Start of Spring

Hopefully winter is behind us and spring is here, right now the temperatures aren't showing it but the sun is shining and there is no snow, so I take that as a good sign.  Since it has been two weeks or so since the last update I figured I'd bring you up to speed with what I have been doing.

If you have been reading this you will know that I love baseball and play as much as I can, which still isn't enough... All the workouts I do, I do for my personal benefit as well as to improve my game. Also the wife likes the improving body and that is always an added plus!!

Well I have been trying to include the elliptical into my workouts to improve my cardio and have been steadily improving. Every time I hop on, which I try to do at least three times a week, if not more, I have been doing anywhere from two to two and a half miles. This week I plan to do at least two miles everyday.

As for my Convict Conditioning progressions, I have improved to step three on the pushups and leg lifts. I'm still on step two for the squats and pullups. I have met the requirements on all four exercises to move to the next level however I'm making sure to go slowly and to be able to hit each progression level to my liking before moving on.

Pushup Progression:

I mentioned that I'm on step three, which is the kneeling pushups. I have been able to do 3 sets of 30 every time without too much effort. However, I'm staying at this step for a little longer as I work to make sure my elbows stay in close to the body as I do each of the 120 pushups. I'm not too far away from moving to the next level here.

Leg Lift Progression:

I'm on step three here as well. I was able to do 3 sets of 30 the first time I tried but I'm trying to improve the form and get a lift the lower body vertically off the ground at the end of each lift. It is still difficult to do so I will stay at this level for the next couple of weeks.

Squats Progression:

I'm still on level two as I was working on making sure to be able to get deeper into the squat and get my butt closer to my heels. I'm getting better each time as I have been able to get the 3 set of 40 for quite awhile but I'm still not as close to my heels as I think I need to be to be able to move on. So I will keep working at that and stay here a little more. This will allow me to get deeper and loosen the muscles, tendons and ligaments to afford me the flexibility to reach my goal. It will also continue to strengthen my legs.

Pullup Progression:

I was finally able to hit the progression standard of 3x30 last time out but it wasn't easy. And in this mornings workout I was able to match the standard with a little bit more ease. I'm still going to stay at step two for at least another week if not two. I would like to be able to bust out the 3 sets of 30 with less effort.

So that's where I stand on this 2nd of April. I'm improving and getting stronger the numbers and ease of the workouts are showing me that. I'm also able to see slight improvements in the way my body is looking. A few things that I need to improve upon is the food that I'm eating and make sure that it is healthy and not just junk. That is often the toughest part for me as I often eat out for lunch. I don't always eat a ton of stuff but it's just not healthy stuff. So if I can work on actually packing my lunches I will be doing a lot better!

Well until next update, keep working on improving yourself. And make today better than yesterday!