
Block 1
Single Leg Plyo Jump: (60 seconds, 30 seconds each leg)
Push-Up Knee Tuck: (45 seconds)
I was still feeling a little gimpy in my right knee, so I reduced the range of motion on my right side just to be safe on the jumps. The Push-Up Knee Tucks seemed easy enough and at first, they were, but at one point in the second round, I felt like a little "pop" or a "Poof" feeling my left calf and from that point on, my left calf felt like it was just off. The muscle either got too... not flexed, but the opposite of flexed. It felt weird for several days afterward as well. I'm falling apart part by part.
Block 2
Squat Jacks: (45 seconds)
Triple Bear: (30 seconds)
All's I can say is thank goodness for the shorter times! I was able to make it all the way through, but that last Triple Bear was brutal.
Block 3
Double Plyo Push-Up: Triceps Push-Up to Regular Push-Up (30 seconds)
Squared Squats: (15 seconds)
The Push-Up move was the most brutal move in this routine. I was able to make it through the first two rounds on my toes, then the first four reps of the last round, but I collapsed and had to go to my knees for the last 6 or so reps. I crushed the Squats.
Burnout
All 6 moves once each for 30 seconds, no breaks.
By this time I was pumped but tired, but more pumped so I was able to crush the Burnout.
Core Block
Scissor Kicks
Reaching Sit-ups
Straight Leg Bicycle Twists
Modify modify modify! I needed the modification in the last two rounds of this special THREE MOVE core block. That was tough!
In the end, I burned a good 881 kcals. Happy to get it done.
This is the first time for this new routine style, Full Body HIIT. So I was interested to see how it would go and what moves it was made up of. So here is the rundown of today's routine. The times are a little different for each set, but there are still three rounds for each set. The times will be noted next to each move:
Block 1
Single Leg Plyo Jump: (60 seconds, 30 seconds each leg)
Push-Up Knee Tuck: (45 seconds)
I was still feeling a little gimpy in my right knee, so I reduced the range of motion on my right side just to be safe on the jumps. The Push-Up Knee Tucks seemed easy enough and at first, they were, but at one point in the second round, I felt like a little "pop" or a "Poof" feeling my left calf and from that point on, my left calf felt like it was just off. The muscle either got too... not flexed, but the opposite of flexed. It felt weird for several days afterward as well. I'm falling apart part by part.
Block 2
Squat Jacks: (45 seconds)
Triple Bear: (30 seconds)
All's I can say is thank goodness for the shorter times! I was able to make it all the way through, but that last Triple Bear was brutal.
Block 3
Double Plyo Push-Up: Triceps Push-Up to Regular Push-Up (30 seconds)
Squared Squats: (15 seconds)
The Push-Up move was the most brutal move in this routine. I was able to make it through the first two rounds on my toes, then the first four reps of the last round, but I collapsed and had to go to my knees for the last 6 or so reps. I crushed the Squats.
Burnout
All 6 moves once each for 30 seconds, no breaks.
By this time I was pumped but tired, but more pumped so I was able to crush the Burnout.
Core Block
Scissor Kicks
Reaching Sit-ups
Straight Leg Bicycle Twists
Modify modify modify! I needed the modification in the last two rounds of this special THREE MOVE core block. That was tough!
In the end, I burned a good 881 kcals. Happy to get it done.
Friday, March 22, 2019
March 17, Back is feeling okay for tennis day.
March 17, 2019, Sunday - Tennis.
I went to tennis today and gave it a try. At first my back was feeling rather stiff, but it loosened up pretty quickly and I was able to get into a good rhythm. Also, since I was really disappointed by my serve on Wednesday, I decided to try something different with my form. Today, I was consciously jumping higher to reach for the ball. And it worked like a charm. I was getting great rotation on my shoulders which translated into a lot of spin and power. And the best thing, the serves were mostly going in.
There were only 12 people today at the practice and what's even better, all 12 were the upper level players in the club. So we took advantage of that fact and got into matches very quickly. We only did about 90 minutes of drills so we had a whole lot of time for matches. And with 12 people, we broke up into even pairs and had a good match session. I ended up playing four matches. I could have played one more, but I deferred my spot to a younger guy who isn't able to come and play on Sunday very often.
Unfortunately, I don't remember all the details of my four matches, but I ended up with a 2-2 record. I only lost two service games and the two games I lost, I double faulted on Game Point. What a disappointment. But other than that, I was serving very well. I hit a few aces as well, on both deuce and ad courts. And even more service winners. I started off with the higher jump on my serve, but I got tired so I wasn't able to keep it up, but it got me back on track, so I'll try to start that way and maintain it for as long as I can. In the two wins I was teamed with a good partner, while in the two losses, I was teamed with an older guy and an erratic guy. When I was teamed with the older guy, I held both my service games, but his lost his only service game and that was the difference. We lost 2-4. In the other loss, I held my only service game, and that was the only game we won, losing 1-4. The two wins were solid wins. The first win was 4-3. We were down 0-2 then came back to 2-2, then everyone held serve and we took it. The other win, I was paired with the only left-handed player who is young and strong. We blew the opposition away, 4-1. All in all it was a fun practice.
On another note, I was again chosen to write the club BLOG so I'll add that below.
In the end, I burned a good 1803 kcals. It was almost too warm and I was sweating a lot. I think that had a lot to do with the big burn today.
Here is the CLUB BLOG:
I went to tennis today and gave it a try. At first my back was feeling rather stiff, but it loosened up pretty quickly and I was able to get into a good rhythm. Also, since I was really disappointed by my serve on Wednesday, I decided to try something different with my form. Today, I was consciously jumping higher to reach for the ball. And it worked like a charm. I was getting great rotation on my shoulders which translated into a lot of spin and power. And the best thing, the serves were mostly going in.
There were only 12 people today at the practice and what's even better, all 12 were the upper level players in the club. So we took advantage of that fact and got into matches very quickly. We only did about 90 minutes of drills so we had a whole lot of time for matches. And with 12 people, we broke up into even pairs and had a good match session. I ended up playing four matches. I could have played one more, but I deferred my spot to a younger guy who isn't able to come and play on Sunday very often.
Unfortunately, I don't remember all the details of my four matches, but I ended up with a 2-2 record. I only lost two service games and the two games I lost, I double faulted on Game Point. What a disappointment. But other than that, I was serving very well. I hit a few aces as well, on both deuce and ad courts. And even more service winners. I started off with the higher jump on my serve, but I got tired so I wasn't able to keep it up, but it got me back on track, so I'll try to start that way and maintain it for as long as I can. In the two wins I was teamed with a good partner, while in the two losses, I was teamed with an older guy and an erratic guy. When I was teamed with the older guy, I held both my service games, but his lost his only service game and that was the difference. We lost 2-4. In the other loss, I held my only service game, and that was the only game we won, losing 1-4. The two wins were solid wins. The first win was 4-3. We were down 0-2 then came back to 2-2, then everyone held serve and we took it. The other win, I was paired with the only left-handed player who is young and strong. We blew the opposition away, 4-1. All in all it was a fun practice.
On another note, I was again chosen to write the club BLOG so I'll add that below.
In the end, I burned a good 1803 kcals. It was almost too warm and I was sweating a lot. I think that had a lot to do with the big burn today.
Here is the CLUB BLOG:
Welcome to the
Le Grand Tennis Club’s
ENGLISH (with a
little 日本語) BLOG!!!
Chapter 2
Table of Contents (目次)
1. Introduction
2. Practice Review
3. Tennis English: 1-Point Lesson
4. Tennis English: 英語と日本語の違い
5. Conclusion
1.
Introduction
It has been exactly one month since the last English
Blog. Wouldn’t it be interesting if I
happened to draw the “RED CHOPSTICK” once a month? It seems like the Blog was meant to have an
English Version at least once a month.
Let’s hope that is not the case.
But I am happy to write this Blog entry for the club, so I hope more
people will try and read it than the last time.
One big difference from Chapter 1 is the “Practice Review”. In Chapter 1, I wrote the Practice Review on
two levels. This time, I am only going
to write it in one level. If you would
like to have a more advanced level of English written in the English version,
let us know in the comments and I will accommodate you next time. For now,
onward!
2.
Practice
Review
Today is Sunday, March 17, 2019. As usual, practice at the Meiwa tennis courts
started at 10 o’clock in the morning. It
has been two weeks since Le Grand Tennis Club has been able to practice on
Sunday because the last two Sundays, the practice session was canceled because
of bad weather. Today’s weather was
absolutely wonderful… almost. The
temperature was perfect! Not too cold
and not too hot. It was sunny, but
sometimes there were a few light clouds.
The reason why I say, “almost” was because of the wind. Almost the whole time there was a strong
cross-wind blowing through the courts.
Because the weather was so nice, I thought that there
would be many people at today’s practice, but to my surprise, there were only 8
people at the courts warming up when I arrived.
Then, after me, only three more people came for a total of 12 members.
It was good to see a lot of the regular Sunday attendees, but I was very happy
to see a member who hasn’t been able to come for several months and a member
who, because of work, mostly comes on Wednesday. It was a good group today and we were able to
really get in some good drilling and match play.
The drills started with the “Two-and-OUT” rally
drill. Usually, we rally with five
balls, but today, we rallied with only two balls. Furthermore, we were instructed not to save
long or wide balls. It was a real
point. If the ball is hit out, next
ball. And we had only two balls then we
switched. Most of the members were
getting in some nice long rallies, but I was having trouble keeping a rally
going. I think my longest rally was
maybe four or five shots. I had a lot of
two and three shot rallies, but not enough to win any games that’s for
sure.
The next drill was a staple drill for Le Grand TC,
“Volley/Stroke” drills. But with only 12
members, we did the circuit drill with the right court’s deuce side’s player
calling “Last Ball”. This time, we were
back to the 5+ ball count.
Lastly, we did another staple drill, “Serve/Return”
drills. We did three rotations with the
return players being set and the servers switching in and out after around five
balls.
At about 11:30am we moved to matches. With twelve members, we had a round number of
4 teams playing, and then 2 teams waiting.
But at the beginning, to stagger the matches, one match was played on
the Left court (near the parking area) and on the Right court, there was a
ball-feeding drill. After about 10
minutes the right court started match play.
A lot of matches were played today, and from what I saw, there were a
lot of really good shots and due to the wind, there were a lot of shots that
seemed to be going in, but were pushed out.
Especially from the park end of the court’s balls were being pushed out
and from the roadside, balls that might usually fly long were held in. But that is the charm of playing outside
among the elements. Everyone was able to
play at least four matches today, and several members were able to play five
matches. Several times during the
matches, players had to just stand and wait out the wind because it was blowing
so hard and the dust clouds were kicking up so much, we could hardly see.
Despite that, I think I can safely say that we all had a great time at practice
today. I look forward to Wednesday’s
practice.
3.
Tennis
English: 1-Point Lesson
“Nice (_______)!!!”
This is a good
phrase when playing doubles. Use it when
your partner does something good. You
can even use it to acknowledge a “SUPER” shot by your opponent. Here are some
examples of what you can say:
“Nice Shot!”
“Nice Serve!”
“Nice Volley!”
“Nice Poach!”
“Nice Point!”
** “Nice Get!”
日本人は、「ナイス」という表現もうしてるので、発音は「ナイスウー」ではなくて、「ナイッス-」です。「ス」の「ウ」が言うわない。「S」の音で終わりましょう。
4. Tennis English: 英語と日本語の違い
「ジャスト」
This term in
Japanese was the most confusing for me. 「ジャスト」or “JUST” in English means: “Barely” or 「本間少し」。Also, in English, “Just” can be used for a
shot being either “IN” or “OUT”. So if a player just says, “JUST” the player
who hit the shot still doesn’t know if his shot was in or out. That is why I was confused.
5. Conclusion
I was so happy, after two weeks of no
Sunday practice to get out on the courts today.
Actually, I think that we have only practiced three times this month out
of a scheduled six times. One of those
times was only an hour. So I was a
little out of shape. I always wear a
Heart Rate Monitor (心拍数腕時計). Usually, I
burn around 1500 kcals during Sunday practices.
When we play a lot of matches like today, it goes down to around
1200-1300 kcals. But today, I burned
1800+ kcals. That means I was working a
lot harder today and my heart rate stayed higher for a longer period of
time. I need to get more stamina!
This chapter of the English Blog was a little shorter
so I hope you give it a try! If you have
any questions, feel free to ask me about anything English related.
Our next practice is on Wednesday, March 20,
2019. I believe the venue is at Frespo,
the indoor courts. Thank you, and Good
Night!
March 14, Another LIIFT4 Combo Routine
March 14, 2019, Thursday - LIIFT4, wk7, d3: Shoulders and Arms Circuit + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Today is the third resistance day in the first day of the Shred Phase of this program. The routine is a combo routine of Shoulder and Arms. They were split before with Shoulders getting a whole routine for themselves in weeks 1-6. And Arms were split between Biceps and Triceps on different days. Now, today's targeting looks more like P90X style, but less variety of moves. Since is it a Circuit, Joel takes us through two blocks of Quad-sets. Here is the rundown of the routine set as usual. Each block has four moves done in 3 rounds with a 30 second break between each move. And a 60 second break between blocks:
Block 1
Front Raise - 6.25x2 kgs
Wide Curls - 10x2 kgs
Lateral Raise - 6.25x2 kgs
Triceps Kickbacks - 10x2 kgs
This block was good for me because I think I was able to really keep my form and range of motion all the way through the three rounds. The toughest part was the third round with the 10kgs. I really felt how weak my left arm was. But my triceps feel pretty even. Mostly my biceps are unbalanced with regard to strength. I'm going to have to even that up somehow.
Block 2
Shoulder Press - 17x2 kgs, 12x2 kgs, 12x2 kgs
Hammer Curls - 10x2 kgs
Upright Rows - 14.5x2 kgs - 4x2 kgs, 6.25x2 kgs, 6.25x2 kgs
Skull Crushers - 10x2 kgs
Round 1 started off well with the Shoulder Presses and the Hammer Curls. But around the fourth rep of the Upright Rows, I felt something in my lower left lat pop, or peel away, sort of like a scab peeling away from the skin. It didn't hurt, but it did feel very weird, and then I started to feel pain with the heavy weight on the next rep, so I dropped way down to finish out the set. Then, for the other shoulder exercises, I dropped the weight significantly because I could feel something was off. The Biceps and Triceps moves were okay, but the shoulder moves had to be modified. I was afraid that I had really hurt myself, and like a dope, I continued on with my workout. I figured that my adrenaline would cover the pain and I would be okay. What a gamble!
Burnout Block (Three rounds, 30 seconds each move with 15 second transition break)
Swimmers - 4x2 kgs
Full Biceps Curls - 7.5x2 kgs
Triceps Push-Ups - 30 seconds
The burnout burned me out. I moved slowly watching for any strain on my injured area but there was no issues with it during the burnout. I started on my toes for the Triceps Push-Ups, but I had to go on my knees for the last round. Triceps were on fire and thoroughly burned out at the end.
Core Block
Dumbbell Drivers - 7.5 kgs
Dumbbell Flutter Kicks - 7.5 kgs
If I didn't have my back issues, I would have tried to crunch harder, but I just raised my shoulders off the ground as opposed to raising my upper back off the ground. But it was plenty tough and I bor the burn that was intended.
It was a good workout but I was confused as to why that something in my lower left lat snapped. I didn't go up in weight from the last time I did Upright Rows so I figured everything would be fine, but this time, it wasn't. I was bummed. Right after my shower, I put a hot patch on the area to try and keep the internal inflammation down. Also, I decided to take the rest of the week off to heal and recover. I set my comeback for Sunday Tennis. If all is well, I will be okay to play. If not, I may have to take Sunday off as well. We'll see.
In the end, I burned an okay 721 kcals. I wonder if it would have been higher if I didn't have that injury.
[edit]
March 15, Friday. The pain spread, but it didn't intensify. Looks like it was just a minor pop. Definitely not as sore as I thought I would be the next day. I did have pain in while lying in bed and trying to roll over onto my left side. When driving to work, making a left turn was painful because the muscle I use unconsciously to stabilize my upper body was the one injured so I felt every left turn.
[edit]
March 16, Saturday. Pain is dissipating. I think I'll be okay to play on Sunday if the practice is not rained out.
Today is the third resistance day in the first day of the Shred Phase of this program. The routine is a combo routine of Shoulder and Arms. They were split before with Shoulders getting a whole routine for themselves in weeks 1-6. And Arms were split between Biceps and Triceps on different days. Now, today's targeting looks more like P90X style, but less variety of moves. Since is it a Circuit, Joel takes us through two blocks of Quad-sets. Here is the rundown of the routine set as usual. Each block has four moves done in 3 rounds with a 30 second break between each move. And a 60 second break between blocks:
Block 1
Front Raise - 6.25x2 kgs
Wide Curls - 10x2 kgs
Lateral Raise - 6.25x2 kgs
Triceps Kickbacks - 10x2 kgs
This block was good for me because I think I was able to really keep my form and range of motion all the way through the three rounds. The toughest part was the third round with the 10kgs. I really felt how weak my left arm was. But my triceps feel pretty even. Mostly my biceps are unbalanced with regard to strength. I'm going to have to even that up somehow.
Block 2
Shoulder Press - 17x2 kgs, 12x2 kgs, 12x2 kgs
Hammer Curls - 10x2 kgs
Upright Rows - 14.5x2 kgs - 4x2 kgs, 6.25x2 kgs, 6.25x2 kgs
Skull Crushers - 10x2 kgs
Round 1 started off well with the Shoulder Presses and the Hammer Curls. But around the fourth rep of the Upright Rows, I felt something in my lower left lat pop, or peel away, sort of like a scab peeling away from the skin. It didn't hurt, but it did feel very weird, and then I started to feel pain with the heavy weight on the next rep, so I dropped way down to finish out the set. Then, for the other shoulder exercises, I dropped the weight significantly because I could feel something was off. The Biceps and Triceps moves were okay, but the shoulder moves had to be modified. I was afraid that I had really hurt myself, and like a dope, I continued on with my workout. I figured that my adrenaline would cover the pain and I would be okay. What a gamble!
Burnout Block (Three rounds, 30 seconds each move with 15 second transition break)
Swimmers - 4x2 kgs
Full Biceps Curls - 7.5x2 kgs
Triceps Push-Ups - 30 seconds
The burnout burned me out. I moved slowly watching for any strain on my injured area but there was no issues with it during the burnout. I started on my toes for the Triceps Push-Ups, but I had to go on my knees for the last round. Triceps were on fire and thoroughly burned out at the end.
Core Block
Dumbbell Drivers - 7.5 kgs
Dumbbell Flutter Kicks - 7.5 kgs
If I didn't have my back issues, I would have tried to crunch harder, but I just raised my shoulders off the ground as opposed to raising my upper back off the ground. But it was plenty tough and I bor the burn that was intended.
It was a good workout but I was confused as to why that something in my lower left lat snapped. I didn't go up in weight from the last time I did Upright Rows so I figured everything would be fine, but this time, it wasn't. I was bummed. Right after my shower, I put a hot patch on the area to try and keep the internal inflammation down. Also, I decided to take the rest of the week off to heal and recover. I set my comeback for Sunday Tennis. If all is well, I will be okay to play. If not, I may have to take Sunday off as well. We'll see.
In the end, I burned an okay 721 kcals. I wonder if it would have been higher if I didn't have that injury.
[edit]
March 15, Friday. The pain spread, but it didn't intensify. Looks like it was just a minor pop. Definitely not as sore as I thought I would be the next day. I did have pain in while lying in bed and trying to roll over onto my left side. When driving to work, making a left turn was painful because the muscle I use unconsciously to stabilize my upper body was the one injured so I felt every left turn.
[edit]
March 16, Saturday. Pain is dissipating. I think I'll be okay to play on Sunday if the practice is not rained out.
March 13, Tennis day.
March 13, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
Today was the first time in about a month that we were able to play on the hard courts at the public park. I was looking forward to this because I would much rather play on hard courts than that fake turf. But where ever is fine if I can play. Today was beautiful. The sun was out and it was quite warm. However, as it got darker it got chilly. And I was dressed for warmer temps than what it actually was. On top of that, there was a huge show of members tonight so there was going to be a lot of waiting time. And on top of that, my legs were still barking like crazy from Leg Day on Monday. I was half expecting my mobility to be hampered. I should have been fully expecting that because it was. I wasn't moving my feet, I was slow to get a jump and I was like an injured hippo lumbering back and forth on court... at first. Then there was my serve. During the Serve and Return drill, My first few turns were just terrible. Out of almost 20 serves, I think I got only 2 or 3 in. Most of the time the ball was going into the net. For some reason the net look high and far. I just couldn't get the ball over the net. It was terrible.
But as the night wore on, I started to warm up and I started to hit the ball a little better and I started to move a little smoother. Overall, though, tonight's practice was a grinder evening. One of those nights that I have to go through to get to the good sessions.
In the end, I burned a below average 1241 kcals. I'm going to have to make up for this disaster on Sunday. No Rain Please!!!
Today was the first time in about a month that we were able to play on the hard courts at the public park. I was looking forward to this because I would much rather play on hard courts than that fake turf. But where ever is fine if I can play. Today was beautiful. The sun was out and it was quite warm. However, as it got darker it got chilly. And I was dressed for warmer temps than what it actually was. On top of that, there was a huge show of members tonight so there was going to be a lot of waiting time. And on top of that, my legs were still barking like crazy from Leg Day on Monday. I was half expecting my mobility to be hampered. I should have been fully expecting that because it was. I wasn't moving my feet, I was slow to get a jump and I was like an injured hippo lumbering back and forth on court... at first. Then there was my serve. During the Serve and Return drill, My first few turns were just terrible. Out of almost 20 serves, I think I got only 2 or 3 in. Most of the time the ball was going into the net. For some reason the net look high and far. I just couldn't get the ball over the net. It was terrible.
But as the night wore on, I started to warm up and I started to hit the ball a little better and I started to move a little smoother. Overall, though, tonight's practice was a grinder evening. One of those nights that I have to go through to get to the good sessions.
In the end, I burned a below average 1241 kcals. I'm going to have to make up for this disaster on Sunday. No Rain Please!!!
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
March 11, Two days in a row of resistance... It's been a long time since I did that!
March 11, 2019, Monday - LIIFT4, Wk7, d2: Legs HIIT 50/50 + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Two days in a row of LIIFT4, as Joel designed it to be. I think this is the first time for me to actually do a Day 1 and Day 2 in order at the beginning of a week. So we'll see how I'm supposed to feel. Also, Legs is usually at the end of the week, so this is the first time that Legs is so early in the week. And if things follow suit, this is the last weighted Leg day of the 8-week program. We'll see what happens with legs next week. Anyway, here is the rundown of the routine. Joel is amping things up with this one. Usually Super Sets, today, we are going with TRIPLE SETS:
Block 1
Front Loaded Squats - 17x2 kgs
Deadlift - 17x2 kgs
Calf Raises (3 positions) - 17x2 kgs
I was feeling the burn in the final round on the Squats. Burny-Burn BURN! I was a little worried about my back with the 34 kgs on the deadlift, but it was fine. No problems with this Block, but with the big muscles working I was breathing heavy.
Block 2
Alternating Side Lunges x2 - 10x2 kgs
Pulsing Squats - 25 kgs
Bridge-Ups - 25 kgs
The Side Squats were a double move, so I ended up doing 20 reps each round, one rep on each side made a full rep. I was a little worried about my right knee so I narrowed my range of motion on the right step out so I got a more direct angle on my knee than an angle that puts pressure on the knee. I made a mistake on the Pulsing Squat in that I thought I was supposed to do a Sumo Squat, but it was supposed to be a regular squat. So I made up for it on the next squat move. Everything was fine. I used one big weight instead of two dumbbells like Joel said. If I used two dumbbells, I would be wasting time flipping plates on and off, so I went with one big weight on the Bridge-ups. Worked like a charm.
Block 3
Goblet Sumo Squat - 25 kgs to 10 kgs
Right Reverse Lunge - 10x2 kgs to Bodyweight
Left Reverse Lunge - 10x2 kgs to Bodyweight
This Block was a problem. I started to feel a pain in my right knee if the first round starting with the Sumo Squats, and then a sharp pain with the reverse lunges on both sides. So I made the decision to drop the weight way down. I also put on a strap brace which helped a little, but the damage was done. I think I put a little too much pressure on the knee with the heavy weight and a nerve got pinched or something. The pain was reduced with the lighter weight, but it was still there for the rest of the workout and the rest of the evening. Going up and down, especially down, stairs brought on the most pain. But the movement that really hurt was a more lateral rotation in my knee. We'll have to see tomorrow how bad it really is.
Core Block
Prayer Crunches - 30 seconds
Bicycle Twists - 30 seconds
Today, my obliques were extremely sore so that made the bicycle twists especially difficult. The Prayer Crunches were just hard from the get-go. Here again, I was feeling the BURN!
I had to be very careful with the rest of the workout and evening because of my knee. I didn't extend my stances in the Flow as far as I usually do and I didn't put as much weight on my right as much as possible.
In the end, I burned a good 772 kcals. A little less than I had expected for a leg workout, but then again I kind of had to turn down the intensity because of my injury.
Two days in a row of LIIFT4, as Joel designed it to be. I think this is the first time for me to actually do a Day 1 and Day 2 in order at the beginning of a week. So we'll see how I'm supposed to feel. Also, Legs is usually at the end of the week, so this is the first time that Legs is so early in the week. And if things follow suit, this is the last weighted Leg day of the 8-week program. We'll see what happens with legs next week. Anyway, here is the rundown of the routine. Joel is amping things up with this one. Usually Super Sets, today, we are going with TRIPLE SETS:
Block 1
Front Loaded Squats - 17x2 kgs
Deadlift - 17x2 kgs
Calf Raises (3 positions) - 17x2 kgs
I was feeling the burn in the final round on the Squats. Burny-Burn BURN! I was a little worried about my back with the 34 kgs on the deadlift, but it was fine. No problems with this Block, but with the big muscles working I was breathing heavy.
Block 2
Alternating Side Lunges x2 - 10x2 kgs
Pulsing Squats - 25 kgs
Bridge-Ups - 25 kgs
The Side Squats were a double move, so I ended up doing 20 reps each round, one rep on each side made a full rep. I was a little worried about my right knee so I narrowed my range of motion on the right step out so I got a more direct angle on my knee than an angle that puts pressure on the knee. I made a mistake on the Pulsing Squat in that I thought I was supposed to do a Sumo Squat, but it was supposed to be a regular squat. So I made up for it on the next squat move. Everything was fine. I used one big weight instead of two dumbbells like Joel said. If I used two dumbbells, I would be wasting time flipping plates on and off, so I went with one big weight on the Bridge-ups. Worked like a charm.
Block 3
Goblet Sumo Squat - 25 kgs to 10 kgs
Right Reverse Lunge - 10x2 kgs to Bodyweight
Left Reverse Lunge - 10x2 kgs to Bodyweight
This Block was a problem. I started to feel a pain in my right knee if the first round starting with the Sumo Squats, and then a sharp pain with the reverse lunges on both sides. So I made the decision to drop the weight way down. I also put on a strap brace which helped a little, but the damage was done. I think I put a little too much pressure on the knee with the heavy weight and a nerve got pinched or something. The pain was reduced with the lighter weight, but it was still there for the rest of the workout and the rest of the evening. Going up and down, especially down, stairs brought on the most pain. But the movement that really hurt was a more lateral rotation in my knee. We'll have to see tomorrow how bad it really is.
Core Block
Prayer Crunches - 30 seconds
Bicycle Twists - 30 seconds
Today, my obliques were extremely sore so that made the bicycle twists especially difficult. The Prayer Crunches were just hard from the get-go. Here again, I was feeling the BURN!
I had to be very careful with the rest of the workout and evening because of my knee. I didn't extend my stances in the Flow as far as I usually do and I didn't put as much weight on my right as much as possible.
In the end, I burned a good 772 kcals. A little less than I had expected for a leg workout, but then again I kind of had to turn down the intensity because of my injury.
March 10, Beginning LIIFT4 Week SEVEN!!!
March 10, 2019, Sunday - LIIFT4, Week 7, Day 1: Chest and Back Circuit + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Well, it happened again. Another Sunday is awash for tennis. In the first third of this month, 3 out of 4 of my tennis club's practice sessions have been rained out. And the one practice that we did have was shortened because we got lucky and snagged a cancelation on the indoor courts. I was almost 4 for 4. So, because there was no tennis, I went ahead and did the next LIIFT4 routine which just happened to be the beginning of week seven and the beginning of the "Shred It!" phase. Here is the rundown of the routine:
Block 1
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Chest Flies - 17x2 kgs
Dumbbell Rows - 17x2 kgs
Reverse Flies - 7.5x2 kgs
I initially tried to do the Chest Presses with 22 kgs but had trouble just getting the weights up, so I went down 2.5 kgs. It was easy in the first round, but I was glad by the third round. I was just hitting failure by the last few reps. The first round of the flies was tough, but I got warm and it got smoother, but I still had to push the whole way. The Rows were tough, especially after two heavy chest sets. I went heavy with the Reverse Flies and I was not able to do the split second hold at the top halfway through the second round. It was just up and controlled drop down.
Block 2
Rotating Chest Press - 17x2 kgs
Decline Press - 17x2 kgs
Dumbbell Pullover - 25 kgs
Wide Row - 12.5x2 kgs
The chest moves at the top of the block were brutal. I was trying to focus on the eccentric so I changed the pace a little. Joel does a 2-2 pace, but I went with a 1-3 pace to activate that eccentric effect. Failure every round. I was really feeling that contraction with the 25 kgs. I was really trying to concentrate on the target muscle activation and form. There was a little pain in my right shoulder in the first round. It must have been my lifting angle, but once my shoulders got warmed up, the pain was much less. My range of motion still needs a lot of work.
Burnout Block
Push-Ups - 30 seconds, 10-9-9 reps
Back Extensions - 30 seconds, 14-13-12 reps
Wide Push-Ups - 30 seconds, 12-10-9 reps
I was able to do the first round of Push-Ups on my toes and half of the Wides, but after that, no way. I was fried. I tried the last round of Push-Ups on my does, but was only able to get three reps then I went back to my knees. By the end of this, Joel was right, I couldn't do one more Push-up if my life depended on it.
Core Block
Dumbbell Toe Reachers with 10 kgs - 30 seconds, 14-12-10 reps
Straight Leg Windshield Wipers - 30 seconds, 8-8-8 reps
This was a brutal round. Only two moves, but I was toast and doubling over after each move from the second round. I could especially feel the contraction in my obliques on the WWs. So much so I'm actually worried about soreness afterward.
I finished off with Shoulder Care Yoga and Flow. Nice calming and heart rate lowering activities, both of them.
In the end, I burned a surprising 815 kcals. Upper body resistance and no cardio, I was surprised that I burned this many calories. I must have really been pushing it to the limit. Good to realize.
Well, it happened again. Another Sunday is awash for tennis. In the first third of this month, 3 out of 4 of my tennis club's practice sessions have been rained out. And the one practice that we did have was shortened because we got lucky and snagged a cancelation on the indoor courts. I was almost 4 for 4. So, because there was no tennis, I went ahead and did the next LIIFT4 routine which just happened to be the beginning of week seven and the beginning of the "Shred It!" phase. Here is the rundown of the routine:
Block 1
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Chest Flies - 17x2 kgs
Dumbbell Rows - 17x2 kgs
Reverse Flies - 7.5x2 kgs
I initially tried to do the Chest Presses with 22 kgs but had trouble just getting the weights up, so I went down 2.5 kgs. It was easy in the first round, but I was glad by the third round. I was just hitting failure by the last few reps. The first round of the flies was tough, but I got warm and it got smoother, but I still had to push the whole way. The Rows were tough, especially after two heavy chest sets. I went heavy with the Reverse Flies and I was not able to do the split second hold at the top halfway through the second round. It was just up and controlled drop down.
Block 2
Rotating Chest Press - 17x2 kgs
Decline Press - 17x2 kgs
Dumbbell Pullover - 25 kgs
Wide Row - 12.5x2 kgs
The chest moves at the top of the block were brutal. I was trying to focus on the eccentric so I changed the pace a little. Joel does a 2-2 pace, but I went with a 1-3 pace to activate that eccentric effect. Failure every round. I was really feeling that contraction with the 25 kgs. I was really trying to concentrate on the target muscle activation and form. There was a little pain in my right shoulder in the first round. It must have been my lifting angle, but once my shoulders got warmed up, the pain was much less. My range of motion still needs a lot of work.
Burnout Block
Push-Ups - 30 seconds, 10-9-9 reps
Back Extensions - 30 seconds, 14-13-12 reps
Wide Push-Ups - 30 seconds, 12-10-9 reps
I was able to do the first round of Push-Ups on my toes and half of the Wides, but after that, no way. I was fried. I tried the last round of Push-Ups on my does, but was only able to get three reps then I went back to my knees. By the end of this, Joel was right, I couldn't do one more Push-up if my life depended on it.
Core Block
Dumbbell Toe Reachers with 10 kgs - 30 seconds, 14-12-10 reps
Straight Leg Windshield Wipers - 30 seconds, 8-8-8 reps
This was a brutal round. Only two moves, but I was toast and doubling over after each move from the second round. I could especially feel the contraction in my obliques on the WWs. So much so I'm actually worried about soreness afterward.
I finished off with Shoulder Care Yoga and Flow. Nice calming and heart rate lowering activities, both of them.
In the end, I burned a surprising 815 kcals. Upper body resistance and no cardio, I was surprised that I burned this many calories. I must have really been pushing it to the limit. Good to realize.
March 8, Time for some Yoga!
March 8, 2019, Friday - P90X2 - X2 Yoga.
My legs are a bit tender from yesterday's workout, so I was glad to have today as a yoga day. No pressing matters on for today so I could go for the longer routine. I haven't done this routine is quite a while, but at the start, everything seemed fine. Then I got to the Standing section of the routine starting with the Warrior Three, Half Moon, Reverse Half Moon, Standing Splits, etc. That section was BRUTAL!!! A clear difference in my sides became painfully clear. My right side was terribly out of whack, I could barely hold Warrior Three, much less Standing Splits. I kept falling out of the pose. My left side was a little better, but still just terrible. But my benchmark move, the Wrap. Again, I couldn't even touch my fingers on the right side, but I was able to make the adjustments and hook my fingers on the left side with no back cramping. I was happy with my Crow pose because I was able to hold it for a lot longer than I though I could. But I have definitely lost flexibility and Yoga power. But I'm working to get that back.
In the end, I burned a surprising 519 kcals. Burning more calories today with yoga than yesterday with Legs HIIT was a bit of a shock. But I'll take it!
My legs are a bit tender from yesterday's workout, so I was glad to have today as a yoga day. No pressing matters on for today so I could go for the longer routine. I haven't done this routine is quite a while, but at the start, everything seemed fine. Then I got to the Standing section of the routine starting with the Warrior Three, Half Moon, Reverse Half Moon, Standing Splits, etc. That section was BRUTAL!!! A clear difference in my sides became painfully clear. My right side was terribly out of whack, I could barely hold Warrior Three, much less Standing Splits. I kept falling out of the pose. My left side was a little better, but still just terrible. But my benchmark move, the Wrap. Again, I couldn't even touch my fingers on the right side, but I was able to make the adjustments and hook my fingers on the left side with no back cramping. I was happy with my Crow pose because I was able to hold it for a lot longer than I though I could. But I have definitely lost flexibility and Yoga power. But I'm working to get that back.
In the end, I burned a surprising 519 kcals. Burning more calories today with yoga than yesterday with Legs HIIT was a bit of a shock. But I'll take it!
March 7, Finishing off LIIF4 Week 6.
March 7, 2019, Thursday - LIIFT4, wk6, Legs HIIT + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Being the final day of week 6, today's Leg routine is all HIIT. Only 4 moves done in three rounds, then a burnout Here it is, the rundown:
HIIT Block
Single Leg Plyo Lunge - 60 seconds (30 seconds on each leg)
Triple Bear - 45 seconds
Soccer Sprint - 30 Seconds
Squat Jumps - 15 seconds
Burnout Block
The same four moves as the HIIT Block, but the time is three rounds of 30 seconds for each move with a 15 second transition break with a 30 second break between rounds.
Up until this point, I was able to crush the routine. No breaks! I was able to keep pace with Joel and his team with no modifications. But that all changed when I got to the Core Block.
Core Block
Side Plank Left side with Right Leg Lift
Side Plank Right side with Left Leg Lift
My core was fried! So I ended up doing only the very first plank on my foot, then when I flipped over, I could only keep my leg up half way through. I also had to go on my knee. I think this is the first time I have ever modified a Plank move in this workout program. I remember modifying in Insanity, but that was a whole different monster.
The usual closers and I was done. I was in a bit of a time crunch so I had to rush right through.
In the end, I burned a modest 491 kcals. Starting the "Shred It!" phase next week.
Being the final day of week 6, today's Leg routine is all HIIT. Only 4 moves done in three rounds, then a burnout Here it is, the rundown:
HIIT Block
Single Leg Plyo Lunge - 60 seconds (30 seconds on each leg)
Triple Bear - 45 seconds
Soccer Sprint - 30 Seconds
Squat Jumps - 15 seconds
Burnout Block
The same four moves as the HIIT Block, but the time is three rounds of 30 seconds for each move with a 15 second transition break with a 30 second break between rounds.
Up until this point, I was able to crush the routine. No breaks! I was able to keep pace with Joel and his team with no modifications. But that all changed when I got to the Core Block.
Core Block
Side Plank Left side with Right Leg Lift
Side Plank Right side with Left Leg Lift
My core was fried! So I ended up doing only the very first plank on my foot, then when I flipped over, I could only keep my leg up half way through. I also had to go on my knee. I think this is the first time I have ever modified a Plank move in this workout program. I remember modifying in Insanity, but that was a whole different monster.
The usual closers and I was done. I was in a bit of a time crunch so I had to rush right through.
In the end, I burned a modest 491 kcals. Starting the "Shred It!" phase next week.
Monday, March 11, 2019
March 6, Half rained out tennis.
March 6, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
Today is Tennis Day! Unfortunately, it was raining and the club reservations were at the outside courts. So I was thinking that the entire practice would be canceled. But there was a cancellation and we were able to get two courts, but for only one hour. This is the last chance for my son to come to practice so I really wanted to go.
When we arrived at the courts, there were only 8 people, so I was thinking that the whole hour could be played in match play, but as the practice started, more and more people started to come until there were close to 20 people there. So we couldn't even do Point Sims. Just drills tonight so everyone could participate.
Since the practice was short, I went hard at everything, but the calorie count was not that high.
In the end, I burned a good 766 kcals.
This was the last time for my son and I to be out and actually we were really hungry, so we decided to go out to eat. I suggested a place I wanted to eat at, but never got the chance, since I first came to Japan, 28 years ago. It is my favorite, MEXICAN FOOD!!! Here are a couple shots:
Today is Tennis Day! Unfortunately, it was raining and the club reservations were at the outside courts. So I was thinking that the entire practice would be canceled. But there was a cancellation and we were able to get two courts, but for only one hour. This is the last chance for my son to come to practice so I really wanted to go.
When we arrived at the courts, there were only 8 people, so I was thinking that the whole hour could be played in match play, but as the practice started, more and more people started to come until there were close to 20 people there. So we couldn't even do Point Sims. Just drills tonight so everyone could participate.
Since the practice was short, I went hard at everything, but the calorie count was not that high.
In the end, I burned a good 766 kcals.
This was the last time for my son and I to be out and actually we were really hungry, so we decided to go out to eat. I suggested a place I wanted to eat at, but never got the chance, since I first came to Japan, 28 years ago. It is my favorite, MEXICAN FOOD!!! Here are a couple shots:
March 5, More LIIFT4.
March 5, 2019, Tuesday - LIIFT4, Wk6, D3: Shoulder Intervals + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Today was a normal day for working out. As scheduled routine at the regular time. Here is a rundown of the routine, Shoulder Intervals:
Block 1
Shoulder Press - 17x2 kgs
Upright Row - 14.5x2 kgs
High Knee Run - 30 seconds
I went with the heavy weights today. 17kgs is still not my max, and the first round was almost struggle free, but it was about to get real. Same thing for the Upright Row. I started to really feel it at the end of the second round, but the third round was a struggle. I had to take a mid-round break and the last few reps on the Press, I needed a little help from a leg bounce. Unfortunately, my form fell apart and I started to arch my back as well.
Block 2
Front Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Lateral Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Speed Skaters - 30 seconds
I went up in weight here also from 5 kgs. Both raises were tough and I needed to bend my elbows a lot on the third round. Speed Skaters were good, but I was modifying a bit to protect my right knee which has been a little gimpy as of late.
Block 3
Y Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Swimmers - R1: 2x2 kgs, R2,3: 3x2 kgs
180 Squat Jumps - 30 seconds
The Y's were a struggle all the way through, but my second wind carried me through. Because my shoulders were fried, I started the Swimmers light, but felt a bit to light in the first round so I upped the weight for the 2nd and 3rd rounds... OUCH! The Squat Jumps were good and I got energized by them so I pushed it hard all the way to the end.
Core Block
Dumbbell Extensions - 30 seconds
Scissor Kicks - 30 seconds
My abs were burning bad during this round, especially the later rounds. I really felt it.
I finished out the routine with the Shoulder Care Yoga and my Flow.
In the end, I burned a good 659 kcals. Below average burn for an upper body workout.
Today was a normal day for working out. As scheduled routine at the regular time. Here is a rundown of the routine, Shoulder Intervals:
Block 1
Shoulder Press - 17x2 kgs
Upright Row - 14.5x2 kgs
High Knee Run - 30 seconds
I went with the heavy weights today. 17kgs is still not my max, and the first round was almost struggle free, but it was about to get real. Same thing for the Upright Row. I started to really feel it at the end of the second round, but the third round was a struggle. I had to take a mid-round break and the last few reps on the Press, I needed a little help from a leg bounce. Unfortunately, my form fell apart and I started to arch my back as well.
Block 2
Front Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Lateral Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Speed Skaters - 30 seconds
I went up in weight here also from 5 kgs. Both raises were tough and I needed to bend my elbows a lot on the third round. Speed Skaters were good, but I was modifying a bit to protect my right knee which has been a little gimpy as of late.
Block 3
Y Raises - 6.25x2 kgs
Swimmers - R1: 2x2 kgs, R2,3: 3x2 kgs
180 Squat Jumps - 30 seconds
The Y's were a struggle all the way through, but my second wind carried me through. Because my shoulders were fried, I started the Swimmers light, but felt a bit to light in the first round so I upped the weight for the 2nd and 3rd rounds... OUCH! The Squat Jumps were good and I got energized by them so I pushed it hard all the way to the end.
Core Block
Dumbbell Extensions - 30 seconds
Scissor Kicks - 30 seconds
My abs were burning bad during this round, especially the later rounds. I really felt it.
I finished out the routine with the Shoulder Care Yoga and my Flow.
In the end, I burned a good 659 kcals. Below average burn for an upper body workout.
Friday, March 8, 2019
March 3, Tennis Rained Out, doing LIIFT4
March 3, 2019, Sunday - LIIFT4, wk6, d2: Back and Biceps HIIT 50/50 + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
As the title states, tennis was rained out today. I was pretty sedentary today along with my family. A nice long "Blaaaah" day. Watching TV, playing games, eating, just lazing around and napping. But around 6 pm, I started to feel like I needed to do something active. I was a bit sleepy, but I decided, instead of napping, to get my but off the floor... or couch, and get my workout done and dusted. So, I got up, changed and came up stairs for some LIIFT4. I suspected today's calorie burn would be higher because of the HIIT at the end, so I was looking forward to that.
So here is the rundown of the routine. As usual, each set was done in 3 rounds with 30 second breaks between each round. For the Core Block, 15 second breaks between each move. Let's Go:
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
HIIT Block
Core Block
As the title states, tennis was rained out today. I was pretty sedentary today along with my family. A nice long "Blaaaah" day. Watching TV, playing games, eating, just lazing around and napping. But around 6 pm, I started to feel like I needed to do something active. I was a bit sleepy, but I decided, instead of napping, to get my but off the floor... or couch, and get my workout done and dusted. So, I got up, changed and came up stairs for some LIIFT4. I suspected today's calorie burn would be higher because of the HIIT at the end, so I was looking forward to that.
So here is the rundown of the routine. As usual, each set was done in 3 rounds with 30 second breaks between each round. For the Core Block, 15 second breaks between each move. Let's Go:
Block 1
- Full Rows - 19.5x2 kgs
- Hammer Curls - 10x2 kgs
I was fresh, so I wanted to go heavier that 17kgs. I was happy to keep this weight for the whole Block. 10 kgs was ambitious for the Hammer Curls, but I got through it. My left started to fail at the end. Right got pumped.
Block 2
- Reverse Flys - 6.25x2 kgs
- Full Curls - R1: 10x2 kgs, R2, 3: 8.75x2 kgs
I went up only a little with the flys because I wanted to keep good form and range of motion. Burned out good. I tried 10 kgs on the curls in the first set, but it was too much so from the second round, I lowered the weight. Still almost too heavy, but I got through it.
Block 3
- Dumbbell Pullovers - 22 kgs
- Wide Curls - 7.5x2 kgs
I love doing Pullovers. But I am a little worried that I am able to do 22 kgs when the guys on the crew were using a much lighter weight. I also did this move on a Swiss Ball to get more range of motion. My biceps were fried so I had to go down to 7.5 kgs from the first round. I felt the burn on the last few reps in each round.
HIIT Block
- Catchers Jump – 60 seconds
- Wide Mountain Climbers – 45 seconds
- 180 Squat Jumps – 30 seconds
Catcher Jumps are a good move, but 60 seconds is brutal. The toughest move for me was the Wide MCs. I was doing them at a slower pace, but I was toast. I had to tap out on all three rounds. The 180's are the easiest move, so I was able to increase my speed and rep count each round by 2 reps, 24-26-28. I wanted to finish with a blast.
Core Block
- Dumbell Toe Reachers– 30 seconds (7.5 kgs)
- Straight Leg Bicycle Twists – 30 seconds
This Block rocked my core. I did 10 reps the first round, but didn't make it on the second, only 9 reps. Then I went over time to get to 10 reps on the final round. I had to take a mid-set break in the second and third rounds. The last move was also brutal, I had to put my legs down on the last two rounds as well. Feel the BURN!
I finished off with the Shoulder Care Yoga and the Flow series.
In the end, I burned a big 935 kcals. Good combo of resistance and cardio for a big burn.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Feb. 28, Starting LIIFT4, Week 6.
February 28, 2019, Thursday - LIIFT4, Week 6, Day 1: Chest and Triceps Circuit + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
Week 6 is up and this is the last week of the "Build It" phase of the program. After this, there are two weeks of the "Shred It" phase and that is it, FINE'! So let's get it on.
As always, the Circuit workout is two Quad-Set Blocks. No HIIT today, just lifting hard. So here is the rundown. Remember, each block was done in three rounds after a 30 second rest:
Block 1
Rotating Chest Press - 17x2 kgs
Skull Crushers - 22 kgs
Chest Flys - 14.5x2 kgs
Single Side Cursher (L/R) - 6.25 kgs
There wasn't any pain or discomfort in my hands or wrists today with the heavy weights, so I was happy about that. I could really feel the muscles activate on the triceps moves. I'm still having to really focus to activate my chest muscles on the chest moves and not allow my shoulders to bare too much of the weight. I had to have a little extra break time to arrange the weight plates on my dumbbell. Also, I think I've said this before, but just in case, on the lifting from the floor moves, I am not on the floor. I do those moves on a Swiss Ball so I can get more range of motion.
Block 2
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Triceps Press - 7.5x2 kgs
Decline Press - 17x2 kgs
Triceps Kickbacks - 7.5x2 kgs
I felt good, so I went up in weight for the Chest presses, but came back down for the Decline Presses. Also, I did the Decline Presses on the floor so I could get my butt up and active (as much as possible) my lower chest area. I'm still not really that bridge move qualifies as a decline if compared to being on the declined bench. 7.5 kgs for the Triceps Press looks light, but it was killer in the later rounds.
Burnout
Wide Push-ups - 30 seconds
Triceps Push-ups - 30 seconds
For the first moved, I averaged 10 reps. I started on my feet, but had to sink to my knees part way through. I dropped to my knees half way through the second round, and third round was all knees. As for the second move, it was all on my knees. I averaged 9 reps for this one. My body was thrashed, thoroughly. I'm just wondering how sore I'm going to be in the following days.
I finished out the workout in normal fashion, with my Shoulder Care Yoga. I was a little tight today since I hadn't done it for about a week. And finally The Flow series. I Still got it.
In the end, I burned a good 675 kcals. Good for a resistance routine.
Week 6 is up and this is the last week of the "Build It" phase of the program. After this, there are two weeks of the "Shred It" phase and that is it, FINE'! So let's get it on.
As always, the Circuit workout is two Quad-Set Blocks. No HIIT today, just lifting hard. So here is the rundown. Remember, each block was done in three rounds after a 30 second rest:
Block 1
Rotating Chest Press - 17x2 kgs
Skull Crushers - 22 kgs
Chest Flys - 14.5x2 kgs
Single Side Cursher (L/R) - 6.25 kgs
There wasn't any pain or discomfort in my hands or wrists today with the heavy weights, so I was happy about that. I could really feel the muscles activate on the triceps moves. I'm still having to really focus to activate my chest muscles on the chest moves and not allow my shoulders to bare too much of the weight. I had to have a little extra break time to arrange the weight plates on my dumbbell. Also, I think I've said this before, but just in case, on the lifting from the floor moves, I am not on the floor. I do those moves on a Swiss Ball so I can get more range of motion.
Block 2
Chest Press - 19.5x2 kgs
Triceps Press - 7.5x2 kgs
Decline Press - 17x2 kgs
Triceps Kickbacks - 7.5x2 kgs
I felt good, so I went up in weight for the Chest presses, but came back down for the Decline Presses. Also, I did the Decline Presses on the floor so I could get my butt up and active (as much as possible) my lower chest area. I'm still not really that bridge move qualifies as a decline if compared to being on the declined bench. 7.5 kgs for the Triceps Press looks light, but it was killer in the later rounds.
Burnout
Wide Push-ups - 30 seconds
Triceps Push-ups - 30 seconds
For the first moved, I averaged 10 reps. I started on my feet, but had to sink to my knees part way through. I dropped to my knees half way through the second round, and third round was all knees. As for the second move, it was all on my knees. I averaged 9 reps for this one. My body was thrashed, thoroughly. I'm just wondering how sore I'm going to be in the following days.
I finished out the workout in normal fashion, with my Shoulder Care Yoga. I was a little tight today since I hadn't done it for about a week. And finally The Flow series. I Still got it.
In the end, I burned a good 675 kcals. Good for a resistance routine.
Feb. 27, Regular Tennis night
February 27, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
My son came with me to this practice because we thought the we would be able to play more matches. He has one more tournament with another guy in March before he leaves for school. Luckily, the club had reserved 3 courts in the second hour so we would be able to play matches. With three courts we thought that two courts would be drill courts and one would be for matches, but this time, because the numbers were low, we got two courts for matches. So the match call went out, "Anyone who wants to play matches come to this side." There just happened to be 8 people. I thought I could pair with my son, but we went with "Rock-Paper-Scissors" to decide partners. My son got a strong partner, I got an okay partner, and the strongest player got the weakest girl and the strongest girl got a consistent but not powerful guy.
My team played the top guy and weak girl first. In this match, I was feeling I needed to pull back on my serve for the girl so I did, but I ended up double faulting too much and lost my serve. But we eventually won the match 4-1. My son and his partner won their match so we were up against them next. I honestly thought we didn't have a chance, so I decided to just hit out but with as much control as possible. We lost the first game right off with my partner serving. My son was serving next, but miracle of miracles, we actually were able to break his serve to tie it at 1-1. My serve just happened to turn on and I easily won my game. Game count 2-1. When my son served again, he aced me hard. All his aces he hit since we've been playing were down the "T". I didn't want to get aced so I was crowding the "T". But he got his wide serve going and aced me out wide. I was shocked. Everyone held their serve after that to 3-3. It was my serve and the match was on my racket. We played several good points to Deuce. The deciding point and our opponent gets to choose the side I serve to. Of course they chose my son to receive my serve. Classic one point wins all scenario. I made the toss, racket back, swing... I aced my son to win the match!!! What did I do? I figured my son would be expecting me to go for the ace so he was back and kind of waiting for a wide serve. I went through my normal service motion, but I actually hit a dink serve. I just barely made it over the net. My son was obviously taken by surprise because his reaction was delayed by just a moment. When I started to move forward, it was too late and the ball had bounced twice. ACE!!! Oh, it felt good to get that win! We played one more match but we were pumped and we weren't going to lose anything tonight. We took the last match 4-0. This is the first "All Victory" practice for me in a long time, so I was very happy.
In the end, I burned a good 1689 kcals. I little higher than average for a Wednesday.
My son came with me to this practice because we thought the we would be able to play more matches. He has one more tournament with another guy in March before he leaves for school. Luckily, the club had reserved 3 courts in the second hour so we would be able to play matches. With three courts we thought that two courts would be drill courts and one would be for matches, but this time, because the numbers were low, we got two courts for matches. So the match call went out, "Anyone who wants to play matches come to this side." There just happened to be 8 people. I thought I could pair with my son, but we went with "Rock-Paper-Scissors" to decide partners. My son got a strong partner, I got an okay partner, and the strongest player got the weakest girl and the strongest girl got a consistent but not powerful guy.
My team played the top guy and weak girl first. In this match, I was feeling I needed to pull back on my serve for the girl so I did, but I ended up double faulting too much and lost my serve. But we eventually won the match 4-1. My son and his partner won their match so we were up against them next. I honestly thought we didn't have a chance, so I decided to just hit out but with as much control as possible. We lost the first game right off with my partner serving. My son was serving next, but miracle of miracles, we actually were able to break his serve to tie it at 1-1. My serve just happened to turn on and I easily won my game. Game count 2-1. When my son served again, he aced me hard. All his aces he hit since we've been playing were down the "T". I didn't want to get aced so I was crowding the "T". But he got his wide serve going and aced me out wide. I was shocked. Everyone held their serve after that to 3-3. It was my serve and the match was on my racket. We played several good points to Deuce. The deciding point and our opponent gets to choose the side I serve to. Of course they chose my son to receive my serve. Classic one point wins all scenario. I made the toss, racket back, swing... I aced my son to win the match!!! What did I do? I figured my son would be expecting me to go for the ace so he was back and kind of waiting for a wide serve. I went through my normal service motion, but I actually hit a dink serve. I just barely made it over the net. My son was obviously taken by surprise because his reaction was delayed by just a moment. When I started to move forward, it was too late and the ball had bounced twice. ACE!!! Oh, it felt good to get that win! We played one more match but we were pumped and we weren't going to lose anything tonight. We took the last match 4-0. This is the first "All Victory" practice for me in a long time, so I was very happy.
In the end, I burned a good 1689 kcals. I little higher than average for a Wednesday.
Feb. 24, Tennis Tournament Day
February 24, 2019, Sunday - Tennis Tournament day.
Meteorologists fail us again. It was forecast to be sunny with a few clouds with cool to warm temperatures and no rain. However, it ended up being cool to cold to chilled, and when from a drizzle to light rain, to heavy rain all in a matter of a couple hours. Conditions went from tolerable to bad to downright sucky. And my game was affected greatly. I know, I know, everyone has to play in the same conditions, but the conditions affect everyone differently. Since I am between 20-25 years older than the average, it is difficult for me to adapt to adverse conditions. If I were still in my 20's, I could (and have) do(ne) it. Anyway, to the matches.
In the group round, our first match started off great then dropped to junk, but we were able to pull it out, winning 6-4. We actually rattled off 5 quick games and were up 5-0. The final game, or what should have been the final game was on my son's racket. When, miracle of miracles, my son was broken. Needless to say, he was not happy. He threw his racket and displayed a lot of anger. That is a problem we have talked to him about before, but today, I was not going to take it. So right there, I leveled a "Dad Speech" right on the court and after that, he kept it under control. Back to the match. In my son's service game, there was one point that turned everything around. We were in a rally and both of us were at the net. They lobbed the ball and my son ran back to get it. It was a perfect lob for what my son has wanted to do in a match forever, hit a "TWEENER". He hit it very well and it was a beauty of a shot. Unfortunately, our opponents weren't phased and were positioned to put it away. But my son was very happy to have been able to hit it. The atmosphere at that point in the game was very loose. Unfortunately, it was too loose and we ended up losing the game, and the next three games after that. It was 5-4, and we finally took the last game. Even though we won, it felt like a loss. We should have been able to close it out, but we let them get 4 games in a row. Not good.
The next match was better, winning 6-0. We were totally dominant and no messing around, all business, but stayed loose, but not too loose. In the first match, it was drizzling with a few raindrops. In the second match, the rain started to come down. In the third match, it was raining. The balls were heavy and weren't reacting to the spin as they had been. Things were about to change.
Our third match started as the rain started to come down and the temperature had noticeably dropped a few degrees. The balls were new, but they were heavy with water which made them less reactive to spin. That is a condition that I was unable to adapt to. Since I use a lot of spin, my shots were going out a lot more as well as my sons. I dropped my service game and that was all they needed. We couldn't break through on their serve and we lost 4-6. There were a few good shots, but overall it was a miserable match. It was a match that I know we could have won in normal weather conditions. The rainy conditions fit well with our opponents style of play since they didn't use a lot of spin and normally hit flat shots. But with the heavy balls, their shots died a lot quicker and stayed lower. I really wanted to win this match because out opponent had one guy that was on a team that I lost to in my previous tournament when I was teamed with another guy. No revenge this time around.
Now the rain was one step from a downpour when we broke for lunch and it got worse with a mist/fog rolling in, and temperatures dropping. Since we were expecting warmer weather, I didn't bring clothes to keep warm, so I started to shiver. Everyone was thinking that the afternoon matches would be postponed to the reserve day, but they weren't. I warmed up a bit with my Curry Cup-a-Ramen, but it didn't last.
We had reached the Quarter-Finals and our next opponent was a team that had been playing together since high school. They were also the same age as my son so the conditions didn't seem to affect their play as much as it did me. Their strategy was to hit the ball to me as much as possible and keep the ball away from my son. Here, it was just a matter of hitting more bad shots than good ones. It was just a matter of time. We ended up losing 1-6. The lone game that prevented us from getting bagled was my son's second service game. But here again, it was not as bad as the score would lead one to believe. There were no love games, and out of the 7 games played, 4 of them went to the deciding point. They just got more key points than we did.
It was a miserable day, but fun at the same time. This was our second trip to the main draw and our first trip to the Quarter-Finals. This also marked the last time for me to team up with my son. I could sense frustration on my son's part playing with me and it was not fun from that standpoint. I had much more fun playing in my previous tournament with a guy that plays to be competitive and to have fun. My son plays to win and he is on a different level than me now so it can't be fun for us anymore playing together. So, it was fun while is lasted but that era is over.
In the end, I burned a whopping 3253 kcals. I probably would have been more if the conditions were better.
Meteorologists fail us again. It was forecast to be sunny with a few clouds with cool to warm temperatures and no rain. However, it ended up being cool to cold to chilled, and when from a drizzle to light rain, to heavy rain all in a matter of a couple hours. Conditions went from tolerable to bad to downright sucky. And my game was affected greatly. I know, I know, everyone has to play in the same conditions, but the conditions affect everyone differently. Since I am between 20-25 years older than the average, it is difficult for me to adapt to adverse conditions. If I were still in my 20's, I could (and have) do(ne) it. Anyway, to the matches.
In the group round, our first match started off great then dropped to junk, but we were able to pull it out, winning 6-4. We actually rattled off 5 quick games and were up 5-0. The final game, or what should have been the final game was on my son's racket. When, miracle of miracles, my son was broken. Needless to say, he was not happy. He threw his racket and displayed a lot of anger. That is a problem we have talked to him about before, but today, I was not going to take it. So right there, I leveled a "Dad Speech" right on the court and after that, he kept it under control. Back to the match. In my son's service game, there was one point that turned everything around. We were in a rally and both of us were at the net. They lobbed the ball and my son ran back to get it. It was a perfect lob for what my son has wanted to do in a match forever, hit a "TWEENER". He hit it very well and it was a beauty of a shot. Unfortunately, our opponents weren't phased and were positioned to put it away. But my son was very happy to have been able to hit it. The atmosphere at that point in the game was very loose. Unfortunately, it was too loose and we ended up losing the game, and the next three games after that. It was 5-4, and we finally took the last game. Even though we won, it felt like a loss. We should have been able to close it out, but we let them get 4 games in a row. Not good.
The next match was better, winning 6-0. We were totally dominant and no messing around, all business, but stayed loose, but not too loose. In the first match, it was drizzling with a few raindrops. In the second match, the rain started to come down. In the third match, it was raining. The balls were heavy and weren't reacting to the spin as they had been. Things were about to change.
Our third match started as the rain started to come down and the temperature had noticeably dropped a few degrees. The balls were new, but they were heavy with water which made them less reactive to spin. That is a condition that I was unable to adapt to. Since I use a lot of spin, my shots were going out a lot more as well as my sons. I dropped my service game and that was all they needed. We couldn't break through on their serve and we lost 4-6. There were a few good shots, but overall it was a miserable match. It was a match that I know we could have won in normal weather conditions. The rainy conditions fit well with our opponents style of play since they didn't use a lot of spin and normally hit flat shots. But with the heavy balls, their shots died a lot quicker and stayed lower. I really wanted to win this match because out opponent had one guy that was on a team that I lost to in my previous tournament when I was teamed with another guy. No revenge this time around.
Now the rain was one step from a downpour when we broke for lunch and it got worse with a mist/fog rolling in, and temperatures dropping. Since we were expecting warmer weather, I didn't bring clothes to keep warm, so I started to shiver. Everyone was thinking that the afternoon matches would be postponed to the reserve day, but they weren't. I warmed up a bit with my Curry Cup-a-Ramen, but it didn't last.
We had reached the Quarter-Finals and our next opponent was a team that had been playing together since high school. They were also the same age as my son so the conditions didn't seem to affect their play as much as it did me. Their strategy was to hit the ball to me as much as possible and keep the ball away from my son. Here, it was just a matter of hitting more bad shots than good ones. It was just a matter of time. We ended up losing 1-6. The lone game that prevented us from getting bagled was my son's second service game. But here again, it was not as bad as the score would lead one to believe. There were no love games, and out of the 7 games played, 4 of them went to the deciding point. They just got more key points than we did.
It was a miserable day, but fun at the same time. This was our second trip to the main draw and our first trip to the Quarter-Finals. This also marked the last time for me to team up with my son. I could sense frustration on my son's part playing with me and it was not fun from that standpoint. I had much more fun playing in my previous tournament with a guy that plays to be competitive and to have fun. My son plays to win and he is on a different level than me now so it can't be fun for us anymore playing together. So, it was fun while is lasted but that era is over.
In the end, I burned a whopping 3253 kcals. I probably would have been more if the conditions were better.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Feb 23, the night before the big tournament.
February 23, 2019, Saturday - Tennis Match Practice.
It was a beautiful day today. Temperatures were on the cool side as opposed to the cold side along with a good dose of warmth for most of the daylight hours. In the evening, it did get quite cool and chilly but not freezingly so.
Tonight's practice was with one of the other teams playing in the tournament tomorrow. There were supposed to be only four of us there, but one guy, without his partner, wanted to come and practice so there ended up being five of us. After a good warmup, the two full teams started a match. I was thinking we would crush the other team, but it ended up being a pretty close match. We won 6-4, but we had a lot of good rallies and points. Since the other team likes to play a form of granny tennis, it was good practice for me for tomorrow. What is Granny tennis? Well, it is the style of tennis that is played by a lot of teams down where I am, and I hate it. Another name for it is "Moonball" tennis. Basically, it is just lobbing back and forth. That isn't really tennis for me. I like a more aggressive style of play. I can handle pace and power, but I tend to overhit the wimpy balls because they just sit up. After I hit a few balls out or into the net, I get conservative and I start to lob as well. When that happens, it is just not any fun. So it was a good practice.
Then, to get the odd man out, I bowed out and let him partner with my son. My son and he won 6-2. Then I came back and partnered with my son and a guy from the other team bowed out and let the odd man out play. My son and I won 6-2. I started to feel my stroke coming back and I was striking moonballs with power and depth.
The odd man out left and then we had time for a final match. It was a good match that my son and I won 6-3. I am feeling good and confident about our chances tomorrow. The weather is forecast to be just like today, so conditions are primed for a good tournament for us.
In the end, I burned a good 1682 kcals. It was a good burn.
It was a beautiful day today. Temperatures were on the cool side as opposed to the cold side along with a good dose of warmth for most of the daylight hours. In the evening, it did get quite cool and chilly but not freezingly so.
Tonight's practice was with one of the other teams playing in the tournament tomorrow. There were supposed to be only four of us there, but one guy, without his partner, wanted to come and practice so there ended up being five of us. After a good warmup, the two full teams started a match. I was thinking we would crush the other team, but it ended up being a pretty close match. We won 6-4, but we had a lot of good rallies and points. Since the other team likes to play a form of granny tennis, it was good practice for me for tomorrow. What is Granny tennis? Well, it is the style of tennis that is played by a lot of teams down where I am, and I hate it. Another name for it is "Moonball" tennis. Basically, it is just lobbing back and forth. That isn't really tennis for me. I like a more aggressive style of play. I can handle pace and power, but I tend to overhit the wimpy balls because they just sit up. After I hit a few balls out or into the net, I get conservative and I start to lob as well. When that happens, it is just not any fun. So it was a good practice.
Then, to get the odd man out, I bowed out and let him partner with my son. My son and he won 6-2. Then I came back and partnered with my son and a guy from the other team bowed out and let the odd man out play. My son and I won 6-2. I started to feel my stroke coming back and I was striking moonballs with power and depth.
The odd man out left and then we had time for a final match. It was a good match that my son and I won 6-3. I am feeling good and confident about our chances tomorrow. The weather is forecast to be just like today, so conditions are primed for a good tournament for us.
In the end, I burned a good 1682 kcals. It was a good burn.
Feb. 20, Regular Wednesday tennis.
February 20, 2019, Wednesday - Tennis.
Today was my regular tennis day with my club. My son came with me and we were able to match play practice. The drills were regular, so I'll talk about the matches.
We actually only were able to play two matches. The first match, we played the team that we barely beat almost two years ago at a regular tournament, which resulted in them inviting me to join this club. The pair play together a lot and are considered to be the top mixed doubles team in the club. When we played them, we beat them in a tiebreaker in the first match of our day. Today, we, my son and I, were a lot better and we crushed them, 6-0. I was happy that we could show our growth in just two short years. Everything was just clicking, we were moving well and our serves and strokes were sharp. It felt good... No, it felt great!
Then we moved back to the drill courts to give a few others a chance to play a match, but we went back to try it again when that match was finished. The second time around, things seemed to have switched off. All our serves were way off and all the guys were broken. With time short, the one female served and held, so they went up 1-3. I wish we had the time to finish that out. I would have liked to see what would have happened. As for my service game, the main point was my serving, too many double faults. If we want to win, I have to at least give us a chance to play a point.
In the end, I burned a good 1458 kcals. I was pushing it as hard as I could.
Today was my regular tennis day with my club. My son came with me and we were able to match play practice. The drills were regular, so I'll talk about the matches.
We actually only were able to play two matches. The first match, we played the team that we barely beat almost two years ago at a regular tournament, which resulted in them inviting me to join this club. The pair play together a lot and are considered to be the top mixed doubles team in the club. When we played them, we beat them in a tiebreaker in the first match of our day. Today, we, my son and I, were a lot better and we crushed them, 6-0. I was happy that we could show our growth in just two short years. Everything was just clicking, we were moving well and our serves and strokes were sharp. It felt good... No, it felt great!
Then we moved back to the drill courts to give a few others a chance to play a match, but we went back to try it again when that match was finished. The second time around, things seemed to have switched off. All our serves were way off and all the guys were broken. With time short, the one female served and held, so they went up 1-3. I wish we had the time to finish that out. I would have liked to see what would have happened. As for my service game, the main point was my serving, too many double faults. If we want to win, I have to at least give us a chance to play a point.
In the end, I burned a good 1458 kcals. I was pushing it as hard as I could.
Beginning of Tennis Week
February 19, 2019, Tuesday - Tennis with my son
Today was the beginning of a week of only tennis for my workouts in preparation for the upcoming tournament on the 24th of February. I'm playing doubles with my son so I wanted to focus on that and not have any extra physical soreness or pain from resistance workouts that I would normally have.
Today, I went to the local courts with my son and played just to get a feel for each other's game. We intended to just rally, but about 15 minutes in, my son said let's play a game. So, I went ahead and accepted the challenge. I knew I couldn't beat him, but my goal was to just not get bagled. The conditions were fine, the temperature was not too cold, but it was quite humid since it was raining earlier in the day. So there was a slight fog or a mist around the courts. Also, it is very difficult for me to see the ball at night especially when serving and I toss the ball, my depth perception with regards to the ball against a pitch black sky is just terrible. I promptly lost the first two games, but miraculously I was able to hold my next service game and in another miracle of miracles, I broke my son to draw even at 2-2. After that, my game got all shot up and my serve went south. Too many double faults. But there were flashes of brilliance, but I was not able to string enough of them together. I ended up losing the next four games. The score was 2-6, but the actual game was better than the score would reveal. Neither of us won less than two points in a game, so no LOVE games, and there was sufficient pressure in each game. I just need to gain control of my shots better and I will have a better chance. I'd like to play in the day when the light conditions are better.
In the end, I burned a good 779 kcals. Not bad for under two hours of tennis.
Today was the beginning of a week of only tennis for my workouts in preparation for the upcoming tournament on the 24th of February. I'm playing doubles with my son so I wanted to focus on that and not have any extra physical soreness or pain from resistance workouts that I would normally have.
Today, I went to the local courts with my son and played just to get a feel for each other's game. We intended to just rally, but about 15 minutes in, my son said let's play a game. So, I went ahead and accepted the challenge. I knew I couldn't beat him, but my goal was to just not get bagled. The conditions were fine, the temperature was not too cold, but it was quite humid since it was raining earlier in the day. So there was a slight fog or a mist around the courts. Also, it is very difficult for me to see the ball at night especially when serving and I toss the ball, my depth perception with regards to the ball against a pitch black sky is just terrible. I promptly lost the first two games, but miraculously I was able to hold my next service game and in another miracle of miracles, I broke my son to draw even at 2-2. After that, my game got all shot up and my serve went south. Too many double faults. But there were flashes of brilliance, but I was not able to string enough of them together. I ended up losing the next four games. The score was 2-6, but the actual game was better than the score would reveal. Neither of us won less than two points in a game, so no LOVE games, and there was sufficient pressure in each game. I just need to gain control of my shots better and I will have a better chance. I'd like to play in the day when the light conditions are better.
In the end, I burned a good 779 kcals. Not bad for under two hours of tennis.
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