9-30-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Shoulders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Stretch + TCF.

9-30-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Shoulders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Stretch + TCF.

Today was a good day in that I was able to get a full workout in in plenty of time before sunset.  Part of the reason is that I was feeling good, and I didn't dawdle around when I got home.  I got home, I went straight to my preparation and got to the workout right away.  Hope it works this smoothly every week. HA!

One thing that helped is that Build: Shoulders is a shorter routine than the other two-body-part routines.  But even though the focus is shoulders, because my triceps are still sore, I could feel them getting a good workout as well.  On the first Single Set, the negative part of the press coming down with the weights, I was never so aware of my triceps.  I was able to keep the same weights as last time about a week and a half ago.  I felt better about those weights.  The next Super Set has a burner first move and a builder on the second move.  OMG!!! My shoulders were just burning with that lateral raise.  3kgs isn't much, but with 15 reps, it hit me right where it burns.  The Upright Rows also hit a new area on my shoulders, and even some back.  Maybe my form is off a bit...  The Giant Set has a strength first move then two burner moves.  Lighter weights does not mean easier.  It means MORE BURN!!!  I watched my form very carefully.  The next Super Set killed my traps.  I have to be careful because the moves are deceptively simple, but they really hit the traps.  In the final Super Set, the Sagi Six-Way is the ultimate BURNER move.  Again, light weights does NOT mean it's easy.  This is probably the most intense move of the routine, especially the second set with the heavier weight.  I just about hit failure every time and that last two reps, trying to get the weights above my head is brutal.  The Ab move was a good warm up for the next stage of my workout.

Decided to go with Ab Burner one more time to finish out the week.  But I decided to really flex the abs on each move.  OUCH!!! My Oblique muscles were thoroughly burned out.  I was/am feeling the burn still.  I also went with 10kgs on the weighted crunch circuit and that was almost too much.  I lagged behind Chalene's pace but I got all the reps in.  Good Burn!

As suspected, my knee felt laterally soft, so I decided not to do my regular routine.  Instead I did several moves to stretch out my hip flexors, like the yoga pigeon, and several hamstring moves.  I got into the stretch and just relaxed into it.  I also did the hurdlers stretch. for the hip flexor. Whew! The Flow was on!

In the end, I burned a modest 650+kcals, but my shoulders got it good.  As well as my abs.  Nice way to finish my week.  Happy Weekend!

9-29-16 HY: Combat 45 - Power Kata + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Splits + TCF.

9-29-16 HY: Combat 45 - Power Kata + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Splits + TCF.

I usually would have done a resistance workout on a Thursday, but my schedule is a little different this semester so I was trying to figure out how to fit in a resistance workout in the morning.  I was going over several different plans in my head.  Then this morning, I hit on a plan, "I don't have to do resistance today, I can do cardio today and then do resistance tomorrow when I won't be a pressed for time during my workout."  So, that is what I did.  After a shake for breakfast, I got to my cardio workout.

Love this workout!  I think this is my favorite of the program so far.  I haven't done the LIVE ones yet, but I don't think they'll dethrone Power Kata.  The tracks and circuits are great.  I was really winded today, and it was awesome to do that Flying Knee move again.  My favorite move of the whole program.  The combinations are great and they don't task my knee as much as Combat 60 does.  I had a lot of fun, and I sweat a ton.  I needed a lot of time after it was all done to wipe down my area.

I really wanted to get in some Abs today because, unlike the other routines, there is not focused ab work at the end of this routine, and I was feeling it.  So, I decided to go ahead and do Ab Burner again.  I did well, and I used heavier weights on the weighted crunch circuit.  That last weighted Russian Twist brought on the burn like nobody's business.

Like yesterday, I did the splits and Flow after work in the evening.  This time, during the last round of splits, my right knee felt extremely soft, especially on the Straddle Splits so I cut the time by about 30 seconds.  I'm actually quite worried by that feeling because I haven't felt my knee that soft before.  I'll have to test it tomorrow and see how far I can push it if at all.  If I can't push it, then I'll have to adjust the moves to accommodate.   Flow was great.

In the end of the morning session, I torched 803kcals.  A lot for my cardio workout.

9-28-16 HY: P90X2 - Recovery and Mobility + Splits + TCF.

9-28-16 HY: P90X2 - Recovery and Mobility + Splits + TCF.

Back to a mid-week recovery day, and boy did I need this one today. 

Everything went well in the morning.  Had a shake and got to the routine.  Smooth, but my triceps and chest were pretty sore from Tuesday's workout so when I tried to do a push up between up-dog and down-dog... OUCH!!!! That was some major pain.  I was able to get up, but the pain was real.  I was really happy I had the time to double the time on the Foam Rolling sequence because I really needed to roll out.  During the second round, I was feeling a lot better all around.

I did the Splits and TCF in the evening after work so I was able to get a double stretch day in.  The splits were great, got really low and pushed hard.  Flow was great as well.

In the end, I burned about 250+kcals during the morning routine.  Great recovery, especially since I was quite sore.

9-27-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Chest/Tris + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Splits + TCF.

9-27-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Chest/Tris + ChaLEAN Extreme - Ab Burner + Splits + TCF.

Got home a little late from work so I got a late start on today workout.  So I tried to pick up the pace and it was not pretty...

I started my second round of the Build Phase today.  Because of my trip to the US, it has been exactly one month since I did this routine last.  So I was hoping I could raise the bar over what I did a month ago.  The first Single set, started fine, but because I wanted to save time, I didn't do the Drop Set.  I actually did a Double Set in that I did 2 sets of 8 at the heavy weight.  I started to struggle on the last couple of reps of the second set, but I thought I could take it.  The next Super Set, The Flies were fine, but the Press was brutal.  In the Drop Set, I went back to 22kgs as the heavy weight and 19.5kgs for the drop weight and I couldn't get the left dumbbell all the way up on the final rep in both sets.  True failure hit me hard.  I was literally about an inch away from the top and couldn't close it out both times.  Harbinger of what was to come.  The Giant Set started off fine.  The light 15's were rough but I got through them.  The mid-12's were brutal, and I totally failed on the first two moves at 17kgs.  Again, on the very last rep.  I barely pumped out the 8 Decline Push Ups.  I thought moving to the Triceps moves would be better... IT WASN'T!!!  The Single Set, again, started off fine, but I could feel already that the 10's were heavy.  I had to flare my elbows a bit at the end to get the weights up. The medium weight, I had to put the weights down at 7reps, shake out, then finish off the 5reps.  I tried to go up to 13.25kgs, but couldn't even get the weights up so I went down to 12kgs, still couldn't get the weights up.  So I went back down to 10kgs.  Had to flare and cheat to get to 8reps.  Then Dropped to 8.75kgs for the final Drop Set.  Triceps were BARKING!!!  The next Super Set was total KILLER. I had to go down on all the sets.  I forgot to write it down, but the Drop Set went down to 8.75kgs and 7.5kgs.  I could barely get my arm extended then couldn't hold it out and just let it fall.  The Triceps Push Ups were the BIGGEST FAIL EVER for me.  I couldn't even go half way down.  I tried, but plopped to the floor.  So, on my knees, I only went down one third of the way.  Any further and I couldn't get up.  Barely going down 4 inches.  What a shame!  Same for the final Super Set, I could only go down about one third on the dips and my arms were shaking like wet cold poodles.  It was all I could do to get back up again.  The ray of light was the In and Outs,  I hammered out a personal best 55reps in 60 seconds.  In the hours following this routine, I could barely hold my arms or push with my arms.  Tris were totally FRIED!!!

I went straight into Abs and the routine was good.  It's been a while, but I pumped it out.  I still wanted to do the Extreme Core Circuit, but for variety, I did this one.  Everything was fine, but with fried Triceps, I couldn't extend my arms for the Russian Twist move with the weight, and I was so shaky on the Wrap Around move in one are Plank.  Fried fried fried!!!  But I got a good ab burn.

Splits were great, I hit a new low on the right side splits.  I'm almost there. and the Straddle Splits also got back to my Lowest point.  The Left side splits are still a work in progress, but they are getting there.  Flow was on point.

In the end, I torched 1049kcals.  Oh man, this totally burned out my Triceps.  That is something I haven't experienced in a very LONG time.

9-26-16 Tennis.

9-26-16 Tennis.

Monday is usually cardio day, but due to scheduling at my university, Monday has become Tennis Day!  But there will probably be changes in this as well in the coming months.  But I'll try to keep it as consistent as possible.

My first day of tennis since the last time I played tennis close to 6 weeks ago when I played with my son in the beginning of August.  Since then, I played close to 30 hours of Pickleball during the two weeks I was in the USA.  I was a little nervous to see how the Pickleball affected my tennis game.  Short answer, it messed it up BIG TIME!!!  Mainly, three things:  Timing, Form and Footwork.  My goodness, I felt like a fish out of water during the first 15 minutes or so.  I couldn't keep anything in the court, and I didn't feel comfortable moving, and I couldn't find the sweet spot or ideal contact point for the ball.  I would either jam myself or have to lunge for the ball at the last second.  My backhand was a disaster, way more than my forehand.  With bad form, miscued timing, and early or late contact on the ball, I just lost all power in the stroke and I really felt it.  Just starting off, I was miss-hitting the ball and it would really jar my shoulder on my forehand and my elbow on my backhand.  Then positioning myself to set up for the ball, I was like a bumbling idiot.  HOWEVER, after that initial mess and junk, I started to get the feel back.  My the 30 minute point, I was starting to feel more comfortable, and sort of making good contact with the ball.  There were some outside factors that influenced my play negatively in addition to what I have already stated.  First, the gym was like a sauna.  Just hot and humid.  Sweat started pouring right from the get-go.  Second, my legs were just just aching from yesterday's Leg Day with Sagi.  I wasn't getting a good jump on short shots and lateral movement was brutally difficult.  But, despite all that mess and difficulty, we did have a few stellar rallies that made the whole experience worth the effort.  Overall, I really enjoyed taking that first step to get my tennis form back.

In the end, I torched 1000+kcals.  Yes, it was less than what I burned during Pickleball, but the satisfaction of successfully placing a kill shot, or whipping a backhand passing shot cross-court just skimming over the net on a dead run, PRICELESS!!!  Looking forward to next week.

When I got home, I was fully intending to do Splits and Flow, but an intense soreness set in and my knees started to throb, so I decided to take a break today and rest up and go for it tomorrow.

9-23-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Back & Biceps + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit.

9-23-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Back & Biceps + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit.

Well, today was my first day back of official work.  No classes yet, but meeting with other teachers getting plans and schedules ready, etc.  Busy, but got a lot done quickly.  I got home a lot later than I wanted to so I was put into a bit of a time crunch.  Back to the game.  But I got the main routines in, I'll take my off day for the stretch today and so I'll have the end part of the workout tomorrow.

Final day of my come back week.  That is come back from vacation in case I failed to say why this is my come back week.  A lot of blips in today's routine.  First Single Set was no problem.  But I was really focusing on my form and really tried to copy Segi and I could feel my lower back really working it, but not straining so as to hurt it.  Odd feeling, but it let me know that my form was correct.  But still didn't use really heavy heavy weights just to be safe.  In the next Super Set, I kept the former weight and the first two Pull Up sets, I hammered out straight.  But the last set, I couldn't go all the way,  So I split the 10reps 7-3.  Total failure.  It was all I could do not to jerk hang down.  In the Giant Set, I upped the weight of several sets.  I was happy I could do that.  It also helped on time since I didn't need to change plates. My back was so burned out I went down on the Reverse Flies. Set four is a Single Set of Chin Ups. I did 12-8-6 straight previously, but today, I had to come off the bar a few time mid-set. So it was 8/4 - 5/2/1 - 3/2/1.  The "/" denotes me coming off the bar.  So burned out, I was.  The next Single Set focused on Biceps, and I went up in weight on only the medium set.  The burn was ON!!!  The next Single Set was the Combo Set, the 1, 1, 2 Hammer Curls.  My oh my, the Burn was on again, but this time, not only in my biceps, but also in my forearms.  Specifically the muscle that is connected to my index fingers.  I guess having to stabilize the dumbbell in the hammer position is putting a lot of resistance on that particular muscle.  Major burn.  By the final biceps set, my biceps were on FIRE!!! Oh man, were they burning.  On the Drop set, I had to use a little body English to get the weights up.  But I was able to limit it so I didn't use too much momentum.  The final set, the move is seemingly easy, but man, does it really burn the back.  It was a killer.  Great pump and burn on the upper body.

My abs have been sore pretty much all week.  The soreness was just starting to dissipate So I figured I was ready to do an ab routine.  I didn't want to go too intense, which is why I went with Extreme Core Circuit again.  Plus I really like this routine.  But I decided to really concentrate on form and keeping my elbows open and hinging at the core.  OH MY GOODNESS!!! Another extremely intense burn hit me like a mack truck!  I had to back off some in the middle.  I never realized how different the affect is when my elbows are open verses closed.  HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!  But it was a great workout on the core.  I needed every stretch Chalene gave us.

That was it for the time, so I ended my workout,  So...

In the end, I torched a surprising 969kcals.  Great way for me to end my weed.  I'm so ready for my off day.  Happy Weekend!!!

9-25-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Legs + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + Splits + TCF.

9-25-16 HY: Body Beast - Build: Legs + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + Splits + TCF.

Pretty regular Sunday, went out in the early afternoon to do some errands with my wife. Ate out at a Chinese restaurant which was delicious.  Made sure I ordered lots of veges along with the other staples.  When I got home, I had to rest some before I got to my workout.

Legs is the routine I have been most worried about because for some reason, my legs have been feeling sore or fatigued since I came back to Japan.  I have been consciously avoiding doing Legs... Until today.  There was no more avoiding it, it was time to get it done.  And frankly, it wasn't that bad, but there were times when I thought I wasn't going to make it.  As far as weights go, I, for the most part kept the same weight as the previous time.  The only weight I changed was to go up one notch on the second to last move of the routine, Seated Calf Raises. I went up 2.5kgs on both sets over last time.  There were a few rep changes in the final Giant set as well, but everything was pretty much the same.  The first set was fine.  Legs felt strong and ready. The next Super Set took a lot out of me.  Those were long sets doing double sets hitting both legs in one round.  I really started to feel the burn during that Super Set.  After the Super Set, I could feel my hamstrings and glutes starting to cramp.  The muscles just sort of started to involuntarily started to contract.  I quickly stretched them out and hurried to get to the next Giant Set.  This is the Killer Set for sure.  The Bulgarian Squat just totally burned out my legs.  I had to really battle and stretch to prevent cramping.  The Straight Leg Dead Lift started hitting on my back so I kept telling myself to watch my form.  During the last heavy set, I sort of used a little momentum to get up, but I made sure to keep my front leg straight.  The final Giant Set just burned out my calves on the first move.  My rep count was a lot lower than the last time, too.  I don't understand how I could have done that many reps in 30 seconds.  Guess I'll have to work up to that.  I had to write the info for the final Giant Set below because there was no room on the line.

I went right into the core workout.  Yes, this is the third time in a row that I've done this one, but for some reason, I really like it, and I just want to do it again and again.  SERIOUSLY!!!  I have raised the weight in hand, though.  Today, I had my 2kg hand weights and I was in pain.  Serious burn there.  Form was good, ball position also good.  That combo equals the BURN!  It felt good.

Splits and Flow were as good as can be expected.  Kept pushing lower on the splits and the smoothness and cleanlyness of the Flow was beautiful to behold.

In the end, I torched over 1100kcals.  Good way to start the week.  I'm really curious how sore I'm going to be tomorrow.  My biceps were still pretty sore today, so I'm thinking I'll be more sore on Tuesday than tomorrow.  We'll see.