5-30-17 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Lean Circuit 1 + I've Got Abs + Splits + TCF.

5-30-17 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Lean Circuit 1 + I've Got Abs + Splits + TCF.

Today was a kind of a bummer.  I was feeling good in the morning and war ready for the day.  Then, as I was driving to work, my seat cushion was a little off center.  In order for me to center it, I have to lean way over to my left and then twist around to readjust it.  Well, as I was twisting, I guess I twisted my neck as well because I felt a sudden pain on the left side of my neck.  So that when I sat normally, looking to the left was painful.  All day at work, I was trying to massage the spot, but it stuck with me.  I've had this pain before and doing weights with this type of neck kink always becomes more painful.  Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to that.  But today, weights was scheduled so I figured I was in for some pain.

As I started my workout, I decided to do the low reps, high sets with my Pull-Ups.  So, I did the 4 variations on the workout sheet: Chin-Ups (3sx6r), V-Pull-Ups (3sx4r), 5-Grip Pull-Ups (2sx2rds), and Parallel Grip Pull-Ups (2sx6r).  For a total of 10 sets.  The first number is the number of sets, so "3s" means 3 sets, and "6r" means 6 reps.  For the 5-Grips, 1 set consisted of 2 rounds and each round had one Pull-Up on each grip, so each set had 10 reps.  I just about hit failure on the V-Pull-Ups, but mainly because of my left shoulder.  It is still not at full strength, but it is coming along slowly but surely.  But it was intense today.

I mostly kept the weights the same as the last time I did this routine on May 16.  The only change was on move 3.  I moved down to 8.75kgs on this one because my arms were already feeling it, so I figured it would be best to go down and not injure myself.   There weren't any surprises.  The burn came quickly on a lot of the moves.  Again, it was those slow reps that killed me.  With every other move a biceps move, my arms were so PUMPED!  It felt good, but I know I'm going to feel it in the morning.  I almost cramped out on the Hamstring Curl with the resistance bands in move 5.  Keeping my hips forward really challenges those hamstrings.  It was an awesome workout.  Luckily, I tried not to put too much stress on my neck, so I didn't have any issues with that neck kink.

I went right into abs.  Since I sort of hold this routine responsible for my chest issues last week, I was a little nervous, but, as it turns out, I was feeling a lot better about it as the routine progressed.  I was feeling the burn pretty quickly once the 5-minute mark passed.  I felt really good with the Push-Ups.  I was able to keep the core strong throughout the routine.  But I still came close to failure about three times.  I wasn't able to keep up with Chalene's transition pace.  On a few moves, I needed a little more time, not much, but I had to rewind the video.  I remember taking three separate breaks.  The first one was just before crossing my feet straight up, and then touching my ankles on either side.  I needed a breather just before that one started.  I don't remember the other two breaks, but I took them.  Much more burn with the weighted oblique moves as well.  When I finished, I really felt the hardness of my core.

The splits and Flow were fine.  No residual soreness so everything was good.

In the end, I torched way over 1000kcals.  A good day for a big calorie burn.

5-29-17 Tennis.

5-29-17 Tennis.

Today's tennis is with my regulars.  They normally play on Thursday evening, but for the past few weeks, a few of the members come and play on Mondays, too. We were short one person today so we couldn't play doubles, but it turned into a good practice session.  One good hour of drilling each other and when a fourth finally came, we had just enough time to play one set.

My partner and I went down quickly to a 1-3 deficit. But we fought our way back to 5-5.  Then, a few unforced errors crept in and we lost the set 5-6.  As for my service games, I lost my first service game.  Two aces, then two double faults, then error doomed me.  That's when we went down to 1-3.  But I picked up my service game and only hit one double fault in my next two service games, 4 aces, and 4 service winners.  I lost only one point on my serve in my last two games and that was the double fault.  My serve was ON FIRE!!!  The Sunday practice really helped me find my rhythm.   Even though we lost, we still had a fun time.

In the end, I torched just under 1400kcals.  Happy for the burn!

5-28-17 Tennis.

5-28-17 Tennis.

Slow day today, just getting things organized around the house, watching some TV, relaxing.  My wife was able to get a court for late afternoon, so we went to play tennis.  The last time we played, she was able to do really well at her tennis club, so that motivated her to want to play again.  This time, we started to actually play some points.  Rally points, starting with the serve.  She was able to hit into the doubles alley, but I was playing the singles court.  I got a good workout running everything down.  And since I was serving a lot more than usual, I got some good second serve practice in.

In the end, I torched just over 1000kcals.  Fun way to start my week.

5-26-17 ChaLEAN Extreme - Burn Intervals + TCF.

5-26-17 ChaLEAN Extreme - Burn Intervals + TCF.

I would normally do a regular resistance workout today, but two things prevented that: 1. Time.  Again, I was in a time crunch and I only had about 90 minutes to workout.  2. Big day on Saturday.  I had to give the sermon at church and I didn't want to risk hurting myself or overdoing it (as I am prone to do at times).  But I still wanted to get some weights in.  So I figured that this would be the perfect routine for today, and it was.  Plus, I wanted to maintain my good Pull-Up progress so I added a set of 5 pull-ups between moves at different times for a total, again, of 10 sets, I used the same progression as on Tuesday: Wide Grip, Parallel Grip, Close Grip, Chin Up.

I LOVE THIS ROUTINE!!!  I really wish there were more routines like this one or even a full program that combine resistance and cardio in the individual routines.

First, let me address the Thigh Toner Band.  To quote Tony, "I Hate it... But I LOVE IT!!!"  And to paraphrase the woman, herself, "This little band looks so innocent, but it is a killer!"  I totally agree.  By the final move, my thighs and glutes are absolutely screaming.

Second, the cardio moves.  These are probably the most fun cardio moves I've done.  As the move progresses, just the nature of the move motivates you to push even harder.  Then, there is Chalene, herself with her talking.  Awesome stuff.  I get burned out and sweat like crazy.  But recovery is quick so I can pretty much stick with her pace.

Lastly, the light resistance moves.  I love the burn from the light weights and "BAZILLION" reps.  I'm moaning after each move with pain.  But I make it through.  But the one move that I find the need to take several breaks on in the past was the triceps move.  First Triceps Kickbacks, then transitioning to Overhead Triceps Extensions, fast, then slow, then fast again.  The Kickbacks are usually fine, but the Overhead Extension, Oh my triceps BURN and I end up taking several breaks... until today.  Today, I only needed on break during the whole move, it was when the slow reps started on the Overhead Extensions.  I had to shake out my arms, but I got back to it.  Barely made it to the end.  Then, the final weighted move is Squats.  Usually, I can't make it to the end, but today, CRUSHED IT!!!

I just loved today's workout.  And I was able to have a big burn as well.  I had just enough time to tack on a series of Flows so I was able to calm myself.

In the end, I torched a surprising 1063kcals.  Happy to get that "Grand" in to close out the week.

5-25-17 HY: T25 - Alpha: Total Body Circuit + Splits + TCF.

5-25-17 HY: T25 - Alpha: Total Body Circuit + Splits + TCF.

This was my nemesis routine when I was doing this program several months ago.  This is the one routine in Alpha that I could not do a Straight 25 on.  And after doing MAX 30, I thought that I would and should be able to get all the way through it with no break.  Long story short, I did not make it all the way through.  I made it all the way to the end of the regular routine then as the Burnout started, I just died.  So, I took my first break at 5 minutes, then 2:50, then 1 minute left.  Three breaks in the last 5 minutes is not good.  But I was happy that I was able to power through the main routine.  If the first move of the Burnout was not Tap Push-Ups, I could have done it.  But doing Burnout Push-Ups right after doing a tough progression of Push-Ups with the last one being those killer Spider Push Ups. NO WAY!!! For now, anyway.  I had to do tons of Push-Ups on Tuesday and Wednesday so these were even more killer!

I finished it out with a nice quick round of Splits and a clean and smooth series of Flows.

In the end, I burned a nice little 656kcals.  Since I was in a bit of a time crunch, I only had a short time to workout.

5-24-17 HY: P90X2 - X2 Yoga + TCF.

5-24-17 HY: P90X2 - X2 Yoga + TCF.

I woke up a little earlier today so I decided to give X2 Yoga a try.  With my shoulder bugging me and my chest muscles sore, I was wondering how much of this one I'd be able to take.  Also, after yesterday's resistance workout of my chest and shoulders, those areas were regular sore on top of that.

The stretch was nice, and all the little flows, but the standing sequences were killer.  That one sequence with the Standing Splits, I could not handle, I had to come out of it and stand up and shake it out midway through the sequence on both sides.  It has been a while since I needed to do that, but at the same time, it has been a while since I've actually done this routine as well.  But compared to X3 Yoga, X2 Yoga really allows a person to settle into a pose and just sit.  I am still surprised that I was still able to do the Wrap on both sides, but just fingertips holding on.  My right Half-Moon was terrible.  Balance was terrible.  And when I was up, I had to look down.  Still can't keep my balance well enough to look up.  But on the left side, for some reason, I was/am able to keep my balance a lot better and look up.  I always do the extra Push-Up on all the Vinyasa's, but after all the push ups yesterday, with all the soreness, I was struggling to get all those Push-Ups in.  But all in all, it was a great session.  And I felt noticeably looser at the end, so I decided to do a series of Flows which really felt good as well.

In the end, I burned off a nice 453kcals.  Pretty much double the X3 Yoga burn.  I also felt double the pain as well.

5-23-17 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Lean Circuit 3 + I've Got Abs + Splits + TCF.

5-23-17 HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Lean Circuit 3 + I've Got Abs + Splits + TCF.

Today, for some reason, my shoulder was feeling a little achier than usual.  Also, I noticed on my worksheet that I didn't write any of the "Bonus" Pull-Up moves that I had done in every other resistance routine in this program.  I can't imagine not doing that extra set, so I changed it up a little.  Today, instead of doing a MAX set at the beginning of the routine then after each Tri-Set, I did a set of 5 reps after each move.  I did this because my shoulder hurts and I didn't want to burn it out while keeping close to the same number of reps as before.  So, I ended up doing 10 sets of 5 reps.  The first three were Wide Grip pull ups, second three were Parallel Grip, third two were Close Grip Pull-Ups, and the last two were Chin-Ups. Felt good and fast and almost maxed out at the end.

As you can see on the worksheet below, I lowered my weights from the last time by an average of 3.5kgs.  I was a little wary because of my chest tightness, so I didn't want to pressure it too much by lifting weights that would take me right up to, and past my MAX.  Of the Lean Phase, this routine is my favorite.  I love the Shoulder and Chest work.  The weights I used were perfect.  There were several sets of Push-Ups and I think I felt pretty strong during them.  But by the end of the routine, I was feeling that strain but I kept good solid form.  I felt good through the entire routine and I was pretty spent but energetic at the end.  Happy to report that there were no issues with chest pain today.

I moved right into abs.  I think my chest tightness came from this routine.  As I went through the move progression, I could see the stress each move was putting on my upper core up to my chest.  As I was lying on my back, I could feel the sensation of a sore muscle being pressed.  And each rep really worked the muscles that seemed to be giving me the most pain.  I think that once I get used to this particular routine, my issues will go away.  Until the next tough new ab routine.  As usual, this routine gave me a hot burn and I was feeling it right away and for a while afterward.

Splits and Flow were on point.  Felt good to get that stretch on.  The Flows were clean and smooth.  Almost becoming second nature, but I still have to somewhat focus on what I do.

In the end, I torched a steady 1082kcals.  It really felt a lot better this time with the weights and the change in Pull-Up style.  We'll have to give it a go again, soon!

(It is Sunday today and I'm playing catch up because I had to write a sermon and translate it into Japanese this week.  So, I'll be posting for four days today.)