Workout Recap - Week of December 8, 2019
As we near the end of another calendar year, I'd like to take a moment to say to anyone who happens to be reading this blog and thinking about getting themselves into better shape that you should start doing something. It doesn't have to be any particular program or routine. When I started out some five and a half years ago, I just picked a random smattering of exercises to do three times a week. Once I got used to doing that, I started looking at setting specific goals and adjusting my workouts to aim for them, increasing the frequency, recording benchmarks, and so forth. However, none of that would have any real value if I hadn't started doing something. Taking that first step, going from "I should do <X>" or "I want to do <X>" to "I'm doing <X>", is essential for obvious reasons, yet I find many people put off taking the plunge because they feel like they don't know enough or haven't prepared enough to be ready for it.
That mindset is the killer of personal growth. Be open to failure. Learn from it, and go from there (either improving for the next time or deciding to stop).
I'm not saying this to try posturing as a self-help guru. Rather, I'm just sick of listening to people complain about circumstances around them. Complaints without subsequent actions are pointless negativity. Generally speaking, you'd be better off not voicing them and saving the energy for something productive. I understand that venting is a valuable form of stress relief, but it's a temporary measure; use that venting as inspiration to change your circumstances, and you can address the source of the problem.
Attempts at change will almost always result in encountering obstacles. I mean, I'm still working towards doing one-armed pull ups or stand-to-stand bridges. However, I'm confident that I can achieve them some day. The only way to guarantee that I won't is to give up.
Monday
Type: As Fast As Possible
100 Burpees
Time = 10:30
Bonus: 30 breath isometric dead hang
Well, well, well, I believe that this is a pretty solid time, and it's definitely the best time that I've gotten on this challenge in a long while. There's still room for improvement, of course, seeing as I was on pace for a sub-10:00 time for more than half of this. One must always be wary of "good" being the enemy of "great". That said, it's still worth celebrating the progress from my last attempt.
Tuesday
Type: As Fast As Possible
3 sets of:
10 Chin Ups
10 Handstand Push Ups
20 Side Lunges, each side
20 Push Ups
Time = 9:30
Bonus: none
This was a shoulder gauntlet. I'm a bit disappointed in the final time, but I just couldn't go without a little extra break in that last set of handstand push ups.
Wednesday
Type: Pass/Fail
Close Handstand Push Ups - 1 set of 12 (pass)
Stand-to-stand Bridges, one wall touch on the way up - 1 set of 10 (pass)
L-Hang - 1 set of 30 breath isometric hold (pass)
Bonus: 10 breath isometric one-arm dead hang (each side)
With respect to being able to do completely independent stand-to-stand bridges, my main hurdle remains the transition from bridge position to starting to rise. In order to work towards overcoming that, I'm going to change things up a bit with my bridging in my pass/fail workouts, since I don't think that continuing to rely on putting a hand on a wall to get moving is going to something that I can ween myself off of. I've got some thoughts, so we'll see how they work out.
Friday
Type: As Fast As Possible
3 sets of:
21/15/9 Jump Squats
21/15/9 Push Ups
21/15/9 Mountain Climbers (each side)
Time = 3:45
Bonus: 11 pull ups
Given the completion time, this workout was not difficult enough. Still better than nothing, though.
Saturday
Type: As Fast As Possible
6 sets of:
6 Pull Ups
6 Burpees
6 Bridges
Time = 6:45
Bonus: 30 breath isometric dead hang
Bookend bonuses for this week. Oh, and I hit my personal record for this challenge. One of these things is far more thrilling than the other, but I put too much into that intro to get worked up about it now.
