Week 3.5

Shaved 1 second off my run, added 1 to my Lizard Crawl; dropped 5 from Rear Lunge to High Knee (because it’s really a mobilisation exercise).
I did it faster and better this week. It felt easier.
My next goals:

• Run continuously instead of taking short walking breaks in between. But damn, it’s not going to be easy.
• +1 to Lizard Crawl
• +1 to Pull Ups
• +2 to Push Ups
• +1 to Rear Lunges with Shoulder Presses

In other news, I’ve got a little twitch in my right inner hip abductor. It’s probably the result of doing those rear lunges. It worries me, and I’ll be incorporating stretches into my nights.
I’m thinking of buying 5kg weights to add on to my dumbbells. I know I’ve talked about joined a gym but at my current poundage, I’m lifting too light for the gym to be of any use.
In the meantime, I leave you with Deadliftz and Squatz. Which one do you prefer?

Training Routines

Front Day

Exercises (3 Sets)
Weight: 13.5kg/side

1. 10 X Squats
2. 20 X Push Ups
3. 5 X Reverse Lunge with Shoulder Press
4. 10 X Bicep Curls to Arnold Presses
5. 10 X Single Leg Calf Raises (+10 Double Leg Calf Raises)

Run

1. 2.4 km + Slope Running (4x); Timing: 35:06

Back Day

10 min set

1. 6 X Lizard Crawls (4 X to and fro)
2. 10 X Straight-leg Deadlifts
3. 5 X Rear Lunge to High Knee (per leg)

Exercises (3 Sets)
Weight: 13.5kg/side

1. 10 X Single-leg Deadlifts
2. 10 X Shrugs
3. 10 X Inverted Rows (4 sets)
4. 10 X Push ups (4 sets)
5. 2 X Pull Up (4 Sets)

Nightly

3 sets

1. Planks: side & front (30 sec)
2. Single leg bridge (15 sec Ea)
3. Stretches

Discipline

I wanted to give up.

Say “Fuck it” and trudge home. After all, I had run up and down the slope twice, and I had ran 1.5km to get to the slope.

My lungs were bursting. My knee complained. My abs shivered from fatigue. So “fuck it”, I’m walking home through short cuts and the short way. But if I did it once, I know I’ll stop when my lungs, knee, abs and hamstrings hurt. So I carried on and ran my way home from the slope past restaurants at Greenwood Avenue, up another slope and down again to the cross junction.

Why carry on?

Two reasons: Discipline; Preparation.

After all, talent without discipline to shape it becomes wasted potential; and harder I prepare, the easier it’ll be come crunch time.

That encapsulates Michael Jordan’s philosophy: train so hard that it would be easy on the basketball court. Similarly Blake Griffin takes part in an incredibly brutal training, and why?

"To do this stuff day after day, it wears on you mentally," Matrisciano said. "That's part of it. To go on the basketball court will be nothing for these guys. They will mentally adapt to it.

That’s why I run up slopes and then run back home. Not trudge back via a shortcut. And that’s discipline.

Run away

Distance: 2.5km; 3pm
Time: 14:30min

This is my active recovery day after my exercise ramp up on Tuesday. As such, I was looking for something fairly easy to do. And jogging came to mind, since I’ve not done it for a while.

After going around Greenwood, up a slope and back home, I felt winded and dizzy. But as any exercise junkie knows, it’s temporary. Now, after a bath and an orange, my lungs are cleared and that kink in my neck seems to have receded into the background.

The day’s starting to look up already! :D

Striding (in)bounds

Type: Cardio & light full-body workouts
When: 1.30pm, overcast

“Dude, you’ve got to learn how to stride, man. ‘Cause it’s like weight-lifting; you got to do it with correct form. Otherwise it’ll mess you up. In fact good form helps you.” Sound advice after I’ve confided that I ran 2km at 18 minutes – an eternity to him.

This lady’s got a good stride

According to the article Hitting your running stride over at Dummies.com, good form is when you:

“…land lightly on the heel, with the lead leg just slightly bent at the knee (the best method to absorb shock), immediately roll up to the forefoot or toes, and push off powerfully into the next stride.” 

And why are running strides so important? Apparently it helps to “improve leg speed, flexibility and coordination, and running economy” (runquick.com) and doing it right prevents your legs from absorbing too much shock which might injure them.

Since that conversation, I’ve learnt to stride by running on the threadmill (5 min at 12 speed). Just pick a speed that’s comfortable and practise your running stride. And I’ve seen gains in my running time.

Exercises for the day

1. 4 sets X Sumo squats to shoulder presses (12 X 12.5kg ea)
2. 4 sets X Russian twists (15 X on exercise ball)
3. 4 sets X Shoulder shrugs (15 X 12.5kg ea)
4. 1 set X Jumping jacks (40 X)
5. Run (2.5km X 12.18 min) [up by 18 sec!]

Cardio Routine

Type: Cardio
When: 3pm, under the sun and white cloud chariots

God I hate running. It’s so mindless to put one foot infront of the other, and it’s hard too! A short jog around my estate wipes me out.

But it’s hard to deny the benefits of running: losing weight; improved cardiovascular health; slowing down the aging process; and being happier and feeling less stressed. Although you won’t know it from looking at Homer’s mug below.

There’s truth in the benefits list. I do feel a lot “lighter" (not just literally) and I focus better...after a short nap.

Because I’m a sucker for pain, I find that running isn’t enough. So I’ve added two full-body and core exercises to supplement this cardio workout. Has anyone out there tried something like this?

Exercise Plan

1. 1 set X Jumping jacks (40 X)
2. 4 sets X Deadlifts to shoulder presses (12 X 12.5kg)
3. 4 sets X Crunches with legs tucked in (15 X)
4. Run (2.5km X 12.36 min)