Thursday, November 6, 2008

Training Log; 5-min isos

I'm writing this on Saturday and ante-dating it, which means there is less information than usual. But I still want to log it so I can look back at my times and hopefully improve them. Even though I didn't check times from the last time I did these, I know I improved and definitely felt stronger. Plus, I'd done most of these for 7 minutes, so 5 minutes almost felt easy (except that I had to make myself work harder!)
  • Push up: maybe 2.5 min? I know I can do this for 5 minutes, but I was really trying to focus on keeping my elbows out, which for some reason makes it harder. Maybe that's because I'm doing it right?
  • Curl: 8-lb dumbbells, all 5 minutes. If I can do 7 with 5 lb, I can do 5 with 8 lb. The focus on this one was "pull with the lats." I think I'm finally starting to get that concept.
  • Dip: 1 min, 5 times. I did the whole 5 minutes, but I only lasted a minute at the most before falling too far down and having to restart. This one is especially hard after doing the push up, because it's the same muscle set, but then it should be twice as effective, right?
  • Lunge: 2.5 min each leg, but I was still trying to get my back knee off the ground the whole time. I always feel this one much more in my hip flexor than my hamstring, but I try to focus on both.
  • One-leg squat: I wish I could have Will watch me do this one again. I don't think I was doing it right, because I didn't really feel like I was working the same muscles that I just had while lunging, and the one-leg squat is supposed to be the lunge with the back half cut off. But I did the whole 5, each leg, and tried to walk like an athlete after I was done.
  • Hamstring: 5 min. I like this one because I have to work hard to pull through my hamstrings the whole time. It feels like it's the most effective one.
  • Wall squat: 3+ min. I really wanted to go 4, because I know I can, but I just could not. I still only went up and down maybe 3 times, and every time I had to go back down, I tried to pull down fast to really turn on my muscles. Then I actually managed to walk down the stairs like a normal person!
I had played an hour of racquetball as a warm up, but for some reason I just didn't have it. My court sense was way off, and I kept getting in the way. I think my partner (not Steve, the club pro I like to play with because he's really good) was getting frustrated with me, so I quit after two games. Plus all I really wanted to do was go work out; I really didn't want to play. I haven't ever felt like that before, but as I was playing I kept thinking that I couldn't really move right like I was supposed to (lift legs by hamstrings and glutes, and then push into the ground with the balls of the feet).

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