Becoming an Athlete

Dips:  BW x 6, 6, 7, 8 Upright row: 80 x 10, 10, 10 Bench press:  185 x 7, 6, 4 1-arm dumbbell row:  60 x 16 per arm Incline Zottman curls:  25s x 8, 7 Leg press:  350 x 18 FBGM:  90 x 15 TRX planks: Another sucky ab exercise.  All I felt were my hip flexors.

Off

Squat: 205 x 9, 10, 10, 10 leg extension: 140 x 8; 150 x 10; 160 x 10 standing calves: 95 x 20, 20, 20 wide-grip pulldown: 140 x 13 upright row: 85 x 10 skipped dips Incline dumbbell press:  60s x 11 Dumbbell curls: 30 x 10, 10 per arm

deadlift: 205 x 8; 225 x 8, 8, 8 bent row: 115 x 8, 8, 9, 8 Barbell preacher curl: 65 x 8, 8, 8 Bulgarian squat 30 (15s x 2) x 12 per leg - SLOW tempo Leg press calves: 320 x 30 A. 1-arm Dumbbell press: 60 x 4/4, 4/4, 4/4 B. Neutral grip pullup:    BW x 4, 4, 4 Cross-body lying tricep extension:  25 x 14 per arm Skipped abs again

Dips:  BW x 4, 5, 6, 4 Upright row: 65 x 10, 10, 10 Bench press:  165 x 8, 8, 7 1-arm dumbbell row:55 x 15 each Incline Zottman curls:  25s x 8 Leg press:  270 x 16 Flat Back goodmorning: 85 x 14

Day off

10 rounds of: 2 min walk 1 min HARD run

Squat: 185 x 10, 10; 195 x 10, 10 leg extension: 130 x 10; 140 x 10; 150 x 8 standing calves: 75 x 20, 20, 20 wide grip pulldown: 140 x 11 upright row:  65 x 15 Dips:  BW x 7 Incline db press:  55s x 10 Dumbbell curl: 30 x 8, 8 per arm Skipped ab work.

5K at Lake P-ville.  Untimed.

I haven't missed a workout, but I'm behind on blogging. deadlift: 135 x 10; 185 x 8; 205 x 8, 8 bent row: 95 x 10; 115 x 8, 8, 8 barbell preacher curl: 45 x 8; 55 x 8, 8, 8 Bulgarian squat:  BW x 12 per leg - really slow tempo leg press calves raise: 270 x 30 a. DB overhead press ladders: 50 x 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,1,2,3 b. Pullup ladders: BW x 1,2,3,1,1,1,2,3,1,2,3 Cross-bosy lying tricep extension: 25s x 14 per arm Oblique crunch:  30 per side (this is a stupid exercise and a waste of time)

A much needed rest day.  :) I've been sleeping like a baby this week.

The good and bad of having laid off weights for so long is that you get a great stimulus from such a small load.  My legs still feel like limp brisket from squats on Monday and the intervals on Tuesday. Wednesday night's results: Dips*:  singles x 3, 3, 3; 3 consecutive reps; 5 more singles Upright row:  55 x 8, 8, 10, 10 Bench press:  135 x 10; 155 x 10; 165 x 8, 9 1-arm dumbbell row:  50 x 15 left & 15 right Incline Zottman curls: 25s x 6 (too heavy for this new movement) Leg press**:  180 x 25 Flat-back goodmorning:  65 x 14 *Dips: I'm just weak.  It'll be a while before I get my upper-body strength back. **Leg press:  My knees hurt from all the running, so I'm going light on leg press and getting a burn from high reps.

Running a day after squatting is tough! I met my buddy and ran 10 rounds of: 2 minute walk 1 minute fast pace run This was the first time to bump to run to 1 minute.  What a difference!  I had got a side stitch about half way in that didn't go away till a few minutes after finishing.

Man, oh man!  I am so deconditioned.  If you've read my blog posts you'll know that I had a rough start to 2012.  5 weeks of the flu, followed by hernia surgery, mean I'm just now lifting with any real load or effort. I ran the Head For The Cure 5K in Plano on 5/12.  My time:  33:39.  Not bad, but not good - what I expected. Monday was my first day of lifting and I felt every rep.  I'm following a plan that is outside my comfort zone - written by MuscleMag publishing company, ostensibly by Robert Kennedy.  I steer clear of bodybuilding magazines, and also from books about bodybuilding training, but my wife got me the book for Christmas and I feel compelled to get some use out of it. The plan is essentially: Monday: squats:  4 x 6-8 leg accessory work: 6 sets HIT-style 1 set to failure for push, pull, & biceps Wednesday: bench: 4 x 6-8 chest accessory work:  6 sets HIT-style 1 set to failure for legs, pulling, biceps ...

I ran with a buddy and we maintained a comfortable pace that allowed for conversation and laughing.  Finished in 33:42, including a bit of walking. On an interesting note, the massive thunderstorm in Central Texas brought in a pelican.  Yup.  A massive white pelican was sitting right in the middle of Lake Pflugerville.  Weirdest thing I've seen out there to date.

The 5K is this Saturday, 12 MAY.  That means this is my last week of goofing around in the weight room, and it also means I'll finally cut back the running volume just a touch. I don't have my plan laid out yet, but I know I'll have to start out light on my two favorites - deadlift and squat.  Squat in particular builds pressure around the hernia repair site.  I'll also have to start with ab work straight out of the "Wuss" bucket before I get into ab training from the Bucket of Awesomeness.  No dragon flies, ab wheel, or other high tension exercises for a while yet. I see this as a chance to build the type of hypertrophy I normally avoid.  Good old fashioned bodybuilding  - aka All Show, No Go.  Now, a training life lived here isn't for me, but a brief foray while I recover and build structural integrity is no problem. I'll get my stats the day after the 5K to adequately measure progress in weight, circumferences, and bodyfat%.

Sunday morning was rough.  My wife and I went out with some friends on Saturday, and I had a couple of Irish whiskeys, which made for heavy legs and inefficient lungs on Sunday morning. I decided to walk the 5K loop with my dog as fast as I could.  I felt great afterwards.  Working up a good sweat cures almost anything.

My left hand had some blood-blisters after the pick axe session on Thursday, so all my rowing movements were cut short because of the discomfort. Cable seated press:  60 x 10; 70 x 10; 80 x 10 Cable overhead press:  40 x 10; 50 x 10; 60 x 12 Seated dumbbell laterals: 10s x 12; 12s x 10, 10, 15 Wide grip pulldown: too few to count (grip hurt) T-bar row: same as above. (grip hurt)

My son wanted to test out his new freestyle bike at the dirt jump park.  The great thing about where we live is that all parks are interconnected by sidewalks and gravel trails.  So I took us to a spot 2 miles from the BMX park.  I ran 2 miles there, only stopping at one intersection / crosswalk.  When we got there, I ran some hills while my son rode, and then I used the pick axe that was lying around to remove some roots that had grown through parts of the trail.  After about 40 minutes, we headed back.  The 2 mile return trip was tougher than I expected. Summary: 2 mile run 40 minute manual labor and hills 2 mile run

I ran my 5K loop at Lake Pflugerville again today.  I finished in 34:46, including the 2 minutes I spent waiting for my dog to get out of the water.  My boxer overheats easily, and is generally a fat lard.  I should rename him Tina. Anyway, I'm not much less lardy than Tina.  Even without him, I doubt I would have pulled off a sub-30 minute run.  Maybe 32 at best. I'll do hill sprints and weights tomorrow, then an easy walk on Thursday, followed by another timed 5K on Friday, sans Tina the Fat Lard Boxer.

Hard, but quick and to the point.  I can tell it will be a long hard road to getting my overhead pushing strength back: 3-movement ladder a. Clean:                 135 x 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2 b. Overhead press: 135 x 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2 c. Neutral grip pullup: BW x 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2 Seated cable horizontal press:  50 x 10; 60 x 10; 70 x 11 Machine incline press:  90 x 20, 15 Wide grip pulldown: 100 x 10; 115 x 10; 130 x 10 Kettlebell curl ladder: 25 x 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3 Kettlebell snatch: 35 x 10/10, 10/10, 7/7