I decided since I was out of the gym for all of last week (except Monday) that I would continue on with the LiveFit trainer schedule by simply doing Phase 1 Week 4 this week. This is so that I don't skip any workouts, thus opportunities for muscle growth. I can say happily that the nasty bug that hit me last week is gone now, and it took a much quicker leave than the others. I guess rest really does help.
It was technically not rest though, since I still had a million other things to do, and I still do not get as much sleep as I would really like. But I refrained from further catabolic activities which would have made my body work ten times harder to recover.
I continued with the P90x yoga on Saturday. My 2 friends, who are quickly becoming Saturday fitness buddies, joined me once again. One had to leave early but the other stayed and together we completed the entire DVD. Success! We even got through the gruesome Ab section, which burned our core muscles everywhere, even muscles we didn't know we had. Live for the burn!
And speaking of burn, I resumed my weight training yesterday evening, beginning with lower body. I am not gonna simply call it "legs" anymore.. since I am not working just my legs, and nor was it ever the only focus of my designated leg days. I kept in mind to focus on my form, move slowly and deliberately, and sweat. Yes, sweat. If you aren't breaking a sweat, it isn't challenging you enough. Feel the burn, once again.
Here were last night's lower body exercises:
10 minutes incline warmup on treadmill (w/1 sprint)
Leg extensions 80x10, 80x10, 80x10
Wide stance barbell squat 65x10, 65x10, 65x10
Barbell lunge 50x10, 50x10, 50x10
Single-leg kettlebell deadlift 35x10, 35x10, 35x10
Standard barbell* hip thrust Bar+40x10, Bar+40x10, Bar+40x10
Lying leg curls 40x10, 40x10, 40x10
Hip abductions 120x10, 120x10, 120x10
Standing calf raise 40x10, 40x10, 40x10
I'd like to note a few things:
- I am beginning to warm up/prepare for cardio. It usually makes me nauseous if I just outright jump into it. I'd like to avoid that.
- The weights for my squats increased! I'm very proud. I went deep (bottom almost to floor) without spilling over past my knees. Squat deep and you will definitely feel it working!
- I need to work on balance. My right side is a lot less balanced than my left, is also weaker, and thus has made it difficult (but not impossible) to achieve proper form & balance during my lunges & single-leg deadlifts. (When you're shaking so bad from squats, it doesn't help either.) Also, I tried training my right side first because it needs a lot of work.
- Leg day takes forever, especially during the gym's peak hours. These are days I wish I had a home gym.
I will do 2 more days of exercising this week, compressing into them shoulders, chest, triceps, back, and biceps. My upper body is still the bane of my existence, so it needs major improvement. I will work extra hard and not be afraid of the weights. It will hurt, I will be sore since I have weak areas here, but I must get through the hurdle. The worst will be me saying "ouch" for the next couple of days. But after that, I will heal and be stronger and make progress.
Still eating clean, for the most part. I have discovered a gem, though. During endless searches and reading articles on ketosis and ketogenic diets, I have found John Kiefer's Carb Back Loading and Carb Nite Solution. It promises lean muscle gain, strength gains, as well as rapid fat loss. This is going to be an entirely different post, but I believe with this I will have found a maintainable way of life - not only to fit perfectly with my goals and routines, but also a way to be able to reward myself and reap more benefits. I plan to conduct a month-long experiment to see if it all really works - apparently competitors of all walks of life, even powerlifters, swear by this..
Stay tuned! I'm back!!!!
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