Stage 1 Challenge A + Reward

I was so sore last night after my workout. Those lateral pulls at 41kg really got to me. I was worried that I had overdone it which carried on to a worry that I wouldn't be able to complete my Challenge workout ... but I knew that if I didn't make it today, then that would only leave me tomorrow - and there was no way I was going to do both challenge workouts in one day. It's bad enough that I'm doing 3 weights workouts in a row.

Anyway. I should have checked the NROL4W book before I left for the gym just to make sure I knew what to do. All I remember was - use the amount of weight I had for workout 1A and do as many reps as possible ... but I couldn't remember is it as many reps until I can't do them continuously anymore or is it as many reps within a certain time period. [FYI: The book just says to do as many reps as possible so I'm assuming it's until you can't do any consecutive reps in good form.]

I decided to just do as many reps as possible for two minutes per exercise. So how did I find the workout? Challenging!

The first thing I discovered was actually how strong I had become. When I picked up the bar for squats with KG 15 on them (I later realized my starting weight for squats was actually 12 – bad math again on my part!) I had absolutely no trouble putting it on my shoulders and starting. The bar actually felt light! Anyway.

So here’s a quick breakdown

(1 set/as many reps as possible in 2 minutes)

Squats @ 15 kg. – 65 reps

Push-ups – 25 in good form (with some rest)

Seated row @ 20.43 kg – 60 reps

Step-ups @ 5 kg & 4 steps under base step – 45 reps/leg

Prone jackknife – 40 (20 continuous and then 10 + 10)

So that’s it!

The start of each exercise was fine – but the final reps (or rather, the final minute of each exercise) became more difficult as is expected, right?

I was really hoping that I would have been able to do more push-ups. Why are push-ups so tough? I only managed to do 10 in full proper form before taking a rest and somehow completing the next 15. It was frustrating, but I’m definitely going to keep practicing to improve them while I’m away.

However, did you notice the prone jackknives? I did 20 in a row!! I was very happy with that. I kept telling myself – come on, you can do this! I would have loved to have done 50 … but I think 40 is a pretty good number considering that it was only just over a month (July 12) that I could barely do 8 in a row without serious difficulty!

I’m glad I chose to have a 2-minute limit. This way when I get back from holiday I can try the workout again and see where I stand before I start Stage 2 …

I’m nervous about tomorrow’s workout because I have had no rest days in between my strength training (and barely any sleep). Still, I’m so close to hitting my pre-travel workout targets … I have to make it.

Since I was so sore after yesterday’s workout and I knew that finishing two more weight training sessions would be taxing on my body I had booked a massage at the spa that is attached to my gym. It was a great hour to have for myself to just try and relax plus the masseuse I go to is phenomenal! I hadn’t been to her in a while and I was really happy when she said – Wow, you have so much muscle now! She also did say – You have lots and lots of tension (surprise, surprise). She did a great job and working out some of those tense knots in my back and shoulders … I really should make a point of going to her more regularly … anyway, it was a nice little treat and hopefully that bit of relaxation will help me through tomorrow’s workout as well!