Workout F #4: Loved it!! (Workout 34)

Did the single-leg hip raises again, rather than the step ups, but
that still makes for an awesome workout. 

Yesterday evening's workout was epic and awesome! I had such a good time. Workout F is pretty much a blast through and through. (Workout E is good too, hard work and lots of it, but I don't seem to have as much fun with it. Maybe because the Mystery of the Lat Pulldowns stresses me out.)

Anyway, last night was awesome. I've got three exercises that I'm ready to improve. Maybe four. I'm ready to raise the weight on the Front Squats (which I didn't think would ever happen), though only by a little bit (from two 15 lb weights to two 17.5 lb weights), but still. I also need to ramp up the Explosive Push-ups. I wish there was a lower bar to work from that's not as low (or as inconvenient) as the windowsill, but there's nothing really available so I'll escalate by going faster and trying to push higher. The Crossbody Mountain Climbers I'm already doing as fast as I can, so I'm going to either go up to sets of 35 or to thirty second sets. I'll see how long it takes to do 35. :D

The one I'm not sure about raising is the Single Arm Cable Presses. I think I'm ready to go up to 25 pounds, but I want to revisit my instructions to make sure I'm doing them Just Right before I do that. 

Last night's workout was: 

• Crossbody Mountain Climbers - 2 x 30 - I did these well and did them fast. The second set, I put my hands on a mat, which wound out being something of an error because my hands were sliding. On the other hand, that instability probably added to the core workout so maybe it was good. I'm not sure I'm willing to do it again though. 
• Elevated Explosive Push-Ups - 2 x 8, 10 - Hmm, maybe I'm not ready to find a lower bar for these. I wrote down that I wanted to do two sets of eight, but last time I did sets of 10. No wonder they seemed a bit easier. I actually did 10 for my last set because I sort of got in the zone. So next time I'll do two sets of ten -- and still see if I can go faster and push higher. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Dumbbell Front Squats - 3 x 12 - As with last time, I could really feel yesterday that these work my core way harder than they work my quads. I'm not really sad about that -- I'm getting plenty of work and my core definitely needs it. But I think I'm ready to give my core a bit more of a challenge with these and move up the weight from a pair of 15 lb dumbbells to 17.5 lb dumbbells. It's not a huge jump and I think I can do it. 
• Rear Lateral Raises - 3 x 12 - These are getting better, though still extremely hard. I don't think I'm ready to go up from the 7.5 lb dumbbells I've been using for a couple of times, but I'm definitely getting better able to handle these. Some kinda work these are. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Single-Leg Hip Raises (with my foot on a bench) - 3 x 12 - I need to see about making these harder without actually having to tote a weight over from another part of the gym. Of course, if the reverse lunges in Workout E on Thursday go well, I might try the bench step-ups again, which would solve that problem. :D We'll see. 
• Single-Arm Cable Chest Press - 3 x  12 - I'm still at 20 lbs with these though I think I'm ready to go up. This is another one where I need to review my instructions to make sure I'm doing them just right -- I think I am but I want to be sure. I'm definitely getting better with them, especially with controlling any rotational stress on my shoulder. 
• Coordination Row (Single-Leg, Single Arm Cable Row) - 3 x 12 -  I did one whole set of these without having to stop and correct my balance. A whole set!! (Well, okay, half a set, because I was only able to do it on one leg. But then I did it on the other leg a couple of sets later.) I might actually make it next time. This, like the chest presses, is one where it's important to coordinate which leg is working with which hand -- this would seem to be totally obvious, but I'm left-handed and therefore a bit backwards about the whole "right and left" thing so I get muddled up sometimes. I wonder if that isn't part of why these are sometimes harder than others -- I think balance is maybe easier when doing them right, but I'm not sure. 
• Cardio Intervals - 10 x 20:40 Intervals of Insanity with Insanities of alternating Jumping Jacks and Jump Squats.  I don't think I could possibly do all jump squats for these intervals, but the Jumping Jacks are maybe a bit too easy, even though I"m trying to do them as fast as I possibly can. I'll look around and see what else I can find for when I move into the Next Phase. 

It's starting to get around to time to think about what I'm going to be doing after Phase 3 -- if I were following New Rules of Lifting For Life exactly (which I'm not), I'd loop back around and do something like Phase 1 all over again, only with exercises and weights suited to my current level of ability. The problem with this plan, however, is that I wouldn't be keeping up with the coordination/whole body exercises and I really feel those are helping me tremendously. I don't want to let them go, really. 

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I could go back to lighter weights and sets of 15 reps, that was part of Phase 1 as well. 

I've got a week and a bit to think about it. 

Next workout is scheduled for Thursday, because Thursday really worked tons better than Wednesday last week. It'll be Workout E #5 (of 6), this is why I'm to the point of needing to think about my next workouts. I'm going to be giving the reverse lunges a try -- just with bodyweight to start and then I'll see if my leg is okay with that before even really thinking about adding weight. Goal for the workout: Do reverse lunges without hurting. If that is not possible, have the good sense to stop.