Workout Max Out | Operation 健康アップ Week 10

Some people like to max out whenever they train. You know, the feeling of exhaustion whereby you kinda want to puke/collapse/cry/burn all at the same time? Yeah don't tell my trainers, especially Justin, but I am one of those people :P

Gym Workouts
I went in on Monday and Friday again. It's really so packed on Mondays {I guess a lot of peeps like to start their week with a bang!} that I'm thinking whether I should change to Tuesdays instead.

On Monday I was under Justin and this guy whom I thought was called Mark, but Justin calls him by another name. Anyway he always makes me want to laugh.. like a small kid brother. That session was the 2nd time I was doing the new workout, but the 1st time I actually completed it. It took me about 2 hours.

Somehow during that session {I think during the deadlifts, which is always so technical!}, I didn't activate the proper muscles and my knee ligaments took the strain and caused both my knees to hurt. Not so badly like my first serious knee injury or until I can't workout or move.. but I feel some jabs when I walk or climb stairs, even worst when I squat.

It was still hurting even on Friday {actually even now} and affected my deadlifts. Just could not seem to get it up "properly" and felt very unbalanced. Even Justin could see something was wrong so we tried a few other stretches and exercises before he told me that ya my knee ligaments were probably strained and I need to stretch them more before each workout.

Also, my right leg is shorter than my left leg!!! OK now thinking back, I vaguely remember Coach David mentioning this too haha. Anyway he put a pink mat under my right leg when doing the deadlifts and it seemed much better and balanced. So I've to use it whenever I do deadlifts of any kind from now on.

In Genesis Gym they have a unilateral leg press machine which I've to use for my Leg Press exercise and when resting, you can visibly see my right leg shorter than my left leg. Funny I never really noticed it or thought much of it! Anyway Justin said it could be due to the muscles, and not the bones, which causes the difference in length since the longer leg might just have longer muscles. If I really want, I can get it tested out to confirm and fixed. For now, it's not affecting my daily life or making me look absurd, so I'll just leave it and just use the simple mat trick to adjust my deadlifts heh.

This is my latest gym workout plan with weights I'm using:

A1. Barbell Deadlift {Double Progression}, 4 sets, 6 reps - 54kg
A2. Flat Dumb-bell Bench Press {Pronating, Double Progression}, 6 reps - 14kg
B1. Trap Bar Deadlift, 4 sets, 6 reps - 45kg
B2. Leg Press, 3-4 sets, 12 reps - 45kg
B3. Dumb-bell Lunges {6" box} Prowler, 4 sets, 4 laps - 10kg
C1. Dumb-bell Chest Supported Row to Chest {Pronating}, 4 sets, 6 reps - 11.5kg
C2. Incline Ring Row, 4 sets, 12 reps - bodyweight
C3. Battling Ropes - 60sec

Justin changed Lunges to Prowler because of my knees. Good because I really dislike and have a "fear" towards Lunges.

Friday's session was the toughest ever. After "fixing" my deadlifts, we went full-steam ahead and I guess the Prowler exercise where I had to push a weighted sled up and down the gym, was one of the killer which left me panting and feeling like my chest was about the explode.

Superset C added on to the exhaustion from Superset B and at my last set of the night, I just wanted to collapse and lie down {but then I remember somebody telling me that if you sit down immediately after exercising your butt will get bigger so I try not too haha}. If my trainer wasn't there to push me to dig deep and keep going, I probably would have just stopped.

Of course I didn't think or feel so then, but maxing out was awesome. It was kind of fun {in a crazy way} and I got to push my mental and physical limits hard. I mean the aim of working out isn't about wanting to get to this point of exhaustion, but about trying to improve yourself with each session, but when you give it your all and complete a challenging workout, you feel like you can accomplish anything.

And for the first time in a while, I felt like I might just make it and reach my fitness goals at the end of the program. 

Home Workouts
I went to our club gym on Wednesday and Saturday. My knees were hurting on Wednesday so I didn't increase any weights that day and kept to the previous home workout. Justin went over my new home workout on Friday and I tried it out on Saturday.

This is my latest gym workout plan with weights I'm using:

A1. Seated Hamstring Curl {Toes Up}, 4 sets, 10 reps - 40 pounds {18.1kg}
A2. Leg Press, 4 sets, 10 reps - 250 pounds {113.4kg}
A3. Leg Extension, 4 sets, 20 reps - 40 pounds {18.1kg}
B1. Machine Bench Press, 4 sets, 3 + 4 + 5kg
B2. Chess Supported Row 4 sets, 10 reps - 5kg
B3. Pec Deck, 4 sets, 20 reps - 12+19kg
C3. Burpees, 4 sets, 60 sec

Weights were all very manageable and I can definitely do heavier for the next session. I skipped Burpees {another exercise I really dislike} as I didn't feel up to it and went to do more dumb-bell bench press instead :P

Food Nutrition
I've given up worrying and stressing {kinda} about meal-planning and food-prepping due to lack of time. For now, I've decided to not think so much about how I'm hitting my nutritional targets, but just making sure that I do... and try not to go over my calorie intake for the day :P 

Yup this probably means that I won't be able to hit my fitness goals 100% as planned, but I've other things to worry and care about, and cannot afford this extra stress. One thing I learnt in my motherhood journey is to let go and admit when I am struggling. The last thing I want is to burn out, get demotivated and give up on exercising or eating healthily. I need to choose my battles to enjoy the things worth fighting for.

Sometimes I tend to overthink things. I need to let go and be simple like Cookie Monster - "Me Cookie Monster. That all there is to it. Me love to eat cookie. Sometimes eat whole, sometimes me chew it."

Thoughts of the Week
I was reading on a forum somewhere that said Genesis Gym has one of the best-equipped training facilities in Singapore. I haven't been to all the branches, just to the one at Paya Lebar, but it is true. It has lots of racks, benches, free weights, funny but effective exercise equipment, good amount of space and I hardly, if ever, need to wait to use anything.

That's pretty important as anyone who has been to a commercial gym knows, one of the most frustrating thing about doing your workout is waiting for free equipment. That's fine if users just pump and go, but some people just like to hog, play with their phones and rest at the machines! #fliptable

However, when you go for a personal training program, it is not just the hardware i.e. gym equipment, physical environment, workout plans etc. that matters, but the software i.e. personal trainers that matter too. After all, you have to spend as much time on the machines as with your trainers and they are the ones that are going to take you through the program, guide you with the equipment, push you hard to reach your fitness goals, adjust the program to suit your body's needs, motivate you, encourage you, teach you.

And that's why I feel finding the right trainer is so important. All the best equipment in the world mean nought if your trainer sucks.

Even if the gym equipment is lacking or limited, if the trainer is experienced and knowledgeable enough, he/she would still be able to train you with more innovative methods. Maybe run uphill more, or lift tyres, or do more TRX exercises. Didn't the ancient athlete Milo of Croton train by lifting his calf every day until it grew to be a bull?

But if the gym equipment is top-notch, and the trainer doesn't know how to use it or motivate you to use it, what's the point?

Anyway I guess my take is, when looking for a personal training program at any gym, don't just look at the gym's facilities, but take time to research and find a good personal trainer that can work with you too. That's the whole point of going for a personal training program, right? If not you can just choose to gym by yourself.

And when you find one, just like that good hairdresser or masseuse, don't let him/ her go.

Follow my Fitness Diary posts here or on Instagram {#AiFitnessDiary}.  

One-on-On Personal Training Updates:

The Beginning - First 4 Months
Girls Can Pull-Up Too!
Finally, I Have Visible Abs!
Holiday Workout - No Gym No Problem!
Lessons learnt from Being Injured
New 2 Months Challenge   
2 Months Challenge Results - Lowest Body Fat Composition Ever! 

Genesis Gym Personal Training Updates:
The Beginning - Signing Up for Personal Training

Week 1 - Getting the Right Form for Fitness

Week 2 - The Right Trainer Matters

Week 3 - Keeping Fit Needs Brain & Brawns
Week 4 - Reality Check
Week 5 - New Workout Programs, New Challenges
Week 6 - Program Progress Report

Week 7 - Training with a Weak Back
Week 8 - Keep Calm & Gym On 

Week 9 - Making Sense of Trap Lifts, TRX & Med Ball Slams
Week 10 - Workout Max Out
Week 11 - Rolling in the Deep
Week 12 - Program End Report
Week 13 - Start of Cycle 2
Weeks 14 to 16 - Slow & Steady
Weeks 17 to 20 - Milos Giant Sets
Week 21 to 24 - Cycle 2 Program End Report
Week 25 to 28 - German Volume Training & MetCon Workouts
Weeks 29 to 32 - What Doesn't Kill You
Weeks 33 to 36 -  Cycle 3 Program End Report
Personal Training - Results 1 Year Later

Wendler's 5/3/1 Program to Reach Strength Targets
15% Body Fat Target Reached!
Good Bye Genesis Gym

  

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