Day 30 - Mixing It Up

Challenging Start

I rose this morning, earlier than usual. It was dark, colder than normal and I was not feeling it at all. So, needless to say, I found it challenging to get myself out of bed after my 0430h alarm buzz. I got dressed, sitting at the end of my bed - looking like and feeling a bit unusually sorry for myself - must be the uber early start? It took a while but I reluctantly walked out of my cabin and into the cold pre-sunrise day (or is it night)....

 

I ran, flashing red run light on my right arm, iPhone on my right arm (map my running the activity), chest strap and heart rate monitor connected up, run kit including a beanie.....feeling a bit  christmas tree-like I set off on my planned run. 2 laps of the Cerberus perimeter, approximately 6.66km with a few twists and turns thrown in!! It took me 37:39, running at an average of 10.6kph, burning around 800 kCal at a pace of 5:39 per km. A nice run, albeit with stiffer, legs that took a while to warm up!

Building Back 

After running around in the pre-sunrise, enjoying a fairly brisk run, I ended up going straight into the gym. Today is Back day! I worked pretty hard too. I did the normal seat rows with the machines to start, then using the cable row I work narrow rows, then a seated dead lift (it was a good addition last week). I then added a seated trapezius shrug, followed by a rope row to tweak the back muscles. All with the one machine! I'm getting pretty good at utilising the machines to my advantage now. After I did a wide pulldown, followed by a narrow chin up pulldown with around 60kg - which is really helping me develop my chin up technique! I did a free weight inclined row using a hammer  strength machine, and upped the ante by lifting 50kg in my final set.

I moved to the cable cross-overs to work isolated single arm rows. I started with mid level, low then high increasing the weight from 10kg to 17.5kg between the entire set. Like last week, I worked sets of 10 reps on each side, swapping over without a rest.

Using the chin up bar I did abdominal leg raises, but I incorporated a body roll, lift to allow me to lift my feet and legs from pointing at the floor to facing the ceiling. This was a good upper body strength and abdominal core burnout!

To complete my back workout I concluded with some lower abdominals and back raises. I'm definitely feeling stronger and seeing improvements each time I train. Very happy about that.

Feeling accomplished I headed back to my cabin to get ready for the day ahead.

Day 29 - Back to Business!

Another Fresh New Day!

Tuesday Morning Chest

Bish, Bash, Bosh! Up and at 'em folks! That was how I approached today, and its been a pretty positive and invigorating day for me.

I could hear the storm flurry outside my window at 0500h, the rain tickling my window pane and the howling wind rustling the nearby trees - do you think that stopped me? Say What! Heck No! I have grown up with this, dark and stormy is my thing! 

I got to the gym early, after smashing down a warm lemon water and my usual morning thermogenic. My routine is getting more concrete as each week passes, but my training is ever changing and evolving! I decided to try a variation on chest today. I started with my usual warm up sets on the chest press and incline chest press machines, then headed over to the free weights to knock out a few sets of combined chest press and pectoral flyes. This was hard but achievable, so next session I'll chuck a few extra kilos into the mix!

After, I jumped onto the bench press, working in a different order (to fatigue on each) flat bench, inclined then declined. I found finishing with declined bench I fatigued much faster, but luckily Mr Nate was on hand to give me a generous spot!

I moved to the cable cross-overs, to deepen my pectoral work. I adjusted the height today to really tweak it - mid chest height, then low followed by high sets - to work the full range of motion. I used pretty low weights, (5kg on each side) but I was really focussing on slow movements and enhanced technique to feel the squeeze! I finished with a set of isolated, single arm chest press push outs using the cables, working on my standing core, posture and again squeezing the chest as I push out each rep!

A quick lower abdominal burnout and I was done, 60 minutes and my workout felt good!

Indoor Football

Tonight after an hour of good study, I got my butt down to the gym for my second session of the day; this time was indoor football (round ball) with the boys from the EOAC! All up I played for over 90 minutes, scored 5 goals, let a heap of goals in (as keeper) and got a really good cardio workout, and a whopping lump on my left shin to prove we play for keeps! A really good game, and sadly Mr Alexi from Timor will be leaving us, and taking his silky smooth ball skills with him. I shall miss his skilful plays, tricks and general love for the game.

A good victory and a well deserved dinner later, I'm getting ready to curl up and get some shut-eye!

Oh but before I do, I wanted you to feel as inspired as I do, so.....

Rain Drops & Motivation

I love the sound of water, the ocean, drips dripping, rainfall and sprinklers! So, this morning I woke to my favourite sound, which set my mood and got me to thinking about all things wet, moist and fresh!

And sing the song in your heart!

So, with that in mind I will see you all on the other side of rejuvenating sleep! Good night, and remember:

"Look Up. Get Up. Don't EVER Give Up!"

Day 2 - A Mammoth Day

What a Big Day…

The Alarm just whiffed a hint of early morning vibration and I got up, albeit slightly less tired than day 1, and got myself ready.

A quick warm water and lemon juice drink to start my day, followed by my breakfast smoothie of raspberries, vital greens and sun warrior rice protein with lactose free skimmed milk. I downed my morning supplements and walked myself to the gym.

Why Lemon Water?

I know you're screaming! So, I was told by my wonderful Winnie, that Lemon Water was tasty, and good for me…I asked her "but why is it good for me?" like any typical bloke would… Like I was expecting her to tell me that Single Malt Whiskey is good for me….

Well, anyways, she provided me with not one, but 16 reasons why:

1. Lemon is an excellent and rich source of vitamin C, an essential nutrient that protects the body against immune system deficiencies
2. Lemons contain pectin fiber which is very beneficial for colon health and also serves as a powerful antibacterial 
3. It balances maintain the pH levels in the body 
4. Having warm lemon juice early in the morning helps flush out toxins
5. It aids digestion and encourages the production of bile 
6. It is also a great source citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium 
7. It helps prevent the growth and multiplication of pathogenic bacteria that cause infections and diseases 
8. It helps reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees as it dissolves uric acid 
9. It helps cure the common cold 
10. The potassium content in lemon helps nourish brain and nerve cells 
11. It strengthens the liver by providing energy to the liver enzymes when they are too dilute 
12. It helps balance the calcium and oxygen levels in the liver In case of a heart burn, taking a glass of concentrated lemon juice can give relief
13. It is of immense benefit to the skin and it prevents the formation of wrinkles and acne 
14. It helps maintain the health of the eyes and helps fight against eye problems 
15. Aids in the production of digestive juices 
16. Lemon juice helps replenish body salts especially after a strenuous workout session

Man, I love my wife!  She's so damned smart, and pretty and she knows how to push my comfort zone and intrigue my curiosity at the same time…. Needless to say, I just spent a week drinking it every day, and now I'm hooked - in fact, I just bought a kilo of fresh lemons to see me through a few more days (perhaps a week or so).

My Tuesday

Today was a new day, a new challenge - Back! I spent the next hour, from 0600h to 0700h, performing a series of new back strengthening weights exercises and found myself really enjoying my workout! Yay for me!

After my session in the gym I had 30 minutes to relax before RAN compulsory PT.  Today's session was about 45 minutes worth of Touch Footy.  My first time, I decided to play with the "not so serious players" and bagged myself 4 tries and some fresh mud all over myself. FUN times!

The rest of the day in class studying "Pollution Management" with one of the best instructors at Cerberus, whilst hydrating and preparing for my Tuesday night ritual.  Tuesdays I go to Bikram Yoga at Bikram Yoga Peninsula with Becs and Soz.  However, late in the day I kinda ended up being drafted in to play 5 a side indoor soccer, right before yoga…. Bad Move.

My already stiffening body, in need of some serious yogi treatment, ended up playing around 45 minutes of football (I hate using the term "soccer"…it gives me shivers)…. my glutes and hamstrings were really tight after this.

Bikram was hotter than the normal temperatures you'd get in Sydney, for some crazy reason this week we were in the mid-late 40 degrees and very humid…. My previously topped up electrolytes and hydration plan, had been burned through playing football, and realising this I slammed a quick coconut water before going in… Bad Move No.2… Lessons learnt, too much cardio, not enough hydration and last minute attempts made my class slip down the slope somewhat…a very challenging practice, a mammoth task just to stay in the room!

Lessons.

Well, today has been interesting really.  I've learnt that listening to your body, or in my case ignoring all the signals (like a low-budget horror movie) I ended up feeling completely drained.  So, my message is simple:

Listen to your body and respond accordingly.

If I'm training hard, eating better and supplementing my diet and training, I'm gonna see results…So, now I need to learn to balance my training and not overdo it and burn myself out.

Plus, I've noticed that my new morning routine is keeping me more awake in class, like it sets my day.  I feel more focussed, more attentive, and I buzz with infectious enthusiasm!

Will this wear off, I hope not… Will I fall asleep in class, I really hope not!!

What experiences have you had from training too hard, or too much? How does training first thing work for you?  I'd be delighted and stoked to hear… plus it's nice to know someone is reading!!