Le Chinese Nouveau Year…

No, I haven't done session 6 of SMR yet.

I've been doing some reflecting lately.

For one thing, I don't like how my lower soleus and ankles have been hurting the last couple weeks. Something is wrong with my squat form, and I'd rather work that glitch out than keep adding weight onto it.

For another thing, I'm tired of eating as much as SMR ('ideally') requires and I'm tired of the digestive snags caused by so much milk ingestion. I stopped liking milk in high school and only drink it for gaining mass. But doing so also means investing in digestive aids (e.g. live bacteria pills to compensate for my oh so typical lactose intolerance), which is both a fiscal and a metabolic bummer.

I also fell in love (again!) with plyometrics and basic bodyweight/plyometric strength training as a result of my workout a few days ago at the park.

Yesterday I took my girlfriend to the park to show her my exercises, which meant I had a mild-to-decent-ish workout for 20–30 minutes.

Tonight, after tutoring, I was feeling "frisky", so I went to the park to "mess around"… but there were some high school kids loitering on some of the equipment, which broke my stride.

So then I drove to a nearby elementary school I had cased this afternoon… but, alas, the three-foot high gate was closed, which would have justified the groggy, elderly gate guards preventing me from entering.

Miffed, I went home, pondering how I could work out there.

A few weeks ago at a hardware store, I bought, among other things, a 1m cargo strap. Tonight I finally utilized the awning-trellis outside my apartment building to do pullups, chinups, and hanging leg raises with the strap. I also dug out a loading bungee I had in a box and did some tricep, deltoid, pectoral, and bicep exercises. I also looped a large loading hook I have onto the strap to do some lassoing for my core. (My cargo strap is nice and thick, so it doesn't cut into the flesh too much.) Outside I found a decent 2"x2"plank of wood to thread into the loops for pullups, as well. I also did some movements with my homemade Indian clubs. A groovy time.

The upshot is this: I certainly intend to keep hitting the weights at the gym… but I'm more interested (again) in really being able to move my body dynamically and explosively.

So, once I finish SMR––or at least a modified SMR––, I think I will alternate one week of my A-routine with one week of bodyweight exercises (BWE)––say, oh, even just these five beastly drills! I reckon a good plan will be to do A1–4 four days of one week and BWE three days of the other week.

Some great BWE (and quasi-BWE), off the top of my head…

Pullups
Pushups
Dips
Jumping rope
Hanging leg lifts
Burpees
Pistol squats
Muscle ups
Chain hoists
Planches
Inverted leg raises
Handstand pushups
Hindu squats
Jumpies
Supermans
Bear crawls
Neck bridging
Abdominal planking
Lassoing
Box jumps

I would love to get a pair of Fat Gripz (though wrapped towels and insulation tubing will suffice till then!) and I will make Brooks D. Kubik's classic Dinosaur Training, Mark Lauren's You Are Your Own Gym, Paul "Coach" Wade's Convict Conditioning, and Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning my guides. One fine day, Deo volente, I will own some real kettlebells. That, and an erg, should complete my personal gym: kettlebells, grip trainers (i.e. wrist squeezers, eagle catchers, gyroscopic balls, wrist rollers), Indian clubs, ropes, bungees, towels, jars, bokken, some plates and dumbbells––that is plenty, and then some. Of course, these grip trainers would be awesome stocking stuffers someday!

Indeed, based on my workout tonight, I have refined my "travel gym": a grip spring (with rubber wedges to increase resistance) and/or a gyroscopic wrist trainer, a cargo strap, a tough bungee cord, a jump rope, and, maybe, Indian clubs. I bet the clubs could even double as a wrist roller. I'm going to Taipei tomorrow for the Chinese New Year, so I will have a chance to try out my traveling gym.

Stay tuned!