Monday, 5/19/08
Oly Lifts…
HPS x 5: 45/50/55/65/90
HPC x 5: 90/110/128/130/140
CLD x 5: 149/165/175/185/205
PP x 5: 90/110/120/130/140
FS x 5: 90/120/120/130/14o
OHS x 5: 45/65/95
BP: 95 x 10/135 x 8/155 x 8
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Tuesday, 5/20/08
Burgener x 3 with PVC, 3 more with an empty bar.
Snatch + Behind the Neck Snatch Grip Presses + Overhead Squats
65/65.
HSC x3: 65/95/115/134/155/155/155/. The first rep of each of the last 3 sets was done from the floor.
Abs: 3 x 30
Ring Push-ups: 3 x 20
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Wednesday, 5/21/08
Time for a max single deadlift session…
To warm-up,
Snatch Grip deadlifts, standing on a step aerobics platform,
155×5/155×5/175×5
Deadlifts: 175×5/245×3
Deadlift singles, workset:
300/335/385/425/450/460 new pr/. Previous best was 435
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Thursday, 5/22/08
After yesterday max lifts, a little lighter today… Burgener warm-ups x 3
Hang Squat Snatch + Behind the Neck Press + Overhead Squat, x 3
65/70/75/90
Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat + Overhead Press, x 3
90/110/135
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Friday, 5/23/08
Rest Day
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Saturday, 5/24/08
Scottish Highland Games. More to follow in another post.
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Sunday, 5/25/08
R & R
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May 25th, 2008
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Monday, 4/21/08
Behind the Neck Presses: 65×10/75×10 then to Overhead Squats; same weights, x 10.
Overhead Squats:
45×15/45×15/45×15
Overhead Squats, workset:
90×3/90×3/110×3/120×3/130×2/140×2/150×2
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Wednesday, 4/23/08
Barbell Thrusters, x 10
45/45/65/65/90/90/
Kettlebell Swings, 32 kg x 10:
2H: 5×10
1H: 5×10
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Thursday-Saturday, 4/24-4/26
No workouts. In meetings.
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Sunday, 4/27/08
Went from the humidity of Houston to the 90+ degrees here in Costa Mesa. For that reason and just being tired from the last few days, I really didn’t want to train, but train I did. Kettlebell swings with the 20 kg.
I started with a first set of 60 then did 10 x 1 minute sets for 341, for a total of 401.
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April 27th, 2008
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J. Curry showed up ready to go for Thursday’s snatch-o-rama. We had a lot of activity back in the corner with kettlebells and Indian clubbells. There was also plenty of good energy back in that corner which precluded a good lifting session. This is what I got done:
Squat Snatch
65×3/75×3/85×3/90×3/100×3/110×3 (power snatch)/. All the snatches above 85# were TGU.
Overhead Squat
45×10/90×5/100×3/100×3/110×3/115×3/120×3. All above 90# were TGU.
Kettlebell Swings, 32 kg
15/10/15/15.
Sit-ups
3×40
Some of the snatches towards the end did not go as well as I would have liked and that would mean missing a full squat snatch, but it wound up being a fun and productive workout.
Technorati Tags: Squat Snatch, kettlebell swings, sit-ups, overhead squat
April 3rd, 2008
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Sunday, we had a very exciting Super Bowl game with the long-shot New York Football Giants defeating the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in one of the best games in years.
Tomorrow, we have Super Tuesday, with dozens of states all having their presidential primaries. At stake, is the all-important delegate count that leads to the nomination of each party. (Get out and vote)!
In between that, I had a fairly nice strength workout, focusing on the overhead squat. I was looking for my top end and I surpassed my previous 1RM and 3RM with a 2 rep lift of 155 lbs.
The session began with the Burgener warm-up done 3x and some light broomstick and empty bar overhead squats before adding modest weights and going up from there.45×3/65×3/85×3/95×2/115×2/125×2/135×2/145×2/150×2/155×2 pr.
I finished by doing some Good Mornings with 5 x 3’s at 45/65/85/95/105.
While this wasn’t quite “Super Monday”, it was a “Pretty Good Monday”.
February 4th, 2008
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Some of the best workout sessions are the ones that take the least amount of time to get through and tonight was a nice example of that. There wasn’t a lot of time tonight and I did not want to hit it too hard since I will be back in the “Box” tomorrow.
So, I didn’t go too hard nor took a lot of time, but what I did, I made count.
No warm-up, but went right into it:
3 rounds, 30-20-10 reps,
Overhead Squats, 65# and Ring Push-ups.
For finishers, I did,
Farmer’s Walk, 200# (2 x 100# dumbbells) 36′/52′/52′.
Zercher Slosh Pipe Carries, 2 x 100 yards.
In and out quickly yet got in a metcon workout and some heavy finishers. Nice!
February 1st, 2008
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I enjoy the gym I train at, but 95% of it’s floor space is ruled by The Machines. It is the 5% of the floor space, “back in the corner” where I dwell and am grateful for that for it is there where the barbells, plates and squat racks are.
When I first started lifting years ago, my first introduction to a “real gym” was the Eagles Club in downtown Milwaukee on Wisconsin Avenue. My dad would take me there on Saturdays and sometimes I could go on my own, once I had my driver’s license. (It was on that busy street where Dad taught me to parallel park).
The large, landmark three story building had a large swimming pool reeking of too much chlorine and cloudy water with old-timers endlessly swimming laps in their birthday suits. Upstairs was a boxing gym, complete with an old, well-used ring, heavy bags speed bags, leather and wood jump ropes and a lot of barbells, dumbbells, chalk and bad lighting. It was there I learned to pick up a bar off the floor and put it over my head. I would leave that place covered in chalk and it was great. I was young and in awe of the place and had a sense of the history there. Famous boxers like Max Baer had fought there and other fighters looking to make it to the big time by way of the Golden Gloves got their start at the Eagles aerie. That was a man’s gym. (I should note that on the first floor there was a bar and a dance floor). Now THAT was a gym! But I wax nostalgic.
At my suburban high school our “weight room” was 14 x 14 space and in the center, a shiny new chrome Universal machine and little else. Gone were the barbells, dumbells and chalk. Those were from a bygone era, never known by most of the kids there. What I had in front of me was the future of weight training. As a young kid, the future is what is important, not the past and the multi-station machines were going to give me the big muscles I was after.
As the machines took hold and gyms switched to them, they advanced, grew and multiplied and a new industry was born. Gyms like Bally’s and 24 Hour Fitness sprouted up all over the country and barbells were largely forgotten or ignored. The dumbbells fared better, but it was the machines that ruled the day.
They rule at my gym today but in the 5% Corner, there are still bars and squat racks, and we can powerlift and even lift overhead with the Olympic lifts. In that corner, we are left alone, save for the occasional guy that wants to pick up a bar at a squat rack and do bicep curls. For most of the gymgoers, those who lift over there are at least a curiosity, some “hardcore” and a few freaks (strongmen lifters).
For me, the progression went from barbells to machines and now back to barbells. Which is better? Did the machines advance strength training? Without hesitation, the barbell has made the biggest difference in my strength training and it wasn’t until age 50 that I figured that out.
In “The Machines Aren’t Alright”, author and strength coach Matt Gary does a splendid job breaking down the difference between classic weightlifting equipment versus machines. Here is an excerpt:
Today’s gyms and training facilities are full of unnecessary items. Gyms are what society perceives they should be like…attractive, comfortable, and welcoming. How do those qualities equate to an atmosphere of physical achievement? I fail to see the connection. Gyms should be
entirely uncomfortable, unpleasant, and unwelcoming. Instead of appearing like a lounge, a support network of like-minded individuals should be present because an individual will push harder and risk more in the company of trustworthy peers. Instead of mirrors, there should be motivational thoughts, inspirational quotes, record boards, and photos of those who have
come before us and paved the highway of physical achievement.
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Before training, I had a pretty intense session with “Doc Jox”, my chiropractor. I have couple of nagging injuries, a “tennis elbow”, a C7 impingement on the left side causing tingling down the arm and scapular issues. Besides the adjustments, he performed ART and Trigger Point Therapy. Now that was painful and I believe would constitute “torture” these days. I asked if this was permisseable under the terms of the Geneva Convention.
My desire (and ability) to train hard was gone, so I went pretty light and basic.
Burgener warm-ups x 3.
5 x 3 snatches + overhead squats, 45/65/70/75/65/70.
5 x 3 Good Mornings. (Tapped the bar on the pins as my upper body was parallel to the floor and paused, negating the stretch reflex),
45/95/115/125/145.
January 10th, 2008
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With the books closing on 2007, I don’t expect to be setting any PR’s but in that respect, I had a good year of increasing totals and lowering times, most notably in the deadlifts. More on that later.
I had injuries heal and got new ones to replace them. My right scapula is now good, but the left is kind of wobbly from overdoing sets of barbell snatches. I have tendonitis in the right elbow from either an errant kettlebell swing or a barbell clean that got too far away from me. I stayed pretty healthy with only a couple of bouts with allergens during the Santa Ana winds recently.
I found myself skating less, but swinging kettlebells more. In August, Val bought me my first KB, a 20 kg hunk of metal with a handle. Previously, I used a kettlebell only as part of a Crossfit WOD. Now I have four different weights and Val bought me instruction with a RKC trainer as a Christmas present and can do swings and snatches with the 24 kg kettlebell.
I have continued to mix up my workouts like the Crossfit programming model. Gone are the days of single activities such as speedskating, running and mountain bike riding, all of which I did largely at the exclusion of much of anything else, save an occasional trip to the gym.
Speaking of Crossfit, while I still enjoy doing their WODs and subscribe to their journal, I am no longer a “Kool-Aid drinker”. I never was someone who was attracted to cult-like organizations and their zealots, but I do continue to learn much about fitness from Crossfit.
My interest has steadily grown in powerlifting and Olympic style weightlifting and will get quality training wherever and whenever I can find it. I am even sticking my toe back in the water, so to speak with running, an activity I gave up years ago. I have no intention to ever be a big mileage guy, though.
I am enjoying the complexities of learning the Olympic lifts and I benefit greatly from the simplicity of bodyweight exercises I get from Ross Enamait of rosstraining.com and Crossfit. Mixing up workouts has been the best thing to happen to my physical training and I credit Crossfit for that and Crossfit Marina, with the Serranos as trainers and Brent O as a competitive foil for my sessions.
I have been more consistent in going to the gym than I have in many years and almost always look forward to my sessions there. I also like training at home or in a park. To that end, I have been buying useful fitness “toys” like Elite rings, fitness bands, weighted vest, weightlifting shoes, racing flats, jump ropes, chalk, a stopwatch, an Ab Mat and a kick butt ab roller from Lifeline. There are more things I will be getting in ‘08, but training at home is a now a viable alternative.
In ‘07, my diet largely went to crap and my weight crept up. That will change in 2008. ‘Nuff said about that.
I made some modest gains lifting over the year, and in all cases form has improved but much needs to improve in that area over the next year. At the beginning of the year I could clean 145 as a 1RM and the last time I tried, I was doing 175 lbs, but I am certain I can beat that right now. It will just have to wait! The Crossfit Total, (CFT) consisting of the best lifts in the squat, overhead press and deadlift was 760 lbs in January and is now 910, with the biggest increase coming with a 415 lb max deadlift, which increased by 75#. My overhead press increased by 25 lbs to 185 and my squat went up by 45#, a bit of a disappointment. My 5K run time at the beginning of the year sucked and stills sucks with no improvement to speak of at 28 minutes.
This year saw, what I believe were growth changes to the Barbarian Blog and I will continue to tweak it next year.
There were a lot of “Good times” in 2007 as Brent was fond of saying, (where have you been dude?) and more to come next year. Stay tuned.
Check below for a couple of workouts done this weekend…
Saturday:
Kind of an active rest day and ran around the block a couple of times which took all of 19 minutes for just under two miles.
Sunday:
Ran 2 x 800 meters
Sit-ups: 50/40/30
Push-ups: 50/40/30
Overhead Squats: 50/40/30
Back Extensions: 50/40/30
One arm Overhead Squats: 25# overhead, holding 53# with the other hanging arm x 12 and again x 20. 18/25#, 2 x 20.
Kettlebell Swings, 24 kg: 10/10/10/10/10
Kettlebell Snatches, 24 kg: 10/20/20
December 30th, 2007
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Here is a funny animation from Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and animator, Walt Handelsman for all of us baby boomers working out like maniacs. For a Christmas present, I received from Valerie, 3 sessions with kettlebell instructor Steve Belanger, RKC, of Old School Barbell Club in Westminster, CA. His Kettlebells and Beyond website can be accessed here. I met Steve about a year ago when he was an instructor at a Crossfit Kettlebell seminar at Valley Crossfit. This combination stoked my interest in kettlebells and it made sense to seek Steve out for some training. For my first session today, we went through the mechanics of the swing and the snatch and will spend more time the next session on the clean and the clean and jerk and whatever else Steve has in mind.We concluded the first session with a nice cardio rip.
5 rounds of 10 two-handed swings with a 28 kg kb and immediately over to 16 kg snatches, 5 each arm. Rest 30 seconds and get some more.
I am looking forward to the next session with Steve. He is a very personable guy and a good coach. Thanks Val!A few hours later, if the KB stuff wasn’t enough, I went to the gym and lubed up with 3 rounds of the Burgener warm-up before doing some light Oly lift work.
Power Snatch + Full Snatch + 3 Overhead Squats: 45/45/45/65/65/65/65.
Power Clean + Hang Squat Cleans + 3 Front Squats: 65/95/115/135/135/135/115.
I admit there was a little guilt for my Christmas Day indulgences, but I had plenty of energy for the stuff I did today.
December 26th, 2007
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Current Affairs, Training Log |
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