Strive to Progress

When you don't have much time to exercise, you have to make the most of the time that you have. One way I'm trying to do it is to always try to make some type of improvement or progress every single workout. This way, I'm always progressing toward my goals. Here's a couple thoughts on ways to progress.

First, the most concrete way is to increase your resistance (for strength training) or reduce your time or increase your distance (for endurance goals). At the beginning, with some of the larger lifts - like squat or deadlift - you can add 5 or 10 pounds almost every week! The more advanced or mature of an athlete you are, the harder this gets. However, there's other ways to make progress.

Another way to make progress or measure improvement is by decreasing the rest time between sets. The way I measure this for my workouts is by recording the full time for the specific movements. For example, for a lot of my bigger movements, I use a 5 set by 5 rep (5 x 5) structure. I record the time from the first set to the end of the last set. That way, even if I'm not ready to move up in weight, I can try to complete the sets with less rest.

Finally, you can make small improvements to your technique, which will eventually lead to strength gains. Today, during my squats, my main improvement in my technique was focusing on one spot during my squat. It was amazing what that one change did to my balance and execution of the exercise.

So see how you can improve today - both in your workouts and in other aspects of life. God bless you.

November 5, 2015 Workout

Time of workout: 9 AM

Warm-up: 3 min. stationary bike

Foam rolling

Static Stretching

5 reps x 3 sets bodyweight squat

Back Squat: 

1. 65 x 5

2. 75 x 5

3. 85 x 5

4. 85 x 5

5. 95 x 5

Time on Squats: ~15 minutes

I tried to increase the depth of my squat, but I noticed that when I went to low, my lower back started to arch a little. I think this is due to a lack of mobility in my hamstrings. So until I iimprove that, I will squat to my previous depth - which was still fairly low. Here is a video of my 5th set with a new high point for weight.

Pull-ups:

1. 3 1/2 

2. 2 1/2

3. 3

Yeah I know I need to improve on these. I think as I repeat them I will get better. 

Stretching: 5 minutes