When the alarm goes off at 4:45 am, I have two options: 1. Stay in bed, stay fat, stay lazy (or) 2. Get your ass up and get in shape, afterall, round is a shape, but not in shape.
I started today like many other conditioning sessions, by getting the blood flowing on the elliptical machine for 7 minutes, at crossramp 5 and resistance 5. I enjoy my elliptical time, because for the most part, I get time to read for pleasure. Right now I’m reading Primal Body, Primal Mind. There are many good take-a-ways from this book. Especially my reading today, which highlighted some connected dots between gluten sensitivity and ADHD in children…fascinating stuff!
After the elliptical I completed my normal routine of resistance band hip mobility stretches and floor hip stretches.
To warmup for the real training, I chose a spot approximately 25 feet from a starting point and performed the following movements:
Butt-kickers
High-knees
Windmills, 2 rounds
After breaking a good sweat, the actual conditioning begins. Using the same spot, ~25 feet away from a starting point, I sprint to a step up box. Once at the step up box, I work on footwork/side to side stepping drills for about 20 seconds, then I sprint through to the end of the area. Usually I bump into a hanging heavy bag. I completed 5 rounds of this, with ~10 seconds of rest between sets. The rest period was just enough to walk back to the starting point and get set to go again.
After completing 5 rounds of footwork/sprint drills, I rested for 2 minutes. Just enough time to get set up for the next drill.
For the next drill, I sprint through the ~25 foot marker by using a 9lb medicine ball. After sprinting through, I hustle back to the medicine ball and slam it in to the floor x 10. Then, I sprint back to the original starting point. Once back at the starting point, I set my stopwatch for 30 seconds and repeat, for a total of 5 rounds.
Lastly, I worked on some abdominal strengthening exercises. I use a 1olb medicine ball and lie on the floor with my torso and feet in the air. I then bounce the medicine ball side to side for reps. Today I completed 3 rounds of 50/30/25 reps with 30 seconds of rest between rounds.
To finish up, I go back to the elliptical and set the crossramp at 7, height at 7 for 7 minutes. After the elliptical, I repeat the same stretching movements with the resistance band and floor stretches.
I feel my cardiovascular capacity increasing over time. The evidence is: the sprinting movements now require less recovery time, than a few weeks ago. I’m still planning to lean down to 215 and gain muscle at that weight. Like I said before, Lean and Mean and 215.
Looking forward
