Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Workout P #2: Kicked it up...and down

No time for Insanities on Monday, but every other thing about
 the workout was amazing! 

We didn't get to the gym until fairly late on Monday and needed to stop on the way home from it, so I had to skip the Insanities at the end. On the other hand, I did a lot of crazy awesome stuff during it so I really don't feel like I missed out on anything, really. :D 

There weren't many people working out there, so I didn't have to think too hard about equipment or places to work out. There wren't any of the plastic step boxes like the one pictured on the right in the workout rooms (I think there's a step class on Mondays) so I was decided to use the plywood box I've seen in the weight room. (I think the big lifter type people use them for things like Bulgarian squats.) It was higher than the actual stairs by rather a lot and lower than I usually use for push-ups. Which means it worked out to be entirely awesome for both.

But that's getting ahead of things. :D

Monday's workout was:

  • Slider Pikes - 3 x 12, 10, 10 - I'd like to work my way up to twelve of these in each set, but they're really kind of strenuous and hard. I think next time I'l write myself down for 11 -- maybe that will encourage me to make that extra push every set. Though I am pushing really hard. 
  • Kettlebell Swings - 3 x 30 seconds (30 second rests between sets) - I'd been doing these with a 30 lb kettlebell, but it was in use elsewhere, so I used a 35lb kettlebell instead. That extra 5 lbs made some kind of difference. These were a great workout and I could pretty much feel it *everywhere*. I'm sticking with the 35 for now. :D 
  • Reverse Lunge and Cable Row - 3 x 12 - I used 35lbs for these and it was good. I'm sticking with rowing as I'm standing back up, not while I'm in the lunge. It just seems like a more fluid and graceful (to the extent "graceful" is in my range) movement that way. I did remember to row on the same side as the leg I'm stepping back with so I didn't screw them up. Last time I said that 35 lbs was the right weight and likely to be for a while. But after yesterday, I feel like maybe I'm ready to move up. Maybe I'll give it one more time at 35 and then move up after that. 
  • Alternating sets of: 
    • BOSU Squats - 3 x 10, 12, 12 - It is possible that I did 12 the first set as well, but I couldn't remember for sure and didn't want to give myself credit for something I didn't do, so I wrote down 10. I was noticeably steadier this time than the first time doing them. Though still not anyone's idea of solid. On the whole I also got more steady as I went through the sets, except that I got distracted watching Travis (the trainer) walking around with another client and almost fell off the BOSU in the third set. I come off of these feeling all kinds of wobbly in the legs -- which is probably a good sign that I'm working them hard even though I'm not adding any weight to them. 
    • Swiss Ball Dumbbell Pullovers - 3 x 12 - I'm not sure that these are quite hitting the *pullover* muscles -- certainly they feel very different from the cable-machine pullovers I was doing last phase. I think if I focus on which muscles I want to be working, I can keep the effort where it belongs (in my back) rather than where I don't really want it (in my triceps). I used a pair of 10lb dumbbells for this, which is a nice step up from the pair of 8lb dumbbells I used the first time. So yay for that. 
  • Alternating sets of:
    • Crossover Step - Ups - 3 x 12 - I used a pair of 10lb dumbbells for this as well, which is not a lot of weight for me when doing Step Ups, but I wanted to get used to the move before I started going up -- because coordination is not a strength for me and the movement requires some. I'll go up next time, because 10lbs was pretty light and, while I got a good workout from them, I can definitely do more. 
    • Push Ups - 3 x 8, 9, 9 - I'm wildly pleased with myself about the push ups. My plan for workout P was always to do the push-ups off the same step I was stepping up on to. I wasn't able to make that work with P#1 because I was on the actual stairs. So I used a weight bench, which is the lowest thing I've done push ups off of. If you remember, workout P#1 I was really pleased because I'd never done 10 push ups off of a weight bench before. On Monday I did one set of 8 and two sets of 9 off the plywood box which was 5 inches lower than a weight bench. (I made a marks on my leg at each height and measured the distance between them when we got home, so I'm pretty confident about that distance. :D Since July 2015 I've gone from waist high to low calf. I'll be able to do push ups off the floor in another few months probably. Then I can start doing Burpees if I want to. 
Even without Insanities, I was completely soaked and completely winded by the end of the workout. It was amazing. I told Travis about my triumph with the push ups and showed him the marks I'd drawn on my leg. Once I explained, he was super pleased for me and gave me a high five. :D ::bounce bounce::

It was an excellent workout and I rocked my goal to be more steady on the BOSU. (I'm trying to make my goals more concrete because "Be awesome" isn't very objective or measurable.)

Next workout is scheduled for tonight. It's going to be O#3, which means Lunge Pulses and Leg Curls on the machine and Squat and Cleans. Goal for the workout -- go hands free on all sets of Lunge Pulses. Also, hopefully do Insanities again -- I want to do BOSU Burpees and kettlebell swings again. :D 

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