clevermanka (
clevermanka) wrote2011-01-13 12:24 pm
High intensity day
I had some problems with Tacfit Warrior's High Intensity day today. Yesterday's Moderate day was pretty tough, but apparently I did a little more damage than I thought.
After the warm-up (which went mostly fine), I started the first exercise ("knee lift cradle" = a sort of spinal rock that engages the abs and lower back) and the tenderness I'd felt on my back and tailbone turned into excruciating pain. I checked my back in the mirror and my spine looked suspiciously discolored all the way down to my tailbone. Great. After some gentle palpations of the back hipbone area, I'm pretty sure those got bruised, too. So I skipped the knee lift cradle movement entirely and made a note to use better posture for that and the movement that did the most damage to my tailbone ("shinbox switch" = a bent leg swing-around movement that should, apparently, incorporate the glutes more and a tailbone pivot a lot less).
Halfway through the third exercise, I realized I don't have the arm strength to perform the movements at a speed that will keep my heart rate up to the specifications for High Intensity day (85% max heart rate). In fact, for two of the movements, the best I could do (without losing form and/or falling on my face--literally) was about 140BPM. Pffff.
Considering I discovered these setbacks so early in the program (I'm only on day four of the Pre-Recruit level), I'm fine with knocking myself down a notch by chucking this and starting the Warrior Lite program tomorrow. Pride-wise, it stings a little since Lite is designed for people with injuries, or people who haven't had much exercise experience. But it's better to do well at the appropriate level, and Pre-Recruit is not the appropriate level for me just yet.
Here's hoping my tailbone is healed up for the Warrior Lite Moderate Intensity day on Sunday.
In the meantime, I'm looking at making a Big Push of art in these last few days of vacation by working on a larger piece (a 16"x20" canvas). The Schendel guy was here today, so I cleared everything out of the sewing room closet and from underneath my workdesk. You can imagine. So I gotta get that all put away first. But then, Art!
After the warm-up (which went mostly fine), I started the first exercise ("knee lift cradle" = a sort of spinal rock that engages the abs and lower back) and the tenderness I'd felt on my back and tailbone turned into excruciating pain. I checked my back in the mirror and my spine looked suspiciously discolored all the way down to my tailbone. Great. After some gentle palpations of the back hipbone area, I'm pretty sure those got bruised, too. So I skipped the knee lift cradle movement entirely and made a note to use better posture for that and the movement that did the most damage to my tailbone ("shinbox switch" = a bent leg swing-around movement that should, apparently, incorporate the glutes more and a tailbone pivot a lot less).
Halfway through the third exercise, I realized I don't have the arm strength to perform the movements at a speed that will keep my heart rate up to the specifications for High Intensity day (85% max heart rate). In fact, for two of the movements, the best I could do (without losing form and/or falling on my face--literally) was about 140BPM. Pffff.
Considering I discovered these setbacks so early in the program (I'm only on day four of the Pre-Recruit level), I'm fine with knocking myself down a notch by chucking this and starting the Warrior Lite program tomorrow. Pride-wise, it stings a little since Lite is designed for people with injuries, or people who haven't had much exercise experience. But it's better to do well at the appropriate level, and Pre-Recruit is not the appropriate level for me just yet.
Here's hoping my tailbone is healed up for the Warrior Lite Moderate Intensity day on Sunday.
In the meantime, I'm looking at making a Big Push of art in these last few days of vacation by working on a larger piece (a 16"x20" canvas). The Schendel guy was here today, so I cleared everything out of the sewing room closet and from underneath my workdesk. You can imagine. So I gotta get that all put away first. But then, Art!

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Ooh, go you with da Art!
.. and I'm glad you reported on the issues with the high intensity.
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Will you be posting photos of said art?
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On a happy and interesting note, I can feel an ache my lats and obliques, even after doing half my session with the Warrior Lite movements today. So those exercises are still working!
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I havent seen his tacfit, tho i have seen his flowfit and it seems good. he adjusted intensity by doing pressing stuff on a box... of course this only works for some moves.
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Heading to Target for a mega-squishy mat sounds like a spectacular idea.
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it was on the 3rd that I started getting a feel for how deep and hard to go to get a certain HR.
this was the 4th round, and I'm gaining a better sense of how hard I am working, even before I take the HR.
Only now am i pushing aside my squishy mat for a few exercises.
I'm thinking about dropping back by one level on exercise 4 and calling it even because i am a level up on exercise 1. My heavy shoulders are making everything with a pushup component harder, but damn me if that is not why they call it bodyweight exercise.
Soon i will have the mighty monkey arms!!!
I applaud you for knowing when to step back a notch and share the high value you put on form. Since the whole thing is built in layers, the foundations are going to be super important.
I'm still hating the speed-bump that is my (admittedly shrinking) gut that i hit each time I do a round of the prone worm and the met con rep where my upper thigh and gut collide.
Keep at it, make adjustments, and soon you will gain the muscle and skill you need to be smoooooooooth!
And yes, you rock!
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Yay! It's working!