Workout Recap - Week of July 5, 2020
It's been on the quiet side around here lately. I've been depressed for the past few days, so it's been hard to find motivation to do much of anything. It ought to pass with some time, but that's always troublesome while it's going on, and I'm sure it contributed to my slow recovery between workouts this week.
5월부터 한국어를 배우고 있었어요 (which is my attempt at writing "I've been learning Korean since May"). My formal classes finished recently, but I've been writing Korean in a notebook every day since July 2nd (I don't know how to say the first clause, but I think the second is "7월 2일부터 한국어를 매일 공책에 썼어요"). They're mostly just half-page entries on 7"x5" pages, but it's been good to think about applying what I've learned towards my own creations instead of just preset class/Youtube video exercises.
I did four workouts this week because of fatigue ("피곤해서 이번 주에 네 개 운동했어요", and I'll stop doing that now). I also skipped out on the usual monthly challenge workout because I felt I was still in the middle of general posture/form correction, so pushing myself into a timed workout where I'd be likely to lapse into poor form didn't seem a good idea.
Incidentally, if there is anyone fluent in Korean reading this, I'd love to hear feedback on how well I did with my attempts above. General correspondence to help me practice and improve would be great, too, but even just getting feedback on those three sentences would be wonderful.
Monday
Type: To Form Failure
Horizontal sets with 30 second rest intervals:
Pistol Squats - 3, 4, 3 (each side)
Short Bridges - 20, 20, 20
Long Reverse Lunges - 8, 5, 7 (each side)
Hamstring Curl Negatives - 13, 11, 11
Star Planks - 15 sec, 15 sec, 15 sec (each side)
Bonus: 2 slow drinking birds (each side)
I had a balance mishap partway through that second set of lunges, hence the low number there. Otherwise, I like how I handled this. More pistol squats would've been great, but I didn't want to push too hard on them after my recent injury. Getting double-digits on all three sets of hamstring curl negatives makes me feel up to adding in the positive motion on my next go.
Tuesday
Type: To Form Failure
Horizontal sets with 30 second rest intervals:
Tight Forearm Planks - 8 sec, 10 sec, 10 sec Half Pull Ups - 7, 6, 5
Half Push Ups - 16, 13, 11
Reverse Flies - 30, 22, 17
Pike Push Ups - 28, 15, 11
Bonus: 2 sets of 4 slow pull ups
I rep-capped the reverse flies at 30 per set, and I'm going to rep-cap the pike push ups at 25. For both the half and the slow pull ups, I'm trying to keep myself more in-plane vertically (i.e. letting my elbows flare and compress to rise rather than hinging at them). It feels weird, but it presumably encourages more lat engagement. Personally, I've always tried to think through doing pull ups as bringing my elbows to my ribs using my back and then finishing the motion with my arm flexors, but if this helps get my overall strength balance and form to a better place, a little awkward period is a small price.
Thursday
Type: To Form Failure
Horizontal sets with 30 second rest intervals:
Pistol Squats - 5, 4, 3 (each side)
Isometric One-leg Short Bridges - 15 sec, 17 sec, 16 sec (each side)
Long Reverse Lunges - 9, 8, 6 (each side)
Hamstring Curls - 4, 5, 4
Star Planks - 16 sec, 16 sec, 16 sec (each side)
Bonus: 3 slow drinking birds (each side)
I'm satisfied with how this went. There's little of particular note to say about it.
Saturday
Type: To Form Failure
Horizontal sets with 30 second rest intervals:
Tight Forearm Planks - 10 sec, 10 sec, 12 sec Half Pull Ups - 9, 7, 5
Half Push Ups - 17, 15, 12
Reverse Flies - 30, 22, 21
Pike Push Ups - 25, 14, 12
Bonus: 2 sets of 4 slow pull ups
A bit of a slide backwards on the pike push ups, but nice improvements otherwise. Those maximum contraction "tight" planks are something that I can probably start to move beyond. This routine has a dearth of non-bilateral work, so maybe some three-limb planks would be a good next step?
