I feel a little achy and I didn’t sleep real well. I woke up thrashing but I drank tea too late. I’m swapping my big exercises with the auxiliary exercise day. It should be easy to pull off these.
- Nordic Curls
- Decline Diamond Face Pushup
- Clam Shell for glute medius
- Neck Strength
- Rotator Cuff: I/Y/T
- Leg balance, eyes closed
The decline diamond pushup and the Nordic curls are the most intense. I bet I feel better when I start going on them.
New shoes: I found some very inexpensive shoes and although time will tell on durability, the feel really good and will do well on the trail- Skecher Escape Plan. I wanted to try zero drop shoes and was led to a Skecher outlet after reading about the Skecher GoTrail series. Those weren’t carried by the store. The Escape plan is there for $60 but online at Skecher it’s $80. I wasn’t going to spend more than $60 anyways.
I kept some soccer flats for several years even though they that callouses into my heels . They are durable but otherwise pretty horrible shoes. This brand was long ago a great one. Many people seem to still like them but they fit my feet horribly. I find it’s better to buy shoes at a store where they can be tested, whereas I made the mistake with the soccer flats and bought them through the mail.
L-sit tuck on the ground : very intense
Back when I was using parallettes it was far easier. On the ground, the shoulders have to be pushed down hard to lift the torso just an inch or two more than is required on the paralettes. I have been doing tucks well, though. My triceps are getting worked extremely hard, but I also feel it in the shoulders. The core is no problem for me at this time.
This exercise is making change happen in my body clearly because it’s so intense. I think for now 60 seconds is ok but might be just a touch aggressive. We’ll see how I progress in the next days and weeks.
Update: 5:14 PM: I got into it! I powered through it and all it took was a bit of time but I got energy. It’s a good rush from the intense exercises. I’m still feeling out the decline diamond pushup. To track any exercise, I need consistency of execution, such as height of the raised legs, what part of the leg goes on that, the position of the diamond, the duration of each movement including up-hold at top-down-hold at bottom. After this year, I will use a chair that has a different height. That could have a major impact on difficulty level.
This complexity occurs in several exercises. The Bulgarian split squat has the rear leg in a specific position on the cable bench in the hotel gym. The cable pulleys are a specific angle (both vertical and horizontal) and distance from the center line.
The only exercise I will have to adapt significantly when I change locations is the Bulgarian Split Squat. In the end, it’s important to have progressive overload, and although during the switchover the progression tracking is broken, the intensity can be retested in the new environment with new parameters. Working out hard and until near failure is one of the most important concepts in strength training, so I have to really be sure I’m at maximum intensity when I set the bar starting on in a new environment.
7:40 PM: Final exercises. I have 2 sets of Nordic curls to perform and may do my handstands also, which are due tomorrow. Then I have just two exercises and can experience a real rest day on Sunday.
Nordic curls: They are touted as a safe exercise and I have no doubt, but I worry. I have pulled my hamstring some I’ve been hesitant to put maximum effort. I eventually will be performing max effort but I just started so I’m easing my way into these. In the end, I’ll work as hard as anybody on this one…at least I intend. the Nordic curl has multiple benefits but a major one is muscle hypertrophy. If I can substantially grow my quads and glutes with the Bulgarian split squat, and then the hamstrings with the Nordic curls, that’s the dynamic duo of massive muscle growth. This will improve my metabolic profile. It is said that with increased muscle comes increased testosterone, too, so it will help future muscle growth.
Motivation and Testimonials for a Whole Food-Plant Based Diet 