Just took out the trash and sipping my cheap protein shake (definitely getting Shakeology in my budget as soon as work ramps back up). Finished my workout before dinner today (dad brought home gyros...he isn't really helping my diet.) and it was tough, but good.
Surprised to find that my leg strength is my weakest link still. I assumed my cardio would be—and it certainly holds me back—but my legs just couldn't keep going. I rested a total of 8:29 in today's plyo circuit of the 44 total minutes, but 6 of those were during the second circuit, namely the second and third rotations of that circuit. My mind and lungs wanted to keep going, but my legs literally wouldn't respond. That's okay though, I feel them getting stronger every day and I know that the bulk of my torso fat doesn't help me at all. Not to mention that my core is weak, so my legs are working even harder than they should.
On to the problem now. I still can't figure out any of the hip flexor stretches other than the Warrior Pose one with arms straight up, sitting into the stretch. The one he does with the leg contractions standing one one leg makes me want to stop the DVD and walk away. How am I supposed to even attempt that when I cannot put my palms on the floor with my front leg straight? Not to mention that I don't know if I'm too tight, but I can't extend my leg straight back on those (after I give up and use my desk to support myself instead of the floor), I have to "twist" so that my toes end up pointing away from the centerline of my body when I complete the extension of my leg. Not sure if any of that makes sense, but any help would be nice. (For anyone who has the DVD, the stretches I am talking about start at 29:47 left on the 'timeline' at the bottom of the screen. The leg extension ones start at 28:24. That's where I make my torso parallel to the floor and hold the desk in front of me to support my body because I can't touch the floor.)
On somewhat of the same lines, the "in and out abs" and the "ski abs" are annoying, but for different reasons. The "in and out abs"...I have large thighs. They are mainly muscle (that isn't hubris, that is true). I cannot get my knees between my arms in a pushup position. My thighs do not allow that. So any tips for that would be appreciated.
The issue with "ski abs" is feeling a twinge on the outside of my right kneecap when I do this exercise. So, how far should I be 'traveling' from the center of my body? On the DVD, it seems like fairly far, but the seemingly imminent feeling of injury gets worse the farther I go out. For now I have been limiting it to where is comfortable, but I don't know if I should be pushing farther to improve or if improvement will come even in my comfort zone.
Not trying to turn today's blog into a rant or complaints, so here is the good from today. I love dubstep—among many other kinds of music—and I'm not crazy about the music on the Insanity DVDs. Solution? Play a dubstep Pandora station in the background with the DVD. That made my workout so much more enjoyable today, I actually had fun. I don't think I will ever like these workouts more than just pure, elegant, relaxing distance running, but they are a good alternative right now to the freezing cold outside my door.
Anyway, that's my workout, on to the story about the name of this blog. The title is 26.2/365 because the goal was to train for and run the Chicago Marathon in a year. I am not convinced that is a practical goal for me, but I am committed to the half-marathon at least. In lieu of that, this blog has been adapted from a concept about training for a marathon in a year into simply a daily blog about improving physical health, the things I learn along the way, and my personal journey leading to completing a marathon—and possibly an Ironman in a few years.
Lastly, for anyone doing Insanity, I suggest getting a Chess Timer app for your phone (or get an actual chess clock if you don't have a smartphone). You can use that to easily track how much of the workout you are "resting" for giving you more data on your progress than just the fit test as the days and weeks go by.
That's all for Day 2. Two workouts down...fifty-two left to go!
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