Here I'm going to talk about some of the big ups and downs I experienced during the past three months.
1. Pull-Up Strength. I love doing Pull-Ups, but this is one move that if I stop doing then for an extended period of time, I will go down in strength... A LOT and QUICKLY. During the two weeks of inactivity, I was literally doing no strength exercises. Not because I couldn't, but I think I was mentally afraid of injuring myself again. But as my ankle got stronger, my desire to workout again became stronger. But after two weeks, I could barely do 8 reps. But after a couple of day, I was able to get back to about 10 reps and that was one plateau. About a month later, I got up to 15 reps and plateaued again. Last week, I got back to 20 reps in a row. I've done that three times since then. I'm very happy.
2. Yoga. My flexibility has gone to pot. Again, like Pull-Ups, if I stop doing it, I lose it. Two and a half years ago, I joined a tennis club. Sundays and Wednesdays are now Tennis days. Previously, at least one of those days was a yoga day, and one was either a stretch or a Foam Roller Day. Now, I do nothing for flexibility. And it shows. When I did a Yoga routine after about two months, in the middle of July, I couldn't even get close to doing the Yoga Wrap. My Shoulders were just too tight. A couple of times since, I barely was able to touch my tippy tips of my fingers together, but no clasp or hook. But I kept doing it and just today, August 28, for the first time in over... I don't know, a long time, I actually was able to hook my fingers for a quick moment on both sides. So my flexibility is slowly coming back. I am also making it a part of my routine to stretch my Hip Flexors and do Shoulder Opening Yoga stretches.
Another thing in Yoga is my Half-Moon pose and my Warrior 3 pose. The first time I got back to a yoga routine in June, I was falling all over myself. I couldn't hold the Half-Moon pose for longer than a few seconds. I was very unstable and my legs would just poop out. But since I started doing the Chisel and Hammer program, the routines also work the legs and I could feel my legs getting stronger. After a few of the Chisel and Hammer routines, I did a yoga routine, and my Half-Moon was solid as a rock. My Warrior 3 pose was also extremely stable. I could even do it with my arms forward, not back. I thought that playing tennis would be enough leg work for me since I did a lot of "getting low" to the ball, but it wasn't nearly enough. Now, I know I have to do Leg-specific training moves to keep up my leg strength.
3. Over all Strength. The old saying is right, "If you don't use it, you lose it." I am proof of that. Whenever I take any type of break from working out, strength workouts, for longer than a few days, I start to lose strength. It has taken over three months, but I am back in the habit and on my way to reaching my fitness goals.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
After a three month absence...
Well, after a three month absence from writing about my workouts, I'm back... sort of. I'm about to leave on a business trip so I will be absent again for a few weeks before I get back to regular posts. But I will give a brief overview of what I have been doing.
Probably the biggest reason for my absence is my ankle injury. For about two weeks I didn't do anything, but then I started to do mostly upper body workouts. But then I just got busy and ended up not writing. That is something I regret because I have made a lot of good progress in different areas of my fitness.
Here is a basic workout week.
Sunday - Tennis
Monday - Off Day, or Stretching
Tuesday - Resistance Training
Wednesday - Tennis
Thursday - Yoga or Stretching
Friday - Resistance Training
Saturday - Off Day, or Stretching
That was how a basic week went. Then, in July I got back into Pickle-Ball with a different friend who came back from the United States. So, I was able to make Monday Pickle-Ball day. But there were days when tennis got rained out so I would do a resistance workout instead. On all resistance days, I would of course do Abs after the main routine, and the Tai Cheng Flow. But the Tai Chen Flow sort of got phased out in and Shoulder Opening Yoga took its place.
As far as programs, when I started back after my injury, I went with Body Beast, trying several of the Build and Bulk routines in a circuit. Then I started the Hammer and Chisel Program. I have done all of the full routines except for one, Chisel Power, which is in the deluxe section. I haven't do the shorter routines like the 15 minute Cardio or the 15 minute Leg routines. But I did the 10 Minute Ab Chisel just the other day. That is one that I will be doing again. Most of the ab routines I did where from the ChaLEAN Extreme Program: Ab Burner, Extreme Abs, Extreme Core Circuit, and I've Got Abs are the ones I used the most. But I did to the Ab routine from Body Beast and P90X3 once or twice.
From now, I will post the worksheets I filled in for most of the routines I did the past three months. The dates are all over the place, but you can get the gist of what I did.
Probably the biggest reason for my absence is my ankle injury. For about two weeks I didn't do anything, but then I started to do mostly upper body workouts. But then I just got busy and ended up not writing. That is something I regret because I have made a lot of good progress in different areas of my fitness.
Here is a basic workout week.
Sunday - Tennis
Monday - Off Day, or Stretching
Tuesday - Resistance Training
Wednesday - Tennis
Thursday - Yoga or Stretching
Friday - Resistance Training
Saturday - Off Day, or Stretching
That was how a basic week went. Then, in July I got back into Pickle-Ball with a different friend who came back from the United States. So, I was able to make Monday Pickle-Ball day. But there were days when tennis got rained out so I would do a resistance workout instead. On all resistance days, I would of course do Abs after the main routine, and the Tai Cheng Flow. But the Tai Chen Flow sort of got phased out in and Shoulder Opening Yoga took its place.
As far as programs, when I started back after my injury, I went with Body Beast, trying several of the Build and Bulk routines in a circuit. Then I started the Hammer and Chisel Program. I have done all of the full routines except for one, Chisel Power, which is in the deluxe section. I haven't do the shorter routines like the 15 minute Cardio or the 15 minute Leg routines. But I did the 10 Minute Ab Chisel just the other day. That is one that I will be doing again. Most of the ab routines I did where from the ChaLEAN Extreme Program: Ab Burner, Extreme Abs, Extreme Core Circuit, and I've Got Abs are the ones I used the most. But I did to the Ab routine from Body Beast and P90X3 once or twice.
From now, I will post the worksheets I filled in for most of the routines I did the past three months. The dates are all over the place, but you can get the gist of what I did.
May 30, Back to Back Upper Body days, hope I don't pay to much for this decision.
May 30, 2019, Thursday - Sagi's BOD Exclusive: Chest and Triceps + Core + Shoulder Care Modified + TCF.
I was planning to play tennis again today, but as a result of an unexpected turn of events, I ended up no being able to go and so I stayed home and went with another round of Sagi's Beachbody on Demand Exclusive workout. This time, Chest and Triceps. There is a Leg routine in there, but I'm staying away from heavy leg work for now to protect my knees and ankles. I want to stay in shape for tennis and not risk straining any tendons or other muscle injuries.
I was planning to play tennis again today, but as a result of an unexpected turn of events, I ended up no being able to go and so I stayed home and went with another round of Sagi's Beachbody on Demand Exclusive workout. This time, Chest and Triceps. There is a Leg routine in there, but I'm staying away from heavy leg work for now to protect my knees and ankles. I want to stay in shape for tennis and not risk straining any tendons or other muscle injuries.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
May 29, New Upper Body workouts with Sagi on BOD.
May 29, 2019, Wednesday - Sagi's BOD Exclusive - Back and Shoulders + ChaLEAN Extreme - Extreme Abs + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
This is a new set of routines for me. Since I started using the Beachbody on Demand, I have mostly done programs I already have. With the exception of LIIFT4 and Shoulder Care Yoga, I have everything I've done. This was another venture outside my known world. These workouts are only on BOD so I was excited to give it a try. As the video started, I was a little disappointed because I realized that Sagi was planning to use a machine in the routines. So I was forced to rip up some sort of system to copy the movements. I was actually pretty happy with the results of my ingenuity. There was no worksheet so I didn't keep a written record of my weight and reps, but here are the moves. Each set was done for three rounds with increasing weight and decreasing reps:
Super Set 1:
Close-Grip Chin-Ups: 10 - 10 - 10 (5-3-2)
Kneeling Lat Pull: 15 - 12- 10 Green Band
Single Set 2:
Squat with Cable Row: 15 - 12 - 10 Green Band
Plus Drop set, 8 Reps in four quick rounds.
Single Set 3:
One-Arm T-Bar Row: Right - 10 - 12 - 14.5
Left - 10 - 12 - 14.5
Drop set 6 reps and 2 rounds. 17 - 14.5
Force Set 4:
Military Press: 7 reps, 7 rounds - 12 kgs
Super Set Set 5:
Wide Grip Upright Row: 7.5 - 8.75 - 10
Lateral Raise with Cable: 10 Reps/Rnd, Black, and Blue bands
Set 6:
Posterior Delts Cable Fly: 15 - 12 - 10,
Black - Black/Blue - Black/Blue/Red
It was a cool workout with a bunch of fun new ways to use the resistance bands. Something I plan on doing more of in the future. Definitely a Body Beast style of routine.
I felt good, so I went back to Chalene's Extreme Abs. I still had to tap out and was unable to finish the routine without breaks. But I plan to work my way back to the point where I can do the whole routine without a break. Crushed the Stretch and Flow.
In the end, I burned a good 723 kcals. Pretty average burn for an upper body routine.
This is a new set of routines for me. Since I started using the Beachbody on Demand, I have mostly done programs I already have. With the exception of LIIFT4 and Shoulder Care Yoga, I have everything I've done. This was another venture outside my known world. These workouts are only on BOD so I was excited to give it a try. As the video started, I was a little disappointed because I realized that Sagi was planning to use a machine in the routines. So I was forced to rip up some sort of system to copy the movements. I was actually pretty happy with the results of my ingenuity. There was no worksheet so I didn't keep a written record of my weight and reps, but here are the moves. Each set was done for three rounds with increasing weight and decreasing reps:
Super Set 1:
Close-Grip Chin-Ups: 10 - 10 - 10 (5-3-2)
Kneeling Lat Pull: 15 - 12- 10 Green Band
Single Set 2:
Squat with Cable Row: 15 - 12 - 10 Green Band
Plus Drop set, 8 Reps in four quick rounds.
Single Set 3:
One-Arm T-Bar Row: Right - 10 - 12 - 14.5
Left - 10 - 12 - 14.5
Drop set 6 reps and 2 rounds. 17 - 14.5
Force Set 4:
Military Press: 7 reps, 7 rounds - 12 kgs
Super Set Set 5:
Wide Grip Upright Row: 7.5 - 8.75 - 10
Lateral Raise with Cable: 10 Reps/Rnd, Black, and Blue bands
Set 6:
Posterior Delts Cable Fly: 15 - 12 - 10,
Black - Black/Blue - Black/Blue/Red
It was a cool workout with a bunch of fun new ways to use the resistance bands. Something I plan on doing more of in the future. Definitely a Body Beast style of routine.
I felt good, so I went back to Chalene's Extreme Abs. I still had to tap out and was unable to finish the routine without breaks. But I plan to work my way back to the point where I can do the whole routine without a break. Crushed the Stretch and Flow.
In the end, I burned a good 723 kcals. Pretty average burn for an upper body routine.
May 28, Trying out regular tennis.
May 28, 2019, Tuesday - Tennis.
Today, instead of playing on the wall, we got a court and did some real hitting over the net. We were both looking forward to it because it has been almost two months for me since hitting on a court last, and several months for my wife. The big "Fly in the Ointment" was the fact that my wife accidentally brought my spare racket instead of her own racket. It wouldn't be such a problem, except for the fact that my racket it almost 60g heavier than my wife's racket. And she felt the difference and it was causing her a little bit of pain just trying to swing the heavier racket. So I had to try to keep my hits to her backhand because her two-handed backhand is much stronger than her one-handed forehand. Much less risk of injury on her backhand side.
I couldn't hit out, but I could practice more footwork. My wife made me run a lot, which really tested my ankle and knee. Happy to report that my knee was virtually pain-free. But there was a little stiffness in my ankle. I think I'll need to use a stiffer supporter for my ankle for a while. But I'm glad I got this practice in because I was forced to move laterally a lot. I think I'm ready to go back to my tennis club from this coming Sunday and practice with them. I'm excited.
In the end, I burned a good 804 kcals. My legs were also still pretty sore from the Plyo Legs day the week before so my age is showing. Normally the soreness would have been gone by day 3, but it is lingering. Probably connected to the way I climb stairs with my bum knee. It's a workout in itself.
Today, instead of playing on the wall, we got a court and did some real hitting over the net. We were both looking forward to it because it has been almost two months for me since hitting on a court last, and several months for my wife. The big "Fly in the Ointment" was the fact that my wife accidentally brought my spare racket instead of her own racket. It wouldn't be such a problem, except for the fact that my racket it almost 60g heavier than my wife's racket. And she felt the difference and it was causing her a little bit of pain just trying to swing the heavier racket. So I had to try to keep my hits to her backhand because her two-handed backhand is much stronger than her one-handed forehand. Much less risk of injury on her backhand side.
I couldn't hit out, but I could practice more footwork. My wife made me run a lot, which really tested my ankle and knee. Happy to report that my knee was virtually pain-free. But there was a little stiffness in my ankle. I think I'll need to use a stiffer supporter for my ankle for a while. But I'm glad I got this practice in because I was forced to move laterally a lot. I think I'm ready to go back to my tennis club from this coming Sunday and practice with them. I'm excited.
In the end, I burned a good 804 kcals. My legs were also still pretty sore from the Plyo Legs day the week before so my age is showing. Normally the soreness would have been gone by day 3, but it is lingering. Probably connected to the way I climb stairs with my bum knee. It's a workout in itself.
May 26, 10-Minute Trainer routines
May 26, 2019, Sunday: P90X3 - Cold Start + 10-Minute Trainer: Total Body + Core Cardio + Shoulder Care Yoga + TCF.
I'm not really sure why I went to 10-Minute Trainer today, but I think I wasn't feeling very motivated because of soreness and aches and pains in various locations of my body, you know, ankle, knee, back, shoulders, legs. basically all over, but nothing too debilitating.
I needed to warm up so I went to a good one in Cold Start and then moved right to the routines. The Total Body routine is good because I was able to do moves that helped me to stretch out even more. A lot of quick squats and pop moves to get the lower body and then the curls and presses for the upper body. It's a fun routine. Then I moved quickly to the Core Cardio and this one got me. I had to pause the video a few times to watch the move to learn it and to catch my breath. I also had to rig a few different band configurations to enable me to get the full range of motion and not have the bands rub on nearby furniture. It was a good focused core/ab routine, so I felt that was good for today. I finished off with a good Shoulder Care stretch and then my regular Flow. But I also started doing Triceps Dips in the shower so I started off with just 50 reps or so, but I'm going to increase that as the time goes on.
In the end, I burned a good 800 kcals.
I'm not really sure why I went to 10-Minute Trainer today, but I think I wasn't feeling very motivated because of soreness and aches and pains in various locations of my body, you know, ankle, knee, back, shoulders, legs. basically all over, but nothing too debilitating.
I needed to warm up so I went to a good one in Cold Start and then moved right to the routines. The Total Body routine is good because I was able to do moves that helped me to stretch out even more. A lot of quick squats and pop moves to get the lower body and then the curls and presses for the upper body. It's a fun routine. Then I moved quickly to the Core Cardio and this one got me. I had to pause the video a few times to watch the move to learn it and to catch my breath. I also had to rig a few different band configurations to enable me to get the full range of motion and not have the bands rub on nearby furniture. It was a good focused core/ab routine, so I felt that was good for today. I finished off with a good Shoulder Care stretch and then my regular Flow. But I also started doing Triceps Dips in the shower so I started off with just 50 reps or so, but I'm going to increase that as the time goes on.
In the end, I burned a good 800 kcals.
May 24, Finishing off the week with some Wall Tennis +.
May 24, 2019, Friday - Wall Tennis + Walking + Pull-Ups.
I made it home a little early so I was able to get to the Wall early and claim the whole wall for my wife and I. We were hitting for about 15 minutes when another guy came and was waiting. Then the same guy from the previous times came and just walked in and asked if he could play on half. My wife being the nice person she is said okay, and both guys came in and started hitting on the wall. They asked for half and took two thirds. I should say tried to take two thirds. They just assumed that we would move, but at the wall, there are no reservations, it is first come first serve so we were totally within our rights to stay and keep the whole wall. Anyway, we kept half and the other guy who came second was pushed to the edge by the guy who came third and set himself right in the middle of everyone. He almost hit my wife a few times. He was incredibly in the way, but he didn't care. That led to a little non-verbal drama, but we focused on our tennis.
Today was a good day for tennis. I was feeling some of that control coming back, and hitting at a good contact point. Focusing on the ball and good form. I was able to hit hard and maintain a good rally rhythm. I didn't keep count of the strokes I hit, but it was a pretty good number. No problems with my ankle or my knee. I used the smaller supporter on my knee this time just to test it out and as I said, no problem and no pain. After we finished, to cool down, we took a walk around the park. I also stopped at a workout station to do a few sets of Pull-Ups to get in some of that work. All in all, it was a good workout.
In the end, I burned a good 1107 kcals. Glad to break passed a thousand for the first time since early in May. And only the second time since the last time I went to regular tennis practice.
I made it home a little early so I was able to get to the Wall early and claim the whole wall for my wife and I. We were hitting for about 15 minutes when another guy came and was waiting. Then the same guy from the previous times came and just walked in and asked if he could play on half. My wife being the nice person she is said okay, and both guys came in and started hitting on the wall. They asked for half and took two thirds. I should say tried to take two thirds. They just assumed that we would move, but at the wall, there are no reservations, it is first come first serve so we were totally within our rights to stay and keep the whole wall. Anyway, we kept half and the other guy who came second was pushed to the edge by the guy who came third and set himself right in the middle of everyone. He almost hit my wife a few times. He was incredibly in the way, but he didn't care. That led to a little non-verbal drama, but we focused on our tennis.
Today was a good day for tennis. I was feeling some of that control coming back, and hitting at a good contact point. Focusing on the ball and good form. I was able to hit hard and maintain a good rally rhythm. I didn't keep count of the strokes I hit, but it was a pretty good number. No problems with my ankle or my knee. I used the smaller supporter on my knee this time just to test it out and as I said, no problem and no pain. After we finished, to cool down, we took a walk around the park. I also stopped at a workout station to do a few sets of Pull-Ups to get in some of that work. All in all, it was a good workout.
In the end, I burned a good 1107 kcals. Glad to break passed a thousand for the first time since early in May. And only the second time since the last time I went to regular tennis practice.
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