8-17-15 HY: Insanity-Plyometric Cardio Circuit + Splits + TCF.

8-17-15 HY: Insanity-Plyometric Cardio Circuit + Splits + TCF.

It has been over a year since I did the Insanity program.  I've done routines here and there, but it has sort of sat on the back burner since the shorter routine programs came out, along with Asylum.  But I have dubbed this session of the Hybrid Old School so I'm going back to P90X and Insanity.  The two programs that started me on the Beachbody journey. 

Today's routine was supposed to be the easy one.  Intense, but easy. NO WAY!!!  I knew the warm up was going to be tough, so I had to really grit it out to get through the warm up.  I also started to sweat right when Shaun T noticed himself starting to sweat.  I figured that was a good sign. HA!  Nice long stretch and off we went.  The first circuit was good.  I lasted all three rounds without too much trouble and no extra breaks.  But I knew the second circuit was a lot tougher.  In hind sight, that was an understatement. Starting with Basketball drills, the plyo kicked into high gear. Level One Drills were hard, mainly because my arms were still rather sore from yesterdays resistance.  Especially my triceps for some reason.  But I gutted it out and got through.  But when Shaun T started the Ski Abs, I had to take a break.  For all three rounds of the second circuit, I HAD TO take a break before Ski Abs, AND In and Outs.  Just a quick breather, but that little break was necessary.  I took a little break before the Level One Drills in the third round as well.  It was a TOUGH routine, but it energized my mind.  My body was dead, but I felt great in my head.

It was nice to do the Splits stretch and Flow.  Again, I took some extra time to push the Splits harder.  I'm feeling the need to step up the training so since I have the time, I'm adding time to each move and soon, I'll add a whole extra round.  I'm still on the quest to do a fast and smooth Flow under 1 minute for both sides, and I was close today.  Just about a second over.  I'm almost there.

In the end, I torched a solid 830+Kcals!  That is a good number for me!

8-16-15 HY:P90X-Chest and Back + RevAbs-Mercy Abs + Splits + TCF.

8-16-15 HY:P90X-Chest and Back + RevAbs-Mercy Abs + Splits + TCF.

Shoulder rehab kicked into high gear with today's workout.  This is the first full on routine with pull ups I've done in over 2 months.  As expected, I did lose strength, but that is what the rehab is for.  I haven't done this routine in a very long time, but all 12 moves were basic and easy to do. I kept the reps in a reasonable range for the first round, and tried to match it in the second.  I seem to lose strength really quickly if I don't do resistance training regularly.  Only one workout last week amid all the tennis.

Pull ups! Oh, how I've missed thee!!!  I didn't go full bore today, I used the resistance band assist on all the sets and only did 10 reps per set.  The first round went pretty easily, but the second round, I really had to struggle on the last 3-4 reps.  Had to come off the bar during the chin ups, and barely eked out the last 2 reps.  But the best thing is that there was no pain in my shoulder.  There was some soreness after the workout, but not during.  But before my injury, I was able to do several sets of 20 reps with no assist.  That is what I want to get back to... and more. 

I lost some push up strength as well.  Again, I followed the tip of the day and paced myself in the first round.  My numbers were about the same as the guy on Tony's team that looks like Jon Hamm, but with no extra leg raises or anything like that.  Just straight form.  OMG!!!! The pump I got during this workout was incredible. My upper body felt hard and huge.  I pump and burn I haven't had in a long while.  I was able to keep up with Tony and the crew for most of the first round, need some extra breather time on the last couple moves, and on about the last four moves in the second round.  But it was great to get back into the serious weights again.

I had already decided not to do Ab Ripper X and do Mercy Abs instead because the pump and burn are different.  That pump and burn, I personally feel, matches the pump and burn I get from the resistance workout.  The slow reps and the concentration on good breathing really complimented the previous routine.  Got what I asked for, a great burn and failure at the end.  And a long lasting pump and burn even after the routine ended.

Went right into the Splits.  This weekend is the first time since January 1 that I had 2 days in a row with no splits.  And I swear, it will be the last.  I was totally intending to do them on Saturday night, but all that stuff with the Volcano eruption warning, and preparing evacuation and survival supplies, I just didn't get to them.  So I took some extra time on them today and it actually felt good.  The Flow also, it felt good.  I tried to kick it up a notch and really Flow fast, and it was really good.  It felt natural and smooth.  The video I posted the other day, I noticed while watching it, that it is quite jerky.  A lot of stopping and locking... no popping. hehehe... But if I get the chance, I will video it again at two different speeds, slow and fast.

In the end, I torched just under 1000kcals during today's workout.  Great way for me to start the week.

8-14-15 HY: Tennis + TCF.

8-14-15 HY: Tennis + TCF.

My plans changed because my son was able to get out of school early so instead of doing my first P90X weights routine, I played tennis. 

It was a weird day. Right from my eyes opening in the morning, I just felt off center. I was not in the best of moods, and my whole body just felt heavy.  In hindsight, I think it was a good thing that I didn't do the weights routine because I might have hurt myself with the way I was feeling.  Just so out of sorts.  I think it was connected to the weather with atmospheric pressure far from normal because of a high pressure system moving over us.

Tennis was terrible.  I couldn't get my groove.  I couldn't get myself out of that funk, I was late on almost all my strokes, my serves was just not going in... Need I go on?  The one good thing was after we finished playing, we played with my son's iPhone 6's camera and shot our serves in slo-mo mode. He also shot my Flow.  Considering posting it here.  We got a good laugh from some of the things we discovered about his serve.

Flow was good.  But I must have been a bit nervous with the camera on me because I was messing up and losing my place.  My orientation was also askew.  I finally got it right and he shot a good flow.  But I was still over stepping on my stances.

In the end, even though my performance was terrible, just trying to get on track was a good workout.  I torched over 1000kcals.  Nice way to ease into the weekend.

8-13-15 HY: P90X-Plyometrics + Splits + TCF.

8-13-15 HY: P90X-Plyometrics + Splits + TCF.

Back to weights yesterday so that means today is a cardio day.  Since I'm going back to do P90X, is there a better way to get back into the program than with PlyoX?  I know the routine well having done it several times in years gone by.  But I was ready to kill it today so I took the intense route and jumped a little higher than usual, and did the extreme a little longer than usual.  Legs were burning, Lungs were pumping, Blood was flowing.  I took advantage of all the breaks, got water every chance I got, and paid close attention to the clock so as not to over run the time.  Such a great cardio workout!  My legs were really feeling it along with the rest of my body.  Killed It!!!

Went right into the splits then Flow.  Had a great session and going low and smooth.

In the end, I torched a good 900+kcals!

8-12-15 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme-Lean Circuit 3 + P90X-Ab Ripper X + Splits + TCF.

8-12-15 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme-Lean Circuit 3 + P90X-Ab Ripper X + Splits + TCF.

Tennis plans were messed up due to inclement weather. So, it was back to the normal workouts and routines.

I had one left-over routine on the Lean Circuit so I did it to round out my worksheet. Now I'm all caught up.  Target muscles today were Chest and Shoulders, secondary targets were legs, back and core.  Compared to the last time I did this routine which was a little over a week ago, I was able to maintain the weights at one level instead of lowering them as the routine progressed.  I was very happy about that.  Last time, with the shoulder moves, I started at 14.5kgs, the stepped down in increments of 1.25kgs.   Today, I kept it at 14.5kgs all through out.  Also, on the chest fly moves, I kept the weights at 17kgs for both moves.  At one point I thought I failed, but I realized that my right arm was too straight, so no failure, just bad form.  One slightly different thing I'm doing is on the Breakdown, I am doing the original move instead of doing half the composite original move.  For example, the second move is a Step Back Lunge with a Single arm Arnold Press.  The Breakdown is just he Arnold Press, but I kept in the Step Back Lunge.  It was nice to do the shoulder moves with almost no pain in my injured shoulder, or previously injured shoulder.  It is still sore from tennis, but not an injury pain, just a rehab pain which is expected.  Great workout! Happy to get back to the weights and not have a huge drop in my strength glaring out at me.

I wanted to keep it intense, so I went with Ab Ripper X.  The original KILLER AB routine.  The first 10 moves are fine.  I can do them at Tony's pace.  But the previous 2-3 times, I die out during the Mason Twist.  I was determined to make it to the end including the 10 bonus reps, so I pushed through.  Oh the PAIN and AGONY!  But I finished the whole routine in one sitting, no wimping out!  But at the end, I was doubling over on the ground and GROANING!!! Burn Burn BURN!!!

I feel the splits getting lower a millimeter at a time. I continue to allow my body weight to push my lower, but on the side splits, my hip flexor is a little tender, perhaps from the jarring tennis moves, but I have to work through that extra pain now, too.  The Flow was good.  I was planning to record it for the group today, but it didn't workout because of the rain.  But hopefully soon!

In the end, I torched over 800kcals during my workout.  And as I write this, I'm still feeling the burn and pump in my shoulders.  I'm sure my chest will feel it tomorrow as well.

8-11-15 HY:Tennis + TCF + Splits.

8-11-15 HY:Tennis + TCF + Splits.

Another good tennis day.  Only my son and I today.  Pushed it to get my groove, but still have a way to go.  We both hit some good shots, but still too many unforced errors.

After the game, I tried to record my Flow, but it was too dark, so I'm not planning to post it.  Hopefully I can get it recorded in better light.

Later in the evening, I did my splits and had some pain in some unexpected areas.  Like my right shin.  I am putting some pressure on it.  I need to roll it out.  I think I'll do it before I head off to bed.

In the end, after tennis, I torched over 1100kcals.  Big week this week, but I'm going to have to do some resistance training this week.  My left arm needs some extra work as well to keep balanced.

8-10-15 HY: Tennis + Splits + TCF.

8-10-15 HY: Tennis + Splits + TCF.

Another day for tennis.  But had a lot less time today plus, three of us went to play together so that took a little of the movement out of it for me.  I few times I play one on one with each child, but I was teamed with my daughter for more than half the time so I was helping her with her game more so I was coaching more than playing.  But I still got a good workout.  At the end of the session, I had torched 860kcals.  Still a good days work.

Again, in the evening, I struggled to do splits.  My legs are still getting used to the tennis movement so lower body is still sore and tired. As is with my right shoulder and arm.  I need to do some left arm workout to balance out the tennis.  My right shoulder is sore, but it is not injury pain, but the good kind of pain.

Not only was it a good workout, but a great time with my kiddo's!  That's the best thing for me!