Becoming an Athlete

I will be throwing at the Austin Celtic Festical on Saturday, 11/03, so I wanted to hit it hard on Monday and then relax. Clean:  165 x 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1; 185 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 Push press:  165 x 3, 3, 3; 185 x 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 Deadlift: 135 x 10; 185 x 10; 225 x 5; 275 x 5; 315 x 5; 365 x 1; 405 x 1 Rack pulls*:  405 x 1 (5 sec hold); 455 x 1 (5 sec hold); 495 x 1; 515 x 1 (5 sec hold) *Rack pulls are essentially a deadlift, starting from a higher starting point.  I lowered the squat rack pins to the bottom rung, and layed the bar across it.  That meant the bar started from about 3 inches below my knees.

hindu pushup: 5, 5, 5, 5 Superset: a. bench press: 185 x 5; 195 x 5; 205 x 5 b. bent row:  135 x 8;  9;  10 Incline bench press:   125 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Upright row:  85 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Snow angels:  10s x 12, 10, 10, 10 Superset: a. FreeMotion Tricep extension: 40x10; 60x10; 80x10,10,10; 90x5 b. FreeMotion Bicep curl:   50x10; 70x10; 90x10,10,10; 100x5

hindu squat: 40, 40, 40 back squat: 135x5; 185x5; 225x5; 245x5; 275x5; 295x5 single-leg leg press jump: 70 x 6/6; 6/6; 6/6; 6/6 TRX-assisted pistols: shit tons till I wanted to cry

I've forgotten how many weeks on this plan, but it is going well. handstand pushup:  10 Tri-set ladders: a. Clean:  165 x 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1 b. Press:  165 x 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1; 1-1-1 c. Pullup:  +10 x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 Upright row: 85 x 10, 10, 10, 7 Upright snow angels:  10s x 12, 10, 8, 6 FreeMotion tricep extension:  30x10; 40x10; 50x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x10, 7, 7

My son loves the cub scouts.  This is his 2nd year and he really wants to progress to Boy Scouts.  The thing I like most is that they are responsible for all the activities - parents are just there to help keep them on task. So with lots of down time on Saturday, I was glad that I brought my Atlas Stone with me.  :) I did a ton of loaded carries with my Atlas stone, then clean and press ladders. 8 rounds of: Clean to right shoulder, carry 30 paces, drop Clean to left shoulder, carry 30 paces, drop Clean & Press Ladders: 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2; 1-2; 1-2; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1

Stuff keeps coming up on Fridays, which results in me not doing my deadlifts, so I hammered those Tuesday evening. warm-up: a. hindu squats:  3 x 35 b. inch worm:   3 x 3 c. cradle stretch:  3 x 5 each leg d. hindu pushup:  3 x 4 deadlift: 135x10; 185x10; 225x5; 275x5; 315x5; 335x5; 345x5; 365x3; 375x3; 385x3 TRX Iron crosses:  lots of playing to replicate the top half of Weight Over Bar.

I took the day off and helped a friend haul off the mess left by a shady contractor.  My friend has no truck, and I do, so he rented a trailor and I towed it.  We were able to get 2 loads taken to the landfill before I had a family emergency come up and had to call it a day.

throwing light hammer light weight for distance weight over bar caber atlas stone 2 hours all together.

I had a small breakfast and didn't have time for lunch, so I trained on an empty stomach at 3:00 PM.  I was overly depleted but still had a passable workout. warm-up:  hindu pushup:  4,4,4,5 bench press:  165 x 5; 175 x 5; 185 x 11 superset a. Incline bench press*: 115 x 10, 10, 10, 10 b. upright row: 85 x 10, 10, 10, 10 superset a. Bent row: 135 x 6, 6, 6, 7 b. Pushups:  BW x 10, 10, 10, 10

I went to my buddy's house this evening and worked on his heavy bag.  I am pleasantly surprised by level of conditioning. Part 1: warm-up / work output 2 rounds of 4 minute drills: emphasis on form / balance a. straight punches: 1 min b. knees: 1min c. hooks: 1min d. kicks: 1 min 2 rounds of 3 minute drills: emphasis on footwork and movement a. straight punches: 1 min b. kicks: 1min c. hooks: 1 min Part II: skills and drills lots of time working on falling left hook, rising right hook lots of time working on lunging in range and out of range with jab lunging in range with jab, pivoting out with left hook Part II:  burn-out 20 kicks per leg, maximum power

Foam rolling is torture.  It really is, but it makes you feel better afterwards.  Reminds me of something Dennis Miller said on SNLWeekend Updates deacades ago.  "Its like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, because it feels so good when you stop." Leg warm-up: a. Hindu squats: 30, 30, 30, 20 (110 total) b. foam roll IT band and top of quad:  2 passes per leg between Hindu squat sets Squat: 215 x 5; 235 x 5; 255 x 5 Sing-leg leg press jump*: 70 x 6/6, 6/6, 6/6, 6/6 Leg extension: 120 x 12, 11, 11, 10 Leg curl: 100 x 10, 10, 10, 10 *Leg press jump: I was using a leg press machine with a fixed floor plate and a seat that is on rails.Using one leg at a time, I jumped as hard as I could, with a weight that was just heavy enough to prevent me from banging the seat/sled into the end of the rails.  It turned out to be a great explosive movement, and didn't have near the level of shock to me knees that depth jumps induce.

I missed Friday's workout due to some work commitments and a Cub Scout campout.  No big deal.  Life is always more important than training. But I hit the gym a day early, on Sunday instead of Monday. Hand stand pushup:  9 singles Ladders a. Clean: 145 x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 b. Press: 145 x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 c. Pullup: BW x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 Upright row: 80 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Incline lateral raise*: 12.5s x 10, 8; 10s x 10, 10 Close grip brnch press:  125 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Preacher curl machine: 30x10; 40x10; 50x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x10; 90x5; 100x5; 60x12

Another good session.  Let's cut to the chase; bench press:  155x 5; 165 x 5; 175 x 13 cable chest press:  60 x 10, 10, 10, 10 superset: a. upright row: 80 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 b. pushup: BW x 10, 10, 7, 8, 7 bent row: 135 x 5, 5, 5, 5 preacher curl machine: 40x10; 50x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x10; 90x7; 100x5; 50x15 My arms get such a pump from the preacher curl machines.  I finally found an exercise and loading scheme that is putting size on my stickly arms.  Triceps are coming up fast as a result of all the pressing movements, so no worries about balance / function.

More fun with squats.  Because of the clean ladders, my lower back is fatigued after on Tuesday for squats, so I'm doing some pre-exhaust for the quads and some bodybuilder type work instead of squatting till my legs go numb. Hindu squats:  100 reps (4 x 25, with 30 second rest intervals.  When I can get 2 x 50, I'll increase the total) Squat:  205 x 5; 225 x 5; 245 x 5 Leg press:  360 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Leg extension: 100 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Lying leg curl: 80 x 10, 10, 10, 10 Super basic.  Kinda boring. Got the job done.

week 2, day 1.  More vertical push & pull handstand pushup:  9 singles Ladders a. Clean: 145 x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 b. Press: 145 x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 c. Pullup: BW x 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3; 1-2-3 Upright row: 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 8 Lateral raise: 15s x 10, 10, 10; 7.5s x 21s Close grip bench press:  125 x 10, 10, 8 Machine curls: 40x10; 50x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x10; 90x4