Another Run and Week 3 of 5-3-1

 I had a decent weekend with eating well and getting in another run on Sunday.  I went for 24 minutes of run/walk with 1 minute run, 1 minute walk x 12.  Legs were a little sore from the run on Friday when I ventured out on Sunday, so I'm glad I went with the 1:1 style as the calves felt a bit beat up.

Monday was the start of Week 3 of my 5-3-1 workout plan for the military press.  Over the past few weeks, I've been getting in some swings after each set of presses. With five sets in my program, I'll get 40 swings in after each set and end up with 200 swings in.  I usually add another 100 to 200 swings at the end of it.  

After two warm-up sets of 5, I did the main 3 sets of 5-3-1 with 90, 105, & 115 on the final 3 sets for 5 reps, 3 reps and a max of 7 at 115.  I like how the last set is a little test for you at the end of it.  My estimated max is 140 with the 115 for 7 reps punched into my estimate equation. I've went from 120 when I started in January to 130 in February and 135 at the start of March.  Now towards the end of March I'm at 140 as the estimate.  Each time I do this 5-3-1 plan I get more impressed by it. 

Weight loss is going well too.  I hit the 12 pound loss mark since my doctor visit about 5 weeks ago now.  I credit a lot of things to that, mostly just tracking my diet and seeing where that is every day and week.  My training has increased well with more frequency and I like the new supplements I've been on as well. I think I'm in my fourth week of the Plexus TriPlex pack and it continues to help me out and keep heading in a good direction. 

Finally a Run outside!

 Greetings all,

I had a good run outside on Friday, since it was near 40 degrees and really with no wind out there it felt great. I was curious on how it was going to go for my first run outside, as well as my first run on my new medications. 

In the past, my medications for at first depression, and now more for anxiety, created a lot of wild side effects.  I've had everything from feeling like I need to run to a bathroom in the middle of a run, to seeing my skin turn purple and feel tingly as I'm running.  Trying to run at harder, race-like levels can really be a mess when your drugs are kicking in and sensing high stress, forcing your body to affect your blood pressure and heart rates.  It can even affect your digestive system and cause excess serotonin to start going straight to your small intestine and causing issues there. 

On my prior medication the last three years, I had to adjust my runs to a run/walk method to help my body lower my heart rate during the walk breaks.  I would typically do 1-2 minutes of running with 1 minute walk breaks.  A couple staple workouts I'd do for time and effort was 1:30 run, 1:00 walk x 8 for 20 minutes total, or 2 minutes run, 1 minute walk x 8 for a 24 minute workout.  With a GPS watch on, I was able to get close to my old 5K race paces on the runs, and the walk breaks helped me recover a bit to do another round over and over. 

Friday's routine was starting out with 1:30 run, 1:00 walk x 4, then turn around and go back at 3 minutes run, 1 minute walk x 2, and a final 1 minute run, 1 minute walk to finish and cool down at the end.  The final 10 minutes of 3/1, 3/1 and 1/1 gave me a good indication of how long I can try and keep going and perhaps add more run time and keep the rest time the same.  As it gets warmer and warmer, I can experiment more with this.  On the bright side, after two weeks of the new medication, I'm not really feeling side effects from it while exercising.  I was told this new one is more suited for active people, so I hope this is the case with me. 

Progressing with the 5-3-1, MyFitnessPal & Plexus

 I haven't posted for a while, but I have been making some good progress on my exercising plans and my diet as well.

For starters, I felt when 2023 hit in January that I had to really start making some efforts to get back on track with my workout routines.  I thought it was the missing link in my big picture of things. Six weeks later I was able to stick with some weight lifting plans based off the 5-3-1 strength program, but my diet was still a mess and after a visit to meet my new medical provider, it was wake-up time.  I did NOT like the scale number and some of my other stats were just not acceptable for a guy who used to have much lower numbers, where blood pressure wasn't even an issue and resting heart rates were always complimented on as being that of an athlete.  

I also had been battling fatigue issues that were building up for almost 3 years from a side effect of a medication I was on.  It was helping with the anxiety, but it also made me, well, lazier and not so motivated to do things.  My 'give a damn' was being chipped away a little more and more, especially when it came to finding the energy to exercise.  

I started reducing the old medication and going on a new one, which didn't have the fatigue effects.  After two weeks of reducing the old medication, I felt more energy at the end of my work days to get after the weights again and especially hit my kettlebells for some good old, cardio-inducing swings.

After one month from my doctor visit, I hit a 10 pound weight loss mark.  This gave me a really good boost in my mood and attitude towards my entire plan. 

How did I get there? Well, midway through that, I also started taking some Plexus products that a friend of mine introduced me to.  Another key component was when my girlfriend and I both started logging our diets on the MyFitnessPal app to help with our fitness goals, starting that on March 1st  For many years, I never really got this serious about my diet strategy, but for a free fitness and nutrition app, it really can help you out and keep you on track!  I am more cognizant of my eating habits now, and looking at foods in a better light and even finding ways to still enjoy my not-really-healthy snacks now and then.  Not every day has been perfect, but it certainly has been better.  Days like Fridays can be a struggle to meet your calorie goals, especially if you're headed to a Fish Fry fundraiser during Lent almost every Friday.  However, I've noticed that even going overboard one day does not ruin your whole week.  Even my diet intakes on weekends are a big help with that app in seeing where I am at for each meal.  It has given me more self-control in selecting what I have for a meal and how much I should eat of it. 

The Plexus products have been a big help in this the last 3 weeks.  I've taken a drink in the morning, along with some Bio Cleanse pills and later in the evening, I'll take a ProBio 5 pair of pills.  All three products have helped me with my digestion and bloating issues I've dealt with.  It is nice to take all three products that work together well overall.  As I'm in my mid-40's now, gut health is really important as my body keeps changing and doesn't act like it once did 20 years ago.  I feel foods are processed differently too from over 20 plus years ago, and what once didn't cause any issues, now does.  The supplements are really helping my body digest things better. 

I still have a ways to go, but I am on a good stride here in bettering my overall health and am ready to start hitting the outdoors for some bike rides and runs once it warms up here.  Then I really feel I can kick things up another notch!

For now, I'm sticking with the 5-3-1 for the military press exercise, trying to boost my maximum strength in that.  I'm supplementing my strength workouts with swings after each set of presses, and then adding more swings at the end of those sets.  My cardio days are fully focused on doing kettlebell swings for hundreds of reps in sets of 40-50, and occasionally sets of 100.  

New Phase Monday of 5-3-1, At Home

 Today was the start of a new month's phase of my 5-3-1 home workout plan.  I've been doing military presses and front squats with a home standard size set (1" barbell width).  After two months I've gone from a 120 estimated max to a 135 estimate at the end of Phase 2 in the military press.   

The weekly plan goes like this:

Week 1: 3x5

Week 2: 3x3

Week 3: 5-3-1

Week 4: Deload, 3x5 at 50-60% max

I'm doing this workout a minimum of two times and up to three times per week as I can get workouts in. A goofy weekly schedule of varied starts for my workday sometimes can mess with workout plans. 

The mathematical strategy to take in determining your weights is to take your estimated max, then use 90% of that when you figure out your workload percentages.

Today's routine was using 90% of 135, or 121 as the number to plug in.

65% is used for the first set (80 pounsd), 75% for the second set (92) and 85% for the last set (105).

I have modified this routine to model a classic 5x5 routine with 2 warm-up sets at 65%, followed by the working sets up above.

I also do Front Squats to pair up with this routine to mainly keep my legs strong and moving by using the same weight for those sets as I do for the military press.  I rest two minutes between exercises, alternating between Military Press then Front Squat.  

That gives me a good little strength session in about 20 minutes. 

I've been doing Kettlebell Swings as my cardio on days in-between.  Once weather warms up here and the roads/sidewalks are clear for running, I'll look at returning to that again.

Saturday Workout Sesh

 Greetings,

Today's session called for a favorite, Kettlebell Swings.  

My staple on doing swings is alternating one arm swings every 10 reps for 100 reps per set.  I do a set of 100 every 4 minutes for a almost a 2 to 1 ratio on work periods and rest periods. 

I went with a 40# KB and did 500 reps total in about 20 minutes of time. 

Currently I'm reducing one medication and switching to a new one, taking both the old and new ones at the same time for a while. I was able to get to 500 reps but I was feeling a bit weird, so I decided to stop after 500.  

For unique KB swing workouts, check out my Kindle guide of Kettlebell XL!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HL7YFOM

Fitmosphere Friday

 Celebrating Friday on the Fitmosphere blog with some news:

I really want to blog and chat about fitness and health again, it has been a long time.  

I recently got a Primary Personal Trainer certification to feed that interest, as well as coaching a couple Special Olympics athletes for the sport of Powerlifting that sparked me into getting certified again.  

I've also added head coaching duties to my passion for the Special Olympics Basketball team locally.  It is fun to be back in the fitness center and gymnasium coaching again!

I haven't decided on offering training in one on one settings or small group sessions yet. I have had some other ways like ebooks and products that I've created, and I am leaning toward that route.  

Stay tuned!