DVD Days P90X to Tapout XT – Something Beats Nothing Every Time

The Problem Is Lack Of Focus

I am not sure why.. Probably because I am not on a schedule and have no specific goals in mind which is why my logging and writing has dried up. Maybe it’s time for something completely different, or maybe I need to develop (and actually stick to) some goals. If I look back to this time last year I was feeling the same thing as I am Â now, restless and in need of a change given the imminent arrival of summer.

Here are a few things I have mentioned before but still not actually managed to work on…

Handstand hold
Front planche / lever
Back planche / lever
Handstand pushup
Splits front and middle (never done this)
Cartwheel (I can actually do this but it needs fixing)
Roundoff (same)
Muscle up on bars or rings (did this once)
Kip on low bar (this may be a step too far)

Having read back my experience with WOD30 I am now thinking that maybe that would be a good idea. I haven’t done anything like WOD work for quite some time and to be honest I am getting a bit bored with the gym. The thought of loading up the bar and doing cleans and pullups and wallballs makes me all tingly… I will think about this tonight and maybe see if I can break out my schedule from my first WOD 30 and see if it’s worth duplicating.

The bottom line is I need something to aim at, something to work towards, something I can document and see results. I’m probably benching and pressing the same weights every day at the gym, I am not interested in building massive numbers any more, just staying slightly higher than most of the other people there 🙂

Stay tuned. Something is going to happen.

Also I changed the name of the blog since it’s been a VERY long time since I did any P90X or Insanity…. Which I probably should do again now I have a better floor… Hmmmm

R14D5 – Injured Calf (strain) Part 3!

Doing Insanity Plyo Cardio on Tuesday I got a slight strain on my right calf. It’s the same thing I got last timeÂ and once again was during an Insanity workout. I don’t think it’s due to lack of warmup but the rigors of those particular workouts mean it’s always better to protect yourself by getting everything warm before you start. Especially like me when you have known issues with calves and shin splints. I probably will never learn, but there you go.

So I took yesterday off, and today it looks like I am supposed to be doing another heavy OL day but I think I may stick with a longer bench and dips day and stay off my leg.

It hurts. A lot.

That’s not my injured calf, by the way…

R14 – It’s COW Time

Cardio, Oly Lifting and WODs. That is the nature of the next 3 months or so. I also have to take into consideration that there is winter weather on the way and I will not be able to stay in the garage much longer. My program will be mostly what I outilened a few days ago which looks a little like this…

I have been conscious of keeping a heavy bench day in there and also room for some specific bicep work that I can incorporate into the WOD. The light Oly / WOD days can also be bootcamp days since they are not too heavy on weights but provide enough muscular work to not be considered just cardio. The only issue I have is that I really want to increase my pullups again and as my weight falls (4lbs off this week! woohoo!) they will get easier but only with practice. I have already done day 1 and 2 of the program with Heavy DL work on Monday and Heavy bench for reps on Tuesday.

That’s a Belgian Blue BTW, not a steroid or GMO bull…

1. Heavy Oly	DL Clean
2. WOD	Reg WOD jumps and pullups or bench
3. Cardio	DVD Insanity
4. WOD / Light Day	Bodyweight WOD
5. Off
6. Heavy Oly	Clean Squat
7. WOD	oddball WOD stuff pullups wqllball rope
8. Cardio	Insanity or MMA
9. Light Oly / WOD	Snatch c&P biceps
10 Off

Monday in fact was the first time in ages that I have worked DL reps with 185. I am not sure when the last time was but this day was a full 75 rep workout which I am pretty sure is unheard of. Tuesday I did a similar thing with bench, using 225 as the working weight and managing just over 75 reps in sets of 10. That means today is cardio day and with a buffet of choices from P90X Plyo to P90X3 Accelerator to Insanity Pure Cardio and Insanity Asylum or T25 Alpah, Beta, Gamma. The worst thing is that I just can’t remember what they are all like so I can’t really make an informed choice. I will have to document them and try to make a chart of the differences. Since I have George St Pierre Rushfit (which I recall being awful) and TapoutXT and some kettlebell workouts a handy reference sheet would be good. If you already have one, please let me know.

R12 – Finally The Start

PRIDE

Purpose
Resilience
Intelligence
Determination
Excitement

It has been a very rough week or so, I have been very busy at work with many days being long enough to negate any workouts, we have had gymnastics competitions to deal with and the long days that come with driving to and from the venues. Add to that 5 days of being very sick with what I assume was food poisoning and it’s no wonder I haven’t posted here in a while.

So today I am taking back my control. I am thinking I will start with deadlifts and running or deadlifts and KB swings, something to get the heart racing and the blood pumping. I keep tellin gmy kids at gym to have pride in their performance and to live up to their own standards. I think it’s about time I did that myself, excuses apart and I know it’s been tough but enough is enough, I am craving some activity. Plus it’s pretty hot out this week, and I have a feeling that summer may not be too long this year so I want to get out there and get moving. I will update tomorrow since there is a small chance that I will cave in and do something else if we get home late again.

It’s almost June, a 90 day program will take me to almost Labour Day meaning this is officially my summer workout start! Wish me luck.

R12 – Summer 2014 Outline

So I wanted to see if I could make something based around what I already do, working in all the equipment I have, being able to make it as short or long as I want. Also, letting me involve Crossfit either at the gym or use the WOD for the day. The other thing is I wanted to be able to do a bootcamp any day, that would mean not doing anything so heavy or specific that it would preclude me from doing a whole body workout the next day or two. I wanted to add in a little cardio where possible, and to that end I am going to mix my deadlifting days with either 600m runs (that’s round the block) or shorter sprint / hill work. It’s a big departure for me but here is what I have so far. I have included any Yoga days andÂ off day, I will take those when I have to and when I need to. I have designated the Heavy and Light days and the HIIT specific day although most of what I am doing this summer will qualify as HIIT rather than heavier muscle building workouts. Here is what I have come up with for the time being and I am sure it will change once I have run through it a couple of times. There are additional rules to adhere to:

1. No more than one day off in a row
2. No less than 80% work ratio (days on vs days off)
3. Improve my sleep pattern to assist in my recovery to at least 7.5 hours a Â night.

Here is the plan as I see it.

Bench and ring dips (HEAVY)
Deadlifts and sprints / laps (LIGHT)
Cleans and Squats (HEAVY)
Press and KB swings (LIGHT)
Pullups and 95lb Deadlifts / cleans / clean and press
Cardio / Yoga / MMA workout
Off

R11D107 – Going Sideways

I am maintaining my bulk workouts at the moment, waiting for the right time to switch into HIIT. Basically once the weather cooperates a little and I actually get to 90 days of workouts (I’m at 84 right now) I will transition. But at the moment I am still happy putting on the size and strength that will help with the weight loss that is inevitable with HIIT. My back has been a little sore of late, I think it’s something to do with sitting at work which I have been forced to do for a while now but also that I am not doing a lot of legs work and I think it’s affecting my back via my hips. I have a tendency to get tight and inflexible around the hips when I don’t do much squatting (bodyweight squatting) and lunges and I have not been very disciplined with my legs workout of late. I also am finding that after giving up dairy for lent I don’t have an intolerance for it however drinking a big glass of milk makes me a big wiggy, like eating sugar used to. I hadn’t really noticed it before but I drank a glass of milk the other day after lent ended and it was amazing how much energy I got from it. I love milk, and there are others who share my enthusiasm including the GOMAD group which stands for Gallon Of Milk A Day. It’s a big staple for me and recently I have made the switch from skim back to 2% due to the rise in research that says skim milk is actually worse for Â you than 2% or whole 3.25% milk. It’s kind of like the diet pop of the milk world, it will cause you to gain weight in the long run. Either way, I am glad I am not intolerant to it, at least lent is good for something!

R11D90-98 – Cruising

I didn’t actually quit after day 90 a week ago, I have been busy with work and gymnastics and unable to get my activities down. I have also been field testing a Garmin Vivofit which I am using to see what I can deduce from my daily activities and sleep that will help to get me back down to my working weight of around 230lbs. I know I have lots of data about my workouts, I know when I am working hard enough and I know how many calories I am burning etc. The problem is that I don’t really know what I am doing the rest of the time. Am I sitting too much, inactive too long am I getting enough sleep and what is the quality of that sleep. These are all metrics that I can measure with the Vivofit. Now I should be able to tell what I suspect, that my activity during the day is holding me back. I have been sitting more than I would like since my second surgery mostly because they got me a really nice chair to sit in and that, I suspect may be part of the problem. I have prattled on about the benefits of standing to work but not only that, the fact that it made me feel more mobile and willing to take walks to do things I would otherwise do over email. I have a feeling that the simple fact I am sitting more is contributing to my plateau.

I spent part of the weekend cleaning the garage floor in preparation for the triumphant return of the barbell and bumper plates to the garage which signifies the return of clean and press and squats into my regimen. I am timing it for the big switch over to HIIT again on May 1 at which time I shall get back with my polar RS800CX HR monitor and see exactly how out of shape I have become doing exclusively weight training over the last few weeks. I feel a little more slovenly I have to admit, there were times before the surgery where I actually felt like I was in shape, mobile, capable of anything. Not so much right now. I mean I feel like I could crush a car in my giant hands but I don’t really feel, well, fit. I did a kettlebell workout on Sunday morning to try and work out the kinks in my back and although it was tough I actually do feel better today than I have in a few days. It wasn’t like my old KB workouts, it was mostly squats and swings, but enough to send my HR through the roof and satisfy my urge to sweat a little.

So I guess you could say that I am in my last 2 weeks of Body Beast. I do feel beasty but after all that I am not so sure that is the feeling I was going for. If you want to try it out, le me know, I can get you great pricing on any Beachbody products.

R11D86-90 – Welcome To The End

I have been going on about Body Beast and how much I am enjoying it but after doing a workout at Crossfit Ark last week I think my time would be best served as soon as possible to get back to HIIT functional movement. For me this means kettlebells, Olympic lifting and metcon work that includes weighted running, walking or timed sprinting. It’s the summer now and I am sure that my choice reflects that change but lifting weights in my basement seems so restrictive and to be honest a little boring if I can envisage myself doing med ball cleans, wall ball, pullups and low weight high rep olympic lifting movements.

I know, I am flip flopping especially since I had wanted to go until June 1 with Body Beast but I honestly don’t see myself getting that far without driving myself batty being inside. So here is the revised schedule.
Body Beast until May 1 by which time I will try to have met my June goals, I know taking a month off the schedule is iffy but I figure I am really just coasting at this point and I really need to get my ass in gear. That will take me to R11D115 at which point I will embark on R12 which will be 4 months of bootcamp type workouts plus as many Crossfit WODs as I can manage. I will mitigate their poor distribution of work by rearranging the schedule when required but I am pretty excited about it. I will also try to work in time to get to Crossfit Ark again as much as possible since I really had fun there the other day.

As far as the record goes here is my latest few days:

Sunday, 03/30/2014	66	Â Body Beast Bulk chest 135-235	79%
Monday, 03/31/2014	67	Â Body Beast Bulk Back – Pullups and Deadlifts 50 per	79%
Tuesday, 04/01/2014	68	Â Body Beast Bulk Shoulders with press	79%
Wednesday, 04/02/2014	69	Â Body Beast Bulk Arms maybe dunno	79%
Thursday, 04/03/2014	70	Â Crossfit WOD at ARK off work	80%
Friday, 04/04/2014	71	Â Cardio Ran 2 miles off work	80%
Saturday, 04/05/2014		Â off	0%
Sunday, 04/06/2014	72	Â Body Beast Chest	79%

R11D80-86 – Squats Tried To Kill Me Plus The June Goals

I got called 2 weird things lately.

A cross between Chef Ramsey and Simon Cowell and from another person a mix of Shrek and The Hulk. Really? Really?? I’m not that big. Seriously.

So I haven’t posted in a few days because I have been in so much pain I can’t even explain myself. I did Body Beast Bulk Legs the other day and added some deep squats to the routine, something that I would have done in the garage last summer every week. For some reason, doing deadlifts and cleans does not extend the squat as fully as I had thought and after doing the full squats I developed massive knots in the top of my quads on both legs. I am mystified as to why this would happen I mean it’s not like I don’t do legs, but the reaction my body had was like “what the hell are you doing?”.

My past few workouts have looked like this:

79	Tuesday, 03/25/2014	63	Â Body Beast Bulk Arms	80%
80	Wednesday, 03/26/2014		Â off	0%
81	Thursday, 03/27/2014	64	Â Body Beast Bulk Shoulders	79%
82	Friday, 03/28/2014	65	Â Body Beast Bulk Legs – Squats killed leg	79%
83	Saturday, 03/29/2014		Â Off very sore leg	0%
84	Sunday, 03/30/2014	66	Â Body Beast Bulk chest 135-235	79%
85	Monday, 03/31/2014	67	Â Body Beast Bulk Back – Pullups and Deadlifts 50 per	79%
86	Tuesday, 04/01/2014	68	Â Body Beast Bulk Shoulders with press	79%

and I am happy to note that I am still almost at 80% even after 86 days. I will be officially finishing the R11 this week then but I will continue the Body Beast for probably another 30 days or so to get a good idea of what a full 90 would be like. Also you may notice that on back day I did pullups that means it was warm enough on Monday to get outside. It was in fact 14 degrees and doing pullups outside again was both exhilirating and worrisome since I became aware very quickly that my ability to knock out 20 pullups in a row was very far in the past. As soon as the weather is better I will have to modify y goals to add 20 in a row. In fact, now that the weather is improving a little I think I need to put down what I expect from myself by June 1.

Deadlift – 200lbs
Shoulder Press – Standing 185lbs
Clean – 185lbs
Clean and Press – 185lbs
Pullups – 20 unbroken with kip 10 without kip
Squat – 185lbs since I don’t have a squat rack and have to C&P the weight first
Ring Dips – 20 unbroken or 10 strict
I would also like to have my bar muscle up by the summer, I don’t think that’s too crazy. Or maybe ring MU.

R11D75-79 – The Home Stretch (Feels like the beginning)

I should probably feel like I am closer to the end but in all honesty I can’t really say I started this round until I transitioned from P90X3 and T25 to Body Beast. That was back around day 51 and so technically I suppose this would only be day 28 or so of a Body Beast 12 week or 84 day program. That makes more sense to me since the first 51 days or so seemed more like a vacation than a workout regimen. I feel like I am getting into the swing of Body Beast and heavy weights again however I know I keep on saying this but I am really missing the high HR aspect of HIIT. I think that I am in withdrawal and even though I am probably doing 2 days a week of what I would consider either HIIT or cardio it’s just not psychologically enough for me. I think that maybe after another 21 days or so I might transition into a 3 day Body Beast and 3 day HIIT schedule and try to squeeze some more high HR work into my system. I do love pushing heavy things around but at my age it’s more dangerous than fun and having the extra cardio may help in the recomposition that I am trying to accomplish. At the moment though I want to get as much as I can out of the bulk phase before I start back into bodyweight and HIIT bootcamp type stuff which I think will be my workout of choice for the summer months.

For some people the balance of cardio and HIIT is critical to their success in controlling their weight. It’s just not possible for them to lower their body fat percentages without some cardio, I know that I am one of those people. I am not complaining though, because it’s also that body type that allows me to put on 12lbs of muscle in 6 weeks and add back the 200lbs that was missing from my bench. I am fine with the fact that for the most part if you are “big” like people tend to label me as, then you can get away with an extra little layer of fat, it tends to go with the territory and if you can get rid of it you go from big to epic in a very short span. Funnily enough I don’t really think of myself as that big, I mean I know I out weigh most of my peers and that my strength is far beyond theirs but I don’t see myself as being that out of the ordinary. For the time I have spent on Body Beast though, there are times that I feel like I miss the HIIT and the ability therefore to control my fat levels. At the risk of beating a dead horse I will leave it at that. Look for more bodyweight (P90X or Insanity) in the near future once I get tired of not being able to scratch my head after arms day.