2009/05/15 - Last back off day

I'm feeling really good right now. I can feel some pretty interesting and well-being inducing chemicals flowing through my body...don't worry, I didn't do anything illegal that involves needles, smoking or sniffing. These good feelings are in fact the result of just having finished my first long Flowfit set at level 2.

Flowfit was designed to be done for 14 - 18 minutes without stopping, not as a set/rep program. That was all good and well for me when I was doing Flowfit level 1. After a few weeks 15 minute rounds became quite easy. Flowfit level 2 has been a different story up to now. So far my best effort has been a 3 minute round. Something about the full body movements performed at level 2 just always seemed to really kick my ass hard. As a result I stuck to a set / rest format of either one:one work/rest or 2:1. Today I decided to use some advice I got over at the RMAX forums and also some good old fashioned GS wisdom. Basically this boils down to selecting a time period to work within and then to manage your energy in such a way that you are still moving when the timer sounds.

I set my timer for 12 minutes and set off on a pace of just over 1 minute per round. At the 5 minute mark I could feel myself working hard but for some reason things got a bit easier around the 9 minute mark. When the 12 minute mark was reached and the timer sounded I was still moving. In fact, I went just over 12 minutes in order to finish the last two movements of the flow. Granted, I took things fairly easy and didn't push the pace but at least I have one full 12 minute round under my belt. The key it seems is to manage energy effectively and to BREATHE.

Now that I've done Flowfit the way it was intended to be done I can really begin to appreciate the principle of breaking through the physiological barrier of distress that inevitably occurs at some point during the session. Once that has been overcome the body seems to adjust and becomes ready for more work. Wonderful stuff!