Single Kidney Training

An alternate title could be: Reasons To Go Retro With HIT

I donated a kidney to a very close friend of mine on 5/26/2020.  It was supposed to be in March, but COVID-19 pandemic exploded, and everyone's plans were derailed.  I was genuinely afraid my friend would die while we waited for the hospital to give us the green light for surgery.  It was scary enough giving up an organ for a friend, but even scarier to be in a hospital with no visitors allowed because of COVID.  I was quarantined in my room for 2 days.  She was there, totally alone, for 12 days.  We are nearly 2 months since our surgery and both recovering well.  Her health is better than it has ever been since I've known her.  We were part of a genuine miracle.

After a few weeks of doing nothing, and sleeping constantly, I finally tried to get back to normal life.  I radically overestimated my ability to sustain physical effort.  I thought I could just lower the weights and still do moderate volume workouts.  I was humbled into accepting the truth: I had a max capacity of about 20 minutes of effort.

So what was I to do?  Well, I was reminded of the words of Arthur Jones: You can either work hard, or you can work long, but you can't do both.  So I gave my old books from Dr. Ellington Darden a quick skim for inspiration, and set to work.

The current plan is a classic framework:



Over a 4-week period, I'll only repeat the same workout 3 times.  This allows for slowly increasing weights and going for rep maxes every session.

Push 1 consists of:

  • abs
  • quad dominant movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • horizontal push movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • triceps movement performed 3-50 method


Pull 1 consists of:

  • abs
  • ham/glute dominant movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • horizontal pull movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • biceps movement performed 3-50 method

Push 2 consists of:

  • abs
  • quad dominant movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • vertical push movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • triceps movement performed 3-50 method

Pull 2 consists of:

  • abs
  • ham/glute dominant movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • vertical pull movement performed 10, 8, RP
  • biceps movement performed 3-50 method

What is 10, 8, RP:
the first two sets are progressive warm ups.  An easy set of 10 reps. A moderately challenging set of 8 reps.  The final Rest Pause (RP) set is the magic ingredient.  Grind away with a working weight to failure.  Rack the bar and breathe deeply for 5 seconds, then grind out a few more reps to failure.  Rack the bar and breathe deeply for another 5 seconds, then get your final reps.  The rep total doesn't even matter.  Just blast the lift till you have nothing left.


The 3-50 Method:
This one is a Paul Carter special.  Stick with one weight for three sets.  When you can get at least 50 total reps in 3 sets, it is time to increase the weight.  I like this method because it gives my connective tissue a chance to strengthen as fast as my muscles.

My training partner and I will occasionally finish with a bodyweight MetCon that lasts no more than 5 minutes.  This is a great fatloss tool at the end of a session when your glycogen is depleted, and is also helping to slowly build up my work capacity as my kidney grows and takes on the work that was previously handled by two kidneys.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intro to Calisthenics

 I'm kind of big and kind of heavy. I weigh 235 and wear XXXL shirts ťailored to fit my size L waist.  Even so, after moths of consistent effort, I'm strong enough to incorporate calisthenics as my primary form of training volume. My current plan is paying off in the form of major leaps in endurance, tighter physique, and fat loss.  The schedule is: Mon - whole body Tue - arms Wed - whole body Thu - off Fri - whole body Sat - arms Sun - off My torso has always grown faster than my arms and I need to build proportion, so they get 2 dedicated sessions a week.  A typical whole body session runs like this: 1. Single leg calf raise: 3-100 method* 2. 10 min EMOM: Big power movement like deadline, or snatch grip high pull, or clean&press.  Start at 10x3 and stick with the same weight till you can perform 10x6.  Rotate between 5-6 movements every session. 3. Conditioning circuit 1: 5 rounds of   A. Pushup progression   B. Pick a single leg squat pattern movement I stick with the sa
Read more

13JAN2015: More boxing

Great evening.  I got to coach two people and really focus on skills, while participating. Warm-up:  5 rounds of jump rope 3mins on / 30 seconds off.  TIRING!!! 3 rounds of shadow boxing, emphasis on footwork, body position, balance 5 rounds of mitt work 5 rounds of heavy bag. I snuck in a copuple rounds of kicking, just to dust off the Kajukenbo rust.
Read more

The Warrior's Path

This year has been a real test of character, and I have to say, I  passed with probably a B+, or maybe A-.   What makes a warrior different from the ordinary man is not whether he faces obstacles or not. We all face obstacles.  No; what makes a warrior different is how he faces the obstacles. An ordinary man and a warrior will both map out a course to  their objective. The ordinary man will get distracted along the way.  He might see the trail up the mountain and convince himself he never really wanted to reach his objective. When his arms go numb from shouldering the load, he discards item from his pack he suddenly sees as unnecessary.  He might sprain an ankle, call 911 and decide the course is too dangerous for any sane person to attempt.  So much the better, because now he has plenty of time for other more important things.  Isn't it football season anyway? The ordinary man makes excuses to stay ordinary. The warrior notices and appreciates all the beauty along th
Read more