Becoming an Athlete

Down and dirty today.  little warm-up, no core circuit, or stretching. bent row:  135 x 8; 145 x 8; 155 x 8 front squat:  155 x 8; 185 x 8; 205 x 8 MetCon 5:  3 rounds for time of: a. 1 min jumping jacks (did 2 min on 1st round, then scaled down) b. Mountain climber x 50 c. Crunch x 25 d. Hindu pushup x 10 total time:  15:43  The Hindu pushups were incredibly difficult when starting from such a state of fatigue.  I was grinding out singles on the 3rd round.  This was the hardest MetCon so far.

No warm-up today.  just right to it: pullups: BW x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 squat:  205 x 5; 225 x 5; 245 x 5 (easy, but back was tired from deadlifts yesterday) kettebell get-ups:  35lb x 5 mins MetCon:  Treadmill Intervals 5 rounds of 3mph x 3min / 7.5mph x 1 min

Great day for both me and my training partner. jump rope:  2 x 2mins bench press:  185 x 5; 205 x 5; 225 x 5 deadlift: 295 x 5; 315 x 5; 345 x 5 MetCon: Complex a. Hang snatch: 95 x 6, 6, 6, 6 b. Snatch grip shrug: 95 x 6, 6, 6, 6 c. High&wide bent row: 95 x 6, 6, 6, 6 d. Straight leg deadlift: 95 x 6, 6, 6, 6 e. alternatindg dumbbell curls: 30s x 6, 6, 6, 6 Core circuit: a. side plank:  1 min each side b. 3-pt plank: 20 sec each position d. back bridge:  2 x 15-20 seconds

Well, maybe not, but it was Thanksgiving, and my wife and I made it to the gym.  Due to some scheduling issues with family, we pushed back our celebration to Friday.  That meant my wife and I didn't have to spend all day cooking on Thursday. Since I was still tired from lifting on Mon and Tue, I went lighter and faster, trying to work on my explosiveness and technical proficiency with Olympic lifts. Kettlebell getups:  41lbs KB, 5 mins alternating arms after each rep KB windmills:  41lbs x 5/5, 5/5, 5/5, 5/5 Superset: a. Snatch:  115 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 b. Pullups:  BW x 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2 Superset: a. Close grip snatch: 125 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 b. Pullups:  BW x 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2

Got my wife some cool accessories for her bike, so we took it on a 14 mile ride.  7 miles to the park, a nice picnic, then playing on the skate / BMX park with my 9er, then 7 miles home. P.S. Ramps and drop-ins are much less fun on a mountain bike than a bmx bike.  The longer wheelbase, larger wheels, and higher center of gravity "smoothes" out all the obstacles.

Overhead press:  95 x 10; 105 x 10; 115 x 10 Flatback goodmorning: 95 x 10; 105 x 10; 115 x 10 MetCon 2:  max rounds in 15 mins of: a. Alternating lunge x 20 b. Sprawl x 10 c. Dips x 5 total:  5 rounds with only 1 min to spare

My training partner asked for a mulligan on our conditioning phase, so we started week 2 doing everything planned for week 1.  So this is a repeat, but still, much better than last week. I: Strength:     1. Bent row: 115 x 10; 125 x 10; 135 x 8     2. Front squat: 155 x 10; 185 x 3 (stopped short because my abs felt weird.  i didn't want to risk another hernia II Conditioning:     MetCon 1:  Countdowns for time of:     a. Jump shrug @ 55lbs (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)     b. Front squat @ 55lbs (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)     c. Pushup @ BW (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) III Core:    1. Elbow planks:  3 x 35 seconds    2. 2-point plank:  2 x 20 seconds    3. skipped PUP plank walkouts

GASP!  Nothing is as hard as working mitts and Thai pads.  The guy I worked with is a personal trainer, a solid boxer, and has amazing conditioning.  I was spent in the first 30 minutes but we worked for 1.5 hrs.

I LOVE kettlebells.  I took a 41lb kb to the skatepark and did my conditioning in nice, quiet grassy corner away from the skaters, while my son got in some skating. I came up with a great conditioning circuit, then did some Highland Games WOB drills, then fun bicep / tricep work. Conditioning: 5 minutes of alternating get-ups 4 rounds of: a. clean & press:  5 left; 5 right b. snatch: :  5 left; 5 right c. windmill:  5 left; 5 right d. 1-arm swings: :  5 left; 5 right Highland Games Weight Over Bar (WOB) 5 rounds of 4-reps of 1-arm swing to WOB throw.  Alternating left and right arm.  I actually threw much better with my left. Bicep / Tricep work a. Horn curls:  2 x 6,5,4,3,2,1 b. Overhead extension: 2 x 6,5,4,3,2,1

I: Strength Overhead press:  65 x 10; 85 x 10; 105 x 10 Flat Back Goodmorning: 65 x 10; 85 x 10; 105 x 10 II: MetCon 2:  Max rounds in 15 minutes of: a. Alternating lunge x 20 b. Sprawls x 10 c. Dips x 5 total:  4 rounds; rested last 3 minutes III: Core Circuit 1 a. elbow plank b. 2-point elbow plank c.  Pushup Postion plank walk-out total:  3 rounds.

Part I:  Strength Work: Bent row:  95 x 10; 115 x 10; 135 x 10 Front squat: 135 x 10; 155 x 10; 185 x 10 Part II:  MetCon 1:  Countdowns (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) a. Jump shrug @ 45lbs b. front squat @ 45lbs c. pushup @ bodyweight Ran out of time for core work.

I am devoting the next 6 weeks to lard removal.  With the build up to Highland Games, all I've done is focus on strength and power.  It is well past time to get my stamina back.  Conditioning began in earnest on Monday 12 NOV 2012. The basic framework for the next 6 weeks is this: 1. Basic strength work:  limited to 2 movements per session.  linear progression, but higher rep range 3x10; 3 x 8; and 10, 8, 6 2. Metabolic Conditioning (aka MetCons):  most people know this as CrossFit.  Really - CrossFit has no other secret sauce. 3. Core Circuit:  planks, bridges or traditional situp movements.  Just varies