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Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Ended up taking the day off yesterday. A number of factors, but mostly just that I was really exhausted by the end of the day, due to getting up way too early and not sleeping all that much. Not for any particular reason, either, which was kind of annoying. Anyway, played some Stepmania tonight, and then went for the pilates intermediate mat workout. Fairly decent workout… I was feeling a bit mentally tired during it, which helped my focus somewhat tonight, I think. The only problem was later in the workout, my leg muscles were starting to cramp. Nothing major, but a bit of an annoyance, and a slight concern. I think the problem was that I hadn’t consumed enough water during Stepmania. I drank some water right afterwards and then tried to do the hip opening workout, but I started cramping again, so I decided to abort that. I might go for it tomorrow, but I might not. I think tomorrow I’ll probably go for the full YCfA workout, as a nice stretch before the first day of ultimate season on Tuesday. So it’s probably not all that likely that I’ll do the hip opening workout. Maybe Tuesday sometime, possibly after ultimate. Anyway, that’s all for now.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout, Power Yoga: Stamina
Author: chaos

I decided to try something a little bit different today. I started off my exercise with the pilates intermediate mat workout. That went pretty well, although I could certainly feel it in the abs. I’ll probably actually need to take a day or two off from abs work pretty soon to let them recover a bit. Possibly after tomorrow. I was pretty happy with the workout, though… felt like I did a pretty good job of staying in form. I still don’t like the leg kicks much, though. Anyway, after that I did some Stepmania. Wasn’t the greatest of sessions, but not too bad. Passed Dynamite Rave, which is a nine-footer, only the second one I’ve managed to pass, and definitely harder than the other one I’ve passed. After that, I did py:stamina for a stretching and cooling workout. I think it worked fairly well as that… notably, I did feel a little bit tired during it, which certainly isn’t from the workout itself. Nothing major, but noticeable. Anyway… I think I’ll probably go in for a little bit of slow work tomorrow, maybe yoga abs and YfS:s1, or something like that. Quite possibly take the day off from Stepmania, I think my toes could use a bit of healing time.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Wasn’t really feeling in the mood for a workout today, but I decided to press past that and get a workout in anyway. Total body seemed somewhat ambitious, particularly considering the motivation issues, so I just went with the intermediate mat workout. It went fairly decently, although it emphasized the need for me to start hitting the abs harder again. I swear, take a month off and you have to build everything back up again. Anyway, I held to it pretty well until the teaser, which is almost always a problem, so it’s not that surprising. Still, I think I can get to the point where I can cruise through this workout, or at least be solid throughout. Something else to aim for in the next few months. Definitely going to try for the total body workout tomorrow, presuming I’m not still plagued by motivation issues. Until then…

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Worked with my projected options from yesterday, and went with the pilates intermediate mat workout today. I briefly considered that it would be nice to do a longer workout, but as I suspected, I was feeling far too fatigued to actually pull that off. I’m discovering that planning in advance has its uses. I’m also rediscovering that planning to get in a daily workout helps assure that I actually get said workout in. As tired as I was feeling tonight, I’m not certain I’d have gotten the workout in if I weren’t back into the daily groove. Which is a good groove to be in, definitely. A little uncertain what I want to do for tomorrow… I’d like to get a longer workout in one of these days, but I’m not sure that tomorrow is going to be that day. I suppose if it’s not, I’ll just default to one of the strength workouts. Although things are probably going to be pretty busy for the next month, I want to stay on the offensive in terms of building up to heavier workouts. Anyway, that’s all for now, stay tuned and all that.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Been doing a lot of studying the past couple of days, which is why I was uncertain if and when I’d get a workout in this weekend. But I was definitely feeling the need to take a break, so I decided to get some pilates work in. I considered doing the py:strength workout, but I didn’t feel like I really wanted to do strength training tonight. Soon, I’ll be getting back into that more heavily, particularly after the season ends, but not yet. It was a decent workout, not great, some parts better than in the past, some not quite as good. Rockers were a little less solid than usual, but I did get through the series of five exercises with decent form. I still don’t really like the leg kicks… definitely my least favorite part of any pilates workout. But it was good to get the workout in, relax my mind a little bit and hopefully refresh my energy for some more studying. Fairly unlikely I’ll do anything tomorrow, although perhaps a short workout if I want another break.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Went in for the intermediate pilates workout today. It was fairly tough… well, in some ways. Mostly it was just things I haven’t done for a while, and I did work up quite a bit of a sweat while doing it. It went pretty well, although I had trouble with the double leg raises and the teaser, like always. My right shoulder did protest a little bit on the wide arm stretch/rotation movements, like the saw and the spine twist. Just a little achy with the full extension. The only other thing of note was that my right quad was acting up a little bit, as if it wanted to cramp. I noticed that a little bit yesterday, as well. I think I just need to make sure to stretch it out well in the next couple of workouts. However, I was definitely feeling the need to get a workout in tonight, which is a very good sign… I probably haven’t really felt like that for a month or more, not counting vacation. Even then I think it was only because I knew I should get one in, more than a real desire to do so. Anyway, hope the trend continues, and will try to get another one in tomorrow night.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout, Power Yoga: Stamina
Author: chaos

As I predicted, I went with the intermediate mat workout today. I was pretty pleased with it… I think I’m starting to get this pilates stuff down fairly well. Not everything, of course. I don’t like my form on the leg circles, for instance. But I’m not sure that I possess the necessary flexibility to do them as well as I’d like. Teaser is still tough, but I’m getting better. Side kicks are probably the most difficult thing for me… I’m not quite sure I’m setting myself up for them properly. I need to study the video again, I think. However, I’m getting really good with the rockers. It was hard to imagine when I first started doing pilates that I’d ever have that much control on a rocker, but it isn’t really that hard. Or so it seems now. The series of five stuff is still tough, but as long as I keep at it, I’m sure I’ll eventually be able to do that completely, too. At any rate, if I just continue trying to work on my form and make improvements, I’m sure that I’ll eventually be pretty good with this stuff.
I was feeling a little bit tired after the pilates workout, but in my quest for better and more complete workouts, I didn’t want to just do the single workout tonight, knowing that I’ll probably just do stretching workouts tomorrow. However, I was feeling enough fatigue that I didn’t want a particularly challenging workout, either. So I decided to just do a simple py:stamina workout. I tried to focus on the breath/movement integration. I wasn’t particularly successful with it, but it’s good just to remember to attempt it periodically. Eventually, I may actually be able to really use that throughout a workout. Let’s see… I noticed that my mat was kind of slippery after having already done the pilates workout on it. I need to wash the mat one of these days. Hmmm… tomorrow wouldn’t be a bad time, actually, but I doubt I’ll get to it. Today would have been good. Anyway, something I should try to remember to do fairly soon. I might have to start using two mats during the summer, given how much I sweat during hard workouts. Fortunately, I have enough mats to do that without a problem. Hopefully that will keep slippery mats from causing too many problems during workouts. I’d also like to note that lost in all my complaining about the tailbone soreness is the fact that my right knee seems to have mostly healed. I’m now able to do one-legged forward bends with my leg almost back all the way to where it should be. This is a relatively new development, probably within the last month. It’s pretty cool, though, since I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to recover. I think my emphasis on increasing my hip flexibility has really helped the cause, though, and will hopefully continue to help me protect my knees and get more out of my workouts.

Workout: Abs Conditioning: Yoga, Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

I was feeling a little unmotivated about getting the workout in today, and decided that my initial thoughts for workouts were probably a little too aggressive. I considered just doing one of the two workouts, but really didn’t feel like doing either of them. In the end, I decided to do a pilates workout and abs yoga, as opposed to the other way around.
I started out with the pilates workout. It was pretty similar to last time, although not quite as good. Actually, I’m not sure what was really not as good about it… I guess that I just didn’t feel like the workout was quite as tight as last time, although a few of the exercises seemed better. I don’t think the side kicks went as well, though, which was a little disappointing. Anyway, after that I rolled into the abs yoga workout. It was definitely a little tougher than normal, following the pilates workout. While this pilates workout isn’t quite as intense as the abs pilates workout, it still gives the abs a decent workout. At one point I really thought I wasn’t going to make it through the workout, but then I had a bit of a break in effort, and recovered enough to finish up. I think it’s only the second or third time that I’ve done the abs workout after I did the other workout… definitely makes it hurt a little more. I’m not sure whether or not that’s a good thing. For tomorrow, I’ll probably do some free form before ultimate, although I might do py:flexibility or some mini-workouts if I’m so inspired.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Had a pretty good pilates workout today. I was expecting whatever workout I did to hurt a little bit, just because I was mildly sore all over today. But this one wasn’t bad at all. As an added bonus, I was doing really well with the workout. I’d say that this was probably my best overall pilates workout, ever. The rockers were pretty easy, the leg circles were decent, and even the teaser wasn’t all that bad. The side kick series still needs work, but even that’s getting better. I think I have some problems with that because my hips either aren’t flexible enough, or just aren’t trained in those motions. It’s probably the latter, since almost all of the pilates moves were difficult when I first learned them. I considered doing a few mini-workouts, but decided just to rest up tonight, and hopefully get a good workout in tomorrow. So until then…

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Well, I didn’t really feel like doing a long workout tonight. Really, I wasn’t quite sure what I felt like doing. Something a little bit different from the norm. Since I have been doing a little bit of work on the blog (unfortunately, a little more than I intended), I was also reading through some of my old entries. I noticed that it had been quite a while since I last did the intermediate mat workout for pilates, and since I had been thinking recently that perhaps I should reintegrate pilates into the rotation, this seemed like a decent time to do that.
My only concern going in to the workout was that I’d have trouble due to having done the pilates abs workout yesterday. Surprisingly, I seem to have mostly recovered from that… the only part of the workout that felt really difficult today due to that was the double leg raise, and that’s always difficult. I think that I had better form for it today than I usually do, probably because I wasn’t as tired as I normally am. Actually, I felt I improved my form today on a few things. Unfortunately, teaser wasn’t one of them. That was also probably a victim of fatigue from yesterday, although to be honest, I’ve yet to ever do the teaser particularly well. Of course, it’s always later in the workout, which may be the primary contributing factor to that. I felt I did a little bit better with the side kick section, which is always a little difficult for me. Anyway, it was a pretty decent workout, and hopefully I’ll start getting to it a little more often in the future.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Went for the another pilates workout tonight. I really felt like doing this workout, for some reason. My legs have been a little sore all day, which should have encouraged me to do a yoga workout, but it’s hard to argue with what you feel like doing. It went a little bit better than last time… although the teaser was still a little problematic. I have problem with the side kick stuff still, but I’m getting better. I’m not sure my alignment is quite right… I need to examine the video a little more closely. I’ll probably go in for another workout in the morning, and possibly one tomorrow evening, although that’s somewhat less likely.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Went back to a pilates workout for the first time in a while today. I have to admit that it was a little tough… open leg rockers weren’t good, and the teaser was pretty much a failure. The teaser was interesting, because I was having trouble not due to my abs, but because one of the previous exercises had really tired out my hips. So my hips weren’t holding up. Kind of weird.
Other than that, things went fairly well. I felt like I was doing a good job overall of keeping my motions tight, although there was some trouble with the section where I was lying on my side and kicking my legs. I need to take more time with that and really focus to get it right, I think. Anyway. Not too sure what I’ll do tomorrow, although I think I’ll probably try to get a balanceball workout in. Might depend on how my abs feel, though. Until then…

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Actually managed to avoid injuring myself during ultimate yesterday. I think the extra stretching I’ve done over the last week, plus the fact that it was quite warm, helped keep my muscles away from any real danger. Not that I’m not quite capable of damaging myself in other ways, but I avoided those as well.
So this workout was a bit of stretching those muscles out, trying to avoid having them get stiff over the next day or two. I’m somewhat deliciously sore all over, partly from ultimate and partly from starting to move boxes and furniture, I think. Yes, it’s that time again, time to move the household. At least this time it shouldn’t have to be done again for another two years or so.
My focus has been quite good for this workout the last three or four times I’ve done it. Certainly that’s partly the overall enhanced focus, but I think that I get a special bonus on this workout, probably because I’m a little less familiar with it, and so I pay more attention. Whatever the reason, I think that it’s really helping me with my pilates form, as well as giving me good workouts. Anyway. I’ll probably try and get something in later tonight, probably after doing some more moving and maybe some painting.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

For some reason, I had trouble actually getting to the workout tonight. I fully intended to get to it several hours ago, but found myself caught up in reading a book, and after I finished the book, I was feeling a little lethargic. I had almost decided to just skip the workout and go to sleep, but decided I’d go ahead and let the decision be random. It called for a workout, so that’s what I did.
I think it went pretty well. I definitely like the effect that added focus and concentration is having on my workouts. Doing the rockers is so much easier when I’m really focusing on them. Which is not to say that I’m perfect at them, but much better than when I wasn’t really focusing. *shrug* It’s just one of those things, I guess. Everything is better when I’m paying attention to it… it’s just a matter of training the mind to stay focused on the workout. Hopefully as I do it more often, consistently, it will become easier. Not entirely certain what tomorrow brings in terms of activity, but I hope to find the time to get a good workout in, possibly total body or the full yoga for athletes workout.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Continued to try and rest up my body a little today. I suppose it’s not resting, technically, but it seems like it since I avoid working the areas that are strained. Today’s workout actually worked my shoulders a little bit more than I would have expected, but I think I avoided overly straining it.
Overall, I’m continuing to work on my form. Some of the motions are still somewhat foreign to me, but I’m learning them. I think there will still be work to do for quite a while, though. My pilates stance is improving, but moving my legs with my upper body stationary is still somewhat difficult. At least, without using my arm to steady myself. In particular, I’m thinking of the sequence of leg kicks forward and back, where I tend to tilt my body a little. It’s getting better, but it’ll still be some time before it’s really good, I think. I’ll probably try and get some ab work in tomorrow, and then hopefully my shoulder will be healed enough to get back into yoga more regularly.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

This was the workout that I was originally planning on doing yesterday, so I went ahead and got it in today. Only the second time that I’ve done it, but I’m starting to like it… I was able to pay more attention this time, and catch some of the nuances that I missed last time. I definitely think it’s a little more instructional than either of the other pilates workouts that I periodically do. So I think it’s helping me improve my overall pilates motions, which of course provides for better workouts.
Today I felt the burn a little bit more than last time, probably in part because of the added nuance and in part because I’m just somewhat worn down right now. If I were going to take a break from workouts, this would probably be about the time to do it. But I’m hoping that I won’t have to, especially if I stick with a lot of pilates and abs workouts for the time being. That’s currently my plan, with the occasional light yoga workout thrown in, but nothing particularly straining. Anyway, it was a fairly decent workout tonight, I was pleased with it if not necessarily with my execution. I’ll probably get in an abs workout tomorrow night and then flip to a late morning workout the next day to warm up for ultimate.

Workout: Intermediate Mat Workout
Author: chaos

Finally checked out the intermediate mat workout today. I’ve actually had this workout since late January, but have never managed to get around to doing it before. This was in part because I got two other workouts at the same time, and this one got neglected, and in part because I’ve been doing less pilates in the last couple of months as I’ve been more drawn to the yoga.
Anyway, the workout was pretty decent. It incorporates many of the elements that I’m already familiar with from the other pilates workouts, adding maybe one or two exercises I haven’t seen before. One of the big advantages I think it has over the others, though, is that the explanations for how to hold the body while doing the exercises are somewhat better. At least, it seems that way. Admittedly, for the ones that I have been doing in the past, it seemed that I was doing them correctly, but it was helpful for the less familiar ones. Overall I think it went pretty well, although trying to hold my torso in place while scissoring my legs just above the ground was proving to be quite challenging. I didn’t do terribly well with it, but that’s fine… it just shows I still have work to do.
I briefly tested my shoulder today before going to the pilates workout, and it still seems a bit tender. So I’ll probably continue trying to rest it for at least another day or two, depending on how it feels before workout time. With that in mind, probably another pilates or abs workout tomorrow.