ROUND 7 - WEEK 13

This is a Recovery Week

MONDAY - February 14, 2011 - Yoga X
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Time: 1:34:58
Calories Burned: 738
Avg Heart Rate: 109
Max Heart Rate: 142

I felt pretty strong going in, and wanted to make this a good workout. I succeeded. It was one of my best Yoga X workouts ever. My mind didn't wander too much, and during the Vinyasas section I was able to concentrate on each move and tried to improve my balance my taking the weight off my inner heel and instead putting it on the front outer part of the foot. This was difficult to get used to, but it seemed to work. On the back foot of some of the moves I tried to do the same thing, but it was hard to keep my foot from rolling inwards. My ankles just don't bend that way. However, it's all a starting point, and I'll keep working at it. I pushed it during the second half of the workout also. My balance postures were OK, but not great, but everything else went well. I even held Crane for quite a bit of time. All in all, the extra effort seemed to pay off, as I burned 738 calories, which I believe is the most I've burned on any workout this round.

TUESDAY - February 15, 2011 - Core Synergistics
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Time: 57:49
Calories Burned: 577
Avg Heart Rate: 123
Max Heart Rate: 157

A good Core Synergistics workout. I did my best on all the moves. Can't ask for more than that.

WEDNESDAY - February 16, 2011 - Cardio X (Modified)
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MODIFICATION: Skipped the Yoga section. Did the Kenpo, Plyo, Core sections, then repeated them.
Time: 58:35
Calories Burned: 519
Avg Heart Rate: 115
Max Heart Rate: 150

I can't say the effort wasn't there, but the energy certainly wasn't. I just had no gas from the get go. I don't think I've been eating a lot of carbs lately, so that might have had something to do with it. I really noticed it in my Swing Kicks, as I felt like I was in slow motion.

THURSDAY - February 17, 2011 - X Stretch
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Time: 57:46
Calories Burned: 212
Avg Heart Rate: 86
Max Heart Rate: 106

Everything went pretty good. I had a bit of a problem getting back on Camel becuse my quads were tight, but I was able to get flat on my back during the last 10 seconds or so of Hero Pose. I also got my stomach on the floor in Frog.

FRIDAY - February 18, 2011 - Core Synergistics
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Time: 57:44
Calories Burned: 611
Avg Heart Rate: 126
Max Heart Rate: 160

Core is one workout where I'm pretty consistent. I'm usually doing the same number of reps with the same amount of weight, and I end up burning somewhere around 580-600 calories. Today was no exception. I did a few extra Staggered Hands Pushups to get things started, and a few extra reps on a few other moves, so it was somewhat of an improvement. It's still not my favorite workout, but overall it went well. The energy was there and I did my best.

SATURDAY - February 19, 2011 - Yoga X
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Time: 1:36:21
Calories Burned: 735
Avg Heart Rate: 108
Max Heart Rate: 139

My last workout of the Round. I wanted to finish it off good and continue the momentum from Monday's excellent Yoga X workout. I did that. I continued working on my balance points, and they seemed to become more natural. Except for a minor interruption during Yoga Belly 7, my mind didn't wander too much. I held both Warrior 3 poses perfectly, and I only tapped the floor once during any of the Half-Moons (the last one). During the Balance Postures, I held all the ones on the right leg perfectly. I stuggled a bit on my leg leg ones, but they were better than usual. Crane wasn't as good, so I guess I'm not perfect, but overall I'm very, very happy I was able to build on Monday's effort and finish the Round off strong. I'll post my final thoughts on the Round tomorrow along with my Weigh In results.

SUNDAY - February 20, 2011 - Weigh In
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Weight: 181.5 Body Fat: 23.6%

An increase of 1.4 lbs and .2% Body Fat. I don't know where that came from. I thought I ate great this week. The only sweets I had were a few pieces of peanut brittle on Thursday. I did have a protein bar each day for breakfast instead of my egg and turkey bacon on whole wheat english muffin. I also had another protein bar later in the day a few times, so maybe that's it. I also had two meals of pasta this week, and two cans of Bush's Baked Beans (one with chicken breasts and the other with pasta), so it might be one or both of those. I guess I'm going to have to figure out what it is because this is the second time this round I thought I ate good for the week and added on a bit of weight. Obviously I'm not happy with it, but I could, and will, look at it as an eye opener and an opportunity to find the problem, and therefore a solution.

ROUND 7 THOUGHTS
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I started the Round at 176.9 lbs with 22.7% body fat and finished it at 181.5 lbs and 23.6% body fat. As mentioned above, I'm not very happy with those results, and also a bit confused, but I will look for reasons and solutions. I'm sure part of it is the time of year, in that I'm not as active as I am during the spring, summer, and fall.

With that aside, I thought it was a good round. I started out slow in a few areas, notably pullups, but increased my strength in a lot of those areas. I used heavier weights on a lot of moves, I thought my Yoga improved, especially over that last week, and I was even able to trust myself to do some clap pushups. I also cut down my pause time on a few of the routines, which is also good.

The most important thing, however, is that I feel good about myself. Even though I've been doing this for almost 3 years, it's still not easy, and I feel like I accomplished something wonderful after each workout. That's the reason I continue. I still love it.

Right now, I'm concerned about my left knee, and am not sure where to go from here if it doesn't get better. I'm going to start my between rounds maintenance schedule and see how it reacts. Hopefully, it will get better.