Workout Recap - Week of September 17, 2017
Having once again only made two posts since my last workout recap, you can probably guess what I could say, so I'm not going to say it. Instead, let me take a moment to talk about what I do to cool down after workouts. When I started working out regularly, I used to do a 10-15 minute stretching routine, going through each major limb and joint pretty much one by one. However, at some point, I decided that that was rather excessive, especially considering that the vast majority of my workouts don't last more than 12 minutes. In the pursuit of quality and efficiency over quantity and mechanical routine, I now just hold a bridge pose, a seated straight-legged toe touch, and a seated twist (in the style of Al Kavadlo), maybe adding on a behind-the-shoulders hand bind if I'm feeling spry enough, before finishing with a kneeling kip to get back up to my feet. All told, the sequence goes through much the same work as what I used to do but packages it all into a compact bundle. I can't say that it'll work for everybody, but I can say that it's been great for me.
Sunday
Type: Pass/Fail
Semiclose Handstand Push Ups - 2 sets of 13 (pass)
1-Armed Chair-Assisted Pull Ups - 2 sets of 5, each side (pass)
Shrimp Squats, Both Hands Behind Me - 2 sets of 6, each side (pass)
Bonus: 4 sets of 3 half-Superman push ups, 10 breath 1-arm dead hang (each side)
I decided to just try going for the half-Superman push ups, and it worked out pretty well. Even going so far as adding a clap at the peak of the movement wasn't too much of an extra challenge. I guess it's another example of the Convict Conditioning progressions not being meant for everyone. Aside from that, the other movements are making progress, too.
Tuesday
Type: As Fast As Possible
21 reps/15 reps/9 reps of plyometric lunges
21 reps/15 reps/9 reps of plyometric push ups
21 reps/15 reps/9 reps of hanging knee raises
Time = 3:00
Bonus: 12 close grip pull ups
Just a quickie today. Still, beating my last time in this workout by 25% is a solid improvement.
Thursday
Type: Pass/Fail
1-Armed Push Ups, Feet Together - 1 set of 10, each side (pass)
Stand-to-Stand Bridges (with one touch of a wall on the way up) - 1 set of 10 (pass)
Hanging V-Raises - 1 set of 10 (pass)
Bonus: 4 sets of 3 half-Superman push ups, 4 sets of 3 two-way suicide jumps
Once again, I found myself tight on time, so I just went for a single superset of each movement. Yes, I know that's not how the term "superset" is used in modern fitness parlance. It's how I use it with myself, though, and thus, it's how I'll use it on my own website.
Friday
Type: Pass/Fail
Semiclose Handstand Push Ups - 1 set of 15 (pass)
1-Armed Chair-Assisted Pull Ups - 1 set of 7, each side (pass)
Shrimp Squats, Both Hands Behind Me - 1 set of 8, each side (pass)
Bonus: 4 sets of 3 two-way suicide jumps, 5 uneven pull ups (each side)
See the previous day's blurb for my justification on how I approached things on this day, too. I also tried my hand at doing a pistol squat on each leg with my hands behind my back, which confirmed that I made the right choice in trying to do that with shrimp squats first. While balancing for a pistol squat should be easier in theory, the greater range of motion makes it a harder overall movement in practice.
Saturday
Type: As Fast As Possible
7 sets of:
7 Pull Ups
7 Bridges
Time = 6:00
Bonus: 1 pull up, 1 bridge, 2 sets of 3 1-armed push ups, feet together (each side)
New personal record! Alright! No better way to cap off a week than that, especially when I was feeling a bit bummed out over not having done as much as I wanted to during the week due to other time constraints.
