Day 18 - Arms and Legs

W.O.W.

I had two major accomplishments today.

First, I was able to do all 350 situp reps today during the AB routine. Yeah! For those keeping score, that's twice now for me. Unfortunately, that also means that I have set a new pace, and must now challenge myself to always make it thru the grueling 350 reps. I guess the pro's outweigh the con's.

Secondly, and I think this is a HUGE one: I did 80 pullups tonight. Folks, I'm NOT lying here. I did 80 freakin' pullups tonight.

Let me explain. The arms and legs routine has 8 sets of pullups in various conditions. The first week I did 6 pullups per routine, but was only able to make it thru 5 out of the 8 routines (the pullups are interlaced between various leg and cardio routines. So it goes leg reps, then cardio reps, the pullups. Then repeat. 8 times total). Last week I was able to get thru 7 out of the 8 sets, with 2 of the sets I used a small stool to assist me with the pullups.

So I checked my tracker sheet, and last week I did 8 pullups for my first set. When I jumped up there today, I was pretty impressed with how easily 10 reps came for me on the first set. Then the next set, 10 more. And the 3rd set, 10 more. I started thinking...you know, I might be able to do 10 reps for each set.

As I hit the 7th set, I started to wane. But I pushed (or pulled) through it. And finally, for the 8th set, I knew I had to finish strong. When I completed the 10th pullup (aka 80th), I was SOOOOOO stoked! It was such a HUGE milestone for me.

It really shows how mixing up the muscle workouts, aka muscle confusion, can strengthen each muscle group overall. I only do pullups once a week -- but to see that kind of improvement, it is a testimony to the other workouts and routines (like the pushups during yoga) and how my muscles are growing stronger week to week.

I'm kinda bummed. The weight pumping routines (Tuesday and Thursday) will be skipped next week. Oh well, at least I'll have fun with Yoga and Kenpo.

I'm still stuck between 186-189lbs. But my shorts are fitting much, much looser. In fact, I need to start wearing a belt more often. That's a GREAT sign!

Tomorrow is Friday. Woo-hoo! My day off, and my day to spend with Kim. Great things planned! Have fun at work (if you're into that kind of thing!)