Ring training... Rest... Sledge and tires...

Tuesday, 2 September 2014 

warmup: 3-5 reps of all of the following exercises
-------
mid-air rows: 12, 12, 10, 10
mid-air decline pushups: 12, 12, 10, 10
eagle loop pullups: 9, 7, 6, 6
ring dips: 9, 7, 5, 5
assisted pistol squats: 12/12, 12/12, 10/10, 10/10
L-sit: 13 sec., 13 sec., 13 sec. 15 sec.

+ + +

A very good workout. It was exhausting, but much more gratifying by pyramiding down, rather than up, as I'd done in previous ring workouts.


Friday, 5 September 2014 

warmup: 10 reps of all the following exercises with a 10 lb. sledge
-------
16 lb. sagittal sledge hits: 15, 12, 10
16 lb. frontal sledge hits: 15, 12, 10
16 lb. low lateral sledge hits: 8/7, 8/7; 7/5, 7/5; 5/5, 5/5
box jumps: 12, 12, 12
21 lb. medicine ball thrusters: 12, 12, 20

+ + +

Good workout! I felt a bit groggy before starting it, and never exactly felt "amped" during it, but once I got warmed and got into a rhythm, I felt more energized. This workout not only technically had more reps (by 1) than last time, but was also more intense, since I rested only about 30 seconds between every exercise and set.

Fitness update... Tires, Sledges, Rings, Oh My!

Friday, 22 August 2014 

10 lb. sledge hammer on Ferdinand big tire: 
sagittal sledge hits: 10/10
rest 30 sec.
frontal sledge hits: 10/10
rest 30 sec. 
low lateral sledge hits: 5/5/5/5
rest 30 sec. 
box jumps: 10
rest 30 sec. 
jump-outs: 10
rest 1 min. 
x 4
---
5 min. vigorous walk

[A very tough workout, but I could tell I was applying more power each time than in previous workouts, so that is progress. 

My wife wondered why I would find a workout so tough if I've done it before, to which I replied that getting stronger just means I train harder, which means the workout gets more demanding as I improve. My core was blasted by the last few sets of lateral sledge hits. 

I think I'll get a 6 lb. sledge hammer and see how these moves feel. I think it will feel fun to sling a lighter hammer around with even higher intensity.]

-

Saturday, 23 August 2014 

mid-air rows: 6, 8, 10, 12
mid-air decline pushups: 6, 8, 10, 12
eagle-loop pullups: 6, 7, 7/1, 4/1/1/1/1/1
ring dips: 5, 6, 6/1, 4/1/1/1/1
assisted pistol squats: 6/6, 7/7, 8/8, 10/10
L-sit: 10 sec., 10 sec., 10 sec., 10 sec.

[A very exhausting workout, but the reps show progress. Ring dips are still so, so strenuous, but this evening I realized that it is crucial to tighten my core and pry my chest/head upward on the way up. 

L-sits are also surprisingly tough, perhaps especially because they are the last exercise I do each set. Around lunch time I did a few 5-rep sets of the ab rollout wheel. Ouch--it's been too long!  I'll need to throw more of those into my day. 

The slash-reps for pullups and dips indicate that I used body English or did one rep after a short "reset" pause until I completed the desired number of reps. 

I may go for a jog-with-skipping tomorrow night, we'll see.

Oh, and, since it may not be obvious, by "mid-air" exercises, I meant that all four limbs are suspended by slings, which adds an amazing for the core and lower back.]

21 Day Kettlebell Blast / HIIT - Day 18

Day 18 
It was muggy as heck today, as usual, but I felt less demotivated than I have the past few weeks. It's all about building that stamina. 

35 lb KB swing: alternating L/R hand, 60/60 reps
10 lb lasso swings: 30/30
21 lb med ball slams on Ferdinand: 30 reps
box jumps onto Ferdinand: 30 jumps
sledge hammer: 10/10 sagittal, 10/10 frontal, 5/5/5/5 lateral
rest
X 2

21 Day Kettlebell Blast

Day 14
warm-up: 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups, 20 lunges, 12 sling pushups [Despite the rather stifling humidity and my recurrent alcoholism, I had a blast. I did the sling pushups on my new Elite Wood Gym Rings!] 

sledge-tire: 
sagittal: 10/10 
frontal: 10/10
lateral: 5/5, 5/5, 5/5 

15+35 lb KB swings: 
left hand x 20 
right hand x 20 
---------
X 3 

wrap-up: L-sit 5 sec. x 5 

21 Day Kettlebell Blast(ish)

Day 13 
[I almost did not work out. My new job has been tremendously exhausting, even though it hasn't even entailed full-time hours. It's just so cognitively demanding, and requires a rather long commute. But I did work out. I don't know why, but it's been so hard to find my motivation again lately. I think more boxing, sledge-tire drills, and sleep will help.]

tornado twisters: 50/50, 30/30

lasso twists: 15/15 @ 15 lb.

KB swing: 20/20, 20/20

jump rope: 200 skips

tire-sledge: 30 total hits

tornado twisters: 50/50, 30/30

lasso twists: 15/15 @ 15 lb.

KB swing: 20/20, 20/20

jump rope: 200 skips

tire-sledge: 50 total hits

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

20-25 minutes

Recent workout notes

Last week I had to deal with a neck strain (thanks a lot, SQ!), so I did a few days of jump rope, space mace, suspension dips and curls, ab wheel, sledge/tire, dino dumbbell movements, etc.

Thursday I went into the gym, but felt very sub-optimal, and was quite modest with my squats. I did the following (about an hour) as a circuit:

SQ: 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 @ 75, 105, 125, 145, 195 lb.
FSQ: 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 @ 75, 105, 125, 145, 195 lb.
db press: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80 lb.
seated cable row: 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 @ 100, 100, 110, 110, 120, 120 lb.
spider curl: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 80 lb.

I did a 30-minute workout on Saturday involving dino-db movements, space mace, and perfect pushups.

I'm headed into the gym now. We'll see what I pull off. Maybe I got "stale" this past couple weeks, so I'm willing to take it easy until the school year is over.

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.

"A good sore..."

My triceps felt the most sore a day after my "Carpe Ferrum" workout, though I was pleased to feel some soreness in my biceps, as well. Most intriguing was the soreness I felt in my upper abdominals and upper/mid back muscles--all thanks to front squatting!

This afternoon I got around to cleaning up the garage again and then settled into the following:

(I)
2.5 min double-end bag
60 sec rest 
2.5 min heavy bag
60 sec rest 
30 sec/30 sec L/R stagger sledge swing
30 sec/30 sec wide-leg high striker
60 sec rest
20/20 KB swing @ 35#
10/10 KB snatch @ 35#
1-2 min rest

(II)
[REPEAT (I)]

The weather was extremely humid but pleasantly cool. My sorry ass could barely keep my gloves up on round two of my boxing drills. The most annoying aspect of our new house is how muddy the backyard gets and stays. This made my tire-sledge drills a little annoying. I'll see how I feel tomorrow for an Even Keel "B" workout (probably in the evening).

Oh, by the way, Gravity is a very good movie. 

Active recovery...

Thursday, 13 March 2014 
230 lbs., 20-25 min. (?) 

3 min. double-end bag

2 min. heavy bag

8 lbs. SLEDGE-AND-TIRE x 3
10/10 staggered log split
10/10 low trunk chop
5/5 wide-leg high strike

KB swings
25/25, 25/25 @ 35 lbs.

-------

Cleaning the garage is a great excuse to workout, and vice versa. I got my heavy bag stand weighted down again, rigged up my double end bag, rolled Ferdinand into the firmest patch of soil in the backyard... and tidied up a couple other things in the garage. (Moving sucks.) It felt great to get the gloves back on my hands.

However, I could "feel the time away" from the fairly intensive cardio-conditioning that I'd been doing at the end of last year, before getting back under the bar these past two months. Having released myself from ALL BULKING ALL THE TIME, I'm stoked to be able to return to my full menu of "active recovery" (or "greasing the groove") exercises on "off days" after a heavy lifting day.

Lastly, it now makes perfect, "lived" sense that KB swings--and, really, all KB exercises--are meant to be done one-handed. (Here's an excellent interview with Valery Fedorenko for more insight along this line.) I felt much more core activation and loading of the posterior chain. I took a nice walk with the family yesterday and semi-forced myself into this workout today--hooray!--but I will not get back into the gym until Saturday, at the earliest.

Stay tuned.

Catching up…

Fortunately, the title refers to my posting here, not my fitness goals! I even managed to rope some friends into working out with me at my home back in June. There are far too many detailed workout records to present now (or perhaps ever) that I've done since my last post here, but basically: these days I'm training exclusively at home, I canceled my gym membership, and I've settled on three basic kinds of workouts through which I cycle each week. Until I get a bicycle, an ergometer, and/or regular access to a pool, or decide to get back into weightlifting full-time again, I don't see these routines changing any time soon. They are what I think are long-term, well rounded fitness routines for maintaining a high metabolic rate, cardiac fitness, speed, power, and neuromuscular coordination.

First, a boxing/calisthenics day (heavy bag, double end bag, speed bag, jump rope, kettlebell, medicine ball, battling ropes, mountain climbers, Hindu squats, etc.). It's been great to get back behind the gloves. It was simply too hot to do much boxing over the summer, since I box outside under a tree or in my garage with no fans or A/C.

Second, a tire and sledge hammer day––that's right, I finally got a GIANT TIRE! It's a Michelin 23.5 R 25 that weighs in close to 900 lbs. I call it Ferdinand. I use it for sledge hits, box jumps, med ball slams, moguls (or donkey hops), kettlebell, flips, tire tennis, etc. Here are some videos I made not too long ago about this. I would like to upload other videos I made in the past highlighting other exercises, but when will I find the time? Stay tuned!  Errmmm...







Third, a gymnastics and bodyweight day (dips, rows, pullups, pikeups, jack knives, pushups, L-sits, pistol squats, etc.) using my Jungle Gym XT. I'd like to get a set of wooden gymnastic rings, so that I can have all four points suspended for the motions, but I need to hold my horses. Budget. (And I know I could get another suspension trained for about $20 but I want to get rings, since they enable different maneuvers than standard trainers, and, apparently, "just feel better."

I also mix in grip training during the week with an Ivanko-style multi-grip crusher, Captains of Crush, eagle-loops hangs, rotations, gyro ball, etc. How I miss my spinning flail!

On truly "off days" I at least try to get in 20–30 minutes with the Bodyblade or brisk walking, or even just some intermittent planking.

I began focusing a lot on my core and abs a few weeks ago, after a couple years of taking my abs for granted (not taking their beauty for granted––as if!––but taking their development for granted as a result of squats, deadlifts, and other full-body exercises). As they say, "Your waistline is your lifeline," and I can't deny it's been invigorating and calming to have a tighter, flatter stomach again.

Also, without even really noticing it, I dropped below my goal of 206 lbs. I'm now about 204 lbs, but expect I will gain a few pounds of muscle once my gymnastic and sledge/tire wourkouts add up over the winter months.  

Let me close with two specific workouts, to give you an idea of how I'm training. Granted, these were mini-workouts, but you get the idea.

Yesterday my workout was this:

sledge/tire
15 min., BPM 150-180

5/5 sagittal hits
5/5 low baseball hits
20 med ball slams (inside Ferdinand)
10 abduction jump-ups (from inside Ferdinand)
10 box jumps*
short REST
repeat 3 more times

* My friend told me that the best way to do box jumps is from a low platform onto the floor and then up onto the box. Since, however, I find that jumping backwards off of Ferdinand onto cinder blocks is too dangerous, and jumping onto the ground and then stepping onto the blocks for a new box jump is too low-intensity, I discovered a good semi-solution: jump off of the box (Ferdinand) into a wide stance and then immediately hop a couple inches forward to bring your feet closer together and then immediately explode up into the box jump. This not only keeps the intensity high and approximates the low-ground-high routine that my friend recommends, but also incorporates adduction and abduction into an otherwise one- or maybe two-plane exercise. 

Tonight I "took it easy" and only trained:

grip and core
20 min.

Bodyblade and crusher warm-up, forearm stretching

loop hangs -
2-finger 5 sec.
3-finger 8 sec.
4-finger 11 sec.
REST
repeat 3 more times

multi-crusher (4th from bottom notch) -
10 R/L
8 R/L
6 R/L
4 R/L
2 R/L
(then I inverted the gripper so the handles form a V instead of the normal A shape)
2 L, 2 R...
(pretty much until I couldn't do anymore)

dip-sits -
(I slowly press up from a hanging dip into an L-sit, hold it for 10 sec., and slowly dip down)
short REST
repeat 6 more times