Tag: Bird Dog

Half Ass Everything

Yesterday my glutes and arms were sore from Sunday, but both are better today. Yesterday morning I did the PT kegels and then before lunch I lubed up the treadmill and walked for 20 minutes, which was about 1.25 miles. Had my first full session of PT at 5 and it was great. I’m very impressed so far. We discovered my left glute isn’t activating. I would have bet you money it was working in the test we did; it sure felt like I was squeezing the muscle. Crazy how the wires can be all crossed up like that. Found some more weaknesses and got a bunch of new exercises to do. In the evening I did 6-4-2 of the McGill Big 3 and another session of the kegels.

Today I did all of my new PT exercises before lunch and went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 2x 100/100′ Walking Side Shuffle
  • Steamboat PT exercises
  • 4x 100′ Walk Backwards
  • 30 cal Echo Bike
  • 3×10 Push-ups
  • Bottom Squat Hold

I tried a few kipping pull-ups and kicked up to the wall. Both felt good!

Conditioning

  • 0:00-10:00 (Solo)
    • 5 Rounds
      • 80′ Sled Push (180#)
      • 15 Pull-ups
  • 10:00-20:00 (Partner w/ Brandi)
    • 3 Mile Echo Bike (switch about every 30 seconds)
  • 5:00 Rest
  • 25:00-35:00 (Solo)
    • 30 DB Walking Lunges (35# DBs)
    • 30 Box Push-up Step Overs (24″)
    • 30 Seated DB Shoulder Press (35# DBs)
    • 30 Strict HSPU

A lot of subbed movements but it worked out well and I got in a great workout.

I did the five rounder in 7:40 with quick choppy steps on the sled but nowhere near a sprint pace. I was able to do 3×5 on every round of pull-ups with just a regular kip! Felt good for not having done any kipping in over a month.

It was written as a two mile bike but that would have given way too much rest compared to the people who were trying to do 3,200 meters on the rower (impossible). Bumping up to three miles was good and we finished in 8:11.

The lunges were fine and unbroken. I planned to use 40 or 45# but those dumbbells must be down in the basement. Worked out well though because the shoulders got blown later with the 35s! I didn’t want to have to go all the way to the ground yet, probably putting my back into flexion at some point, so the box push-up step over was a good alternate instead of burpees over the bar. I did 3×10 on the seated presses and could feel that the handstand push-ups were going to be rough. I barely got two HSPU to start and fought through a total of 5×2 before switching to singles. Ended up getting 15 singles, for 25 total, 5 shy of finishing.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 7-5-3 Curl-up
  • 7-5-3 Side Planks
  • 7-5-3 Bird Dogs

Been doing 6-4-2 for a week so it’s time to increase the reps. I also went side to side today on the side planks, passing through a regular plank instead of doing all 7 on a side before switching. So there was no true rest after each side plank like the few seconds I’d get the other way between reps.

Lunging Wall Balls

I took a 90 minute nap yesterday and slept over 8 hours last night. Woke up with 98% recovery on WHOOP! I did a session of my PT exercises in the morning. Decided not to eat before going to open gym at 10.

Warm-up

10:00 Echo Bike

Did 120 calories and 3.73 miles.

3 Sets

  • 100/100’ Bottoms Up KB Carry (26#)

I didn’t rest since I was switching arms every down and back.

Accessory

2 Rounds

  • 3:00 Bear Hug Banded March (20#)
  • 3:00 Rest

Today I concentrated on raising my knee high as well as lifting my heel towards me ass at the same time. Got 166 and 174 reps and felt like I was able to keep a consistent pace.

10:00 EMOM (alt)

  • 30s Rower Curls
  • 12 DB Curls (20#)

Damper was set at 10 but maybe should be a lot lower. Glad I decided to go lower than normal with the dumbbbells.

4 Sets

  • 10 Prone DB Fly (25#)
  • 10 Banded Lat Pull Downs (2x double green)

Set mine up on the triangle bar so it was out away from the rig and used a 35# barbell instead of a PVC, which seemed safer and helped stretch the band some. I sat on a blue plate on the white bench.

Conditioning

10:00 AMRAP

  • 20 Barbell Push-ups
  • 30 Reverse Lunge Wall Balls (14#, 10’)

I originally had programmed 15 air squats, 20 dumbbell walking lunges, and 25 push-ups. Last night I made the call that I’m not ready for a lot of air squats yet. Then today at the gym I got the idea to try out the reverse lunge wall balls. Took a round or so to get the hang of the movement, but I really liked it. Using a light medicine ball probable helped. 😉 I did 4×5 on every round of push-ups and 20-10 on the lunge wall balls. Got through 4+20. Felt good to do a metcon where I didn’t have a “cake walk” (essentially rest) movement and was able to get my heart rate up.

Gymnastics

3 Sets

  • 10 Kip Swings

Just small kips, but I wanted to see how it felt. No issue.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’m becoming a master at these! Was a solid two hours at the gym.

I’ll do another round of the PT exercises at some point.

Fast & Slow

Not feeling any ill effects from the workout yesterday. I did my PT Exercises this morning and was out in the garage before noon.

Conditioning

6 Rounds

  • 3:00 Airdyne (fast)
  • 2:00 Airdyne (slow)

Went 870 calories and 17.7 km, which is 83 calories and 0.52 km more than the straight 30 minutes I did on Wednesday.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’ll do another round of the PT Exercises later.

I Started Physical Therapy

Yesterday I started PT and had the evaluation. He thinks my big muscles around the spine are doing too much of the work and the smaller stabilizer muscles aren’t firing. Since I wanted to go with a Monday and Thursday schedule he gave me a few things to get started.

pt-kegels

Yesterday I did those twice, did the McGill Big 3 and power walked a mile on the treadmill at about 3.8 mph. Before lunch today I walked 20 minutes and did the PT exercises. Then went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

  • 30 cal Echo Bike
  • 2 Rounds
    • 10 Scap Pull-ups
    • 10 PVC Passes
    • 10 Air Squats
    • 10 Push-ups

Air squats were a little iffy, so I held on to the rig for the second set.

Strength

5 Sets

  • 12 Seated DB Shoulder Press (30#)
  • 12 DB Lateral Raises (10#)

I used a slight incline on the bench so that it wouldn’t be sitting at a straight 90 degrees and I put an AbMat at my low back. Class was doing shoulder presses. The raises were becoming a challenge after a few sets.

Conditioning

8 Rounds

  • 8 cal Echo Bike
  • 8 Step-ups (22″)
  • 2×50’ Sled Push (90#)
  • 8 Bench Press (135#)

All subbed movements for cal row, high box jumps, burpees, and dumbbell snatches. The sled push was a good idea from Casey and today was the first time I’d done some step-ups since the injury. Felt more like myself today, though I still didn’t get my heart rate up that high. Finished in 15:16.

Midline

McGill Big 3

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

I’ll do another round of the PT exercises tonight.

Results

I went back to the Doctor today for the results of the MRI. I have mild disk bulges at L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. I also have a small piece of a disc fractured off on the left side under L5, which is where my pain always is.

Went to the gym at 4:30 and did some walking up and down the hallway to warm up. I also did a few air squats for the first time in two weeks. That was actually really scary.

Conditioning

10 Rounds

  • 6 cal Echo Bike
  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups
  • 12 Push-ups
  • 6 Knee Raises
  • 1:00 Rest

I was actually going to do 6 ring rows for the second movement, but I must have been caving my midline, because they first set didn’t feel very good. Quickly switched to the pull-ups for the remaining rounds. Finished in 19:45.

Accessory

  • 3x 105/105’ Suitcase Carry (25#)
  • 3x 105/105’ Suitcase Carry (30#)

I was walking up and down the hall, which is 105 feet long and switching arms at each end. So I walked six lengths before taking a little rest and then going heavier.

Midline

The “Big 3” from Stuart McGill.

  • 6-4-2 Curl-up (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Side Planks (10s hold)
  • 6-4-2 Bird Dogs (10s hold)

Strict Intensity

Yesterday I was hungover and took a couple of naps. Had to shovel the heavy wet snow, which actually accounted for my second highest WHOOP strain score of the week. Glad it was a rest day, because I would not have been able to fitness. After a solid night of sleep, I woke up with a 96% recovery score! Got to the gym early today for open gym again.

Warm-up

  • 150 cal Echo Bike

Took about 14:25.

Accessory

3 Sets

  • 10 Prone Fly (20# DBs)
  • 10/10 Tricep Kickback (35#)

Gymnastics

  • 15:00 Handstand Walk

Tried to focus on pushing through my shoulders, hands out, and bent knees today. Feeling more and more comfortable each time I practice. Got out to 21-22 feet on my longest one. Here’s my final attempt.

 

Conditioning

15:00 AMRAP

  • 3 Strict HSPU
  • 3 Strict C2B Pull-ups
  • 12 Walking Lunges (25# DBs at sides)

I like programming low rep strict movements in a workout like this, where it’s a challenge but I’m able to keep moving without rest. After getting round one done in about 40 seconds I was worried it was too fast. Then after not slowing much through about five rounds I set a goal to stay under a 1:00/round page. Even though I started dropping from the top of the C2B and quickly grabbing on for the next rep, I was able to make up time by speeding through step through lunges. Was able to do all of the HSPU unbroken without a problem. Finished with 15+5.

Midline

  • 3x 20 Dead Bug
  • 3x 10 Curl-up (3s pause)
  • 3x 10 Bird Dog + 10 second hold (each side)

Sick, but Recovering

Started getting stuffed up on Monday night and woke up with my WHOOP recovery in the yellow after a seven day green streak. Sinuses really started bothering me as the day progressed. My quads and ass were getting very very sore! Made New Year’s Eve a rest day. I took a nice nap, loaded up on drugs through the day, and was in bed at 10pm. Still not feeling great this morning and my quads are still on fire. Out in the garage at 11.

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne

Did 112 calories and 2.66 km.

Accessory

5 Sets

  • 6/6 Single Arm Front Rack Squats (53#)
  • 10 Sumo KB Deadlifts (70#)

A way for me to easy back into some lifting and see how my back handles a little load. When holding the kettlebell in my right arm I could feel my back a little unless I made an adjustment to my positioning.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

  • 2:00 Sandbag Cleans over the Box (100#, 48″)
  • 1:00 Rest
  • 1:00 Rope Pulls
  • 1:00 Hand Release Push-ups
  • 1:00 Rest

Not going to lie, I was scared when I went to pick up the sandbag for a warm-up attempt. No issues though. I twisted my ankle on a rep in the first or second round when I came down on the sandbag, but walked it off right away and it never bothered me. Just made sure to jump down to the side of the bag from there on out. I did 10-12-12-13 with the sandbag, 9 rope pulls each time, and 25-23-25-25 push-ups. Tried for some larger sets in that third round, which just made me rest more, hence the fewer reps.

Midline

3 Sets

  • 10 Curl-ups (3s Pause)

3 Sets

  • 10/10 Bird Dogs + 10s pause

Trending Up

Yesterday my calves started to feel sore in the morning, with my lats and upper abs still sore. Everything is still sore today. After nearly an entire week in the yellow, my recovery has been steadily going up.

2019-12-21-recovery.jpg

Went to the gym for the 9am class.

Warm-up

  • 20 cal Echo Bike
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 10 Good Mornings (45#)
  • 5 C&J (45#)
  • 3 C&J (95#)
  • 3 C&J (135#)

Conditioning

Partner Workout

  • 2 Mile Assault Bike
  • 30 C&J (135#)
  • 2000m Row
  • 30 C&J (155#)
  • 2000m Row
  • 30 C&J (185#)

I paired up with Chris who used his own bar and loading. We swapped out on the bike every half a mile and it was programmed to swap every 200 meters on the rower. Instead of running outside in the cold for two miles we did the rower for the third set, which is easier than the bike, but took at almost 50% longer. The scaling between the three modalities didn’t really make sense in this workout because the time domains are extremely different. On the barbell we swapped every five reps for the first two weights and then every three for the final. I was unbroken with 135, 3-1-1 with 155, and 1-1-1 with 185. It felt good and I was able to pick the bar right back up for all of my quick singles. I wore my belt for 155 and 185. We finished in 28:01. This kind of workout is my jam.

Midline

I stayed after class and did some stability work for my back since I’ve been skipping it all week.

2 Sets

  • 10 Curl-ups (3s pause)

2 Sets

  • 10/10 Bird Dogs + 10 second hold

8 Sets (Reverse Tabata)

  • 10s RKC Plank
  • 20s Rest

15

Still not a great night of sleep last night.

IMG_3451

Was at the gym at 10 for open gym.

No B.S. Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 10×95
  • 3×135
  • 3×175
  • 3×205
  • 3×225
  • 2x3x245
  • 3×250

The two week break from the program wasn’t ideal, but going from one cycle of the program to the next probably wasn’t either, so I was hoping today would be a good day under the bar. My all-time PR for a triple is 255, though I have done 275 for a double. The second set with 245 felt better, so I went for the 250 on the third set, which was sketchy. Working sets were supposed to be at 245-250, so it was a success.

Gymnastics

After doing 3×10 bar muscle-ups a few weeks ago I was curious how many I could do.

It’s funny how when you set a number in your head, often you end up right on that number. My hips weren’t giving out, but my hands were starting to slide around too much for my comfort and instead of risking a fall on my head I jumped off with 15.

Weightlifting / Conditioning

7 Rounds

  • 1:00 C&J
  • 2:00 Rest

Started with 95# and added 20# every round, so my loading was 95-115-135-155-175-195-215#. We did something like this 2-3 years ago, but I haven’t been able to find it in my logs. I decided to drop every rep and try to pick it up quickly with the light bars. Got 14-12-10-9-7-5-3, wearing my belt the entire time.

Midline

7-5-3 w/ 10 second holds

  • Curl-up
  • Side Plank
  • Bird dogs

Went and picked up pre-made meals from a local place that I’m trying out.

Then went for a run after 5pm.

Year of the Engine – Endurance

38:00 Run

The Garmin watch was reading my heart rate in zones 4-5 the entire run, which I knew wasn’t correct. My WHOOP measured it where I normally am for a run like this. Got rained on for a few minutes, which felt good. Went 3.8 miles, so I’ve kind of found a sweet spot at that 10:00/mile pace.