Does That Hurt?

I’m surprised that I have been so sore since Sunday after doing the cardio 3-4 of Power 90. I complete Power 90 1-2 sculpt 3 to 5 times a week, sometimes more. I run three miles about as many times a week as I do the Power 90. I certainly would not have thought that there was much in Power90 Sweat that would push me to the point of getting really sore. It did, though. I have felt the pain primarily in my claves, but it was in my legs, arms and shoulders at first.
I went to run last night after staying at school late. I arrived at Peak at 10 PM. I tried to start my HIITs on the treadmill, but I didn’t get through the first round before I could tell that running could possibly hurt me more. I had muscles in several places in my legs feeling like they would pull if I increased my speed very much. I had to stop at about 7 minutes and leave.

My calves are still really sore this morning. My original plan for today was to go home and do Power 90 Sculpt and Sweat. The schedule for the day has changed some and I’m trying to decide whether to keep with plan A or to go to Peak after church. Even as I write this I realize that the best thing to do will be to stay with the first plan. I’ll wait to get a run in tomorrow, but I’m doing another Power 90 Sweat tonight at home.

The episode has convinced me that I need to add the cardio routines from Power 90 to my regimen. There are muscles that get worked in that routine that all those weight resistance exercises don’t touch. Here’s to even more progress.

Why Does This Feel Good?

I'm loving this. The way my body feels after a workout is amazing. There's a slight feeling of tiredness in the muscles, but a great level of energy and satisfaction.

Tomorrow is the 45 days left to go mark. I've got to push this hard, really hard. And I've still got Thanksgiving and Christmas to get through. I need to be flawless in the execution of the program to make my goal. I have 16 lbs to go. A chunk of that will be gone in the next few days. Then I drop below 180.

At that point my basic caloric needs will be pretty low and my body could even shift over into famine mode since it will be a new low in body weight. It seems that adipose is ill disposed to be disposed of. Its like fat fights back to keep from being burned off. That's another aspect to be factored in.

Muscle seems to be willing enough to grow. I just have to keep pushing forward on increasing the weight I use. However, I have to watch out for injury. Right now there are some twinges in my shoulders that are telling me I'm pushing my limits.

I'm doing well with the resistance training, but I'm doing it every day. I'm supposed to do it every other day. And I'm not doing the cardio aspect at all. I'm trying to get to the gym most days (5 or 6 out of 7) and do the HIITs. By the way, yesterday's results were okay: I broke 100 calories at 9'30" and 1 mile at just under 10 minutes. That distance is actually .97 miles in 5 minutes. The first 5 minutes on the treadmill are for warm-up and are a series of graduated walking speeds. Then at 5:01 I start running HIITs. I get two rounds in before I reach the 10 minute mark. I did okay on the next 10 minutes, but then I slowed down the last ten. I did break 400 calories, but just barely. I think I was dealing with some dehydration. What makes me think that is the way my body seemed  bit slower getter down to a resting state at the end of HIIT rounds. Also my top speeds were lower. Still, overall, I'm continuing to show improvement in my strength for running.

Today I'm eating a meal at church while attending a meeting. I'll be good. This afternoon I need to do some painting (community service project) and once I get home I would really like to get to the gym. Or I may just try the sweat thing here (Power90). Gotta do something to make these last 45 days count.

O well, time to get ready for church. Later.

Developing a Strategy for Success

Last year I would go to the gym early in the morning before heading to work. I would prepare my gym bag at night and have everything ready for me to get out of bed and head to the gym at 4:30 or earlier. It worked well. I walked out with my workout clothes on and my change of clothes in the bag and my lunch packed. I would even have something for breakfast, like a granola bar or the like. It worked.

Now I'm having to go into school early and that's cutting into the time that I would be getting up and going to the gym. I'm getting there after school. I take my gym clothes with me to school and change into them after the last bell. Then I head to Peak and get in a very good HIIT session.

The problem is getting my weight resistance in. And the best time would be the first thing in the morning. The conflicts are not getting up early enough, being concerned about the amount of noise it makes for my downstairs neighbors and the fact that I really like to take it easy in the morning and wake up slow.

So, to get the resistance in first thing I'm planning on using my strategy from last year. Before I go to bed I'll make sure that everything is ready for me to start Power 90 when I first get up. I'll make sure that my clothes are ready, that my water and towel are ready and that the disk is in the machine. I may even see if I can learn how to get the 'puter to start itself and be waiting on me.

So I'll put this strategy got work this next week and see if I can't be consistent about getting Power 90 done on a daily basis.