Workout Recap - Week of August 8, 2021
Back up to a full workload this week, and back to doing some timed workouts again, too. They felt great! Something about going against the extra pressure of an impartial clock adds a delightful extra zing. I'm not sure why I went for so long without them, but I definitely mean to keep them as a regular feature going forward.
Monday
Type: As Fast As Possible
4 sets of:
5 Pull Ups
5 Burpees
5 Bridges
20 Mountain Climbers (each side)
Time = 5:45
Bonus: none
What better way to get back into the swing of things that with an all-round workout? The completion time was worse than what I could've done before, but that's to be expected with how long of a break I took from racing. I aim to surpass my former peak, so I have to just keep pushing.
Tuesday
Type: As Fast As Possible
3 sets of:
15 Bridges
20 Straight Leg Raises
15 Diamond Push Ups
20 Sit Ups
Time = 11:15
Bonus: 5 chin ups
This turned out to be surprisingly tough! I had intended on doing four sets initially, but I had to cut it down when I realized how long it was taking. I could take that as a sign of decline, but I'm interpreting it as a challenge to work towards, instead.
Thursday
Type: Pass/Fail
Close Handstand Push Ups - 1 set of 15 (pass)
Shrimp Squats, both hands behind me - 1 set of 10, each side (pass)
Bonus: 7 close pull ups
Mixing things back up to keep my formats from going stale, this was a straightforward grind. Nothing remarkable, but a solid benchmark nonetheless.
Friday
Type: Pass/Fail
Stand-to-stand Bridges, one wall touch on the way up - 1 set of 8 (pass)
Isometric L-Hang - 1 set of 26 breathes (pass)
Bonus: 10 pike push ups
This hang took me to my limit.
Saturday
Type: Pass/Fail
Uneven Pull Ups - 1 set of 6, each side (pass)
Archer Push Ups - 1 set of 12, each side (pass)
Bonus: none
Glad to see that I haven't lost ground with these movements. On a side note, I can feel how relaxed my neck is when I do pull ups now, ever since I had my break about a year ago to work through some form corrections. I'm taking that as an indication that I'm doing a much better job of keeping my shoulders engaged, which should both help protect me from injury and yield better results in the long run. Even if nothing else changed from that break (which isn't the case, as I can feel the differences in other movements as well, but I digress), that alone would be enough to justify that experiment.
