6-15-17 (Thursday) HY: P90X3 - Eccentric Lower + RevAbs - Merciless Abs + TCF.

6-15-17 (Thursday) HY: P90X3 - Eccentric Lower + RevAbs - Merciless Abs + TCF.

Well, I made a little switch to my schedule.  I swapped Thursday and Friday around.  I had forgotten that I had moved Pickle-Ball to Friday, but even though there would be no Pickle-Ball this Friday, I wanted to keep the schedule.  I also wanted to snag two off days from resistance training over the weekend.  Upper body was still feeling the effects of The Challenge, especially in my Triceps.  So I really wanted to do some focused lower body work.  ChaLEAN Extreme is more of a synergistic program working both lower and upper body in each routine.  But Tony focuses way more on one or two muscle groups with his resistance routines.  From counting the worksheets, P90X3 has 6 resistance routines, Total Synergistics, Incinerator, 2 Eccentric, and 2 Complex.  If I stick with my regular schedule, I hope to go through all six at least 3 times.  Today was my return to focusing on my lower body. To sum up the experience... "OUCH!!!"

As I started, I looked at the bottom of the worksheet and saw "13" on the last move.  I was thinking, "Ha! Only 13 moves, no wonder it's only 30 minutes.  Easy stuff."  Famous last words.  I was also thinking that I wouldn't go too heavy with the weights.  Which is why the first move is only 17kgs.  I will go heavier next time, but I was thinking of this move as still a warm up move.   I went down a little for the Lunges.  And what I failed to see is that 10 of the 13 moves are double moves so I'm actually doing 23 moves.  Anyway, back to the Lunges.  Tony said at the beginning of the routine that Range of Motion is key, so I decided not to cheat on my range of motion.  So, I went down until my back knee touched the floor.  Going down that far was tough, but I was still fresh.  Sumos were fine, and this time I went up to 22kgs.  But it was easy because it was only with one dumbbell.  Weighted Pistol worried me.  This move looked really tough on the knees.  I felt really unstable and I wasn't able to go down as far as I would have liked.  Weight was average, but since my balance was off a bit, I was tilting and twisting at a weird angle as I went down.  Also, I wasn't really able to "EXPLODE" up.  I felt good on the first three moves, but the slow "3-count" then the exploding up on the Weighted Pistol move was almost impossible.  I was able to come up faster than going down, but no exploding.  Oh, I also mixed up the worksheet switching the weight number and rep number.  Like an idiot, I did that for the next few moves.  The next two moves were of the Cramping variety.  They seem easy, but holding my leg up for that long, and then pushing the range of motion, I came recklessly close to cramping in my glutes.

Is there a difference between Albanian Squats and Bulgarian Lunges?  They both have one leg back and elevated.  I would guess that the Albanian should have the leg elevated but to the side instead of the back.  But I went with Tony and just about hit a cramping failure again.  And again, no exploding up.  I could explode up if I didn't go as low as I did, but then again, working on range of motion.  Almost cramped up with move 8. Adductor Lunge.  I was breathless after both sides on this one.  Holding those weights and controlling the movement so slowly, MAN, that is BRUTAL!!!  Cross Reach was the one move in the later stages that I actually felt good and clean about... That is until about rep #8.  From rep #9, the near cramping started to set in, and my lower back started screaming.  But I muscled out the last couple reps.  Thank goodness there were only 10 reps.  Move 10. TT Plus was like move 9. fine to begin, then almost cramping on the last few reps.  That cramping feeling came on so quickly especially on the left that I was losing my balance in side plank.  TOUGH, TOUGH, TOUGH!!!  I am not happy with Bridge Kicks.  I feel I should be able to do that move better, but I just don't seem to have that big a range of motion on that move.  I can't even get straight from my knees to shoulders.  The dumbbell weight didn't really matter,  I just wasn't opening up.  Form seemed fine, just not open.  For the Hip Flexor Splits, I didn't use my Push-Up Stands.  I stayed on the floor and it became more if an Ab routine, even though I was trying to focus on my outer thighs and glutes.  If there is one issue I have with this routine, it is this, it just doesn't have enough Calf work.  Move 13. Calf Dog is a nice move for beginners, but there was hardly any resistance even with my opposite leg stacked.  I was playing with my angle to try and get more tension, but no big change.  But there was a little something something at the end, but not much.  I wish there were just maybe, a couple more moves that targeted the calves.  But other than that, WHAT A WORKOUT!!! My legs were like jelly.  I took a little extra time today to stop, watch, and learn the moves, AND for quick breathers.  By I was out of breath several times during this routine and need that extra few moments to recover.  Also, to shift around my weights.  Take a look at my worksheet.

I moved quickly into Abs.  I was sort of in a time crunch so I sped up the routine a bit.  I still did the moves on the slow count, but I cut short the stretch breaks and chatter periods.  I made it through the first two rounds just BARELY without any extra breaks, but I only made it to 6 reps on the "Spicy" V-Ups.  I tapped out then went to 10, took a breath, then finished it out.  The second "Spicy" move was fine, but the last move wasted me.  I just barely made it to 6 reps before collapsing back.  Also, I got back to using the 4kg dumbbells so my arms and shoulders were really feeling it.  Good Cramping style in 12 reps today.

Moving into the Flow, everything started off normally, but doing the Flow with good stable form was very difficult.  My quads were just laughing at me as I Flowed.  My legs were quivering like a wet poodle.  But I made it through without falling on my butt!

In the end, I torched another modest 650+kcals.  I hit what I wanted to hit so I was happy.  Upper and Lower bodies are coming back into balance.

6-14-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X2 - Recovery & Mobility + TCF.

6-14-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X2 - Recovery & Mobility + TCF.

I've wanted to do this routine for a few weeks, but due to my sleeping later than planned, I ended up in a time crunch, so I had to do a shorter routine.  Today, I woke up rested and refreshed... AND SORE.  After The Challenge yesterday, I figured I'd be sore today, but I did not think that my triceps would be the muscles most sore.  Also, I was still pumped, especially in arms and chest.  That sensation is a first for me.  I didn't know what to think about it.  I wonder if this is a turning point for me.  Also, my flexibility seems to have reached a new level.  Just last month or a couple months ago, when I would do my mid-week recovery, and I would do the forward hang to touch the ground, I'd be about 3 inches from the ground.  But after a few minutes of shaking it out and some dynamic and static stretching, I would be able to touch the ground with my fingertips.  Now, I can go straight to my fists and lower right from the first stretch.  I'm really happy about that as well.

Today, my right shoulder was feeling a little gimpy so I was looking forward to the foam roller.  Calves were loaded with hot spots, but I think I got a lot of them to release.  Everything felt really good.  I felt much looser afterward.  But rolling out my triceps when the upper body series began was brutal.  I'm still not sure if the pain was from the soreness or from the hot spots.  I had to back off quite a bit because the pain was too much.  The Frog and Pigeon were good, but I still need to work on opening up my hip flexors.   I'm thinking I'll need to go back to that stretch program.  The Flow was also really smooth.  It was nice because since I was so loose, I was moving very well.

In the end, I burned a modest 250+kcals.  But the best burn of the week!

6-13-17 (Tuesday) HY: P90X3 - The Challenge + RevAbs - Merciless Abs + Splits + TCF.

6-13-17 (Tuesday) HY: P90X3 - The Challenge + RevAbs - Merciless Abs + Splits + TCF.

Back to a normal schedule and a regular full workout.  Nothing out of the ordinary today, got home as usual, around 5:30 pm and relaxed a little with my daughter watching cooking videos.  We commented about how fattening some of the recipes were, using a ton of condensed milk and heavy cream.  Finally got to my workout.

I'm not going on the regular P90X3 schedule, rather, as I said on Sunday, I'm just picking out the resistance routines and going over them.  I haven't decided yet how many rounds, but at least 2.  Also, I'm just going with the BeachBody order as listed on the WOWY SUPERGYM list.  So today, The Challenge was up.  Honestly, I was nervous about this one because of the rapid succession of pull/chin-up sets on the worksheet.  I remembered this particular routine being probably the toughest of the bunch.  So, in choosing my reps number, I went a little lower than I remember doing last time.  I didn't take the time to look up what I did before, but I believe I did 10 on the Ups, and 30 on the Push-Ups.  Today, I decided on 7 on the Pull/Chin-Ups and 25 for the Push-Ups.

The first circuit was fine, but it was after the third move that I really started to feel the pump rushing on.  From then on, my upper body felt huge.  Arms, Chest, Back, Shoulders.  It is three hours after finishing the workout as I type this and I am still feeling a huge pump.  Thankfully, the Wide Pull-Up was the first variation.  Any later and my shoulder would have given me so problems.  But I powered through just fine.  The Push-Ups were also fine.  The second circuit was when it started to get tough with the Push-Ups.  The Chin-Ups were still fine, giving me a huge arm pump, but the Military Push-Ups were a problem.  I had to take little breaks, as you can see below, to get to my 25 reps.  Oh, and for the Push-Ups, I was using my stands, but followed Tony's advice of not going too much lower than 90 degrees at my elbows.  But the breaks were done in Plank, I didn't go to my knees or leave Plank.  But rather, it was a catch-your-breath break.  The third circuit with those Close Grip Pull-Ups was tough, but I managed to stay on the bar all the way through.  Thankfully, the Wide Push-Ups were up.  They are the easiest, but still, I needed the little breaks at the end.  The Final circuit was actually pretty good considering I was fried.  The Vaulter Pull-Ups were actually a bit easier, but still, I was brought to the brink of failure.  More breaks on the Push-Ups, but I got further into the set than previous Push-Ups.  The BURNOUT was tough as well.  I decided to go with Parallel Grip (HORN) Pull-Ups and Wide Push Ups.  I was happy to get 9 sets of the 1-Pull-up-3-Push Ups.  Of which I chose Wide Push-Ups.  I was a little worried I wouldn't last the whole time, but I did it. I was extremely pleased with my pump and exhaustion.

I moved right to abs and the routine I chose is tougher than I had originally though.  The first round was fine, but I could feel the pressure coming on.  The second set, I couldn't complete the first move (V-Ups) straight.  I had to tap out at the 8th rep, then finish the set.  Then the pain from the last set was intense.  The third round was brutal and spicy.  But the burn came on pretty quickly and stuck with me all the way through.  Core STILL feeling the effects.

The Splits and Flow were also a great way to finish off this workout.

In the end, I torched a good 750+/-kcals.  The considerably shorter routines are going to affect my calorie burn, but this is the schedule, so I'm going do it.

6-12-17 (Monday) HY: Splits + TCF + Tennis.

6-12-17 (Monday) HY: Splits + TCF + Tennis.

Well, today was sort of the beginning of a new practice for me.  On Mondays, I usually have the mornings off so I just sort of wake up late, relax, watch some baseball or some news, then saunter off to work around noon.  But I was feeling bad about missing my Splits and Flow yesterday, so I decided to do my splits and flow in the morning.  So I got up earlier than usual, had a Shake, then had a good Splits Stretch and Flow session.  I didn't wear my HRM so I was just getting into each stretch and really trying to pulse down lower into each move.  It was nice, actually to do it with no pressure or worry of it getting late.  The Flow was also nice to do with no pressure of having to finish by a certain time.  Just a free session.  I got a nice little sweat going, but I didn't want to take a shower, so I just sponge bathed myself before heading off to work.

Tennis today was probably one of the best if not THE best showing I've had since I started playing regularly in April.  During the warm up, I didn't feel it.  I wasn't able to control the ball, I was netting often, out too often, couldn't maintain a rally, everything was just... off.  I don't even think I hit a practice serve in.  The person receiving my serve made the joke, "Today, is an off day for your serve, eh!"  Well, it sure seemed that way in the warm up.  Then we started the match.  Once the game started, I guess something clicked and everything was suddenly ON!  I was making shot after shot, volley after volley.  I usually can't get my timing or see the ball well enough to poach, so I don't, but today, I was poaching like crazy.  My ground strokes were solid, going exactly where I was placing them, I was hitting volleys at unreturnable spots, and my serve, although I hit only one ace and two double faults over the whole match, I hit like 75% service winners, unreturnable serves.  I didn't lose any service games, and I was supporting my partner very well.  It wasn't perfect, by any means, but I was making good choices that for the most part paid off.  I did get burned a few times.  I was playing very aggressively today, pushing to take the net first, and I got offensively lobbed a couple times.  But by the end of the night, my team had won, 6-3, 6-1.  It felt good tonight.

In the end, I torched a good 1300+kcals.  My legs are feeling pretty tired at the moment, so I'm looking forward to sleeping.

6-11-17 (Sunday) HY: P90X3 - Total Synergistics.

6-11-17 (Sunday) HY: P90X3 - Total Synergistics.

The decision was made.  I will be using the resistance routines in P90X3 on my resistance days, and the cardio routines when I don't have either tennis or Pickle-Ball.  The way my schedule is working out is one of two ways: 1. Sunday - Tennis with my Wife, Monday - Club Tennis, Tuesday - Resistance, Wednesday - Mid-week Recovery, Thursday - Pickle-ball/Cardio, Friday - Resistance.  or 2. Sunday, Tuesday, Friday - Resistance, Monday - Tennis, Wednesday - Mid-week Recovery, Thursday - Pickle-Ball/Cardio.  Those are the two patterns that I am following right now.  1. has two resistance days while 2. has three resistance days.  The reverse is the same for Cardio days.  So I am happy with either.

Today was a rainy day so definitely no tennis, so I was able to think about it and go over my options.  My main reason for going with X3 is time.  I don't have a lot of time during the week so I would like do maximize my family time when I can.  I am thinking of going back to the original P90X during summer vacation when I can do my workouts during the day.  But that is a couple of months away, so I'm staying in the moment.

The last time I did X3 was almost exactly one year ago.  So I'm glad to be getting to it.  As I was saying on Friday, I was wishing for a routine that mixes cardio and resistance.  Well, it turns out that this routine, Total Synergistics is one of those types of routines.  I was surprised at the Pump and Burn I was getting throughout this routine.   The first move was fine, but I was used to doing it at a much slower pace with ChaLEAN Extreme, so I got a little behind and had to go a little overtime to get the 12 reps in.  I wanted to match the last run through.  The second move, Crescent Chair, I stuck with Tony and did only 6 reps.  I was wondering how I did 8 reps before.  Move three was Pull Knee Pull.  I actually did the 8 reps to match the last time's count, but I still had time so I added 2 more reps.  From there, everything went pretty well, and I was able to pretty much keep up with Tony and the crew.  Move 7, another set of Chin-Ups, I did the 10 reps to match the previous total, but I had to tap out at 8 reps, take a break, then get the last two.  It is just a tough move.  I needed to have a lot of control.  This routine also has some really tough ab moves, so I pushed on those and maxed out, or should I say I Cramped out.  For the weighted moves, I used two different weights, I used 7.5kgs and 4kgs.  From move 9 on, I matched every move from the previous time.  Except for the final move, Move 14. Warrior Squat Moon.  Previously, I had done 8 reps.  Today, I did 8 reps, but I had to tap out at 6 reps, shake out my glute, then finish out the last 2 reps.    It just started to suddenly cramp up and I could hold my leg up anymore.  But I was very pleased with how this routine really worked my total body.  My balance was pretty good, too.  I was feeling all sorts of burning.  I am very happy with the choice I made.

Since the X3 routine had some good ab moves, and my abs were already feeling pretty worn, and I couldn't motivate myself to even do Ab Ripper 200, I figured I had done enough.  I was planning to move on to the Splits and Flow, but while I was doing to preliminaries, I was called and had to go.  So That was it for the day's workout.

In the end, I torched a nice little 540+Kcals.  I figured it was a good start to the week.  I felt satisfied.

6-09-17 (Friday) HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Get Lean Intervals +TCF.

6-09-17 (Friday) HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Get Lean Intervals +TCF.

I was looking for another filler routine to end the week on.  I really didn't want to start a new primary program on a Friday.  Finally, I found the prefect one.  I think I have done this routine only once before several weeks/months after acquiring it.  And since I was in the middle of another program at the time, I didn't really think to much about it.  But it came back to mind today quite suddenly and I unretired it.  

IT WAS THE BOMB!!!  I was saying before that I wish there were more routines that mix Cardio and Resistance.  This is the second one in the ChaLEAN Extreme program that perfectly does this.  If there were just 5-6 more routines of this caliber on which a program was built, I would be a happy guy.  But today, my was in constant BURN MODE.  The cardio moves were short but intense.  The resistance moves made me hit failure every set, and I also added my own spice by doing a set of Pull Ups every 5 minutes or so.  Usually I do 10 sets, but today, I only did 6 sets, but I did 10 reps per set.  The major burnout set today was on Shoulders.  Again, I was just using 4kgs, but doing up and around 30+ reps, I had to tap out, shake out, then get back into it.  The original time of the routine is close to 45 minutes, but with the added Pull-Ups, it ended up being just over 1-hour.  There were times that I had to rewind the DVD after learning the move, and a few times after a move that I needed a little extra break.  But it starts off with that killer Thigh Toner move.  My outer thigh and gluts were SCREAMING right from the start.  There was also a jump rope move that I thought would be tough because of the focus on the calves, but I guess the Shaun T training prevented it.  I felt strong all the way through.

Since I added to the routine and increased the time, I was in a bit of a time crunch so I only had time for the FLOW at the end.  It was clean and smooth, so I was happy to end on a calm note.

In the end, I torched around 950kcals.  That's a big number for a much shorter than regular workout.  But I love it!!!

6-08-17 (Thursday) HY: PiYO - Sweat + TCF.

6-08-17 (Thursday) HY: PiYO - Sweat + TCF.

Today was kind of an odd day in that I had somewhat of a business trip or a business engagement.  I had to go and observe one of my students teach an English Class at a local elementary school.  Then, after the lesson, give feedback for and an evaluation of the lesson.  That pretty much took the whole morning and I didn't eat lunch until about 2:30 pm.  Then I had some errands to run for work and I got home at the usual time.  But since I was in the city, I ate lunch with my wife.  We were planning to go for a nice "Protein-Rich" meal, but then my wife remembered that one of our favorite Italian restaurants has a special price for women on Thursday, so our plan suddenly changed and we went to the Italian place.  It was a buffet-style restaurant and the food is delicious.  I didn't eat as much as I used to, but I still ate too much.  I thought I had it under control, I felt fine.  I had already decided to finish and was just drinking some water when suddenly my stomach felt like it popped a button and I felt like I was about to burst.  I couldn't move for a few moments.  But finally, when I was able to move, we left.  I had what felt like a localized cramp in my stomach for about 90 minutes after we left.  And I couldn't do anything but sit when I got home.  I planned to go to my tennis club in the evening, but that was out the window.  I finally started feeling better around 8 pm.  But still felt bloated.  But the good thing is that I didn't feel heavy.  I just ate a lot of the vegetable dishes, or should I say too much.  I did have their pizza and pasta, but mostly salad and for some reason a lot of broccoli.  I did have a few tiny doughnut holes and some soft-serve ice cream for dessert.  And the sweetest most delicious fresh pineapple EVER!!!  Not a lot of oil or fat.  Even the pizzas didn't have that much cheese on it.  And if you know Japanese style pizza, you know how small they are.  I didn't eat the crust and the base crust is almost paper thin, so I really didn't have a lot of carbs either.  Oh well.  We ended up having a really good time.  We walked around the city running some errands so that helped a little.

As I said, I felt better around 8 pm so I decided that I have to do something, but I knew I wasn't able to handle even just 25 minutes of T25, so I decided to go with PiYO.  The first two sections were fine, I was able to keep up with everything Chalene instructed, and I wasn't feeling sick or anything like that.  But once we got to the Power section,  OH MY GOODNESS!!! My legs were feeling it.  And there was some good cardio there as well with those Burpees.  I was happy that I felt really strong on all the Push-Ups, but that very last set in the Stretch and Strength section pretty much brought me to failure.  It was a great workout.  Then, the Flow was on point.  But I'm losing a little balance with regard to time.  The Right-Start Flow is naturally a little faster than my Left-Start Flow.  I'll need to work on evening that out and controlling my movements better.

In the end, I burned a light 468kcals.  Nowhere near the Grand+ I was expecting had I gone to play tennis, but I still feel I made the better decision.  I think next week will be back to normal. (KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK)