The month of December...
I just wanted to explain the deal with my workout days. There are two days this semester that I would normally workout but can't because of work. But for this month, I have been doing the Quad-Challenges every day they are assigned. Sometimes there are different rest days integrated with each of the challenges except for the Burpees and my Pull-Ups. It is so nice when I have an off day. I am being true to the challenges. So even when I can't do a regular workout, I just come home and knock out the challenges. It was fun.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Dec. 16, Tennis got rained out.
December 16, Sunday - HY: LIIFT 4 - Chest and Triceps Circuit + Quad-Challenges + TCF.
Today was supposed to be tennis day, but since there was a steady rain, it was canceled. I was so bummed. But it was a blessing in disguise because the night before, Saturday night, I watched the three-hour Crossover episodes of The Flash, Supergirl and Arrow called ELSEWORLD. Since my daughter was out till about 9:30pm, we didn't start watching till past 10 o'clock. It didn't finish until after 1 am. And it was such an awesome show that I couldn't sleep for a long time. So I woke up naturally around 10:30am. I would have been really late if we did have tennis practice, but when I heard the rain, I knew it was canceled so I went back to sleep and didn't get up till close to noon. I went out with my daughter in the afternoon just to do a little shopping and run some errands. It was another nice moment of Father/Daughter time. When I got home, I was awake and ready to move.
I am continuing on with the LIIFT 4 program, so today was the beginning of Week 2, so back to Chest and Triceps. The routine was made up of Quad-sets of alternating Chest and Triceps exercises. It put the burn on, but It didn't feel as brutal as Week 1's routine. I'm not sure if I like Quad-sets. Supersets are more my pace. But I pushed it as hard as I could go. There wasn't a cardio part, but as usual, there was a core part, and that rocked my world. I made the mistake of not doing the Quad-Challenges first, so when I got to them, the main trouble area was the Core and my core was getting so sore! This is the first day that I had to break the V-Ups into two sets. Also, for the Pull-Ups, it seems that I injured my left-upper-lat. Pull-Ups were tough, as opposed to Chin-Ups which I was able to do better and with no toe taps.
In the end, I burned a good 785 kcals. About average for a day like this. I had a shake for dinner so I hope I evened out the calorie intake and burn.
Today was supposed to be tennis day, but since there was a steady rain, it was canceled. I was so bummed. But it was a blessing in disguise because the night before, Saturday night, I watched the three-hour Crossover episodes of The Flash, Supergirl and Arrow called ELSEWORLD. Since my daughter was out till about 9:30pm, we didn't start watching till past 10 o'clock. It didn't finish until after 1 am. And it was such an awesome show that I couldn't sleep for a long time. So I woke up naturally around 10:30am. I would have been really late if we did have tennis practice, but when I heard the rain, I knew it was canceled so I went back to sleep and didn't get up till close to noon. I went out with my daughter in the afternoon just to do a little shopping and run some errands. It was another nice moment of Father/Daughter time. When I got home, I was awake and ready to move.
I am continuing on with the LIIFT 4 program, so today was the beginning of Week 2, so back to Chest and Triceps. The routine was made up of Quad-sets of alternating Chest and Triceps exercises. It put the burn on, but It didn't feel as brutal as Week 1's routine. I'm not sure if I like Quad-sets. Supersets are more my pace. But I pushed it as hard as I could go. There wasn't a cardio part, but as usual, there was a core part, and that rocked my world. I made the mistake of not doing the Quad-Challenges first, so when I got to them, the main trouble area was the Core and my core was getting so sore! This is the first day that I had to break the V-Ups into two sets. Also, for the Pull-Ups, it seems that I injured my left-upper-lat. Pull-Ups were tough, as opposed to Chin-Ups which I was able to do better and with no toe taps.
In the end, I burned a good 785 kcals. About average for a day like this. I had a shake for dinner so I hope I evened out the calorie intake and burn.
Dec. 12, Midweek Tennis
December 12, Wednesday - Tennis + Quad-Challenges.
Today was another indoor tennis practice. This month, actually, we didn't have the luck of the draw with the new public courts so we are at the indoor facility every Wednesday this month unless there is a cancelation and the weather is good.
Today's tennis was okay. I didn't feel totally on the ball. I had some good rallies and made some good shots. But the "ON" feeling just wasn't there. The menu was regular, but I didn't do spectacularly well, or terribly either. It was a middle of the road night for me. Weather-wise, it wasn't that cold so I was able to just wear shorts.
When I got home, I hammered out the Quad-Challenges. The numbers are starting to get up there, but I'm still knocking them out of the park.
In the end, I burned a good 1334 kcals. It is still around 200 kcals of the average.
Today was another indoor tennis practice. This month, actually, we didn't have the luck of the draw with the new public courts so we are at the indoor facility every Wednesday this month unless there is a cancelation and the weather is good.
Today's tennis was okay. I didn't feel totally on the ball. I had some good rallies and made some good shots. But the "ON" feeling just wasn't there. The menu was regular, but I didn't do spectacularly well, or terribly either. It was a middle of the road night for me. Weather-wise, it wasn't that cold so I was able to just wear shorts.
When I got home, I hammered out the Quad-Challenges. The numbers are starting to get up there, but I'm still knocking them out of the park.
In the end, I burned a good 1334 kcals. It is still around 200 kcals of the average.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Dec. 11, Free Day Workout, LIIFT Legs
December 11, Tuesday, HY: P90X3 - Cold Start + LIIFT 4 - Legs + Quad-Challenges + TCF.
I was a little afraid of today because I haven't done legs in a long time. I usually do upper body and core, and leave the leg workout to my two days of tennis a week. But since it is part of the program and the final routine of Week 1 of this program, I'm going to do it.
Not much creativity in the moves and the pattern is set, three rounds of a few moves. The moves were the usual leg moves of Squats, Lunges, etc. But I went to a good weight on the moves and I was really pushing it and struggling. I know I got a good workout and I know I'm going t be sore for a while afterward. And since I knew it would be brutal, I started off with the best warm-up out there. X3 Cold Start. It got my whole body moving awesome.
The Quad-Challenges are starting to become more challenging. Getting up into the mid-teens in reps and I am slowing down. But the best thing is my Push-Ups are explosive now. Before starting this challenge on December 1, my push-ups were a real struggle. I was feeling so heavy. Then the challenge came into my life. The first couple of days were a bit of a heavy task, but from the third day, I was pumping them out like a crazy person. I hope I can keep it up all the way to 50 reps. So far so good.
I finished off the workout as usual, with a flow series.
In the end, I burned 843 kcals. Another nice surprise calorie burn.
I was a little afraid of today because I haven't done legs in a long time. I usually do upper body and core, and leave the leg workout to my two days of tennis a week. But since it is part of the program and the final routine of Week 1 of this program, I'm going to do it.
Not much creativity in the moves and the pattern is set, three rounds of a few moves. The moves were the usual leg moves of Squats, Lunges, etc. But I went to a good weight on the moves and I was really pushing it and struggling. I know I got a good workout and I know I'm going t be sore for a while afterward. And since I knew it would be brutal, I started off with the best warm-up out there. X3 Cold Start. It got my whole body moving awesome.
The Quad-Challenges are starting to become more challenging. Getting up into the mid-teens in reps and I am slowing down. But the best thing is my Push-Ups are explosive now. Before starting this challenge on December 1, my push-ups were a real struggle. I was feeling so heavy. Then the challenge came into my life. The first couple of days were a bit of a heavy task, but from the third day, I was pumping them out like a crazy person. I hope I can keep it up all the way to 50 reps. So far so good.
I finished off the workout as usual, with a flow series.
In the end, I burned 843 kcals. Another nice surprise calorie burn.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Dec. 9, Tennis Day with a lot of matches.
December 9, Sunday. Tennis Day.
It was supposed to be cold, but lately, it has been not as cold as one would expect it to be in December. It was a beautiful day! A little cloud cover, and a little breeze. I dressed accordingly. At the courts, it seemed colder than it was at my house. Especially when I was sitting in the shade of a tree and the wind blew. The chill was felt.
The menu was the regular drills, but the length was shortened a bit. We ended up playing matches for almost half the practice. My first match was an easy one. My partner and I overmatched our opponents and took the set 4-0. We paired again for a second match but this match was much tougher and we ended up losing 2-4. It was odd, because, in the first match, my serve was firing great, but in the second match, I couldn't buy a first serve. In the third match, I paired with my old partner and we played well together and took the match 4-2 against another strong team. We started the fourth match with totally new players but had to cut the game short due to time at 1-1. But since we played most matches, there was more waiting time than usual. So my calorie burn was quite a bit lower than the average Sunday tennis practice.
When I got home, I wasn't looking forward to doing the Quad-Challenges, but once I got started, it was a lot easier than I had expected. Crushed them.
In the end, I burned 1756 kcals. That is a little less than 1000 kcals lower than a normal Sunday. But getting in matches is a necessary practice.
It was supposed to be cold, but lately, it has been not as cold as one would expect it to be in December. It was a beautiful day! A little cloud cover, and a little breeze. I dressed accordingly. At the courts, it seemed colder than it was at my house. Especially when I was sitting in the shade of a tree and the wind blew. The chill was felt.
The menu was the regular drills, but the length was shortened a bit. We ended up playing matches for almost half the practice. My first match was an easy one. My partner and I overmatched our opponents and took the set 4-0. We paired again for a second match but this match was much tougher and we ended up losing 2-4. It was odd, because, in the first match, my serve was firing great, but in the second match, I couldn't buy a first serve. In the third match, I paired with my old partner and we played well together and took the match 4-2 against another strong team. We started the fourth match with totally new players but had to cut the game short due to time at 1-1. But since we played most matches, there was more waiting time than usual. So my calorie burn was quite a bit lower than the average Sunday tennis practice.
When I got home, I wasn't looking forward to doing the Quad-Challenges, but once I got started, it was a lot easier than I had expected. Crushed them.
In the end, I burned 1756 kcals. That is a little less than 1000 kcals lower than a normal Sunday. But getting in matches is a necessary practice.
Dec. 6, NO NIGHT CLASS!!! LIIFT Day!
December 6, Thursday, HY: LIIFT 4 - Shoulders + Quad-Challenge + TCF.
I am still working out the system of this program but I think I'm starting to get used to the workout style of the trainer. I actually still like Tony, Chalene, and Shaun the best because they seem more natural in front of the camera, but this trainer, whose name I cannot remember at the moment, still seems a bit artificial on camera, much like Segi and Brett. They just seem like they are trying too hard to be cool for my taste. But their programs are good.
Anyway, back to the workout. Shoulders today, and I was a little wary of the workout because I have had shoulder problems in the recent past that I don't want coming back, so I chose some weights that are a bit lighter than I would normally go if I was at 100%. But again, they felt like they were right on the money get me to burn out by the final set and rep. One thing I really like about this program is the focus on pace. Not to slow, not to fast, but a steady pace that would keep the time-under-tension long and I can also do eccentric work for more gains. I don't do the pace the trainer uses, he uses a 2-0-2 pace, but I like the Tony style, 1-0-3 pace. That eccentric theory has me going for more gains. My shoulders got a good workout, pump and burn.
Biceps were on fire today. If I kept my arms bent for too long a period of time they would start to ache so I would need to straighten them to stretch them. HOW LONG WILL THE PAIN BE REAL!!!!
Finished off with the Quad-Challenge and my Flow series.
In the end, I burned a good 635 kcals. This is the number I was expecting, but it was a good workout.
I am still working out the system of this program but I think I'm starting to get used to the workout style of the trainer. I actually still like Tony, Chalene, and Shaun the best because they seem more natural in front of the camera, but this trainer, whose name I cannot remember at the moment, still seems a bit artificial on camera, much like Segi and Brett. They just seem like they are trying too hard to be cool for my taste. But their programs are good.
Anyway, back to the workout. Shoulders today, and I was a little wary of the workout because I have had shoulder problems in the recent past that I don't want coming back, so I chose some weights that are a bit lighter than I would normally go if I was at 100%. But again, they felt like they were right on the money get me to burn out by the final set and rep. One thing I really like about this program is the focus on pace. Not to slow, not to fast, but a steady pace that would keep the time-under-tension long and I can also do eccentric work for more gains. I don't do the pace the trainer uses, he uses a 2-0-2 pace, but I like the Tony style, 1-0-3 pace. That eccentric theory has me going for more gains. My shoulders got a good workout, pump and burn.
Biceps were on fire today. If I kept my arms bent for too long a period of time they would start to ache so I would need to straighten them to stretch them. HOW LONG WILL THE PAIN BE REAL!!!!
Finished off with the Quad-Challenge and my Flow series.
In the end, I burned a good 635 kcals. This is the number I was expecting, but it was a good workout.
Dec. 5. Night tennis, indoors.
December 5, Wednesday. Tennis.
Today we had practice at the indoor courts. Before leaving home for the courts, I thought it would be colder than it was. So it was actually pretty warm, so I got a good sweat on. Today was rainy so it was good that we had it at the indoor courts again. But the surprising thing is that there were a lot of people who came. Luckily, they came mostly late, so I was able to get a good warm up in with a good player. After that, the people started coming and the court time was at a premium. So I made the best of my court time and really tried to be consistent and extend my rallies. It must have worked because the burn was evident. One big thing that made it extra tough was the fact that my arms, especially my biceps were so sore from the workout yesterday. I was shocked at how much my biceps were aching. In the past, after a biceps workout, I never really felt as sore as I did today. I would feel the pump and burn during and a little after, but never this intense the following day. But the big question is how I'll feel tomorrow. As I get older, the soreness from a good workout has typically been the worst on the second day after the workout.
But either way, today was a good tennis day. I was able to feel solid and I was stroking the ball well. That is always a plus!
When I got home, I did the Quad-Challenge and hammered it out.
In the end, I burned 1620 kcals. A good night's burn on any night.
Today we had practice at the indoor courts. Before leaving home for the courts, I thought it would be colder than it was. So it was actually pretty warm, so I got a good sweat on. Today was rainy so it was good that we had it at the indoor courts again. But the surprising thing is that there were a lot of people who came. Luckily, they came mostly late, so I was able to get a good warm up in with a good player. After that, the people started coming and the court time was at a premium. So I made the best of my court time and really tried to be consistent and extend my rallies. It must have worked because the burn was evident. One big thing that made it extra tough was the fact that my arms, especially my biceps were so sore from the workout yesterday. I was shocked at how much my biceps were aching. In the past, after a biceps workout, I never really felt as sore as I did today. I would feel the pump and burn during and a little after, but never this intense the following day. But the big question is how I'll feel tomorrow. As I get older, the soreness from a good workout has typically been the worst on the second day after the workout.
But either way, today was a good tennis day. I was able to feel solid and I was stroking the ball well. That is always a plus!
When I got home, I did the Quad-Challenge and hammered it out.
In the end, I burned 1620 kcals. A good night's burn on any night.
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