Round 3 Day 89 – I’m Obviously Coasting To The End

It was supposed to be Legs and Back so I tried my WOD thing again:

10 Air squats
10 Regular wide squats
10 Pullups
10 Block jumps

x7

Legs like jelly as I tried to coach the kids at gym but it felt great. Ouch. Pretty happy to be getting to the end of Round 3, I am a little bored with the workouts and haven’t tried to change it up. The Round 4 schedule will be up tomorrow so I can get my head around it in time for Saturday – potentially.

I probably should also do the P90X and Insanity Fit Tests this weekend. Maybe that would be a nice rest and benchmark for the next 3 months.

Round 3 Day 84 – Beaten

My legs were incredibly sore from the air squats from yesterday and even though I dialed it back and selected a rest week workout I could only manage about half of it before I felt like weeping. My quads feel like they are on fire. Every step hurts which is a great indicator of 2 things. 1 I can work my quads without hurting my back and 2 the stuff I am doing for P90X is obviously not working the whole muscle. Interesting.

So I will move on to day 85, Chest Shoulders and Triceps and try to get my legs recovered before Max Interval Plyo. I can’t believe at this point during my third round that I am still able to find things that work me like a beginner. Sometimes I love fitness…

Round 3 – Day 82. Crossfit-ish Legs and Back

My personal WOD for legs and back today, I call it the 1115.

4 Rounds of:

10 air squats (technically still perfecting them so 10 with good form will do)
10 Pull ups
10 Jump Ups (12/16/18/24″)
5 Pullups

I was beat by the end, I actually wanted to do another set but realized that my legs were getting wobbly and jumping up onto my deck with legs like that one more time may result in my face meeting my DIY project. I have to admit, even though it only took about 20 minutes to complete it really did feel like a good workout. My heart rate was over 160 which is rare for me and a true indicator that the intensity was where it should have been.

The air squats are tough since you have to go below horizontal and in the  past that has thrown my back out so I was a little nervous. Also, there is a great deal of technique to them and I am sure that given the shortness of my hamstrings and the tightness of my ITB that my technique is far from perfect. In fact I think I am victim of the “famous” butt wink.

All I can do is keep trying, do my best and what? (silence)…( my favourite part of the P90X series… You can almost hear the crickets.)

From the Crossfit site, a short demo of the air squat: Air Squat

What’s Next? Round 4 Spitballing

September 7 2010

So I am starting to think about Round 4 and what it will entail. Since I am a big fan of Fitbomb I have taken a shine to the Crossfit methodology and even though I wouldn’t be able to do some of the movements due to my back surgery I still think that I could hit 2 out of 7. That is all I would need to get me started on something like this:

Day 1: P90X Workout
Day 2: Crossfit WOW (workout of the week choice)
Day 3: Insanity Workout
Day 4: P90X Workout
Day 5: Crossfit WOW
Day 6:  Insanity Workout
Day 7: Rest

There will have to be some kind of adjustment to the bodyparts I would work, part of me thinks that I can skip the leg workouts from P90 if I am doing both Insanity and CF. I would need to work Chest, Back, Shoulders and Arms over the 2 day split realizing that the WOW would probably then have to work something different if possible. I would still try to break it down into a 90 day session which given occasional days off (Thanksgiving weekends, parents visiting etc.) should run me well into the Christmas season. I still have almost 2 weeks of Round 3 to go and it is my mission to get this Fitness Melange organized in time to start right at the end of Round 3.

What is the philosophy behind round 4? Well, I think the ability to incorporate some running is the main focus. Also, being able to avoid burning out on Tony and Shaun is critical. The more I work out with them, the more I want to get out and see how fit I am doing other things after all, what is the point in getting fit if you aren’t going to test yourself once you get there? I think that a large part of doing a WOW will be to show off the shape I am in from doing P90X and Insanity. Plus there is something visceral about working out outside, lifting things that aren’t dumbbells or barbells and getting to grip with yourself without the aid of a TV personality.

Round 3 – Day 78 – The Half Hour From Hell Crossfit Style

I was supposed to be doing Chest, Shoulders and Triceps today, don’t ask me why I thought I was on Legs and Back but I guess in the confusion of the last few days I got mixed up. I decided that having read about Crossfit for a while that I would try a Crossfit approach to my Legs and Back day. So I went outside onto the lower deck and found 3 places I could do step up or jump up. Couple that with the two chin up bars I have out there and it was all I needed to get the job done. I thought that I would be able to do 100 jumps and 100 chinups and see how that was. Ultimately, I got to about 70 and called it quits, it was about 35 degrees with the humidity and after half an hour of this circuit I was completely beat. The session went something like this

Warmup: Jog up the hill at the side of the house 10x
Set 1: 10 14″ Jump ups 10 wide front pull ups
Set 2: 10  18″ Step ups with knee raise, 10 narrow front pull ups
Set 3: 10 14″ Jump ups , 10 reverse grip pull ups
Set 4: 10 18″ Step ups with foot tap not step down, 10 wide front pull ups
Set 5:  10 24″ Jump ups, 10 narrow front pull ups
Set 6: 10 24″ Jump ups, 10 reverse grip pull ups
Set 7: 10 24″ Jump ups, 10 wide front pull ups

Unfortunately the highest point of the deck is 24″ off the ground which, for a person my size is probably high enough! The circuit only took about 28 minutes to complete but my heart rate was alarmingly high after doing the jump ups. I was really surprised just how difficult it was even with all the Insanity stuff I have been doing. I think I will keep doing this though, at least trying to incorporate the outside world, we live on a private circle which is 600m around, so maybe I will start incorporating 600m runs into the program now that the oppressive heat seems to have broken.

Since I am writing this the day after and  I am able to walk, I can speak to the success of this program. I did have thoughts of not being able to move this morning, unsure how my back would have reacted to the workload.

Round 3 – Day 77 (Supposed to be off)

Fuji_appleSo my schedule has been sporadic, although I have not been taking multiple days off. I do however feel like I was starting to bulk up a little probably due to my diet being on the lazy side. I have, however, started to eat a lot more fruit. Failing in my ability to cook lunch for myself I have decided that fruit is the best way to keep a healthy lifestyle going. It’s either that or have fries every day for lunch. I am not a fruit hater, not the one who says that fructose is just as bad for you as sugar but rather someone who thinks that in the grand scheme, eating fruit simply can’t be a bad thing.

I have also recently cancelled our water delivery company and although I am still a devout spring water fan, I realized that buying a small bottle of Multi-Mineral supplement drops is a far cheaper way of getting great tasting water.

This by the way is a miracle to me. I have fairly sensitive taste buds thanks to my Father’s weird genes and as such I hate the taste of tap water. A few drops of Health Solute ions (sic) ConcenTrace minerals and the water tastes better than anything you will find from a spring or otherwise. There are several companies that make mineral supplements (Albi Naturals is another great one) but if you hate the taste of municipal water and don’t want to pay for spring water, get some drops, it will blow your mind.

ionic-sea-mineral-drops_2

I am keeping up with my program of doing the Max Insanity workouts and so far so good. I did have some knee soreness for a while but after a week of only 4 days working out, it seems to have disappeared.  I am also not failing to make it through the warmup any more, a fact I only just noticed yesterday!

I am also having a problem with the gym I am supposed to be working at. I coach gymnastics but since they failed to contact me during the summer, they had apparently assumed I was going to be quitting after the baby arrived, I don’t have a group. The ONLY potential upside to this is no long evenings on Tuesday and Thursday and an uninterrupted workout schedule. I would rather have the problems coaching brings though…

Round 3 – Post rest week, day 66

Well the time is fast approaching for coaching to begin and the challenges of working out while spending 2 nights a week at the gym. Not only that, but now I have the baby to contend with who I am beginning to suspect doesn’t have my fitness as one of her main priorities in her life. Each year I have a problem getting the workouts done when it comes to coaching season, not because it is particularly hard to do but because it becomes a great excuse not to do it. This year, I can’t afford to be that way. It is less than 20 days until coaching which (much like last year) won’t quite allow me to finish the program before I start. What I really need to do is to start thinking about my next quarter and what to do with my workouts that will allow me the time, flexibility and challenge to keep my fitness up.

I substituted a bench workout for my chest, shoulders and triceps workout on Monday. It is a significantly different workout than doing pushups and I found that I really missed that full pump that I can only really get from heavy benching. Fortunately due to the type of bench I have I can also do a pretty good shoulder press workout too since doing flies doesn’t really cut it for building or maintaining your shoulder mass. I did find however that I was not sore after, which speaks to the conditioning of the muscle, regardless of the diminished strength. It was great to get back to basics, and I think come the coaching season I will be incorporating a couple of bench workouts into my program. They are short and intense and remind me of why I have been going to the gym for all these years.

Insanity however, is still kicking my ass. I am doing the max workouts now which I find better since I am unable to match the intensity that is required to get the most out of the shorter workouts. I think as time goes along I should also consider getting outside while the weather starts to cool down and do some short distance runs, maybe 1 -3 km at a quick pace to get my running back. I find that jogging hurts my calves and feet but running doesn’t. Weird huh?

Round 3 – Day 39-41. My Butt Hurts

I am getting wary of injuries at this point. My knees feel sore which is a first for me, I had a twinge of shin splints last night and I find that my calves are so sore during warmup that I am having to stop. However I think that the culprit may be a lack of warmup time before starting. The problem is that I get home from work after sitting in traffic for up to an hour and go straight into Insanity. What I really should do is go for a 5 minute walk first to get my legs warm before doing anything. I am confident that would cure most of my issues.

I failed to complete the program last night. For the first time in 41 days I quit. I was doing the Max Interval Circuit workout and after the second section before the third and final section I was simply too tired to go on. So tired in fact that as I lay there on the floor recovering from the second run through I actually fell asleep. I think maybe I have been pushing too hard, not necessarily during my workouts but in general. Losing sleep, taking care of the baby, working a full time job and working out 7 days a week may be catching up with me. My butt is sore so my legs are sore and that usually makes me a very tired and grumpy boy.

Round 3 – Day 27 – Day 38. Insanity Plyo Cardio and Max starts

I have to admit it really bothers me that they shipped this DVD without realizing that part of the warmup is missing. If you have done this you will know what I mean, but admittedly it took me a while to notice. The part of the stretch where you stand on one leg, hands on the floor and pulse your other knee to your chest and then up to the ceiling is only done on one side. Nitpicking I know but still, come on, get some quality assurance.

Since I started this entry I have done another 11 days putting me at the 38 day mark. This is significant in the fact that I am not only into part 2 of the P90X program but I am also now into the break-in phase of the Max workouts for Insanity.

So far I have done the Max Cardio and Max Interval Plyo both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be more beneficial than the shorter regular workouts. The reason behind this is pretty simple. I am unable to do the full compliment of moves or time during the regular workout so often I find that after 20 minutes I am simply not tired enough. The extra time of the Max workout means that even if I can’t do every move for the full time, the volume of workout is getting to a more fulfilling level for me.

Hmm… re-reading that it seems that the phrase “not tired enough” is misleading. The purpose of insanity is to push you very hard for a short time to max out your intensity. Unfortunately if you are unable to match the intensity all the time, as your fitness increases you find that although you are exhausted and your heart rate is through the roof, a few minutes later you feel fine and are ready for more. That is where I find myself now and that is why I am enjoying the Max sessions. It gives me an extra amount of time to get that extra work that I missed skipping out a few seconds ahead of the end of the timer. I suppose if I were to do the whole workout as directed that the regular workouts would be fine but at this point in my life my limitations tend to dictate what I do rather than my ego.