Saturday, December 29, 2018
2nd Mini-Challenge for December 2018
Did 120 Push-Ups and 17 Pull-Ups today. My warm-up was 10 minutes of bike riding. I decided to focus on my heart rate. I tried to get a consistent 140 beats per minute. The machine said I averaged 137 which isn't bad. After the workout I did some stretching. I'll be changing up my cardio to a more endurance and less intensity for next year.
Feeling good. Still having some pain in my left leg. I'll keep stretching that. I'm trying out some of these routines. I'll have a workout on New Years' Eve and then start lifting again for the new year. A month without weights has been interesting.
KEEP GRINDING!!!
Feeling good. Still having some pain in my left leg. I'll keep stretching that. I'm trying out some of these routines. I'll have a workout on New Years' Eve and then start lifting again for the new year. A month without weights has been interesting.
KEEP GRINDING!!!
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
2018 Almost Over!
Received results from an eye exam. I have beginning glaucoma in one eye and some beginning diabetic retinopathy in the other. So I'll have to learn how to deal with those.
Like many I gained weight over the holidays. Not so much I'm worried, just observing. My blood pressure has a good range, however it is still leaning toward the high side. The car is still not functioning and my hip is still tight. Things to work through.
I changed my "cardio" day. I'm warming up with 2 minutes on the bike and keeping the RPMs at 60 or higher during the non-sprint part. I changed the "sprint" to 3 minutes with a 3 minute low-speed period in between. Instead of going for 100% for 20 seconds I'll be watching my heart rate for the 3 minute sprint periods. I'm hoping to be between 84 and 117 during the slower periods, and 118 to 143 during the sprints.
I've been experimenting with the idea of positive stress outside of the gym. It's one thing to know that increasing weight is a stress and then you grow and adapt from pushing that. Another thing is to look at all of the daily stresses and try to categorize them as either "threat" or "challenge." There is still a long way to go yet I think it is improving my mindset so far. Making it a long-term habit is definitely a positive challenge.
A couple of things I've added to my life for this is breathing exercises that help maintain calm, or help keep me thinking clear even when stressed, and also a lot more fruit. Overall I'm feeling good. I pushed hard, had a cold, pushed a little bit then rested and feel great again. It also feels great to be this aware of how things are going.
Have a great day!
KEEP GRINDING! KEEP HIITing!
Like many I gained weight over the holidays. Not so much I'm worried, just observing. My blood pressure has a good range, however it is still leaning toward the high side. The car is still not functioning and my hip is still tight. Things to work through.
I changed my "cardio" day. I'm warming up with 2 minutes on the bike and keeping the RPMs at 60 or higher during the non-sprint part. I changed the "sprint" to 3 minutes with a 3 minute low-speed period in between. Instead of going for 100% for 20 seconds I'll be watching my heart rate for the 3 minute sprint periods. I'm hoping to be between 84 and 117 during the slower periods, and 118 to 143 during the sprints.
I've been experimenting with the idea of positive stress outside of the gym. It's one thing to know that increasing weight is a stress and then you grow and adapt from pushing that. Another thing is to look at all of the daily stresses and try to categorize them as either "threat" or "challenge." There is still a long way to go yet I think it is improving my mindset so far. Making it a long-term habit is definitely a positive challenge.
A couple of things I've added to my life for this is breathing exercises that help maintain calm, or help keep me thinking clear even when stressed, and also a lot more fruit. Overall I'm feeling good. I pushed hard, had a cold, pushed a little bit then rested and feel great again. It also feels great to be this aware of how things are going.
Have a great day!
KEEP GRINDING! KEEP HIITing!
Saturday, December 15, 2018
December Mini-Challenge 1
The car being hard to figure out has changed up my routine. I've decided to skip lifting for now and doing calisthenics. This morning we had the car and I headed over to the gym. I rode the bike for 5 minutes. I'm working on paying attention to the speed. So I rode the bike over 70 rpms.
Then I did sets of push-ups and pull-ups, then a walk around the inside of the gym.
I ended up doing 9 sets of 10 push-ups and one set of 20 for a total of 110. I did one set of 3 pull-ups, then 2 sets of 2, then 8 sets of 1 for 15.
I tried hanging as long as possible when I could not get to sets of 2. Don't know if I'll be sore. However it was a good workout. I feel like I'm catching a cold and decided to go anyway. I am trying to figure out how to implement some of the ideas from this video.
The other day I was feeling stressed, had a bad headache and tight neck. I napped then I did a bunch of push-ups, squats, and some planks. It helped make me feel better. It's been good to develop alternatives to needing to go to the gym.
KEEP GRINDING!!! Keep HIITing!!!
Then I did sets of push-ups and pull-ups, then a walk around the inside of the gym.
I ended up doing 9 sets of 10 push-ups and one set of 20 for a total of 110. I did one set of 3 pull-ups, then 2 sets of 2, then 8 sets of 1 for 15.
I tried hanging as long as possible when I could not get to sets of 2. Don't know if I'll be sore. However it was a good workout. I feel like I'm catching a cold and decided to go anyway. I am trying to figure out how to implement some of the ideas from this video.
The other day I was feeling stressed, had a bad headache and tight neck. I napped then I did a bunch of push-ups, squats, and some planks. It helped make me feel better. It's been good to develop alternatives to needing to go to the gym.
KEEP GRINDING!!! Keep HIITing!!!
Thursday, December 13, 2018
12/13/18 Calisthenics
Car is in the shop. That and some other things made for a stressful evening. Even with that I did 100 push-ups, 100 air squats, and 4 sets of 2 minute planks.
That helped with the stress a little bit. Going to keep at it!
KEEP GRINDING!
That helped with the stress a little bit. Going to keep at it!
KEEP GRINDING!
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
12/12/18 Calisthenics
Today I did my HIIT routine on 5 for the bike sprints, then
10 Four-count Jumping Jacks
15 Push-ups
10 Sit-ups
12 Assisted Pull-ups (-130)
And 10 normal count lunges. I also did some exercises in the morning and evening.
Air Squats 10 in AM then 30, 20, 20, 20 = 100
Push-ups 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 = 100
Planks 1 minute in AM then 1 and 1/2 minutes, then 1 minute and 10 seconds. I'll keep working on these. At home I have to account for pets... :)
This is feeling good overall yet still challenging. Going to keep this up as much as I can. This works ok since my car has been in the shop a lot. I can do most of this at home and I'll keep at it.
I appreciate people who check-in on their workouts, people who are being supportive, and people who tell me they are inspired. In the end, I need to keep growing and stretching.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!
10 Four-count Jumping Jacks
15 Push-ups
10 Sit-ups
12 Assisted Pull-ups (-130)
And 10 normal count lunges. I also did some exercises in the morning and evening.
Air Squats 10 in AM then 30, 20, 20, 20 = 100
Push-ups 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 = 100
Planks 1 minute in AM then 1 and 1/2 minutes, then 1 minute and 10 seconds. I'll keep working on these. At home I have to account for pets... :)
This is feeling good overall yet still challenging. Going to keep this up as much as I can. This works ok since my car has been in the shop a lot. I can do most of this at home and I'll keep at it.
I appreciate people who check-in on their workouts, people who are being supportive, and people who tell me they are inspired. In the end, I need to keep growing and stretching.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Challenging Myself with Calisthenics
Feeling good with the calisthenics. Started with a 5 minute bike warmup then some range of motion (ROM) exercises.
Set 2 minutes on the timer and did the following in time
57 4 Count Jumping Jacks
50 Air Squats
12 4 Count Lunges
40 Push-ups
6 Pull-ups
Planks for 1 minute 15 seconds then 1 minute and 30 seconds
And decompress with 5 minutes on the wall with this
Throughout the rest of the day I did 70 more push-ups for 110 total, and 50 more Air Squats for 100 total.
I'll lift weights again in the next couple of weeks.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!!!
Set 2 minutes on the timer and did the following in time
57 4 Count Jumping Jacks
50 Air Squats
12 4 Count Lunges
40 Push-ups
6 Pull-ups
Planks for 1 minute 15 seconds then 1 minute and 30 seconds
And decompress with 5 minutes on the wall with this
Throughout the rest of the day I did 70 more push-ups for 110 total, and 50 more Air Squats for 100 total.
I'll lift weights again in the next couple of weeks.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!!!
Monday, December 10, 2018
More Calisthenics!
I'm continuing with calisthenics and overall feel good about it. Did the workouts 4 days last week. The car was at the shop for two of those days. Got back on it today. Because of the pain in my hamstrings I've taken a break from heavy weight squats, sit-ups, and flutter kicks. Some yoga and other hamstring stretching has been recommended by trainers I talk with.
I'm going to try to get 100 air squats a day. I don't know if I'll have the same results as this video. I'll also take Sundays off. As of time of this writing I'm at 50 for the day and will try to get in 50 more over the next hour.
Depending on how things go I'll add other exercises to work on. Still doing the Monday, Wednesday and Friday HIIT workout, took it back to three sprints as in this routine. I went up to 10 on some of the other exercises.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!
I'm going to try to get 100 air squats a day. I don't know if I'll have the same results as this video. I'll also take Sundays off. As of time of this writing I'm at 50 for the day and will try to get in 50 more over the next hour.
Depending on how things go I'll add other exercises to work on. Still doing the Monday, Wednesday and Friday HIIT workout, took it back to three sprints as in this routine. I went up to 10 on some of the other exercises.
KEEP GRINDING! Keep HIITing!
Saturday, December 08, 2018
The movie Fasting...
Monday, December 03, 2018
Motivated After Powerlifting Meet
I ended up feeling very motivated after the tournament. Hopefully it's something that I keep.
Today I did HIIT for 3 20 second sprints. I set it on 5 for the resistance on the bike. Then some cardio. So after HIIT this week I'll be adding the following:
5 four count jumping jacks
5 push-ups
5 sit-ups
5 air squats
5 assisted pull-ups
5 leg raises
5 assisted dips
For my non-cardio days this week I'll do the following:
5 minutes of warm-up on bike, followed by range of motion exercises
Today I did HIIT for 3 20 second sprints. I set it on 5 for the resistance on the bike. Then some cardio. So after HIIT this week I'll be adding the following:
5 four count jumping jacks
5 push-ups
5 sit-ups
5 air squats
5 assisted pull-ups
5 leg raises
5 assisted dips
For my non-cardio days this week I'll do the following:
5 minutes of warm-up on bike, followed by range of motion exercises
As many as possible (AMAP) four count jumping jacks in 2 minutes (same time for all exercises)
AMAP air squats
AMAP four count lunge
AMAP push-ups
AMAP sit-ups
AMAP four count flutter kicks
AMAP pull-ups
The goal with the AMAP exercises will be to continue to increase reps on each time out.
I'll see how it feels and go from there.
Keep HITTing!! Keep Grinding!
Sunday, December 02, 2018
After the Tournament
I strained my back before the long weekend. I was worried that I was hurt and wouldn't be able to lift for the Powerlifting Tournament yesterday. Ice, heat, and rest worked well. I ended up squatting 92.5 kilos (203lbs), bench pressing 80 kilos (176lbs), and deadlifting 120 kilos (264lbs). I was in the 148lb weight class. I entered the "retro" category, an unequipped competition.
It started off stressful and became more fun as things went by. I made all but one of my lifts. I attempted 209 lbs on the Squat and missed it on technique. I was able to get the weight up, yet tilted in the process.
There are lots of things that I've been thinking about the last month. Much of it has focused on small habits and mental training I need to do. One of the things that I am experimenting with, and getting good results in the short term is controlling my breathing. The idea is that you can reduce "fight, flight, or freeze" response by controlling your breath. So I have been following along with the video below a few times a day.
There is some research that looks at chronic stress and how it makes people sick. This is motivating me to look at this more.
After this last round of powerlifting I think I'm going to try at least a month of bodyweight exercises. Lots of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, air squats, jumping jacks, etc. It seems like my joints could use a break. There also seems to be a different mental discipline involved in this type of training.
KEEP GRINDING!! KEEP HIITing!!
It started off stressful and became more fun as things went by. I made all but one of my lifts. I attempted 209 lbs on the Squat and missed it on technique. I was able to get the weight up, yet tilted in the process.
There are lots of things that I've been thinking about the last month. Much of it has focused on small habits and mental training I need to do. One of the things that I am experimenting with, and getting good results in the short term is controlling my breathing. The idea is that you can reduce "fight, flight, or freeze" response by controlling your breath. So I have been following along with the video below a few times a day.
There is some research that looks at chronic stress and how it makes people sick. This is motivating me to look at this more.
After this last round of powerlifting I think I'm going to try at least a month of bodyweight exercises. Lots of push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, air squats, jumping jacks, etc. It seems like my joints could use a break. There also seems to be a different mental discipline involved in this type of training.
KEEP GRINDING!! KEEP HIITing!!
