Progress in Small Increments

The tank is
Violet, not Blue

Last night's Cub Scout planning meeting ran long and both my son and I were exhausted by the time we got home. Thankfully, we'd already had dinner and finished all homework before we went. We were probably over tired because neither of us could fall asleep right away once either. I got up this morning to walk the dog and get breakfast ready. Oddly my son popped awake as well, wondering if coming home 15 minutes early meant he had to leave for school 15 m
inutes early. He didn't. Our school is dismissing 15 minutes early due to Emergency Planning Testing where we have to "prove" we have a plan should there be an emergency. Frankly, it doesn't really prove anything.

I tell myself that maybe I won't do HIIT cardio before I kickbox the machine but I do anyway. Even though I'm warm by round 3, I don't really feel loose until round 8 when I'm really drenched. By round 12 I'm debating whether I should just call it done. But I'm never easy on myself so I punch in 3 rounds of Intermediate. I get into a good rhythm for most of my rounds and it shows in the increased power scores on both the Beginner and Intermediate sessions.

Lately my right pinky knuckle has been getting bruised halfway through my session. Which is odd because punches land between the first two knuckles and the pinky is nowhere near the point of impact. I'm thinking it might be residual force (from my first two knuckles) spreading across the leading edge of my hand. I'll have to put a bandaid on that knuckle next time, before I wrap my hand in white tape, before I use the cloth wraps, before I stuff my hands into my all-so-fragrant gloves.

I tell myself that maybe I won't do the 10 minutes of cardio after kickboxing, but find myself marching up the cardio platform and climbing aboard the elliptical. I tell myself maybe I won't do 8 minutes of Tabata. Maybe I'll ease back down to 4 or 5 minutes, but I don't because once I've done 6 minutes, well, what's another two?

I snap a few awful selfies in the locker room. I can't quite get the hang of right side photos, but at least I don't look like I'm wasting away. I was worried for a split second that I was starting to get scrawny. But that's sooo not true. I compare my numbers from the last few kickboxing sessions and I see that my numbers are better. Granted the machine is still glitchy and purple, and I didn't get horrible combinations tossed at me for the three Intermediate rounds. Still, it's nice to think there's progress. I am thinking of pulling back on the kickboxing. Maybe three times a week is too much for my bony knuckles to handle. I miss lifting, but I don't miss spending a lot of time at the gym. It's hard to modify a program that seems to be showing results. Maybe I won't decide just yet.

Friday Workout

10 min elliptical = 3 min steady state + 4 min Tabata + 3 min steady state = 0.8 miles

Nexersys 12 rounds Beginner Follow Me (48 min)   Accuracy 97% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 142%

Nexersys 3 rounds Intermediate Follow Me (12 min)
  Accuracy 89% / Strikes 99% / Average Power 115%

10 min elliptical = 2 min steady state + 8 min Tabata = 0.76 miles

photos posted for actual stats: