Yesterday, I came pretty close to going to the gym but realized that I just wasn't prepared for my wife's birthday and chinese valentines. That would have been bad. So, I skipped out on my leg routine.
Today, I made it back to the gym to work on "pull" exercises: rows, pullover, flyes, triceps extensions, and curls. Afterwards, I added in a set of no-weight calf raises since I'm quite weak in those muscle areas. My right tibia literally aches with pain if I bring my ankle too low, which essentially is putting the brunt of my full weight in one location.
Tomorrow is going to be challenging as well. I have an important initial conversation with a co-worker at 9:30 am. My commute is 1.5 hours and therefore I need to leave by 8am. In that case, I need to get up at 6:15 am ish to run through my HiiT/Abs routine. OR, do I skip that and work on some technical work or other brain-focused exercises such as learning new stuff?? Well, I can do that on the train .. :)
Time for bed.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
2nd week
Two days in already. The last few days last week went well, although I experienced soreness in my legs from the Wednesday workout.
I realized I'm getting the dropset technique wrong, so I am making some adjustments to future workouts by planning out the weight/reps combos for each exercise.
Today was HiiT. Difference was that I needed to go to I Lan this morning, so I ran in the afternoon around 5pm. Bit warmer, but my body is able to handle closer to the Target Intensities.
This week's tracker is here:
I realized I'm getting the dropset technique wrong, so I am making some adjustments to future workouts by planning out the weight/reps combos for each exercise.
Today was HiiT. Difference was that I needed to go to I Lan this morning, so I ran in the afternoon around 5pm. Bit warmer, but my body is able to handle closer to the Target Intensities.
This week's tracker is here:
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Legs Exercise
Today was a bit more rough than I thought it would be. I did lunges, squats, straight-leg dead lifts, sumo squats, calf raises. I have problems in the following areas: right leg lunge, dead lifts, right calf raises.
With right leg lunge, my left foot is express pain in the abductor digiti minimi. This must be due to how I rotate off of it when moving in between the lunge and out. I need to pay attention and keep my heel planted. Practicing good posture and increasing stability is very important to these exercises. I don't want to come out all bent up!
On the dead lifts, wow. You need to keep the back straight! What's worse is trying to use a mirror on the side of you to judge how straight you are. Important things I'll try next week: chin up, chest out, look forward and get someone to spot for a few and critique. Also, I need to make sure I'm breathing in the right places and getting more fluids. I got light headed on this one. AI: Bring water bottle and research on dead lift breathing.
Calf raises. Boy, I was dummy. I thought I could wield 20 kg weights and just run with the show. KILLED. If you remember my first entry in this blog, I talk about what happened to me 8 years ago. 2 reps in I came off the bench and put the weights down. Went for 0 kg and could get barely 6 reps out. The changes and weaknesses in bone structure really are brought out into the open with this exercise. My calf is also a bit atrophied from the incident and my legs compensated since. Through this transformation, I hope to at least bring back some additional balance. But, as a doctor friend of mine said to me, "It's just a fact that you'll never be the same again.." Sobering, but I continue nonetheless.
With right leg lunge, my left foot is express pain in the abductor digiti minimi. This must be due to how I rotate off of it when moving in between the lunge and out. I need to pay attention and keep my heel planted. Practicing good posture and increasing stability is very important to these exercises. I don't want to come out all bent up!
On the dead lifts, wow. You need to keep the back straight! What's worse is trying to use a mirror on the side of you to judge how straight you are. Important things I'll try next week: chin up, chest out, look forward and get someone to spot for a few and critique. Also, I need to make sure I'm breathing in the right places and getting more fluids. I got light headed on this one. AI: Bring water bottle and research on dead lift breathing.
Calf raises. Boy, I was dummy. I thought I could wield 20 kg weights and just run with the show. KILLED. If you remember my first entry in this blog, I talk about what happened to me 8 years ago. 2 reps in I came off the bench and put the weights down. Went for 0 kg and could get barely 6 reps out. The changes and weaknesses in bone structure really are brought out into the open with this exercise. My calf is also a bit atrophied from the incident and my legs compensated since. Through this transformation, I hope to at least bring back some additional balance. But, as a doctor friend of mine said to me, "It's just a fact that you'll never be the same again.." Sobering, but I continue nonetheless.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
HiiT/Abs
Did a HiiT/Abs combo exercise today. Just starting out and still need to line up the intensities correctly to get the best work out. One challenge is the heat in Taiwan makes me tired much more quicker than when I run in the States. I did pretty well through 50%, but more core temperature started to rise a bit too high. So, my work out kind of tapered out from there. Check the spreadsheet below.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Beginning of Transformation
Today marks the first day of my transformation work outs (see the workout spreadsheet below for this week). This is going to be harder and even more committed than I have ever been towards overall strength and fitness. The program that I am beginning to engage in is documented in Shawn Phillips' Strength for Life book.
The first day is a set of "push" exercises: 1) dumbbell bench press, 2) dumbbell flyes, 3) dumbbell side raises, 4) dumbbell triceps kickbacks, and 5) dumbbell biceps curls. I spent a bulk of my time learning the posture and form of the different exercises. Only hitting between 15 kg and 25 kg depending on the exercises. So, my arms are not as sore as they should be following a good work out.
My goal is that my intensity levels will increase as I learn the form over the next few weeks.
I have several internally available exercise instructions along with appropriate YouTube videos. However, I don't have an external Sites page yet and I'm unsure of copyright on some of the content. So, I'll leave it to myself for now. You can get static instructions from Shawn Phillips' website and also watch videos on YouTube. Pay attention to the comments and ask for tips from a trainer. You'll get much more out of it AND prevent injury, which is the most important thing.
The first day is a set of "push" exercises: 1) dumbbell bench press, 2) dumbbell flyes, 3) dumbbell side raises, 4) dumbbell triceps kickbacks, and 5) dumbbell biceps curls. I spent a bulk of my time learning the posture and form of the different exercises. Only hitting between 15 kg and 25 kg depending on the exercises. So, my arms are not as sore as they should be following a good work out.
My goal is that my intensity levels will increase as I learn the form over the next few weeks.
I have several internally available exercise instructions along with appropriate YouTube videos. However, I don't have an external Sites page yet and I'm unsure of copyright on some of the content. So, I'll leave it to myself for now. You can get static instructions from Shawn Phillips' website and also watch videos on YouTube. Pay attention to the comments and ask for tips from a trainer. You'll get much more out of it AND prevent injury, which is the most important thing.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Strength for Life Base Camp and Wii Fit
While in Oregon, I picked up a book at the library called Strength for Life. It provides a great structured plan to use throughout the year along with a suggested "training season" of exercise with dumbbells. This set of techniques will be very useful because I find that many gyms are poorly equipped and may only have dumbbells. So, while traveling, it'll be great to know what to do with any equipment that is available to me.
In my first week back in Taiwan, I have been going through the base camp training in preparation for the overall transformation workout. Base camp is actually easier than my previous workouts of running 35 minutes with barbell training spaced in between. Starting Strength will also be part of my future training regimen .. by learning all the different techniques I'll be able to mix and match throughout the year.
I'm actually feeling pretty good after a year of exercise. My next step is to increase my intensity as I go through the transformation.
On the way back, we bought a Wii Fit through my brother-in-law who works at Best Buy. It's actually interesting to use it to do non-weight assisted training such as push-ups, yoga, etc. Though, my Wii Age is 46/47! Gotta get that balance down; even with my weakened right leg.
Below is the tracker I am using for Base Camp.
In my first week back in Taiwan, I have been going through the base camp training in preparation for the overall transformation workout. Base camp is actually easier than my previous workouts of running 35 minutes with barbell training spaced in between. Starting Strength will also be part of my future training regimen .. by learning all the different techniques I'll be able to mix and match throughout the year.
I'm actually feeling pretty good after a year of exercise. My next step is to increase my intensity as I go through the transformation.
On the way back, we bought a Wii Fit through my brother-in-law who works at Best Buy. It's actually interesting to use it to do non-weight assisted training such as push-ups, yoga, etc. Though, my Wii Age is 46/47! Gotta get that balance down; even with my weakened right leg.
Below is the tracker I am using for Base Camp.
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