Workout C #3: Loving it in the groove (Workout 20)

Made all my reps on everything but push-ups. :D 

Patrick and I worked out last night, but I decided to save posting about it until this morning because I have a tendency to fall asleep while posting, so it winds out taking up the entire waking portion of my evening. I watched baseball instead -- unfortunately I still fell asleep before the part where the Nationals won the game. 

A couple of weeks from now, when I move into Phase 3, I need to remember that it takes me a couple of times with each workout to get into a good groove. But once I get there, the workouts are great. I did really well last night on the whole  -- I was sweaty and working hard the whole time and I just love that feeling of kicking some butt. 

Life Lesson from Lifting Weights: The harder the exercise is the more satisfying and rewarding and interesting it is. When I'm lifting with weights that are too light for me (unless I'm specifically working on speed), it gets kind of dull. When I'm doing something difficult, where I'm really having to work it's really easy to stay focused. It's also just immensely satisfying. 

Last night's workout was: 

• Side Plank - 2 x 35 seconds - My plan for Phase 2 was to be doing these with one leg raised, but I still can't really figure out how to make that go. Not just stability-wise but also physically -- if I'm holding my glutes tight (for good form) how am I supposed to then raise my leg? I'll keep trying to do something along those lines, but I'm not going to feel bad about myself if I can't do it. Side Plank itself is still plenty difficult and I can keep holding it for longer to continue getting more out of it. 
• Jump Squats - 2 x 8 - This is my explosive power exercise and I'm doing pretty well with it. Eight reps is getting easier, but I still get winded at 5 or 6, so this is still good work now. I need to think about what I'm going to do when these get too easy, though I can always do more. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Reverse Lunges - 3 x 10 - I used 25 lb weights and was able to do all my reps, but I had to take a break between doing the right side and the left side, as well as between sets. On the good side, my quads didn't hurt at all so I think I'm getting that tightness under control at long last. I'll stick with the same weight next time and see if I can do both sides of the same set straight through. 
• 3-Point Rows - 3 x 10 - I used a 25 lb weight for this as well, which is awfully convenient for alternating sets. I think I need to either go for a fourth set here or take the weight up to 30 lbs next time because this wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't hard either. I do love these, by the way. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Dumbbell Deadlifts - 3 x 10 - I used 35 lb weights for these and that was totally right. I don't think I'm ready to take the weights up for next time, because this was hard enough. These require some concentration on form so I don't put stress on my back and I don't want to escalate the weight too quickly. Next time, I'm going to start with 35 and if the first set is too easy I'll go up to 40 lbs. 
• Push-ups Plus - 3 x 10 was the goal; what I did was 3 x 9, 9, 8 - I'm still working off the windowsill because when I'm remembering to have proper form and keep my butt down that's plenty hard. I didn't finish all my reps in any set of these, so the sill is still the right height. I need to figure out something to do about my hands slipping on the window sill though -- my palms get sweaty and then it's hard for me to keep from sliding. 
• Cardio Intervals - 6 x 20:40 Intervals of Insanity - I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do any Insanity Intervals because I was so wiped out by the weight lifting, but just the process of walking over to the elliptical machine and doing my minute of getting used to the machine again got me able to do six. Five is my desired minimum and I went one better so I was happy with that. I thought about doing one more, but when the time came I just couldn't. So I stayed on the machine until 10 minutes (or 100 calories) and that was good. 

It was a great workout. My workout is running longer, time-wise, than Patrick's and I feel a little bad about keeping him waiting. But he says it's okay and I believe him. He just gets more time on the elliptical after he lifts and then gets a bit of time to sit and gather himself while I'm finishing up with a few stretches. 

Next workout is scheduled for Saturday -- it'll be my third round with Workout D. I have some hope that the coordination rows will go better this time -- one of my warm-up exercises is a similar stand-on-one-leg-and-bend kind of thing and those went better yesterday. So fingers crossed. Goal for the workout -- Make all my reps and do the whole workout as planned.