Foolin' Around

Just kind of goofing in the gym this week and next as I have been way too structured for the last year.

TUESDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
KB warmup 15 swings @ 35/5 Windmills @ 5 x 4
My shoulder seems to be loosening up a lot on the windmills
Farmer Walk approximately 100 yds @ 55
Flutter kick 1 x 10 (4 count)
Hanging knee raises 2 x 5
Back ext. 2 x 10
Bicycle 1 x 10 (2 count)
DB clean and press 1 x 8 @ 25

I took :15 seconds between each of the exercises.

Antagonism 'R' Me

Feeling fairly antagonistic at the gym today. It was set off by some Test Fest Baby (my term for a guy that is way too high on being agro). This guy was doing rows on the landmine attachment with 5 plates on the thing and barely perceptible range of motion and then slamming the thing down at the  end of each set. He was punching the benches and chest slamming the poles and just generally being a dick. I glared at him but it seemed to have no effect.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
KB w/u  15 swings @ 35 and 5 windmills @ 5 a circuit of 4 rounds alternating L and R arm on the windmills.

Back squat 5 @ 45/5 @ 65/5 @ 75/5 @ 85
Press 5 @ 45/5 @ 50/5 @ 82.5/5 @ 85
easing back into backsquats and working on a stop at the bottom and then exploding up.

Pull 'n' Squat
5 Rounds of:
Goblet squats 5 @ 27.5
Pull ups          1-2-1 (regular/reverse grip/close grip/wide grip/regular)

Dips 4 x 5 with 110 pounds of assist.

Just Don't Do It.

I had a conversation with a newly minted trainer at the gym this morning. I was trying to convince him that the world does not need another trainer standing people on bosu balls with 2 lb weights in the name of functional fitness and balance. Gray Cook has a great book called The Athletic Body in Balance that is a must read for trainers interested in giving their clients the best information.
I also told him that the world does not need any more weak people and that if he wants to make a name for himself then make people strong.
This guy is one of those people who, for some reason, thinks that I know something. I shall let him continue under that assumption as people who think I know something are few and far between.

SATURDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Farmer's Walk 40yds @ 55lbs
DB Clean and Press 5 @ 25
Flutter kick 4 count x 10 (1,2,3,4 is 1 etc)
Farmer's Walk 40yds @ 55lbs
DB Clean and Press 5 @ 25
Hanging Knee Raise 2 x 5
Farmer's Walk 40yds @ 55lbs
DB Clean and Press 5 @ 25
Abdominal Twister 1 x 10 (1,2 is 1)
Farmer's Walk 40yds @ 55lbs
DB Clean and Press 5 @ 25
Reverse Hyper 1 x 10

Squat 1 x 10 with just the bar very slow
Bench 1 x 20 with just the bar also very slow

 Couldn't find a video for the abdominal twister so I will try to explain it: Lie on your back, raise up your torso and your feet, put your hands behind your back then twist and bring the elbow to the opposite knee.

And Now This...

Changing things around some. For the next 8 to 12 weeks I will be doing a more minimalist workout. Try it you'll like it. I was sick Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday but I'm better now.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Elliptical 5 minutes
DROM
Pull 'n' Squat cycle
Goblet Squat 1 x 5 @ 25
Regular Pull Ups 1-2-1
Goblet Squat 1 x 5 @ 25
Reverse Grip Pull Ups 1-2-1
Goblet Squat 1 x 5 @ 25
Close Grip Pull Ups 1-2-1
Goblet Squat 1 x 5 @ 25
Wide Grip Pull Ups 1-2-1
Goblet Squat 1 x 5 @ 25
Regular Pull Ups 1-2-1
These were all done with :15 seconds RI

Dips 4 x 5 with 110lb of assistance
I am using the assist machine on these until my shoulder gets stronger

Swing 'n' Push cycle
Swing 1 x 30 @ 35
Regular Push Up 2-4-2
Swing 1 x 30 @ 35
Diamond Push Up 2-4-2
Swing 1 x 20 @ 35
Dive Bomber Push Up 2-4-2
Swing 1 x 20 @ 35
Wide Push Up 2-4-2
Swing 1 x 20 @ 35
These were done with a :15 second RI
30 swings was a little ambitious so I cut back to 20 on the third set.

I liked this workout. It was hard at times but I left the gym feeling good. Tomorrow I am going to do a Farmers Walk a DB Clean and Press and some ab exercises. I will keep the ab exercises in until my knee stops hurting then I will replace them with Turkish Get Ups..
It's going to be 2 days on/1 day off protocol.

5K Row and Such.

Did a 5K row today and my butt was really sore. Maybe TMI. I have refined the workout some to allow more time for rowing. So I will be doing one big lift each day, one core sort of thing and one work on weakness sort of thing and I am going to do the elliptical for 5 minutes each day because I like it.
The kettlebell warm up has finally solidified and it consists of 2 rounds of 10 swings/5 windmills/10 swings/5 Goblet squats/10 swings/3 turkish get ups.
I do a left side windmill and a right side TGU on the first round and then switch that on the second round.

MONDAY’S WORKOUT

Elliptical 5 minutes

Dynamic Range Of Motion Warm Up

Front squat 5 @ 50/5 @ 60/1 @ 120

Pull Ups 3 x 4

Plank 3 x :20 second on the Left, Middle and Right

Pull ups and plank done as a circuit.

Row 5K Time 20:42.8/Avg. pace 2:04.2/Avg SR 22

The Weights are here! The Weights are Here!

My 1 1/4 pound weights arrived yesterday from Rogue Fitness. Now I can make smaller jumps and still move forward. Didn't post Friday so here are the workouts.

FRIDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Bench press 5 @ 75/5 @ 90/3+ @ 165 (got 3)

Dead lift 5 @ 135/5 @ 165/3+ @ 300 (got 5)

Weighted pull ups 3 x 1 @ 32.5

Floor Wipers 3 x 10 @ 135

Row 6 x 500 with 1:00 RI

2:00.1/1:59.4/1:58.7/1:59.7/1:57.9/1:58.1

Avg SR 24

SATURDAY’S WORKOUT

Elliptical 5 minutes

DROM

Press 1 x 20 @ 55

Front rack step ups 3 x 6 @ 65 to a 20” box

Back Ext 3 x 10

I like doing the elliptical as it seems to warm up my hips and knees better than the rower and it is weight bearing.

What The Hell?

Squats continue to haunt me. Long femurs and a short torso are not the ideal body type for backsquats and front squats seem to be causing knee problems. DAMN YOU SQUATS!
Here is another good article by Dan John.

WEDNESDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Bench dips  3 x 5

Ab wheel 3 x 10

Row Sprints  10 x 200/2 Minute RI

Avg pace 1:40.2/Avg SR 32/Total meters 2,000

:41/:41/:40.6/:40/:40/:39.5/:38.7/:40/:39.2/:42.2

Dramatically improved numbers on this row workout. 7 seconds off the average pace from 2 weeks ago.

Why Think?

It occurred to me today that there are a lot of really smart people out there who spend all their time thinking about strength training, flexibility, mobility, injury prevention, conditioning, sport training and all the other aspects of fitness. With this in mind I am free to pick and choose from lots of different protocols all of them proven and assemble them in a way that lets me get the results I need.
I decided to let the folks at Concept 2, who make rowers, do the programming for me. They have a workout of the day that you sign up for and you are sent a short, medium and long rowing workout via e-mail  each day.

TUESDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Push ups 3 x 14

Good morning 3 x 5 @ 50

Row workout (pacing) 5 x 1,000 with a :30RI at 26/24/22/24/26
This was hard and I only made one at the right pace and came close on the others.
1) 4:15.7/2:07.8 pace/25 SR
2) 4:15.2/2:07.6 pace/24 SR
3) 4:35.2/2:17.6 pace/21 SR
4) 4:21.2/2:10.6 pace/23 SR
5) 4:23.8/2:11.9 pace/24 SR 

It will be fun to have different workouts each day and fit them into my schedule. Now I won't get bored.

Surprising Lack

There has been no articles to share lately. All the sites I usually visit have been quiet. So here is the workout for Monday. Saturday was kind of a wash.

MONDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Front Squat 5 @ 50/5 @ 60/3 @ 110

Press  5 @ 50/5 @ 60/2 @ 110

Pull ups 5/5/5

Plank :30 Front/:15 L/:15 R

Tabata Row

Avg pace 1:47/Avg SR 31/Total Meters 747

92/95/92/93/93/93/94/94

I am reaching the upper end of my pressing ability and may switch to a straight linear progression for a while.

Shoulder Dear Shoulder

Weird pain when doing dips today. I stopped. Getting stronger on the floor wipers.

FRIDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Bench press 5 @ 75/5 @ 90/5+ @ 150 (got 9)

Deadlift  5 @ 135/5 @ 165/5+ @ 280 (got 7)

Weighted pull ups 3 x 1 @ 30

Floor Wipers 3 x 10 @ 135

Bench dips 1 x 6 and called for shoulder pain

Tabata Row (4 rounds)

97/93/93/93

Stinging pain just below my knee cap. It seemed to lessen as I rolled it out.

Force Production

Here   is a link to a good article on the importance of strength in your training. If your sport requires X amount of force to be expended that could be expressed as a percentage of the total amount of force you can produce. If, according to the article, you get stronger and your force production remains the same than you are using a smaller percentage of the force you are capable of producing. This will allow you to go faster  as your capacity has risen.
Good stuff.

WEDNESDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

DB press 3 x 10 @ 30

Pull Ups 3/3/3

Ab wheel 1 x 12 and face plant

Row Sprints  10 x 200/2 Minute RI

:40.6/:40.4/:39.5/:38.9/:39.3/:38.5/:38.4/:39/:39.1/:37.8

Avg pace 1:37

Avg SR 33

Meters 2,000.

This is a 10 second improvement over last week on the average pace. So I was either seriously sandbagging last week or I improved a lot in a week.

Thinking highly of myself as I do I think I just improved a lot.

Not a Stellar Moment

I stared at the pull up bar. Wishing it to come closer. It didn't budge despite my best efforts. Finally, realizing the futility of what I was doing, I turned and walked away. I also spent a good deal of time staring at benches, walls and floors none of whom seemed inclined to do my bidding. I shall keep you informed as my mastery of inanimate objects improves.

TUESDAY’S WORKOUT

Bike to gym

DROM

Split Squat 3 x5

Good morning 3 x 5 @ 45

Row 3 x 2,000 meters/2:00 RI

1) 8:34.8/2:08.7 pace/25 SR

2) 8:31.8/2:07.9 pace/24 SR

3) 8:24.9/2:06.2/24 SR

Total meters 6,000

On and On and On Dear Prudence

Great song that. I was indisposed on Saturday and so did not post. Nothing of note. I have got a little warm up circuit that I really like. I mentioned it before but here it is again:
Windmill 5R
Swings 10
TGU 3R
Swings 10
Goblet Squat 5
That is repeated with the windmill and tgu on the left. This gets everything moving and loosened up.

MONDAY’S WORKOUT

Bike to Gym

DROM

W/U circuit

Front Squat 5 @ 50/5 @ 60/5 @ 105

Press  5 @ 50/5 @ 60/2 @ 105 (miserable failure)

Pull ups 6/5/5

Plank 3 x :30 seconds

Push ups 3 x 12

Tabata Row 92/96/95/95/94/95/92/99  758 Total Meters

See you tomorrow.

Listing Heavily To Starboard

If you don't know nautical terminology the title means leaning heavily to the right. This morning was another fine example of Weird Shit That Happens For No Apparent Reason. I got out of bed to close the window and I nearly fell over. I had to hold on to the wall to get into the kitchen to turn on the coffee. I didn't feel dizzy and my leg wasn't asleep or cramped, just couldn't stand up. WSTHFNAR.

FRIDAY'S WORKOUT
Row 500 meters
DROM
Bench press 5 @ 70/5 @ 90/5 @ 105

Front rack step ups 3 x 10 @ 45
Push ups 3 x 11
The above done as a circuit

Weighted pull ups 3 x 1 @ 27.5
Floor wipers 3 x 7 @ 135
The above done as a circuit

Felt poorly so I got this done and went home.

Remiss

Negligent in the performance of work or duty. That there is from the Webster's. I neglected to post yesterday and I feel bad.
So here they are.

TUESDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Press 3 x 5 @ 45/55/70

Split squat  3 x 5

Pull ups 3 x 5

Good morning 3 x 10 @ 45

Push ups 3 x 10 

Row sprints 10 x 200 with 2:00 RI

avg pace 1:47.5 avg SR 29

:45.8/:44.9/:44.8/:44.7/:44.2/:44.2/:42.1/:40.1/:40.1/:39

WEDNESDAY’S WORKOUT

Row 500 meters

DROM

Front Squat 3 x 5 @ 45/55/70

DB row 3 x 10 @ 52.5

Ab wheel 3 x 10

Bench Dips 3 x 5

Decide to put in bench dips instead of bar dips because the bar version is really hard on my shoulders.

I Hate Mondays

There is no particular reason I just don't like them. Interrupted sleep, bad diet and a foul mood equals bad workout. I keep pounding that in maybe some day I will heed the call.

MONDAY'S WORKOUT
Ride Bike to Gym
DROM
Turkish get up 3 R @ 12.5
Goblet Squats 5 @ 22.5
Swings 10 @ 35
Repeat with TGU on L

Deadlift 3 x 5 @ 125/165/195
DB press 3 x 5 @ 27.5

Row 3 x 10:00 with 1:00 RI

And that was it for today.