De-Load Day One

Over the weekend I read up on a new (to me anyway) 21-day program that's suppose to spare muscle but kickstart a shred. I don't need to be shredded, just a tad leaner. But nothing I've tried so far is getting me anywhere. I'm bigger and stronger, but I'm also fatter. Not my plan. I'm not ready to test out the 21-day program yet but this week I've scheduled cardio and then some. Because the 21-day program calls for an actual 20 minutes of HIIT, and I know for a fact I absolutely cannot do 20 minutes of that, I figure I'd give myself a head start.

Today I upped my HIIT by another 5 minutes. It was really really hard, leaving me panting and gasping for breath. That's 5 minutes for warm up (around 180-190 Strides Per Minute), then 1 minute going full tilt (250-279 SPMs), then 1 minute of gasping (70-80 SPMs). By the 7th minute, I was having trouble keeping myself over 250 SPMs, and by the 10 minute, I was happy just to stay at 250. Then I spent the next 5 minutes doing the Intervals at 30 seconds. After a minute to recover, I was once again able to kick up to 270 SPMs for the remaining 2 sets. My husband is giving the increased Interval durations a go but he's happier with 45 second intervals. I can't do math while I'm huffing and puffing and my phone is too inconvenient for me to hit the timer. I'll stick with full and half minutes.

The Cage Stretch feels nearly normal today. My right front hip only twinges occasionally. The hamstrings are okay, but the lower back is a tad stiff. Again, it feels like core stiffness. I toss out a few side kicks and stretch before wrapping my hands and stuffing them into gloves. Again, I only do 9 rounds on the Follow Me avatar program, and another 3 rounds for all out Sparring. When I'm done, I pull my hoodie back on and lay down on the Mat to stretch my lower back. Mo texts me and I'm surprised because I haven't seen her in months. She's sorry she missed me, perhaps tomorrow. I probably won't see her then either. Bt remarks in the locker room that I'm unusually focused, "I don't mean that in a bad way at all, but you're so focused you don't see anyone! That's good!" "Yeah, I got tunnel vision when I work out," I admit sheepishly because another lady tells me she saw me last week and I have no recollection of seeing her since before the holidays.

The frigid arctic air has wreaked havoc with my genetically tropical skin. As much as I hate the summer humidity and heat, my skin hates the dry winter air and now resembles ashy scales peeling off my arms and legs. After a quick shower, I sit in the sauna. A steam bath would be better but we only have a dry sauna. Still, it's enough to loosen the itchy tight layers and I again shower. My stomach growls. The gym scale reads 113.8 lbs which is slightly better than last week. I'll see what it says by week's end, and then I'll take my BF measurements again. It's been creeping up and the reading is alarming at 21.5%. It'll be a few months before I can get in to see my doc for a physical but by then I'll know whether what I'm doing now is working.

Cardio Day One
Elliptical: 5 min warm up, 10 min HIIT  1 minute on / 1 min off, 5 min HIIT 30 sec on / 30 sec off  = 2.1 miles

Cage Stretch with BW heel dips, calf raises and side kicks

Nexersys boxing Beginner Female
Follow Me Avatar: 9 rounds
  Accuracy 84% / Strikes 103% / Avg Power 128%
Sparring: 3 rounds
  Strikes 205%  / Avg Power 86%  / Points 928

Lower back and hamstring stretch