Fitness notes…

Thursday, 14 June 2012
40 min., 99kg

I guess I've lost some weight. 

Hula hoop: 5 min., 5 min. 

Tripod headstand + leg motions: 1 min., 1 min.

[On the 2nd cycle I rose up from the crow pose (kakasana), which was a satisfying challenge. Eventually, I'd like to cycle out of and back into the kakasana with leg motions (split, side-split, pedaling, etc.).] 

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

Ab wheel: 12, 18

Neck bridge: 1 min., 1 min.

Chakrasana (wheel pose) + eka pada urdhva dhanurasana (the "lightning rod", as I call it): ~1 min., ~1 min.

I didn't even try the salamba sirsasana! Too tired, early to bed tonight!

Some of my workout music: 

Gym regimen - June 2012

Wednesday, 13 June 2012
50–60 min., 100kg
Even Keel (A)

Warmup: motions, stretching, etc.

Circuit 1

SQ: 9, 6, 3 @ 100kg, 110kg, 120kg

BP: 9, 6, 7* @ 80kg, 85kg, 90kg

[Slight spot on 7th rep of 3rd set.]

SDL: 9, 6, 3* @ 100kg, 120kg, 130kg

[Wrists straps for 3rd set.]

Circuit 2

Press (EZ bar): 9, 6, 3* @ 50kg, 55kg, 60kg

[Did a negative on 3rd rep of 3rd set to "make up for" a little body English I used in the 3rd set.]

PU: 12 @ bdw

[Some body English and negatives on the last couple reps.] 

Seated pulldown: 8, 8 @ 115kg

[It was too much of a hassle to work in with the other two guys on the pullup tower, so I did the pulldown instead. It was a solid challenge, good pump.]

Spider curl (EZ bar, narrow grip): 9, 6, 9 @ 40kg, 42.5kg, 45kg

[Another good pump with the long head focus.]

* * *

I can't say I felt tired in this workout, but I could tell my body was less than 100% after my grip training and extensive core/neck training yesterday. It was a "mental" workout, to be sure. SQ felt good. I didn't go as heavy as last time on the BP, but I widened my grip a bit to ensure my elbows were tucked, and ended up doing more volume than last time (1660kg on June 5th vs. 1860kg tonight).

I made good increases in everything else, but definitely need a full recovery. So perhaps my next workout will be on Sunday, maybe even next Monday. As always, I must keep things in perspective: I've only been back on a serious weightlifting regimen since May 27 (or May 21, at the earliest)––just two or three weeks! The road is long. Gains are counted by months and years. Patience, Humility, Confidence, Progression.

Stay tuned.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I worked out barefoot, which was actually pretty cool.

Grip training & misc.…

Tuesday, 12 June 2012
50 min., 100kg

Warmup: gyro ball, stretching, etc.

Heavy 150: 6 closes both hands

CoC #1.5: 3 closes both hands 

CoC #2: 3, 3 NO CLOSES

[I wasn't surprised or discouraged by this lackluster performance. I've been giving my forearms a lot of regular challenges lately, with the gyro ball, flail, handstands, deadlifts, etc. So I believe I'm in a "congealing" period between plateaux. My palm and finger strength has gotten stronger, now I just need to be better about doing two good crusher sessions per week.]

CoC #2 - forced close/hold: 10–15 sec.

CoC #1.5 - forced close/hold: 20 sec.

* * *

Hula hoop: 3 min., 3 min., 3 min., 3 min.

[I added some side-to-side steps, which felt even more aerobic.]

Neck bridge + upward bow (i.e. the chakrāsana or ūrdhvadhanurāsanam): 1 min., 2:30 min.

[I would have gone longer on the first cycle but too little padding made it quite uncomfortable on my forehead. I had fun on the second cycle, throwing in one-leg extensions in the upward bow (i.e. the Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurāsana). I tried it from the neck bridge position, but I'm not "there" yet.]

Tripod headstand + bent-arm crow pose: 3 cycles

[By cycle I mean a complete motion through set-up and return to the crow pose.]

Salamba sirsasana: several unsuccessful attempts, one successful with my wife stabilizing my ankles

Active recovery…

My active recovery these days is a mix from any of the following:

• grip training (plate pinches, flail, gyro ball, crushers, etc.),
• conditioning (jump rope, Hindu squats & pushups, burpees, tumbling, dueling ropes, lassoing, etc.),
• core work (hula hoop, planking, leg raises, ab wheel, etc.),
• headstanding,
• [I really ought to add some jogging, stairs, and swimming into my program.] 

Apropos the last, I'm getting better at it and my goal is to become skilled at handstands and handwalking, or "the lost art of hand balancing". I've gotten much better at working my legs and core in a headstand tripod (i.e. raising up and lowering down slowly, holding front- and side-splits, cycling, etc.). As such, my next goals are i) training to hold the tripod for time (even 30 seconds would be nice), and ii) doing the sirsasana. I held it once for a few seconds last night, but mostly it was just good practice for tumbling. Heh.

Last night I also did four sets of the gyro ball, the flail, hula hoop, and supine leg raises. Felt good. In the last week I've shed some fat, and dipped back under 100kg, but I can tell I've put on muscle in its place. Patience, Humility, Condfidence. Stay tuned.

Gym regimen - June 2012

Friday, 8 June 2012
Even Keel (B)
100kg, 50+ min.

Warmup: stretching, motions, etc.

FSQ (EZ bar): 9, 6, 4 @ 70kg, 80kg, 90kg
[If you thought the FSQ was awkward, try it with an EZ bar without a squat rack! Yikes! But I did get a few cool small abrasions on my shoulders and collarbones.]

IBP: 9, 6, 6, 4 @ 70kg, 75kg, 80kg, 85kg
[Let's call this another PR! I threw in the 4th set on a whim, and surprised myself. I guess the headstand practice is helping.]

DL (EZ bar): 9, 6, 10 @ 90kg, 110kg, 120kg
[Actually felt good on the EZ bar, since the slight curvature seemed to provide a better grip. Alas, though, it can only load so much weight.]

db IBP: 5/5, 10, 10 @ 41kg/50kg, 50kg, 50kg
[Maybe I need to switch to dips and pushups, since I'm already doing every set with the heaviest db's in my gym.]

Seated cable curl: 12, 12, 10 @ 41kg, 45.5kg, 55kg
[Working the long (outer) head felt great! A super pump. I'll be training the next two weeks with a long-head emphasis.]

Machine FSQ: 9, 9, 9 @ 146-172, 158-185, 169-199lbs [66-90kg]
[The machine said there was a weight gradient over the course of extension: from starting to finishing weight. It felt good to work my quads, reminded me a bit of my rowing days.]

Variety, spices, and all that…

This blog recently reminded of a silver, if not golden, rule of weight training: MIX IT UP.

I'm very pleased with my Even Keel regimen, and intend to keep at it at least until I find a gym in America (ca. July or August 2012). Even so, I do research to keep myself on my toes.

So, here are two ideas I've had recently that I think will help keep my body "on its toes".

1. Alternate weekly or twice-weekly based on geometry.

That is, even if I stick with an A-B Even Keel routine, let's have, say, week 1 of 4 focus on the quads vs. hamstrings (with a higher back squat and front squats vs. a lower and wider back squat), the long vs. short bicep heads (with narrow vs. wide grips, respectively), the greater vs. lesser pectorals (with wider vs. closer grips), mid-back vs. wide-back pulls (with closer and higher vs. wider and lower position), etc.

2. Every 6–8 weeks, switch to a month of 5x5.

I.e. do my bi-weekly Even Keel workouts for 6–8 weeks, then switch to a month of higher volume "cutting" work on a 5x5 regimen.

Oh, and a third goal:

3. Flesh out my strength and grip training with "beast skills". 

My current main goal is the handstand and hand-walking, and to master/close the CoC #2.5, before I get to the #3.

Gym regimen - June 2012

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

60 min., 100kg

Even Keel (A)

Warmup: motions, stretching, etc. 

Circuit 1

SQ: 9, 6, 3 @ 90kg, 105kg, 120kg 

BP: 9, 6, 5** @ 75kg, 85kg, 95kg 

[My buddy spotted me on 4th rep of 3rd set and saved me on 5th rep of 3rd set heheh!] 

SDL: 9, 6, 3* @ 100kg, 115kg, 130kg 

[Used straps for 3rd set.]

Circuit 2 

Press (EZ bar): 9, 6, 6 @ 45kg, 50kg, 55kg 

[Felt alright, could have gone heavier, I'll give it a whirl next week.] 

PU: 12, 11*, 11* @ bdw 

[Felt pretty good, but, understandably, a lot of me is fried after my SQ-BP-SDL circuit.] 

Spider curl (EZ bar): 9, 6, 3 @ 35kg, 40kg, 45kg 

[These are awesome(ly evil) right after pullups.]  

++++++++

I felt pretty charged up for this workout, and it was nice to get some "real weight" on the bar for my squat, after a long hiatus. 

Also, new PR for bench press. I figure doing 3 solid reps 95kg on my last set of a circuit puts me in the 110kg 1RM range. 

Stay tuned.