Pain report
This morning I jogged a mile at the track.
(afternoon)
Crucifix Crunch - 3 sets of 15 reps slow & controlled. Abs did the work, but weren't sore afterwards.
Core Hold Series (immediate transitions)
Form 1 - Today I positioned my arms parallel to my legs at about a 20-30 degree angle to the floor. I felt the back start to lower to the ground with each breath starting around breath 26, but I did keep my back off the floor through breath 30.
Form 2 - Back hit the floor when I transitioned (as always). I kept my feet low to the floor and really focused on the keeping the abs tight. Lower back stayed flat to the floor. 30 breaths done.
Form 3 - Today I kept my kicks were all over the place (high and low). I was more focused on keeping the lower back as low the floor as possible.
When I finished today, the abs weren't even sore (again). It feels strange - especially as I am having to struggle a bit to keep the abs as tight as possible. They are working, but not sore when I'm done.
Side planks
Left side - Today I could somewhat feel the obliques isolated and working while I was doing the reps. Shoulder started signalling pain as I reached rep 20 and got worse with each successive rep, so I stopped after rep 25.
Right side - 25 reps. Slightly less shoulder pain than the left side.
Horse Stance - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
Today, I found the correct form right away. I was mentally more relaxed today than normal. I made a conscious effort not to let the exercise intimidate me. Instead of treading the trauma of previous efforts, I told myself that my muscles were getting stronger and it would be easier today. I counted my breaths. I didn't even feel muscles burning or straining until breath 30 or so. Knees/legs started to tremble around breath 52 or so. At breath 60, I stood up without using my hands on my knees. Legs are feeling the burn right now, but nowhere near the jello state they usually are after this exercise.
Wall Sit - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
As much easier as the Horse Stance was today than recent attempts, the Wall Sit was harder today than recent attempts. I suspect I didn't rest long enough after the Horse Stance. Quads are burning early. By breath 30, my quads are starting to tremble. By rep 40, the quad burn is getting intense. By rep 50, knees are starting to vibrate modestly as quads are screaming. I mentally want to quit at breath 60, but I push on. Quads are in pain. At breath 70 the pain either plateaus or I'm too numb to notice the difference any more. I quit at breath 80 and shimmy up the wall to standing. Even though the quads were screaming pain, I think I might have been able to push longer if I really put my mind to it.
Bottom Push Up Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
Around breath 29, the slow lowering of the chest/head begins. At breath 35 or so I manage to stop the lowering briefly as I really exert 100% mental effort to keep the muscles engaged. Surprisingly, my triceps are burning today. My chin gets to a couple of hairs off of the ground around breath 42 and the lowering stops. I finish breath 50 before I collapse. I didn't feel my pecs while doing the exercise, but pecs feel sore afterwards. My triceps felt like the weak link today and they were burning pretty good during the exercise.
Bear Crawl Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
Quads were burning mildly after breath 30 or so. Today I was mindful to keep lift my chest (expanding my shoulder blades). Back/shoulders/arms started shaking around breath 60. Shaking got stronger as I went on from breath 70, but upper torso muscles weren't burning or signaling tiredness - they were just spasming. I stop after breath 90. Shoulders are NOT sore which is new.
Iron Bridge - 1 set of 60-90 seconds is MY goal
"easy mode" straight plank bridge - Around breath 18 or so, I could feel my lower back muscles working hard to keep the core tension. Both left and right hamstrings signalled they were on the edge of cramping around that same time and throughout the rest of the hold, but they never did cramp (huzzah!). Around breath 66, the shoulders started trembling. Around breath 80 or so, the trembling got strong enough to cause the head bobbing. I finished at breath 90 and relaxed all the muscles. The shoulders were tender, but much less so than they normally are after this exercise.
Active Dead Hang - Closed grip today. I felt strong after a good rest, but around breath 20, I can feel the muscles tiring/trembling. I think I can push to 25, maybe 30 if I get lucky. However, I stop after breath 22 as my shoulders once again just flared up a sharp pain signal and I didn't want to risk injury. Hands/grip were fine and good to go.
Pronation Lever - I added a new exercise to my routine. YT vid won't embed. Basically rest your forearm on something while holding one end of a dumbbell in your hand. You rotate your hand back and forth slowly (don't let momentum or gravity control the motion).
I didn't count reps today. I just experimented with a dumbbell bar at first and then again with a light 1.25 lb weight on one end. I didn't put a locking nut on to secure the weight. I just used slow and controlled movements to make sure the weight didn't fall off. I could feel a slight burn in the upper forearm so I suppose it was working where it was supposed to. I rotated the weight while exhaling and held it horizontal while inhaling. Probably 20 reps total each arm (more or less).
