As I begin this new phase of exercising (Strength) and eating (Energy Booster), there are a few lessons I learned from the last phase that I am implementing.
1. Watching the DVDs BEFORE I start the workouts -- probably in fast forward -- just to get a sense of what I'm supposed to do and how to modify.
2. Limit cheats to not more than 1 per week. A cheat is defined as having something that I've specifically given up -- such as sweets, alcohol, or caffeine. (The idea of 5 total cheats over the whole time is just not doable!)
3. Don't stress out about cheating, but don't get complacent. Keep tracking the cheats.
4. Even on the days when it's just Recovery and Mobility workout, have a protein shake -- my body needs the calories and protein! (I've been skipping the protein shake in the first phase if the workout wasn't "hard enough" and then not having as much energy... hmmm...)
5. Practice pull-ups each week, even if I decide to modify the exercise. I tried doing a pull-up on February 12, and although I wasn't there yet, I was closer!
6. Update my heart rate monitor as appropriate (John says if my weight swings by 5 pounds) to get the most accurate reading on calories burned.
7. Do more foam rolling in the week, especially if I am just hanging out watching TV.
Showing posts with label exercise modifications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise modifications. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
I wish I had watched the videos in advance of ACTUALLY doing them
Today I attempted X2 Total Body & Ab Ripper. Thank goodness this is a DVD; I can pause, rewind, and start again. I mean, how do you do a mule kick burpee? Or a crunchy lever pull-up? I wish that I had taken time in the weeks before I started this process to watch the videos from the couch. It would have helped orient me better to the timing and to the exercises (and especially the modifications!).
Luckily, John wasn't paying enough attention to photograph or record the relative debacle that was this workout. Don't get me wrong, I did as much as I could, modified where necessary, and I'm pretty sure that next time I do this, I'll be better.
The major modification I made was using the bosu ball instead of a stability ball or medicine balls. Some day, I want to be able to do a plyo push-up (in which you push your hands off the ground at the top of the push-up) or push-ups with my hands on medicine balls, I'm just not there. So I did them on the bosu, which provided some of the instability (and extra balance work), but wasn't quite as intense.
As for the Ab Ripper, the moment I saw that it was only 16 minutes long, I said to John, "This is going to be the hardest ab workout I've ever done." Not far off. There's an exercise called Superman Banana X in which you have to hold your appendages off the ground and roll from your stomach to your back (ideally without using your hands or feet). I rolled around on the floor, managed to do it partly right, and feel a tiny bit of what it's supposed to feel like, and I realized, as I giggled at the ridiculousness of it, that I have so much core work to do.
Calories burned = 768
Average heart rate = 125
Luckily, John wasn't paying enough attention to photograph or record the relative debacle that was this workout. Don't get me wrong, I did as much as I could, modified where necessary, and I'm pretty sure that next time I do this, I'll be better.
The major modification I made was using the bosu ball instead of a stability ball or medicine balls. Some day, I want to be able to do a plyo push-up (in which you push your hands off the ground at the top of the push-up) or push-ups with my hands on medicine balls, I'm just not there. So I did them on the bosu, which provided some of the instability (and extra balance work), but wasn't quite as intense.
As for the Ab Ripper, the moment I saw that it was only 16 minutes long, I said to John, "This is going to be the hardest ab workout I've ever done." Not far off. There's an exercise called Superman Banana X in which you have to hold your appendages off the ground and roll from your stomach to your back (ideally without using your hands or feet). I rolled around on the floor, managed to do it partly right, and feel a tiny bit of what it's supposed to feel like, and I realized, as I giggled at the ridiculousness of it, that I have so much core work to do.
Calories burned = 768
Average heart rate = 125
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