Becoming an Athlete

Another late night session, truncated to just the meat and potatoes.  Hold the gravy and baco-bits. a:  bench press:  165x5; 205x5; 215x5, 5, 5 b.  1-arm row:  65 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 a. pushup:  x 15, 12, 10, 8 b. inverted row:  x 7, 8, 9, 7 face pulls: 90x15; 105x15, 15, 15

Wednesday was busy.  Busy at work; busy at home.  After my son went to sleep, I went to the gym.  I got there around 9:45, so I skipped my usual warmup and all accessory work. snatch grip deadlift: 95x10; 115x10; 135x10; 155x10; 185x5 conventional deadlift: 185x5; 205x5; 225x5; 245x5; 275x5 Not bad for a first DL session in about 6 months.  I'll be doing 365 x 5 before too long.

Everything is coming back, but as usual my biceps and shoulders are taking a bit longer to respond than other muscle groups. stepmill:  I cheated myself and did 2.5 minutes Agile 8 and back bridges a. overhead press:  115x5; 135x5; 145x5, 5, 5; 105x16 b. leaning dumbbell shrug:  55s x 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 a. seated front raise:  10s x 12, 12, 10, 10 b. seated side raise:  10s x 8, 8, 6, 5 c. prone raise:  10s x 8, 8, 8, 8 a. incline dumbbell curl:  30s x 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 5 b. incline skull crusher:  70 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

I trained both days and tore it up!!!!! Saturday 25 JAN recumbent bike:  1 mile in ~3:30 (I forget exactly how fast) agile 8 + back bridges front squat:  45x5; 65x5; 95x5; 115x5; 135x5; 155x5, 5, 5; 185x5 back squat:  135x20; 155x20; 185x20 single-leg leg press:  90 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 single leg extension 50 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 (left still considerably weaker) abductors:  200 x 12, 15, 12 Sunday 26 JAN 0.51 miles in 7 minutes Agile 8 + back bridges Incline dumbbell press:  60x5; 70x5; 80x5, 5, 5; 60x20 v-grip pulldown: 135x5; 150x5; 165 x 5, 5, 5; 135x20 a. pushup:  x 10, 12, 12, 12 b. low pulley face pull:  90 x 12, 12, 12, 12 a. crunched side to sides:  30, 36, 32 b. planks:  20sec, 20sec, 20sec

Another good session.  I can tell everything is getting stronger. 7min treadmill for distance:  0.51miles at 5degree incline Agile-8 + back bridges a. Bench press:  165x5; 185x5; 205x5, 5, 5 b. 1-arm row: 60x10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 a. pushups:  5, 7, 7, 7, 7 b. TRX inverted row:  5, 7, 7, 7, 7 face pulls:  50x15; 70x15; 90x15, 15, 15 a. weight on legs situp:  10, 10, 10 b. plank:  20sec, 20sec, 20sec

Man oh man.  Its good to go slow and feel my knee getting progressively stronger, but starting light and safe takes a serious commitment to letting go of your ego. recumbant bike:  1 mile in 4:36 @ level 10 Agile 8 Back bridges Front squats:  45x5; 65x5; 95x5; 115x5, 5, 5 Back squats:  95x20; 115x20; 135x20 single-leg press:  90 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 single-leg extension:  50 x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12 seated abductions:  50x12; 70x12; 90x12, 12

So I've been really consistent with my training, but completely negligent in my blogging.  Here are some random observations on accomplishments thus far: Since I had no option to do cardio when my knee was on the mend, it is a joy to do now.  :) I can shoot my 83# recurve like it's a child's bow.  I can hold it at full draw for probably 5 seconds before I get any shaking at all. My abs are getting detailed.  This is pretty freaking cool. Doing sets of 20 on squats is the most uncomfortable and yet most rewarding part of my training. I will always have the torso of a silverback and the arms of a spider monkey.  Oh well.  Like I used to say when competing:  a. Biceps never knocked anyone out.  b. No one loses a fight because they didn't do enough curls. Its time to start adding in my goal-specific training. 2014 Physical goals: Endurance 7 minute mile 100 pushups 20 pullups Strength 225# overhead press 315# bench press 405# squat 500# deadlift P

One of the last few sessions with the trainer today.  We did a ton of variations of laterals, front raises, prone raises, and shrugs.  We discovered two glaring weaknesses:  traps, and front delts.  Time to fix that. Then we did gobs of curls and extensions and close grip bench presses.

Progressing in weight on squats is hard when the goal is 20 reps, but it is proving to be exactly what I need to do.  The flab is coming off, my legs are getting bigger, and my back feels great. Standard warm-up: 7 min treadmill for distance:  0.42 miles Agile 8 Back bridges and neck bridges Work: squats:  45x20; 65x20; 95x20; 115x20 (ready for 135 next week)  a. Bench press:  135x5; 175x5; 195x5, 5, 5; 135 x 20 b. 1-arm row: 55 x 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Rope grip face pulls:  40 x 16, 16, 16, 16 a. weight on legs situp:  12lb x 18, 18, 18, 12 b. plank:  20 sec x 4

I am meeting a friend at the gym for a conditioning workout tonight, so I just did strength work at noon today. Warm-up 7 mins on treadmill:  0.42 miles @ 5 degree incline Agile 8 Back bridges  Strength: overhead press: 95x5; 115x5; 125x5,5,5; 95x11 dumbbell laterals: 10s x12, 12, 12, 12, 12 a. incline dumbbell curls:  25s x 10, 10, 8, 10, 10, 10 b. incline skull crushers:  60 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 EZ-bar preacher reverse curls: 40 x 10, 10, 9, 10, 10

With my back still on the mend, I decided it best to skip deadlifts on Thursday, 9 JAN. Warm-up: 5 mins on step mill:  I forget the distance Agile 8 Back bridges An extra round of front splits (not full splits, but stretching in that position) Work: skipped deadlifts incline dumbbell press:  55x5; 60x5; 65x5; 70x5,5,5; 55x16 V-grip pulldowns:  105x5; 120x5; 135x5,5,5; 105x17 a. Side to side crunches:  30, 30, 30, 24 b. Plank:  20 sec, 20 sec, 20 sec, 20 sec

I can't say enough about the sudden and probably miraculous healing in my back.  I thought I was looking at another months-long setback.  I've discovered the only way I can be comfortable with "arms day" is by cramming in tons of conditioning between sets.  So that's what I'm doing. Warm-up: 7min treadmill for distance:  0.36 miles at 5 degree incline Agile 8 back bridges Work: a.  Overhead press:  95 x 5, 115 x 5; 125 x 5, 5, 4; 95 x 9 b.  Jump rope:   6 x 30 sec a. Lateral raise:  10lb kb x 12, 12, 10, 10, 10 b.  Jump rope:   5 x 30 sec a. Incline dumbbell curl:  25s x 10, 10, 10, 6, 8, 6 b. Incline skull crusher:  60 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 a. EZ-bar preacher reverse curl:  40 x 10, 10, 10, 6 b. jump rope:  4 x 30 sec

I am amazed by the power of prayer.  I couldn't walk without agonizing pain on Saturday morning.  I met up with some men from church who laid hands on my back and prayed with me for healing. Not only was I walking 90% pain free on Sunday, but I was squatting tonight, Monday.  I went to the chiropractor today and says I'm healed as well as someone 3 weeks into treatment and recovery, not 5 days.  :) One concession I made was to do 20-rep squats instead of 10.  That kept the loads ridiculously light, but by reps 15-20, still very taxing. Warm-up: 5min stepmill for distance:  0.45 miles Agile 8 Back bridging Training: Squat: 45x20; 65x20; 95x20; 115x14  (sweating profusely) Push/Pull superset: a. bench press:  115x5; 135x5; 185 x 5, 5, 5;  135 x 16 b. 1-arm row:  50 x 10/10, 10/10, 10./10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Abs superset: a. med-ball on legs situp:  6lb x 10, 12, 6 b. plank step out:  10, 10, 8

Son of a bitch!!!!   I pushed too hard too fast and slipped a disc.  I was so eager to see my knee able to handle increasing squat poundages that I got careless and hurt my back.  This is temporary.  I am rehabbing my back as diligently as I did my knee.  Twice a week chiro and lots of foam/PVC rolling. Come hell or high water, I will be in the gym on Monday.  Even if the only thing I can do is swim.