Ah, Chest & Back. It’s now the start of week 9. I haven’t done Chest & Back since week 3. I had forgotten just how hard this workout is.
It’s mostly push ups and pull ups, if you recall. I exceeded—by large margins, usually—my counts on all the pull ups. That made me feel quite a bit better. But I think I only exceeded my previous push up count on one of the push up exercises. And two of them, I didn’t even match my last count. I’m pretty sure I’m going deeper on all the push ups, though. That’s something I’ve been working on during the other workouts that contain push ups. So, I’m not disappointed. In all cases, I pushed myself hard. I’m happy with the results.
Of course, since it was a strength training day, that means that Ab Ripper X followed. Now, that was awful. Today was the worst I’ve done at Ab Ripper X in several weeks. Part of the problem was the week and a half off, I’m sure. I had problems the first time after the last Recovery week as well. Also, my legs were a little sore this morning, and that noticeably slowed me down on a couple of the exercises.
It probably sounds like today was a step backwards, instead of forward. Perhaps. I don’t think so. Today just proves that every day your body is different. And that if you want to improve, you have to keep at it, every day. Monday will be another Ab Ripper day. I’m sure I’ll do much better Monday than I did today. As for the Chest & Back part…well, I keep saying that it’s all about form. My form on all of these exercises is much better than it was 9 weeks ago. And that makes the exercises both harder and more beneficial.
Oh. Today I had a Pop-Tart for breakfast. Not the healthiest thing in the world. But I was celebrating the fact that I can have carbs again. With all the vitamin supplements I’m taking, I can afford the occasional meal that’s not very nutritious. My snacks today so far have been apple sauce and crackers. Tomorrow, I’ll likely have a banana and a smoothie of some kind. Nice change of pace from all the protein bars, peanuts, almonds, and cashews I’ve been having the last 8 weeks.
Taking the family to see Brave tonight at the drive-in. I may even have a little bit of popcorn. Celebration!
I think this is likely the best way for me to increase my carbs. I’m having little 100 calorie or less snacks that are more carbs than protein. I had been doing it the other way around. I’ll also add a few more carbs to my meals. I’m still not going to have a giant bowl of pasta, or a big plate of Chinese food with white rice. I’m easing into it. I’ll probably end up a little lower than where Beachbody recommends even still. But I can slowly ramp up and watch my BG, then back off if I start having issues.
Tomorrow, Plyometrics. The week after Recovery week sucks.