Tough Workout, Revisted

Took another shot at the workout from one week ago:

Warmup
10 each of the following, with 2 5# CBs

• Alternating front swipe
• Warrior Be Strong
• Inside pendulum
• Incline Pushup
  

Workout
Ring Pushups: I set the bottom of each ring at my wiast (up from my hip-bone last week) and did 4 sets: Reps 6, 5, 6 & 5. RPE 6-7, RPT 5. 1 minute between sets. Much better than last week. Continue working on RPT at this level before advancing.

Ring Rows: Rings in the same position, I did 4 sets x 5 reps each, knees bent. RPE 6, RPT 7. Again, improved over last week. Keep working on supinating my right wrist.

Double Swipe + Head Cast w/Leverage Hold: 2 10# CBs, Max Choke, 4 sets x 5 reps. RPE 5, RPT 6. Last set was single. Do that way going forward - easier overall but more core focus due to asymmetry. Really tests my grip endurance on the right hand.

Hanging Knee Raise: I was unable to do these, due to weakness in my hands. Work on hanging for time until that's fixed.

Alternating Muscle Out: 1 10# CB. 3 sets of 5 per side with pass behind neck. Used full choke on Rt, no choke on L. RPE 5L/9R, RPT 7/6. Keep it at this weight until RPE is no more than 1 point apart left to right, at zero choke on both.

Alternating Lunge: 2x5 each side RPE 7, RPT 6. Doing these on a balance beam increases RPE to 8.

Overall RPE: 6 to 7. Much better than last time over all.

Note to self: early mornings are definitely the best times for workouts of any kind.

I've also been experimenting with Javorek's dumbell complexes as off-day workouts. They're surprisingly compact yet effective for active recovery. Also consider the Swipe + Headcast for recovery days.

Tough workout

Went down to a local park this afternoon with my rings and 4 clubbells: 2 x 5, 2 x 10. Got in a good, read exhausting, workout.

Warmup
10 each of the following, with 2 5# CBs

• Alternating front swing
• Warrior Be Strong
• Inside pendulum

Workout
Ring Pushups: I set the bottom of each ring at my hip-bone and did 4 sets: Reps 5, 4, 5 & 5. RPE 7-8, RPT 3. 1 minute between sets. I need to get my feet back further. May need to raise the rings to waist level until I get my form down.

Ring Rows: Rings in the same position, I did 4 sets x 5 reps each. RPE 8, RPT 6. I found that bending my knees to bring my feet closer to my butt reduced the resistance, otherwise I couldn't have completed the sets. Also supinating my right wrist was surprisingly difficult under longitudinal load. Work on getting my legs straight and pulling myself higher before increasing resistance.

Double Swipe + Head Cast w/Leverage Hold: 2 10# CBs, Max Choke, 4 sets x 5 reps. RPE 9, RPT 4. Nearly met Pukie on this one. Need to work on all aspects of form: breathing, fluidity, hip snap, and stability in leverage hold. Leverage hold was easier though than torch would have been. This movement wiped me out.

Saxon Side Bend: 1 10# CB, two-hand grip. 1 set of 10 per side. RPE 8, RPT 6. Have to switch grips between sides on this one.

Alternating Muscle Out: 2 5# CBs. 3 sets of 5 per side. RPE 4, RPT 8. Keep it at this weight for another couple of workouts, then go up to 10#

Walked about .5 mile total, before and after workout. Each trip to and from the car was .25 mile round trip, and made one extra after workout. Walked from car to workout site with 30# of gear, then walked back after workout, then did "cooldown lap" down and back.

Overall RPE: 8.5. This one kicked my butt. Crossfit level, at least for me. Clubbells and rings really show you where your weak spots are, in ways that regular free weights and machines don't.

Long Lay-off

Well, it's been a while. I haven't been completely idle, but I haven't been doing anything really regular either. I've got basic desterity back in my right hand now, but my strength is still down - I learned only recently just how much.

I've gotten a set of Clubbells - 5, 10, and 15 lbs. I'd heard that they pick up your weak areas, and they surely do - I've found that my right hand, wrist, and even shoulder are all significantly weaker than my right. It's not nice, but it's good to know so I can fix it.

Last night was a beginning Clubbell workout - warmup just goofing around with the 5-pounders, then a couple of sets each of arm casts, torch presses, and flag presses with the 10-pounders. I can only do about half as many reps with my right as with my left, and each rep is a lot harder. RPE = 6 left, 8 to 9 right. RPT = 6 to 7 left, 3 to 4 right. RPD = 2 left, 6 to 7 right.

Up to Two Sets

I've moved from one set per movement to two. I'm recording it as Movement/Load (1st/2nd)

Bench/150 (11/12)
Lat Row/200 (12/12)
Rear Delt Row/100 (12/12)
Curl/60 (11/9)
Triceps Ext/110 (12/10)
Low Back Ext/110 (20/20) (Increase to 130)
Jump 2 x 10
Crunch 12/10

I notice that for several exercises the second set is easier. Must be a warmup effect.

I'm going to go for 15 reps in each set. Once I'm up to 2x15 in all movements, then I'll move on to something else - possibly keeping 15 reps/set and trying to shorten my time. Possibly subbing bodyweight exercises for Bowflex movements and/or changing the Bowflex movements.

New Week

Missed the weekend days. Back today:

Bench 13 x 140 (Incr to 150)
Lat Row 12 x 200
Rear Delt Row 14 x 90 (Incr to 100)
Curl 12 x 60
Triceps Ext 15 x 100 (Incr to 110)
Low Back Ext 15 x 110
Jump x 10
Crunch x 13

Thursday

Missed yesterday, but got today.

Bench 15 x 130 (Incr to 145)
Lat Row 11 x 200
Rear Delt Row 12 x 90
Curl 10 x 60
Triceps Ext 12 x 100
Low Back Ext 15 x 110

Pressed for time, so skipped Jump Squats & Crunches

Two in a row

Bench 11 x 130
Lat Row 10 x 200
Rear Delt Row 12 x 90
Curl 10 x 60 (Incr to 11 reps)
Triceps Ext 11 x 100
Jump Squat x 10
Low Back Ext 15 x 110 (Incr to 120)
FBP Crunch x 13

This was a good working range. I had to break the crunches into 8+5, so I'll keep it at 13 reps for now.

Finding my range

I'm continuing to work the most basic Bowflex routine: 1 set of each of the following. I'm gradually refining the resistance needed to give me 10-12 reps. This has the benefit of gradually increasing my intensity as well.

Once I get 10-12 reps on each movement I'll add another set. Once those are up to 10-12 each I'll increase the weight and drop it to 8-10 reps and work up to 15 reps. Then start doing 2 x 15 for time.

Bench 11 x 130
Lat Row 14 x 160 (Incr to 200)
Rear Delt Row 10 x 90
Curl 10 x 60 (Incr to 11 reps)
Triceps Ext 10 x 100
Jump Squat x 10
Low Back Ext 15 x 90 (Incr to 110)
FBP Crunch x 12 (Incr to 13 reps)

Saturday Night

Bench Press 16 x 110 (Incr to 130)
Lat Row 20 x 130 (Incr to 160)
Rear Delt Row 12 x 80 (Incr to 90)
Curl 10 x 60
Triceps Ext 15 x 90 (Incr to 100)
Jump Squat x 10
Low Back Ext 20 x 80 (Incr to 90)
FBP Crunch x 10

Long time no see

I haven't been working out much, and I've been blogging less. My hand has recovered most of its range of motion thanks to treatment with L-methylfolate, but I am still way behind on strength in my right hand and arm. I've dropped the gym membership as an unnecessary expense and am now in the process of building up a home gym. I've started by moving my Bowflex into the studio and I'm committing now to daily exercise: at least 20 minutes of some kind of focused training every single day.

I'm also committing to lose 30 lbs in 2008. I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning as a baseline.

This evening I got the ball rolling with a very light Bowflex workout:

Bench Press 20x80 (Incr to 110)
Lat Row 20x100 (Incr to 130)
Rear Delt Row 20x60 (Incr to 80)
Curl 10x60
Lying Triceps Ext 25x60 (Incr to 90)
Jump Squat x10
Low Back Ext 20x60 (Incr to 80)
Frog Back Pressure Crunch x10

My goal is to get first to 1 x 10, then 2 x 10, then 2 x 15 on each of these exercises, before moving on to another phase (possibly doing them for time?). I'll do this workout again on Friday, with the increased weights noted above. Tomorrow I'm going to walk. I'll need to get out there early, since the forecast is for rain as the day goes on.

The Frog Back-Pressure Crunch is excellent as an alternative to Janda situps. The key is to press the soles of the feet together and maintain that pressure throughout the crunch. This (along with pushup variants) is a good "5-minute break" whenever I need to get up and move.

Medium-range goals for building my gym: getting a sandbag set and putting in rings.