... and on Sunday I rested.

I was probably due for a rest day since I couldn't remember when I'd last taken one. I wasn't too horribly sore, but it still seemed like it would be a smart thing to do.

Monday's workout was an Art of Strength thingy designed to correct Upper Cross Syndrome. In case you're not familiar with the term, it's trainerspeak for round-shoulderedness, and it's one of the first things I try to fix in my clients who present with that particular problem. Not only is it esthetically unappealing, but if you've got it it means you've got imbalances in the muscles that control your shoulder joint, and you probably can't stabilize your shoulders properly during pulling, pushing and pressing motions. So, gotta fix it before we start doing all those fun upper body exercises that produce such great results.

Anyway, I never inflict anything on a client until I've tried it out myself, so I did 4 rounds at level 1 and 3 rounds at level 2, just to see what it felt like and whether it seemed effective or not.

Level 1 consisted of the following:

Farmer's walk, 10 yards with 35 lb dumbbells
KB release swings, 20 x 12 kg (was supposed to be 10, but evidently I can't read)
Turkish get-up sit-ups, 5 per side x 12 kg (was supposed to be 3 per side but see above)
Renegade rows, 5 per side x 20 lb dbs
KB back squat, 10 x 12 kg
KB Russian twist, 20 x 8 kg.

Level 2 consisted of 20 yards of the farmer's walk, 20 swings again, 5 get-up situps again, 5 "super planks" (you go from forearm supported to the top of a pushup position and back again), 5 dead cleans per side, and 5 high pulls per side.

It didn't feel all that hard while I was doing it, but I was super sore later in the area of my rear rotator cuff and lower traps. Since those are exactly the areas I was trying to target, I'm pleased. I really like the farmer's walks--it's a phenomenally functional movement for anyone who carries two bags of groceries at once, or two suitcases, or whatever.

Today's workout was a dumbbell/kettlebell thing:

superset: db chest press & db row, 3x8x35 on both exercises
superset: chinups, first set unassisted, second sets assisted, 3x6; KB 1-arm press. 3x8x12 kg
superset: TRX body rows, 3x15; decline close grip pushups, 3x12
Intervals: 1-arm KB swings, 30 sec. per arm, running in place for 30 sec., rest 30-60 sec., 6x

Oh, and I taught cycling also, and it turned out to be a pretty challenging class. My heart rate got up to 175 at one point, which for me is definitely anaerobic threshhold territory.