Day 17 - Shoulders and Arms/ARX

Back to the grind. I'm still unsure how this week is gonna pan out, but followed through with shoulders and arms. I had some laundry to do so I threw in a few loads after work. For some reason I've been very sleepy lately and wanted to take a nap after work. Good thing I did laundry instead of taking a nap because my clothes smelled. Well, at least my clothes from rafting on Saturday. After the washing was done, I moved the clothes into the dryer and got started on the workout.

I grabbed my weights and got going. I'm using 10 pounds (5 pounds on each side) on my dumbbell handles, so I'm using about 11-12 pounds per dumbbell. I'm not sure if that's enough weight, but I try make sure my form is correct on my reps. I'm doing the recommended 8-10 reps on the video mostly to keep pace, but also to try to gain some strength. If I know that a time interval is a bit long, I take more time going up and down on the reps. Supposedly this helps with strength gains (or in my case POWER).

I'm not sure where, but I think I hurt something in my left shoulder. On this third week, I've been trying to eek out my last reps to make sure I get the most out of it. Oh well. That's what recovery weeks are for, right?

Ab Ripper X has been improving for me slowly again. The first few moves aren't a problem, but then Fifer Scissors hits and my back starts aching. I think I stopped at 12 and then just took a break until the next move. Also the oblique v-ups really hurt on my left side. Think I only did 15-20 instead of the 25. Mason Twists weren't bad although I remember feeling it early on. Now I don't feel much until the last 10 or so reps, but they're more intense.

I've been wondering if there's a way to position your legs to isolate your abs more during Ab ripper X. I find doing the bicycles in the beginning if I point my toes inwards, I feel it more in the hip flexors. To avoid this, I try to point my feet either straight or outwards. I do this for a few of the other intro moves and I'm not sure if it does anything, but at least my hip flexors don't feel as strained.

Not too bad of a day. A lot more relaxed than a few other days have been lately. I got my clothes out of the dryer and folded them, settled down and watched some US Open. I have a feeling I forgot to do something, but that's ok.



Stay powerful folks (and amazing)