Tapout XT Day 2: Strength & Force Upper

The thing I hate most about summer in Japan are mosquitoes and cockroaches, both of which just had to pay me a visit last night before bed and during. I was reaching for something on the sink when a black shiny cockroach the size of my thumb scuttled out and down onto the floor. The wife quickly came and handed me a bottle of "Kabi Killer" which made short work of the pest. This stuff really works even though its for getting rid of fungus. I went to sleep at a good time in anticipation of getting up to do my workout at 6 am. A couple of hours into my slumber I heard the "neeeee" sound of a buzzing mozzie near my ear. In the past I used to get up and turn on the light to look for the bugger but they are cunning and hide. Instead I just turned on a repellent and that seemed to do the trick. The only thing is that the chemical in the repellent gives me a sore throat. I'm going to look for a mosquito net because I am so sick of losing sleep every summer because of the little shits.

Anyway, I woke up at 6 am rather sluggish but 15 minutes into the workout felt really good. Today was an upper body workout that rotated from standing band work such as bicep curls and arnold presses to a variety of push ups. There are very few breaks during the workout. I can see how they build endurance with the lack of rest and band work. To be honest some of the exercises did not seem to go well with bands and my hands kept twitching for a dumbell. Although, if you travel a lot and find yourself in a hotel room, these workouts would be great for anyone carrying a band with them.

Many of the push ups involve distributing your weight unevenly or moving your hips around to work the abs. I can see how this would make your scrambles during BJJ or tight passing improve from these workouts. I had to stop again 5 minutes before the end to get ready for work but the workout was winding down and my baby daughter gatecrashed my room anyway so there was no way I could have continued. I wish these workouts were 40 minutes tops. That would help a lot. Perhaps a morning workout version (short) and a evening workout version (long).

For breakfast I had flax seed peanut butter on homemade bread and a protein shake with frozen mango mixed in, and it was so worth it. My hands are hurting right now from holding the bands because I have no handles for them and just wrap them around my palm. I should use gloves or man up and not.


Workout: Strength and Force Upper
Type: Focused chest, arms and shoulders
Time: Around 50 minutes
Tools: Resistance band and soft mat for push ups