Workout Routine, with a Headache!

In the midst of a splitting headache, I'm writing this, and I felt it throughout my workout.  Regardless, I kept up with it; it put the headache at bay.  Here was my workout:

Abdominal Work:

• 30 second front plank
• 30 second back plank
• 30 second side plank left
• 30 second side plank right
• 3x(Leg Raise x7, Hanging Knee Raise x5)
• 2x (Hanging Knee Raise x5)
• 3x 30 second Ab Wheel Rollout

Main Workout: Cardio, Running

• 10 minute warm up
• 5x (1 minute sprint; 1 minute easy jog)
• 5 minute rest
• 5x (1 minute sprint; 1 minute easy job)
• 10 minute cool down

Joint Integrity Work:

• Headstand x3
• Short Bridge:55/55/55
• Neck Strengthening Work

With that being said, I'm off to pass out and deal with my headache.  Night...

Physical Perfection Phase 1, Week 3 Day 2: 300 Bodyweight Challenge

Ok y'all, so here's my workout for the day.  It was a combination of bodyweight exercises, plus some cardio thrown in there for good measure.  And of course, abdominal work :-)
Enjoy!

Abdominal Work:

• 30 second front plank
• 30 second back plank
• 30 second side plank left
• 30 second side plank right
• 3x (Clockwork Leg Raises x6, Twisting Knee Raise x6)
• Windshield Wiper x6

Main Workout: Spartan 300 Bodyweight Workout: Intermediate Level for Time:

• 30 Chin Ups
• 30 Shift Pushups
• 30 Deck Squat with Shoulder Stand Plow
• 30 Tuck Sit-ups
• 30 TRX Low Rows
• 30 Dive-Through Pushups
• 30/Side Archer Squats with Assistance
• 30/Side Bicycle Crunches
• 30/Sprinter’s Lunge
• 30 Squat Thrust with Pushup
• Time: 23:19 minutes

Cardio: 

• ¼ Mile, checking Form
• Rowing: 10:06 minutes: 2186 meters (Approx.1.36 miles)

TRX Routine

• 10 Atomic Pushups 
• 10 Suspended Lunges/side 
• 10 Low Rows 
• 10 Hamstring Curls

Joint Integrity Work:

• Wall Pushups: 50/55/60
• Knee Tucks: 40/45/50
• Calf Strengthening Work

Sounds like a lot?  It is.  But I love every minute of it.  

Tuesday's Workout, Slightly Redone: 5x5

Like the title says, I slightly re-did my workout.  I felt it necessary, what with me needing to be strong and powerful.
So I added in some extra abdominal work, as core is essential to movement (without a strong core, you're not a strong you), and I cut down my rest time for my big exercises, to emphasize working under stress.
So, here's my workout:

Abdominal Work:

• 30 second front plank
• 30 second back plank
• 30 second side plank left
• 30 second side plank right
• 3x(Leg Raise x7, Hanging Knee Raise x5)
• 2x (Hanging Knee Raise x5)
• 3x 30 second Ab Wheel Rollout

Main Strength Workout: 5x5 with complementing moves

• Bench Press with Push Up: 160-6/160-6/155-6/155-6/155-6
• Squat with Box Jump: 175-7/175-7/175-7/175-7/175-7
• Pull Up (AMAP) with TRX Row: 7-7/6-6/6-6/6-6/5-6
• Deadlift with Swiss Ball Curl: 195-6/185-6/185-6/185-6/185-6
• Dead Clean and Press with Handstand Hold: 95-30 sec/100-30 sec/100-30 sec/100-30 sec/100-30 sec

Joint Integrity/Convict Conditioning:

• Vertical Pulls: 55/55/55
• Shoulderstand Squat: 50/50/50
• Various Grip Work

Hope y'all liked this!  Let me know how I can improve this blog!

Motivational Monday: Enjoy Life

Motivational Monday for y'all.  Towards the end of last week I was feeling quite exhausted, so I wasn't keeping up with my blog.  Apologies!  I'm re-doing my workout routine and will be hitting it hard tomorrow.  So for now I'm resting and relaxing.
That brings me into my M&M for the week: enjoy life.  If you're at all like me, you have a tendency to work too hard and not stop to smell the roses.  This is very true of myself, as I work all the time (ask my friends and co-workers; I'm always on the move).
Doing so many things, I sometimes miss all the good things that life has to offer.  That's why I was very thrilled when I learned that, early last week, two of my very good friends, Kelsey and Liam, became engaged.  So I drove 2 hours to see them this past Saturday for an impromptu engagement party, which pretty much consisted of a group of about 20 or so going to a bar and buying the newly engaged couple drinks.  I had a few drinks myself to celebrate the festivities (had an Irish Monk...very tasty), and we just all had fun relaxing and enjoying one another's company.  I went to bed at 3 am, then woke up around 9 am, having not slept very well, as I usually go to bed by 10 pm.  But I tell you, it was one of the best times I've had in a long while.
The point of this slightly long babble is that you have to stop and smell the roses, and remind yourself of why you're working so hard.  Maybe you work hard for a roof over your head.  Perhaps you work hard to prove yourself to yourself or others.  Whatever the reason, you have to sometime stop and take a break from what life is throwing at you.  Enjoy life!  It's ok; your life isn't going anywhere.
Just enjoy, then go back to life.  It's a great recharge.
Also: Happy Engagement to my friends Kelsey and Liam and happy early wedding to Casey and Dillon and Craig and Lauren.  Enjoy each other, and enjoy life!

Physical Perfection Phase 1: Week 2: Cardio and the 100-Up Part 2

Ok so I gotta do this really quickly since I'm about to pass out.
Today I did another 3 mile run, with some sprints put in between.  All in all, it hurt.  A lot!
Also, here's my joint integrity work:

• Vertical Pulls: 3 sets of 50
• Shoulderstand Squat: 3 sets of 50
• Various Grip Work

And I also did my plank work: 30 second front plank, back plank, and right and left plank.

Ok then, off to bed!  ...zzzzz.....

Physical Perfection Phase 1: Week 2: Cardio and the 100-Up

For today's workout, I found myself doing some cardio.  Nothing too much; about 3 miles in about 26 minutes.  It was mostly to flush all of the crap out of my system, and to prepare for the next three days of Hell that I'm about to put my body through.
However, what I found very interesting was that the running was very therapeutic.  It provided me with time to relax and just be with my thoughts (with music playing).  I found myself focusing more on form than anything else, and decided to start a routine of running that I found a couple of months ago called The 100-Up.  It was a technique developed by W.G. George in the 19th Century that focused on the form of running, and supposedly helped him become the greatest mile runner in his time, even though he worked as a chemist's apprentice for 14 hours a day.  It has claimed to produce better running with less effort, and even help eliminate injuries.  I'm going to try the 100-Up for 30 days (ending on March 1st) and seeing if there is any improvement.
In addition to that, I did some lovely joint integrity work:
Three Headstands, all at about 2 minutes, which gave me a huge rush of energy.
Three sets of short bridges (or hip bridges); 50 for each set.
I also did some neck strengthening work.
And I did my ab work:

3x (Hanging Leg Raise x7, Hanging Knee Raise x5)

2x (Hanging Leg Raise x5)

Plank; Back Plank; Side Plank Right and Left: all 30 seconds

More tomorrow!  I'm doing a lot of filming and working out tomorrow!

Workout Wednesday! Who Says Women Can't Lift and Be Sexy?!

Workout Wednesdays are back, and this one is for the ladies out there!  A very popular fitness myth is that if women lift weights, they will gain a lot of muscle and beef up just like the guys.
The truth is that, unless you're taking steroids, you will not.  The reason: the primary muscle-building hormone known as testosterone (you know, that one that makes guys act all macho and stuff) simply isn't as high in women as it is in men.  As a result, you will not beef up like Arnold in Terminator. 
What you will achieve though is a sexy, toned and athletic look.  Plus you will also be able to do some pretty cool stuff, like the girl in this video here.  She's doing a renegade row (a full body exercise that puts special emphasis on the back to pull the weights from the floor to your torso; and the abdominals which are used to help brace your body), and she's rowing TWO 32 kg (about 71 pound) kettlebells.  And she's doing it on an incline, which is even harder!

And check out how toned and sexy she is!

This is proof positive: ladies, if you want to really get that athletic look that men just swoon over...hit the weights.  Just do it.  It'll make us push ourselves to work harder in the gym (and maybe lose that beer belly!)