INSANITY - Day 41: Max Interval Plyo

Pushed it pretty well today even though I was a bit congested and still a little groggy from my cold-medicine induced sleep last night. Actually, I burned 120 more calories than the last time I did the same workout!
I was doing really well actually until I got to the diamond jumps at the end. I just and pulled my left quad pretty well.  Icing it right now. Ouch. Then I sat on the floor to change a diaper after I got home, overcompensated on my right quad and pulled it a little while standing up...I'm pathetic.

Oh well good thing for me, tomorrow is week #6 rest day.My weight has been all over the place this week, so I really don't see this being a 'big loss' week (actually I may be up a pound or 2) But I'm ok with that. I feel strong and am trying to integrate the idea of slow progress/maintenance from here on out rather than the huge losses I was putting up a couple months ago when I had so much to lose. Phase 2 has me sore and that means those muscles are working and growing. That means gains.Now with only about 10-15 pounds left, it's gonna be a slow pound by pound, week by week thing and I have to get ok with that or I'll drive myself crazy and never let myself have any fun. I mean really, what is a life without the occasional biscuits and gravy for supper, or a  movie without popcorn? Whats that point of all this work if I can't enjoy all those things too? .. at least in moderation.

Day #41 Fitness Stats

Max Interval Plyo

Minutes:	56
Calories:	612
Average HR:	130
Max HR:	175

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 40: Max Interval Circuit

Wow, that is one crazy workout. I pushed harder than Monday, but alas left my HRM at home, so I'm not sure exactly how much harder. I'm estimating 50 more calories to put the workout at 775. I peaked around the end of the 2nd circuit. So the 3rd circuit was tough. It is no wonder why I've been sore this week with a routine like this thrown into the mix! I can't believe I'm coming into the end of week 6 already.

Day #40 Fitness Stats

Max Interval Circuit

Minutes:	62
Calories:	775 estimated

INSANITY - Day 39: Max Recovery

In phase 1 of Insanity I always kind of felt in the back of my mind that the recovery workout was kind of a throw away day. Well, in Phase 2 I was NEEDING it. Soreness from the new workouts had set in and a nice slow workout was just what the Dr. ordered. This is a great workout. There are a couple parts that get pretty tough. The side planks to pushup section and the high/low plank sections are killer. Loved it. Finally felt like myself again after last weekend too. So tomorrow I can try Max Interval circuit at 100% and we will see what happens!

Day #39 Fitness Stats

Max Recovery

Minutes:	48
Calories:	321
Average HR:	104
Max HR:	151

1 Mile Run

Minutes:	10
Calories:	138
Average HR:	142
Max HR:	163

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 38: Max Cardio Conditioning

Today was somewhate better. I'm feeling less nasty (not 100% yet) and so that helped a bunch. Also I've noticed that all these new routines in Phase 2 have got me sore all over again :) So that is slowing me down a little. That should pass in the next couple days.

 Max Cardio Conditioning was a good workout. Not so many breaks pretty high intensity except for a little section in the late middle where you recover for a bit and at 48 minutes it's almost 10 minutes shorter than the last 2 workouts. To compare with yesterday, I worked out 7 minutes less and burned 41 more calories today. I'd say I kicked it a bit harder. Soon we take Phase 2 up to 100%.

Day #38 Fitness Stats

Max Cardio Conditioning

Minutes:	48
Calories:	533
Average HR:	130
Max HR:	168

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 37: Max Interval Plyo

Well, that was terrible. My motivation was gone today. Barely dragged myself out of bed and to the Annex for the workout then schlumped my way through the whole thing. You can see by my numbers below that it was not pretty. It is a hard workout, and my muscles were not there today.  I was not able to get my heart rate up very high. Bleh. I'm tired of these slumps. I'm also still feeling nasty from Sunday's food fest and am still holding on to every ounce of it. Ugh.

There were some cool new exercises in the workout today. Lots of pushups and jumping. Power pushups and balance pushups were good. Hung in there for most of the level 3 drills. 16 pushups, 16 plank runs, up, down, repeat.

I need a bump today to get my motivation up or it's gonna be a long day at the office of coding an event registration website.

Day #37 Fitness Stats

Max Interval Plyo

Minutes:	55
Calories:	492
Average HR:	118
Max HR:	159

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 36: Max Interval Circuit

So I blew it last night and ate way too much at a Mother's day BBQ. T bone steak and pork burger and chips and I woke up feeling bloated. Rightly so, I weighed 4 pounds heavier than yesterday. That a lot of extra water and food weight thats gonna take a few days to clear out. Ugh, it just means I have to clamp down on the nutrition a little harder. That's my cheat for a long time. It also made working out a bit of a chore. bleh. But anyway.

Max Interval Circuit was tough and awesome. 731 cals in one workout...yikes. I'm looking forward to doing it when I'm not feeling so nasty. 194 max heart rate? wow that took me by surprise. But I don't doubt it. Shaun T says he is gonna kick your butt and he is right. 3 circuits instead of 2 and they really move.

I haven't done fit test 3 yet. Maybe I can squeeze it in sometime tonight.

Day #36 Fitness Stats

Max Interval Circuit

Minutes:	62
Calories:	731
Average HR:	136
Max HR:	194

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 35 - Rest & Week 5 Stats

5 Weeks down and into Phase 2 tomorrow

Here are my stats after 5 weeks: No real weight change, but lost size in all the right ways, so not unhappy about that at all.

Current:
Weight: 181.6lbs
Body Fat (caliper): %14.6
BMI: 25.3

Overall Changes:
Weight: - 4.6lbs (+0.2 this week)
Neck: -0.65in (-0.15 this week)
Chest: - 1.25in (-0.5 this week)
Waist (at Navel): - 1.75in (-0.25 this week)
Hips: -1.0in
Thigh: -0.75 (0.25 this week)

INSANITY - Day 35: Core Cardio and Balance (Recovery Week Day 6)

Recovery week is over! Rest tomorrow. Actually, I think I am going to do Fit test 3 tomorrow. Since I do the workout at 5:00am and the next routine is just over an hour, I don't have time to tack on a 20 minute fit test before it. I don't want to have to get up at 4:30! I previewed the next DVD and I'm a little nervous about it. It looks like it goes from level 9 out of 10 to about a 15 out of 10.

Day #34 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	353
Average HR:	120
Max HR:	157

2 miles - Treadmill

Minutes:	20
Calories:	257
Average HR:	142
Max HR:	160

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 33: Core Cardio and Balance (Recovery Week Day 5)

Kicked it back up again today and was feeling pretty good, even if I was by myself. Except for putting my foot down a couple times and dropping my arms a couple times during the burners, I did the entire workout with no stopping. I've found that here towards the end of recovery week I start the exercises while Shaun T is still explaining them on the DVD to get a little extra in, or just jog in place while he talks.

 Hit the treadmill for 20 minutes of just over 9 minute miles. Pushed pretty hard there too. Wasn't till after that I realized my max HR on the treadmill was so high. One more day of Core Cardio and Balance, a day off then the dreaded PHASE 2!!!


Day #33 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	380
Average HR:	125
Max HR:	163

2.2 miles - Treadmill

Minutes:	20
Calories:	313
Average HR:	157
Max HR:	176

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 32: Core Cardio and Balance

Dialed it back today. Low motivation and energy translated to a much slower day both in INSANITY and treadmill. I guess today is my recovery day from my recovery week. Hopefully back into it strong tomorrow.


Day #32 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	311
Average HR:	114
Max HR:	149

1.6 miles - interval program treadmill

Minutes:	20
Calories:	164
Average HR:	112
Max HR:	140

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 31: Core Cardio and Balance

Pushed it harder again today. Really starting to feel it on the abs. I can't believe I'm at the half way point.

Day #31 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	402
Average HR:	129
Max HR:	171

1.8 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	19
Calories:	242
Average HR:	140
Max HR:	163

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 30: Core Cardio and Balance

Kicked Core Cardio and Balance up a notch today and it felt good! I got all the way into the burners before I had to take a mini break (those are TOUGH!)

I was pleased that I pushed through a minute of level 1 drills without stopping and with keeping the Shaun T pace.

I'm excited about next week. I've read so many horror stories about month 2, but I'm ready to hit it HARD! I'm getting a taste of being in shape for the first time in a long time and my body likes it.

I'm going to have to figure out how to fit in some running too, because with the longer workouts, I'm not going to have time to hit the treadmill after Insanity in the mornings and I don't want to take a full month off of any running.

Day #30 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	380
Average HR:	125
Max HR:	165

2.02 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	20
Calories:	276
Average HR:	147
Max HR:	168

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 29: Core Cardio and Balance

This was the first of 6 days on Core Cardio and Balance. Not a bad workout, meant as a 'recovery' week. You can push it as hard as you want. You do a lot of the exercises you are familiar with, but in different orders and mixed up a bit for a minute at a time. Then there are the burners sections. Where your hip flexors and your shoulders will be on FIRE! Pretty good. I do need to push a bit harder tomorrow, now that I know what's coming.  Overall a good morning at the gym.

Day #29 Fitness Stats

Core Cardio and Balance

Minutes:	37
Calories:	323
Average HR:	116
Max HR:	156

1.6 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	15
Calories:	194
Average HR:	138
Max HR:	160

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 27 & 28: Plyometric Cardio Circuit and Rest: Week 4 stats.

I went with my son Ethan on a field trip on Saturday, so I ended up swapping my Sunday rest and Saturday work (since I messed up my phone alarm and didn't wake up early enough on Saturday). So today I did plyo circuit and running before church. I kicked it pretty well. Also had about 2 and a half hours of hiking on Saturday at Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnson's Shut-ins State park in Missouri. Both are really nice places if you are looking for a nice day out in the midwest.

Day #28  (27 swapped out) Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	45
Calories:	495
Average HR:	135
Max HR:	166

2.1 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	20
Calories:	272
Average HR:	146
Max HR:	160

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad) Here are my stats after 3 weeks:

End of Week 4 Body Stats.

Current:
Weight: 181.4lbs
Body Fat (caliper): %14.8 (I think I'm doing it right now)
BMI: 25.3

Overall Changes:
Weight: - 4.8lbs
Neck: -0.75in
Chest: - 0.75in
Waist (at Navel): - 1.5in
Hips: -1.5in
Thigh: -0.5

INSANITY - Day 26: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

A decent Pure Cardio / Abs day. I left happy about it.

What I was more happy about was stepping on the scale this morning and seeing that I've broken into the 170's (just barely). I am now around the weight I was at the end of my Freshmen year in college (almost 20 years ago). I am now less than 10 pounds away from my weight my Senior year in high school and 15 pounds away from my 'super ambitious goal'.

I know BMI is a debated stat, but I find it to be an easy to calculate estimate of how I'm doing. When I started paying attention to these things 4 months ago, I was 15 pounds into the obese category at almost 33 BMI. Today it looks like this

Day #26 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio

Minutes:	40
Calories:	444
Average HR:	132
Max HR:	166

Cardio Abs

Minutes:	17
Calories:	151
Average HR:	117
Max HR:	169

Stats taken with Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 25: Cardio Recovery

Ah, Cardio Recovery felt good today. Perhaps not the part where you do deep muscle work with squats and lunges, but everything else was good. Followed it up with 20 minutes on the treadmill for 1.74 miles. Really closing in on the end of month 1 here.

INSANITY - Day 24: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Wow, kicking morning. 511 cals for the circuit felt awesome then to top it off with a 2.25 mile run for another 306. Sweating like a pig! But I feel great. Pushed hard again in the warmup and it got me pumped for the rest of the workout. I think that the Insanity warmup and stretch will become a staple of my workout regime even after Insanity is over. I think I'm gonna get the audio off the DVD and put it on my mp3 player so that I can use it as a cue for later when I don't have the DVDs in front of me.

Day #24 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	43
Calories:	511
Average HR:	137
Max HR:	173

2.25 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	21:45
Calories:	306
Average HR:	150
Max HR:	171

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 23 - Cardio Power and Resistance

Yeah, today was a good solid morning. Power & Resistance and 2.09 miles. Did it by myself today, but really went hard for 767 calories burned total. I was worried going in that I would be by myself and have a down morning, but pushed through. One thing I have found is that pushing hard in the warmup makes a huge difference for me. Not waiting until the 3rd set to get 'up', but trying to push that into the end of the 1st round instead makes the whole workout better.

On the down side, I'm getting my blood drawn at a health fair this morning, so I've had to fast for the last 12 hours and I am ready to EAT!!!!

update:

Went to the Health Fair. Got my blood drawn for a comprehensive test, BP (good), hearing (good), grip test (tech said I had the high score for the day), body fat % (woot). Very happy that I've been using my home body fat calipers wrong. They had an electronic fat % scale and it put me about 5% lower than my calipers. That made my day.

Day 23 Fitness Stats

Cardio Power and Resistance

Minutes:	40
Calories:	488
Average HR:	132
Max HR:	172

2.09 miles - treadmill

Minutes:	20:00
Calories:	279
Average HR:	147
Max HR:	159

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 22: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Ah! Today felt much better. Got into it a lot faster, HR was up after the first round of the warmup.

I had a whole crew with me today. My son and 3 others. I find that I do work harder when there are others there. Keeps me accountable to pushing and working hard. I fear we will lose the others when we hit month 2, since they have been hit and miss and are only 1 week in. They are not ready yet for it (I'm not ready and this is week 4!)

Anyhow, 610 cals for the morning is pretty good. This is much more where I want to be rather than in a funk.

Day #22 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio

Minutes:	38
Calories:	475
Average HR:	140
Max HR:	168

Cardio Abs

Minutes:	16
Calories:	135
Average HR:	116
Max HR:	170

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 21: REST! and 3 week stats!

3 weeks down! This was a tough week. I really felt like I hit a brick wall and didn't feel like I made much progress. This was the first week in the last 16 that my weight went up instead of down. Could be muscle, but still not real happy about it. I am so close to getting to a major double duty milestone. 179 lbs is not only into the next '10' bracket, but it is also the breaking point for the 'healthy' BMI range for my height. I know these charts are only a guideline, but psychologically, knowing that I am on average, not in the OVERWEIGHT category anymore would be awesome. Getting out of the OBESE category was a major boost for me back a few months ago and I've been hovering just about this one for 3 weeks now, just 5 pounds away.

But I'll keep pushing through. Last regular week of month 1 starts Monday. Then recovery week and the dreaded MONTH 2! My plan after insanity is to go back to some more running. March was a 100 mile month and April probably won't break 60 miles.

Here are my stats after 3 weeks:

Current:
Weight: 183.6lbs
Body Fat (caliper): %20.2
BMI: 26.1

Overall Changes:
Weight: - 2.6lbs
Neck: -0.5in
Chest: - 0.75in
Waist (at Navel): - 0.5in
Hips: -0.5in   ( -0.5 change this week )
Thigh: 0 (+ 0.5 change this week, but I think last week may have been a bad reading)

INSANITY - Day 20: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Felt a little better today. Plyo circuit is a good workout, now that I've done it a bunch of times, I know what's coming. I still die after a couple of level 1 drills and through the ski abs and in-and-outs.  But other than that, I stay up with the video pretty well. I think after the kids go down for a nap this afternoon, I'll hop on the treadmill for a little run.

Day #20 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	43
Calories:	471
Average HR:	131
Max HR:	167

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 19 - Cardio Power and Resistance

I had no gas in the tank today and felt like I weighed 500 lbs. Looking at my numbers, I burned a lot less calories today than the last time I did this same workout. I'm just in a slump right now. I will just keep doing my best until I can get out of it.

Day 19 Fitness Stats

Cardio Power and Resistance

Minutes:	40
Calories:	348
Average HR:	116
Max HR:	214 (this is a glitch)

1.5 mile - treadmill

Minutes:	14:27
Calories:	187
Average HR:	135
Max HR:	154

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 18: Cardio Recovery

Today was kind of meh. Felt like I was just going through the motions. I've plateaued just a few pounds above a major milestone and that is bumming me out. I realize it's not just about weight and I'm building muscle, but ugh. I'm trying to stay off the scale for the rest of the week till sunday when I do my measurements. I'd been weighing every day for the last 100 days, but I think I need to take a break from obsessing over the number. Because when it doesn't move much for a couple weeks, or goes up a little I get discouraged and start getting off the nutrition plan trying to 'cut back' on calories.
I'm hoping this isn't an indication of the rest of my day.

Day #18 Fitness Stats

Cardio Recovery

Minutes:	33
Calories:	80
Average HR:	79
Max HR:	98

1 mile - treadmill

Minutes:	10:30
Calories:	121
Average HR:	129
Max HR:	151

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 17: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Another good day today. Had no time for a run afterwards, but still got in a good workout! Not much to report, probably gonna be sore.

Day #17 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio

Minutes:	38
Calories:	481
Average HR:	141
Max HR:	170

Cardio Abs

Minutes:	17
Calories:	136
Average HR:	114
Max HR:	171

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor and Watch

I was given a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor and watch for my birthday this year and in just a couple weeks, I don't want to exercise without it. It is easy to set up, and the chest strap and monitor are comfortable. It's got a clear display. One really cool thing is that both our home treadmill and the treadmills at the gym are Polar compatible, so the treadmill display and computer constantly are being updated with my heartrate. Which seems to be helping more accurately show my calorie burn (which is lower than it shows without the HR). It's interesting to see that the machines have been overestimating my calorie burn.

I wear the watch and strap during my Insanity workouts and it's great.

You should check it out!

INSANITY - Day 16: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Today I had a friend who generally works out at the gym about the same time as me show up at the with his son and asked if they could join us for our 'warm up' I said sure (with a little inward grin knowing what the warmup entails). Now having a second adult in the room really made me push harder for whatever reason (probably didn't want to look bad in front of my friend) So yeah, all around dug deeper and pushed harder. Awesome workout.

Followed up with a 1.5 mile treadmill run at 14m 45s.

Day #16 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	43
Calories:	591
Average HR:	149
Max HR:	171

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 15: Fit Test #2

Fit Test #2 was really good! I made some great gains from last time.

Fit Test #2

Exercise	Fit Test 1	Fit Test 2	% Change
Switch Kicks	56	84	+50%
Power Jacks	46	55	+19%
Power Knees	75	100	+33%
Power Jumps	27	47	+74%
Globe Jumps	8	12	+50%
Suicide Jumps	12	18	+50%
Push-Up Jacks	22	36	+63%
Low Plank Oblique	24	30	+25%

Average Change +%45

Day #15 Fitness Stats

Minutes:	27
Calories:	255
Average HR:	119
Max HR:	175

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 14: REST! and 2 week stats!

2 weeks down and enjoying a rest day! Went clothes shopping for the first time in a while yesterday at Kohls. Bought 32-32 jeans for the first time in about 15 years as a comparison, last summer, I had some 36-32 jeans that were a little too tight.

Went on a 7 mile run this afternoon and felt really good!
Runtastic Link => http://t.co/jj0JHV0Aka

Here are my stats after 2 weeks:

Current:
Weight: 182.8lbs
Body Fat (caliper): 23.2%
BMI: 26

Changes:
Weight: - 3.4lbs
Neck: -0.5in
Chest: - 0.75in
Waist (at Navel): - 0.5in
Hips: same
Thigh: -0.5in

Also I picked up this Accumeasure set from Amazon.  It comes with a nice tape measure that clips to make a circle. It makes measuring yourself a lot easier. Also the BF% calipers work well.

INSANITY - Day 13: Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Today was the first time doing both Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs together. I wasn't sure what to expect with Cardio abs. I was happy there are no situps or crunches. But C sit exercises and lots of plank. Holy cow what a burn. I have a ways to go before I'll make it through that video without stopping! Felt good overall. Looking forward to comparing my 2 week stats tomorrow and doing the fit test again monday to see what kind of progress I've made in 2 weeks!

Day #13 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs

Minutes:	56
Calories:	530
Average HR:	121
Max HR:	165

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 12: Cardio Power and Resistance

Today was kind of meh. Low energy. ugh, not much to say about it. Getting used to this routine. Still pretty tough though. Ran 2 miles afterwards at 9:45 minute mile pace average.

Day #12 Fitness Stats

Cardio Power and Resistance

Minutes:	41
Calories:	468
Average HR:	133
Max HR:	167

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 11: Cardio Recovery

Cardio recovery is a good day. I was starting to feel some soreness last night and a day of slow movements and stretching is just what I needed. Afterwards, I did a nice slow 12 minute mile to keep my HR up for a while longer.

Day #11 Fitness Stats

Cardio Recovery

Minutes:	33
Calories:	89
Average HR:	80
Max HR:	110

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 10: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

This was the 3rd time through plyo cardio circuit and it went well. I really held on until close to the end of the circuits. There is a section with 'Level 1 Drills' where you put your arms up, go down to the floor jump back to plank, do 4 pushups, then do plank run for 8 count, then jump back in, then stand up and restart. It wipes me out! I'll get there. I just need to get my core and arms stronger. Followed the workout with a 10 minute mile on the treadmill.

Day #10 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	43
Calories:	513
Average HR:	136
Max HR:	170

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 9: Pure Cardio

Today was certainly better than the last time not this workout. Didn't reall fall off until just about the end. Felt super good. Also did an 8:35 minute mile on the treadmill afterwards!

Day 9 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio

my sensor slid down and stopped tracking part way through this workout, so I don't have good numbers on it. But comparing it with last time when my sensor was fine, I'm estimating about 475 cals burned ( for the purposes of myFitnessPal )

INSANITY - Day 8 - Cardio Power and Resistance

I did Cardio Power and Resistance for the 2nd time today. I felt a little stronger, because I was able to push just a little harder on the cardio end and keep up with the workout a little longer.

Day 8 Fitness Stats

Cardio Power and Resistance

Minutes:	39:37
Calories:	463
Average HR:	135
Max HR:	170

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 6: Plyometric Cardio Circuit & Day 7: REST!!!!

Week 1 is done and tomorrow is a rest day! We were back to Plyo Cardio Circuit today. I think it went better than tuesday for sure. One cool thing is that I actually made it through the warm up cycle without having to stop. So that is an accomplishment for me. I lost 1.2 pounds this week taking me down to an even 185. I need to get some calipers so I can measure body fat. Not sure if my weight loss was offset by any new muscle or not. I'm certainly ready for week #2. 

Day #6 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	#43
Calories:	#497
Average HR:	#135
Max HR:	#164

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 5: Pure Cardio

Pure Cardio today, lived up to it's name. I hung in there for most of the workout and only had to drop out a few times. Started with standard INSANITY warmup (which is a great warmup!) Stretching, then about 15 minutes of 1 minute exercises, then cool down. Left me dripping.

I felt so good afterwards I ran an 8:46 minute mile on the treadmill before leaving the gym.

Day #5 Fitness Stats

Pure Cardio

Minutes:	39
Calories:	465
Average HR:	137
Max HR:	165

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 4: Cardio Recovery

Day 4 of INSANITY is Cardio Recovery. I thought this was probably a clever irony and that it was going to be just as crazy as the last 2 days, but no, it was actually recovery. Slow reps of deep squats and lunges (plenty of burn!), plank work, stretching. Not a cardio workout at all. I took off my HRM about 1/2 way through because of this. Nice to have a 'day off' while still doing some work.

I did a slow 12 minute mile afterwards to match the feel of the workout.

Day #4 Fitness Stats

Cardio Recovery

Minutes:	32
Calories:	N/A
Average HR:	N/A
Max HR:	N/A

INSANITY - Day 3: Cardio Power and Resistance

Day 3 is done. 5:00am arrived as usual with Noah and I at the Annex. Cardio Power and Resistance starts with the same warm up and keeps a circuit feel. Lots of upper body (arms, chest, shoulders), core and jumping today. It felt good. I told Noah that one thing I'm working on is keeping my core tight during the movements. That is tough, but getting better already, I can see how it makes a major difference. I cooled off with a 9min 45 sec mile on the treadmill for good measure. 

Day 3 Fitness Stats

Cardio Power and Resistance

Minutes:	40:17
Calories:	451
Average HR:	132
Max HR:	164

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

INSANITY - Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Today was the first 'real' day of INSANITY. Noah and I got to the gym (known as the Annex) at 5:00am ready to go. We popped in the Plyometric Cardio Circuit DVD and dove in.

 The DVD starts with the same warmup as the fit test and after going through the half dozen or so movements I was expecting to start, nope. Do those again...faster. Then again faster! Oh yeah. I had heard the warmup really got you going. After that, several minutes of nice streching preceded the 'circuits'. What a great workout. I must admit I did not keep up 100%, but think I at least managed 85%-%90. Also my strength gave out on me before my endurance did, which means all the running has really paid off. I think I'll be able to get a lot out of the program because I'm not panting like a dog after 5 minutes.  42 minutes later we finished the routine and I was pumped.

I felt so good that I had to jump on the treadmill for a mile to cool down.

 I am amped about this program. Can't wait for day 3.

Day 2 Fitness Stats

Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Minutes:	42
Calories:	498
Average HR:	131
Max HR:	166

Stats taken with Polar Ft7 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Google Affiliate Ad)

New fun Games for my Birthday!

In addition to everything else, I love to play a good a good board/strategy game. So here are 2 games that I got from my awesome wife and kids for my birthday. Star Fluxx and the Expansion "Inns and Cathedrals" for Carcassonne.

    

Star Fluxx is a stand alone card game, based on the Fluxx (Google Affiliate Ad) card game. But instead of common items, it uses Sci-Fi tropes as the theme. We played it and it's really fun and has some good dynamics that set it apart from the original. It's gonna get played a bunch I'm sure.

Inns and Cathedrals is an expansion pack for Rio Grande's Carcassonne (Google Affiliate Ad) which adds a coulpe new dynamics to the original game (which you need in order to use this pack). It made the game a bit more cutthroat. It was fun. It also makes it so that you can play 6 players instead of 5, which is always nice for game night. Carcassonne is a great game because it takes a little strategy, but even my 8 year old can play it and enjoy himself.

Let the INSANITY Begin!

I received 2 health related items for my birthday.  Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor (Google Affiliate Ad) (which I will review in another post) and the INSANITY workout from Beachbody. So my oldest son and I hit the Gym at 5:00am this morning, popped in the first DVD. The first day of INSANITY is a 'Fit Test' which is a series of 8 exercises that you perform individually for 1 minute each as fast as you can. Then you record how many repetitions you did. Through the 9 week program, you do this test every 2 weeks , then at the end to see what kind of progress you are making. Here are this morning's stats:

Exercise	Reps
Switch Kicks	56 per leg
Power Jacks	46
Power Knees	75
Globe Jumps	8
Suicide Jumps	12
Push Up Jacks	22
Low Plank Oblique	24 per leg

I've committed not only to complete the program in the allotted time, but also to follow (to the best of my ability) the Nutritional guide provided with the DVDs. You first Calculate your caloric needs using the Harris Benedict Equation (which has been around for almost 100 years) and then adjusting the result to your specific goals (weight loss, weight gain, maintain weight) against the program. I myself will be upping my calorie intake quite a bit from the calorie restricted diet that has helped me lose my first 50 pounds. The guide then gives you a plan for how what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it. In reviews of INSANITY that I have read, most people who talk about getting great results from this program followed the nutrition plan. Those that did not, did not see as good results. So I might as well do what I'm told! Since I've been eating a calorie restricted diet for the last 3 months, I'm ramping up to my calories over the first week adding a little more each day.

I am really excited to be doing this program and I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

edit: Here is my starting photo

My Weekly Workout

After hitting a plateau about a month ago, I added in weight training to my running. My current workout schedule looks like this:

Day	Weight Training	Cardio
Monday	Chest Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Flat Barbell Bench Press Incline Dumbbell Flyes Cable Crossovers Triceps Close Grip Bench Press Overhead Rope Extensions Reverse Pushdowns Core Captains Chair Leg Raises (Straight and Twisting) Crunch Machine Dorsal Raise with Weighted Ball	Jog/Run 3.5 Miles
Tuesday	Back Wide Grip Pullup Lat Pulldown Seated Cable Row Bent Over Barbell Row Biceps Standing Barbell Curl Alternate Dumbbell Curl Hammer Curl Core See Monday	Jog/Run 3.5 Miles
Wednesday		Jog/Run 5-6.2 Miles
Thursday	Shoulders Overhead Press Dumbell Lateral Raises Bent Over Reverse Crossovers Plate Shrugs Core See Monday	Jog/Run 3.5 Miles
Friday	Legs Barbell Squat Leg Extension Machine Stiff Leg Deadlift Leg Curl Machine Standing Dumbbell Calf Raises	Jog/Run 2 Miles Warmup
Saturday		Jog/Run 5-6 Miles
Sunday	Rest

I try to hit the gym around 5:00am and be done by 6:15am on weekdays and sleep in a little longer on Saturday. I find I am in a much better mood when I've worked out and get a good start on the day!

myFitnessPal

Every once and a while, a website comes along that changes the way the you go about your daily life. Gmail, Facebook, Twitter just to name a few. myfitnesspal found it's way into my daily routine very easily. One stumbling block of keeping a food diary has always been knowing how many calories something is, what the serving size is, and keeping the information in a way that is useful and convenient. myfitnesspal does all that. At it's core is the food diary. You define up to 6 'meals' a day that you want to track and when you eat something you choose a meal and click add. A quick search of the very large database and generally you can find what you are looking for. If not, you can always just quick add calories if you have a guess. The site has good mobile apps that really make it easy to use. A barcode scanner in the mobile apps lets you enter packaged food by scanning it's barcode, it rarely cannot find what I'm looking for. MFP then helps you keep track of calorie intake. It also hooks up to several fitness apps like Endomondo, Runtastic, Fitbit and others to help you keep track of burned calories. The site lets you track measurements for weight and body size (or any arbitrary numeric measurement). There is then some basic reporting features on this data. That is probably one of the areas the site needs the most work, but it does seem pretty new still. The site has some social features and an active user forum, best of all, it's free. 

I would highly recommend that if you are wanting to do a food diary, to check out myfitnesspal,  it has helped me stay focused on my goals for over 80 days now and still going strong.

A New Start and a Recap of the Last Year

This blog has gone through a bunch of changes over the last few years. Generally reflecting the things that I am focusing on at the time. For the foreseeable future, I will be focusing on something new:  In the summer of 2012 I realized that I was not only getting overweight, but I had crossed a line. I had seen on weight charts that I was 'obese' but just said "oh, those charts are broken, I'm fine" Then I saw this photo of myself and knew I had been lying to myself and I had to do something. ( by the way, that's my youngest son with me in the photo)

July 2012 at 235lbs

It was late in the summer that I decided what I was going to do to try to make a difference in my life. I purchased my first pair of running shoes and hit the local high school track. I knew if I spent some money on the process, it would help me stick to it.

 My first time out, I could not jog around the track one time without stopping, 1/4 mile, slow jog was too much for me. It took a while to build up. 6 weeks later I participated in a fundraiser 5K for my kid's preschool and ran it in 34 min 55seconds. Not too shabby, I was down to just under 230lbs and felt pretty good. I managed to twist my ankle soon after and by December it had gotten cold outside and I stopped running to let my ankle heal.

In January, my wife and I bought a treadmill, and I hit it pretty hard. I put in 4 to 5 runs a week on it averaging 5K distance each time. I also signed up for myFitnessPal and Runtastic to log my activity. One thing I did not do in the fall was change the way I ate. So I drastically cut my eating and kept close tabs on it. In 2 weeks I dropped 10lbs, and after 4 weeks, I was down 20lbs. Then the circuit board on our treadmill died. As an employee at Greenville College, I have access to our sports training facility.  So I started going there in the mornings before work. In February, I ran 66 miles total.

At the beginning of March, I weighed in at 198lbs. The first time had been under 200 for about 15 years. I ran 111 miles that month (including a 59 minute 10K on the treadmill) and added weight training into my fitness routine.

Today, April 3rd 2013 I weighed in at 188lbs.

April 3rd, 2013 - 188lbs

I've still got a ways to go until I reach my ultimate fitness goals which are ever evolving, but I'm going to be blogging about them right here, I've been working hard for over 80 days now and I need all the motivation and accountability I can get. I'll talk more about some specifics about the tools I'm using, the routine I've put together, my goals and such in future posts. I just needed to post this backstory to give context for my future posts.

If you are on myFitnessPal, feel free to friend me, my username is johnnyGizmo of all things.

My New Blog

I just started a new blog to talk specifically about music and being a musician. Check it out at

http://ds-al-coda.blogspot.com/

I called it DS al Coda, because in music the DS as Coda gives us direction where to go next. Not surprisingly, where to go next is something that faces a lot of us who aspire to be the best musician we can be. So stop on by and check it out. Subscribe with your rss reader or whatever. Just enjoy and feel free to comment. I want to hear your opinions on the topics I write as well.

Johnny

Pedalboard Planner Blog Now Up

The Pedalboard planner blog is now up at

http://pedalboardplanner.com/blog

I'll be moving some of my gear related posts over there and adding reviews of gear there too. Hope to see you there!

Pedalboard Planner Sponsor

Pedalboard Planner now has an official sponsor. WE are proudly brought to you by Pedaltrain. Pedaltrain makes some great pedalboards, and now you can use pedalboard planner to see how your effects will fit on a Pedaltrain pedalboard.

Thirtysomething pre-med

My wife has a new blog that she just started to chronicle her journey to becoming a doctor. The only difference is that she is starting in her 30's rather than her teens. So if you want some light hearted commentary on her new journey of education as well as some great stories of what it's like going back to the same college you graduated from a decade earlier, check it out at thirtysomething pre-med.

Pedalboard Planner

In trying to figure out exactly how to set up my pedalboard and figure out what size board I could use (and still have room to grow) I wanted a program that would let me pull in the pedals I use, and move them around on the screen. So I've begun a little project called Pedalboard Planner. It uses HTML canvas (no Internet Explorer at the moment, but I'm working on that.) Check it out

Pedalboard Planner

It's still very much in beta, so send me your comments.

Riff of the Week

I came across a great resource for all you guitarists out there. It's called Riff of the Week. It is a weekly vidcast by a guy named Dave Weiner. Dave is the 'other' guitarist for Steve Vai's band. Dave takes a few minutes each week to show a cool riff, technique or tonal idea. He also has put up a section on his website with a bunch of background tracks for practicing improvisation. They range in style from Jazz to Metal, in several different keys and modal tonalities. Like I said, a great resource. So, check it out at http://www.riffoftheweek.com

Tech Tools for Musicians - Lilypond

Musical scoring is a much needed evil. From trying to put together a lead sheet to a full up score, if you want to communicate with musicians, it is the best way. But my handwriting is terrible! You do not want to see a handwritten piece of music from me. So that is where software comes in. The full version of Finale (one of the premier notation software tools) is $450. Sometimes I just want to create a few lines of music for a student for free. But I want it to look good. Also the option of having TAB isn't bad either. It's this need that led me to Lilypond.

Lilypond at it's simplest is a text based generator for quality music scores. The upside is that it is open source. The downside is how you make a score. It is fully text based. But fear not. If you are a quick study, you will be making nice looking scores in no time.

For instance, say you wanted to create a simple line of music like this:

You would create a text file that looked something like this.

\version "2.13.3"
\score {

 \relative c' { c4 d e f  e d g a  c,8 d e f e d g a  c d e f e d g a }
}

Now before you freak out that this is impossible, lets break it down. The first line is simply the version of lilypond you are using. The next line is the begining of a new score. Then a line of notes. The \relative c' means that the notes are relative to middle C. Then as you write in notes it goes to the nearest pitched note. If you want to force it up or down an octave you use an apostrophe or a comma and you add a number behind notes to indicate their duration. the same duration is used on subsequent notes until a new duration is given.

Once you have Lilypond installed and you give this file a name like music.ly, all you have to do is double click the file and Lilypond will generate a PDF of your music. With a few extra commands, you can have it also generate svg, png or postscript.

You can see some examples of very complex scores at the Lilypond site.

There are many types of extras you can add to the score like:

\header {
title = "Practice Etude #1"
composer = "Johnny Matthews (1976-)"
}
\version "2.13.3"
melody =  { c4 d e f  e d g a  c,8 d e f e d g a  c d e f e d g a }
\score {
<<  \new Staff \relative c { 

   \clef "treble_8"  

  \melody  

 } 

 \new TabStaff \relative c {  

  \set TabStaff.minimumFret = #0

     \melody

   }

>>
}
\score {
<<

  \new Staff \relative c { 

   \clef "treble_8"

    \melody

   }

  \new TabStaff \relative c {

    \set TabStaff.minimumFret = #5 

    \melody 

  }

>>

}

and here is the result:

As you can see I've reused the melody 4 times, 2 times in music and 2 times in TAB. I altered the second line of TAB to have a minimum fret of 5. Lilypond does the fingering for me. You can override the fingering if you really want to. The possibilities are really quite extreme. There are tons of features and settings. From articulations, chords names, chord charts, lyrics, altered note heads (for percussion notation), we have barely scratched the surface here.

Stay tuned for some more in depth tutorials on using Lilypond.

Pizza Night

Recently a co-worker of mine wrote about making pizza, and I was inspired to do the same.

If there is one food I love in most of it's forms, it's pizza. My family loves it as well. With 7 of us (including grandpa) we can go through a couple of large pizzas without too much trouble and at $10-$15 a pizza, ordering in is expensive. I enjoy cooking a good meal and so about 6 months ago I started looking up pizza on the internet. I found a dough recipe that sounded good and the same with the sauce. I have over time altered the recipe a bit and have come up with something that my family loves and is fun to make. Also, depending on the toppings, is very inexpensive.

The Dough

2 Cups Warm Water

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

4 1/2 to 5 Cups White Flour

(substitute 2 of the cups with whole wheat flour for a heartier dough)

1/2 Tsp dry yeast

Mix the water, sugar, salt, olive oil and 2 cups of flour till well mixed. Add 2 more cups flour about 1/2 cups at a time till it makes a sticky ball. Start kneading the dough adding a little flour at a time to keep the ball from sticking. Add the yeast and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide into 2 balls, and set them in a covered bowl for 1 to 2 hours.

The Sauce

2 Cans Tomato Sauce

1 Tablespoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Garlic Powder, Basil, Oregano, other Italian spices to taste.

Combine and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Cover and simmer on med-low for about 30-45 minutes.

Assembly

Preheat your oven and baking stone to 475.

Press dough ball into circle and use a rolling pin to extend it out to size (you can throw it if you so choose). Use corn meal to dust dough and place on stone. Add 1/2 the sauce, cheese and any other toppings you like. Cook for around 10-12 minutes on the middle rack. Watch closely so that you do not burn your cheese.

By the way if you are going to do this, I would recommend buying your cheese in bulk at Sam's Club. You can get a 20 cup bag of shredded mozzarella for about $8.50. That's really cheap compared to the little 2 cup bags of cheese you get at the grocery store for $3.00 or more each. That really brings the cost down. All in all you can make a couple large pizzas for only a few dollars each.

Learning Modes - Some formulas

Once you start getting the idea of modes, one of the easiest ways to deal with them is knowing how they are spelled relative to their ionian version. We can Use the key of C as a great example.

C Ionian     C  D  E  F  G  A  B    C Major
C Dorian     C  D  Eb F  G  A  Bb   Bb Major
C Phrygian   C  Db Eb F  G  Ab Bb   Ab Major
C Lydian     C  D  E  F# G  A  B    G Major
C Mixolydian C  D  E  F  G  A  Bb   F Major
C Aeolian    C  D  Eb F  G  Ab Bb   Eb Major
C Locrian    C  Db Eb F  Gb Ab Bb   Db Major

Since C Ionian has no altered notes, we can use that as a very nice baseline

Ionian      - No Changes
Dorian      - b3 b7
Phrygian    - b2, b3, b6, b7
Lydian      - #4
Mixolydian  - b7
Aeolian     - b3, b6, b7
Locrian     - b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

So if we simply apply this formula to a major/ionian scale, we transform it into that mode.

Learning Modes - Extending the Chords

Now that we have a list of the triads that are diatonic to the modes of our key, we can extend them to include the diatonic 7th chords of the modes. We now have an even wider canvas to paint with. You may just thing that this is just slapping 7ths on each chord type. For Diminished and Minor, it pretty much is. But for the major 7ths you have to be careful. Because 2 will be major 7th and 1 will be dominant 7th.

I          Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
Imaj7      Ionian,Lydian
I7         Mixolydian
i          Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
imin7      Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
i°         Locrian
i°7        Locrian
II         Lydian
II7        Lydian 
ii         Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
iimin7     Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
ii°        Aeolian ii°7    Aeolian
bII        Phrygian,Locrian
bIImaj7    Phrygian,Locrian
iii        Ionian,Lydian
iiimin7    Ionian,Lydian
iii°       Mixolydian
iii°7      Mixolydian
bIII       Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
bIIImaj7   Dorian,Aeolian
bIII7      Phrygian
biii       Locrian
biiimin7   Locrian
IV         Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
IVmaj7     Ionian,Mixolydian
IV7        Dorian
iv         Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
ivmin7     Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
#iv°       Lydian
#iv°7      Lydian
V          Ionian,Lydian
Vmaj7      Lydian
V7         Ionian
v          Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
vmin7      Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
v°         Phrygian
v°7        Phrygian
bV         Locrian
bVmaj7     Locrian
vi         Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi min7    Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi°        Dorian
vi°7       Dorian
bVI        Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
bVImaj7    Phrygian,Aeolian
bVI7       Locrian
vii°       Ionian
vii°7      Ionian
vii        Lydian
vii min7   Lydian
bVII       Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
bVII maj7  Dorian,Mixolydian
bVII7      Aeolian
bvii       Phrygian,Locrian
bvii min7  Phrygian,Locrian

Learning Modes - Another Step

In my last post, we looked at a very simple chord progression with a couple of chords. Most likely you will be playing music that is much more complicated. So what happens when a Cm shows up in your song in G major? There is a note in that chord that is not in your key! Well there are a couple things you can do here.

• Do not play an E during this chord
• Switch to C Minor
• Find some other mode that works

Well option 1 is simple enough, but we want to spice things up a little. Option 2 and 3 actually go together. If we look closely at C minor, we find that it is 3 flats. Bb,Eb,Ab. Now by looking at the key signature, we see that the relative Major to C minor is Eb Major. If we look at the relative Majors to modes of G, we have G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb-Ab. So Eb Major == 3rd mode of G, which is G Phrygian. To see what other modes of G we could play over this Cm chord, we simply need to see which of the modes of G contain a Cm chord. Well since Cm is C-Eb-G we can see that Eb Major, Bb Major and Ab Major have Eb's in them (as well as C's and G's). So our options for playing over a Cm in G are

• G Phrygian (Eb Major)
• G Aeolian/minor (Bb Major)
• G Locrian (Ab Major)

Get ready for a little bit of information overload. If we take the notes of the modes of G

G Ionian     G A  B  C  D  E  F#  G Major
G Dorian     G A  Bb C  D  E  F   F Major
G Phrygian   G Ab Bb C  D  Eb F   Eb Major
G Lydian     G A  B  C# D  E  F#  D Major
G Mixolydian G A  B  C  D  E  F   C Major
G Aeolian    G A  Bb C  D  Eb F   Bb Major
G Locrian    G Ab Bb C  Db Eb F   Ab Major

and then figure out what all the triads are

Ionian         G  Am Bm  C   D  Em F#°
Dorian         Gm Am Bb  C   Dm E° F
Phrygian       Gm Ab Bb  Cm  D° Eb Fm
Lydian         G  A  Bm  C#° D  Em F#m
Mixolydian     G  Am B°  C   Dm Em F
Aeolian        Gm A° Bb  Cm  Dm Eb F
Locrian        G° Ab Bbm Cm  Db Eb Fm

we can make a list of the modes that contain each chord

G   Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
Gm  Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
G°  Locrian
A   Lydian
Am  Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
Ab  Phrygian,Locrian
A°  Aeolian
Bm  Ionian,Lydian
B°  Mixolydian
Bb  Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
Bbm Locrian
C   Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
Cm  Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
C#° Lydian
D   Ionian,Lydian
Dm  Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
D°  Phrygian
Db  Locrian
Em  Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
E°  Dorian
Eb  Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
F#° Ionian
F#m Lydian
F   Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
Fm  Phrygian,Locrian 

Then we can generalize them into a more portable method using chord numbers

I     Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
i     Dorian,Phrygian,Aeolian
i°    Locrian
II    Lydian
ii    Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
ii°   Aeolian
bII   Phrygian,Locrian
iii   Ionian,Lydian
iii°  Mixolydian
bIII  Dorian,Aeolian,Phrygian
biii  Locrian
IV    Ionian,Dorian,Mixolydian
iv    Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
#iv°  Lydian
V     Ionian,Lydian
v     Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
v°    Phrygian
bV    Locrian
vi    Ionian,Lydian,Mixolydian
vi°   Dorian
bVI   Phrygian,Aeolian,Locrian
vii°  Ionian
vii   Lydian
bVII  Dorian,Mixolydian,Aeolian
bvii  Phrygian,Locrian

Now if we use this chart we can easily get our list of available modes for many chords that may be in our tune. If we run across an Ab major chord in our key of G tune (which would be a bII), we see that G phrygian (Eb Major) or G Locrian (Ab Major) might work well. Which would make sense since playing Ab major over an Ab Major chord would make sense.

Does this mumbo jumbo make sense? Have I made a chordal miscalculation? Sound off in the comments.

Learning Modes - Putting Something Together

Now that we can find a major scale that is equivalent to a mode we need to be able to know how to choose which modes to play. Here is one method that can yield some good results. For starters lets look at a very simple chord progression in the key of G:

|: G | C | G | D7 :|

We need to determine what modes work with which chords. To do this of course, we need to be able to spell our chords. First take G Major which is made up of G-B-D. Lets find which modes retain these 3 notes.

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - This works
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - Nope it has a Bb
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - Nope Bb and Eb
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

So from this we see that G Ionian (major),G Lydian and G Mixolydian will work for a G Major chord.

Next we look at C Major which is made of C-E-G

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - No
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - Yes
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

C major works with G Major, G Dorian and G Mixolydian

and Finally D7 which is D-F#-A-C

G Ionian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G) - Yes
G Dorian (G,A,Bb,C,D,E,F,G) - No
G Phrygian (G,Ab,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Lydian (G,A,B,C#,D,E,F#,G) - No
G Mixolydian (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G) - No
G Aeolian (G,A,Bb,C,D,Eb,F,G) - No
G Locrian (G,Ab,Bb,C,Db,Eb,F,G) - No

So we will stick with G Major for the D7

When we map this out

|:G	C	G	D7 :|
G Major G Lydian (D Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major G Dorian (F Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major G Lydian (D Major) G Mixolydian (C Major)	G Major

So we have several options here we can play major all the way or use any combination we choose. When we use G Lydian we have a #4 note added and when we play G Mixolydian we have a b7 note.

We could of course look at the scales under the C chord in terms of C if you really wanted to, You would find that G Dorian = C Mixolydian,G Major = C Lydian and we already saw that G Mixolydian = C Major, but these are all enharmonic and so dealing with them all as modes of G can make it easier for some.

So here is an mp3 (inside the zip file) of these 3 chords that you can put on repeat on your computer and try jamming over these chords using these modes. I threw this together at 1:30am, so it probably won't sound very good. Anyway check it out and good luck!

Learning Modes - Finding the Relative Major

In my last article on modes we discussed how you can find a given mode by playing a major scale at a given interval from the original note.

First take a look at this slightly confusing table.

Mode	Tonality	Steps Down	1/2 Steps Down	Interval Down	1/2 Steps Up	Interval Up
Ionian (Major)	Major		0/12	Unison/Octave	12/0	Unison/Octave
Dorian	Minor	W	2	Major 2nd	10	Minor 7th
Phrygian	Minor	WW	4	Major 3rd	8	Minor 6th
Lydian	Major	WWH	5	Perfect 4th	7	Perfect 5th
Mixolydian	Major / Dom	WWHW	7	Perfect 5th	5	Perfect 4th
Aeolian (Minor)	Minor	WWHWW	9	Major 6th	3	Minor 3rd
Locrian	Diminished	WWHWWW	11	Major 7th	1	Minor 2nd
(Ionian)	Major	WWHWWWH	12/0	Unison/Octave	0/12	Unison/Octave

If you look at this chart you will get a quick reference to where you will find the scale you are needing.

Lets take a example:

Say we are playing a G major chord, we have 3 mode options that might sound good with it. Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian since they are the 3 "major" tonality modes (that is the 3rd is a major 3rd in the mode). So how do we get to G Ionian, G Lydian and G Mixolydian? I always have an easier time going up an interval rather than down so in the chart above, I have converted the intervals down from the WWHWWWH pattern we talked about in the previous article to ascending intervals.

• G Ionian = G Major, since Ionian = Major
• G Lydian is the major scale starting a perfect 5th above the scale in question. So a perfect 5th above G is D. So G Lydian = D Major
• G Mixolydian is the major scale starting a Perfect 4th above the note in question which is C, so G Mixolydian = C Major.

How about minor? If we are playing an F minor chord and want F dorian, F Phrygian or F Aeolian, then we find

• A minor 7th above F is Eb. Eb Major is F dorian
• A minor 6th above F is Db.Db Major is F Phrygian
• A minor 3rd above F is Ab. Ab Major is F Aeolian

Now something you may have noticed is that if we are playing F minor, why don't we play an F minor scale? We actaully do!. When we play Ab major as F aeolian, we are playing F minor. Since Aeolian is the same as natural minor.

So now we can grab a mode from a given chord.

Learning Modes - The Relative Major Way

Ok so I did not invent this, but I did come up with it out of my own studies (as my college theory prof told me...the hard way). But I like many others learned early on 3 things about modes

1. The seven modes were just "starting" on the 7 notes of the scale. So If you were playing a C major scale and went from D to D it was D dorian, E to E was E Phrygian, etc.
2. Modes could sound really cool.
3. Modes were hard to apply in real life.

So I have had an idea to make a play-along CD/MP3 set for my guitar students where they would get simple to progressively more intricate chord progressions to try to improvise over and give them advice on trying different modes with them. The problem was trying to find a quick way to determine what mode went with what scale.  I did not want C major, D Dorian, E Phrygian, etc. I wanted C Major, C Dorian, C Phrygian, etc. So what was a quick way to find this. Well, I started by writing them out.

C Major	C	D	E	F	G	A	B
C Dorian	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	Bb
C Phrygian	C	Db	Eb	F	G	Ab	Bb
C Lydian	C	D	E	F#	G	A	B
C Mixolydian	C	D	E	F	G	A	Bb
C Aeolian	C	D	Eb	F	G	Ab	Bb
C Locrian	C	Db	Eb	F	Gb	Ab	Bb

Then of course since modes were just scales starting on different notes of a certain key then each of these should be enharmonic to a major scale. So I wrote those out

C Major (Ionian)	C Major
C Dorian	Bb Major
C Phrygian	Ab Major
C Lydian	G Major
C Mixolydian	F Major
C Aeolian	Eb Major
C Locrian	Db Major

Well that was all helpful and all but I wanted a pattern to follow. How could this list of keys be related? Well Somehow I noticed a pattern

Bb is a whole step below C, Ab is a whole step below Bb and G is a halfstep below Ab. Whole, Whole Half. Well if you are familiar with how a major scale is built, it Goes

Whole, Whole, Half, Whole, Whole, Whole, Half 

in the forward direction (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C)

When you look at the relative major keys that make up the modes of a given key. They use the same pattern going backwards.

C,Bb,Ab,G,F,Eb,Db,C

So if you are in C and want to play C Lydian, since lydian is the 4th mode. You can go down Whole (to dorian), Whole (to Phrygian) , Half (to Lydian) which is the Key of G Major. So if you play G Major over a C major that is C Lydian. Which works since Lydian is the same as a raised 4th. F is the 4th note of the C scale and in the key of G it is sharped.

Now should you ignore how to spell your modes without this method? Certainly not! but this can give you a "cheat sheet" way of getting into a given mode.

Next time we will talk about applying this to the guitar.