R1D19-21 – The Shoulder Fix – Heavy Olympic Lifts.

cleanIt was a weird weekend workout wise. I know I was going to do Abs before gym but I didn’t want to give in to my lazy side and decided to do P90X3 CVX instead. CVX stands for Cardio Vascular Extreme and it was a pretty tough workout, not because of the moves that you are performing but rather for the fact that you are doing it with a weigh in your hands. I started with 12lbs, quickly moved to 10 after about 8 minutes and by the end I admit I dropped the weight a couple of times. Now I am not a proponent of this kind of workout, I think it’s very hard on the shoulders and takes a great deal of care to get it right. For most people, I think it’s best not to have a weight at the end of your arms where it can swing with a huge multiplicative factor while jumping and running. That said, the workout was pretty tiring, it was definitely a good amount of activity and although I won’t be doing it again, it was OK.

Saturday I decided to stay with my non-lazy approach and up my Oly weights to 135 on the barbell and 185 on the bench. The proposal was as follows:

5×5 Deadlift
5×10 Bench
5×5 Hang Clean
5×5 Power Clean
5×10 Shrugs
5×5 Squats

This is pretty much what I was doing last summer without the bench obviously because I was up in the garage. I was quickly reminded that I am still a way from where I wish I was as I struggled with the Hang Cleans and only managed to do 2 sets of the Power Cleans. I finished the bench and shrugs but did zero squats even though the deadlifts were not as bad as I had imagined they would be. What amazed me was that after doing some of the hang cleans I suddenly realized that the pain in my shoulder was gone. I didn’t know if I was just being optimistic, maybe saturated with adrenaline or what so I ignored it. About an hour after the workout I had a very strange pain in my left shoulder, which has not been too bad lately but also the same strange pain in my right. However, the mobility in my right shoulder was completely fixed. I can reach behind my back and scratch my shoulderblade without any pain for the first time in about 6 months. Since I spent quite a few hours in pain at the physio while he tried to fix it without success you can imagine my surprise and happiness when the next morning the mobility and pain free situation continued. I slowly started to recognize the pain that I was feeling in both shoulders, it was the same pain I had way back when I endured separations during my rugby playing days. I am guessing that somehow my shoulders have been out of alignment for a while and doing the heavy lifting with the barbell somehow relocated them. I took Sunday off in order to rest the joints, took some advil but I plan to get back to the barbell tonight and try to complete more of the program than I did on Saturday.

The description of the shoulder pain I was feeling was intense pain at the point of the shoulder, when I had my arms in dip position, in other words the same position you are in if you go to get your wallet out of your back pocket or when you go to pull up the back of your pants with both hands. I literally couldn’t put my hand flat against my lower back at the start it was so bad. Now though, there is still a little pain, but probably only 15% of what was there before, I am not sure if that is just inflammation due to the relocation or if it will go away at all but I have my fingers crossed.

 

R11D15-18 – Work Rate, MMA and Sick Child Obstacles

tapoutxt vs p90x2 days off with a sick child could drive anyone crazy. Hours on hours of Timmy Time and Shaun The Sheep interspersed with bouts of a bored 3 year old trying to find something to do which in case you are wondering is a VERY dangerous proposition. I am glad to say though that I managed to work out both days after taking Sunday off with several localized sore patches. Monday I did T25 Lower Body Focus which was a very good workout, as you can imagine it’s mostly legs, squats, lunges and plenty of cardio. In fact, it’s a workout that I plan on doing again only once I have compared it with the P90X3 Lower Body workout. On Tuesday I was going to do the upper body P90X3 but instead since I knew exactly what I wanted to work I did a bench and curls workout to hit the body parts that I felt were getting a little neglected. Wednesday was a forced rest day with gymnastics coaching and daycare pick-up leaving no time for a workout. I was going to do some conditioning with the girls at the end of class but since I have been a little tired and sore all over I opted for the rest. I feel like it was a quality decision too since on Thursday I was able to crush the P90X3 MMX workout. In MMX, there is a lot of similarities to Kenpo X but with added sprawling (or burpees if you like). The advantage I have is that I have a heavy bag in the basement so the limp jabs and punches that you ordinarily associate with any martial arts workout are replaced by actual physical contact punches and kicks. Believe me when I tell you that the difference is night and day. I was drenched with sweat when I finished and my legs and shoulders really got a fantastic workout. However, since I have a copy of Tapout XT I am not so sure that this workout will ever see the light of day again. It’s OK, just not a really involved or accurate MMA workout. That said, it’s far better than George St Pierre’s Rushfit which is, in my opinion, a complete waste of time.
Today I plan to do T25 Ab Intervals and then coaching, and maybe take the workout with me and make the kids do it if it is any good.

In case you are wondering, it’s now Day 19 and I have managed to keep my percentage (days on vs days off) up above 85% until my forced rest on Wednesday. Mostly due to the 100% start but also my commitment to the high work rate required for me to have any hope of weight loss. I have dipped down to 83% (16 of 19 days) but after the weekend I should be comfortably over the mark. Remember working out 4 days a week is only 57% and 5 days a week still only 71%. If you are truly focused on weight control and long term health and fitness then 6 days a week (85%) with one day of Yoga or Pilates or Isometrics is what you should be aiming for. I know people have a problem with working out 7 days a week but if you are balanced in your approach and build low effort days into the mix you will be fine.  Here’s what I have done so far and I am moving towards Month 2 workouts in P90X3 and Beta workouts in T25.

Monday, 01/06/2014 1 T25 Cardio 100%
Tuesday, 01/07/2014 2 P90X3 Total Synergistics 100%
Wednesday, 01/08/2014 3 P90X3 Agility X 100%
Thursday, 01/09/2014 4 T25 Speed 1.0 100%
Friday, 01/10/2014 5 Oly Lift 5×5 @ 95 DL SQ PCL 100%
Saturday, 01/11/2014 6 ice clearing 45 min 100%
Sunday, 01/12/2014 7 T25 Total Body Conditioning 100%
Monday, 01/13/2014 Off 0%
Tuesday, 01/14/2014 8 Driveway Ice 45 min 89%
Wednesday, 01/15/2014 9 T25 Core Cardio 90%
Thursday, 01/16/2014 10 p90x3  warrrior 91%
Friday, 01/17/2014 11 P90X3 Dynamix 92%
Saturday, 01/18/2014 12 Oly lift and increase weights 92%
Sunday, 01/19/2014 off 0%
Monday, 01/20/2014 13 T25 Lower Body Focus 87%
Tuesday, 01/21/2014 14 Bench and curls improv 88%
Wednesday, 01/22/2014 88%
Thursday, 01/23/2014 15 P90X3 MMX 83%
Friday, 01/24/2014 16 T25 Ab Intervals 84%

R11D12-14 – Piriformis Pain Returns – Stretching Did It.

DynamixFriday before coaching I wanted something in the rest/recuperate department so I tried out P90X3 Dynamix. It’s a good stretching / rehabilitating workout after a hard workout week. It was actually really nice to get some stretching done in a disciplined and organized manner. However, after stretching my piriformis I once again have the weird sharp pain in my hip/back on the right side. I remember it got worse the more I stretched last year and eventually I got to the point where my hip pain was so bad I had to take time off. I wonder if there is such a thing as not stretching muscles to avoid inflammation. The issue is that I need the pigeon stretch to help my hips and ITB but whenever I do a little too much I get a debilitating pain in my back. I guess I will just have to try and avoid overstretching the area so that it’s not inhibiting my workouts but also not sretched to the point of pain. So much for getting old. Anyway, Saturday I did my 5×5 workout with Oly lifts including Deadlift, clean, squat and bench. In fact, I also increased my weights a little, got my barbell up to 115 and my bench bar up to 165. Still well within my limits, but on a steady and slow rise. Sunday I decided to rest, I have done 12 of 14 days and I think I am getting a little mentally burned out. Physically I am fine, but as we all know once you feel overtrained it’s way too late to do anything about it. I think that’s why the Dynamix workout was so good, there were some good stretches, a bit of core work with some more challenging holds and some dynamic stretching also. There is no Ab Ripper in P90X3 but the core work during Dynamix will certainly let you know if you need more abs work or not!

Today I am home with a sick child so lots of up and down on the floor to play games, do puzzles, have naps fight with the cat etc. Hoping I can squeeze in a workout during nap time, whenever that is.

R11D11 – P90X3 The Warrior

ultimatewarriorI actually talked myself into this one. I stood in front of my barbell quite prepared to do a quick 5×5 with bench as a delicious side but remembered that I had planned to do The Warrior. Usually I would ignore my plan and do whatever it was that I wanted however with my return to daily workouts still in it’s infancy I thought it would be better to stick to my plan. Not only that, I wanted to save the Oly lifting for the weekend so that I can actually increase the weights which, as you can probably imagine, increased the total workout time. I was pushed for time as it was, and so I crossed my fingers, hoping not to hear andy Forrest Gump and turned on Warrior. As it turns out, this is my favourite kind of workout. It’s a true bootcamp style workout based on upper, core and lower power moves. It’s simple, but incorporated the whole body and as with most of these workouts is very scaleable. However, my complaint of the day again is my legs. I’m pretty sore, and I am back in the bad habit of not getting to bed at 1030 like I am supposed to but sitting up and falling asleep watching TV. Not only that, but because I am tired I know that my posture for burpees and all the moves where you have to touch the floor isn’t the best so I now have a sore mid back on the left side. It may be time for some Yoga X since I am actually interested to find out what a 30 minute yoga session looks like.

So it’s pretty much the end of week 2 and since I don’t really update on the weekend my feelings are as follows:

Starting over sucks. Week 1 is a mixture of anticipation, overenthusiasm and pain whereas week 2 devolves into pretty much just pain. However, capability and endurance begin to shine through and you definitely start to reap some rewards, however they are usually pushed back into oblivion by your screaming thighs and calves / shoulders. However, I have started with a blast, 10 days out of 11 and so as I progress I can start to ease back to my 80% goal and hopefully work rest into my schedule. I am glad I started over, it’s good to feel capable again.

By the way, I stole this moves list from the interwebs for The Warrior.Oh, abnd one more thing, you actually get REST periods in this workout!!

The moves:

PLANK SPHINX PUSH-UPS
SPEED SKATER
DOWN DOG CRUNCHES
SIDE LUNGE JUMP SHOT
ELEVATOR PUSH-UPS
DOUBLE UPPER CUT SPRAWLS
ROLLER BOAT
ONE LEG JUMP SQUATS
THUMBS-UP PUSH-UPS
ELBOW, OVER THE TOP ELBOW, SPRAWL
FIFER SCISSOR TWIST
WARRIOR SQUAT LUNGES
SUPER BURPEE
THINK DRILLS
ABRINOME
SPIDERMAN SQUATS
BURNOUT

R11D10 – Accidental Beta

lovebetaI seem to have had post fright in 2013. Apparently I posted a measly 72 posts in 2013 as compared to 143 in 2012. Let’s hope I can do a better job in 2014.

Last night I had to go by memory and of course it all went horribly wrong. As I started the T25 workout I was wondering why the participants seemed to be trying harder than usual, a few minutes in and Shaun T revealed that this was a BETA workout, not an Alpha so I was thrown into phase 2 without any notice. What I did notice however was that I was not really able to keep up like I would have liked. The workout itself was T25 Core Cardio which has kind of an innocuous name. It was a tough workout though, lots of core work standing, planking and so on, no situps however, that’s not really the way to do core nowadays anyway. My biggest problem at the moment is once again my size and flexibility. I remember after doing a round of P90X and Insanity how impressed I was with my flexibility, and I know that it doesn’t take long to regain the range of motion but for now getting my feet to my hands coming up from burpee is killing me. I am impressed by the Y25 workouts though, I was assuming that they would not be as tough as they are, but once again BB has done a great job in designing workouts that are almost infinitely scaleable both up and down. Personally I am trying to keep up and not scale back at all but last night I did end up modifying a little and at one point stopping a full 10 seconds before the end of the move. Tonight is my daughters swimming class so I am hoping to get a P90X3 workout done (CVX or Warrior) as soon as I get home. However, she was off daycare with a fever today so I am not sure if she will even be well enough to go.

Core Cardio was challenging but then again Shaun T did say several times that the base for this workout was Alpha which is supposed to last a month. Maybe in another 3 weeks I can try this one again and see just how much easier it is once I am in better shape. So far so good though, there is a lot of jumping so my calves are pretty sore most of the time, and my hands seem to be sore from the planks and shoulder touches etc but that’s probably because my floor isn’t that forgiving. I noticed last night my quads started to give out after only about 15 minutes which I am guessing is because of the ice workout. We will see tonight if they are still trashed or if my sleep and rest is adequate.

R11D9 – Best Laid Plans

osmin diet The return of the ice war.

This time it was the driveway, a double wide strip of 5 inch thick ice just waiting to be carved apart with the ice breaker and hauled BY HAND out of the way. The ice pieces were too heavy to lift with my snow shovel so as I broke apart the sheets I had to carry or throw the massive chunks off to the side. It took about 50 minutes and each time I checked my heart rate (since I knew it was going to be a workout) I was up above 140. It is strange that I am happy to prove myself in the real world now, whereas during my gym days I would only consider actual weight lifting as exercise and everything else was just a waste of time. Oh how my life has changed since then. One phrase that always goes through my head is hearing Osmin Hernandez shouting THE WORLD IS YOUR GYM and although he is a little crazy at times I completely agree with his philosophy. Anyone who says they can’t work out because they can’t get to the gym needs a good smack to the forehead. Yesterday’s workout equipment was an ice breaking blade and a snow shovel. It takes a lot to get out of the gym mindset and even more difficult than getting out of the gym is the notion that you can actually get fit at home with or without a DVD set to motivate you. Coming from a gym rat mindset makes you think that you need “proper” equipment to work out with and the idea that you can get a great full body workout without ANY equipment is insane. Truth is that you don’t need anything to get in shape except a positive attitude and a little creativity. Every neighbourhood in Canada now has access to 2 or 3 parks with monkey bars, climbing frames etc all of which are great for workouts. Just make sure you are alone or people will get the wrong idea.

osmin friend

The other problem is a very common one among people who already have the right attitude, they have the knowledge and they may even have some kettlebells, bumper plates and an Olympic bar at home but their problem is that they can’t train themselves. It’s the toughest thing in the world to be your own trainer and for the most part it is not possible. However, there is a way to overcome this and that is to write your plan for yourself as if you were writing it for a client or friend and then follow it to the letter. Make it up during your off hours when you can think clearly about body part rotation, time allotment, rest etc. and that way you don’t end up standing in your basement at workout time thinking “hmm… what should I do today…”.

I know this because I have coached many sports, from rugby to gymnastics and I have been a certified personal trainer for 20 years now, since before everyone thought they could do it and I am smart enough and humble enough to know that I cannot coach myself. That is part of the reason that I keep this blog, not only to record my progress but also to give me the chance to think about where I am and what I need to do next. I won’t go home at the end of the day not knowing what I SHOULD do. The only thing that will derail my achieving what I have planned is if there is something else there to take it’s place like last night. There is also a rest day window that I have. Once I have worked out 4 days straight the window is open and if I get into a situation where I can’t get a workout in due to time constraints or other reasons then I can take a day without guilt and move the planned workout to the next day. I have things in place that mean whatever happens I am able to adapt and make the day a success. That is what it takes to at least have some degree of success in coaching yourself, but believe me, it’s not a walk in the park. The biggest problem is that you will always let yourself off with doing less than you would if you were training someone else. You have to learn to drive yourself as hard as you can while you are in pain and that’s the problem, it takes almost superhuman dedication not to quit when you are hurting but believe me, the one thing that the truly successful people will do is ignore the voice in their head and get the work done.

R11D8 – Rest, Credit and Critique

i-hate-rest-days2It was a time constraint that forced me into taking my rest day, and as usual I was not happy about it. However, I am committed to rest and so I also made the quality decision to get to bed at 1030 in order to take full advantage of my resting. It also gave me an opportunity to look at my week and decide what the shortcomings were. It’s something that I don’t think people do enough when they finally decide to take charge of their workouts. It’s easy enough to plan, but evaluating your past week and addressing how you felt about it is a completely different skill. Even if your choice is to go with a 90 day program like T25 or P90X3 you should still evaluate at the end of each week what you got from it and if there are any issues that need work. For example, like many people who do or did P90X I was less than thrilled with Yoga and Kenpo. Eventually I decided to replace them both with something more appropriate to my goals. This time around, knowing that P90X3 may have shortcomings with it’s cardio days I have decided to evaluate all the workouts first and then develop a schedule from what I learn. To be honest, what I learned from the first week is that the only things worth doing again were P90X Agility X and T25 Total Body Circuit. But at least I know and what I also know is that I have gone through most of the phase 1 workouts so things are, I think, about to get bananas. At least I hope so.

Since I had my back surgery in April, I have understandably been relatively inactive compared to the last few years but I have to give myself a little credit because I am only 9 months post op and I am in almost every sense back to where I was. I would even have gone so far as to say I was there when we went to Cuba in December, only 8 months after. Now I haven’t been posting here for 10 years since my first surgery but I do have an interesting excerpt from my personal blog that I was writing at the time.

I started back on January 12th with complete and utter disregard for my New Year’s Resolution to start Jan 1 with a strict regimen of walking. I started off with just 20 minutes a day but rapidly realized that unless I was going to push myself to get back as quickly as possible then the whole process was going to be excruciatingly painful. So I went from a sedate 20 minutes 4 days a week in the beginning to 45 minutes every day within the first month. Of course, my weight remained resolutely high, determined that it could outlast my will. We have, of course, had this fight before, I think in terms of score, we are about even. However, this time I was not to be discouraged. I was determined that if I was going to change some things in my life, then I had to change some things in my life. Simple, right? Well, actually yes, it is. If you think about it, I wanted to change my health, my weight and my habits, so I had to change the support system on which those things relied. It was time to start felling the tree at the base, rather than trimming the top with nail scissors.

The amazing thing about this is that I wrote that in mid March of 2004, a full 14 1/2 months after my surgery. What I realize now is that the second time around I had learned enough from the life changing disaster that was my first surgery to make the second one seem like an outpatient corn removal. Check this out:

Today was a wonderful day weather wise which is so much better for rehab than the dead of a Canadian winter. I was able to get out and walk twice again today for a total of 1.6km or so, slightly ahead of my projected goal of 1.5k. I will try for 2k tomorrow but I think that I should stick with that for a few days, my leg was sore, I had some hip pain and the speed was noticeably diminished at the end of the walk.

That was taken from DAY 2 OF MY RECOVERY!! Even I have a hard time reconciling that it took me 14 and a half months to get to the point that should have taken 2 days. It makes me sick to realize just how much of my life I wasted on that first recovery but as they say, you can’t cry over spilled milk. That’s why this time I was so resolute in my decision to push as hard as I could to get up and about and with pretty impressive results. Yes, it’s been 8 months and I am still at the same place I was after about 2 months but that said my pain level is much improved and I can comfortably blame some of my inactivity on my lingering sicknesses.

All of that because I took one day off after 7 in a row, and yes, I am happy to report that once again I hate rest days. Today will be P90X3 again and hopefully another 6 in a row until my next rest day. Also, tomorrow I find out how much weight if any I have lost this week as it’s week 2 of the biggest loser weigh in…

R11D5-7 – The Weekend

shaun-t-not-impressedI completed the Olympic lifting schedule. Sticking with my 5×5 routine of deadlifts, power cleans and squats. Since it was my first time back I stuck with the 95lb bar and checked my form. The goal is to get back up to 135 as soon as possible for everything and then work back to 200+ by the summer. A 200lb clean is nothing to sneeze at, but I really should be aiming for a 300lb deadlift and squat, the only problem is that I don’t have a squat rack so that’s an issue. That said, I often get asked by people WHY I work out like I do and as often as I do, and my answer is not necessarily what they expect. I suppose they want me to tell them about the health benefits and so on but really all I want long term is to be able to get through my life with the ability to take on any challenges I may face. For example, on Saturday I had to clear the snow and ice off my upper deck which is probably about 400sf. The ice was about 5 inches think in places and broke off in chunks weighing upwards of 60lbs each. I took particular enjoyment out of hurling these massive sheets of ice off the balcony down on to the lawn below and in total I probably shovelled and tossed 600lbs+ of ice off that deck. It took me about 45 minutes but I am happy to report that I was not sore the next day and regardless of the awkward size and shape of the blocks I was able to handle them with ease. That’s the reason I work out. So if I come up against a high demand incident I can blow through it rather than have a heart attack trying to do something I am not prepared for. Of course, being healthy and living a long life are important, but those are very ethereal goals and personally I like to have something more concrete to push against. Tony Horton calls it being durable and less prone to injury and at my age I tend to agree that being able to handle high demand situations is critical. It doesn’t matter if it’s self inflicted like my deck clearing or accidental like having to shovel yourself out of a ditch, either way I don’t want to be the guy who has a coronary in the snow.

Which brings me to Sunday where I picked T25 Total Body Circuit as my opponent and was forced to take back everything I had said last week about T25 being too easy. This was a tough workout. Now let me state that if I was in the kind of shape I was at this time last year then maybe this wouldn’t have been so hard and if I compare it to the bootcamps that I was running last year it’s a distant second. However, current state dictates that I report what it was I felt and I have to admit nausea came into it a little at the end. I was sweating like a thief and  at one point I actually had to rest during the burnout at the end. It was a little shameful and extremely motivating to know just how far away from my peak I am and to know that as painful as it was, it’s a step in the right direction. It was, however, a very enjoyable workout and one that I think I would like to repeat (actually it’s the only one so far that I think I would enjoy a second time). It’s now Monday and I have done 7 days straight, and since I am not anywhere near burnout yet I think I will continue until I require a day off through time constraints or simple rest requirement. I will try to hit a P90X3 workout tonight like I did the other day (likely CVX since I want to save the chinups).

The Right Idea!

From Joe Manganiello’s book “Evolution – The Cutting Edge  Guide to Breaking Down Mental Walls and Building the Body You’ve Always Wanted”

 

We live in a society that is headed in a frightening direction. It is rapidly becoming a culture that shields our fragile egos from failure. The result is a society of people who applaud potential instead of results, and a mentality of “good enough” rather than “better than ever.”
Our hypersensitive society has created a mentality that can’t handle failure. Whether you’re first or last, we preach “Good try!” instead of “Work harder.” We do it with everything, and we do it in the worst ways possible, such as with our health. We coddle ourselves, and it’s the reason why so many people think it’s okay to be overweight and out of shape. Or why so many have rationalized their inability to exercise and eat in a healthy way. You fail once and then tell yourself that something better isn’t a possibility.
The reality? You’ve been taught to quit at failure. You don’t smell success, because there’s no incentive to push forward. There’s no hurt, pain, or disappointment when you fall short. For you to evolve, that must all change.
The problem is apparent everywhere. Look no further than today’s youth. Children play sports games where goals aren’t counted and everyone gets a trophy at the end. I’m all for providing a nurturing environment for children to grow up in. Heck, almost all of the charity organizations I work with are designed to provide better lives for kids. But people need to be pushed—both externally and internally. That internal fire can never burn without some fuel, and that fuel can come in the form of disappointment, embarrassment, and even jealously. The poison, no doubt, is in the dose, as these traits are incredibly corrosive if held on to for extended periods of time, but if you can learn to convert them into positive actions, they can help you tremendously.
I benefitted from failure. I needed to feel it. I needed to sit in it. I needed to know what losing felt like, and I needed to get angry about it and never want to feel that way again. Without it, I would have been robbed of the lifeblood that has propelled me all these years later. It would have eliminated my opportunity to stand taller.
I hate failing, and, even worse, I hate admitting it. But at night, I can look at myself in the mirror and know that every time I did fail, it was the best thing for me. I got back up, devised a better plan of action, and went back with fire in my stomach for those who doubted me when I told them what I wanted to achieve, changes I desired to make, and who I wanted to become.
I issue that same challenge to you. I want you to look at your failures, embrace them, and immerse yourself in them. Then I want you to use that pain as fuel and set up this one seemingly simple goal: What can you change in a year?
I’m going to need you to accept nothing less than your best effort. You owe it to yourself to know, once and for all, how far you can go. I want you to look in that mirror and love what you see, inside and out. I want you to feel like you’ve earned your sleep at night.
All I ask is that you believe that what I’m telling you has worked for me and to do the footwork.

 

R11D4 – Active Rest? That’s Speed 1.0

ThanksShaunTI caught up with Speed 1.0 last night and I can only hope that is is deliberately slow and easy in order to contrast with Speed 2.0 and 3.0. It was, if I am honest, like a day off. I suppose it’s kind of an introduction to Interval Agility training with speedy agile movements mixed in with static stretching. Yes, I said it, STATIC stretching. It’s a bit weird but I have to keep in mind that this is the very start of the workout schedule. Contrasting it with Agility X with Tony is like comparing Artistic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics, they both seem pretty cool until you compare them and then you realize why nobody likes Rhythmic Gymnastics. Anyhoo, it was nice to have a slower night because for the past 3 days I have felt like I have had a 6 inch nail in each butt cheek. Every time I start to walk I realize that doing lunges after so long doing so little is a recipe for dis-ass-ter. Seriously my butt is so painful I should name it Rob Ford, the worlds biggest pain in the ass for 2013.

Tonight I have to pick a P90X3 workout and I would have done Yoga but for last night so I think I may take the Challenge and see what happens. If I was smart I would check out the videos first so I know what to expect but as my wife will vehemently deny, I love a surprise. There is a big difference between not knowing what workout to expect and being told halfway to the mall to go to 1 store to purchase one item that you will in fact be “quickly” going to several other stores just to “check something out”. But I digress. So far my foray back into home fitness has been a resounding success. I feel invigorated, sore and I am finally getting over the hacking cough I have had since Christmas. I am wearing my heart rate monitor again and truly getting back into the swing of keeping my eye on what I am doing and also what I am aiming for. It’s nice to have longer term goals, I spent the approach to Christmas a little frustrated with my workouts not really organizing myself to maximize my effort and time. New year, new gear, and this time, the gear is a positive attitude towards a more rigid schedule. Happy Friday everyone!

Actually I have changed my mind, I have a hankering for some Oly lifting tonight so I will be doing 5x5s tonight with deadlifts, Clean, power clean etc. Tomorrow I will be doing the Challenge because it’s basically just pullups and pushups and it’s going to be warm enough to go out on the deck and do pullups or at the very least do them in the garage.