Project Exercise

Pop Warner football is starting this summer for my 9 year old.  Normally the kids go through a conditioning process before they step out on the practice field.  The conditioning phase starts in July.  Currently, he is playing flag football to keep up with his skills.  He is a real football nut.  He just loves the sport.  Anyway, I wanted to give him a bit of a head start on his upcoming conditioning training so I asked him if he wanted to start working out.  I am not a big advocate on kids doing heavy lifting, however, I thought that interval training would be a good place to start so I put him through some tabata training.  Although he normally plays at the quarterback position, he really wants to play line backer.  So I believe tabata training is something that will workout well since it has an explosive element to it.

We both started out with kettlebell swings.  I have a small 6 lbs kettlebell so I had him use those to get familiar with the movements.  Exploding out the the squat is perfect for simulating the “hit” (tackle) and driving with the legs.  I was impressed that he handled all 8 intervals well.  So we rested a couple minutes and then we did a mix of lunges and Tower 200 wood choppers using the tabata protocol.  Again, he did well.  I up’d the ante and we did full-on tabata burpees with a hop.  He finally started showing fatigue and after the 3rd interval he said, “daddy, I have to rest”.  So we took a break.  Burpees with a hop is very tough to do for 8 intervals of tabata.  When he felt ready, we did some pushups and pull ups, however, we did not do them using the tabata protocol.  I was impressed with his pushups because a couple months ago he had sloppy form.  I didn’t push the issue, though, because he was just 8 years old and I am just happy that he has an interest with training.  But today, wow, he did some strict pushups.  He has to work on his pull ups so we will take it slow and easy.  I used the P90X chair trick to help him with assisted pull ups.  Maybe next time I will have him do resistance band pull downs on the Tower 200 instead of pull ups.

So Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.  We really appreciate all you do.  Teresa, my wife (and mom) was a real trooper because the league, in it’s infinite wisdom, scheduled a flag football game today.  So we spent a good deal of time at the game (from 9:30 am until 2 pm).  The kids love to play with each other after the game and we normally bring food and drink to share.

In the end tough, we tried to make a good day for mom.  I cooked breakfast this morning.  I made pancakes (whole wheat, of course), eggs (egg beaters) and turkey bacon.  After the game, mom wanted Mexican food.  Mexican food is our most favorite.  So we threw all nutrition out the window and ordered the most delicious chile rellenos!  It is about 9 pm now and mom is talking to our daughter who lives in Alaska.  Oh, and I bought her a pair of Peach Faced Love Birds.  She loves them!

Where does it say in the P90X manual anything about running and swimming.  Quite frankly, it doesn’t say anything about those activities.  However, anyone who has done P90X knows that there are cardio components to the program.  There is also a variation in the book called “doubles” where you add extra cardio (of your choice) to the program.  Ok, that said, I ran 5k yesterday.  Although I have a knee injury, I just don’t want to completely cut running from my fitness lifestyle.  So instead, I have been slowly trying to bring running back into my regiment.  The runs are short and slow, but for now, that is what my knee can tolerate.  Who knows, maybe I can strengthen the muscles around my knee to hold the knee cap on track long enough to get 10k someday.

This morning I did legs, back and ARX.  I substituted some of the P90X leg routines with those that my physical therapist had me do while rehabbing my knee.  The PT exercises are actually pretty intense.  For abs, I did a plain vanilla ARX (Ab Ripper X) workout.  I didn’t sub out any of those exercises this time around.

After work I headed to a beach near my home that is located just east of Diamond Head.  It’s a good place to do training swims because there is a good amount of chop.  It defines a “rough water swim”.  I am considering doing the Waikiki Rough Water Swim this September so I may as well train in similar conditions.

According to the P90X schedule, I am supposed to be on recovery week.  However, meat heads think recovery weeks are over-rated!  So as a bonafide lifetime member of the “Meat Head Club for Men” I have continued doing my regular workouts.  If you need information about joining the Meat Head Club (yes, there is a women’s chapter too), please contact our club president Jeff of Dangle the Carrot.  Please be warned that you must pass the hundred pushup challenge to apply.

Seriously, though, the reason I am not doing the recovery week is because I simply lost track of the schedule.  During my first round of P90X I was counting the days until recovery week.  Now, these workouts are just a normal day at the office.  However, all serious athletes and fitness enthusiasts know the value of recovery week.  This is the time that we actually get stronger.  So I am just going to continue with the workouts for the rest of the week and do recovery week next week.  I don’t really feel that bad that I over ran recovery week because I feel pretty energized this week and, besides, as you P90Xers already know, there are some P90X workouts during the so-called recovery week that are butt kickers… can you say core synergistics?

Yesterday I wanted to do a session on my bike so I hooked it up to my indoor trainer and did tabata intervals.  Man, that is a humbling workout.  I was trashed after the first round of tabata.  I thought my lungs were going to burst.  20 seconds felt like 20 minutes.  I ended up doing a total of 3 rounds of 8 sets of 20/10 tabata intervals.  I needed to rest a couple minutes between each round.  After the tabata intervals I rode for an additional 40 minutes.  When I woke up this morning, I could still feel the tightness in my quads.  I was supposed to do P90X Plyo X, but I decided to substitue the workout with cycling

Today I stayed on schedule with P90X Shoulders and Arms.  I used the Tower 200 minimally for this workout because I wanted to go heavy for a change.  I loaded up my curling bar and the dumbbells and went to work.  Even though I haven’t been doing heavy lifts for quite a while, I somehow still maintained my strength.  I did a lot of the curling with 45 llb dumbbells and I loaded the curling bar with 95 lbs for the first set and 115 lbs for the last set.  Obviously, I substituted some of the dumbbell movements with the curling bar.

After shoulders and arms, I did a quick abs workout and some kettlebell swings.

Thanks for stopping by.

From time to time I bring up the problem I have with my left knee.  I would like to give new visitors to my blog some background information regarding the issue with my knee.  Last August I began training for the Honolulu Marathon.  Things were going pretty well and I was training a bit ahead of schedule.  Although I knew that increasing mileage more than 10% week can lead to injuries, I ignored the advice because, well… that’s the way I roll.  My Neanderthal-like, over achieving ways finally caught up with me.  The same Neanderthal, “take no prisoners” approach served me well at sports when I was a youngster. It allowed me to push through and qualify to serve with a special unit in the military.  That “gut busting” attitude allowed me to return to base after tough missions.   Jeff, calls this the “meat head” syndrome.  Yes, it has served me well through the years, but alas… this high mileage body finally gave in.

By the time my long runs were at 15 miles, my left knee started giving me a bit of a problem.  I hung at 15-16 mile long runs for a couple of weeks, but my knee was getting progressively worse.  Instead of throttling back, meat head syndrome set in and, of course, I added mileage.  When I was doing 18 mile long runs, my knee would collapse and I would actually fall.  I was able to stand the steady state pain, but I was getting extremely sharp pains as a precursor to my knee collapsing.  I saw a sports medicine doctor and the diagnosis was chondromalacia (runner’s knee).  You can look up chondromalicia on the internet, but the short story is that it is a break down of the cartilage under my knee cap.  It can also cause the knee cap not to track properly… hence, “fall down”.  I can actually “click” my knee back onto the track.  For some, the injury can be minimized almost to the point of normalcy.  However, the cartilage under my knee cap has suffered extensive damage and, unfortunately, for me it is a permanent injury.  She prescribed physical therapy.  So what do you think I asked her?  Yep, you guessed it… I asked if I could still train.  (Insert long pause here so you can shake your head).  She told me that her experience with athletes is that you can’t tell them they can’t train so she said, “do it as long as you can stand the pain”.  My physical therapist said that if I strengthen my leg muscles, it would help keep my knee cap on its track.  Well, I tried to continue training, but during an 18 mile run I actually fell on the pavement around 3 times.  Well, that was the end of my serious running.

Ok, now that I got the background information out of the way, I will post today’s workout.  I’ve used too much of your time already so I will try to keep it short.

I did a 5k run treadmill run at the gym today.  The good news is that my knee did not collapse nor did I get that sharp pain that I often get on runs.  However, the steady state pain was still there.  My knee still hurts a bit this evening.  That is pretty normal though.  I hope I can continue these short runs.

After my run I did P90X chest and back.  Since I just finished my run, I didn’t have to warm up.  I went right into the exercises.  I did the routine in the gym.

When I got home, I wanted to work on my core.  I also wanted to do a few rounds of tabata training.  So I did a mix of kettlebells, body weight and abs/core circuits.  I love these tabata intervals.

It’s Friday… YES!

Well, I’ve had a couple of workout days since my last post.  Yesterday I did Yoga X.  It is supposed to be a 1.5 hour session, however, I cut it down to 45 minutes and modified it using Quentin’s suggestions.  Yesterday afternoon I did 7 rounds of Tabata (about 30 minutes) using kettlebells, plyometrics, wood choppers, burpees, jump knee tucks and other various exercises.  I used my iPhone interval timer app for the sessions.  It is a big improvement over my Gym Boss.  I have to admit that I love doing Tabata Training.  Steve, thanks for introducing me to it.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Tabata Protocol here is a excerpt from Wikipedia…

“A popular regimen based on a 1996 study uses 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at 170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). In the original study, athletes using this method trained 4 times per week, plus another day of steady-state training, and obtained gains similar to a group of athletes who did steady state (70% VO2max) training 5 times per week. The steady state group had a higher VO2max at the end (from 52 to 57 ml/kg/min), but the tabata group had started lower and gained more overall (from 48 to 55 ml/kg/min). Also, only the Tabata group had gained anaerobic capacity benefits.”

Today was legs and back day.  Today’s workout kind of kick my behind.  The leg workout felt challenging, especially the wall squats.  Btw, the kettlebells work great for some of the leg exercises.  After the legs and back I did P90X+ Abs Core Plus and added cable crunches using the Tower 200.

If you’re into cycling, here is a guy using the Tabata Protocol to train for a race…

I had a great workout today.  Shoulders and arms having always been my favorite P90X workout.  Today, I did something a little bit different.  Instead of pushing play, I created my list of exercises and did the workout “sans” dvd.  It was great because I could move at a faster pace than Tony Horton sets for the workout.  After all, the P90X strength workouts are basically circuit training.  You are supposed to moving through the stations quickly.

I set up my man-cave with my Bowflex dumbbells and the Tower 200.  It is very convenient to have all the resistances basically set up to do all three body parts (shoulders, biceps, and triceps).  It allows me to move quickly from one exercise to the next.

After shoulders and arms I cleaned up with P90X+ Abs Core Plus.  I was a nice change from ARX.  It has more twisting core movements than ARX (well except, of course, Mason Twists).

Ok, I have promised to do a review of the Tower 200. So here we go…

Tower 200

The Tower 200 comes with the device, 4 handles, a huge heavy duty poster of a few sample exercises, a guide, and a DVD.  You even get an extra set of the heavy bands and pulleys.

Unlike other exercise gadgets, the Tower 200 needs no assembly.  Heck, event he P90X pull up bar needs to put together with, like, ten thousand nuts and bolts!  When you take the Tower 200 out of the box, you hook one part of the machine to the top of the door, then slide the bottom portion onto the bottom of the door.  You can also make adjustments for taller doors and to create more tension on the bands.  Within 5 minutes of opening the box, you can literally be working out and getting owned by the Tower 200!

Here is a picture where the machine hooks up to the top of the door.  The bunch of junk you see towards the bottom of the photo are my T.O. Bands that I hang on the door for convenience.

The “cables” are actually resistance bands that are routed through pulleys.  There are 3 bands on each side, as you can see in the photos.  Each color coded band is a different resistance… 25 lbs, 35 lbs and 40 lbs.  You can hook multiple bands together for more resistance.  You can even connect all 3 bands from one side to the other 3 bands on the other side for a total of 200 lbs of resistance.  You better have a solid wood door if you intend hook all of them together.

Here is a photo of my Tower 200 in my “Man-Cave”.

The DVD shows an 11 minute total body workout that you can do on the Tower 200.  The workout actually looks pretty intense.  I will have to try it out.  I imagine that doing the workout for a total of 3 rounds (33 minutes) would be drop dead awesome.  Maybe I will do it next week.

The hand grips that come with the Tower 200 are probably the best resistance band grips that I have used.  Btw, I like P90X, but the grips that come with their bands suck.  The thing I like best about the Tower 200 grips is the width of the handle.  They allow for free and easier movement of the hand.  I have the T.O. Bands and while the grips are heavy duty, the handles are narrow.  So when I do repetitive movements with it the straps on the handle rub against my hands and gives me blisters.  Your hands are safe with the Tower 200 handles.

When I ordered the Tower 200, I also ordered a bar that can span the entire width of the machine.  You can see the bar on the photo below.  With the bar you can simulate barbell curls, cable pulldowns, skull crushers and other exercises normally done with a bar.

This is a picture of the machine where is hooks up to the bottom of the door.  Notice the bar attachement.

I’ve used the machine to do P90X, i30x5 and other workouts.  In the past I would not go near resistance bands, however, since I have given up heavy lifting for more fitness oriented training, I have learned to love the bands.  The Tower 200 is extremely versatile.  You can do every body part including abs and core.  The great thing is that you can do all these body blasting exercises in a very small space.  The machine takes practically no room at all.

The machine cost about $180.  Don’t fall for the $14 “bait” thing you see on the site.  You can find it cheaper on ebay and other outlets so shop around.  Is it worth the money?  Absolutely!  Consider what other fitness gear costs and $180 doesn’t seem so bad.  I have had the device for a couple months and I haven’t noticed any wear.  I am not saying it won’t wear, however, I believe it will last quite a while.  As I mentioned at the beginning, they give you an extra set of heavy bands and pulleys.  You can order replacements on their site if required.

By the way, there is also another machine called the Wieder X Factor.  It is very simular to the Tower 200.  So if you are considering buying something like this, you may want to check it out too.  There are tons of Tower 200 vs Wieder X Factor reviews out there with no clear winner.

I was supposed to do P90X Plyo X today, however, I sub’d it out with Interval X Plus from the P90X+ series.  Although it is a shorter workout it is much more intense than the regular P90X plyo workout.  I handled the workout better than I thought I would.  After doing INSANITY the plyo and interval workouts don’t seem as difficult as they used to.  They are sufficiently intense, though, so I did get a good workout.  I admit that the “Carlito’s 3 Ways” are still tough.  They are tough just by themselves, however, they are a butt kicker when placed in the middle of the workout.    Jeff knows what I mean.

After I was done with my workout, I played ball with my son.  We got the baseball gloves out and threw the ball.  My son is a football player, so we enjoyed doing something different.  We haven’t really had a good session throwing a baseball so I was able to give him some tips and teach him about using his glove.  Within a fairly short time he was catching pretty well and he began catching faster balls.  It was very enjoyable.

As some of you folks know, I coached football for about 17 seasons.  I “retired” from coaching and I enjoyed just watching a game as a parent last season.  Today I got a call from a pop warner coach today and he asked me if I would help him coach.  I said I would.  Am I nuts!!!  Well, at least I won’t be the head coach.  I get to be an assistant coach this time around.  I haven’t been an asst coach for a very long time.  It will be nice to have someone else call the shots.  I guess I am just a little burned out with coaching.  Maybe I will feel refreshed after my short retirement.

I did chest and back this morning.  To get more resistance I substituted the pushups with dumbbell bench presses for the second half of the chest workout.  Again, I felt that the workout was moving kind of slow so I hit the next button to quickly go to the next exercise.  I wanted to keep my heart rate up.  Instead of pull ups I used my Tower 200 for a change.  Its good to change things up to keep the workouts interesting.  Immediately after the chest and back workout I did Ab Ripper X.  ARX gave me a bit of challenge this morning.  Whenever I do ARX directly after my main workout it gives me a bad time.  I normally like to do it as a separate workout later in the day.

Later in the day I jumped on my bike for a 20 mile ride.  The ride was right in the middle of the rush hour.  I don’t normally like riding during the commuting hours, but I just needed to do some sort of aerobic workout.  Running would have been a better choice if I could count on my injured knee.  However, I didn’t want to deal with the knee pain.  Fortunately, the ride was uneventful.

This weekend I was scheduled to do P90X Kenpo X.  Kenpo X is basically a P90X cardio workout.  As far as cardio goes, it isn’t as intense as plyometrics.  The core does get some benefit with the kicking drills.  Anyway, I decided to substitute an open water swim for Kenpo X.  The weather this weekend has been absolutely beautiful, especially for an ocean swim.  I did the swim in Waikiki just outside the reef.  This is the same coarse where the Waikiki Rough Water Swim is held.  I did about 2/3 of the course.

We had a nice little south shore swell with an off-shore breeze.  It made for pretty good surf.  Since I was outside the reef, past the surfers, I encountered some chop, but nothing for which I am not accustomed.  If you swim much in the islands, you get pretty used to the chop.  I practiced my sighting, trying to make it part of my stroke.  After a few strokes I lifted my head just enough to site on a predetermined landmark.  I also intended to work on bilateral breathing, but after about 300 meters, I ended up doing right side breathing.  It is taking me way too long to make bilateral breathing a natural part of my stroke.

To determine the distance, I used www.mapmyrun.com by drawing distance lines out into the ocean and using a landmark as my 1000 meter marker so I knew when to turn back.

In all, I had a great training swim.

I ran 3 miles today.  Well, actually I had to walk a few times because of the pain in my left knee and the run was probably more of a jog.  Anyway, the whole run was completely in the aerobic zone (duh).  It really sucks to have knee problems.  Even though I am doing P90X I need to add cardio workouts to the mix.  I hope to get an open water swim done this weekend.  My son is having his birthday party tomorrow so maybe I will be able to jump in the ocean on Sunday.

Later in the day I did legs and back.  Since I had run earlier, my legs did not feel 100%, however, I got through the workout ok.  I crushed the back workout.