BBM Connection

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Well, I’ve definitely felt a motivation drain in the last few days. Part of it is that I’ve been attempting to get in morning workouts, which is always a bad plan for me. The theory was that since I’m less conscious, I’d have an easier time getting into a more meditative state. While this is probably true, it really doesn’t work if I don’t get up to do the workout. So, I’m not sure if I’m going to continue attempting to work with that idea or not. It might depend on how tired I am in the evenings, I guess, but I’ll probably try to get back to evening workouts. Anyway, August ended up being somewhat of a slacking month, but I’m hoping to pick it back up in September.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Pilates
Author: chaos

It really doesn’t seem like the pilates workout gets any easier. In a sense, it doesn’t, because I get a little bit better at maintaining form every time, which makes it just as hard as before, if not harder. So while I’m definitely improving, it doesn’t feel like it in terms of the amount of effort expended. And I’m still not really very good at it, and this is still the modified version. I aspire to one day be able to do the full version, but not if I don’t start doing this workout more often. Or at least, it’ll take a really long time if I don’t.
Mostly I wanted to get this workout in a little earlier tonight so that I didn’t have time to talk myself out of doing it. Not so much that I want to, but more that I’ve been pretty tired this week, particularly in the evenings, and so have managed to convince myself to go to bed and do the workout in the morning. But of course, I’m really bad at getting up for things like that, so that doesn’t work all that well. I was thinking about doing a second workout tonight, but I think at this point that I’ll pass, maybe try and get to bed soon, and possibly have time for a long workout before I leave tomorrow. That’s kind of questionable, unless I manage to get up on time tomorrow, so we’ll see. Anyway, I do hope to get one in before driving tomorrow, so as long as I don’t really sleep in, I should be able to do a short workout. So until then…

Workout: Power Yoga: Strength
Author: chaos

I wanted to get a workout in before driving tonight, so I decided to go with a quick Strength session. It was also a good choice because I didn’t have the video with me, but since I know that one so well, it isn’t really a problem. It was fairly satisfying… I was able to really concentrate on my breathing. Since I was doing it with my own timing, keeping my breathing in time was really easy. It wasn’t quite accurate, but I think that was largely because I was somewhat tired. At any rate, it was more to get the workout in at all than to have a great workout, so it certainly accomplished its purpose in that respect. I’ll try to get something in tomorrow night, but we’ll see what happens.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

I’ve really been having a terrible time motivating the last week or so. Maybe my diet is deficient, and it’s causing a lack of energy, at least in the late evening. Well, my diet almost certainly is deficient, although whether that’s actually the problem is hard to say. At any rate, I didn’t manage to get a workout in last night, and almost didn’t get one in tonight. I finally decided to just do the workout, because I’d be much happier with myself if I did. Which is certainly true… I’m far more satisfied now that I’ve gotten the workout in than I would have been had I not. Still, it’s frustrating to be having so much trouble getting myself just to do these workouts. Anyway. Tonight’s workout was okay, although I think a bit of my frustration was leaking into it. But I felt like I was really working my muscles well today, which was good. I definitely think they’re getting stronger, probably largely because of the pilates sessions. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get more of a workout in, total body or something like that.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Pilates
Author: chaos

I didn’t even try to get a workout in Saturday night, and while I certainly had the potential of getting in a workout last night, I ended up deciding not to. Not so much because I didn’t want to get a workout in, but because I am tired of just throwing in a tired, unmotivated workout just to do so. So I decided to get the extra half an hour or so of sleep instead, and try coming in tonight with a renewed vigor and dedication. It worked, at least to some extent. I definitely had more motivation tonight than I have had in quite a while, and I also definitely felt like getting the workout in. I’m hoping that I can manage to stay focused on getting quality workouts in, as well as getting in a greater variety of workouts.
I’m also looking to make some changes in my daily routine overall. My diet has really deteriorated in the last month, and I think that I really need to work on correcting that. I’ve also gotten away from the idea of learning to meditate, and I think that I need to renew my focus to that idea as well. I was learning to live well with copious amounts of free time, and now I have to learn to live well without that kind of free time. I certainly think it’s possible, I just have to pay attention and have the dedication to do it. Whether I can actually accomplish that… remains to be seen.
Just a quick note on the actual workout tonight, it went pretty well. I tried to work on making my form better, as always, and I think there were slight improvements. I continue to feel that my abs are getting a little stronger every time, which is nice. I’m going to try to get this workout in twice a week for a while, we’ll see how that goes. Anyway, I fully intend to get a non-abs workout in tomorrow, which one is yet to be determined.

Workout: Yoga for Strength: session 1
Author: chaos

Well, I’m trying to get back into it. I did a YfS session today for the first time in… quite a while, at least a month. It’s always good to get back to the basics now and then. It was a pretty good session, overall, although my legs felt surprisingly stiff at the beginning of the workout. But shoulderstand was good, and headstand preparation went well, even if the two minute downward dog felt slightly odd. Not sure what it was today, but it didn’t feel quite the way it usually does. Then again, I didn’t cramp my right hip like I often do, so maybe it was a good thing. Anyway, I’m anticipating that I’ll probably go for a power yoga workout tomorrow, but I may end up deciding to just do yoga for abs or something.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Unexpectedly went out to dinner with some friends last night, which indirectly caused me to get in another morning workout today. I was really planning on doing it in the evening, but I was so exhausted that it just didn’t happen. So I managed to get up a little earlier than I would have otherwise needed to, and get a workout in. Really, it doesn’t feel much different from doing the workout at night, except that I’m a lot less awake. And spend less time observing what I’m doing, which is probably both good and bad. At any rate, I don’t really have a lot more to say about the workout, because I was still mostly asleep while doing it. Barring another case of having something else to do, I’ll probably do a power yoga workout tonight, quite possibly total body since I shouldn’t need to get up in the morning for any reason tomorrow.

Workout: Power Yoga: Flexibility
Author: chaos

I was having a really hard time deciding what workout to do this morning. I was thinking about just doing some more abs, but I really felt that my abs could use a break, and it wasn’t really appealing to me, anyway. I finally decided to go with the flexibility workout. I think that it was a good choice, if only because it showed me that I really need to start getting the non-abs workouts in regularly again. The first time I tried to go into standing forward bend, my hamstrings were really tight. So tight that I probably couldn’t do much more than touch my toes. By the end of the workout, they had loosened up to pretty much normal flexibility, but I think that because I haven’t been stretching them as often, they’ve started getting tighter again. While it doesn’t really seem like I’ve made much progress in that area, I’m sure that I have made some, and I’d definitely rather not have to go through all that again. So I’m going to start making a better effort to get these workouts in more often, and not just go with abs as my lazy option.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Pilates
Author: chaos

I think that I’m starting to get back some of my old motivation. I got the workout in today a little bit later than I originally planned on, but that was largely because I decided to clean up the place a little instead. Which is a bit odd, since I’m not at home, but… sometimes it just has to be done. Anyway, I got in another pilates abs workout, so I’m increasing my frequency for those a little bit, which is something I’ve been wanting to do. It was a really tough workout, but a good one. Even though it occasionally felt like my abs were going to just give up, I managed to stick with it through the whole thing. Just the modified version, of course, but it’s still a significant improvement. And I think my form was better today than ever before, so that’s more improvement. Certainly it’s not coming as quickly as it did for abs yoga or abs balanceball, but it’s getting there, slowly. As long as I can keep up with it. Don’t know if I’ll get another workout in tonight or not… I’m not really planning on it at the moment. I may try to get an abs yoga workout in before work in the morning, although that’s always a problematic idea. Anyway, I’m seemingly getting back into a groove, which I’m sure will be a positive thing in a number of ways.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Just when I thought that I had the situation under control and was starting to get back into the rhythm, it completely collapsed. I’d like to blame excessive sleeping, except my sleeping really hasn’t been excessive. I don’t think that I’ve slept more than 7 hours on any weeknight this week, and not that much, usually. But I’ve been really tired in the later evening, and consequently going to sleep instead of doing yoga. Which is really rather frustrating. I think that I am going to start trying to get a light workout in every day, regardless. Perhaps if I commit to doing either this workout or PY:Stamina if I don’t do something else, I’ll start managing to get the other ones in. If not, at least I’m getting some practice in every day, even if it’s not to the level that I’d prefer.
As for today’s workout, I was pretty well pleased with it. I felt that I was able to maintain a fairly good level of relaxation throughout, and was relatively well focused. It did seem fairly easy, overall, in the physical aspects… I can only assume that the abs pilates workout is having an influence there. Of course, it’s also possible that my body is just making use of the days of unintentional rest, and therefore is a little stronger than it might normally be. Whichever the case, it’s nice, because it’s easier to stay relaxed when you don’t feel that you’re exerting a lot of effort to do poses. I want to work on my relaxation during the pilates workouts, because that hasn’t been very good lately. Anyway, just getting down a few thoughts. Probably going to get to bed soon, and hopefully manage to get up at a fairly decent hour tomorrow.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Pilates
Author: chaos

Well, I think that I’m just going to regard last week as a vacation from yoga. It wasn’t really intended to be, but since that’s what it pretty much ended up being, I’m going to go with it. As long as the vacation doesn’t continue, it’ll work. Anyway, returned once more with an abs pilates workout. I felt very fresh at the beginning of the workout, unsurprisingly, and was doing a good job of maintaining form. Even the leg circles had decent form, and those are usually very difficult for me. The feeling of freshness didn’t really last, though, and by the end of the workout I was definitely feeling the burn again. On the other hand, this is the first time that I’ve been surprised to find that I’m at the end of the workout, so perhaps it wasn’t as bad as my immediate post workout impression would suggest. Regardless, I do feel that it this workout continues to strengthen my abs a lot, which is good, since that’s just about the only thing that I feel I’ve been working on lately. I’m hoping that now that I’ve taken a bit of a break, I’ll be able to start going again consistently. As always, we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m thinking that I’ll pick back up again now.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Went with another basic abs workout today, introducing fellow author mlee to the workout. I’m not really sure what he thought of it, although he did agree afterwards that his abs felt somewhat worked. Mine did as well, actually, more so than usual as of late, but I think that was primarily due to the pilates workout from yesterday. I felt very calm throughout the workout today, although not particularly focused. I don’t know. Take what you can get, I suppose. Anyway, just a brief note, and now to crash for a couple of hours.

Workout: Power Yoga: Flexibility
Author: chaos

I feel that I’m starting to get back into the groove of working out, yet again. Even though I’ve been running short on sleep this week, I haven’t had trouble convincing myself to get the workout in. In fact, today I was having trouble deciding which workout… my top choice of total body didn’t seem like it would be ideal, so I ended up flipping a coin between flexibility and stamina, and came up with flexibility. It went pretty well, I think, and it certainly felt better than the last flexibility workout I did. I think I’ve perhaps been doing a little more random stretching during the last week or so, and maybe that’s helping keep my legs a little more limber. Whatever the case, I didn’t feel the stiffness that I did last time, which certainly made the workout more pleasant. Not much else to report… I felt pretty good about the flexibility portions, which was encouraging. I have been sitting in ways that stretch my legs a little more, which is probably also a factor. Anyway, I seem to be making a reasonable recovery again, and hopefully I can continue with it throughout the rest of the week.

Workout: Power Yoga: Total Body
Author: chaos

Actually, I had a pretty good workout today. I went through the entire total body workout for the first time in quite a while. I tried not to overextend on stretches and stuff, and it seemed like I was successful, but I’ll probably have a better idea of that tomorrow. My muscles didn’t get fatigued in the way they sometimes (often?) do with this workout, which was good. They did get a little tired near the end of the sequence with the warrior III poses, but that was about it.
I’m trying to remember if there was anything of particular note that I wanted to mention. After the workout was over, I fell asleep for an hour or so on the mat. Apparently I was pretty tired, enough so that the music playing on repeat for an hour didn’t really bother me. Anyway, it’s making it difficult to remember if there was anything I really wanted to comment on. The only thing I’m coming up with is that my left knee seemed to enjoy almost the full range of motion today. I’ll probably find out in the next day or two if I overextended with that, too. Anyway, I think I’m going to wrap this up and go crash, and if I happen to think of anything really relevant after I read this tomorrow, I may just edit this entry then.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

I was originally planning on getting a pilates abs workout in tonight, but then I realized that I might not want to expend that much energy before driving. So I decided to flip a coin for it, and came up with abs yoga. Pretty good workout… I think I may have had slightly better form tonight than some other times recently. It’s hard to say for sure, of course. I did have a thought during the end of the workout, wondering if part of the reason I’ve been somewhat wobbly in poses like mountain and standing forward bend is because I’m on a fairly thick rug/carpet combination, which has a lot more give. I’m definitely starting to think that if I were working out on a hardwood floor, I’m probably be less wobbly during those types of poses. Anyway, just getting down a few quick thoughts, and hopefully I’ll actually manage to get some yoga in this weekend.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Well, this is the first time I’ve actually followed the plan that I came up with a week or so ago. I hadn’t yet gotten in a workout tonight, but I really wasn’t feeling particularly energetic. So I ended up deciding to just go simple, and do another abs yoga workout. Pretty standard, although I definitely think that I’ve been improving my form a little bit. Slight tweaks which feel like they’re targeting my abs a little more effectively. So that’s a good thing.
Spent a little bit of time reading over the last couple of entries as well. I don’t know that I’ve really come up with anything in particular that I wanted to say, but I did note that my left knee certainly didn’t feel like I had strained it or anything. My legs (and particularly my hamstrings) were a bit sore the day after the total body workout, but not nearly as much as they could have been, and often have been in the past. So it appears that every once in a while, I do manage to successfully practice restraint. For tonight, I’m just pleased to have actually gotten a workout in, and will try for something a little more vigorous tomorrow.

Workout: Power Yoga: Strength
Author: chaos

This workout finished out the first week of having a workout every day that I’ve had in quite a while. It’s definitely good to be getting back in the groove again. I think there’s a good chance that I’ll be able to finish out the rest of the month with workouts now. The weekends have been a bit of a stopper in the last month or so, but I think that I have that worked out now.
Today’s workout went pretty well… I was reading through some of my entries from July, and renewing my knowledge of some things that I came up with then. One, which I tried to work on today, was the integration of breath and movement. It went reasonably well, not completely throughout the workout, but for a good portion of it. Particularly in the standing motions from mountain pose to standing forward bend, it’s fairly easy for me to do. After that, I have a greater tendency to forget. Something to get back to working on, hopefully. For now, another good day, and a greater sense of continuity in the practice.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Pilates
Author: chaos

I realized that it had been almost a week since I last did a pilates workout, so that’s what I went with tonight. It went pretty well, although it’s still quite difficult. While I was going along, I was doing the double leg lift and thinking, “Hmmm, this doesn’t seem as difficult as usual…” and then I realized that I had forgotten to lift my head and shoulders back off the floor. Oops. It’s still difficult that way, just not as much so. But even though it’s still quite painful and hard, I do think that I’m slowly improving. Perhaps by the end of the year I’ll be good at the modified version of the workout. Maybe sooner, but it’s hard to say. It seems like it’s taking forever. At least I should have some pretty killer abs when I do get there. Anyway, I’ll most likely try to get in one of the other workouts tomorrow, possibly even one of the YfS sessions.

Workout: Power Yoga: Stamina
Author: chaos

Following the plan once again tonight. I was hoping to get a good workout in, but I seem to have acquired a bit of a cold, or something. Nothing major, at least not yet, but after a long day of work, it does make me feel a bit more worn down than I might otherwise. I was actively considering going to sleep, and actually took a short nap, but then woke up at least somewhat refreshed, and decided that I should really get a workout in. So I decided that following the plan was perhaps the best course of action, and in an effort to reduce the amount of times I do the abs workouts as a fallback, I went with the stamina workout. It still feels really light, but on the other hand, it did feel good to get it in. I think just maintaining the consistent schedule is more important right at the moment than necessarily having a challenging workout. Anyway, I’ll try and get something in tomorrow night, but if I start feeling less well, I might take tomorrow off and try to get a lot of sleep instead.

Workout: Power Yoga: Flexibility
Author: chaos

Another flexibility workout tonight. I didn’t really have much of a sense for which workout I felt like doing, but this certainly didn’t seem to be a bad choice. Total body was tempting, but seemed like it might be a bit much. Yoga for Strength was also tempting, but I felt a bit more like doing something with a quicker pace.
Anyway, tonight’s workout was decent. Nothing special in terms of poses. I was somewhat trying to work on integrating breath and movement, but was having a hard time staying focused on the idea. Which wasn’t all that bad… I definitely noticed that I was certainly getting good synchronization between the two, and felt somewhat integrated, but not entirely. Not really sure what to make of that, but I think it was a combination of the slight illness and moderate fatigue.
The only other item of real note is that I think my flexibility is very slowly improving. It’s been pretty difficult to tell, a lot of the time, especially with my left knee being injured for so long. But I think I’m getting to the point where I can do half lotus, not very well or comfortably, but at least being able to get into the position without too much difficulty. I’m still holding off on actually doing things like that, because the knee, while much much better, is not yet completely healed. And having progressed this far with getting it to heal, I don’t want to push anything too quickly. I may be being overcautious in this regard, but I don’t really think that I am, so it’s a chance I’m willing to take. Anyway, I’ll probably get something abs related in tomorrow, quite likely abs yoga.

Workout: Power Yoga: Strength
Author: chaos

Had an interesting workout tonight. I was originally thinking about doing an abs workout, but decided that I really didn’t feel like it. I think that I actually wanted to do a total body workout, but really didn’t have time for that, and I also somewhat felt like doing this workout, so I decided to go with that. I think part of the reason that I didn’t feel like doing this workout is because my body knew that my shoulders were a bit tired. Not severely so or anything, but definitely noticeable while doing the workout. So the first half of the workout was dominated by that, mostly, with a bit of work with breath/movement integration. Then I briefly experienced understanding, and movements were light and easy. That fairly much lasted throughout the rest of the workout, actually, which was good. I still have no idea how that happened, though… one moment I was doing things, just getting through the workout, the next moment my motions are light, and everything just seems to click. Who knows. Anyway, I’ll probably get in an abs yoga workout tomorrow before driving, but perhaps I’ll do it afterwards, or just skip it altogether.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga
Author: chaos

Went with the anticipated abs yoga workout tonight. I’m lending out my copy of the disc again, so I directed myself through the workout. I think that I do fairly well with it, keeping pretty close to true in the timing and everything. I don’t think that my form really varies, since I don’t typically use the visual guides, anyway, and I’m quite familiar with the audio ones. I did pretty well with keeping my face and everything relaxed today… not quite sure why today in particular, but it’s cool, anyway. Perhaps because I’m somewhat tired, and my mind was disengaging a bit (when it wasn’t actively distracting me, anyway). So that’s another month gone by. It didn’t start off all that well, but I did manage to really pick it up at the end, so hopefully I can continue that into October.