Month: May 2020

Marathon Back Session

Getting pretty sore from yesterday in my ass, chest, shoulders, etc. My left leg is still bothering me too. Workout at 10 for 2.5 hours!

Warm-up

  • 10:00 Airdyne (202 cals, 5.05 km)
  • 5:00+ Bottom Squat Hold

I haven’t sat in the bottom like that is a very long time. Need to do that more often.

Back Day

4 Sets

  • 12 Lat pulldowns (110#)
  • 12/12 Single arm supinated bent over DB row (45#)

4 Sets

  • 12 Seated Cable row (75#, 2 sets wide, 2 sets close)
  • 12 Incline elbows out db row (30 deg, 25-20-20-25# DBs)

4 Sets

  • 12 Cable row to neck (rope, 25#)
  • 12/12 Lying side straight arm db raise (10# DB)

4 Sets

  • 12 Incline Lat pulldowns (30 deg, 100#)
  • Max Strict Chin-ups (7-6-6-5)

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s Banded Sprinter Sit-up
  • 30/30s Banded Side Plank + Elbow to Knee
  • 30s Banded Elevated Mountain Climbers
  • 1:20 Rest

We built in a 10 second transition on the clock too for setting up each movement. This would work much better with rep counts instead of using the clock. Something like 30-20/20-30 reps would have been good.

Earned the rest day tomorrow!

Trying Curtsy Lunges

I was having a hard time walking on my left leg last night due to this achilles thing. It feels a little better today. My shoulders are sore and my back is still tight. Out in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • Bench Press
    • 10×45
    • 10×95
    • 10×135

Strength

4 Sets

  • 8 Bench Press (170#)
  • 8 DB Flys (30#)
  • 8 Bench Press (170#)

Increase from the 165# I used last time. Took long rest between sets.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

  • 20 Weighted Plyo Lunges (30#)
  • 20 Curtsy Lunges
  • 20 Shoulder Taps
  • Rest – 2x 1:30, 3x 1:00

The 1:30 rest was too much, so I only rested a minute after the third round and continued with it the rest of the way. Finished in 14:19.

After not doing a muscle-up since March 10th, I’ve had the itch. Around 4:30 I loaded a ladder and my rings in to the truck and headed over to a school with a large set of swings.

Gymnastics

30 Muscle-ups

On December 18th I did this in 5:55, by doing three reps every 40 seconds most of the way. My notes say it wasn’t a problem so my goal today was sub five minutes by going every 30 seconds. No idea how it would go after zero muscle-ups in 2+ months, but what the hell! Losing ten pounds and doing a lot of bodyweight work had to count for something, right?

When I set the rings up and got up there I was easily able to smack my head against the bar, so I adjusted my press out and swing through to the next rep. So give me a break with my lockouts here. My plan paid off and I finished in 4:48, which is PR by 1:07!! 💥💥💥

It seems like just yesterday when I was struggling to get through a ten minute EMOM of 3 reps and now I can do it twice as fast. At my height and size I’m very proud of that progress.

Run Sandwich

My back is a tight from yesterday, especially as I started to warm-up I could feel it. Out in the garage at 4pm.

Conditioning

E3M – 12 Rounds

  • 150m Run
  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 10 Push-ups
  • 15 Air Squats
  • 150m Run

Seventy pull-ups yesterday and another 60 today. 🤷🏻‍♂️ This is a modification of another Ben Smith grinder. Was going to do 15 cal row to start, but Brandi suggested we create a run sandwich and it turned out great. My times were 1:55-2:00-1:56-1:52-1:55-1:58-1:57-1:57-1:58-1:56-1:55-1:52. I purposely slowed down for round two after thinking I went out too hot. The pace was just right though. I felt really good in all aspects today and really surprised myself on the runs. Even my air squats were quick!

Midline

3 Rounds

  • 30s V-sit Crunch
  • 30s Plank Breakdancer Kicks
  • 30/30s Alternating Elbow to Knee + Toe Touch
  • 30s V Sit-up & Over
  • 1:00 Rest

Nasty!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_OQelyACH3/

40 Rep Superset

With rain in the forecast pretty much all day today I walked 18 holes yesterday and shot another good score. Should I be afraid I’m using it up so early or excited for how good the rest of season could be? My left calf/achilles is still bothering me. Out in the garage at 1:30.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks
  • 10 Deadlifts (45#)
  • 10 Deadlifts (95#)
  • 5 Pull-ups
  • 3 HSPU

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 10 Pull-ups
  • 10 Deadlifts (135/95#)
  • 10 Russian KBS (70/53#)
  • 10 HSPU

I was thinking somewhere around six rounds would be good for this and I was pretty close. Kept everything unbroken and nearly got through seven, with 6+34. That was a lot of back work and I could feel the first deadlift rep each set when I wasn’t setup properly. So I went slow on the bar, making sure to be solid.

Strength

4 Sets

  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (45°)
  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (30°)
  • 10 Incline DB Bench Press (15°)
  • 10 DB Bench Press
  • 3:00 Rest

Big 40 rep superset!! Had no idea what weight to use and I lowered a couple of times before starting. Ended up using 20-25-30-30 pounds and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to make it through a set with 35 pounders!

Accessory

3 Sets

  • 10 Standing Snow Angels (8# DBs)
  • 10 Banded Face Pull (red each arm)

I had planned to hit some push presses but my upper body was shot and my back was feeling that workout a bit, so I settled on these movements instead.

Four Rounds Worked Out

I’m surprised I didn’t get super sore from Sunday. I can feel it some but not bad at all. Out in the garage around 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 15:00 Airdyne (305 cals, 7.62 km)
  • Monster Walks

Strength

Back Squat

  • 8×45#
  • 8×95
  • 8×135
  • 8×165
  • 8×185
  • 8×205

Easing my way in and going by feel. Gotta build up the confidence and strength under load. Didn’t wear a belt. Stopped before I had to start straining on any reps.

Conditioning

  • 4 Rounds
    • 5/5 Single DB Hang C&J (50/35#)
    • 10 Burpee Box Jumps (24/20″)
  • 5:00 Rest & Repeat

I felt good the first time through with a time of 5:58. I was pretty much doing push presses the entire way for the jerks. In round one of the second time through I figured out that I could save time and energy by stepping up with my left leg from the burpee, stepping up the other leg and then get right into my jump from there. Made me faster and my second time was 5:34. Good and sweaty one!

When I came up with this one I was thinking it would be in the 4-5 minute range, so after a round or two I almost called an audible and switched us to three rounds. Glad we stuck with it even though in ended up being a longer time domain than I had planned. I’m really enjoying this style where you rest and repeat the same workout; gives me a chance to try some different things.

Midline

3 Sets

  • 30/30s Star Plank
  • 10 Evil Wheels

Oh boy, those star planks will get ya! Took me 6:35.

2020-05-11

My shoulders are sore from Saturday and a lot of my back and triceps are getting sore from yesterday. Too cold for golf today, so I headed out to the garage after 1 and jumped on the bike for active recovery.

40:00 Airdyne

Did 867 calories and 20.93 km.

2020-05-11-zones

Sunday is For Back

I feel surprisingly good after that leg killer yesterday. Last night I poured myself a drink after a tough week and got some solid recovery sleep. WHOOP has me at 46% recovery today, which is understandable after some drinking and two days of tough workouts. Out in the garage at 10am.

Warm-up

  • 15:00 Airdyne (319 cals, 7.79 km)
  • Monster Walks
  • 20 PVC Passes

Sunday is going to be focused on back for awhile.

4 Sets

  • 12 Lat Pull Downs (90#)
  • 12 DB Pullovers (40-50-50-50#)

The damn pulleys on my cable system were causing too much friction even after I added a bunch of 3-in-1 oil before we started. So then the coating on the cable split open. Guess I’ll have to find some better pulleys.

4 Sets

  • 12 Seated Horizontal Banded Rows (2x red)
  • 12 Seated Back Fly (30#)

This combo was probably the toughest of the day.

4 Sets

  • 12 Straight-ish Arm Banded Pull Down and Backs (2x red)
  • 12/12 Single Arm Seated Banded Pull Downs (red)

4 Sets

  • 12/12 Cross Body Single Arm 90 (15#)
  • 12/12 Kroc Row (elbow out, 30#)

I wasn’t confident in the shoulder positions for those 90s. Flaring out the elbow for the rows is much harder!

Gymnastics

4 Sets

  • MAX Strict Pull-ups
  • 2:00 Rest

Wasn’t expecting much, but I set a PR by two reps on the first set with 17!! Fell off a cliff from there though with 9-7-7.

Midline

4 Rounds

  • 10 Push-up w/ reach across and move dumbbell (50#)
  • 40 Hollow Flutter Kicks
  • 20 Floor Wipers (45# plate)

I was able to keep everything unbroken. Took me 7:30.

It was a monster session over 2.5 hours with my time on the bike.

450 Jumping Reps

I’m still feeling my left calf/achilles. My back is pretty tight from yesterday. Out in the garage at 11.

Warm-up

  • 10:00 Airdyne (5.1 km, 205 cals)
  • Steamboats
  • 6/6 Seated Single Arm Shoulder Press (25#)
  • 6/6 Seated Single Arm Shoulder Press (40#)

Strength

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 45s HS Hold
  • 6/6 Seated Single Arm Shoulder Press (50#)

Planned on 5 power snatches here, but decided to substitute with my back feeling how it does from yesterday. No pain, but no reason to risk it by cycling a barbell.

I focused on pushing through my shoulders in the handstand holds to help translate into walking. It was terrible and I nearly failed the shoulder presses in rounds four and five. Got the stimulus I was looking for though when I designed this combo.

Conditioning

150x

  • Squat Jump
  • 2 Plyo Lunges

This is “LEGS GONE BAD” Volume 2 from Craig Richey. One of the worst workouts I’ve ever done. Over the course of the first 25 times through you can get an idea for how bad it’s going to be. I did singles nearly the whole way, with a brief pause before my next squat. I had six poker chips out and moved one every 25 reps, so got a slightly longer break there, but I tried to get right back in to it. When I got done with 75 reps the clock was at 6:30. I was able to pick up the pace over the last 25 reps and even did a fair number of doubles, which were absolutely horrible at that point. Snuck under 13 minutes with a time of 12:50. I have a feeling that walking will be a challenge for a few days.

Accessory

5 Sets

  • 8 Tricep Press Downs (rope handle on cable pulley, 35#)
  • 10 Barbell Curls (65#)

Another Ben Grinder

Yesterday my left achilles felt weird, but I didn’t notice it while walking 18 holes on the golf course. Could feel it after today’s conditioning too. Must be from the calf raises I did early in the week.

Warm-up

  • Monster Walks

Strength

Back Squat

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 5×135
  • 5×165
  • 5×185
  • 5×205
  • 5×225
  • 3×245

Haven’t had any real weight like that on my back since the end of December.

Conditioning

E3M – 30:00

  • 15/12 cal Row
  • 15 Burpees
  • 30 Double Unders

Similar to last Friday, this one is from the old Ben Smith programming.

Round 2018/09/05 2020/05/08
1 2:02 1:52
2 2:01 2:01
3 2:00 1:51
4 2:00 1:48
5 1:59 1:48
6 2:00 1:51
7 2:00 1:51
8 1:59 1:48
9 1:59 1:50
10 1:59 1:47

 

When I did this before I never missed a double under. Today I missed three times in the second round and then once in rounds three, six, and seven (all 1:51). Pulled over 1,500 cal/hour throughout and picked up the pace a little over the last few rounds. Total improvement of 92 seconds over the ten rounds!!

Midline

5 Sets

    • 10 Parallette Shoot Throughs
    • 30 Russian Twists

 

The shoot throughs are much easier when not paired with V-ups!

15 Butterflies

I feel good! Out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

  • 10:00 Airdyne (210 cals, 5.15 km)
  • 15 DB Bench Press (30#)

Strength

5 Sets

  • 15 DB Bench Press (50#)
  • 8 Front Raises (15#)

Conditioning

20:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 15 Pull-ups
  • 6/6 Single Arm DB Thrusters (50/35#)
  • 15 Box Jumps (24/20″)
  • 150m Run

All unbroken 🦋  pull-ups!! I don’t remember the last time I tried a set 15, let alone five sets. This was a good combination of movements.

Gymnastics

5 Sets

  • 1:00 HS Hold
  • 1:00 Rest

Last two were not fun.