FOCUS T25 - WEEK 4 - Week of 11/11/2013

MONDAY - NOVEMBER 11, 2013 - Alpha Cardio

I had to make a decision today on this round of T25. P90X3 is coming out shortly, and most people will be starting it on the first week of the new year. I kind of wanted to start along with them, but that meant cutting this T25 round down to 9 weeks instead of the 13 I'd planned. Insanity is 9 weeks and the Asylum programs were only 4 weeks, so I strongly considered it. This meant each of the 3 phases of T25 would only be 3 weeks instead of 4, and I'd be starting the Beta Phase today instead of doing my 4th week of the Alpha Phase. I decided to continue with this for the 90 days (13 weeks), so I did Alpha Cardio again today. The inevitable happened. I went all out at the start today and tweaked my right calf muscle about 4 minutes in. I got through the remaining 21 minutes of the workout, but I was cautious. All in all, I did well, even though I had to miss a few reps here and there because I was tired.

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned: 301; Avg Heart Rate: 133; Max Heart Rate: 158.


TUESDAY - NOVEMBER 12, 2013 - Speed 1.0

I've been feeling much, much better lately because I've been eating better for over a week. I really went after this workout today, but was still mindful of my tweaked right calf muscle. Overall, I did well. I did very little "resting", but noticed I'm not as fast as they are on some of the fast foot movements. I'm not sure I ever will be, but it's something to shoot for.

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned: 279; Avg Heart Rate: 127; Max Heart Rate: 157.


WEDNESDAY - NOVEMBER 13, 2013 - Total Body Circuit

This is a tough workout, even at 25 minutes. It was very hectic at work today. I only had one half of a leftover bagel for lunch and stayed late to try and catch up on some work. Normally when I get home I relax for an hour or so before getting into the workout, but not today. I got right into it. I still have a hard time getting all the pushup and plank moves in, but I did my best. A few times I probably rested for a few seconds when I might have been able to push through, but for the most part I tried to keep going. I feel good afterwards and am glad I got it done early.

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned: 314; Avg Heart Rate: 136; Max Heart Rate: 157.


THURSDAY - NOVEMBER 14, 2013 - Stretch

I'm still feeling good. Still trying to eat good. I'm not sure if all that had anything to do with it, but I found I had better balance today, and I even felt a bit more flexible. Keep it going!

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned: 132; Avg Heart Rate: 94; Max Heart Rate: 107.


FRIDAY - NOVEMBER 15, 2013 - Ab Intervals

Had some leftover birthday cake at work today, but otherwise still feeling good. This workout went well also. I don't seem to be as sluggish or laboring through the workouts lately. I'm definitely doing more. A lot of it is because I'm getting used to the individual workouts, but I'm sure the better eating is helping too.

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned:223; Avg Heart Rate: 115; Max Heart Rate: 152.


SATURDAY - NOVEMBER 16, 2013 - Lower Focus

This was my last workout of the Alpha phase. I did OK on it. I'd been feeling great all week, but today I was really tired and sluggish. I'm not sure why. I can't believe it's because I had a few pieces of cake yesterday.

Time: 25 minutes; Calories Burned: 218; Avg Heart Rate: 113; Max Heart Rate: 138.


SUNDAY - NOVEMBER 17, 2013 - Rest


SUNDAY WEIGH-IN
Weight: 195.2 (+3.2 lbs)
Body Fat: 21.2% (+0.4%)

No idea where that came from. I just have to really watch myself.


THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

I'm a bit baffled by the big weight increase, but I know I ate pretty well for most of the week. I'll just continue with that thought process, and it'll work itself out. Except for Saturday, I felt great all week. I'm not going to stress over it. I'm done with the Alpha phase. It was probably more challenging than I thought going into the program. Next week starts 4 weeks of the Beta phase. I'm looking forward to seeing how much harder it is.