2009/03/21 - Day 16: Low intensity

I worked through the following today:

Kettlebell joint mobility

Kettlebell compensatory yoga

A bit of Spider Monkey practice

The spider monkey is coming along slowly but nicely. I again just worked on the first few transitions (from quad squat to side plank, star fish, three legged dog, scorpion, table and back to quad squat). I first did two sets on the right and two on the left side and then finished with one set doing both right and left in one flow. I am also starting to do a bit of a tripod posture together with the table posture to get me closer to a full wheel posture. I always love the way my shoulders feel after this flow; kind of like the tension has been squeezed out.

200903/20 - Day 15: Intuflow

Today's Intuflow session was particularly nice. All the movements felt really smooth and there was no discomfort throughout the ranges of motion I worked. Something is definitely working.

2009/03/19 - Day 14: More Flowfit and Kettlebells

I felt a bit tired today and decided to only do 4 sets of Flowit as opposed to 5. Anyway, the goal is not to do more sets but to work up to doing just one set of 14 minutes or longer. I think I will stick to this rule during the current cycle rather than adding more sets.

My session:

Flowfit (level 2): 4 rounds / 3 minutes work / 1 minute rests

I took my usual 15 minute break and then moved on with:

Kettlebells: 16kg / 5 minutes work / 2 minutes rest

LC OAJ: 25/25

Snatch: 39/39

Half Snatch: 23/24

Flowfit is really an unusual exercise program. It is so much harder than it looks and I also seem to be progressing more slowly with this than with every other exercise modality or program I took on recently. With kettlebells I keep going up the levels, with Forward Pressure I have been adding one set each time I do it, my Prasara seems better each time I do it but Flowfit, oh no, I started with 4 sets of 3 minutes and that's where I still am. I guess it really is the fact that you work your body in so many ways in the context of such a short, compact session. The kettlebell sets was not too bad today. The Long Cycle was solid (in fact fairly easy), the Snatches went well up to the last 30 seconds when my forearm muscles started complaining and the Half Snatches - oh well, I can just say "Ouch." I'm looking forward to an easy day with just some Intuflow tomorrow.

2009/03/18 - More Forward Pressure

I added another round of Forward Pressure today and did some more core work as well.

The session:

Forward Pressure: 7 rounds with 2 minute rest periods

Roll up / Butterfly combos: 3x5

L-Sit: 5 x 6 second holds with a few seconds rest between holds

As usual FP produced a significant pump in the upper body as well as some solid muscle fatigue in the arms. I decided to add in the L-Sit for some additional core work since I discovered recently that I need work in this area. The exercise is from Coach Sommer's book "Building the gymnastic body" which arrived via mail today. I did the most basic variation with bent legs. I can see the potential for building some serious strength with this exercise as I work through the progressions.

Coach Sommer's book seems great so far and will most probably be the foundation of my next cycle.

2009/03/17 - Day 12: Low intensity

Both Jocelyn and I felt a bit weak and nauseous most of today - most likely the result of what we ate last night. I feel a hell of a lot better after my training session though. The session went as follows:

Kettlebell joint mobility

Kettlebell yoga compensations

Bit of Spider monkey practice

Before anybody gets the idea that I'm some kind of gymnast please take note: I am only working on the first few transitions of Spider monkey and I am not yet doing the full wheel pose; I am substituting it at this stage for the table. Having said that I am already noticing improvement in my arm strength and the strength of my core muscles. I have also become more aware of my core muscles and am keeping them flexed during the postures to facilitate greater strength and stability. Some of the aspects regarding this flow that I have noticed are as follows:

1. It is very much a general strength builder.

2. The core gets a great workout.

3. It is great for shoulder and upper back mobility.

I'm sure I'll discover more benefits as I move ahead.

2009/03/16 - Day 11: Just some Intuflow

Today's session was kind of like Intuflow Qigong. I worked through the sequence really slowly and focused on making the movements as fluid and relaxed as possible. After a while it felt very similar to the flowing, almost meditative experience generated by the practice of Tai Chi. I even had the same sensation of warmth in the hands and a sense of tingling in the limbs in general. My body felt pretty tight after my high intensity session yesterday and this slow Intuflow was just what I needed to get my body loose and comfortable again.

2009/03/15 - Day 10: Upping things slightly

My approach to Flowfit during the current cycle is based on a density training protocol, in other words gradually doing more work in the same amount of time while taking less rest. This is supposed to eventually build up to only one set lasting 14 minutes or longer. I didn't feel ready today to start increasing the time per set though so I chose to do an extra set instead. Here is the result:

Flowfit (level 2): 5 rounds / 3 minutes work / 1 minute rest

After the Flowfit I took about 15 minutes rest and then did:

Kettlebell fitness work: 16kg / 5 minutes work / 2 minutes rest

One arm Jerk: 35/35

Snatch: 35/35

Long Cycle Push Press: 20/20

Flowfit still kicked some serious butt today. I did however notice that the fifth set felt about as hard as my fourth did a few days ago. For the kettlebell sets I made my rpm sligthly lower given the fact that I added an extra minute of work per set. The first two sets felt fairly easy but the last one kicked my butt solidly and I had to set the bell down briefly a couple of times.