Lose That Sixth Grader

I’m still being inconsistent w/ my workouts. It’s been eight days since my last Turbulence Training style bodyweight workout. I’ve really got to get back on track. My goal is to lose another 20 pounds by our beach vacation 11 July 2009.

I did the following workout today, 20090426, as two circuits.

Y-Squat 2×10 reps
Close-grip Push-up 2×8 reps
Cross Crawl 2×10 reps per side
Stability Ball Hip Extension 2×12 reps
Stability Ball Jackknife 2×10 reps
Mountain Climber 2×10 reps per side
Wall Squat Hold 2×60 secs
Beginner Inverted Row 2×12 reps
Elevated Push-up 2×8 reps per side

Followed this with high intensity cardio on the stationary bike. Five minute warmup: 1 minute at 3/10, 2 minutes at 4/10, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Fifteen minutes at 6/10 or 7/10 intensity. Five minutes at 3/10 intensity.

Overall a good workout. Stuck w/ the two circuits so as not to make myself to sore. Total bike time 25 minutes. Total workout time 47 minutes. I will workout Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of the upcoming week. I will fast from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening and Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Circuit training is not for wimps! Once again about 1/3 of the way through my 2nd circuit of a Turbulence Training bodyweight workout I was edging dangerously close to the puke zone! I had to slow my roll a bit and take deep breaths. Got myself oxygenated and kept on plugging. Here is today’s workout done as two circuits.

Step-up 2×12 per leg
Siff Squat 2×20
Off-set Pushups 2×8 per side
Split Squat w/ Front Foot Elevated 2×10 per leg
Plank Arms on Stability Ball 2×20 seconds
Reverse Lunge 2×10 per leg
Assisted Chin-up 2×8
Stability Ball Roll-out 2×10
Stick-up 2×12
Bird Dog 2×5 per side

Good workout. I only did two circuits since I haven’t worked out in a week. I was on call and had my worst week in a year at my current job. My big improvement was in reverse lunges. I was able to get my knees all the way down to the floor. On my chin-ups I did 3 full, and 5 assisted per circuit. I’m already sore in my hams, glutes and abs! Those stability ball roll-outs are a monster.

After the strength portion of the workout I did intervals on the stationary bike. tarted with a 5 minute warm up: 1 minute at 3/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 4/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Then the real intervals 1 minute at 8.5/10 intensity followed by 1.5 minutes at 3/10 intensity. I did a total of 5 sprints with 4 active rest periods in between. Finished up with 5 minute cool down at 3/10 intensity. Total time on bike 21 minutes. Total time for workout 47 minutes.

I’ve also been keeping up with my steps. Over 11K yesterday. So far today, 4934. It was great to do my workout first thing in the morning instead of the evening like I usually do. Maybe I can get up earlier and start working out in the morning again. Oh, and I did two 24 hour fasts this week.

I’m sore this morning. Not a debilitating soreness but a good soreness from challenging Turbulence Training style workouts. I worked out two days in a row, yesterday and Friday, and walked 17160 steps. I’m sore from my feet to my shoulders. I can feel my muscles. I’m especially happy to feel that my abs are getting more tight. One of the best results from having worked out consistently, despite a few short term lapses, is that I’ve had very little low back pain. This is tremendous since I have a cracked verterbra and two herniated discs in my low back. Talk about relief! I’m feeling better and better every day. And even though I didn’t meet my goal for 11 April 2009 and the Transformation Contest, I know I’m headed in the right direction. I shall persevere and I promise I’ll be below 220 pounds by the time of our beach vacation which starts July 11! Oh, I forgot to mention that I finished another 24 hour fast last night.

Whew! I’m glad this Turbulence Training style workout is over. About midway through my third circuit I was right up against the puke zone yet again. Whoever said body weight exercises, known for years as calisthenics, are easy must have been out of their minds or else not really pushing themselves hard.

I did the following workout on 20090411

Circuit Workout A

Prisoner Squat 3×15 reps
Jumping Jacks 3×40 reps
Plank 3×40 seconds, 32 seconds, 32 seconds
Stability Ball Leg Curl 3×15 reps
Push-up 3×12 reps
Side plank 3×20 seconds
Sumo Squat 3×15 reps
Beginner Inverted Row 3×8 reps

I’m still disappointed in my performance of planks. The main problem seems to be endurance in my arms and to a lesser extent in the serratus anterior muscles.

Following the strength portion of my workout I did intervals on the stationary bike.I did a 5 minute warm up: 1 minute at 3/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 4/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Then the real intervals 2 minutes at 8/10 intensity followed by 2 minutes at 3/10 intensity. Repeated the sprints 3 more times with 2 low intensity sets in between. Total 8 minutes hard. Ended with 5 minute cool down at 3/10 intensity. Total interval time 24 minutes. Total workout time 49 minutes.

Also, I walked for 50 minutes, approximately 7K steps, with my wife before working out and I’m in the midst of a 24 hour fast, my second of the week. Plus, I worked out yesterday. All that probably has something to do with my edging towards the puke zone.

I’ve gotten inconsistent w/ my workouts. It’s been five days since my last Turbulence Training style workout.

I did the following workout today, 20090410, as two circuits.

Y-Squat 2×10 reps
Close-grip Push-up 2×8 reps
Cross Crawl 2×10 reps per side
Stability Ball Hip Extension 2×12 reps
Stability Ball Jackknife 2×10 reps
Mountain Climber 2×10 reps per side
Wall Squat Hold 2×60 secs
Beginner Inverted Row 2×12 reps
Elevated Push-up 2×8 reps per side

Followed this with high intensity cardio on the stationary bike. Five minute warmup: 1 minute at 3/10, 2 minutes at 4/10, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Fifteen minutes at 6/10 or 7/10 intensity. Five minutes at 3/10 intensity.

Overall a good workout. Stuck w/ the two circuits so as not to make myself to sore. I think I will do workout A tomorrow as we’re going to ATL on Sunday after church. I may be able to workout Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sun next week. I’ll bump back up to three circuits on my next workout.

Also, I have been averaging 10,163 steps a day since 16 March 2009.

Well, I didn’t get as sore as I expected after yesterday’s workout. Also, I have work during the day and evening business commitments on Monday and Tuesday, so I decided to go on and and do my Turbulence Training workout today. I did stick w/ only 2 circuits though.

Step-up 2×12 per leg
Siff Squat 2×20
Off-set Pushups 2×8 per side
Split Squat w/ Front Foot Elevated 2×10 per leg
Plank Arms on Stability Ball 2×20 seconds
Reverse Lunge 2×10 per leg
Assisted Chin-up 2×8
Stability Ball Roll-out 2×10
Stick-up 2×12
Bird Dog 2×5 per side

Only thing to note is that I did 3 full, unassisted chin-ups to start each set. Followed those with 5 assisted chin-ups each set. Oh, and before working out I went on a 46 minute walk with my wife through our neighborhood which is in full bloom, dogwoods, daffodils, azaleas, camellias, red bud trees, Bradford pear trees, yellow jasmine and more.

I finished off the workout with intervals on the stationary bike. Started with a 5 minute warm up: 1 minute at 3/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 4/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Then the real intervals 1 minute at 8.5/10 intensity followed by 1.5 minutes at 3/10 intensity. I did a total of 5 sprints with 4 active rest periods in between. Finished up with 5 minute cool down at 3/10 intensity. Total time on bike 21 minutes. Total time for full workout 43 minutes.

Well, six days since my previous Turbulence Training workout. Not good. My body quickly de-conditioned. I only did two circuits as I started getting leg cramps during first set of rows. Also, my abs were getting super tight, cramping sensations. I figured discretion was the better part of valor so I stopped at the two cicruits. I’ll do 2 circuits for a week and then two more weeks at 3 circuits before switching up to Phase2.

Circuit Workout A
Prisoner Squat 2×15 reps
Jumping Jacks 2×40 reps
Plank 2×30 seconds
Stability Ball Leg Curl 2×15 reps
Pushup 2×12 reps
Side plank 2×20,15 seconds
Sumo Squat 2×15 reps
Close-grip Inverted Row 2×8 reps

I followed this with intervals on the stationary bike. I did a 5 minute warm up: 1 minute at 3/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 4/10 intensity, 2 minutes at 5/10 intensity. Then the real intervals 2 minutes at 8/10 intensity followed by 2 minutes at 3/10 intensity. Repeated the sprints 3 more times with 2 low intensity set in between. Total 8 minutes hard. Ended with 5 minute cool down at 3/10 intensity.