Re-building notes... gains... rest is so important...

Tuesday, 16 December 2014 
Ahnohld Three-Day Split, Day ___
60 min. 

warm-up: stretching, motions, etc.  

SQ: 12, 10, 8, 6 @ 225, 245, 265, 285 lbs. 

leg curl: 12, 10, 8, 6 @ 70, 80, 90, 100 

db floor press (with elevated feet): 12, 10, 8, 10 @ 65, 60, 70, 75
[An old-timer (sort of) saw me doing floor presses and suggested I throw-in leg raises while doing them, to activate my abdomen and destabilize my torso to enhance pectoral control. I like it. He then told me that he had a heart attack recently due, apparently, to a hypertrophic heart, after 36 years of heavy lifting. He said he is giving his doctor until the end of January to get things right, at which time, either way, he'll resume heavy training. Kind of creepy to get advice from a guy who might literally die under the bar in the next few weeks.] 

PU (supinated): 14, 9, 7 @ bdw  

db pullover-press: 12, 10, 8, 6 @ 60, 65, 70, 75  

EZ bar curl: 12, 10, 8, 6 @ 50, 60, 70, 80 

This was an abbreviated and more quickly done workout, which was fun, since I had to get my wife to a teacher function that evening. I drank two 500 mL bottles of Cytomax.

+ + +

Wednesday, 17 December 2014 
walking with double stroller 
2 miles, 30 min.

+ + + 

Thursday, 18 December 2014 
walking with double stroller
2.6 miles, 40 min.

+ + + 

Friday, 19 December 2014 
Ahnohld Three-Day Split, Day ___
80 min. 

SQ: 12, 10, 8, 6 @ 230, 250, 270, 295 lbs.  

leg curl: 10, 9, 8 @ 90, 100, 110  

calf press: 18, 16, 15 @ 255 (?)
[I'm never really sure how to tally a leg press machine. I guess you don't count the board itself.]  

db floor press (with elevated feet): 12, 10, 8, 8 @ 70, 75, 80, 85  

[PU (supinated): 15, 9, 8 @ bdw
[and
[db MP: 12, 9, 6 @ 45, 50, 55 

[In order to save time, I "intermeshed" one set of each exercise after the other.] 

[EZ bar curl (narrowish grip): 12, 10, 8, 9 @ 50, 60, 70, 80
[and
[db tricep press (supine, two hands on one db): 12, 10, 10 @ 70, 75, 80
[Ditto.]

I ended up talking for a few minutes with a couple guys about new exercises and programs they can try. I mentioned that I'll be doing a "high-intensity program" in the new year, and they said they wanted to try the same, "like Crossfit." Let's just say, though, that the HIT method I will be doing is much different from Crossfit/Insanity/PX-90-style intensity workouts. With my HIT goals, the maxim is, "Less is more", while those other intensity programs are driven by the idea that "more is never enough."

In any case, I felt much stronger on squats, and I was pleased to see my pullups and floor press improved. I once again drank two bottles of Cytomax. Originally I had planned to return on Thursday, but I wisely decided to give myself one more day of rest (and walking), which was a boon.

Next week I am partial to idea of going to the gym simply to do a baseline workout to prepare for my HIT program. That is, I will run through the exercises I'll be doing to establish roughly my 1RM for each, and then use a 75-80% "inroad" of that amount for the workouts themselves.

Then again, I realize that after a few days off, especially with the holidays looming, I may want to go for one more solid full-body workout and then use the first two weeks of the the HIT program to establish weights, rhythms, stations, etc. (which is kind of what Darden intends for the first two weeks, anyway).

I'm really itching to work in some grip training days again. Walking/Jogging with the kids will generally be my off-day activity for the foreseeable future.

HIIT... Beach Life... Grip training...

Friday, 29 August 2014 

sagittal sledge hit: 12/12
rest 30 sec.
frontal sledge hit: 12/12
rest 30 sec.
low lateral sledge hit: 6/6, 6/6  
rest 30 sec.
medicine ball thruster: 20
rest 1 min.
x 4
---------
walking: 15 min.


Saturday, 30 August 2014 

[Spent the day at the beach with my brother and his family. Swam out fairly deep for a while, felt like losing myself in the sea. Had two cups of coffee to kick my drowsiness while watching a lecture with my brother, so when I got home, I had to put the buzz to good use.]

ghetto gripper : 15 closes

CoC #1.5 : 8 closes

CoC #2 : 1 close L/R

CoC #2 : 1 close L/R

perfect pushups*: 15 reps

CoC #2 : 1 close L/R 

perfect pushups*: 15 reps

CoC #2 : 1 near close L, 1 close R 

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

CoC #2 : 1 near close L, 1 close R 

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

CoC #1.5 : 10 closes 

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

CoC #1.5 : 8 closes 

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

wrist roller: 8 lbs. up/down

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

wrist roller: 8 lbs. up/down

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

wrist roller: 8 lbs. up/down

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

wrist roller: 8 lbs. up/down

perfect pushups*: 15 reps 

* (alternating unilateral foot) 

21 Day Kettlebell Blast ... or not... almost... and beyond!

Day 20
[Originally I was going to take Sunday off, but by the time I got home, I was feeling frisky, so I went for a run, which admittedly, is not part of the 21-day KB program, but the whole point of the program is to kickstart your fitness mind/momentum, which it has done, so I feel good. End of sentence.]

3 min. jog
30 sec. sprint
X5
3 min. walk cooldown

Grip training + AYCE = WINNING!

Grip training
30 min., 225 lbs.
MOOD: felt groggy and a bit cranky when I got home; spent some time puttering in the garage and eventually felt ready

warm-up: space mace, ghetto gripper, stretching, Chin Na movements (10 min.)

CoC #1.5 - 6 closes

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close
[I squeezed so hard on my first LH attempt that at the release I got dizzy enough to have to brace myself on my heavy bag. Fun times!]

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close

CoC #2 - LH 1 body-English close, RH 1 close

CoC #1.5 iso-squeeze - LH/RH 15 sec./15 sec.
[used a piece of a thin metal rule to detect when the ends separated]

1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 47 sec., RH 55 sec.
1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 50 sec., RH 50 sec.
[This last set reminded me how grip training is intensely, perhaps uniquely, "mental" in its intensity. I could almost feel myself willing my fingers to clamp harder near the end of my first RH pinch. Then I did the same for my second LH pinch, yet, significantly, let my mind wander during my last RH pinch.]

+ + +

And then, boys and girls, I did a Bad Thing: I gave into the urge to SQUAT MOAR and drove up to the gym for a set of FSQ.

FSQ: 8, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 145, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275 lbs.

+ + + 

Hooray: I believe those two reps at 275 are a new PR for me.

I'm pretty certain that I could front squat 285, which was the figure I estimated was 90% of my back squat. Once I achieve that FSQ, I will reintegrate SQ into my regimen.

All such certainties aside, however, I am willing to wait until I actually FSQ a couple reps at 285 before bringing back the SQ, and even when I do so, I'll be opting for a high-bar, narrowish-stance, Olympicky SQ instead of the low bar powerlifting SQ. FSQ helps your liftoff on the DL, and my Kelso Shurg Rush program is intended to augment the back-extension phase.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This FSQ set was a perfect example of the benefit I got from Perryman's Squat Every Day. Just as some fellows tell their wives that they're headed to the store for some milk, I rather spontaneously told my wife, "I'm going to go squat, be back soon." I went in my Birkenstocks, shorts, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, bee-lined for the squat rack, and got the whole set done in about 20 minutes. Before my very last rep, I took a long moment to collect my thoughts, assess my abilities, and then drove down for what turned out to be a second PR. ("How you feel is a lie.") Admittedly, I thought I was about to tip forward halfway up, but I pulled through, let out a small bark at the top, racked the bar, and stepped away, saying, "Well, wasn't that something?"

Felt. Totally. Awesome!

Speaking of "feeleens," I had some DOMS today in my thighs, and was of a mind to take it easy, but I keep coming back to the mysterious and too little known truth that it's extremely difficult to (really) "overtrain" squats.

Tomorrow is a Shurg Rush, and I will be throwing in a set of HSQ or ZSQ. Stay tuned.

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

P.S. 

Almost forgot. I made my workout cards today, so I'm just as curious as you are what my Even Keel 1A workout is for next week. I've already got this week's 1B programmed. 

P.P.S. 

My first dino-db is complete! Turns out, lubricating the container actually makes it harder to extract the dried cement, since it forms a moisture lock with the plastic. It's about 34 lbs. and the handle ended up being a little longer than I wanted. The measurement I had taken of the first side of cement, and used for the second portion, was too high: once the water evaporated, the concrete itself finished "shorter away" from my intended handle width. Oh well. I laid the first half of my next, 60+ lbs dino-db today, which was a nifty wrist warm-up for my grip session, to boot. 

The new half is darker until residual moisture and silicone lubricant are gone. If you want to make one of these for yourself, here's a little heads-up: when setting the second half, you need to drill a small hole in the handle so that air in the pipe can escape and allow the fresh cement to fill the pipe. Oh, also, you should tap all around the bucket to get as many air bubbles out of the cement to the surface. Happily enough, this procedure splashed some of the cement onto the handle, which gives an otherwise smooth pipe some nice grit.

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.

AYCE notes... (The plot thickens)

Friday, 11 April 2014 
43 min., 227 lbs. 
MOOD: felt very fun, felt energized, wore pants and hoodie 

Warm-up (3 min.) - movements, stretching

FSQ: 7, 5, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 135, 155, 205, 225, 245, 265 lbs.

CLP: 5, 5, 5 @ 115, 125, 135 lbs.

HSN (hang snatch): 5, 4, 3* @ 115, 125, 135 lbs.
[Rule of thumb: if you're not sure that you're being explosive enough on Oly lifts, then you're not being explosive enough, especially compared to this beast. Not only did I not pull myself under the bar, at least not once I passed 115 lbs., but I also didn't really drop into a squat. Plus, my feet were kind of all over the place, rather like a flying squirrel. The * indicates that I only pulled off the last rep of the final set. Humble pie is quite tasty! Still, it was a fun lift.]

PNF: 5 min.

+ + + 

I've learned this much:

- Squatting every day is not only not impossible, but almost a given for strength and power athletes. 

- I believe in majoring on The Big Three (SQ, DL, BP) and using everything else for adding volume (esp. for myofibrillar synthesis), honing technique, and training assistance lifts for The Big Three. 

- I enjoy "hobby strength training" (i.e. neck, grip, hand balancing, tires-and-sledge-hammers, plyometrics, boxing, kettlebell, keg conditioning, mace, etc.) too much to commit my entire week to "mainstream" weightlifting.  

- The above axioms have been percolating in this blog for years; my constant fiddling with my regimen--without, I maintain, trying "a whole new program" every week or two--is my attempt to articulate and synthesize them. 

My biggest discovery of late is that Matt Perryman is correct that avoiding "overtraining" is more often than not an excuse to settle for mediocrity. I would, however, restate Perryman's thesis to read, "squat in every workout." Perryman himself admits in the introduction to Squat Every Day that the title is not meant to be taken literally; even three days a week of heavy squatting would just barely qualify as "squatting every day," as he uses the phrase.

Having said that, whilst reading McCallum's The Complete Keys to Progress last night, I was faced with the reality that, while the past few weeks of almost daily training have not "done me in," by any means, I do not currently practice a lifestyle which affords me adequate rest on a daily basis to see the benefits of such frequent training. Having a day off, plus a light weekend, is probably something I need, unless I discipline myself to get a full eight or more hours of sleep every night. That would be nice, but for now, between nightly feedings, bathings, prayers, and a rising time of 5:30 AM, it's really hard for this night owl to be asleep by 9:30 PM.

The upshot of all these musings is the following proposal:

Monday & Thursday: FSQ + BP + MP + PNF  

Tuesday & Friday: DL + HSQ + PU + PNF 

Wednesday or Saturday: hobby training [i.e. tongue press, neck bridging, mace, farmer walks, CoC]

Sunday: REST 

[NB: Warm-up: prone & supine scorpions + neck bridging + movements] 

As always, the above exercises can be swapped with other, related lifts. ZSQ or OHS instead of HSQ, guillotine or dips for MP, SDL or CL or SN instead of DL, rows instead of PU, etc.

It's a basic "squat every workout + push/pull" split. (As I've said before, I'm not going to use SQ until I can FSQ 285 lbs x 4.)

I'm not interested in parsing the rep scheme in great detail right now, but, following McCallum, I'll go for something like [UPDATE: Stupid me! Stick with 5x5!]:

a 12, 10, 5x5 scheme for FSQ, SQ, BP; 

a 10, 5, 3x3 scheme for DL; and 

a 12, 10, 5x5 scheme for MP and PU. 

The first two sets will be with light, warmup weight, and the final sets will be at roughly 70%, 80%, 90% 1RM. I will only add weight when I can complete all the reps with clean, slow form. I will start modestly next week and go from there.

Of course...

if I do finally decide to spring for Kelso's Shrug Book and Kubik's Dinosaur Training, ...

revisit and read Strossen's Super Squats in full, ...

and as I keep reading McCallum's Keys, Pavel's Power to the People, Zinchenko's Rough Strength, ...

don't be surprised to see yet more adjustments. [grin]

As long as I keep having fun, staying humble, and making gains, I figure I'm on the right track.

Stay tuned.

AYCE notes...

Friday, 28 March 2014,   
AYCE Light, 42 min.  

Warm-up (10 min.)
-
i) MP: 5, 3, 2, 5 @ 115, 125, 135, 105 lbs
-
ii) CL: 5, 3, 1, 5* @ 145, 165, 185, 135 lbs [*CL into FSQ]
-
iii) Gironda neck press: 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 115, 125, 135, 145 lbs 
-
iv) Pendlay row: 5, 3, 2 @ 155, 175, 195 lbs

I'm loving what I'm reading in Parryman's Squat Every Day. A sophisticated but humble analysis. The irony, of course, is that what he's explaining is neither a surprise nor a bed of roses: if you train almost every day, you're going to "feel it." Aches, tenderness, stiffness, slight fatigue, etc. After every workout I have indeed felt pretty grim and sore ("Never Again!"), but by the evening... and especially by the next day... I feel remarkably better. Perryman does not at all deny the need for rest; he just rejects the overweening obsession some people have with the idea of it. For, in reality they are training leagues below what makes for true, physiological overtraining.

I realized yesterday what I like most about this approach (for now!). It makes me feel like an athlete again! Instead of seeing weightlifting as a detour from my normal life, or, worse, as some burden which I must fit in every few days, it is simply a part of my lived routine. When I did crew in middle and high school, we ran, did pullups, pushups, rows, jumpies, erg drills, etc., and then did hundreds of strokes on the water--almost every day for months. Obviously, I'm no spring chicken, but I'm also not training as hard now as then. Yet, I am undoubtedly stronger and more powerful than I have ever been. The bottom line is, if I wanted to be good at rowing, I had to develop muscle memory and work capacity for that skill; it only makes sense that I must do the same if I want to be good at lifting weights. Instead of mere "fitness," I am pursuing to improve in a sport. Now all I need is to keep cardio/plyo conditioning in the mix. 

Ohh, how I long for a Concept II ergometer! All things in time....

Now, we're off to the Eucharistic Congress. 

Wheels within wheels...

I realize I went a little too heavy yesterday and today. No--hardee har-har--this is not because my back or legs are seizing up on me this evening. I just realize how hard it is to be humble in sports, and perhaps especially in weightlifting, and how prevalent the temptation is to go too hard.

Case in point, when I got to the gym today, I saw some older guy today flinging around way too much weight with partial reps and flagrant body English. Granted, something tells me he's going through a midlife crisis, and is overcompensating, since, every time I catch a bit of his chats, he notes how he not only does weights, but also bikes, swims, etc.

Midlife crisis or no, he embodies the bitter pill of athletic progression: It's terribly hard to limit oneself to a modest but effective regimen for a sustained amount of time. This is why Wendler's 5-3-1 program is hated by some gym rats: "It's too simple and too slow!" Maybe I just need to buy the book for myself, run the spreadsheets, and go for it.

Obviously, though, I'm torn. I achieved what I wanted by completing Mass Made Simple. I know Even Keel works for me. I like what I'm reading in Squat Every Day. Yet, I also like the freedom of mixing in other kinds of workouts on a 3-day split with the 5-3-1.

Someone make it stop! 

In any case, for right now I'll just stick with almost daily training along the guidelines I'm learning as I read Squat Every Day. If I don't hit a wall, if I see results, and if Perryman's book doesn't turn me off by the end of it, I'll stick with AYCE till the end of the school year--though don't be surprised if I tweak it down a day or mix in more speed/power days.

Which... of course...

Brings me back to the 5-3-1!

Am I overthinking things?

Probably.

Certainly.

It's what I do.

Am I, however, letting all this thought get in the way of consistent and gainful workouts? No.

On that note, I am soooo happy to report than I think I experienced ZMA heaven last night. I took it by 9 PM, got to bed before 11, and woke up feeling wonderfully refreshed. I even recall having a dream! (Of course, it was about teaching, so maybe it was a nightmare?)

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

I finally decided to go beyond the preview pages available via Kindle and purchase Matt Perryman's Squat Every Day. I like what I've read so far and am going to try the approach in conjunction with my Even Keel program. What tipped my hand is that they actually overlap in important ways: big, complex lifts at low volume + some accessory movements.

The only difference is the change in frequency. In the past couple weeks I've felt the urge to hit the gym more frequently; it really is a healthy addiction. So I'll simply limit the workouts to four, instead of five or six, lifts, and mix in some speed/power drills (box jumps, jump rope, medicine ball, bounding, short sprints, boxing, kettlebells, tire flips/rolls, etc.) on days I just don't want to be under the bar. That's a certainty, so I might as well plan around it in advance. Besides, as Perryman notes, the title of his book is not meant to be taken literally. Five, maybe even four, days a week is sufficient.

I am still not sure how to set up my programming as far as intensity goes. My understanding--or at least my working premise--is that I should work up to a 1RM every time I'm under the bar. Although I just tried out the rep scheme today, to get a feel for it, and paid no real attention to percentages of 1RM, 2RM, etc., I will shoot for four sets on "big lifts" scaled to a conservatively low 1RM:

80% x 5, 90% x 3, 100% x 1, 65% x MAX REPS

So, assuming I could 1RM 265 on the FSQ, I would do 215 x 5, 235 x 3, 265 x 1, and then max reps at 175 lbs. I think it would be similar for my DBP.

In any case, what I did today was...

All You Can Eat (AYCE) Heavy
44 min, 233 lbs

Warm-up
-
i) DBP: 225, 235, 245 x 3; 205 x 12
-
ii) FSQ: 225, 235, 245 x 3; 185 x 10
-
iii) Dip: 13, 10, 8
iv) Pull-up: 10, 7, 6

Tomorrow I will try the following:

AYCE Light

i) MP
-
ii) CL
-
iii) Gironda neck press: 
iv) Pendlay row:

As you might be able to tell, this second day is a lighter day. In a way, it's meant to be supplemental to the big lifts on the first day.

SMILES: Going heavier on the FSQ felt great in my quads! I did better on dips than I expected. I think letting my feet hang (knees pressed together), instead of lifting them to my waist, made it easier.

FROWNS: I felt some unusual stiffness/pain in my right wrist on the FSQ. I didn't feel as secure as normal on the DBP. It felt hard to set firmly and tightly on my traps and shoulder blades.

Gym regimen - January 2014

Even Keel A 
215 lbs, 40 min. 

[I wrote this post this afternoon and scheduled it to publish at 20:00. The below figures were my projected efforts, but what I actually did is in red. I love outdoing my own expectations. It's good to know that I have the ambition and humility to keep it up.] 

Warm-up
-
SQ : 205 lbs @ 5x5 180, 185, 190, 195, 200 lbs @ 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Pendlay row : 155 lbs @ 5x5 135 lbs @ 5x5
-
db pullover-press : 60 lbs @ 10x3 12x3
Calf shrugs : 270 @ 10x3 12x3

+ + + 

And so it came to pass that today I signed a contract with one of my German classes that I must weight 240 lbs. (with a 15% body fat count) by March 18. Our scale at home has been acting up lately, so I'm not sure how much I weigh. My guess is at least 215 lbs. So, I've got two months to put on 25 lbs of LBM (lean body-mass).

Can I do it?

My guide for the bulking process, Dan John, says I can.

Accordingly, tonight after my workout I ate almost a whole bag of turkey cold cuts, a biscuit with PB and honey, and a kale garden salad. OOOrah!

Gym regimen - 8 January 2014 - Quasi Even Keel C

Based on a perusal of Perryman's book, Squat Every Day, and a couple related articles, I rustled myself up and went for another workout tonight. I am not going to pursue Perryman's method (or "the Bulgarian method" on which it is largely based), for a number of reasons. I'm still just getting back into the swing of things, I haven't mastered the conventional Olympic lifts, and because I simply do not get enough sleep. That's my Achilles heel. Babies, writing, cleaning, praying... I let sleep get the short end of the stick. I'll be trying to work on that, though.

As for tonight...

8 Jan 2014 
45 min, 214 lbs
Even Keel C (i.e. a tweaked version of my Even Keel routine)

Warm-up

-

SQ : 190 lbs @ 5x5 

Bent row : 135 lbs @ 6x5 

- 

bb press : 105 lbs @ 5x5 

calf shrugs : 270 @ 8x5 

- 

Decline db press : 60 lbs @ 5x5 

I kept a very tight posterior chain and traps for the squat, and they felt wonderful. I knew I could have gone heavier, but... in time. It felt great to get back in the gym, and knowing me, I'll go again tomorrow night... unless CURSED LAUNDRY traps me!

Fitness update - April 2013

Thursday, 4 April 2013
30 min., 215 lbs. 

speed bag – 3 min. x 3
kb swings – 30, 35, 40
pull-ups – 5, 8, 11
dips – 5, 8, 11

[I lost a lot of time dealing with the tire-made heavy-bag––I'm still working on how to hang it––and trying to eradicate the stench that's been coming from two giant dead rats that my neighbor tossed in his back yard next to my garage. I used gasoline, fire, and then bleach. Win!]


Friday, 5 April 2013
25 min., 215 lbs.  

warm-up: mace drills ––> 5–10 min.

speed bag – one round for as long as I could keep up cadence ––> 5'26"
[Actually, I could have gone longer, but I was distracted by the pain in my right hand. I had an intense speed bag session yesterday, and the bones feel a bit bruised. So I'll be icing my hands, or at least my right hand, laying off the speed bag for a while, and maybe not even filming my progress video this weekend.]

kb swings: 20, 20

kb shotput swing: 10/10, 10/10

kb hoist and shove: 10/10, 10/10

[I also did some raking under the back tree to make the ground more level. Getting ready to hang my tire-made heavy bag...! I've already got two friends "on board" for training at my "gym laboratory" once or twice a week this summer, and on the way home from Home Depot today I saw a guy running backwards in the street and I immediately knew, "This guy needs to train with me." His name is James and he lives maybe a mile away. We exchanged numbers and hope to hang out when he gets back from a visit home to Michigan in a couple weeks. He's got a degree in sports science, also motivates/trains his wife, and is way more cut than I am heheh!

Why did I go to Home Depot, you ask? I try to limit myself to one DIY project a month, if it costs me money, so this month I decided to make a mace. I made one in Taiwan, and I've been missing it lately. My mace in Taiwan was about 3' of 1/2" steel pipe, a cap to stop the weights, and some rubber gaskets and a U-bolt to lock the weights up at the top. My new mace is much more ambitious: 3' of 1.5" steel pipe for the weight plates, a bushing to join a 1' long handle of 3/4" pipe, a cap for the top and a U-bolt to lock down the weights. I added a modest 6 lbs. of plates to the head, but, honestly, the mace by itself, even without weights, is quite a challenge after a hiatus, so for now I may just use it as a massive Indian club. For a shorter homemade mace bell, I could try this awesome DIY method. Here's another ingeniously simple method for a homemade mace bell/gada. ;p

Tomorrow I will be back in the gym. I originally wanted to cancel my membership, but they talked me into a 25% lower monthly fee and I'm staying. I figure I need a gym for 1) squatting, 2) deadlifting, 3) db shrugs, flyes, and presses (the Big Three, basically), and 4) farmer walking. Otherwise, I'll stick with my kettlebell, mace, boxing, jump rope, medicine ball, bodyweight conditioning.] 

Fitness update - March 2013

Made my slosh bars. I cut the 10' by 3" PVC into a 7' piece and a 3' piece. The smaller one is actually a little harder to control than the big one, at least in so far as it's for one hand exercises. The 7' bar is much lighter than I'd expected, which is disappointing. I may fill it to about 80%, instead of 65%, before sealing it shut. The threads on the plug do leak, so rather than deal with that frustration, I'll just seal it with caulking and be done with it.

I also made a tire drag sled, like I learned from this video, but, as Taz Shirota notes in this video, dragging doesn't work well on asphalt. I found that the front end keeps bobbing up, which makes running jerky and distracting (will the weights fall off, etc?), though walking is fine. It worked well on grass, but my yard is small, so I guess I'll need to walk it over to the park and do the running there. [Stay tuned for an update with a solution I found for this!] On the other hand, I found that bear crawls caused no bobbing. I think the problem is that the vector while running (from ground to waist) includes upward as well as forward drag. Hence, I found a very long cord between me and the tire caused less bobbing, but such a long cord is annoying.

Happily, though, walking neck drags worked well with the tire sled. Since it's adjustable I used the same belt for neck drags as I did for tire drags (and the same one Taz showed in his video––great minds think alike!), but will need to wrap the buckle in something soft, otherwise it grinds into my upper vertebrae. Also, some of the velcro scrapes my forehead unless I wear a bandana or sweat band.

Another gadget I made was inspired by a video I saw last week. It involved a rod with a long bungee attached to a wall, so I bought a shovel handle, secured an eye hook to the top, and latched it to some bungee cords on my back yard clothes line stand. It works the core well.

My workout...

30 min. 213 lbs.

10 min. of various tire drags
3 min. of neck drags
10's of various rod-bungee movements x 10
10/10/10 neck tugs x 3 @ //////
2 sling pistol SQ, 1 PU, 1 pushup, 1 dip, 1 curl up, repeat without rest x 10

Gym regimen -- November 2012

Tuesday, 14 November 2012 
Even Keel "A" 
50-60 min., 220lbs (100kg)

Warm-up
stretching, motions, imaging

Circuit 1
SQ : 9, 6, 6 @ 225lbs, 245lbs, 265lbs
Gironda neck press : 10, 6, 6 @ 155lbs, 175lbs, 185lbs
SDL : 9, 5, 1/1/1 @ 205lbs, 245lbs, 285lbs

Circuit 2
bb press : 9, 6, 5 @ 100lbs, 110lbs, 120lbs
PU (neutral grip) : 13, 11, 10
Squeeze-press : 9, 4/4, 6/4 @ 130lbs, 140lbs/130lbs, 130lbs

Finish
N/A

+ + +

My stomach felt upset all day but I still went to the gym. I saw gains in all lifts.

I was very frustrated by my grip problems on the SDL. I can't get the hook grip right!!

My 3rd set of PU were overhanded on the bar, but used only fingers.

140lbs was too much for 2nd set of squeeze-press. The last 4 reps of 3rd set were regular db presses.

I'm hoping to get a B workout in before we go out of town for Thanksgiving.

By the way, my latest off-day experiment has been in sledgehammer tossing, medicine ball drills, and chain flinging. The effort of carrying the equipment to and from the field is also part of the workout. Fun times!

Fitness update... Life update...

Where were we? And where should I start?

The latter half of July, at least, was consumed by preparations to move my family to Florida for a new teaching job. My last workout in the gym was around July 12, I guess. Likewise, the first half of August has been consumed by settling into a new home and job. But fitness is a must.

From then until now, in order to maintain fitness, I've mainly been applying Rich Bryda's methods, a lot of "greasing the groove", in other words. I was doing 100+ pull-ups every day for two weeks, and then 200+ T-bell swings, and nearly 100 pull-ups the past week. I have assembled a T-bell, purchased a "real" 12-lb. medicine all (yippee!), hung my eagle loops up in the garage as soon as I arrived, and just today purchased a great floor rug to serve as a jump rope mat (face-down) and as a handstand pad (face-up). I'm itching to get some gymnastic rings, but I will wait until Christmas.

I'm going to be very busy with a new job-- a "real" teaching job, mind you, which entails lots of red tape and new-teacher meetings and on-going steps for certification (oooyyyy...)-- so I'm trying to find a realistic but rewarding regimen for the present and next few weeks. To wit....

At my favorite used bookstore, Chamblin Book Mine, I stumbled upon Mark De Lisle's 1996 Navy SEAL Exercises (though it now goes by the less judicious name, The Navy SEAL Workout). I was impressed and have decided to give it a go for the next twelve weeks. Two reasons I liked what Lisle was offering were 1) he places major emphasis on stretching before, during, and after working out, and 2) he provides beginner, intermediate, and advanced regimens. It's also a very low-hype book, with a classically deceptively simple pyramid structure. All in all, there's a magnificent emphasis on progression and discipline.

So, I decided to begin today... at the beginner level. Not that I have no background in fitness training, but I realized that, between my new responsibilities as a teacher and the cumulative demands of the intermediate (versus beginner) regimen, I should give my body time to progress and "desire" more challenges as time goes on.

So, my workout today was:

Lisle SEAL-B
20'
22'
8'51"

Without reproducing the whole book here, I'll explain the regimen and my goals for the next twelve weeks.

I. Warmup and stretching
A. I'll do jump rope, T-bell swings, medicine ball drills, etc. to warmup, and go through the whole series of stretching as Lisle advises.
1. This, he says, should take 15-20 minutes. It took me about 20 minutes today, mostly because I had to keep referring to the book, which took up extra time.

II. Upper Body
A. Pull-ups - 5 kinds
B. Dips - 4 sets of 5
C. Push-ups - 4 kinds

III. Lower Body
A. 15 kinds of abdominal and core exercises, divided into 5 triplets, with a "cobra stretch" (fore, port, starboard) between each triplet

IV. Running / Swimming
A. Lisle specifies running, jogging, sprinting, stairs, etc. and freestyle, side stroke, and breast stroke
1. Happily, I have access to a pool at my school... and roads wherever I am. Stairs, though, are harder to come by here than in Taiwan! 

As Lisle specifies, I rest 15 seconds between each exercise. I take a slightly longer water break between exercise changes (I.A. to I.B., from upper to lower body, and before running).

(Indeed, I bought a Timex Expedition Classic watch for this new regimen! Granted, it will serve me well in class and in the gym, but, gosh, there's nothing like inspiration. Maybe I like Lisle's program because it reminds me so much of my crew training.)

The upper and lower body circuits took me 22 minutes and I ran for 8'51" (a mile and change). All in all, therefore, counting transition times, this took me under and hour. Very reasonable.

For the first two weeks I do this only on MWF. On "off" days, I will do a combo of T-bell swings, jump rope, medicine ball drills, hand/headstands, and grip training.

The beginner pyramid is a "measly" 1-2-1 for each kind of pull-up, 4 sets of 5 dips, and 2-4-2 for each kind of push-up. The key is not to sacrifice form on any rep.

After 2 weeks (weeks 1 and 2), up the pyramids (on MWF) to 1-2-3-2-1, 4 sets of 5, and 2-4-6-4-2.

After 4 weeks, switch to training M-F.

Once those first four weeks have passed, I will move to the intermediate regimen for MWF. The pyramid structure is too tedious to explain here, but it's a good jump up from the beginner load. After two weeks on MWF, I will do the intermediate regimen M-F.

I'm so pleased with Lisle's program, I also recently acquired his newer Navy SEAL Breakthrough to Master Level Fitness, and I'd actually recommend it over the first SEAL Exercises book. It provides a much better organized weekly schedule, I like the choice of stretches better, and the inclusion of actual leg exercises (!) in the lower body routine is more satisfying. Once a rower....

Stay tuned.

Fitness notes - July 2012

Wednesday, 11 July 2012
20–30 min., 104kg 

I felt too nervous trying handwalking and handstands on the stone floor in the quad outside my apartment, which made it hard to focus and really try, so I ended up doing wall stands. I used four interlocking rubber mats to protect my head on the floor.

Stretching

Wall stands: 5–15 sec. several times

Wall-aided salamba sirsasana (asana column): 5–15 sec. several times

Tripod headstands: 10–30 sec. several times

By the end of this workout, sweat was literally dripping off of me. 

The key, I realized today, for training the salamba sirsasana, is to move my body a little farther from the wall each time I practice, so I can gradually learn to balance with confidence, until I can do it without a wall at all. 

Thursday, 12 July 2012
30–40 min., 103kg

I was still quite sore from my Quick Mass workout on Tuesday, but I was also antsy and needed some kind of exercise, so I walked the track for thirty minutes while practicing Pimsleur Spanish. Every lap I did about 50 meters of jump rope jogging, followed by another 50 skips or so in place. After all that, I practice handstands for about ten minutes. Boy howdy, what a difference practicing on a firm, safe surface made! I wasn't scared of crashing onto stone (as I had been Wednesday night), but also wasn't weakened by an uneven grassy surface (as I was last week). I did several good tries at handwalking, and held a few handstands for nearly ten seconds. The key, as Patrick Barrett in How to Do a Handstand advises, is that I didn't just blindly hop up into a handstand again and again. Rather, I analyzed how I fell, to which side I leaned, etc., and tried to correct for those flaws on the next attempt. I really felt secure when I tucked my buttocks and pointed my toes upward as high, so to speak, as they could go. My traps have been nicely sore from the handstands, though my neck is a bit kinked from last night's practice.

Until next time!

Fitness notes - July 2012

July 3 -
Tuesday I walked laps around the track for half and hour while listening to Pimsleur Spanish. Every two laps I did half a lap of bounding. Really felt it the next day!

July 4 -
Wednesday I did another 30-minute "Pimsleur walk" (without bounding), followed by about ten minutes of handwalking / free handstanding practice. I'd say I'm at an intermediate level, in so far as I I'm confident about hopping up into a handstand, I can do decent bent-leg handwalking, can hold some good straight handstands for a few seconds now and then, and am very comfortable tumbling down to try again. Having an open, grassy area makes such a difference. One other encouraging factor is that, according to Patrick Barrett in How to Do a Handstand, it's harder to handstand on grassy, uneven surfaces, so, who knows, maybe I'd do even better on a basketball court. In college I was known to amble on my hands down the dorm room hallway from time to time, so it's just a matter of getting that feeling back. Hand balancing is so much fun, even in failure!

July 5 -
Thursday I did  a Quick Mass workout.

July 6 -
Friday night I rode a bike around Sanxia for about half an hour, then came home and trained my tripod headstand with leg motions, and did some stretching. Felt a good soreness in my neck and traps the next day or two. High five!

July 7 -
Saturday I rode my bike for about half an hour and, in between, did ten minutes of handstand training. Believe it or not, I felt most sore in my right glute and left hamstring. All the hopping up and landing worked my lower body harder than my upper body. In the course of reading the next day, I found that Barrett explicitly mentions this fact in his How to Do a Handstand.

July 8 -
Sunday we had a lunch and family time with my mother-in-law's family, and by the time I got home, I was pooped. Rest is the other half of training! I was incredibly hungry all weekend, and by Sunday night I was up to 104kg.

July 9 -
It was my birthday, and a grueling day dealing with visas, buses, the baby, etc. so I ended up having some beers with a friend. Not the best form of recovery, but hey, I'm not Arnie. OR AM I???

Gym regimen - July 2012

Thursday, 5 July 2012
Quick Mass workout
45 min., 101kg

Warmup: stretching, motions, etc.

SQ: 10 @ 120

Leg extension: 10 @ 91

Leg curl: 9 @ 56 (?)

EZ bar pullover: 10 @ 35

Press: 10 @ 55

Lat pulldown: 10 @ 115

BP: 9 (+1) @ 87.5
[Had a good spot for last rep.]

bb curl: 10 @ 42.5

Seated tricep press: 11 @ 37.5

PU: 10 (+1) @ bdw
[A negative for last rep.]

Bench dip: 20 @ bdw

Standing calf raise: 15 @ 100

Leg lifts: 10 (hanging) / 15 (on dip tower)

+ + +

I rushed to get this done Thursday after work before we headed up to Sanxia, since I knew it would be a long weekend. As it turned out, I wasn't able to get back into the gym until the following Tuesday, so I'm really glad I got this workout in. 

Brainstorming, thanks to Dan John…

A "three-way" split idea. Not a three-day split, mind you, since proper rest might require three days between workouts, etc. Listen to your body, not a calendar. Rest between workouts until adequately recovered.

%s mentioned below are based on 1RM (known or estimated). EXERCISE : WEIGHT x REPS

Warmups much as Dan John describes them in the first paragraph here.

I came up with the following pretty much off the top of my head, based on what I think are the best "all-around", "essential" strength and conditioning movements for the moderately seriously "fitness-minded" person.

Core principles include: "K.I.S.S.", "Less is more", "It's all about Push-Pull", "specificity", and "double progression".

KEY POINT: These are not circuits, though circuits are my wont. As such, each set would provide enough intensity to make gains but also require a limited enough volume, not haunted by the specter of numerous follow-up, accessory exercises, as to allow for maximal focus and effort each time around. Note that he first two sets on Monday are basically just warmup sets, so its effectively a "one-set" workout, despite its formally triplicate structure. As Clarence Bass puts it:

Monday: 30% x 15, 70% x 8, 90% x 3 (or failure) 
SQ - PUSH
BP - PUSH
DL - PULL

Wednesday: 30% x 5, 40% x 5, 50% x 5, 60% x 5, 70% x 5
Overhead Squat - PUSH
CJ - PULL-PUSH
SDL - PULL

Friday: 30% x 12, 50% x 12, 70% x 6 (or failure) 
FSQ - PUSH 
IBP - PUSH
weighted PU - PULL

Purely guesstimating, for me this would look roughly like so:

Monday: 30% x 15, 70% x 8, 90% x 3 (or failure) 
SQ - 50 x 15, 90 x 8, 125 x 3 
BP - 35 x 15, 70 x 8, 95 x 3
DL - 50 x 15, 105 x 8, 135 x 3

Wednesday: 30% x 5, 40% x 5, 50% x 5, 60% x 5, 70% x 5
OSQ - 30 x 5, 40 x 5, 45 x 5, 55 x 5, 65 x 5
CJ - 25 x 5, 30 x 5, 35 x 5, 42 x 5, 50 x 5 
SDL - 45 x 5, 55 x 5, 70 x 5, 85 x 5, 100 x 5

Friday: 30% x 12, 50% x 12, 70% x 6 (or failure) 
FSQ - 35 x 12, 55 x 12, 80 x 6
IBP - 30 x 12, 45 x 12, 65 x 6 
weighted PU - bdw + 5 x 12, bdw + 7.5 x 12, bdw + 10 x 6 

If you bothered to parse all that, it would actually be three uniquely grueling workouts, all under 45 minutes, I wager. The extra time can be filled with focused stretching, aerobic work, or hobby movements.

Monday would build power.

Wednesday would build stamina, speed, core, neuromuscular coordination, mental focus, and better technique.

Friday would augment both Monday and Wednesday, without demanding too much after two such arduous workouts.

Off-days could be given to focused abcore training, grip training, yoga, swimming, sprinting, walking, track and field drills, Tabata sessions, whatever.  (Incidentally, I think the best exercises for the Tabata method are thrusters, burpees, jumping pullups, and what I call jumpie-pullups [viz. start in a deep knee bend position, jump up into a pullups, descend into knee bend squat, repeat].)

I'm really eager to try this out.

I've been told the 5 x 5 is best for beginners and serious powerlifters, though even that latter benefit has been contested by a muscle-head friend of mine, so my goal is to complete at least a month of the Quick Mass regimen, then switch back to my Even Keel regimen for six weeks, and then try the above, if my gym is suitable for Olympic lifts.

Fitness notes...

Saturday, 16 June 2012
30-40 mins., 99kg

Tripod headstand: 1 min. + motions X 3 (cycles)

[I did this just so I could get a workout in before the looming, ominous "all you can ate buffet" to which we treated my in-laws.]

Supine leg lifts: 15/15/10, 15/15/10


Pinches: Sleeping mat (Overhand, Finger-palm, Thumb-fingers) X 3

[I used a quasi-tatami mat, common in Taiwan. I pinched it overhand till failure (which was mere seconds usually, due to the give of the fabric and the sheer ungainliness of the thing), then along one of its seams like hoisting a sack without using your thumbs, then the same thing but with the emphasis on my index and bird-finger and thumb. Nice improv challenge, good for the brachioradialis. Easily quantifiable by time.]

Walking (+ 3-brick block pinching): 30 mins. (10 mins.)

[Later that night, once the buffet had had its way with us, I was sent on an errand, so I decided to walk and complete a lesson on Pimsleur Spanish II. This made for a 30-minute walk, around the midpoint of which I found a block, made of three bricks, on the sidewalk. So I commenced with pinch-grip farmer-walks, in each hand until failure until I got back home. Another cool improv challenge. The stone may have weighed 10kg.]