21 Day Kettlebell Blast

I've been away for a while, but I'm back. Long story made short, after hitting new PR's on all my major lifts back in May, I hit some road bumps in June and July, and decided to get back on track with a book I'd bought a while ago.

I may follow it up with a more intense kettlebell program, but for now I'm juggling how to program bike riding, boxing, grip training, suspension training, plyometric HIIT (tire, sledge, med ball, jumps, mace, etc.) training, and weightlifting. Bleh.

In any case, here's my reboot progress so far:

Day 1 
warm-up: 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 18 lunges, 10 sling pushups, 16 lunges, 8 sling pushups

35+15# KB swing: left hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
35+15# KB swing: right hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
X 5

wrap-up: jump rope, high knees, etc. 3 min.

Day 2
warm-up: 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 18 lunges, 10 sling pushups, 16 lunges, 8 sling pushups

35+15# KB swing: left hand 30 sec., rest 10 sec.
35+15# KB swing: right hand 30 sec., rest 10 sec.
X 4

wrap-up: walking, 15 min.

Day 3

warm-up: 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 18 lunges, 11 sling pushups, 16 lunges, 10 sling pushups

35+15# KB swing: left hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
35+15# KB swing: right hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
X 3

wrap-up: jump rope, high knees, etc. 3 min. 

Day 4

warm-up: 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 18 lunges, 10 sling pushups, 16 lunges, 8 sling pushups

35+15# KB swing: left hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
35+15# KB swing: right hand 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
X 8

wrap-up: jump rope, high knees, etc. 3 min. 

Hit a wall, going through it

After five consecutive days of training, a weekend of grip training and playing at the beach threw my body "out of whack" (a phrase which for the first time has a personal phenomenological vividness). For the past three days I have done virtually no exercise.* I hit a wall. I needed a break. I needed some space. Even today I was a bit reticent, but the axiom that "how you feel is a lie" was largely borne out once more. Kelso's Shrug Book is more substantial than I expected (i.e. its 94 pages are textbook size and provide numerous photos), and I couldn't wait to apply some of the great things I've read in it so far. A Carpe Ferrum workout was just the sort of rehab-refresher workout I needed.

Carpe Ferrum/Shurg Rush 
60 min., 226 lbs. 

Warm-up: 10 min.

FSQ: 6, 6, 3, 3, 3 @ 165, 185, 205, 235, 255 lbs.

Cable cross shrug: 10, 10, 10 @ 100, 120, 140

DBP: 6, 6, 6, 6, 10, 12 @ 215, 225, 235, 215, 195, 175 lbs.

Bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 215, 225, 235 lbs.

stiff-arm pulldown & dip shrug (or "monkey shrug"):
[I just tried a few of these to get a feel for them. Weighted dip shrugs would be awesome, mega serratus trainer!]

db pullover: 10, 10, 10 @ 55, 60, 65 lbs.

EZ bar spider curl: 6/6, 6/6, 6/6 @ 40, 50, 60 lbs.
[I did the first 6 reps to work the short/inner head, and the next six for the long/outer head.]

-----------------------

* Tuesday I did three sets of ab exercises, and Wednesday I did what was basically a diagnostic grip session. I closed the CoC #2 twice, in two separate attempts, with my right hand, but was "this close" three times with my left hand. I perused my past grip notes here and the best I seem to have achieved, in August 2012, was 4 right closes, and 2 (or 3) left closes. Despite this current setback, the good news is that, only a week or two ago I was unable to close the #2 at all, so my old grip foundation is coming back. Still, it will take time, and I daren't rush into tendonitis. 

Interestingly enough, I must thank last night's grip session for galvanizing me to do today's workout. There's something very special about intense grip training. A serious crush attempt, if done right, will have you flexing an entire side of your body, and will often leave you a little dizzy. (To experience this feeling, try doing half a dozen extremely arduous, standing front pec flexes, each time 5 seconds long, with your fists squeezing as hard as possible.) As I learned long ago, and which was a key impetus for my plunge into serious grip training, the brain will not activate full muscular potential if it's not convinced you have solid grip on the resistant object. By extension, therefore, achieving a solid grip on an object will deeply stimulate larger accessory muscles "up the chain." This is why trying to "crush" the bar helps your bench, and even your squat (cf. step 3), and also ties into effective kettlebell clean and jerk. 

Fitness update...

Strongman training
30 min., 227 lbs.

Mace: 30 lbs. - 10 min.

kb: 35 lbs. - 10 min.

mb: 12 lbs. - 5 min.

Grip:
CoC #1.5 - 6, 6, 6 / 6, 6, 6 L/R
Eagle loop hangs - 10, 10, 10 sec. (4, 3, 3 fingers)

+ + + 

Felt out of shape, uncoordinated, slow. I miss strongman training like that. Gym time is going to have to give. I think I should just do Wendler's 5-3-1. It's "there", proven, not too time-consuming, and perfectly allows for other cross-training/skill-training days. Why reinvent the wheel? We'll see. I admit that last night, despite my brainstorming, I was feeling the addictive urge to hit the weights M-F next week. :)

Gotta get my grip strength back. I used to be able to close the CoC #2 about three times, but now I can't even get 10 closes on a #1.5 Pitiful.

I did discover that KB swings standing atop Ferdinand are much harder than on a firm surface!

I'm planning to make some DIY strongman tools (thick grip db's, farmer walk handles, etc.). Stay tuned.

Mass Made Simple - Time to reassess...

Week 7 of Mass Made Simple is for assessing one's progress and recalibrating one's goals and methods going forward. By the end of MMS (Mass Made Simple), my immune system and sleep were getting a little buggy, Lenten fasting threw my nutrition routine off, and then I mildly strained my knee Thursday night doing some double-KB "recharge" work. (In fact, I had been doing KB drills since Tuesday. KB bench press rocks!) Basically, I hit a wall, and it's time to restrategize.

From early January till now I've been hitting the weights pretty hard and have put on a good 20 lbs of lean body mass, so the quest has hardly been a failure. Did I reach 240 lbs? No, but I am not done bulking. I am simply releasing myself from the accelerated pace at which I've been bulking for almost two months. Weight training itself (as opposed to "augmenting athletic training with weight resistance") is a mega-marathon type sport. Some of the savvier gurus on YouTube, for example, have been weight-training-itself for 15-20 years. I've been doing weight training for less than four years, with a fairly significant hiatus in year three. I've learned a lot and I've gained 50 lbs since I began, and have enjoyed very satisfying gains in the major lifts (MMS helped my otherwise always lousy bench press quite a lot). Now it is simply a time to learn more, and build on a plateau.

I know what movements I want to train, so it's just a question (as always) of effective programming. Each person must adapt successful principles to his own needs. For me, for instance, I need a lot of volume for my chest, whereas I need a lot of power for my back and legs. I also do not enjoy losing whole-body mobility and agility by letting weight training crowd out calisthenic and gymnastic training.

OHS: overhead squat
FSQ: front squat
SQ: (back) squat
DL: deadlift
SDL: snatch deadlift
CX: complexes
MP: military press
OAP: one-arm press
DBP/db-P: decline bench press OR flat dumbbell press
DIP: dips
PU: pullups
CL/SQ: clean/into-front-squat

The above are the motions I prefer and which I believe research will bear out as the most efficient. However, given the demands of the DL, I will only do it every other workout.

So, what will I try today, mainly to get my mind back in the game and climb over the wall of stalled motivation that I ran into last week? Depending how my knee responds....

DBP: 2-3-5 x 2 @ 235 lbs
CX: 8-6-4 [CL/MP/FSQ] @ 115 lbs
PU: bdw for reps
SQ: [will report after workout]
db-P: 10 x 3 @ 70 lbs

For now I’m in a free-flow mode, discerning which program I want to pursue next. I’ve been interested in the 5-3-1 program for a while, so we’ll see. One thing that I do want to restore, is my grip training regimen, with a strong bodyweight dimension to all my training. This video was very "moving" ;) to me when I watched it last night. Enjoy!

Back under the bar!

For the past several weeks, I've been immersed in my main blog, but I have been keeping fit. I will not even attempt to catch up on exactly what I did when, so let me just provide a brief sketch. Every couple days, I did routines anywhere from 15-40 minutes based on the following exercises:

tire flips
tire tennis
tire-sledge hits
medicine ball slams
jump rope
box jumps
high-knee jumps
tire jump-outs
tire stair-climbers
jogging
KB swings
boxing
lasso swings
KB tossing
pullups
dips
L-sits
planking
etc.

Around Christmastime, though, I was finally inspired to get back in the gym. I have missed THE EVIL SQUAT for too long. Being able to DEADLIFT is also wonderful.

My goal is get my muscle used to weightlifting again over the next two weeks, and then complete Dan John's six-week Mass Made Simple program from late-January until mid-March. I weigh 210-215 lbs. now, and I expect to be 220 lbs. when I start bulking in earnest. I want to be at least 230 by mid-March, and woudn't be surprised if I hit 240, which would be a new personal "record".

For now, I'm doing a variation of my Even Keel routine (you can find the basic structure of it here, infra, in orange and purple). I'm now doing a 5(reps)x5(sets) schema, and I have decided not to crash in by going too heavy at first. I'm old enough by now to know that true gains will come in their own time. There's no need to...

Saturday, 4 Jan 2014 
40 min, 212 lbs. 
Quasi Even Keel A

Warm-up

-

SQ : 185 lbs @ 5x5 

Lying T-row : 95 lbs @ 5x5

- 

SDL : 185 lbs @ 5x5

db flye : 45 lbs @ 6x5

- 

db pullover : 65 lbs @ 8x3

Sunday, 6 Jan 2014 
20 min, 213 lbs

tire-sledge hits (8 lbs) x 25 

jump rope 150 skips 

TWICE

heavy bag 2 min

jump rope 150 skips

TWICE

3 Ferdi flips 

Tuesday, 7 Jan 2014 
45 min, 214 lbs 
Quasi Even Keel B

Warm-up

-

DL : 225 lbs @ 5x5 

Dips : bdw @ 6x5

- 

FSQ : 155 lbs @ 5x5

chinups : bdw @ 5x5 

- 

db pullover-press : 60 lbs @ 8x3

standing calf raises (using shurg machine) : 270 lbs @ 10x3  

Fitness notes…

I've been remarkably gloomy this week. Too much of a high, with my daughter Elina's birth (her first! [?]), then a low, with her quasi-ICU extended stay in the hospital, followed by the relocation of my wife and Elina to my in-laws' in northern Taiwan, so Betty can "babysit the month" (坐月子). So here I find myself, by myself, all of a sudden, for the first time in a year or more. It hasn't been baaaad, per se, just... sudden and emotionally disorienting. Kind of the opposite of waking up one morning next to a stranger in your bed. Or is it even your bed?

Anyway, while I didn't go to the gym tonight, and haven't gone all week, I finally got done with some serious puttering and did a workout at home just now. God willing, I get to see my adorable, but still strangely taciturn, one-week old daughter tomorrow night. Hooray!

* * *
Wedndesday, 21 March 2012
45 min., 96.5kg

Gut wrench -
Russian twist: 20/20 x 3 @ 10kg
Engine starter: 20/20 x 3 @ 10kg

Hula hoop: 2 min. x 3

Overhead squat: 20/20, 15/15, 20/20 @ 15kg

[I used the gut wrench for these, which made the bar uneven on the plate-loaded end (natch), so I did equal reps to balance each side.]

bb standing curl: 15/15 x 3 @ 15kg

[Ditto above.]

2" bb tricep press: 15 x 3 @ 18kg

5-spring flye: 20, 20, 15, 12

Ab wheel: 15, 14, 15

Fitness notes…

Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012
Grip training
30 min., 97kg

WARM UP:
• Flail: 30 sec. per hand per vector
• 1'' wrist roller: 2x @ 2.5kg

[Unless specifically noted, the number of reps (e.g. 2x) indicates how many times I did both a flexion-and-unravel and extension-and-unravel exertion. So, 1x means I extended the weight up and unraveled, and then flesed it up and unraveled it (or vice versa).]

• Gut wrench: 60x @ 11kg

[Unless otherwise noted, gut wrench reps are just (semi-)standing “Russian twists”.]

• Hula hoop: 4 min.

GRIP TRAINING:
Heavy 150: 8 reps l.h (5 closes), 8 closes r.h.

CoC #1.5: 6 reps l.h. (3 closes), 6 closes r.h.

Gut wrench: 60x @ 11kg

CoC #2: 6 reps l.h., 6 reps r.h.

Hula hoop: 3 min.

CoC #1.5: 5 reps l.h., 5 closes r.h.

Gut wrench: 60x @ 11kg

Heavy 150: 30 sec. iso. l.h./r.h.

Hula hoop: 3 min.

1'' wrist roller: 3x @ 2.5kg

1'' wrist roller: flexion 3x @ 7.5kg

* * *

According to my records, the last time I really trained grip, was on November 28, 2011. At that time, I think I could only manage one good right-handed close on the CoC #3. So, from one angle, I've fallen behind in a bad way. In another sense, though, it's not like I was at an Olympian level before, so I can and will, God willing, catch up with and surpass myself this time around. Granted, a look at prior notes shows me that what I've really lost is not the power to close #2, but a solid mastery I had over the #1.5, managing 10 closes with both hands twice in one training session (back in October)!

Patience. Humility. Confidence. Progression.

P.S. One cool tidbit: I burst some capillaries in my left pinky and ring finger, as evidenced by the small, purple, and, alas, ephemeral contusions on the fingerprints of those fingers.

Now, where were we?

The past several weeks I have not been weightlifting so much, but I have maintained a pretty satisfying, nearly daily, regiment (except the week I lost to eating and relaxing during Chinese New Year!).

I'm improving at skip rope, and do it almost every day.

I do/have been doing a modified "battling ropes" routine every few days.

Hula hooping is a frequent exercise.

Lots of flail and some good mace drills.

Lots of neck-leash training.

Ab wheel.

Jogging.

Rope pullups.

Also, the past week or two, I was teaching soccer and basketball for a winter camp at my wife's other branch school, so I've done stretching and warmups every morning. Playing with the kids freestyle was so much fun: I felt my old love for and instinct in soccer surge back! Hope to start playing soccer now and then. Great game!

I will begin a new job this Wednesday and on the way home, I pass what will be my new gym. That's right, chilluns, I'm going back to the gym for weightlifting! I'll return to my twice-a-week "Even Keel" routine, with which I saw the best results even in just the month before I left my previous gym.

The Even Keel is all about personal awareness, mindful recovery (i.e. rest as the most important exercise), and the Big Three.

On off-days, I'll do my usual antics: skip rope, soccer, hula hoop, ab wheel, neck training, etc.

My goal is to bulk up to at least 100kg, which I failed to do last year, and to get PRs on all main lifts by the end of 2012.

One thing I'd like to get back to is a morning calisthenic of Hindu squats and pushups, but with a baby on the way, I have a feeling the gym and some off-day fitness will be hard enough to maintain.

One thing I surely must resurrect is my grip training!

In any event, so I can restore the habit of keeping a fitness log, here is what I did yesterday:

Flail: 30 sec, each way, L & R

Hula hoop: 2 min x 3 (half at gut, half at hips)

Neck leash: (10–12 sec deep iso x 3) x 3

1" roller: flex x 2 / extend x 2 @ 2kg (arms propped on top of fridge)

TNT roller: flex x 2 / extend x 2 @ 2kg (")

2" roller: flex x 2 / extend x 2 @ 2kg (")

1" roller: flex x 2 / extend x 2 @ 2kg (")

+ + +

For my neck leash, I usually do small jerking contractions, but today I leaned deeper and held the iso for 10–12 seconds. Higher intensity, lower volume: good. For the rollers, I began by extending up and flex-uncurling –– as one rep –– and then flexed up to extend-uncurl –– as one rep. I did two such reps per set.

For my Even Keel regimen, I'll train every Saturday and then on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending how my body feels. My first day of work is Wednesday, so I'll hit the gym right after work.

(In the future, I will need to go pick up our daughter, wait for my wife to get home, and then get to the gym by 8PM or so. Then again, if I keep my workout to an hour, I can make it in time. Either way, I'm hoping it won't be too crowded at those times!)

Tomorrow will basically be a diagnostic workout, to see how I can maximize the available equipment for my Even Keel, and, especially, to gauge where I am after half a year outside a gym.

CIRCUIT A:

Squat 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Pullup 10+, 10+, 10+ (weighted)

Bench press 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Snatch DL 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Standing military press 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Bench/Spider curl 9, 6, 3 @ kg


CIRCUIT B:

Front squat 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Incline bench press 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Seated hyper-supinated DB curl 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Deadlift 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Pushdowns/Pullovers 9, 6, 3 @ kg

Row 9, 6, 3 @ kg

I have tweaked the rep scheme (9-6-3) in order to focus on the intensity of each rep and to keep the workout short.

Stay tuned.

Fitness notes…

Friday, 2011.11.18
40 min., 95kg

Hula hoop: 1 min. x 3

Jump rope: 50, 100, 120, 125

Neck harness: 30, 35, 45, 40 all four directions

Ab wheel: 14, 17, 20

Flail: 30 sec. per hand both directions x 2

Grip crushing:
Heavy 150: 10 closes
CoC #1.5: 6 closes
CoC #2: 3/3, 3/3
[One solid close r.h.!]
CoC #1.5: 20 sec. hold
Heavy 150: 30 sec. hold

+++

Felt very good to close the #2 again! I was surprised I managed it, and so handily. I only applied chalk for my #2 attempt. I was also very close to a close on my first l.h. attempt. I guess giving my hands a rest for a couple weeks did some good. The hula hoop (esp. a mildly weighted one) is one of the bet all-around exericses devices I've ever used: works the core and hips, activates legs and shoulders (with arms raised), can work arms and wrists, and can work as a skipping trainer spun around each foot, or even as a jump rope!

Fitness notes…

Monday, 2011.10.10

95kg, 20 min. 

Heavy 150: 6 closes

CoC #1.5: 6 closes

CoC #2: 4/2 

[4 helped closes per hand, followed by 2 more helped closes per hand.] 

CoC #1.5: 6/4 

[6 closes per hand, followed by 4 helped closes.] 

+ + + 

The past few days I've been making a new "toy" and have only gotten in ab wheel rolls, presses, rows, etc. to "maintain".  

I was working on the toy this evening, the construction of which taxed my forearms, so I'm not terribly surprised by my dismal performance this grip session. I used no chalk on my first two sets, which is good. Onward.

+ + +

After dinner (at a delicious beef place nearby) I did 20 minutes of various drills (rows, presses, curls, extensions, etc.) with my (now 11kg) mace, 2" dumbbell, and new 10kg "medicine pillar" toy. Good stuff. 

Fitness notes…

Tuesday, 2011.10.4
95kg, 30–40 min.

Warmup:
Jog and stretch (5–10 mins)

Grip crushing:
Heavy 150: 6 closes
CoC #1.5: 6 closes
CoC #2: 4 reps
[1-2 closes r.h., 0 closes l.h.]
CoC #2: forced negative ~30 sec.
Heavy 150 & CoC #1.5: ~30 sec
[Had the Heavy 150  in my r.h. and the CoC #1.5 in my l.h., then, after a few minutes, had the Heavy 150 in my l.h. and the CoC #1.5 my r.h.]

Stairs: 10 stories: run up… and walk down with wing chun drills x 5

Ab wheel: 12, 16, 20

∃ is {& exist;}
∀ is {& forall;}
↔ is {& harr;}
≡  is {& equiv;}
∴ is {& there4;}
¤ is {& #164;}
◊ is shift+alt/option v (auf 'ner deutschen Tastatur)
∩  {& #x2229;} (Where members of set X are members of A both  and B.)
U is… U (Where members of set X are members of either A or B.)

Fitness notes…

Thursday, 2011.8.25
95kg, 45 min.

Walking: 35 min.

Hindu squat: 55, 55

Hindu pushup: 30, 30

Sling row: 5, 5, 5
[These were fun, since I pivoted on my left foot, right foot, and both feet (5,5,5) on the trunk of a tree, and pulled up to the branch over which my sling was slung.]

Sling pullup: 8
[A straight hang from the sling on a branch.]

Ab wheel: 25

[The above was all one session of walking, broken up by the exercises. Sling pullups are harder but I have to admit I've lost some back strength. How many times have I had to say that? Ha! On the other hand, Hindu pushups are getting "easier", so I'm doing more per set.]


Friday, 2011.8.26
95kg, 30 min.

Walking: 20 min.

Hindu squat: 55, 55

Hindu pushup: 30, 30

Sling row: 15

Pullup: 12


Saturday, 2011.8.27
95kg, 30 min.

Neck bridge: 50 sec. x 3

Neck harness: 30, 40, 50 reps (all four vectors)

Ab wheel: 15, 18, 21, 4

Grip crushers:
Heavy 150: 10 closes
Heavy 150: 3 closes
CoC #1.5: 20 closes
[These took a while, kind of like a grip "breathing squat" set.]
CoC #2: 7 reps
(Used some alternate hand assistance on last couple reps.]

Fitness notes…

Monday, 2011.8.8
95kg, 25 mins.

Hindu squat: 25, 55, 55

Hindu pushup: 10, 25, 25

Flail: 20 sec. per hand per direction x 3

Standing DB curl: 5, 5, 5 @ 21kg

Ab wheel: 10, 15, 20

+++

Lost some days due to visiting the in-laws (and that damned Angry Birds game!). Have dropped some body fat, as I've been eating less ambitiously. Must focus on my creative writing. Mass in Sanxia this weekend was a glorious surprise: scrupulous liturgical decorum, Gregorian chant, sung Creed, communion by mouth, a rich compelling homily, etc.

----------------------------

TUESDAY, 2011.8.9
95kg, 25 mins

Hindu squat: 20, 50, 55

Hindu pushup: 10, 25, 25

Flail: 25 sec. per hand per direction x 3

Standing DB curl: 7, 7, 7 @ 21kg

Ab wheel: 10, 12, 14

-------------------------

Wednesday, 2011.8.10
95kg, 10 mins.

Grip training:
Heavy 150: 10 closes l.h., r.h.
Heavy 150: 10 closes l.h., r.h.
CoC #1.5: 5 closes l.h., 6 closes r.h., 5 reps l.h., 4 reps r.h.
CoC #1.5: 3 closes l.h., r.h.
Heavy 150: 12 closes l.h., r.h.

Fitness notes…

Monday, 2011.8.1

95kg, 25 mins.

Hindu squat: 55, 55, 45

Hindu pushup: 25, 25, 20

Ab wheel: 15, 15, 12

Crush grip training:

Heavy 150: 6 closes l.h., r.h.

CoC #1.5: 6 closes l.h., r.h.

CoC #2: 6 reps, no closes

CoC #1.5: negative, 30 seconds l.h, r.h.

+ + +

I think the flail is really helping my left hand catch up. In fact, it seems to be making my left hand better at negatives than my right hand! I slacked the last couple days, so it was nice to get back on the daily regimen.

+++++++++++++

Tuesday, 2011.8.2
95kg, 30 min.

Hindu squat: 55, 55, 55

Hindu pushup: 25, 25, 25

Neck harness: 30, 40, 50 tugs (all 4 vectors)

Flail: 30+ sec. each hand each direction

Fitness notes…

Tuesday 2011.7.5 Crushing grip:

Heavy 150: 10 closes
[no chalk]

CoC #1.5: 12 closes r.h., 12 closes l.h.
[no chalk; gave very mild assistance on last closes r.h. & gave assistance on last closes l.h.]

CoC #2: 3 reps
[no closes]

CoC #1.5: overcrush 15 sec.

Heavy 150: overcrush 35 sec.


Wednesday 2011.7.6

WARMUP: Jumping jacks, Indian clubs

One-arm db row: 12, 12, 10 @ 33kg

Five-spring expander flye: 12, 12, 12

2" bar standing curl: 12, 12, 10 @ 33kg, 34kg, 42kg

One-arm overhead tricep extension: 12, 12, 12 @ 14kg, 17kg, 19kg

2" bar front squat: 20, 18, 18 @ 38kg, 42kg, 46kg

FOLLOW UP:

Skip bolo (per leg): ~2 min.

One-arm db row (per arm): 12 @ 33kg

Jump rope & striding: 1 min. & 1 min. x 2

Pushup: 50

2" bar standing curl: 12 @ 46kg

One-arm overhead tricep extension (per arm): 12 @ 19kg

+ + +

I was coming off a draining weekend––a cold and a bad case of gastritis––so I'm not surprised I was not up to snuff on much here. But I have to keep at it. Patience, Humility, Confidence…

Gym regimen - June 2011

Wednesday, 2011.6.22

CARDIO

Jog: 600m, 600m

Jump rope: 150, 150

WEIGHTS

db bent-over row: 12, 12, 12 @ 32kg, 36kg, 40kg

db bench: 12, 10, 10 @ 30kg, 34kg, 38kg

2" db seated curl: 15, 12, 10 @ 20kg, 22kg, 24kg

tricep extension: 12 @ 5-spring expander, 12 @ 5-spring expander, 20 @ 12kg

front squat: 20 @ 9kg, 20 @ 36kg

Also did 3 sets of 30 neck iso's in all four directions last night.

The latest from…

I'm kind of missing the gym. Oh, that heavy deadlift. And, oh, those heavy shrugs. Even a real squat rack. Ahhh…. Hard it is to go "native", but I am hoping to swim at least three times a week, which is nice, and I do still plan to workout "heavy" twice a week. In-betweens will be grip training. More jump roping and jogging. Must shed some of my fat-piggedness.

In any even, yesterday I did…

Pullups: 14, 14, 14
db chest press (per hand): 12 @ 30kg, 14 @ 30kg, 12 @ 32kg
2" db seated curl: 12 @ 15kg, 10 @ 17kg, 9 @ 19kg
2" db tricep extension: 12 @ 12kg, 14 @ 11kg

Tonight I did…

• 40 mins of swimming:

• ~1km (100m breaststroke & 100m "leg turbine", 600m freestyle)

• random crushing session:

• Heavy Grips 150 x 2 closes with overcrush, CoC #1.5 x 2 closes, CoC #2 x 1 attempt

Recent doings…

I've been well out of the loop, I know, but this is mainly because I've picked up some new extra classes and have moved into a larger apartment. What I should have posted in the past week or two is roughly (from memory) the following:

6 June 2011
Warmup: gryo ball, flail
Midi Red gripper: 10, 9
Heavy Grips 150: 9, 8
CoC #1.5: 8, 8 (l.h. 4 closes? r.h. 8)
CoC #2: 8, 6 (l.h. 3 closes? r.h. 4 closes?)

9 June 2011
Warmup: flail, gyro ball
1" wrist roller:
2" wrist roller:
Wrist levering:
4x4 pinch block:
1x4 pinch block:

10 June 2011
Sling rows: 15, 15
Kettlebag curls: 12 @ 9kg
Kettlebag-sledgehammer curls: 12, 10 @ 12kg
Pushups: 50, 50

11 June 2011
Kettlebag sledgehammer curls: 12, 12 @ 12kg
Pushups: 50, 50
Kettlebag delt flyes and press: 5/5/5, 5/5/5 @ 9kg
Tricep extensions: two chest-expander coils

14 June 2011
Swimming:
35 mins, 800m: 100m breaststroke, 100m legs only, 100m freestyle, 300m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle
[It wasn't until about 350m that my old training came back: hands slice in high and close to the head, torwue the hips and shoulders, stretch each stroke. By the end, I had remembered to count how many strokes I took per 50m: 42, 41, 39, 38. A good progression! I need to get my cardio back up to snuff. How I love swimming!]

Grip training:
Warmup: Midi Red gripper (10 closes), gyro ball
Heavy Grips 150: 9 reps (l.h. 6 closes? r.h. 9 closes)
CoC #1.5: 9 (r.h. 7 closes? l.h. 4 closes?)
CoC #2: 1, 1 (ø closes)
Heavy Grips 150: 9
[I finally determined tonight a major factor in the disparity between my right and left hands: the design of the crushers favors the right hand! To wit, in the right hand, the spring inserted into the handle in the thenar-phalanx joint is nearly a centimeter from the flesh. By contrast, when the gripper is "flipped" into the left hand, the thenar spring is only a couple millimeters from the flesh.

I have discovered the handicap in this, namely, that the closer the origin handle is to the palm of the hand, the less leverage that hand has. This is because, as the fingers closer towards the palm, the sooner they "run into" the palm, the less power, indeed, the less geometric space they have to crush inwardly. Those extra millimeters in the right hand give the right fingers the essential extra geometric leverage to crush, a space lacking in the left hand. Indeed, this is why setting the gripper correctly is so important. The thenar handle is placed towards the center of the palm precisely to increase the leverage of the fingers to close to that handle. A gripper casually set too far back in my right hand will make that hand as weak as my left hand.

The upshot is that I think I have taken to training my left hand with the gripper (at least a heavy gripper) upside down. This puts the thenar spring farther from the flesh and gives it a "right hand feel." To wit, whilst writing this note, I ran into my training room and did a few upside reps for my left hand (Heavy Grips 150 x 4, CoC #1.5 x 2, CoC #2 x 1), just to see how it felt. And it felt stronger, considering I was already tapped out from a proper grip session a couple hours before.

Oh, and, incidentally, if you're psychotic, or me, you'll notice a difference between June 14's grip training and the previous crush training is that I did fewer reps for warmups so I'd have "more left" for the heavy grip training.]

I've also done some random drills while watching movies: chest expander curls, shrugs, bowshots, tricep extensions, etc. But, frankly, due to a very unpleasant case of eczema in the thigh-groin region (!), I've basically been unable to do serious lower-body training. Which is immensely frustrating and irritating. That's what finally got me back into the pool, and I invested in a book of 30 tickets to keep my feet to the fire, as it were (a little sunken capital is good for rationality).

Grip training…

Monday, 30 May 2011

20 mins, 95kg

WARMUP: gyro ball, stretching

Midi red gripper: 14, 12

Heavy Grips 150: 10, 8

(l.h. not all closes)

CoC #1.5: 6, 6; 6, 6; 1 forced negative (~15 secs r.h./l.h.)

(5 closes r.h., 3 closes l.h.)

(4 closes r.h., 2 (?) closes l.h.)

Heavy Grips 150: 10, 10

COOLDOWN: Gyro ball, stretching

+++

Rather depressing. I wasn't really "up" for this workout, but I knew I had to stick to my training. I was so nonplussed that I didn't think to do more than 6 reps for my right hand. I was of half a mind to let my gf see me try the CoC #2 for the first time, but she had to catch a bus and, clearly, trying it right now would be quixotic. I dreamt last night, though, that I did close the #2, so let's hope my subconscious imaging stays positive!

On the bright side, my gf landed a job and a nice apartment all in about a week last week and I have gotten back on the Chinese-studies horse (primarily learning "four-character proverbs"). I was sucked into my semi-annual "9/11 riddles" vortex last week.

+ + +

"POST-OP"

Got home, chilled a bit with Michael Sandel's "Justice lectures" lectures (before and during the workout), and did the following…

Leg-band raises: 25, 25

Gut wrench: 30, 30 @ 14kg

Drawing water: 15/15, 15/15 @ 14kg

Chopping mace: 15/15, 15/15 @ 8kg

Shoveling mace: 15/15, 15/15 @ 8kg

Ab wheel: 20, 20

Heavy Grips 150: 10 r.h., 12 l.h.

CoC #1.5: 6 r.h. (6 closes), 6 l.h. (4 closes)

Gym regimen - May 2011

Even Keel Workout 2
80+ mins, 96.5kg

WARMUP

CIRCUIT:

Squat: 8, 6, 4 @ 105kg, 110kg, 120kg
[Wore a belt and put the safety rack in place for set 3.]

Incline bench BP: 9, 7, 3/3 @ 70kg, 80kg, 85kg/82.5kg
[Had the safety rack in place for set 3.]

Seated lever row: 10, 8, 6 @ 100kg, 110kg, 130kg

Rope-handle pushdown: 9, 7, 5 @ 35kg, 40kg, 45kg

Seated DB curl: 10, 8, 6 @ 17kg, 19.5kg, 22kg

Deadlift: 8, 6, 6 @ 110kg, 130kg, 140kg

CIRCUIT:

Leg extension: 10, 8, 6 @ 45kg, 50kg, 55kg

DB pullover-press: 10, 8, 6 @ 32kg

Overhand EZ-bar curl: 10, 8, 6 @ 35kg, 37.5kg, 40kg