Finally a day of rest! With both classes and the Control Phase having started on Monday, I have been very busy. My sleep hasn't been optimal either. Whereas I would previously get a solid 8-hours nightly, I am down to about 7-hours. My mind keeps racing about what needs to be done for the next day, and I find that I am waking up much earlier than normal (usually around 5am). Regardless, my classes are great so far and things will slow down.
As for my routine...
Monday
The dynamic warm-up stretches were fun and I was very familiar with most since they mimic some Yoga poses that I do.
The core work was a great starter and really got my body ready for the rest of the workout. I was really able to focus on the contractions and feel the draw-in crunches on my "upper" abs, although I'm unsure what the purpose of this exercise is. The Toes to Sky hit hard with my "lower" abs, and the movement was
very minor.
The pullups went smoothly, and I really liked the eccentrics. My lats and teres major are still feeling those; even my biceps have some DOMS going on.
The front squat left my quads with some DOMS, and I enjoy the exercise. However, never really having done them previously, the weights weren't what they should have been, and positioning the bar is difficult. I am flexible enough to use the clean grip with elbows forward, however my grip starts to slip over time. The cross-arm grip puts too much weight on my arms and makes the lift more difficult. Not really sure what I should do here.
The DB Lunges to Stabilization were another new exercise that I have fallen in love with. Great auxiliary leg exercise that calls on a ton of stabilizer muscles. My favorite part however is the ab workout it gives. I focus on bracing through the whole movement, and stepping up with the knee raise really hits home especially with the balance component.
Overall, great workout and doesn't need anything changed. It took me about an hour after the dynamic warm-ups to get through it, although part of that was figuring the front squat out. I do feel that the rest times are a little long, and looking at my workout summaries I end up spending 30 minutes or more resting. Unfortunately, doing isometric work requires longer rest periods for strength recovery, and
even with 2-minute rest periods only about 80% of strength is recovered.
Tuesday
The core work went well, but I am very slightly confused about the chops and lifts. The videos Sean has in his exercise library link to movements that seem to be entirely of the arm. In other words, the torso is not moving and the person is just pulling the cable with their arms. However, other videos show that there is some slight twisting involved with the movement. I will need some clarification on this one, but I'm inclined to think the twisting is involved and it is what I did this time around.
The Military Presses were incredible and again really hit my lats hard, thanks to being worked the day before. There was no degree angles for the exercise listed, so I assumed it was the same angles as Monday. Set one was arms extended at end position with slight bend in elbow, set two was bar midway up with 90 degree angle at armpit, and set three was just barely lifted off chest.
The RDL's are a favorite exercise of mine, but did not go smoothly today. My straps broke which added a ton of time to the workout. Also, figuring out the proper weights for the isometric holds was difficult. Set one was bottom position with stretch in hamstrings, set two was about knee height, and set three was waist height with slight break in knees and hips. Since this targets weak points, it was definitely my lower back and upper traps that got the most noticeable workout.
The DB skull-crushers were weird for me. Can't explain it other than personal preference. If sticking with dumbbells, perhaps an inclined version (which I have done in the past) would be better so that there is constant tension on my triceps.