February 28th, Relay Run (In The Back Parking Lot)

Today's fitness activity is some thing we haven't done in a long time: group relay run around the back parking lot (it used to be around the pond).

I made a team with Abhishek and Rajan, with Abhishek running first, Rajan second, and me last. Me and Abhishek ran at a good speed of about 1 min 15 to 20 s per lap consistently, but Rajan's fitness level isn't as high and ran more slowly and had periods of walking to catch his breath. We tried to encourage him to keep running, even if it's not very fast, and it seemed to help Rajan to keep pushing himself.

On the last lap I was running, I gave it my best because it was going to be the last lap before we all went in. In the last 15 to 20 seconds of the lap my lungs and legs started burning, but I pushed myself and managed to finish with a good speed and almost ran the lap in 1 minute.

I used my phone to record my lap times. I've accidentally press the "lap" button 2 extra times, so ignore the two laps with less than 1 second. Every other lap time is about 5 to 10 s off from my actual running time, because I had to stop after finishing a lap and then stop the stopwatch.

February 19th, Ultimate

Today I chose to do Ultimate again for choice. This time, because a baseball game was also going on on the upper field, we took the game to the farther end of the upper field and set it up along the width of the field, with the portables and the walls on the other end as the end zones.

I helped to line out the field with cones we took from the outside storage.

Today's game started off pretty much the same as last time, but since we had so much people playing Mr. Neufeld suggested we use another frisbee in the game. Things got much more interesting after that. We mostly ended up with one frisbee on one end and another frisbee on the other end, and both end had more attackers than defenders. For my part I mostly stay around our team's end zone and the mid-field part, defending and making long passes to the girls that were literally "fighting" at the other end =). Having another frisbee was definitely more fun and interesting, and I'm hoping we can add even more twists to the game next time.

February 17th, Ultimate

Today for choice I went with most of our class outside to play Ultimate. This time we played it more seriously than the time in September, because Caleb Brown is in the Ultimate team and had us playing by the rules. To sum it up, we can't take any step after receiving the frisbee - pivot is allowed - and one has to pass the frisbee inside 10 counts after catching it.

Our team's main attackers were the group of girls - Yulia, Gabby, etc. - Joel, and me. Joel really liked to do crazy long passes that most of the time ended up on the ground, but I prefer to make short and safer passes. The girls always scream when they are trying to pass or catch the frisbee, especially when either team's about score. It definitely made the game even more interesting =).

I think that like any team sports, communication and teamwork is really important in Ultimate. The best strategy is to have teammates spaced out a few metres apart down the field, and just make short passes to each other. It's also really important to get the attention of the people you are passing to, otherwise there's almost no chance anyone can catch the frisbee. Of course, the most important things is still to have fun.

February 13th, Weight Room

I chose the same workout routine as last time for weight room today. The video is here below:

Today I have completed 2 sets each of the following workouts:

Basic push-ups (12 reps)
Seated Cable row (60 pounds, 12 reps)
Standing shoulder press (10 pounds each hand, 12 reps)
Lat pull downs (70 pounds, 12 reps)
Abdominal crunches (12 reps)
Lying leg raises (12 reps)

I alternated between doing a set of arm workout - such as push-ups, seated cable row, etc. - and a set of core work out. This let me rest my arms while doing a set of core workout, and vice versa. This way I was able to better maintain a steady pace, pushing myself but not getting overly exhausted from the workouts.

I think right now I need to improve my upper body strength - especially my arm and core muscles - the most, and this is why I have chosen this workout routine. I will also be setting up a regular workout plan soon to help me better achieve my goal.

February 11th, Insanity

Here is the video of me during today's Insanity fitness:

Today's Insanity is very focused on working out the lower body and core muscles, and half way through the workout my legs were already trembling. They felt shaky and weak, as if the moment I bend my knees my legs will just give way and collapse. I was also feeling a bit sick from my lunch, but I tried my best to shake it off and keep working. I had to go for water twice to keep my stomach settled, but overall I believe I have put in a good effort.

Through today's workout I realized my lower body and core muscles can still use a lot of exercise, and I will be looking for ways to workout and strengthen these muscles in the future.

February 4th, Fitness Test

Because it's the beginning of second semester, today we did the fitness test again. My results for the tests are:

Beep test: 12.0
T-test: 12.00 secs
Push-ups: 27
Body bridge: 1 min 45 secs
Vertical jump: 50 cm
Sit-and-reach: level 5
Balancing board: 14 touches

 

 

 

 

Overall, my fitness test results are consistent with last time. My number of push-ups and body bridge time have improved a bit, but my T-test time is worse, and although my beep test has gone up to 12, it's still lower than the 13 I ran last year. This is partly because today I wasn't feeling the greatest, but the lack of exercise I had for the last two weeks definitely have more to do with it.

 

In the new semester I will try to make sure I exercise at least every other day, and participate in more extracurricular activities. I will be trying to join the badminton team this semester, and I aim to run 13 on the beep test again by the end of the year.