My current range of workouts.

Earlier, I posted the current state of my home gym.  Since I have been travelling for work and pleasure over the past two months, one thing I have done is to maintain a workout a day. Since I was either in places that really did not support running (a corrections facility, or as DD4 says, a jail), or it was incredibly hot/polluted/raining, unlike my trips in the past my workouts have been in a hotel gym or using exercise equipment/aids I brought along.


My workouts are being informed by two sources. First are the Stack52 line of exercise cards. I have bodyweight, dumbbell, kettlebell, suspension band, and resistance band sets.  Second, is the book by Myatt Murphy, Push, Pull, Swing: The Fat-Torching, Muscle-Building Dumbbell, Kettlebell & Sandbag Program.  So workouts will include exercises that cover upper body push and pull, lower body push and pull, and swing (rotation and core).   So, my workouts have settled into a number of categories.

1. Bodyweight exercises.  For these, I use the Strength Stack 52 Exercise Cards set.  I draw 5-15 cards from the deck and do those exercises. The nice thing about these is that my kids can do the exercises with me.  This tends to be my light workout or the warmup before a heavy workout.



Drills before testing.

2. Taekwondo.  This is either part of a class, or I will do this at home (sometimes with my son). This starts with stretches, then 5-7 Stack 52 cards for bodyweight exercises for warmup.  Then conditioning using a heavy bag (or I will do focus mitt or pad drills with my son).  Then forms/poomsae/kata.  Actually, other than heavy bag, this also tends to be a light workout.  If I am in class, I will often follow up with a light resistance exercises.
3. Dumbbells.  This workout is a heavy workout.  I structure a workout based on push, pull, swing.   I will do sets in three groups:
1. Heavy lift.  Deadlifts, Squats, and Chest presses  3 sets of 4-6 (when I am at 6, that is my clue to increase the weights soon)
2. Mix. 2-3 Exercises that hit different muscle groups.  Changes each time.
3. Conditioning.  2-3 of  Woodshops, one arm dead clean and presses, two arm swings. This is at 3 sets of 10-12 reps. For the swings, I do 50.  If I can do all three at 12 reps for woodshops and clean and presses, it is time to increase weights.



Dumbbell plate rack



Suspension straps

4. Suspension straps.  I actually use this almost like a conditioning exercise. The big difference between this and body weight is that the suspension straps effectively redirect gravity, so instead of all exercises pushing against the floor, I have some that resistance aims down, some where resistance goes up, and some where resistance is lateral. However, it is limited to bodyweight (with need for stability), so this is a conditioning or cardio workout, not a strength workout.  I will pull out cards from the Resistance 



Rep Fitness Sandbag

5. Sandbags/sand kettlebell.  The other two tools of the Myatt Murphy book.  The difference between these and the dumbells is the instability due to the weight shifting, which makes the workout harder for the weight.  I have the sandbag to provide the two handed exercises that I do not have because I do not have barbells, and the sand kettlebell provides variety.  Since the dumbbells are for the heavy weights, I use these for the convenience.  Usually I use this after a light workout (like taekwondo class) where I want to add some conditioning.  With the kettlebell, I will do a set of woodshops, dead clean and presses, followed by kettlebell swings.  With the sandbags, I have not settled on a set. Usually I try two or three exercises from the Push, Pull, Swing book.
6. Resistance bands.  I have a couple of flat loop bands.  These are more of a workout when I  did not get a workout piece of equipment.  I have not decided if it is worth it for me to get the heavier bands to get a useful level of resistance.

Of these, I probably do the heavy dumbbell workout 2 times a week.  Taekwondo 3 times a week (supplemented by either the sandbags or light kettlebell or suspension straps.  Suspension straps if I need to program in something light.

Parenting Month 91: We're going to China and we're so happy we just want to sing

The last month was marked by a family wedding and a visit to China.  The wedding was a reason for lots of cousins and family from around the world to congregate in one place, and get another generation picture of cousins, the last one was soon after my son was born.

Cousins on stairs

An additional wedding standard are the kids on both sides playing together, DD4 (A) provided much amusement as she became fast friends with a 4 year old daughter on the other side of the wedding aisle, and they spent the entire weekend playing and dancing together at every opportunity.

The next step was a visit to China, mostly Tianjin and a couple days in Beijing.  This was the first trip to China for both (DS7 has been to Thailand twice, DD4 visited Thailand once).  

We stayed at a historical hotel in Tianjin.  Unfortunately, it was not near a subway line, so we had to walk a distance to get to anything we would want to do (it was geared for people working with banks). And it was more formal than we would like.  But, it was a location of much history during the Foreign Concession era and the Chinese Communist Party, so it had its own museum which we visited.

Museum at the Astor Hotel, Tianjin

We did a bit of the tourist thing.  The ancient town for souvenir shopping, historical sights like the liberation of Tianjin bridge, and modern sights like the Tianjin Eye.

Live crickets for sale

Tianjin from the Eye

Liberation of Tianjin bridge

We also did a number of kids activities. We took advantage of the fact that all the kids were in school so the crowds were thin.

Umbrellas in the lobby of the Museum of Nature, Tianjin

Museum of Nature, Tianjin

Tianjin Culteral Center

Tianjin Library

At the Tianjin Museum of Science

The highlight was playing with cousins in China. One "cousin" is an old friend, and we hope they see and play with each other throughout their growing years, both in the U.S. and in China.

And there were some places that were clearly for parents, such as the China Military Museum in Beijing.

Liberation of Tianjin exhibit at China Military Museum

And food

Making sugar animal candies in Tianjin

Steamed dumplings a Dan Tai Fung, Beijing

Some observations on the kids.

1. We enjoyed watching them play with cousins in China.  There is a cousin that is close in age for each of them, and we are hoping that they get to grow up together  Note that because of the one child policy, "cousins" tends to be more broadly defined than we would normally do in the U.S.
2. T (DS7) is not as adventurous or as willing to engage in new things and experiences as he had been when he was 5-6.  We are thinking that years in the school system have led him to regress towards the mean.
3. A (DS4) provokes the observation that she talks a lot from pretty much everyone.
4. A does not travel quite as well as T did at the same age.
5. T has figured out that almost everything has a QR code that is accessed through WeChat.