9-29-17 (Friday) HY: YAYOG - Intermediate: Circuit Training + TCF.
Today was a rush workout. I was in a major MAJOR time crunch. By the time I got home from work, I only had about 40 minutes before sunset. I usually don't like taking my Friday workout up to the line like this, but since I knew that the workout itself was only about 20 minutes, and under 30 minutes with the warm-up and cool down, I went for it.
Today ends the Intermediate Phase of YAYOG (You Are Your Own Gym). The routine pattern is four moves done in succession for six sets. The moves are: Star Jumpers, Half Dive Bomber Push-Ups (But again, I did FULL Dive Bombers), Oblique V-Ups (3 sets on each side), and Hip Up Bridges (I used Push-Up Stands). I crushed the first four sets! Absolutely went all out. The last two sets... I SPANKED to next week. When there are only two sets to the end, the adrenaline start pumping and you want to push even harder. But once that last rep was done, I collapsed to the floor, totally spent. I sweat like crazy, and I had to scramble between moves to set up and wipe the sweat from my eyes. In the last three sets, I had to close my eyes during the last 10 seconds of each move to keep the sweat from going in. I was glad that there was an ab move, or I would have felt like I was missing something in my workout.
I had just enough time after catching my breath to do a good regular Flow series.
In the end, I burned just under 500kcals. I was happy to get it done in time to welcome the Sabbath! Happy Weekend, everyone!
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Thursday, September 28, 2017
9-28-17 (Thursday) HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Burn Intervals + Extreme Core Circuit + Arm Shaper - Diamond Push-Ups + Lower Back Stretch + TCF.
9-28-17 (Thursday) HY: ChaLEAN Extreme - Burn Intervals + Extreme Core Circuit + Arm Shaper - Diamond Push-Ups + Lower Back Stretch + TCF.
Since I didn't have my night class today, I was thinking to go and play tennis. But I got home later than expected and if I did go, I would have had less than an hour to play. Plus, I really did feel like fighting traffic so I decided not to go. So, I had to figure out what routine I would use in my workout today. The above is what resulted.
I hadn't done this style of routine (Cardio/Resistance combo) since I hurt my back so I was again a little wary of how it would effect it. As I started the routine, everything seemed fine and the first round of Cardio/Resistance when well. But as the routine continued, it because clear that my cardio endurance and muscle endurance had much to be desired. I had to catch my breath on several of the transitions so I had to back up a bit and restart. Especially on the Thigh Toner moves. Getting that little band on is tough deal at times. I was using 5kgs all the way up to the Triceps Kickbacks. On the quick transition to Overhead Triceps extensions, I switched to 4kgs. I was able to get all the way to the slow reps, but the burn was way too intense and I had to take a break. But only one. I almost took one finishing the move out, but I gutted it out. There were a lot of "Skaters" reps and "Bowler Lunges" that required me to stay low and bend over. My lower back got a good workout to the point of the ache, which is why I didn't do a Lower Back Strengthening routine. I had enough in this routine. It was a great workout!
I moved directly into Abs still using the 1kg hand weights. I tried to keep my head in alignment with my spine today and that made a huge difference. I got a good burn in my abs, but I'll be moving up a step next time to Extreme Abs.
For the Arm Shaper, I went with the Diamond Push Ups. I hadn't done them in a while so I wanted to see how many I could do. Not sure if it was a record, but I did 35 reps straight. Then I did an extra set of 15 reps to get to a round 50.
My lower back was feeling a bit achy so I quickly went to the Lower Back Stretch and MAN did it ever hit the spot. Really loosened up my back. I had two classes today in which I couldn't sit in my baby seat so it was in need of something to help it loosen up. Then the Flow series rocked it even more.
In the end, I torched a nice 879kcals. It was a good sweaty workout. Glad to get it done, today.
Since I didn't have my night class today, I was thinking to go and play tennis. But I got home later than expected and if I did go, I would have had less than an hour to play. Plus, I really did feel like fighting traffic so I decided not to go. So, I had to figure out what routine I would use in my workout today. The above is what resulted.
I hadn't done this style of routine (Cardio/Resistance combo) since I hurt my back so I was again a little wary of how it would effect it. As I started the routine, everything seemed fine and the first round of Cardio/Resistance when well. But as the routine continued, it because clear that my cardio endurance and muscle endurance had much to be desired. I had to catch my breath on several of the transitions so I had to back up a bit and restart. Especially on the Thigh Toner moves. Getting that little band on is tough deal at times. I was using 5kgs all the way up to the Triceps Kickbacks. On the quick transition to Overhead Triceps extensions, I switched to 4kgs. I was able to get all the way to the slow reps, but the burn was way too intense and I had to take a break. But only one. I almost took one finishing the move out, but I gutted it out. There were a lot of "Skaters" reps and "Bowler Lunges" that required me to stay low and bend over. My lower back got a good workout to the point of the ache, which is why I didn't do a Lower Back Strengthening routine. I had enough in this routine. It was a great workout!
I moved directly into Abs still using the 1kg hand weights. I tried to keep my head in alignment with my spine today and that made a huge difference. I got a good burn in my abs, but I'll be moving up a step next time to Extreme Abs.
For the Arm Shaper, I went with the Diamond Push Ups. I hadn't done them in a while so I wanted to see how many I could do. Not sure if it was a record, but I did 35 reps straight. Then I did an extra set of 15 reps to get to a round 50.
My lower back was feeling a bit achy so I quickly went to the Lower Back Stretch and MAN did it ever hit the spot. Really loosened up my back. I had two classes today in which I couldn't sit in my baby seat so it was in need of something to help it loosen up. Then the Flow series rocked it even more.
In the end, I torched a nice 879kcals. It was a good sweaty workout. Glad to get it done, today.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
9-27-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + TCF.
9-27-17 (Wednesday) HY: P90X3 - X3 Yoga + TCF.
Really took it easy today, but I wanted to get something done when I got home. And I had already planned for this day to be a recovery day per my regular schedule. So, Yoga and my Flow series.
I was a little wary of how all that bending over and such would do to my back, but it actually felt really good, and I definitely felt a lot looser afterwards. I was worried about the Wrap move, but it was fine. No tweaking. All the moves pretty much worked out. But I had some balance problems again on the Half Moon pose. But the odd thing is that is was opposite problems. Usually I have issues on my right side but solid on my left. Today, it was reversed. I kept falling out on my left so I kept tapping my back toe to keep balance. Whereas I was pretty stable on my right side. One move I was very careful to modify was the almost last move, Plow. I really didn't want to put too much pressure on my lower back spine, so I took it easy.
The Flow series was good. No major hiccups or spills. Then afterwards, I got back to the Butterfly Stretch and more hamstring stretches.
In the end, I only burn around 250+ kcals. But it was well worth it.
Really took it easy today, but I wanted to get something done when I got home. And I had already planned for this day to be a recovery day per my regular schedule. So, Yoga and my Flow series.
I was a little wary of how all that bending over and such would do to my back, but it actually felt really good, and I definitely felt a lot looser afterwards. I was worried about the Wrap move, but it was fine. No tweaking. All the moves pretty much worked out. But I had some balance problems again on the Half Moon pose. But the odd thing is that is was opposite problems. Usually I have issues on my right side but solid on my left. Today, it was reversed. I kept falling out on my left so I kept tapping my back toe to keep balance. Whereas I was pretty stable on my right side. One move I was very careful to modify was the almost last move, Plow. I really didn't want to put too much pressure on my lower back spine, so I took it easy.
The Flow series was good. No major hiccups or spills. Then afterwards, I got back to the Butterfly Stretch and more hamstring stretches.
In the end, I only burn around 250+ kcals. But it was well worth it.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
9-26-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Intermediate: Ladders + Arm Shaper + TCF.
9-26-17 (Tuesday) HY: YAYOG - Intermediate: Ladders + Arm Shaper + TCF.
Today was an odd day. I got home a little later than expected because a meeting ran long. I'm usually wanting to relax when that happens, but today, I just wanted to get my workout started. So I got started.
Intermediate Ladders was up, so I was wondering how I would modify or intensify the routine. Well, the method came to me pretty quickly once the DVD started. Even though this is an "Intermediate" Phase routine, the rep ladder only went up to the peak of 4 reps. Nope! Not enough. So my first modification was to go up to 6 reps. The second modification, as before, was to plateau instead of peak. So the rep ladder went 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-5-4-3-2-1 two times. The two moves in the first circuit were Side Lunges and Single Leg Dead Lifts. Both moves are double moves so one reps meant one rep on each side, hence a "double" rep. I was feeling good, so I was able to go up and down the ladder twice without too much of a problem. But on the last descending part, lower back started to really ache. Staying upright on the Side Lunges and keeping my rising leg and upper body on the same plain really worked it out. Those 8 extra sets at the plateau of each ladder also added a lot more time to the routine.
The second two-move circuit was made up of Standard Push-Ups and Thumbs Up. Same style as the first circuit except that the rep count was doubled. As for modification, the DVD has the Push-Up rep count as 1-2-3-4 etc. and the Thumbs Up rep count at 2-4-6-8. But I pushed that up to 12 reps. Mark said, "For every 1 Push-Up, do 2 Thumbs Up." But I doubled the Push-Ups as well. So the actual rep count today was 2-4-6-8-10-12 etc. Last week, I did it as Mark said. The Double Push-Ups were BRUTAL!!! But I hit a second wind on the second ascending part. In the first ascending and descending, I couldn't do the Thumbs Up straight through on the highest set. I would stop every one or two reps to relieve the burn in my upper back and shoulders. But on the second climb, I was able to go straight through on all the sets. But I really had to gut out that last descending part for both moves. At the end of it, my upper back and Posterior Delts were ON FIRE and the had a MAJOR PUMP ON!!! And I was totally spent. I calculated the total number of Push-Ups and it ended up being 78 reps. I could have probably done that amount in two sets, 50-28, and not have be as painful, but this way, man was there a burn. But 78! After the cool down, for my Arm Shaper, I wanted to pump out 22 reps to hit 100 reps. So I got started. But when I hit 22, I just kept on going. I figured I'd stop at 35 reps, but 40 was right there so I kept going. I started slowing down around 33 reps, but I wanted that even 40 so I gutted the rest out. SO SPENT!! ARMS and SHOULDERS DYING!!! My lower back was also already throbbing, so I decided against doing the other Lower Back Strengthening routine. I think it was worked out enough today. I was thinking about doing the stretch, but I figured I'd just stretch later so, I finished the workout with my Flow series.
In the end, I burned a nice round 690kcals. Nice number and an awesome Pump and Burn today.
Today was an odd day. I got home a little later than expected because a meeting ran long. I'm usually wanting to relax when that happens, but today, I just wanted to get my workout started. So I got started.
Intermediate Ladders was up, so I was wondering how I would modify or intensify the routine. Well, the method came to me pretty quickly once the DVD started. Even though this is an "Intermediate" Phase routine, the rep ladder only went up to the peak of 4 reps. Nope! Not enough. So my first modification was to go up to 6 reps. The second modification, as before, was to plateau instead of peak. So the rep ladder went 1-2-3-4-5-6-6-5-4-3-2-1 two times. The two moves in the first circuit were Side Lunges and Single Leg Dead Lifts. Both moves are double moves so one reps meant one rep on each side, hence a "double" rep. I was feeling good, so I was able to go up and down the ladder twice without too much of a problem. But on the last descending part, lower back started to really ache. Staying upright on the Side Lunges and keeping my rising leg and upper body on the same plain really worked it out. Those 8 extra sets at the plateau of each ladder also added a lot more time to the routine.
The second two-move circuit was made up of Standard Push-Ups and Thumbs Up. Same style as the first circuit except that the rep count was doubled. As for modification, the DVD has the Push-Up rep count as 1-2-3-4 etc. and the Thumbs Up rep count at 2-4-6-8. But I pushed that up to 12 reps. Mark said, "For every 1 Push-Up, do 2 Thumbs Up." But I doubled the Push-Ups as well. So the actual rep count today was 2-4-6-8-10-12 etc. Last week, I did it as Mark said. The Double Push-Ups were BRUTAL!!! But I hit a second wind on the second ascending part. In the first ascending and descending, I couldn't do the Thumbs Up straight through on the highest set. I would stop every one or two reps to relieve the burn in my upper back and shoulders. But on the second climb, I was able to go straight through on all the sets. But I really had to gut out that last descending part for both moves. At the end of it, my upper back and Posterior Delts were ON FIRE and the had a MAJOR PUMP ON!!! And I was totally spent. I calculated the total number of Push-Ups and it ended up being 78 reps. I could have probably done that amount in two sets, 50-28, and not have be as painful, but this way, man was there a burn. But 78! After the cool down, for my Arm Shaper, I wanted to pump out 22 reps to hit 100 reps. So I got started. But when I hit 22, I just kept on going. I figured I'd stop at 35 reps, but 40 was right there so I kept going. I started slowing down around 33 reps, but I wanted that even 40 so I gutted the rest out. SO SPENT!! ARMS and SHOULDERS DYING!!! My lower back was also already throbbing, so I decided against doing the other Lower Back Strengthening routine. I think it was worked out enough today. I was thinking about doing the stretch, but I figured I'd just stretch later so, I finished the workout with my Flow series.
In the end, I burned a nice round 690kcals. Nice number and an awesome Pump and Burn today.
Monday, September 25, 2017
9-25-17 (Monday) HY: 10 Minute Trainer - Total Body + Lower Body + Abs + Arm Shaper + Lower Back Strengthening + TCF.
9-25-17 (Monday) HY: 10 Minute Trainer - Total Body + Lower Body + Abs + Arm Shaper + Lower Back Strengthening + TCF.
Vacation is over, so it's back to work. Today was my first day back and my first class of second semester. Nothing too hard. I always used to dislike the first week of a new semester because of the "Getting back into the saddle" feeling. But today, it was easy, like I never took a vacation. Nice! When I got home, I started my workout right away.
I was looking for something to spread out my YAYOG with, but I didn't want to do weights just yet. So, I figured that I hadn't done 10MT for a long time, so I went from the top with the first DVD. The first DVD had three routines on it, so I figured I'd bang out a quick 30 minutes and be done with it. I went with the heaviest band and it was extremely tough. I probably should have gone a little lighter, but I didn't want to take the time to reset the handles on a different band, so I stuck with it. There were some easy moves in Total Body, but the strength moves were a lot tougher than I remember. The Presses, the static curls, and others really got me a great pump and burn. Talk about burn, Lower Body totally fried out my legs. The burn was so intense on all the squat moves, and the two band moves at the end just crushed me. Major BURN! I was actually planning to give my abs a break today, but Abs was on the disk, so I went with it. I was doing fine, until that Three-Point Plank move. For a whole minute, seems easy and short, but it is neither easy, nor did it seem short. I felt like forever. In the last 30-seconds, I had to take a lot of breaks and stretch out my shoulders in Child's Pose. But I didn't get too much of a burn in my abs, but I was feeling it in my whole core. Great KILLER series of routines from Tony.
For my Arm Shaper, I went with Military Push-Ups. NEW RECORD!!! I went and pumped out 50 Straight. I was actually going for only 40 reps, but when I hit 40, I was still feeling good, so I kept on going. Then I hit a wall at 43, and the last 7 were extremely brutal. Slow reps, all of them. A huge struggle just to get them out.
I did only one round of the Lower Back Strengthening because with the 10MT Abs, my core was already feeling worn. I went through all the moves at 12 reps, and I used the 7.5kgs for the Good Mornings. Good round. The Flow series topped everything off nicely.
In the end, I torched a surprising 825kcals. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised because the workout was a lot more grueling than I had expected it would be.
Vacation is over, so it's back to work. Today was my first day back and my first class of second semester. Nothing too hard. I always used to dislike the first week of a new semester because of the "Getting back into the saddle" feeling. But today, it was easy, like I never took a vacation. Nice! When I got home, I started my workout right away.
I was looking for something to spread out my YAYOG with, but I didn't want to do weights just yet. So, I figured that I hadn't done 10MT for a long time, so I went from the top with the first DVD. The first DVD had three routines on it, so I figured I'd bang out a quick 30 minutes and be done with it. I went with the heaviest band and it was extremely tough. I probably should have gone a little lighter, but I didn't want to take the time to reset the handles on a different band, so I stuck with it. There were some easy moves in Total Body, but the strength moves were a lot tougher than I remember. The Presses, the static curls, and others really got me a great pump and burn. Talk about burn, Lower Body totally fried out my legs. The burn was so intense on all the squat moves, and the two band moves at the end just crushed me. Major BURN! I was actually planning to give my abs a break today, but Abs was on the disk, so I went with it. I was doing fine, until that Three-Point Plank move. For a whole minute, seems easy and short, but it is neither easy, nor did it seem short. I felt like forever. In the last 30-seconds, I had to take a lot of breaks and stretch out my shoulders in Child's Pose. But I didn't get too much of a burn in my abs, but I was feeling it in my whole core. Great KILLER series of routines from Tony.
For my Arm Shaper, I went with Military Push-Ups. NEW RECORD!!! I went and pumped out 50 Straight. I was actually going for only 40 reps, but when I hit 40, I was still feeling good, so I kept on going. Then I hit a wall at 43, and the last 7 were extremely brutal. Slow reps, all of them. A huge struggle just to get them out.
I did only one round of the Lower Back Strengthening because with the 10MT Abs, my core was already feeling worn. I went through all the moves at 12 reps, and I used the 7.5kgs for the Good Mornings. Good round. The Flow series topped everything off nicely.
In the end, I torched a surprising 825kcals. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised because the workout was a lot more grueling than I had expected it would be.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
9-24-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + YAYOG - Intermediate: Timed Sets + Arm Shaper + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + Lower Back Strengthening (partial)/Stretch + TCF.
9-24-17 (Sunday) HY: Tennis + YAYOG - Intermediate: Timed Sets + Arm Shaper + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + Lower Back Strengthening (partial)/Stretch + TCF.
A bit of an unusual schedule today. I woke up a little late because I got to bed late last night. My plan was to go and try out a new tennis club I was invited to join last month by some people we met at the tournament I played with my son. When I say "Club" I don't mean like a "Country Club". It is a group of people who love tennis and get together to play at public courts on certain days of the week. I have been wanting to go for a month, since the initial invitation, but the Monday after the tournament is when I re-injured my back so I haven't been up to playing until now. The meeting time was 10am. Not too early, but since I woke up late, I didn't get to leave my house until 11am. But that was sort of the plan as well, I didn't want to seem too pushy by showing up right on time or early. Then, I got lost looking for the courts and ended up having to ask for directions. I finally found the courts and headed in. Luckily, the people I had met remembered me and were happy to see me. Most of the other members were very kind and welcomed me warmly. I was a little reserved when it came to jumping in to the drill rotation. I purposefully wore shorts that didn't have pockets so I couldn't carry balls. So the length of my turn was relatively short. I didn't want to seem like the new guy is monopolizing the court. I'll balance my playing time with the other members when I get to know everyone better. I got a good sweat going despite my limited court time. I enjoyed talking to the people. It seemed like I was the first foreigner they had have met. But as soon as the novelty of having a foreign member wears off, I can relax a little. Regular play time is from 10am to 1pm, but unfortunately, the rain started to get stronger and we ended up cutting the session short by an hour. I only played for just under 40 minutes. But my purpose today was not to really play more than tasting the atmosphere of the club. There is one more session this week on Wednesday that I hope I can attend, so I'll see how that is. But I will most likely join officially from next month. So I'll have to start paying club dues and the like. I was hoping to have the tennis be my workout, but only 40 minutes of play burned around 250kcals. So, when I got home, I was already wet and warmed up, I decided to go right into a regular workout.
I'm starting the second round of YAYOG Intermediate Phase today. And since I was already into making my body active, I decided to keep the routine as is. And it worked out well, because it was a tough and sweaty task. Back to the four moves Tabata Style at 20 seconds on 20 seconds rest. The four moves were: Dynamic Squats, Military Presses (Pike Push-Ups), Fast Swimmers, and Cross Mountain Climbers. I didn't modify anything in the moves themselves, but I did do the Pike Push-Ups on stands to increase my range of motion. Without stands, I could only do down about 6-inches without bumping my head on the floor. With stands, I could go down around 10 inches. But with the greater RoM, my rep count went down. I was in the 12-14 rep range throughout the 6 sets. As for the other moves, 15-18 reps for the Dynamic Squats, and 18-24 reps on the Cross Mountain Climbers. I wasn't counting reps on the Fast Swimmers. Rather, I was counting breaths. I was holding at about 8 deep breaths during the 20 seconds. This sequence is very similar to the Circuit Training routine. The difference is sort of in the rotation of the moves. Starts off with a lower body cardio move, then the upper body/shoulders, Full body, and then another Full body. But after 6 sets of Fast Swimmers, my lower back was feeling it. That is why I did only a partial Lower Back Strengthening workout. More later. Overall, another good workout.
I caught my breath some before getting into the Arm Shaper. Today, I went to Wide Hands on the Push-Ups. New record, I pumped out 60 reps. I was happy that I was able to keep pace until rep# 53. 54 and on, I was pushing as hard as I could. But I didn't stop.
Still using the 1kg hand weights, I wanted to try to keep my elbows open on this routine. It made a huge difference. And the burn made itself know early on in the second circuit. I also tried a little different form on the oblique moves. Instead of twisting over, I just bent over, and that seemed to activate more muscles that way.
The Partial Lower Back Strengthening, Basically I didn't do Superman, Low to High Plank, and T-V Back Extensions. I just did the Swiss Ball Back extensions and the Dead Lift. I did four sets of 12-14 of both moves, and that was plenty. My back was really aching with the Back Extensions. But I upped the weight a bit for the Dead Lifts. On Friday, I started using a 4kg Dumbbell. Today, I went with a 7.5kg Dumbbell. Big difference. Much slower Reps. Ache came back a lot today, as well. The Stretch and Flow Series felt very nice at the completion of this workout.
In the end, after all was said and done, I torched a big 1025 kcals. Nice to be back in the thousand range, but I know I won't stay there for a long time. But this coming week will be a challenge. I don't have any night classes, so I'm going to try and go to play tennis on Wednesday AND Thursday. And I'm going to try to fit Pickle-Ball somewhere in there as well. One day might end up being a double day, who knows. But as I get back to a regular schedule, things will order themselves out quickly.
WORKOUT and FAT BURNING QUESTION: I subscribe to several fitness newsletters from various sources and one said that working out on an empty stomach helps with burning fat a lot because since there is nothing in the stomach to burn for energy, the body looks for another source of energy. So it turns to the fat stores. So working out on an empty stomach is good. Has anyone heard that, or do you know if that is true or not?
A bit of an unusual schedule today. I woke up a little late because I got to bed late last night. My plan was to go and try out a new tennis club I was invited to join last month by some people we met at the tournament I played with my son. When I say "Club" I don't mean like a "Country Club". It is a group of people who love tennis and get together to play at public courts on certain days of the week. I have been wanting to go for a month, since the initial invitation, but the Monday after the tournament is when I re-injured my back so I haven't been up to playing until now. The meeting time was 10am. Not too early, but since I woke up late, I didn't get to leave my house until 11am. But that was sort of the plan as well, I didn't want to seem too pushy by showing up right on time or early. Then, I got lost looking for the courts and ended up having to ask for directions. I finally found the courts and headed in. Luckily, the people I had met remembered me and were happy to see me. Most of the other members were very kind and welcomed me warmly. I was a little reserved when it came to jumping in to the drill rotation. I purposefully wore shorts that didn't have pockets so I couldn't carry balls. So the length of my turn was relatively short. I didn't want to seem like the new guy is monopolizing the court. I'll balance my playing time with the other members when I get to know everyone better. I got a good sweat going despite my limited court time. I enjoyed talking to the people. It seemed like I was the first foreigner they had have met. But as soon as the novelty of having a foreign member wears off, I can relax a little. Regular play time is from 10am to 1pm, but unfortunately, the rain started to get stronger and we ended up cutting the session short by an hour. I only played for just under 40 minutes. But my purpose today was not to really play more than tasting the atmosphere of the club. There is one more session this week on Wednesday that I hope I can attend, so I'll see how that is. But I will most likely join officially from next month. So I'll have to start paying club dues and the like. I was hoping to have the tennis be my workout, but only 40 minutes of play burned around 250kcals. So, when I got home, I was already wet and warmed up, I decided to go right into a regular workout.
I'm starting the second round of YAYOG Intermediate Phase today. And since I was already into making my body active, I decided to keep the routine as is. And it worked out well, because it was a tough and sweaty task. Back to the four moves Tabata Style at 20 seconds on 20 seconds rest. The four moves were: Dynamic Squats, Military Presses (Pike Push-Ups), Fast Swimmers, and Cross Mountain Climbers. I didn't modify anything in the moves themselves, but I did do the Pike Push-Ups on stands to increase my range of motion. Without stands, I could only do down about 6-inches without bumping my head on the floor. With stands, I could go down around 10 inches. But with the greater RoM, my rep count went down. I was in the 12-14 rep range throughout the 6 sets. As for the other moves, 15-18 reps for the Dynamic Squats, and 18-24 reps on the Cross Mountain Climbers. I wasn't counting reps on the Fast Swimmers. Rather, I was counting breaths. I was holding at about 8 deep breaths during the 20 seconds. This sequence is very similar to the Circuit Training routine. The difference is sort of in the rotation of the moves. Starts off with a lower body cardio move, then the upper body/shoulders, Full body, and then another Full body. But after 6 sets of Fast Swimmers, my lower back was feeling it. That is why I did only a partial Lower Back Strengthening workout. More later. Overall, another good workout.
I caught my breath some before getting into the Arm Shaper. Today, I went to Wide Hands on the Push-Ups. New record, I pumped out 60 reps. I was happy that I was able to keep pace until rep# 53. 54 and on, I was pushing as hard as I could. But I didn't stop.
Still using the 1kg hand weights, I wanted to try to keep my elbows open on this routine. It made a huge difference. And the burn made itself know early on in the second circuit. I also tried a little different form on the oblique moves. Instead of twisting over, I just bent over, and that seemed to activate more muscles that way.
The Partial Lower Back Strengthening, Basically I didn't do Superman, Low to High Plank, and T-V Back Extensions. I just did the Swiss Ball Back extensions and the Dead Lift. I did four sets of 12-14 of both moves, and that was plenty. My back was really aching with the Back Extensions. But I upped the weight a bit for the Dead Lifts. On Friday, I started using a 4kg Dumbbell. Today, I went with a 7.5kg Dumbbell. Big difference. Much slower Reps. Ache came back a lot today, as well. The Stretch and Flow Series felt very nice at the completion of this workout.
In the end, after all was said and done, I torched a big 1025 kcals. Nice to be back in the thousand range, but I know I won't stay there for a long time. But this coming week will be a challenge. I don't have any night classes, so I'm going to try and go to play tennis on Wednesday AND Thursday. And I'm going to try to fit Pickle-Ball somewhere in there as well. One day might end up being a double day, who knows. But as I get back to a regular schedule, things will order themselves out quickly.
WORKOUT and FAT BURNING QUESTION: I subscribe to several fitness newsletters from various sources and one said that working out on an empty stomach helps with burning fat a lot because since there is nothing in the stomach to burn for energy, the body looks for another source of energy. So it turns to the fat stores. So working out on an empty stomach is good. Has anyone heard that, or do you know if that is true or not?
9-22-17 (Friday) HY: YAYOG - Intermediate: Circuit Training + Arm Shaper + Lower Back Strengthening/Stretching + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + TCF.
9-22-17 (Friday) HY: YAYOG - Intermediate: Circuit Training + Arm Shaper + Lower Back Strengthening/Stretching + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Core Circuit + TCF.
I was planning to play tennis today with my wife, but it was raining so those plans were scrapped. I ended up relaxing in the morning with some Thursday Night Football: Rams vs. 49er's, then some WTA Toray Open Tennis. Finally I got to my workout.
This is the final routine of the Intermediate Phase of YAYOG. I am planning to do two rounds of it before moving on to the Advanced. Since this is the first round, I told myself I'd stick with the program do it by the book. So, this routine consisted of 6 sets of 4 moves: Star Jumpers, Half Dive Bombers, Side V-Ups, and Hip Raisers. Now, I said I would do it by the book, but "HALF Dive Bombers"??? No, I couldn't do that, so I did full Dive Bombers. That is the only modification I made to this routine. Adding two sets makes a huge difference. It is sort of like doing a double wring for a wet towel. You wring once to get most of the water out, then you release it and twist it a little more and rework your grip, then you wring it one more time to get as much water out that is left. That is what those two additional sets feel like. I was tired after the fourth set, but those last two sets just zap any remaining energy I had. As for reps, For the Star Jumps, I was in the 15-18 rep range. I pushed it hard at the end and got 18. Dive Bombers hung around the 12-14 rep range. I had to really push on the last couple sets. They were on the lower end of the range. Side V-Ups, on each set, only one side was done, so the six sets means three sets on each side. I was able to be around the 16-20 rep range. And for the Hip Raisers, I was around the 13-16 rep range. I'm not sure how much faster I can go, or how many more I can do in the allotted time of 20 seconds. I liked this combination of moves. A full body cardio, Upper Body Strength, Core, and Lower body. It went up and down systematically working the different areas of my body. I was tired, but I felt good at the end.
I needed a little time to shake out my arms. I was thinking that I didn't want to loose that pump in my shoulders that I got from the Dive Bombers, so I decided to do Pike Push-Ups today. I didn't have a straight number for this variation so I went with it. I got 30 reps straight. Then I did two sets of 10 just to round out the 50 rep goal. Shoulders were on FIRE!!!
I took a couple minutes to shake out my arms, then went right into the Lower Back work. I did all five moves in two sets. I was thinking to do three sets, but my back was starting to ache, so I stayed on two. I went right into my ab work. I wanted to keep that tension on in my core. Still only using the 1kg hand weight, I got a good burn in the second circuit. Really felt the flex pulling the core tight. The stretch at the end felt really good because I was really feeling my core tire out. Then the closer, my Flow series.
I'm sort of working out for a shorter time than before and controlling my food intake. And I'm starting to see and feel results.
In the end, I burned a modest 700+kcals. I finished with a lot of time to spare before sunset. Felt good to get that done and done. Happy weekend!
I was planning to play tennis today with my wife, but it was raining so those plans were scrapped. I ended up relaxing in the morning with some Thursday Night Football: Rams vs. 49er's, then some WTA Toray Open Tennis. Finally I got to my workout.
This is the final routine of the Intermediate Phase of YAYOG. I am planning to do two rounds of it before moving on to the Advanced. Since this is the first round, I told myself I'd stick with the program do it by the book. So, this routine consisted of 6 sets of 4 moves: Star Jumpers, Half Dive Bombers, Side V-Ups, and Hip Raisers. Now, I said I would do it by the book, but "HALF Dive Bombers"??? No, I couldn't do that, so I did full Dive Bombers. That is the only modification I made to this routine. Adding two sets makes a huge difference. It is sort of like doing a double wring for a wet towel. You wring once to get most of the water out, then you release it and twist it a little more and rework your grip, then you wring it one more time to get as much water out that is left. That is what those two additional sets feel like. I was tired after the fourth set, but those last two sets just zap any remaining energy I had. As for reps, For the Star Jumps, I was in the 15-18 rep range. I pushed it hard at the end and got 18. Dive Bombers hung around the 12-14 rep range. I had to really push on the last couple sets. They were on the lower end of the range. Side V-Ups, on each set, only one side was done, so the six sets means three sets on each side. I was able to be around the 16-20 rep range. And for the Hip Raisers, I was around the 13-16 rep range. I'm not sure how much faster I can go, or how many more I can do in the allotted time of 20 seconds. I liked this combination of moves. A full body cardio, Upper Body Strength, Core, and Lower body. It went up and down systematically working the different areas of my body. I was tired, but I felt good at the end.
I needed a little time to shake out my arms. I was thinking that I didn't want to loose that pump in my shoulders that I got from the Dive Bombers, so I decided to do Pike Push-Ups today. I didn't have a straight number for this variation so I went with it. I got 30 reps straight. Then I did two sets of 10 just to round out the 50 rep goal. Shoulders were on FIRE!!!
I took a couple minutes to shake out my arms, then went right into the Lower Back work. I did all five moves in two sets. I was thinking to do three sets, but my back was starting to ache, so I stayed on two. I went right into my ab work. I wanted to keep that tension on in my core. Still only using the 1kg hand weight, I got a good burn in the second circuit. Really felt the flex pulling the core tight. The stretch at the end felt really good because I was really feeling my core tire out. Then the closer, my Flow series.
I'm sort of working out for a shorter time than before and controlling my food intake. And I'm starting to see and feel results.
In the end, I burned a modest 700+kcals. I finished with a lot of time to spare before sunset. Felt good to get that done and done. Happy weekend!
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