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Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball, Advanced Yoga: Hip Opening
Author: chaos

As I expected, I went with abs balanceball today. It was a pretty good workout… I’m not sure if some of the difficulty comes from the fact that my abs are tired from constant activity, or if it’s really just that difficult, but I definitely felt the burn today. I used to think the the beginning of the workout was pretty easy, but it’s been quite a while since I felt that way… I’d like to think that’s because my technique has improved. I still think the middle of the workout is fairly easy, but I think that’s because it actually is. The end is still reasonably tough, though. It’s a good workout.
Anyway, after the balanceball workout, decided to go ahead with the hip opening workout. I worry that I’m going to strain something or injure my knee again doing the workout often, but it seems okay thus far. I think I’m going to start subbing something for the log stacking poses, though, at least for now. Maybe extra half lotus practice or something. Although my knee has felt like it could start aching a few times during the last couple of practices, it’s ended up being fine both times, so maybe it’s not a big deal. But caution probably isn’t a bad idea there. I think part of the reason I like this workout is because it forces me to be mentally present, monitoring and adjusting my body, and trying to be very active in opening my body up, particularly the hips (go figure). My sleep schedule is a little out of whack lately, but I’m going to try to get something in a little earlier tomorrow night, maybe YCfA or something like that.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Well, as I rather expected, I was rather sore today, particularly in the legs. This did not stop me from playing Stepmania earlier, however, and it also didn’t stop me from getting in a balanceball abs workout. My goal is to really step up the intensity of my abs workouts for the next couple of months, and that means doing a lot more balanceball and pilates, and a lot less yoga. Today’s workout went fairly well, although I was really hungry before the workout, so my stomach was objecting a little bit. Other than that, though, things were fine… not my best edition of this workout, but a decent one. Not a whole lot more to say about it, really… mostly just another step towards getting into the condition I want to be in, as well as returning to the daily workout routine. I’ll probably go for something more in the yoga realm tomorrow, possibly something like strength, or perhaps a stretching workout if my legs are still all sore.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

I’m so off of my game right now. Just completely lost. Anyway, ended up going way under my original plan, and just did an abs balanceball workout today. The workout was okay, although I think last time was better. I didn’t have quite the same focus today… probably had something to do with the voices in my head telling me that I’m a slacker. Which, of course, they’re quite correct about, which makes them harder to ignore. Blah. Well, anyway, that might change up what I plan to do tomorrow, although perhaps not. I think I’m going to try and get the workout in during the early afternoon, if things are going reasonably well. Which, the way things have been going lately, they won’t be. But, you know, that’s how it goes sometimes, at least when you’re a slacker. Probably if you’re not, as well, but I wouldn’t really know. Oh well. That’s all for now, stay tuned, etc.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Since I was already fairly certain that I wanted to do an abs workout today, I suppose it isn’t terribly surprising that I was able to easily figure out which abs workout I wanted to do. Still, it’s fairly rare for me to have the kind of certainty that I did today. I just knew that the balanceball workout was the one. I like to think of it as my body and mind starting to coordinate, but it’s hard to say how accurate that is. Anyway, fairly decent workout. I was having a little bit of difficulty staying focused at the beginning, but I managed to work through it without too much trouble. The workout didn’t feel quite as killer as it has at times in the past, but that’s probably because my abs have been getting stronger. It’d be nice to think that, anyway, given how much I’ve been working on them the last two months or so. Still have lots of writing to do, so I’m going to keep this short. I’ll probably be sticking with another short workout tomorrow… possibly py:flexibility, but I’ll leave it open for now. Until then…

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Went for a balanceball workout tonight for the first time since May, and only the fourth time this year. I’m a little surprised that I’ve gone for this workout so few times this year, since I think it does a nice job of working the abs. I suppose there are a few factors at play here, the most important being that this workout uses the shoulders a lot more than the other two abs workouts, and since I had shoulder issues for much of the year, that affected the frequency with which I even considered this workout. Another factor is timing, since it’s a slightly noisier workout than the others due to the ball, and so I tend not to go for it late at night, tonight being an exception. There are a couple of other factors, but those are the most relevant.
Anyway, tonight’s workout was pretty decent. I’ve had better editions of this workout, but this one was definitely satisfactory. I tried to stay focused on form throughout, and think I did that pretty well. One of the few things I didn’t like was that I could feel myself tensing up my face and neck at various points… I need to work harder in the future to avoid that. I can definitely feel that my abs had a good workout, so I’m fairly pleased. Hard to say when I’ll get to the pilates abs workout… I thought about it tonight, but didn’t feel like I was ready. I’m feeling kind of tired, though, which might be part of it. Anyway, I’ll just continue playing things by ear for the weekend… I’d like to get some Stepmania in tomorrow, which makes it less likely that I’ll do a long workout, but we’ll see.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

After tonight’s workout, I have a feeling that it’s going to be a little bit longer than I was hoping before my shoulder is healed. Unfortunately, I think that the injury may be a slight strain to the rotator cuff again. While not as severe as the problem I had last year, it is the same shoulder, which certainly isn’t a good thing. I’ll have to look through the archives, and see if I took any particular actions to heal it, besides just avoiding it. I’m pretty sure I didn’t… I seem to recall from glancing through the archives that October of last year basically consisted of abs yoga, free form, and maybe some mini-workouts, because I was rehabilitating the shoulder. I don’t think that the problem will require that this time, but I’ll have to continue to evaluate as I go.
Tonight’s workout was decent. I had to modify one or two of the exercises in order to accommodate the shoulder, but not too many. I felt like I was giving my abs a pretty good workout… I have an easier time focusing during this workout, for some reason. Or at least, that’s the way it seems. Anyway, I was pretty happy with the workout, although a bit tentative about the shoulder. I’ll probably do a little review tonight, and resurrect something free form tomorrow from the days of the last shoulder problem. Hopefully if I’m careful, I can regain full use by the end of the week, and get on with the serious workouts.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball, Yoga Conditioning for Athletes: Mini-workouts
Author: chaos

Got into the balanceball workout for the first time in quite a while today. I was expecting to have some difficulty with it… the last couple of times I remember doing it, I had some problems, especially with the crunches near the beginning. However, either the workout has become much easier, or my abs have gotten much stronger since I last did it. I really didn’t have any problems at all throughout the workout, and I was quite pleased with my form, as well. In fact, there really wasn’t anywhere in the workout where I felt I could have improved my form, which is extremely rare for any workout, if not completely unprecedented. Which is not to say that I couldn’t improve my form… just that I’m not currently aware enough to know how to improve it. Which is kind of a nice thing. I wouldn’t want all my workouts to be like that, certainly, but it’s nice to have the occasional one fall under that category.
Anyway, after I finished off the balanceball workout, I still felt like doing a little more work. I did a quick test to see how downward dog felt, and decided that while I could have tried to press the issue with something like py:strength, it would be a better overall plan to rest up a little today and tomorrow, and then go for something like that on Wednesday. So I decided just to stretch a little with the running and swimming mini-workouts. My right tailbone has been feeling a little tender lately… I think I’ve been being too aggressive in some of my stretching lately. It’s a problem that I’ve had in the past and, most likely, will have again in the future. It doesn’t change things all that much, really just a note so that I tone things down a bit for a couple of weeks. Anyway, decent light stretching, even if it didn’t feel completely adequate. However, I didn’t eat quite as much today as I probably should have, so I didn’t want to push too much. I’ve been having an interesting experience lately… it seems that if I don’t eat enough, I get really tired and just want to nap. I’ve never had that strong of a correlation between eating and anything else my body does, so it’s pretty weird. I’m not entirely certain what to make of it, to be perfectly honest. Is it possible that my body could finally be starting to correlate eating with energy? A scary proposition. Perhaps the greatest sign of advancing age. Well, I might go for a short total body session to warm up for ultimate tomorrow, or perhaps just a free form workout. Until then…

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Went with the balanceball abs workout today. It went reasonably well, although I had a lot of trouble with the crunch actions at the beginning of the workout. Especially the ones working the obliques. Not quite sure why it was so difficult, but I really wasn’t down with those today. Maybe I’ve just been slacking off too much on abs lately. Anyway, I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to make it through the workout, but it got easier after that… really, it was just that section that was problematic. Still, it felt like a pretty good workout. I’m going to try to head out early today, to hopefully get a relatively decent amount of sleep tonight. A revolutionary thought, to be sure. I have a sense that I’m not going to be sleeping too terribly much this week, though. Anyway, I plan on doing a free form stretching workout too early in the morning, so we’ll see how that goes.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Another balanceball workout. This one went a little bit better than the last time, although it was still fairly tough. I’m really not quite sure why I’ve had so much trouble with abs workouts in the last few weeks… it doesn’t seem like that should really be the case. Although my diet really hasn’t been what it should be, and perhaps that’s starting to have an adverse effect on my performance. I suppose it’s entirely possible that I can’t run on willpower alone, much as I might like to. I think I’ve been getting a little better, but I feel as though my calorie count is still low more often than is really desirable. The days where I really only eat one meal, or don’t eat a proper meal at all, mostly. Snacks do make up for some of that, but in a somewhat suboptimal way, I’m sure. Anyway. Not quite sure if I’m going to manage to get a workout in tomorrow or not, since I’ll be traveling for some portion of the day, and probably flipping my schedule around as well. So I may end up just pushing until Monday morning, and starting the ultimate week cycle.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Got in a balanceball workout for the first time in a couple of months. I’ve been avoiding it because of the shoulder issue, since part of the workout involves raising the ball above your head (horizontally). That seemed like a very bad idea for a shoulder having trouble with rotation, and so I haven’t done this workout. But with the shoulder seemingly freed of the rotation troubles, it seemed like a good time to get back to this workout.
It was fairly tough tonight, especially at the beginning. I’m not quite sure why my abs have been so tired for the last couple of workouts… maybe the DDR I’ve been playing on a more regular basis has been playing into that. I have noticed in the past that DDR uses more abs than I’d necessarily expect, so that could be it. Whatever the case, these last couple of workouts have required a little more effort than I might expect. I was actually somewhat concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to finish the workout, but the middle section is pretty light, so I was able to recover enough to finish out. Actually, I didn’t feel nearly as fatigued after that middle section… not quite sure why. Anyway, it was a fairly good workout, and it felt good to get back another workout that hasn’t been accessible for a couple of months. Hopefully there will be more of those in the upcoming weeks as I get back into the full workout mode.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Went with the anticipated abs balanceball workout today. It went fairly well… I think I felt a little stronger than I have the last few times that I’ve done this workout. That’s probably largely because I haven’t been doing a lot of abs workouts lately. I really need to get back to the point where I do an abs workout with another (short) workout, but finding the time to do that remains tricky. Although I have been dedicating more time to those pursuits in the last week or so, I’m guessing that I won’t do as good of a job with that during the upcoming week. I could be wrong about that, though, since I’ll have a little more free time in the evenings than I’m used to having during my away weeks. At least, that’s the impression that I have right now… we’ll see if it actually works out that way. I suppose that I do have some puzzles that I’m working on, and that may take up more of my time than it would on a more normal week. Anyway. I am continuing to feel the need to step up my practice, so that will be a motivating factor, I think. So there’s a good chance that I’ll at least get in one long session during the week, and possibly even two. I’ll most likely just do short free form sessions at the end of the week, in anticipation of playing ultimate. And hopefully I’ll also manage to keep up with my meditation, which I’ve actually managed to do every night. It doesn’t feel like I’m improving, but I think the process is going to be pretty slow, especially in the beginning, so I just have to stick with it for now. Well, this didn’t end up being much about the workout, but there wasn’t really a whole lot to say, I guess. I do want to try and get a pilates abs workout in during this week as well, so that may happen instead of a long workout. Wait and see, I guess.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Did the anticipated balanceball workout today. It continues to amaze me how difficult this workout manages to be, every time I do it. It’s probably largely because I haven’t been doing enough ab work lately, and so I haven’t been building up my muscles as much as I could be. And I think that as I continue to use better techniques during the workout, I get better isolation than I have in the past. That’s really what it comes down to, I think… isolation of the abs. Particularly the lower abs seem to get a very powerful workout from this routine. The obliques also get a reasonable amount of work, but not nearly as much as the lower abs. I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, another decent workout. I might get another one in very early tomorrow, or perhaps not until tomorrow afternoon or evening. Until then…

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

I went with the anticipated abs balanceball workout today. It’s the first time I’ve done this workout on a hardwood surface, and I was curious as to whether or not it would make any difference. I think it does make some difference, particularly on the poses where you’re lying on your back. I was never quite certain before if I was in neutral spine or not, because I sank into the carpeting somewhat. Now it’s much more clear.
I think my technique continues to improve, in general. The opening part of the workout has been really hard the last few times I’ve done it, and I think it’s because I really push for optimal technique. Which isn’t to say that I don’t later in the workout, but I think that I have a harder time achieving it because I wear out my abs early. Well, perhaps not wear them out, but certainly tire them. I really felt I was getting the most out of the supported crunches today, working the abs hard. That’s still my favorite thing about the balanceball, I think… one can push oneself a little further than one might otherwise be able to do, because the balanceball gives the support to push the muscles that little bit more. Anyway. Back to the full grind tomorrow, although it really doesn’t feel like I’ve spent nearly enough time relaxing for it to be time to return already. But, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Hopefully after I get through the next few weeks, things will calm down a bit more.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Tried to avoid strain on the hamstring again today with a balanceball workout. For the most part, there’s nothing in the workout that would even potentially cause trouble until the end, when there are a few exercises with the legs extended. However, either because of the warmth or because the leg continues to heal, or both, it wasn’t a problem by the time I got to that section. That’s a rather encouraging sign, and hopefully means that the healing process has begun in earnest.
The workout itself was pretty good. I’ve been reading through a lot of my old entries in the last few days… most of them, really. I’ll probably finish that up in the next day or so. Anyway, it just brings back to mind a number of things I’ve thought in the past about breathing and concentration and stuff like that. So I think I was a little more focused today than I have been recently. Also, I was really tuned in to making my abs work, which was good, I think. I might even be a little tender tomorrow from the vigorous ab work. Anyway, things to do and all that, so I’m going to head off for now and take care of those things, and hopefully I’ll be able to get a little more of a stretching workout in tomorrow.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

I wasn’t quite as sure which of the workouts I wanted to do today. I was pretty certain I wanted to do abs, but not which one. I was thinking not pilates, but uncertain as to which of the balanceball or yoga I wished to do. I ended up going with the balanceball workout, largely because it’s pretty much impossible to do that one on the road, and so my opportunities to do it are more limited.
It went pretty well. My breathing was pretty good for it, focusing on keeping my abs tight, properly inhaling and exhaling. This is a good workout for that, because while it does provide a pretty thorough usage of the abs, it’s at a relatively slow pace. I continue to work on my form, striving for improvement. I think I was a little bit better with the poses where I’m lying on my back again today. I really tried to anchor myself down in my abs region, and I think that was effective. Harder, too, as always seems to be the case. Anyway, I’ll probably get a workout in fairly late tomorrow, and then might flip to morning workouts for a few days after that.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

One of the things that I’m really enjoying about my abs workouts lately is that I’m always feeling the effects of the workout while I’m doing it. I don’t really have days where it doesn’t seem like I worked my abs. The particular area in which my abs feel the most worked varies by workout and by day, but it constantly feels like I’m making some sort of improvements.
I think the balanceball workout really concentrates on the deep lower abs for me. Perhaps because the rest of my abs are more worked by the other workouts, that’s the only area I really tend to notice. Today, I definitely noticed. I think I was doing a better job of maintaining neutral spine while doing the exercises lying on the floor. Overall, the building up of the abs seems like a very slow process, but with continual improvements, I imagine that satisfactory results are simply a matter of time.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Another decent workout today. It really amazes me sometimes the way that new things can be learned from a workout repeated so many times. For some reason, this workout in particular seems to constantly reveal ways that I can improve, making it more effective. Perhaps it’s merely because as my abs have grown stronger, I’ve become better at recognizing how I’m using them, and more able to execute on that throughout the length of a workout. Whatever the case, it’s fairly pleasing, and I think this workout will continue to be a fairly regular occurrence in my regimen.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Changed up my workout routine a little to do the workout earlier in the day. That was more due to my schedule for the rest of the day than a particular strategy on my part, although I thought that a change might be helpful. I spent some time since yesterday’s workout reviewing some of my old entries and watching a different video, so that helped renew some of my memories of things to pay attention to, like focus and breathing. I’ve been doing okay with the breathing lately, but my focus has been absolutely terrible. It was a little bit better today… while I want to get to the point where my focus is on the particular thing I’m doing at that moment, having my focus stay within the workout (for the most part) is a definite improvement over my normal focus lately. This was mainly due to my strong focus on breathing… I was really trying to make sure I inhaled into my lower ribcage and chest, and exhaled by pulling my abdomen up and in. I think this is what eventually creates that nice “scooped” abs look, as well as ensuring that you don’t get caught looking like you have a huge gut because you were inhaling into your stomach. That’s part of my theory, anyway. Although I suppose it’s more likely that this is a better way of breathing, and looking better while you’re doing it is just a bonus. Anyway, my schedule for the next day and a half or so might end up being kind of wacky, but I’m sure I’ll manage to get a workout in there at some point.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

Back to the balanceball workout today. I think that I’ve been doing the part near the beginning wrong, and my ribcage has been lifted off of the floor. I’m not entirely certain, because there is supposed to be a small curve in the back when you’re lying there. But I think perhaps I’ve been neglecting to put my ribcage down as much as I could. It’s somewhat difficult to say for sure. But I did attempt to really keep my back on the floor today, and it seemed a little bit more difficult to do things that way. Or at least, it seemed to take a little more abdominal effort, which is the objective in this case. I tried to focus on keeping the abs scooped again today. I was also noticing the similarities between some of the movements and pilates movements. Which is probably good in a way… once I’ve recognized the similarities, I can hopefully use those exercises to learn more about how I’m using my muscles, and improve upon it. Anyway, I’ll be switching back into late night or early morning workouts here for the next week, and possibly a little longer depending on how things go. So I’ll probably get another workout in tonight before I go to sleep. Until then…

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Balanceball
Author: chaos

I seem to have acquired a slight bit of a cold in the last day or two. Nothing serious, more of a sniffle than anything else. I’m vaguely wondering if it’s an effect of mental letdown knowing that I don’t have to be on the go quite as much now. Funny how that works. Not that it’s actually all that important, really. More of a side note than anything else.
Today’s workout went okay. It seemed to be a bit better than last week, anyway. I feel like I’ve recovered from my adventure into the full pilates abs workout, and will be ready to take it on again sometime in the future. Although I was noting that it’s actually been a while since I did the yoga abs workout, so I might try to get that in sometime soon as well. Something else that I’ve noted that I’ve been meaning to comment on is how inhalation tends to correspond to an opening action, and exhalation to a closing action. Which is very useful to remember when sequencing workouts. Anyway, I’ll try to get tomorrow’s workout in a little earlier in the day, and eventually I hope to start getting in multiple workouts in the day again.