Workouts G #5-6 & H #5-6 (Workouts 52-55)

Once again, I've been working out reliably but not posting so well. 

I've been working out like a good 'un, and really enjoying it, but I've just got so much going on, most of it fun, that finding time to post has been challenging. On the other hand, I have a knitted scarf I've been using and another one on needles that's about 2/3ds done. And a knitted washcloth or dishcloth with a design on it for a friend is on needles as well, though I think I'm going to rip that back a ways and see if I can get the design to stand out more.

I'm going to miss Workout G -- it was
so much fun!

Anyway, workouts have been going great. I finished Phase 4 -- Workouts G and H really strong. I started Phase 5 on Saturday (after the walkthrough day I do when starting a new pair of workouts) and I'm pretty excited for it. 

My workouts on Monday 11/30 and Saturday 12/5 -- Workouts G #5 and #6 -- were:

• Plank - 3 x 60+ seconds - I really do watch the clock when doing these and stop at 60 seconds. If I could break myself of that, I could maybe go longer. When I start doing plank again, I'll probably set my time for 75 seconds or something and make myself go that long. It think I could, it's just hard to press on when the clock is up. (Also, I was cheating a little because I'd shift position part way through -- resetting my toes and arms -- which gave me a sort of a rest. I need to not do that.) 
• Dumbbell Push Press - 2 x 10 -- I went up to 20 lb weights for both of these workouts at the increased number of reps (in earlier workouts I'd done 8 per set instead of 10). These are continuing in Phase 5 because I've started feeling really good about them and what I'm getting from them. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Romanian Deadlifts - 3 x 12 - I used a pair of 40 lb dumbbells for these, which was cool. Deadlifts and Squats are the exercises where I have my Honeymooners Ed Norton moment as I address the weights, "Helloooo, weights!" I guess it's because those are the two exercises where I'm using the heaviest weights.  Fortunately most everyone else at the gym is using headphones, so people can't hear me. 
• Lateral Raises - 3 x 12 - On the Monday workout I used the 5lb weights again, though I'd been planning to go up to 7.5 lbs because the 7.5s were in use. I did use the 7.5lb dumbbells on Saturday and that worked great, though it was really challenging. It is a nuisance having to tote them from the other side of the gym though. 
• Alternating sets of: 
• Alternating Lunges - 3 x 12 - I did these as bodyweight lunges, working fast to keep the work on my muscles and make them hard enough, on Monday. On Saturday, since I already had the pair of 7.5lb dumbbells, I used those. I think I got tangled up in writing my weights down for later sets and wrote 77.5 lbs for the lunges and 7.5 for the lat pulldowns, but that's just me writing things down wrong. :D 
• Kneeling Lat Pulldowns - 3 x 12 - I did 77.5 lbs both times. Finally!! After ages in the 72.5 lbs doldrums, I finally have the weights moving higher. If I'd had one more go with workout G, I would have gone up to 80lbs, which is cool as nuts. :D 
• Coordination Rows (Single-Leg, Single-Arm Cable Rows) - 3 x 12 - On Saturday, I did one completely perfect set. Completely perfect!! All twelve reps on both legs without having to catch my balance!! :D :D ::happy dance::  The other two sets were good, but not that perfect. Still woo-hoo! My balance is actually and noticeably improving. (I also have a balance-requiring element in my warm-up routine, which I've never spelled out here, and I've been getting better at those too.) 
• Cardio Intervals -- On Monday, I did 4 x 30:30 Jumping Jacks alternating with 4 x 20:40 Jump Squats, which was good. I think there was a time issue, which is why I didn't do 5 of each. I know there was a time issue on Saturday which is why I didn't do any. These are actually really hard and daunting, though very satisfying to have done, so it's kind of easy to skip them. Which I shouldn't do. 

Oddly, much as I loved Workout G, only two of the exercises are continuing into Phase 5: the Dumbbell Push Press and the Coordination Rows. And the Cardio Intervals, of course. 

I was going to change away from the Coordination Rows, as I've been doing them since the beginning of September, but my next choice for a whole-body exercise was going to be Reverse Lunge Rows (also on the cable machine) but I was already doing Lunges in that workout and didn't want to do Lunges twice. I'll probably change away from the Coordination Rows for Phase 6, just to keep things mixed up and moving.

I decided to cut back on the Side Plank for time reasons -
each set takes like three minutes. 

My workouts on Thursday 12/3 and Monday 12/7 - Workouts H #5 & #6 - were:

• Side Plank - 2 x 45+ seconds - I cut back to two sets of these because each set takes a while (45 seconds per side with a bit of time between sides and about a minute between sets). This exercise is part of why Workout H always took so long and was kind of awkward in the timing. With only two of them, I pushed myself past the 45 second timer once, but only once. They really are hard.
• T-Stabilization - 3 x 12 - For Monday's workout, H #6, I pushed myself to do these fast, which really did ramp up the intensity. Which was totally cool. :D That it also sped up the workout was a bonus. 
• Dumbbell Hang Pull - 3 x 10, 3 x 10, 12 - I don't now remember why I decided to increase the volume (number of sets and reps) with these rather than increasing the weights, but that is how I ramped up the intensity. Workouts H #3 & 4 I was doing two sets of 8 and I decided to go up to 3 sets for H #5 and then to 3 sets of 12 for H #6. I kind of wish I could reconstruct what I was thinking, to be honest. Anyway, aside from forgetting the higher number for the first set on Monday, I did just fine with the increased volume. 
• Alternating sets of:
• Sumo Squats with a Single Dumbbell - 3 x 12 - I used a 50 lb weight for H #5 and went up to 55lbs for H #6. I'd like to come back to these, though I'll need to solve the "where do I go from here" problem pretty quickly as the dumbbells at the gym max out at 60 lbs. 
• Standing YTLWI Raises - 2 x 10, 2 x 10, 12 - These continue to be really surprisingly hard, though I am definitely improving. In fact, I decided to go up to 12 reps per set for H #6, then forgot that I'd decided that for the first set and just did 10. Oops. These are continuing in Phase 6 because I like them despite (or maybe because of) the difficulty. 
• Alternating sets of:



I didn't do any Insanities after this workout, but I did get back
on the treadmill for another 8 minutes for some hard walking.

• Single Leg Dumbbell Deadlifts - 3 x 12 - I'd thought about going from 10lbs dumbbells to 15lb dumbbells after H #4, but didn't do it until H #6, where I tried it for one set and went back to 10 because it really raised the difficulty quite a bit more than you might think. These are hard and good -- though it's not entirely clear why my weight for these is so very much lower than for regular deadlifts, particularly once I started resting my non-working foot on a weight bench so I didn't have to work so hard on balancing. 
• Pushups - 3 x 12 - These are still really hard. I haven't been able to go lower than the windowsill I've been working on since forever, but I did make an effort to go a lot faster for both of these times. They're still really hard. 
• Cardio Intervals -- I didn't do Intervals of Insanity either of these workouts -- in both cases on account of time. Fortunately, it's a really intense workout, so I don't totally feel like I'm cheating myself. And for H # 6, I did get back on the treadmill for some pretty hard and intense going, just to feel like I'd  really worked. 

Of those, three are continuing -- Single-leg Deadlifts, Push-Ups, and YTLWI Raises. I'm not sure those were my favorite exercises from this workout, but they worked well and I felt like I was gaining a lot from them. (And there maybe wasn't anything else I wanted to go to.) 

Phase 4 really did seem to go by in a big blur. I swear that doesn't feel like it was more than a couple of weeks, let alone a whole month. But it went well. 

Phase 5 is going to be a heavy phase -- fewer reps and heavier weights. I kind of hope that means that each workout will also be a little shorter, though I don't know how reasonable that hope is. I'm not actually reducing the number of exercises I'm doing each time, which would be the sure way to make each workout shorter, but I am going to be doing fewer reps all told. At least for Phase 5. 

I'll be making another post shortly with information about my first time with Workout I -- it's got some tricky parts logistically and some really *tough* exercises. I love the tough exercises, but the logistical problems might be...problematic.