Day 48: Core Cardio & Balance

Thank goodness that this workout was today!  I've been feeling really burnt out the past week.  I've been lazy with my updates due to this.  Going to get really busy soon too!

So here's a video instead of my text ramblings.

This is the Warm-up plus Stretching portion from the Core Cardio & Balance DVD.




Sorry, you'll notice that the video cuts off during the stretching.  But it's pretty much the same thing repeated on the opposite side... followed by core "contracts" and "relaxes" three times.

Sooooo enjoy!

Day 45: Max Plyometric Interval!

Sorry, I am lame tonight.   Maybe will do notes tomorrow!

But instead, here are some videos of me working out!

Video 1 ~ Max Plyometric Interval ~ Warm-up (Set 3)


Remember, the warm-up is 3 sets repeating.  This is my third set, meaning it is moving the fastest.





Video 2 ~ Max Plyometric Interval ~ Final Interval ~ 5:30 min


This is the final interval of exercises during the actual workout.  I was pretty tired by now... but I did my best!  Kind of.  I think I can do better!




p.s. Did you notice my shirt says "Size Does Matter?"  I'd always laugh when I'd wear it to the gym.  Always makes me think of the huge muscle guys trying to get as much hypertrophy as possible!

Day 34: Last day of Core Cardio & Balance

Last day!!!  O__O

Month 2 starts in 2 days.  I'm nervous and excited.  I can see a change in my body.

Then I eat.

Then it's gone.

LOL, not really, but my stomach sure does like to expand!  I think my arms and shoulders are looking good.  My thighs and legs look more toned.  4-pack kind of showing when I wake up!  Then I eat.  Then it's gone.  f(^o^;)


Core Cardio & Balance notes


WHOA.  Workout was a little tough and a little slow today.  Body's fatigued from yesterday's gym workout.  Thighs feel a bit heavy.  I took some videos.  Yes!  Multiple videos.  My baby bro came and started watching me (you can see me talk to him).  Then I started laughing at times... threw me off my game!

Anyways... enjoy!  It's been a while!

Exercise:  Warm-up stretches.  Short video.  Short segment on stretching.




Exercise:  4 right leg hops, 4 left leg hops, repeat; 8 jabs and hop to the other side, repeat; followed by... dun dun DUN!  Hip Flexor Burners (the ones I always talk about) ~ 30 seconds of hip flexion + 30 seconds of isometric hip flexion with pulses + 30 seconds of hip flexion with leg extensions!!!  Repeat on other side.

Exercise:  Standing obliques ~ same-side elbow to knee touches; Shoulder Burners ~ in sumo/plie squat while holding arms in 180 the entire time ~ 30 sec of "flapping" + 30 sec abdominal crunches with arm flys (open and close) + 30 sec overhead touches + 30 sec backward arm circles + 30 sec forward arm circles


My thighs were dying in this one!  

Day 18: Cardio Recovery & Cardio Abs

Cardio Recovery!!!


Again, this recovery isn't for just maxin and relaxin... you actually work out!  Dripping sweat for reals.  hehe.

It's been a while since I posted up a video.  I did make a video for Cardio Abs last week, but the sound got messed up, so unfortunately I couldn't post it up.  But today here's 6 minutes of Cardio Recovery!







Cardio Abs


Yesterday I cut my workout early because I went to dinner with my aunt.  So today I had to make up for it and do my Cardio Abs workout!  It was rough doing it after Cardio Recovery.  Mainly because I was already fatigued and a little sore from yesterday's workout!

I mentioned earlier that I made a video last week, but the sound was messed up... so next time I'll make a Cardio Abs video!  This time I was just too tired.

That's it for workouts!  I did end up riding a bike today along Huntington Beach (which was gorgeous!) so I'll write about that in my meals entry =)

Day 10: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This is my 3rd time completing this workout!

Today was tough.  Seriously tough.  I woke up feeling tired, then after eating a huge lunch... lethargic.  But!  I did my workout and am happy I did it.  Now I'm just hungry!

Favorite exercises:
~ Football drills:  They're so much fun!
~ Basketball jumps:  Killer by the 3rd set, but I really like doing them.
~ (In push-up plank position) Knees side-to-side jumps:  Killer again, but I like them.  It's actually my arms that get so worn out, that I can't continue jumping.
~ Jab punches, uppercuts, palm strikes:  These were fun!  ... and easy... ^_^;

Exercises that killed me:
~ Level 1 drills:  It was the push-ups.  Almost every time that circuit came up... I would miss the first set, get mentally together and join in.  I did my best though!
~ Power Squats:  Usually not a problem for me.  But something about today... these were just tough!  I felt like I couldn't get deep enough in my squat.
~ Mountain Climbers:  High knees are so tiring after a while!

I thought I'd take a video of the "Stretching" portion after the warm-up.

Just to warn you, the video is about 7-8 minutes long because the stretching takes about 6:30 min.

If you watch it, Shaun T misses a stretch/exercise.  Can you figure out what it is?  I realized this the second time I completed this workout.  That's the main reason I recorded myself.  If you can't see it, then I mention it at the end of the video!  Enjoy!

Day 8: Cardio Power and Resistance

This is my second time doing cardio power and resistance.

I feel a lot better today compared to last week (which was the first time I did this particular workout).

I am not as sore as I was last week after cardio plyos.  So feeling better today made the workout a bit "easier" compared to doing it when sore and fatigued.

Tough parts!
~ Walking push-ups ~ weak lower body!  did better compared to last week, but still my weak point
~ Tricep dips ~ maybe I just have inflexible shoulders... but this was tough.  I felt like I wasn't going low enough and I got super tired (>_<)
~ One-legged tricep dips ~ same thing... I suck.  lol.  XD

Woooo!  so tired right now!  My legs are shaking a bit!  My right quadriceps in particular.  *sigh*  Time to shower then use some tiger balm!!!

Check me out doing the warm-up for cardio power & resistance!

Day 6: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Tonight was my second time doing the plyo circuit!

I did much better this time around.  Probably because I didn't do it just a few hours after completing an entire Fit Test "work out"!

In case you're wondering... here's a sample of the plyo exercises.

This is the first set of exercises demonstrated by me.
You repeat this set of exercises three times.
This is the second out of the three sets of exercises.



You'll notice my "suicides" (the name of the first exercise I do) is modified from the original workout.  It is due to spacing issues of my workout area.  I do not do the short quick steps in between the squats/lunges (?)

Also.  I like retarded doing "mountain climbers."

Third.  My ski jumps are so high!  I got pretty winded after doing the first set.  Plus I did part of the max Fit Test earlier today.  I can feel it in my right quadricep >_<

Tomorrow is a rest day!

Day 6: Oops! Fit Test # 2

*** EDIT!!!  2010-09-14 12:49a *** 

Hahahah!  So I was confused about my workout order... apparently... the calendar is important!  The guy I bought the program from didn't give me the calendar.  I guess I should have looked up a little harder when searching right?

SO!  I don't have to complete the Fit Test today.  I am supposed to complete it every 2 weeks.

*** end EDIT ***

So I thought "Core Balance" was a work out... but it's a workout in between month 1 and 2.  I feel pretty good today.  Maybe 3% of soreness in calves.  So... instead of waiting for a day to do the Fit Test... I thought I'd do it today.


Switch Kicks:  137 kicks

Rar.  Okay... I am tired.  13 kicks less compared to last week.  Maybe I should have taken that day break before this fit test  ^^;;;  Oh well, next time I'll have a sandwiched "Fit Test" day.  Also... I don't know how much you can improve  from my original 150 kicks in one minute... but I will!  Thank you Taekwondo and Wushu training.

Power Jacks:  64 power jacks

Yay!  3 more than last time.  Although I do think >1 power jack per second is pretty good right?  I think so.  You can tell I'm slowing down a bit at the end.  Time to improve next time!  Check out the end of this entry because I took a video of myself doing power jacks.

Power Knees:  104 knees (right)

Wah.  113 last week.  8 less.  A little fatigue.  Tanya (on the DVD) did 126... so I can improve!  I did feel a heavy right thigh.  Again, I hate that it's just one side.  Paused the DVD to do the left side so I wouldn't feel lopsided.  ^^;

uh oh.  break time!

One of my seniors (citizens) that I was supposed to have lunch with... in 50 minutes called and asked to have lunch 30 minutes early because she forgot she had an appointment that day.  Oops.  It's ok because she's a super sweet lady.

So saved for now, but will edit later.  Will work out after I'm done digesting.  *full*


Check me out doing a max text for power jacks!
Again ~ sorry for the dark video, but you can see my silhouette.  It's looks okay when I'm close up, but once I walk away... dark video.  Oh well... next time for sure... video in the master bedroom!  *fail*



*** EDIT *** What?  I actually watched it.  It's really dark.  darker than I thought.  O_O  real dark.

Day 3: Cardio Power & Resistance

Calves still dying.  It amazes me how much the mind carries over the body.

Physically I feel soreness and a bit of pain in my calves.  So bad that It's difficult to walk normally until I warm-up for a while.

But!  Once the DVD starts, I feel a bit like a machine.  Like whoa, I'm jumping when he tells me to jump.

My thoughts?  This workout wasn't too difficult.  The warm-up was a little different and easier from the Plyometric Cardio and Pure Cardio.

The intervals were only about 2 minutes long, so there were plenty of breaks in between.

The exercises I had difficulties with were:

• Walking push-ups - again, weak upper body T__T  slowly but surely, it will be stronger
• Hurdle jumps - I was able to jump, but stiff calves made it a little difficult
• One-legged tricep push-ups/dips - Calves were killing me on this one, so I attempted, then continued with standard tricep dips.  

So to make this more interesting!  Here's a poorly lit video (darn back-light) of me doing the first set of exercises after the warm-up for Cardio Power & Resistance!  Next time I'll be sure to video in the master bedroom instead of the living room.  (likes the TV in here better though)

You'll notice I'm not moving very fast.  Again, this is the first set of exercises.  This repeats two more times and speeds up with each set.  

*** Funny note:  you can see my bro and aunt hanging out in the bg... and my bro was eating pizza.  Yes.  baking then eating a pizza while I was working out.  Then my aunt came over with chicken and pork adobo!  Torture!

Day 2: Pure Cardio

This workout isn't overall "difficult" per say... but doing it 24 hours after completing "Plyometric Cardio Circuit" is difficult.

 After a certain points "high knees" were not happening --> during the mountain climbers and during the jumps.  I also had trouble with the push-ups in between the burpees because my chest and tris are sore from yesterday's workout.  I have a pretty weak upper-body since I hurt my shoulder last year.  Only beginning to strengthen now.

Jumps at the end were difficult as well.  Again ~ wouldn't be much of a problem if I wasn't sore... but I guess this is what they call "hell week" right?  Remember hell week?  We used to have those in high school sports.

Basically a microcycle of either 1-2 weeks of pure hard work:  muscle building, hypertrophy, strengthening, beat you til you're too tired to walk/move.  Then... boom!  Supercompensation!  I am superwoman and I can jump over cars.  

Yes.  I did use the word supercompensation.
Read more about it.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercompensation 

So I'm guessing after the second week's rest period, this will not be as bad, and I won't be as wimpy as I am now. 


Video time!


I decided to videotape myself doing the warm-up.  The warm-up is the same for each work-out (mostly).  I recorded myself doing 2/3 of it.  Why only 2/3?


The format of the warm-up is a series of exercises completed in 3 sets consecutively.  The challenge is that with each set, the next set is performed faster.

So the final third of the warm-up is just another repeating set of what you see, except faster.



I told you earlier:  This workout is no joke.

Video blog: Muscle soreness and topical analgesics

I woke up feeling sore.  I actually felt myself stiffening up yesterday before I went to bed.

I did wake up, eat breakfast, and walked to Rite Aid and jogged halfway back ( ~ 1.5 miles total).  It did make me feel better.

Main sore points:
~ low back (erector spinae) ~ from the bending over and standing up
~ calves (gastrocnemius) ~ from all the jumping

Minor sore points:
~ chest (pectoralis major) ~ push-ups!!!  T__T  haven't done them in forever
~ hamstrings (all of them don't like me) ~ fast butt kicks and ski jumps (on the floor)

Here's me talking a bit about the different products I'm using to alleviate my muscle soreness and stiffness.



More info on:
Camphor ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camphor
Menthol ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menthol
Methyl Salicylate ~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_salicylate

Day 1: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Ok.  I decided to do it today.  I was thinking of doing a work-out later... but might as well do it while I'm awake, have energy, and am warm right?

I just ate a bowl of cereal... so I have a bit of food digesting, but hopefully I ate little enough that it doesn't bother me too much.

41 minute work-out.



The food did bother me a little bit.  Felt a little cramp on my left side... but it went away with the fatigue! Oh well, day 1 work out finished!

Time for a shower and a foot massage now!  Yay!

Introduction post!

Hi!  My name is Kimi.  Please watch my introduction video and enjoy.