HairoNoSora's training log that no-one is going to read

Well, some background.. around march or so this year (2015) I started JKD lessons, which I really liked. Had a weekly routine going that worked for me. JKD lessons fell through around end of summer though, for rant-worthy reasons that are too lengthy and irrelevant to post here

Well, I joined a Kickboxing / MMA gym that I really liked. The conditioning aspect is a whole different kettle of fish. Unfortunatly, my (anaerobic) endurance was already worse then I thought. And had a run of bad luck with catching a nasty flu, bruising my rib and just having a lot of R.L. stress and chaos intervering.

Well, It's time to get back into that flow, hence I thought it might be interesting to keep a log here.

My main goal right now is:
Being able to at least finishing a K.B. group lesson without getting gassed and dropping out.
For this, I'm working a HiiT program on the elliptical to get that aerobic endurance going.
*Also, my core muscles are a weak area, and since the group lessons use a lot of bodyweight exercises (which I'm disgustingly bad at), developing this is also a priority if I'm planning to keep up in the lessons.

Secondary goals will be:
*Lowering / maintaining bodyfat; I'm slowly gaining weight. I'm not too bothered right now, but it is a good thing if I can keep it in check now rather then later. Might not be a big issue once I get going.
*Keep on developing strenght using machines or freeweights
*Maintain my endurance running if possible; back in august, I could run 10km, I'm struggling right now to finish 5. I hope I can at least stop the decay

Well, first day will be tomorrow if my day permits. I'll post how it goes.

 

good luck to you. sorry to hear you've had a few bits of bad luck around training and health etc

deffo get back into the running... I feel it helps my recovery rate between rounds tremendously.

don't over work yourself in an attempt to get back into class shape though. just going to class should do the bulk of that. you might burn out of get injured again if you hammer too hard!

 

Had a good day today. I finished early today at work and the gym is just a short trip on the bicycle, so had a nice workout

I started with a HiiT session on the eliptical while monitoring my heartrate, I'm trying a 12 week schedule of which today would be the first session of the third week.
First a 15-minute warmup, then I went for 5 60sec on / 60sec rest intervals.
My heart rate was pretty high, peaking at over 190bpm every interval so maybe a bit too high but I felt pretty good about myself after finishing it.

After a couple minutes cooldown, I put in some stretches and went for the weight machines.

I'll spare you guys the boring details of the exact order I did everything in, but the sets were

*Assisted Chinups 3 sets of 12 reps @ 45KG (I weigh about 72, so would be a workload of about 28KG)
*Hip abductor & adductor both at 2 sets of 16 reps @ 27,5KG and 1 set @ 30kg
*Chest press, 3 sets of 3 @ 27,5 KG
*Chest fly machine, 2 sets of 3 @ 25KG and 1 set @ 27,5
*Abdominal machine, 3 sets of 8 @ 35kg

You'll notice my workloads aren't very high (yet), I'm a bit slow at adding weight to my exercises as I try not to overdo it in regards to my other training sessions.

Thanks! You are right in that I need to pace it a bit maybe. My planning does mean (some) exercise pretty much every day, it's a work in progress and I'll playing around a bit regarding intensity levels. Steady sustainable growth is what I'm aiming for, not boom and bust.
Dialling it down a bit is difficult, as exercise is literally just about the only thing keeping me sane right now.

You aren't just reading this, you are posting in it too!
I guess I'm just a bit cynical (and maybe self esteem issues too?) to expect anyone interested in my life

 

With that attitude and a bit of mindfulness I'd say you'll be golden.

 

I thought that my core muscles were the weakest link strengthwise, and boy I wasn't wrong!

In the afternoon, I started the first session of a core bodyweight workout prog from a book I liked, reps are low right now but will steadily go higher as long as good form permits. I felt it already after the first 10 crunches, so it isn't that it was an ineffective amount

Crunches 2 x 10
Reverse Crunch 2 x 10
Figure-4 Crunch 2 x 10
Jackknifes 2 x 10
Side bend 1 x 10 with 5kg weight and 1 x 10 w. 3,5kg weight
V leg raises 2 x 10
Prone plank 70 seconds
Side plank left arm up 59 seconds
Side plank right arm up 57 seconds

The sidebends were a bit too hard on me with the 5 kilograms of weight, so I downgraded to 3,5 kg. Still didnt feel too great, but might just be that I was still sore from the first set. Next time, I'll start out with 3,5 and go lower to 2,5 if it's still too heavy.

Everything but the planks go to about 2 reps higher every session, the planks though are not a set amount but basically 'as long as you can handle'.
It's weird, i'm more used to holding a plank for a planned amount of time, there's this moment were you get trembly muscles and you're like.. should I go on?

Yay!

 

Went to the gym this morning, started with another HiiT session on the eliptical before hitting the machines

15minute medium intensity warmup
then 5 x 1 minute high intensity then 1 minute rest

Assisted chinups 3 x 8 @ 40kg
Hip abductor 3 x 16 @ 30kg
Chest press 3 x 3 @ 27,5kg
Hip adductor 3 x 16 @ 30kg
Chest fly machine 1 x 3 @ 25kg, 2 x 3 @ 27,5kg

I dropped the abdominal machine sets as they are redundant in my current plan. Tomorrow I'll focus on doing bodyweight core exercises again so I wont miss it.

And those chinups, man, I dropped the assisting weight after increasing my rep count @ 45kg the past weeks. It felt pretty brutal and every set, my muscles were just about to give out by the last rep. I felt pretty badass, as long as I didn't watch the guys doing non-assisted pullups Lets see if I can do 9 next week

I also tried a new post workout stretching routine, as my usual stretches were a bit too basic.

 

Just checked my weight this morning, finally dropped 0,5 kg to 72,1kilos. Feels good to drop a pound after only gaining for almost 6 weeks.
Lets see if I can drop another pound in a month

 

Had another workout this afternoon with a couple of b.w. and dumbbell exercises.

Crunches 2 x 12
Reverse Crunches 2 x 12
Figure 4 Crunch 2 x 12
Jackknifes 2 x 12
Side bend w. 3,5kg dumbbell 2 x 12
V leg raises 2 x 12
Prone Plank 58 seconds
Side plank l side up 52 seconds and other side @ 58 seconds

alternating biceps curls 1 x 8 @ 8,5kg then 2 x 8 @ 10kg
triceps extensions 3 x 8 @ 4,5kg
shoulder shrugs 1 x 16 @ 6,0kg then 2 x 16 @ 7,5kg
toe raises 1 x 16 @ 5,0kg then 2 x 10 @ 6,0kg
wrist flexion 1 x 16 @ 5,0kg then 2 x 16 @ 6,0kg
wrist extensions 3 x 16 @ 4,5kg

 

Yesterday it was great weather outside this time of year, took a run, made 6 km in 40 minutes.

Today I took a restday. I'm pretty exhausted and a bit moody, I think I need to overthink my schedule a bit.

 

Monday 2 November 2015

Went to the gym again, first a HiiT workout on the elliptical again and then hit the machines.

*Assisted chin-ups 3 * 9 @ 40kg support weight
*Hip abductor & adductor 3 * 16 @ 32,5kg each
*Chest press 2 x 3 @ 27,5 kg, then 1 x 3 @ 30kg
*Chest fly machine 3 x 3 @ 27,5kg

I'm on week 4 of the Hiit program now, the interval changes every 2 week so the session is pretty much the same as the previous week. I'm already feeling a lot of improvement though!

Those chinups are getting tough! I barely made all sets. Can't believe how some people can pull up all their bodyweight with no help, but that only goes to show how much this will help me improve

 

Evaluating so far

So looking back last week since I tried my new schedule.
My original plan meant a workout for every day of the week (time permitting).
I need to account for more rest.

Looking at the workout I did last friday, combination of bodyweight exercises and dumbbells after that, I planned to do those dumbbell exercises every friday as a sort of 'extra', but it's a bit too much and I realise I probably sortoff hit most of those muscles the rest of the week. Maybe not for the wrist extensions, but I don't know if those are even worth it to do? Anyone?
Well, I'm going to drop it for not being constructive to my goals.

Those HiiT sessions are already paying off. The only thing I'd hope to see is improving my heart rate during active rest, as it doesn’t drop very fast.

I'll also increasy my caloric intake a bit, I hoped to either maintain or lower weight a bit, but I really feel it's a bit of a choice here.. my body needs a lot of nutrients if I follow this program as I do, and it's only for a little while. So I won't fuss too much on weight right now and eat up.

My weekly work in progress schedule right now:

Monday -> Hiit & machines
Tuesday -> Core workout
Wednesday -> Rest (or kick-boxing class now and then, I'll see when I get to it)
Thursday - > Hiit & machines
Friday -> Core workout
Saturday -> Running or rest, depending on how I feel
Sunday - > Rest

Doesn't look too bad I think, but love to hear any suggestions or feedback

 

Tuesday November 3

More core bodyweight exercises!

2 sets of 14 each:

Crunches, Reverse Crunch, Figure 4 Crunch, Jackknifes, Side bends, V leg raises

Plank for 1:05 and Side plank for 1 minute exactly for each side.

 

Needs more martial arts training in there dude! Best way to build you stamina for class in by going to class! The other stuff is ancillary.

 

I agree with that sentiment, I planned to go to class last wednesday but couldn't make it at the last minute
I've thought up my schedule to allow for classes on either or both wednesday and saturday. This weekend isn't going to work out probably, so I'll probably go next wednesday to have a look how it goes.

Either way, I think about 5 active days and 2 rest days is the sweet spot for now, so if I start to regularly go to classes I have to drop somethink else methinks. That'll probably be the core workouts by then.

 

Thursday November 5
More HIIT and resistance training at the gym,
assisted chinups, 1 x 9 @ 40kg, 1 x 16 @ 45kg and 1 x 3 @ 35kg
hip abductor & adductor, 3 x 16 @ 35kg
chest press 1 x 3 @ 27,5kg, 2 x 3 @ 30kg
chest fly 2 x 3 @ 27,5kg 1 x 3 @ 30kg

Regarding those chinups, 9 reps @ 40kg is still my limit and has been for a the past sessions, I played around a bit today with it. Next time, I think I'll go for a higher load / lower rep and hopefully I'll not plateu. Hope I can pull up my own unsupported weight for a bunch of reps someday..

Friday November 6
I have a fever, and the cure is sore abs! Also, cowbell!

2 sets 16 reps each
Crunches, Reverse Crunces, Figure-4 crunch, Jacknknifes, Side bends, V-Leg raises

Plank @ 1:10 and Sideplanks @ 1:05 each.

From now on when planking, I'll go for a target time rather then measure a 'max amount near muscle failure'. I find it a lot more comfortable to see if I can add 5 seconds every session rather than wondering 'should I let go? maybe a bit more? maybe let go now?'

I'm also dropping the figure-4 crunches. I just cant get them with good form, and I rather not turn into a pretzel while failing it. It's not like I'm not doing enough other abdominals, right?

Sunday November 8
Took a run today with the wife and dog. Nice weather outside, planned for 5 parts of 1.2km with a 2 minute break. Unfortunatly, my wife's leg started cramping near the end so we didnt finish the entire session. We ran for little over 4 km so it wasnt too bad.

 

When I started back boxing after a layoff due to relocating, my heart rate was over 200 at one point during a heavy bag session - can't recall the exact number - its on the log here somewhere - but it was a scary number for someone my age.

I know exactly what you mean. My first venture into MA came by way of a Muay Thai class when I was 46 or so and still a heavy smoker on top. The class was taught by a fighter to students who were primarily fighters - amat. or entry level pro or seeking to be.

You can just imagine the "fun" to be had, can't you? lol. They had to have someone follow me around with a mop as I went from station to station. I never could make it through that class...

 

Smoking is probably the thing that makes the most difference for your endurance, at least thats what I got out of it after quiting. The best thing I ever did, healtwise. I'm curious.. were you able to quit?

Yeah, I know. Getting through a class end and feeling like you absolutely destroyed yourself might still give some feeling of satisfaction.. not even being able to is pretty demotivating after a while. It's what killed kendo classes for me a decade ago, but I was a heavy smoker too so I guess that's what made it happen.

I have to ask though.. why a mop?

 

That's how much I was sweating.

True story, btw.

 

Captains log, starda..

woops

Monday, November 9 2015
Another hiit & resistance session today.

I've entered the 5th week on the hiit program now. Now, after a 15minute warmup, it's 6 intervals of 45 seconds madness and 30 seconds active rest.
The progression of different programs feels a bit weird though... one would expect either total time of intense activity or amount per interval to increase.
But no, as the number of intervals increase, they become shorter. And short enough that if you add it all up, the total time per session that you're in the zone gets shorter too.

See, first prog was 4 x 90s with 90 seconds rest, 2nd prog was 5 x 60s with 60 rest, now it's 6 times 45 second go, 30 seconds rest.
If you add that up, thats 6 minutes, 5 minutes and 4,5 minute. Weird huh?
The main thing if I'm looking at the schedule is that the amount of rest gets respectivly lower in regards to go time, so I guess theres some thought in it.

I'm rambling.. anyway, after the eliptical I hit the resistance machines again..
Chinups 2 x 9 @ 40kg assisted and 1 x 4 @ 35kg assisted
Hip abductor & adductor 3 x 16 @ 37,5kg each
Chest press 3 x 3 @ 30kg
Chest Fly 1 x 3 @ 27,5kg and 2 x 3 @ 30kg

It seems like I hit a plateau with those chinups. 9 reps at 40kg is pretty much my max. So, anyone any advice wheter it's better to try higher loads at lower rep counts or lower loads at higher rep counts to get better?

Next time, I'll try for more chinups, but I'm going to do some different stuff for one session, maybe a couple sets of freeweight compounds or something? This routine starts to bore me.