May 2, 2011

Day 122: The First Battle Has Been Fought

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Life is what it is. The control I have is very little. Tomorrow is a different day...and I will deal with it then...but today I choose to live in today...not yesterday and not tomorrow. Again, thank you Lord for sending me to that place to get to this one. Growth begins at failure. Believe..." - Ben Booker


TRAINING

HIIT - Run:
a. 4 min jogging
b. 12 x 20 sec sprint/10 sec easy
c. 10 min jogging

Full-Body (30 sec recovery between alternate sets):
Alternate Set A -
1. BB Good Mornings 6 x 10-12
2. Side-to-side Plyometric Bench Jumps 6 x 24
Alternate Set B -
3. Push-Ups (feet on bench, hands on medicine balls) 6 x 10-12
4. Supinated BB Bent Over Rows 6 x 10
Alternate Set C -
5. BB Military Press 6 x 10
6. DB Lateral Raises 6 x 10
Alternate Set D -
7. Curved-Bar Tricep Push-Down 6 x 10
8. DB Bicep Curls 6 x 10-12
Alternate Set E -
9. Rope Crunches 6 x 10-12
10. Hanging Straight Leg Raises (hips to 90 degree flexion) 6 x 10

Post-Weights Cardio - Rollers:
20 min in 39x18 @ 106 rpm

Stretch 20 min.


COMMENTS

Sleep - Time and Quality: Didn't fall asleep until ~0600! NOT cool. Sleep was on and off, eventually waking to get up ~1330 - confusing and UNacceptable! Getting back into a regular and reasonable routine re sleeping is going to be a focus this week.

Mood/Aggression: I was great right up until about an hour after training, when aggression appeared, irritability coming out - doesn't make sense, given that I am back training, and training usually means a GOOD mood (unless it is not a good session - but this was). Working on calming myself down, since I am ready to lash out at pretty much anything right now. Strange.

Energy: I realized today that the Green Apple Assault does NOT contain Suma Root - the ingredient that sets Assault apart for me from other preworkout products. I believe that this - since I have been using Green Apple Assault for just over three weeks now - is a contributing factor in why I felt like I did last week or so (along with the fact that I probably needed that week off training), and because it's been ~2 weeks that I have been without the Rhodiola Rosea from IGF-2. Adaptogens I have discovered are definitely an ESSENTIAL part of my supplement regime for energy, being and remaining functional, especially if I do not want to use and abuse stimulants. Funny how one notices such things, and it's true that you often don't notice the difference until you're NOT using them. It's back to predominantly using the Raspberry Lemonade flavour from now on, mixing in the Green Apple for the taste.

Mental Focus and Clarity: It's been ON!

Endurance: Excellent - first training session back, and a long one it was, coming out at ~3 hours total, and not faltering at any stage throughout it, was awesome!

Strength: Today's session wasn't about strength, but I surprised myself with the weight that I had to go to with some of the exercises.

Quality of Training: HIIT was awesome - sprints were explosive, and 12 was definitely enough for me . . Resistance training - so good to be back in the gym! I can tell when I do legs and my hamstrings were stretched well after the first set of BB Good Mornings, and I could feel the painful pull. Despite the 90-minute resistance session, it did not seem as long as it was, and I felt good after it . . . A little faster than the usual "recovery" on the rollers after weights, but good for my legs . . .

Recovery: I am going to feel my hamstrings tomorrow - there is no doubt about that. Be interesting to see how I recover over this week.

Other Notes: I realized yesterday that I have almost constantly used a product that has AI properties since July 2009, with the only time off maybe 1-2 weeks between different products or bottles of the same one. After being without Erase for the last two weeks, I can say that I definitely feel and see the difference when NOT using such a product - Erase especially. I am looking forward to getting back on it - along with being back in the gym lifting weights, it will make a definite difference in my progress!