New Template and some videos

I've shifted my template to a more kettlebell focus in the assistance lifts. I want to continue with the 531 program because I love the hormone response from lifting heavy weight. I think having a good base of strength will help with almost any physical task. However I have included more kettle lifts to work on technique and perhaps drop some of the barbell lifts to help solidify preparation for RKC on February 18th next year.

I've had good success last cycle with strength and getting back into a solid routine. I don't want to make drastic changes to the program because it has worked. Ill be posting up different conditioning circuits every week that will have a different emphasis.  A lot of it will be work capacity to prep for the weekend. Some of the exercises such as renegade rows and bottoms up press are to emphasis total body tension. Skill is a strength and being able to master different gears of tension is important to all athletes. I've also incorporated more KB Rack holds because that will be very prevalent at RKC and the time under tension for upper body and overall core control is amazing.

I have Joel Jamisons HRV app on the way s oI can get a better picture of how my body is recovering from the volume and load. It will be nice to have objective data rather than trying to "feel" it out. Don't get me wrong I think we should be as in tune with our bodies as we can, however this isn't always accurate.

New Template

Here are two videos I took last week that have been uploaded. One is my final set on the last hard week of 531 on deadlifts.  The second is a kb circuit, my first time really learning renegade rows from my friend Aaron Klestinec was teaching me. The third is off Aarons youtube page, I demoed a holiday lower body circuit for him. 

Current training Satus

I've been doing a couple new things with my diet and training.

Diet: Current doing the lean gains approach for intermittent fasting, I played around with this in the summer for 5 weeks and like the results i"m getting. The difference now is I have started to train fasted on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This is in part due to my work schedule but also to do an experiment on myself. I drink about 10 grams of leucine during the training and will have 1 scoop of EAS Muscle armor prior to training. I like the results so far. When I started the leans gain approach I was 199, four weeks ago. Now i'm sitting at an easy 190. Currently doing a slow weight cut to preserve muscle probably will drop to and maintain 185. I have also been strict with my calories and carb cycling. 2500 calories on training days with 100-150 grams of carbs. Off days will be around 2200 with under 100 grams of carbs. Keep in mind I don't count the trace carbs from most veggies, only sugars and starches. Once or twice a week Ill have a refill day where Ill go a little higher n calories and carbs. This is for both physical and psychological purposes.


Training: Now my individual training sessions don't last to long. 15-30 minutes for foam roll,correctives and movement prep than about 70 minutes from the power session to the end of the ESD session. I'm still doing heavy strength training, with the 5/3/1 approach. I think this is important for preserving muscle in a body re composition project. You need to create a demand for the body to hold on to muscle during times of limited resources (calorie deficit).

I'm getting stronger in my lifts and tomorrow will be my last day in week 3. Than next week will be a deload week which works perfect because Ill be traveling home for the holidays.

I have had a lot of message of people asking me for a copy of my template or training program. So it took some googling but I found out how to attach it to this blog in the link below. It is pretty straight forward. Power block in the beginning followed by the primary strength movement which is in the 5/3/1 format. Than the secondary and auxiliary movements afterwards. Followed by an conditioning circuit.

My Template

New videos

Ill be posting my modified 531 template tomorrow. Training is going well and I just threw some new videos up. Also my buddy Aaron Klestinec from www.kettlebuild.com joined me for a workout yesterday.






Video of me in my second week for 531 on hte last set of dead lifts for max reps. Stopped a rep or two shy of technical failure.

Random updates

Its been to long since I have put anything new up. My internship has been really demanding and I have very little time to write as much. Its a good learning experience Ill be writing a write up on it after its over in three weeks.

Weight Gain/Lean out phase:

This semester I wanted to try something and put on some good lean mass rather than trying to stay lean all the time. I went from weighing in at 178 at august 28th to weighing in at 198 November 1st. My Average body fat was around 9% which I'm happy with. Now I'm cutting back trying to lean out. I started intermittent fasting again on a 16 hour fast and 8 hour feeding window. 2 weeks in and its a little challenging with work, but so far so good.

Training:

My training has gone well, I was doing lots of strength and plyos. I cut back on the plyos because my feet were taking a beating with doing that and working on my feet all day. I put a pedometer to see how far I would walk in an average day at work and average 8-11 miles of walking around a day. This did not include walking around during my own personal workouts. Last several weeks, I've been doing mainly double kettle bell work and sprints. Its been more of a Deload for me.

PLP:

Yesterday was the conclusion of my 60 day PLP program. The program can be found here:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/plp_the_60day_challenge

I did this program in addition to my own training. Overall I like the program , it was more of an exercise to commitment. I think high frequency training programs like this have their place. There were times where I forgot and it was late at night and I had 50 pull ups, push ups and 100 lunges to do, wasn't the happiest camper. However I had several other people around me on the program and that was great for keeping me accountable. I did develop some tendinitis around the forearm just under the elbow. Very mild and I would work around it with my normal training to keep up with PLP. I think its just the nature of having very heavy grip training naturally ; (dead lifts , kettle bells, farmer walks, weighted pull ups). I stopped doing weighted pull ups about 3 weeks ago to help wit the tendinitis. Since I started this program and putting on weight, I've gotten countless remarks on how much bigger my upper body has gotten, particularly my back. My shirts are fitting tighter around the lats, arms and chest. I think PLP can ge a good program for putting on slow steady mass, if accompanied with the right diet. Unfortunately I didn't think to take measurements before I started.

I'm currently developing a new program using 5/3/1 for my 4 main lifts, front squat, pull up, over head press, deadlift than having assistance work in the form of circuits followed by conditioning. Still going to have a fat loss emphasis towards the end of the workout. Ill put up the template in a couple days, its meant to be a 4 week phase. After which Ill reevaluate and shift my focus to primarily kettle bells because Ill be doing RKC in San Jose of Feb. of next year!


Goals:

This year I wanted to get a 1 arm chin up and Trap Bar DL 3x my body weight. However I have to confess I have not been putting my effort into either of those pursuits. My focus would shift and It would always be an after thought. I am going to focus more on obtaining the 1 arm chin up in the next couple of months. I have started straight bar dead lifting again for a change of pace. We'll see where I end up.

My goals for next year are to get back into Mixed Martial Arts again. Use my strength and conditioning to supplement my MMA game. I'm thinking a 3 day program to allow for proper recovery. Now I want a quantitative goal for my MMA so I want to attend 100 classes for next year. I did this in 2008 and 2009 and it worked well. Having a number like that can give you something to shoot for rather than " I just want to go a lot".

Friends:

My long time friend Aaron Klestinec has started his own website

wwww.kettlebuild.com

He is an up an coming trainer with desire to learn and has a passion to coach. Him and I will be doing a lot of projects in the future. Bringing new content with exercise demos, work out plans , philosophies and we want to put strategies out there that give people a frame work for comping up with their own answers to health related questions.

Thanks for reading and keeping the traffic up despite the long lay off. More stuff to come!

Keep training

4 new videos and training update

I put up four videos today. The first two are from over the summer, in late July. I was at 178lb body weight. The second two I took on Friday where I currently am 192-95.









Training has been going well last couple of week.s Pretty much the same template I have been using for a while. However the last week and for the next two weeks I am only doing 2 strength sessions a week, just a couple sets ot maintain strength in 4 lifts; front squat, pull ups, conventional dead lifts and over head press. Meanwhile I will be doing 30 minute cardio sessions 4 times a week. During these cardio sessions I am keeping HR around 140-150. This is an effort to boost my cardiac output and improve my aerobic base. I notice that I have a pretty high resting heart rate in the morning around 68. I think I am over sympathetic dominant from hard training all the time. I am doing a three week trial to see if the resting heart rate can go down. If this works i am hoping ot recover from workouts better, and have better overall tissue quality.

I think it is important sometimes to step back and go about training from a different route. Patrick Ward of Optimum Sport Performance helped me realize this when I met him at HKC last weekend. This may be just what I need to progress my strength and training further. Plus I think it will overall help me become a healthier human being. I am writing down my resting heart rates in the morning. when this experiment is done I will have a great write up for you guys. It may not work at all, but definitely worth a try.

Until than keep training.

New t spine mobility drill

I've been really busy and behind lat on updates. Ill have a training up date later this week. The good news is I have a new phone with better video quality. As such Ill be making more how to videos and uploading a lot more content. I have a new one for you today

Below is a simple t spine mobility drill. It is like a standard t spine extension with the foam roller. Howeve now you're reaching over head and grabbing a kettle bell. This is a greaqt primer for over head pressing. The key point of this drill is to make sure the rip cage stays down and the bottom ribs do not flare out. If that happens we are getting more lumbar extension than thoracic extension. You will see in the video I check my rips to make sure of this.

Another key point is to make sure that our pillar is intact. Meaning there is a straight line from the hiips to the top of your head. The neck should be in alingment with the rest of the spine. Breath into the stretch and try to shoot for 2 minutes. Moving up and down mid to uppper back, looking for releases.Push into the foam roller and try to bend through the part of the pine that is on top of it.

To add a little more juice try and pick up the kettlebell. Don't actually lift it, but firing the lats and than releasing will give you a PnF type of stretch, making it more effective. I suggest using a heavy kettlebell , one that you know you won't be able to lift.



Test your t spine extension before then rest after doing this to see if it makes a change As always feed back is appreciated.

Humbled

So I am about 2.5 weeks into my Internship at Athletes' Performance. I lean something every couple of minutes. The caliber of people that work here are amazing. Seriously the coaches are some of the best in the world. I'm really honored and fortunate enough to have this 4 month opportunity to work along side the industry leading team in sports performance.

It has definitely been an adjustment moving working here. I'm in a house with 7 other people and this is my first time having roommates. It definitely presents some challenges but also gives me a chance to learn and become friends with some cool people from across the world. I like the opportunity it gives me to exercise patience and practice being considerate of others .We all get along pretty well and stay out of each others way. If this were the "real world" tv show, it would be pretty fucking boring.

I've gained 10-12 pounds since I have been here. Week one I weighted in at 178 about a week later I tipped the scales at 188 and now i'm around 189-190. I've been eating a little more now, over the summer I was at around a 10-15% calorie deficit . One of my goals is to try and put on 10 pounds of muscle in 4 months. They have an in house nutrition team that I am looking to get some guidance from to help reach that goal. I also started taking some creatine pre workout to see how it would effect me and If i would gain much from it. Still to early to tell. All I can say are pull ups feel harder, but I feel stronger and faster with all the movement training I started incorporating.

So far this situation has definitely solidified something I've thought about for a long time. That is you mimic the people you surround yourself with. I feel like working at such a premier place has made me up my own game in coaching, seeking knowledge and my own training.

I want to keep the updates coming, new phone should be happening in the next couple weeks. This means more videos with much higher quality.

Training today, after work;

Foam
Stretch
Prep mini band work

A1. Keiser power squats 190Air drop squats 5 reps 180 jump squats 6 reps 1800 watts 230A 6 repos 2000 watts 250Air 6 reps 2500 watts

A2. Hip flxr stretch

B1. FMS hamstring Leg Lower

B2. SL RDL 135M 5/5 95M/40Air 5/5 95M/80Air 5/5

B3. Anti Rotational Press 25A 1/2 Kneeling 8/8 30Air 8/8 Split stance 25Air 5/58

B4. Overhead Press Double 32kg 4 , 4 Single Arm 28kg 8/8

C1. Single Leg Contra Lateral Row 50lb 6/6 6/6

C2. SL RDL power row on keiser 25Air 6/6 6/6

ESD just working on snatching

Was doing snatch test but hands started to rip. The coating on the kettle bells here are different but I got over 80

Feeling good.

3 in 1 day

9Am

Seld work two plates 5 x 20 yard runs. The hockey players needed a 6th person for relay so I joined in. Def got me sweating no warm up prior

Lunch time

12pm
Hip extension with join distraction using band

Deep 6 kb circuit 2 rounds with 16kgs

Real work out 5pm

Soft tissue work

Mini band work linear
Movement prep
Sled pulls with hardness 2 plates
Wall drills and load n Lifts
10 yard starts

MB 10lb D ball squat to press for 5. Good mvoment to prime for cleans

A1. Cleans from the ground 20kg 3 50kg 5 60kg 5 , 3 50kg 3

A2. T spine extension for 2 sets and hip flexion distraction for 1 set

B1. Front squat 135 x 5 135M/50 Air 5 135M/100Air 3 , 3 ,3 135M/50A 8

B2. 6 second sprints done on the woodway curve, right after my heavy triples, Going for potentiation. The heavy front squats tap into higher motor recruitment. First set 15 MPh second 15.5 third set 16.6
I know I can hit 20

C1. Pull ups 50 5 4 40 4 ISO hold at top 60Air 30 seconds

C2. Roll outs 10, 10

Great day 10 minutes of cold plunge and lots of calories afterwards.

Catching up part 2

Tuesday:
Foam roll

Lateral Movement Prep
Lateral bounds medial hops

Cross over and shuffles

Medbball work:
Split Stance 2 x 8 10lb D ball
Parallel 2 x 8 10lb D ball

A1. SL RDL with 9pound keiser Air Ball 80lbs 8/8 95 8/8

A2. Lifts 19.6 Air 10/10 22 Air 10/10

A3. OHP Double 24kg , 8

A3. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

Wednesday:

Regen day lots of soft tissue work

Some Rotational MB work

Thursday:

Linear prep movement

HaRDNESS WORK AND CROSS OVER TO SPRINTS

A1. T spine extension mobility work

A2. Cleans 20kg 4 , 50kg 3 , 3, 3

B1. Body Saw Valslide on Power Plate 30 seconds 3 sets

B2. TRX Row Bw x 8 40lb 8 50lb 8 40 8 50 Air 30 seconds ISO hold at top

Friday

Foam
Join Mobility
Prep SLRDL to Knee Hug to worlds greatess 3/3

Medball reverse grannie toss 10lb ball 6 reps 17yd average

Viper 12kg upward snatch throws 3 reps

BB Snatch Bar x 3 20kg 3 Now pulling from the ground 20kg 3 40kg 1 30kg 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 ,1

B1. Conventional DL 50kg 3 100kg 3 150kg 4 160kg 4 150kg 4

C!. Push Ups Feet on trx with 40lb vest - I don't like that Normal pushupsh with 60lb vest 8 70lb vest 8

C2. Suitcase 28kg 50yd set sets each arm

B1. Chops 25 AIR 10/10 12/10

ESD
Battling Ropes
28kg 2H swings
20/40 x 5 sets for 2 rounds

Great Day 1

After 10 hours of working I wanted to get some good training in. This is my time and its important to stick with it.

Just a heads up I have access to kesier air power squat machines now. This is great because I can add air resistance to the bar which is constantly pulling me down. Its not quite equivalent to the mass in terms of straight numbers, however it presents a greater stability challenge to resist the air pulling on the bar. So if you see something like 20M/20A it mans 20lbs of mass(weight) added plus 20 pounds of Air resistance added.

Soft tissue work

Linear movement prep and power work with the high school athletes about 25 minutes. Mini band work, marches, skips, dynamic stretches, loaded harness work, sled work and some plyos

A1. Cleans from the hang 20kgs 4 30 kgs 4 , 4 50kgs 3,3,3 - got a tip on keeping a better core and putting the rib cage down, power instantly went up a shit load

A2. Glute bridges and planks on the power plate, as well as psoas activation with a band

B1. Front Squat 135 x 5 135M/50A 5 , 5 135M/85A x 3 felt great, back doesn't hurt either because I kept my pillar

B2. Pull up 40lb vest 6 , 6 , 6, 53Air Iso Hold at the top for 30 seconds- this was a fucking smoker

B3. Stir the pot with feet up on power plate for better activation 3 sets of 30 seconds with 6 ciricles each way

ESD
4 30 second sprints on woodway curve with 140 HR recovery in between. got up to 14.8 Mph tonight. I know I have a lot more left in the tank, just seeing how the ankle responds.

9 minutes of cold pluge at 50 degrees afterwards. Feeling good and well feed.

Up to 185 right now.

Catching up

It has been a real busy week at work. I have some new goals to reach before the end of the year. Ill post them after the workout logs.

Tuesday:
Foam
Stretch: Ham, hip flxr, bretzel, calf
Joint Mob, Hips, T spine
Activation, Clams hip abd, Power plate Plank, GB
Prep Miniband In/outs, onster walks, staggered Dynamic Chunking, Knee hug to leg craddle, to SL RDL, worlds greatest, and Goblet on Power Plate

Drop Squats x 5
Drop Squats to Jump x 5
Get ups 20kg 1/1 28kg 1/1
A1. SL Rdl 55lb Db 5/5 +20lb Vest 8/8 5/5
A2. HP Doubles 28kg 8 6 24kg 8
A3. Side Plank on Power Plate hip Adb 10/10 Side Bend 12/12

Thursday
Foam
Activation
Prep SL Squats on power plate

A1. SL Squat 10lb 8/8 30lb 5/5 5/5 50lb 8/8
A2. Body Saw with valslides on Power plate 20lb vest 10 , 8 TRX Fall out 10
A3. TRX Row 20lb/10Air 10 30Mass 10, 10

ESD:

Swings
Double 24kgs 5 sets of 8 in 5 minutes
2hand 40kg 5x8 in 5 minutes
1hand swiung 24kg 3 sets of 8 each side done in 5 minutes

Friday
Foam roll
Lateral movement drills 25 minutes

A1. Trx Push up 25Air 10 41 watss 35Air 8 20m/15A 8

A2. Suitcase Carries 60lb 45 yards 3 sets each side

A3. GHRIC BW 8 , 5 , 5

B1. Pull up Iso hold at top 30Air 30 seconds hold

ESD

Versa Climber starting at 75 feet per minute increasing 15 feet pe minute up to 185 feet per minute. I was smoked from the week

Saturday;
Foam
Shoulder Mob
Linear
MB in/out, forward, backward, staggered
Marches, skips

Grannie Vertical Throw 8lb Ball x 5 reps

BB Snatch Bar x 5 20kg 5,5 30kg 5 , 5
DL 185 x 5 270 x 5 325 x 5 365 5 , 5 - first time doing conventional in a couple years

Sled Work 45lb plate 5 20yard runs with about 25 seconds in between
Bike 10 mins at 135 plus HR for cardiac out put

Goals:
Gain 10 pounds of muscle
Lower body comp - hover around 9-11%
100lb Pull up - Currently 85
100lb SL Squat for 3-5 reps - Currently at 75
Clean 1.5x Body weight - Currently around 215
Score 18+ on FMS - Hover around 17
Run 40 yard dash in the 4's - never tested it.

Day 1

First day of new program of split. Felt great especially after 10 hours of work. Lots of new stuff in my movement prep involving power plate. Also tried Cleans with my new Adidas P2s.

Foam Roll - glutes, hips, quads and back
Stretches, Hip flxrs with band flossing, Rib pull with arm reach to bretzel
Activation - Clams with green band , hip abduction , planks with arm reach on Power Plate, Single Leg glute bridges on power plate , Mini band in/outs, monster walks
Prep Knee hug to SL RDL, Goblet squat on power plate

Get ups( with windmill at top) 20kg 1/2 , 28jg 1/2

A1. Squat Cleans from Hang 30kg 4 , 4 , 40kg 3 , 3

A2. Hip Flxr Activation Green Band 8/8 , 8/8

B1. Front Squat 135 x 5 185 x 5 , 1858/15 pounds of Air resistance 4 , 185 - 4

B2. Body Saw Push Up postion hands on Power plate 30mhz 6, 6 , 4 - this smoked my cored. I haven't felt activation like that in a long time

B3. Pull ups 40lb Vest - 5,5,4 Iso hold at top

ESD

85% effort on Woodway curve for 30 seconds waiting till 65 HR Recovery Between rounds

5 rounds

Feeling good.

Pushy

Did a little ankle mobility test today.

The test was dorsiflexion wall test Left 4 inches Right 4 inches

Than I did the a calf mobility drill I got from Kstar video here



2 minutes each side

Retest Left 4.5 inches Right 4.5 Inches

Than Ankle distraction or what kstar calls "flossing" , the band drill in this video. I used a cook band attached to door frame



30 reps each leg band both front and backwards

Retest Left 4.75 Inches Right 4.75 inches

Good stuff ankles felt mobile, I would need them for upcoming pistols

Foam roll
Ankle Mob
Hip Mob

Progression to straight arm Val slide body saw 8,5,4

A1. Pistols 16kg 3/3 3/3 3/3
A2. 1 Arm Push up 2/2 2/2 2/2

Indian Club work Prep 1 10/10 Movement #1 10/10 10/10 Double Prep 1 20

16kg 15:15 v02 max snatch protocol 5 reps 30 minutes total.

Nice easy workout to finish the week. Moving tomorrow

Check out Kelly Starrette's awesome daily blog, lots of great mobility exercises to make you a better human.

http://www.mobilitywod.com/

Random workout

I've spent all week getting school work done before the semester ends. Sitting in a chair for hours fucking sucks.

I tried this upper body workout today I got from Charles Poliquin's blog. Just wanted to move some today. I also did some MovNat inspired stuff outside which was fun.

Foam Roll

Get ups 16kg 1/1 24kg 1/1

A1. Pull up 16kg 5 reps Rest 10 seconds
A2. Chin Up 16kg To failure 6 reps Rest 120 seconds
A3. Double KB row 24kgs 6 rest 120s

Done for total of 3 rounds Good pump and fun change of pace.

Here is the article from Poliquin's blog.


http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8144074345025074044

Also I've done something I never thought I would do and that is Make a twitter account. I still don't have anything important to say, but if you're bored enough Add me @AdeptJosh

When I get a new cell phone next month I will put up more videos of demonstrations. My current camera isn't very good and the sound quality is worse.

SL Dls and Presses

Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep - super joints and get ups

SL RDL Double 24kgs 5x5

Press Ladders (1,2,3,4,5) x 2 with singe 28kg - These felt really heavy today. Called it to stay fresh

As many rounds as possible in 20 mins
Double 24kg Swings x 5
2 Hand Swings 28kg x 10

10 rounds.

This altitude is killer. I take it for granted when adapted to it. Circuits tomorrow.

Top Hip Speed Prep

I'm posting a video from Rob Williams "kinetic Guru", from Organic Strength Development. I met Rob in providence this year and he is a a really down to earth, intelligent guy. IN this video he is going over prep for high speed and acceleration. I really love the hip flexor stretch with clam shell modification he has presented. Ill be adding that because it offers more bang for buck than normal stretch.

Back at it again

I spent all day Monday traveling, to get back home to Arizona. sitting for 5 hours on a plan plus another 2 hour shuttle really sucks. Your body and posture just don't feel good. I did some nice stretching that night and trained yesterday with kettle bells.

I was in Maryland for about 9 weeks at sea level. Now back in northern AZ, I'm at about 5100 feet. I have to get use to the altitude again. Decided to get a bunch of EDT(Escalating Density Training) in just to change things up. Going for time instead of a fixed number of sets

Foam Roll
Tissue work on psoas and hip flxrs
Stretch - hip flxr , bretzel, hamstring
Prep - clams, hip abductions, miniband in/outs

As many rounds in 10 mins- not really rushing, this was still part of my prep - 3 rounds
A1.Get ups 16kg 2/2
A2. Ab Wheel x 5


As many rounds in 20 mins 9 rounds
Double 24kg Clean and Front squat x 5
Double 24kg KB Row x 5

This one was really tiring, I could definitely see myself getting tired a lot faster from the higher altitude. Took a 3 hour break after this to get some school work done

16kg v02 max snatch protocol 15/15 5 reps - 25 mins - Just wanted light load to work on snatch skills. HR hovered around 165-172. I find if I can get cardio is the body adapts faster to the altitude.

Also been doing about 40 body weight pulls ups spread out through out the days I've. I got a great mental image from Charles Staley's Website about better lat activation in the pull up.

A better cue, which helps to recruit the bigger, more powerful lats, is to think about driving your elbows down to your ribcage. Not only does this cue encourage lat contraction, it’s also less daunting to imagine driving your elbows down, than it is to imagine pulling yourself up.

It is such a minuet detail, but I swear it helps make a difference. Especially if you aren't getting as much lat activation as you should be during pull ups.

Final Testing

Friday:

Foam Roll
Stretch
Activaion
Prep

A1. Trap Bar DL 135 x5 225 x 3 315 x 1 405 x 1 455 x 1 175 x 1 505 0/3 - I got it about 3 inches above the ground but couldn't finish it

A2. Squat Jumps 2 sets of 3 after last 2 warm ups for a potentiation effect

B1. Overhead Press 24kg x 1 32kg x 1 40kg x 1/1 - They did not have a 44kg but I bet I could of pressed it that day. The 48kg I cleaned but could not press.

mobility session today

Foam Roller
Stretch - hip flexor, external hip rotators, hamstring
Prep

FMS shoulder mobility corrections - starting from mobility to static stability to dynamic stability
Croc Breath - 20
Rib Pull with reach
Armbars 16kg
SL DL contra lateral 16kg 8/8
TRX Row
Overhead reach with Band

Goblet squat 60 second holds and prys 24kg 3 sets

Called it a day saving up to finish testing tomorrow.

End of Summer testing

Yeseterday:

I had a nice 3 day break from training. Its easy to forget how important enough rest and recovery really is to making gains.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Glute activation
Prep

A1. T Spine Mobility

A2. Get UPs 24kg 1/1 1/1

B1. Hang Clean 95 x 4 135 x 5 185 x 3 205 x 1 , 1

B2. Squat Jumps 3, 3 Did them on my last sets for some potentiaion effect. I was definitely jumping higher after those heavy cleans.

C1. Front Squat 185 x 3 225 x 1 255 x 1 285 x 1 305 x 1 (PR)

D1. Chin up BW x 3 45 x 3 70 x 1 90 x 1 125 x 1 , 1 (PR0

E1. Pull up BW x 3 45 x 1 85 x 1 , 1

ESD:

6 Airdyne Mile sprints



4 Weeks ago I tested the following lifts for a 1 rep max.

Front Squat 275: Now 305
Chin up 115: Now 125
Pull up 80 : Now 85

I'm about 1-2 pounds heavier than I was when I tested a month ago. Really happy so far with the results. During this intensive phase I was also experimenting with Intermittent Fasting following the www.leangains.com template.

I think front squatting twice a week really helped me good patterning down. The movement became easier. I did not do any pull ups during this month because I wanted to see If I got stronger in chin ups would it carry over to pull ups.

Tomorrow Ill test trap bar and Overhead Press.

Front Squat Video:

Yeseterday:

I had a nice 3 day break from training. Its easy to forget how important enough rest and recovery really is to making gains.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Glute activation
Prep

A1. T Spine Mobility

A2. Get UPs 24kg 1/1 1/1

B1. Hang Clean 95 x 4 135 x 5 185 x 3 205 x 1 , 1

B2. Squat Jumps 3, 3 Did them on my last sets for some potentiaion effect. I was definitely jumping higher after those heavy cleans.

C1. Front Squat 185 x 3 225 x 1 255 x 1 285 x 1 305 x 1 (PR)

D1. Chin up BW x 3 45 x 3 70 x 1 90 x 1 125 x 1 , 1 (PR0

E1. Pull up BW x 3 45 x 1 85 x 1 , 1

ESD:

6 Airdyne Mile sprints



4 Weeks ago I tested the following lifts for a 1 rep max.

Front Squat 275: Now 305
Chin up 115: Now 125
Pull up 80 : Now 85

I'm about 1-2 pounds heavier than I was when I tested a month ago. Really happy so far with the results. During this intensive phase I was also experimenting with Intermittent Fasting following the www.leangains.com template.

I think front squatting twice a week really helped me good patterning down. The movement became easier. I did not do any pull ups during this month because I wanted to see If I got stronger in chin ups would it carry over to pull ups.

Tomorrow Ill test trap bar and Overhead Press.

Front Squat Video:

Press Ladders

Yesterday:

Lots of shoulder work

Foam Roll
Stretch
Glute Act
Prep

Shoulder Mobility work:
Crock Breath - 20 breathes
Rib Pull with Arm reach
Arm Bars
Ring Row
Over Head Reach with band

A1. Indian Club work movement # 1 10/10 10/10
A2. Windmills 16kg 3/3 3/3

Press Ladders 28kg (1,2,3,4) x 5

32kg Snatch practice 50 reps

24kg Snatch 50 reps - hands torn from 32kg had to stop

Versa Climber 5 turns of resistance 20/40 x 8

Day 3

Foam Roll
Stretch
Glute activation
Movement Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8

A2. Linear Skips 6/6 6/6

B1. Glute Ham Raise Iron Cross with Band assistance 10, 8, 8

B2. Chops 35 Tall 10/10 1/2 Kneeling 10/10

C1. Pistol 16kg 3/3 3/3 3/3 R3

C2. Lifts 30 Tall 10/10 1/2 Kneeling 10/10

D1. 1 Arm Push up 4/4 4/4 3/3

D2. Double KB Rows 24kg 10,10,11

Sled Work
6 plates 6 20yard sprints

10 plates 4 35yard Reverse Sled Drags

More glutes!

Had some graston done on the iliosacral, top of the pelvis in the back. Man it felt good and my hip mobility was awesome today.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep - Started adding clams, hip abductions and mini band work again. I need to do a better job of activating and waking up my glutes in my prep. I feel they haven't been contributing enough lately. Definitely paid off today I moved a lot better.

Rib Pull with Reach
Armbars 16kg 1/1

Goblet Squat prys - I wnet real deep today keeping a straight spine. Go go Graston

FMS Ankle 8/8

RRFESS Jumps 6/6 10lb vest 6/6 - form is getting a lot better with these, more power to.

A1. Hang Power Cleans 95 4 145 4 4

B1. Front Squat 95 5 185 5 195 5 5 5 5 - Felt really good. I gotta remember to almost choke myself with the bar, it needs to be that far back on the shoulders

B2. 1 Arm Chin up practice off hand using towel about 1 foot down. 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3 3/3

B3. Barbell Roll out 95 7 6 5 5 5

Psoas activation green miniband 8/8 8/8

ESD

Agility Ladder

Linear 6 times
Lateral 6 times
Switch 6 times
in/out 6 times
Bounds 6 times

Second round each done 4 times total time 18 minutes including recovery. Hard stuff, felt good and agil though. First time doing that since ankle injury 4 months ago. Movin like a cat.

Day 2 Back to MART format

Yesterday

3D breath
Foam Roller
Flexibility
Movement Prep

A1. Glute Bridges

A2. Turn Jumps on 24inch box 4/4 4/4 , Single Leg 90 turn jumps clockwise 2 x 4/4 each side Counter clockwise 2 x 4/4 each side

Shoulder correctives/prep for pressing
Crock Breath 20 breath
Rib Pull with arm reach
Arm Bar
Overhead reach with Band

B1. Get ups 24kg 1/1 1/1

C1. Hamstring Stretch 8/8 8/8

C2. SL DL Double 32kg 8/8 +20lb Vest 8/8 + 10lb vest 8/8

C3. OHP 24kg 8 28kg 8 24kg 8

C4. Side plank 10lbs Adductors 12/12 20lb vest 2 sets of 10/10

D1. Hip Flxr Stretch on box with reach 5/5 5/5 5/5

D2. Leg Curl 45 8 70 8 , 8

D3. Incline DB 45 Degree Bench 65 Single Arm 8 60 Alternating 8/8 Doubles 8

D4. Suitcase Carry 32kg 40 yards 3 sets each arm

ESD

Double swings all 8 reps sets done in 8:30 total time 24kg 28kg 32kg 32kg 28kg 28kg

9 minute circuit. Start exercise at the top of every minute
Double 24s
Snatches 7
Front Squats 7
Cleans 7

Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 sets each. This was one had my HR soaring.

Finisher:

Tabatta Airdyne 20/10 x 8 - Brutal

Good day for shoulder mobility

3D breath
Foam Roll
Stretch - hamstrings and neck

FMS shoulder sequence mobility progressing to stability
Crocodile Breath - Mobility -20 breathes
Rib Pulls - mobility
Rib Pulls with Arm reaching - Mobility - making sure to take deep diaphragmatic breaths at end range
Arm Bars with side lying press 16kg 1/1 - Static Stability
SL DL 16kg Contra Lateral and Ipsy Lateral 8/8 - Static Stability
TRX Row 10 - Dynamic Stability
Overhead Band with reach 2 sets of 8 - Dynamic Stability

Shoulders definitely sat farther back after this. Hopefully it sticks.

Glute Ham Raise Iron Cross 3 , 3 ,3 Didn't use a assist band this time, getting better

ESD

30 Minute Airdyne AVg HR 154 Distance 9.56 MI

Overall nice easy day.

Yesterday:

Was feeling flat today. Took it easy with the intensity and volume. I want to keep the intensity low this week so I can be fresh to test some movement next week.

3d Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

A2. Squat Jumps 6 6

B1. T spine rotations

B2. Get ups 24kg 1/1 1/1

C1. Hang Power Cleans 95 3 115 3 185 3 1 - Was not feeling very explosive.

D1. Front Squat 185 3 235 1 205 5 5

D2. Chin ups BW x 3 45 3 80 5, 4 60 5

D3. Plank first 2 sets static holds last to sets with arm reach 5/5 , Last set diagonal arm and leg lift 5/5

E1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

E2. SL Squat 30lb 8/8 60lb 5/5

E3. TRX Row BW x 8 30lbx 8 , 8

E4. Body Saw 30lb 10 10 10

Might be time for some Weight lifting shoes for my Olympic lifts. I can't do the full version without getting into massive posterior tilt in the bottom of the squat. Its that or stick to the hang power version.

No ESD today

Dynamic Movement Chunking

Dyanmic Movement Chunking is where you add several movements into a continious chain that becomes one long movement. I've been playing around with this in my warm ups. A lot of the movements I have been doing for at least two years and its fun to find ways to progress them. It also saves on time and becomes presents more of a challenge. I first got this Idea form JJ Bonyai and Ill be adding different combinations.

One critique is to do a better job keeping the neck packed. Something to be conscious off and hopefully it becomes reflexive.



Knee Hug to SL DL to Reverse Lunge with Reach to Power Push off

Great Strength Coach Podcast segment

http://strengthcoachpodcast.typepad.com/the_strength_coach_podcas/2011/07/neck-packing-and-to-stretch-or-not-to-stretch-with-charlie-weingroff-episode-85.html

Great Segment today with Charlee on packing the neck. The guy is really intelligent and does a great job explaining the importance of stability throughout all of the spine.

Some presses

Definitely feeling flat and tight today. I wanted to leave in the middle of warming up but I figured I was already there at the very least I should get some movement in.

3D breath - crucial for getting the body to relax
Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. Armbars with side lying press 16kg 2/2 2/2 - Took my time with these. Diaphragmatic breathing into the press trying to let the kettle bell sink deeper into the stretch

B1. Get Mills with Bar bell 45 1/3 65 1/2

B2. T spine mobility

C1. Barbell Hang Power Snatch - 65 x 4 95 x 4 , 4 , - Just wanted to stay in touch with the movement

C2. Planks - Stick on back making 3 points of contact. Holding with a packed neck and 3D breath 35 seconds 1 set

D1. Press Ladders Double 28kgs (1,2,3) x 5 ladders for 30 reps total - Finished in 13:58 - Triceps were already sore from push ups yesterday.

ESD

5 minute snatch test 24kg - 4:09 - can't get a PR every time :). Part of me wanted to see how many more I could get in the last 51 seconds. Wasn't the day to push it.

Versaclimb 30/60 x 5 rounds Resistance 5.5 turns - Wow, first time using this thing and its a smoker. Wish I got into it earlier. Ill definitely be using it more now.

Fun day 3

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch - Neck, Calfs, Hip Flxrs, Quads, Front Split, Bretzel
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

A2. Linear Skips 8/8 8/8, Linear Bounds 8/8

B1. Trap Bar DL 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 x 5 365 x 5 - wanted to keep it light today

C1. Glute Ham Raise with Iron Cross and band assistance 8, 8 , 12 - Getting better at these. Made some adjustments on the machine with the foot plate.

C2. Chops 30lbs Tall 10/10 Narrow 1/2 Kneeling 10/10

D1. Pistols 20kg 2/2 24kg 2/2 32kg 1/1 24kg 2/2 - Been a while

D2. Lifts 30lb Tall 10/10 Narrow 10/10

E1. 1 Arm Push up(naked warrior style) 3/3 3/3 4/4
SuperSets
E2. Double KB Row 24kg 12 , 10 , 8

ESD

Sled Work

Sprint Pushes 4 plates 20 yards 4x

10 plates 1 Push 40YD
3 sets of Rev Drags for 40yards.


Get some snatches in tomorrow.

Easy day

Hamstrings are torched from yesterday. Just needed to move a bit, reinforce some patterns and get some conditioning in. I know if I take today off my hamstrings aren't going to feel better for tomorrow. Blood flow for the win.

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch - Lots of hamstring stretches
Prep

A1. Armbars with side laying press 16kg 2/2 - help stretch out the pecs from yesterday

A2. Goblet squat prys

B1. FMS Anke 8/8 8/8

B2. RFESS Jumps 6/6 6/6 - I really like these. Definitely looking good, will add weight soon

C1. Hang Power Cleans 95 4 115 4 135 4 155 4 4 - felt easy

D1. Front Squat 185 5 195 5 5 5

D2. Towel chin ups Bw x 5 25lb plate on dip belt 7 7 6 45 plate no towels 6 max ISO hold at the top

D3. Barbell Ab roll outs 65 9 85 6 65 6 4

ESD - Circuit training
Burpees 25 seconds
L Sits on KBs 25 seconds
Airdyne Sprint 25 secpmds
rest 75 seconds
Swings 24kg 25 seconds
Planks 25 seconds
MB Slams Stable pill just arms 8k ball 25 seconds
Rest 75 seconds

Whole cycle going continuous for 3 rounds

Felt great to get some circuit power training in. I haven't done it in a while, forgot how much of a killer it can be . I like to sandwich the ISO metrics as an active rest. It doesn't feel like rest because it forces you to breath through a brace while tired.

I've been troubling shooting my squats. Low back has been a little sore from going to far deep i think. I was going well below parallel. To the point my ass was tucking at the bottom putting me into spinal flexion. After some video taping and tweaks I can get about an inch below parallel before my butt goes under. Now I just need to learn what it feels like and just hit that depth . I also need to make sure to do this in the squat cleans because I think that dynamic part is putting stress on low back . That is also why I only did the concentric power cleans today to leave that eccentric portion out of it.

Feeling strong in the SL RDL

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. 90 turn jumps on 18 inch box 5/5 , 5/5

A2. Glute Bridges 5 5

B1. T Spine Mobility Upper 1/4 8/8 Lower 1/4 8/8

B2. Get Mills 24kg 1get up 3 windmills at top each side 1/3

C1. Hamstring Drop

C2. SL RDL Band x 5 2 32kgs plus 20lb vest 8/8 8/8 added 10 lb vest for last set 8/8 (PR)

C3. Side Planks 25 plate on Hip Top let on bench bottom leg doing hip adduction 10/10 , Bottom Leg on Bench top leg doing hip ABDuction 12/12 , Addiction again 12/12

C4. OHP Double 28kg x 3 36kgL32kgR x 2/2 36kgR32kgL x 2/2 , 28kg 2-1 press Up and Down 1 rep 2 sets, Each set lasted about 50 seconds

D1. Hip Flxr Stretch 5/5 5/5

D2 Leg Curl on Slideboard 70lbs of plates 7 , 7 , 8

D3. DB Flat Bench Single 85 - 8/8 Alternating 80 8/8 Doubles 8/8 20 second hold at the top of last rep

D4. Suitcase Carry 28kg 80ft each side for 2 sets, Last set 16kg Waiters Bottoms up 80ft per side

Felt strong today. I've started doing a QL stretch for my right side. I think its a tight because I have a harder time getting it to activate during side planks and carry's. Stretch seems to be helping.

No ESD today, was smoked from trying to go through that workout with as little rest possible, which kept my HR up. Ill get some conditioning in tomorrow.

Mobility day

Croc Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. Goblet prys

A2. Talus tracking drill for ankle

B1. Arm Bars with side lying press before and after 16kg 4/4 , 4/4 These felt great. I was able to really let my arm drop in the side lying press. Diaphragmatic breathing really helps with this.

B2. Pec soft tissue work with spikey ball

C1. Correcting a get up problem. with my right arm up I've noticed there hesitation when pushing up to my elbow. I've been meaning to work on correcting this. Seems to stem from a tightness in my Right ILS muscles along the erectors. So I foam rolled it than trx lat stretch than worked on that part of the get up. Did this for about 4 cycles and it seemed to fix the problem. Not as smooth as the other side but Definitely an improvement. When I would go heavy this asymmetric difference would really show itself .

D1. Spikey ball on hip flxrs

D2 Hip flxr stretch

D3. Full hip thrust - feet and shoulders elevated 8 , 8

E1. GHR with band assistance with Iron Cross ( thanks Ben Bruno) - 4 4 4

ESD 30 minute Airdyne 9.96 MI covered AVG HR 158

5 minutes of stretching and diaphragmatic breathing afterwards (cool down). Trying to promote parasympathetic activation.

Just wanted to move and work on correctives today. Was feeling flat from yesterday and didn't want to not do anything and get tight. Overall good active recovery session. Hamstrings/glutes were tight from swings yesterday so I wanted to get some involvement to promote blood flow because tomorrow will be all glute and hams.

Squatty

After talking to my Chiro and doing some assessments, it turns out that my lack of internal hip rotation particularly on the right side where it is non existent. He suspects this might be from a bone deformity in the hip rather than tight muscles. He did some ART on the rotator's and it still didn't loosen up. Were are going to try some Graston on Thursday to see if that does anything. It is kind of a relief to know that it might be out of my control. I've been doing some stretches on it for a while with no real gains of improvement. If that is the case Ill have to adjust my training accordingly. Pretty much have to be careful with rotational power movements. If I don't get any IR in the standing MB tosses than the rotation will come from my lumbar which is not what we want. So I might only use Half kneeling as that doesn't see to promote lumbar twist. Also allowing myself to squat with the toes out a bit will be another adjustment. Keeping the feet completely straight seems to be the end range of my internal hip rotation and my right foot always seems to turn out as I get the bottom. It is just another example of how we are all shaped a little differently and don't all operate within the same parameters, sometimes.

3D breath
Foam
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS anke 8/8

A2. Squat Jumps - Counter movement with single response 5 , 5 Linear Power Skips 6/6

B1. Get Mills 24kg 1/3 - I like this to mobilize the spine for squats

B2. T spine mobility extension, upper 1/4 ( uni lateral external rotation of shoulder with thoracic rotation. )

C1 Hang Squat Cleans 95 1(4 Front Squats) 4 145 4 ,4 , 4

A1. Front Squats 185 x 5 225 x 3 255 x 2 225 x 3, 3 , 3 , 3

A2. Chin Ups BW x 3 90 x 2 70 x , 5 , 5 ,4 , 2

A3. Linear Plank with Arm Raises 5/5 , 5/5 , 5/5

B1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

B2. SL Squat 24lbs 8/8 54 lbs 6/6 6/6

B3. TRX Row BW x 7 30lb 7 40lb 8, 7 30lb Hold at the top for 15 seconds

B4. Body Saw Slide Board 45 lb plate at feet with 30lb vest on 8 8 7

ESD Swing Show- 15 sets in 25 minutes
Doubles
24kg x 8
28kg x 8
32kg x 8 , 8
28kg x 8
2 Hand
48kg 10,10,10,10,10
1 Hand
32kg 8/8 8/8 8/8

Finished with 2 minutes left, New PR.

Today felt great. Tomorrow some glute stuff and get ups.

Light and Easy Saturday

I did a Self FMS Screen before I warmed up to see where I was at. This is difficult for a couple reason.s First you need to be able to see yourself in multiple angles. This requires either several mirrors or a camera to tape yourself during the movements. Its hard to look at yourself in mirrors without throwing off your movement. It also requires you to be very objective with yourself and honest about where you at as far as movement goes. A good exercise in suppressing the Ego. I did the best I could in both areas and the results were as follows:

Deep Squat: 2
Hurdle Step: R 3 L 3
Inline Lunge: Left 2 R 3 - I couldn't get my right heel all the way down when the left foot was forward. At first I thought it was a tight calf muscle but I've been stretching them diligently for the past month almost every day. I'm beginning to think it is a lack of internal hip rotation. Though I can't isolate parts out of the movement. It is a faulty pattern I need to work on correcting.
Shoulder Mobility: Hand Length 8.5 L : 8.5 R : 8 Had someone measure this for me.
Active Straight Leg Raise L 3 R 3
Trunk Stability Push up 3
Rotary Stability L 3 R 3

Total score 19/21 this is the highest I've ever scored. However i'm still skeptical because it was a self screen. Hard to get the right angles to see with the Rotary Stability test but I was able to complete the movement. I would say RS and SM might be twos, I told the person how to measure the SM but you never know unless the person is FMS trained. So worst cause i'm at a 17 which is still very good. If I can clean up the In Line Lunge pattern I can get a 3 on the deep squat. I can do it when I'm warmed up.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle

A2. Lateral Bounds 8/8 8/8

B1. Cross over skipps adductor emphasis 8/8 abductior emphasis 8/8

C1. Internal Hip Rotation Stretch

C2. Med Ball throw Lateral 1/2 Kneeling 8kg ball 8/8 Standing 8/8

FMS shoulder tracking drills 8/8 8/8

Worked on some kettle bell jerks with light weight.

KB Circuit from Jon Engram
5 minute snatch test 28kg 93
Get up 1L/1R 1 24kg Chin up
1/1 Get up 2 24kg chin ups
1/1 Get up 3 24kg Chin ups
1/1 Get up 4 24kg Chin ups
1/1 Get up 5 24kg Chin ups

Total time 16:30

Just to mess around with a idea I read from The russian kettlebell challenge by Pavel. Called the "2-1". Basically go up two inches in the press than down one, all the way to full lock out. Fun stuff and helps build strength through the sticking points. Also increases total time under tension. I definitely want to try this more.

Double KB press
24kg 3 sets of 1 2-1 rep each
28kg 1 set of 1 2 - 1 rep.




The circuit went well. I was suppose to snatch with a 24kg. Half way through the snatch test I realized i was snatching a 28kg not a 24kg. It was funny because i'm thinking damn I must be burnt out this is heavy and a lot harder than last week. But I finished strong and got a PR with the 28kg. I know I can get 100 If i'm prepared for it. I also wrapped a towel around the KB when transitioning from get ups to chin ups. I don't want the dip belt chain to ruin the coating on the kettlebell. That ate up a little time. I know I can finish faster but that is pretty good for not stopping. Rest tomorrow, big lift on monday.

Skip to my Lou

Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8

A2. Light Broad Jumps 5 reps

B1. Linear Power Skips 8/8 8/8 8/8 - these were so fun, ankle felt great.

C1. Trap Bar DL 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 x 3 405 x 1 435 x 3 405 x 3, 3

D1. Rows- SL Row 28kg 7/7 3 point Row 32kg 8/8 Double KB Row 32kg 5/5 28kg 6/6

D2. Chops 30LB Tall 10/10 Narrow Stance 10/10 Standing 10/10

E1. Walking Lunges 2 16kgs 72 feet plus 20lb Vest 72ft plus another 10lb vest 72 feet

E2. Push Up Variations on slideboard BW 1 Arm lateral fall outs 6/6 1Arm Linear Fallouts with 20kb vest 8/8 1Arm Lateral Fallouts 30lb vest 8/8

E3. Lifts 25lb Tall 10/10 Narrow 10/10 standing 10/10

ESD Sled Work

Sprint PUshes 4 plates total 20 yard x 4

Heavy work 8 plates total 50yard increments 2 Pushes 1 Reverse Drag 1 Normal Drag

Felt Great today. Going to mess around with some kettlebell circuits tomorrow. More skippin!

Easy day

3D Breath
Foam
Stretch
Prep

Random work today

Goblet Squat Prys

Arm Bars

OH Squats with dowel on 10lb plates

Hip Roc ks


Glute Ham Raises with Level 2 Cook Band assistance 5,5 - Getting better at these

ESD

Airdyne Miles

M1. 2:34 HR 174 Recovery 1:30

M2. 2:33 HR 180 R 1:30

M3. 2:20 HR 183 1:50

M4. 2:40 HR 187 2:00

M5. 2:31 HR 185


Really happy with my recovery time. Big improvement since I did Airdyne Mile sprints over a month ago.

Heavy trap bar Deads and sled work tomorrow hopefully.

PR in SL RDL

Last days it has been over 100 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Its been Real hot. Definitely effects me in my workouts despite drinking over a gallon.

Yesterday

3D Breath
Foam
Stretch - Use gym boss to do 30 second intervals. Trying to be more accurate.
Prep FMS Shoulder Arm Bars Spikeball on delts

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

A2. RFESS Jumps 8/8 8/8 - this things rock your quads.

B1. Get Mills With Barbell 45 pound bar 1/3 65 1/3 85 1/3 each side

B2. T Spine Mobility - Foam Roller Extensions, Upper 1/4 Lower 1/4

C1. Y's 8/8

C2. Hang Snatch 85 - 3 , 4 , 4 95 4,4,4

D1. FMS Leg Lower 8/8 8/8

D2. SL RDL Band x 5 2 32kgs 5/5 2 32kg plus 20lb vest 5/5 2 32kgs plus 40lb vest 5/5 PR!

D3. Side Plank Foot on 18inch Box Adductor lowers 12/12 Abduction 12/12 Adduction with 20lb Vest 12/12

D4. OHP 2 24kg 3 2 32kg 3 2 28kg 8 1 32kg 3/3 - Upper body was tired from the get ups and snatches. Lesson learned

E1. Hip Flxr 5/5 5/5

E2. Leg Curl BW 8 45lb Plate 7, 8

E3. DB Bench Single Arm 85 - 5/5 , Alternating 95 5/5 Doubles 100 3/3

NO ESD, to tired and hot

I am really trying to push strength gains in the SL RDL.

Random Day, Patterning

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Stretch - Calf, Hip Flxrs, Front Split, Neck, Bretzel
Prep: Spiderman, Goblet Prys, Armbars, Hip Flxr activation with Cook band,

A1. Depth Jump off 12 inch box to Squat Jump 5 , 5

B1. Hang Squat Cleans 95 4 115 4 , 4 135 3 3

C1. Front Squats 185 5x5

C2. Mini Band Squats 2 blues to work on correcting valgus

Random: Barbel AB Roll out 95 pounds 8 reps , pretty easy

D1. Glute Ham Raise 4 , Band Assisted 4 5 - Just wanted to try them out today. The machine they have is awkward and is either to short or to long for my tibia length. The foot plate is a little far from the foot pads as well.

E1. Spikey Ball tissue work on hip flxrs

E2. Hip Flxr Stretch 15 second holds

E3. Hip thrust off bench Single Leg Holds. 15/15 each leg x 2 per set, 2 sets total

15:15 v02 Max Snatch with 24kg 5 reps per work period 20 minutes HR 183

I wanted to do some sled work but need to leave something for tomorrow.

Day 1

3D Breath
Foam roll
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8

A2. Squat Jumps Counter movemet 5 Rapid response 5

B1. T Spine Rotation Extension , Upper 1/4 , Lower !/4

B2. Get Mills 24kg 1/3 36kg 1/3

C1. Squat Cleans from Hang 95 4 115 4 135 4 , 4,4,4

D1. Front Squat 185 5 225 3 245 3 225 3 , 3

E1. Chin Up Bw x 3 80 3 ,3,3,3,3

E2. Linear Plank using dowel as 3 point feedback Arm Rais to Y 5/5 , 5/5 From Push UP position Opposite Leg and Arm Raise 4/4

F1. FMS Ankle 8/8 8/8 8/8

F2. SL Squat 44lbs 5/5 54 5/5 44 "1.5" Reps 5/5

F3. TRX Row 30lb 8 40 6 60 5

F4. Body Saw on Slide Board 30lb vest 8 , 8 Added 45 pound plate undert my feed to add more lat activation with the vest 10

ESD: Cardiac Output 30 Minute Airdyne Ride 15.29KM Distance AVG HR 160

Saturday with some Rotational work

3d Breath
Foam Roll
STretch
Prep

A1. Bretzel

A2. MB Toss Lateral 1/2 Kneeling 3kg ball rapid response 8/8 Standing 4kg ball 8/8 , 8/8 - I need to find a good internal hip rotation exercise to pair with this. T spine mobility isn't the problem anymore it seems.

Armbars 20kg 1/1 1/1 45 second hold

ESD

5 Minute Snatch Test with 24kg

Completed in 4:00 Flat. HR 175 New PR. This crushes my old PR by 55 seconds. I was so shocked considering I haven't been snatching to much. This time I decided to pass myself and try to go without putting the bell down. It involved me not going all out on the first 50 snatches.

Double Snatches 24kg
5 in 30second work period with 60 seconds rest for 5 rounds

Day 3 with lateral work

Friday's Workout:

3D Breath 50 Breathes
Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

Arm Bars 20 1/1 1/1

A1. Fms Ankle

A2. Lateral Bounds Stick 6/6 , 6/6 , 6/6
Medial Hurdle Hops 12 Inch Hurdles 5/5 5/5

B1. Leg Curl (TRX Body Curl) BW 8, 8 1lb Vest 8 , 8

B2. KB 1 Arm Row 24kg 8/8 28kg 8/8 32 kg 8/8 R 8 , 8

B3. Lifts 20lb Tall KNeeling 8/8 1/2 Kneeling 8/8 Narrow 1/2 8/8

C1. REv Lunge BW with Stick 8/8 10lb Vest 8/8 16kg Goblet 8/8

C2. TRX Push UP 1 Arm in Trx other on ground Explosve 8/8 1Arm Fall outs 8/8 10LB vest 6/6 Normal TRX PUshups with 60lb Vest 4

C3. Chops 30 pounds Tall 8/8 1/2 8/8 8/8

ESD 20 min Airdyne Avg HR 158 10.38 KM covered

Front Squats twice in one week!?

I want to do cleans and front squats twice a week to get my reps and patterning up. The intensities will be different. Trying to take a page out of the Bulgarian style of training that has been blowing up in the recent fitness blog communities. Except I'm not trying to max out on squats and Olympic lifts every day.

Foam Roll
Stretching
Prep

A1. FMS Hard Roll 3/3 , 3/3 , 3/3

A2. Arm Bar 16kg 1/1 1/1

B1. FMS Ankle 8/8

B2. 90 Degree rotational jumps on 18 inch box 5/5 , 5/5 , 5/5

B3. Side jumps 4 squares Square = Left, Backward, Right , Forward

C1. Cleans 95 5 , 5 , 5 , 5 115 3 , 3 - Working on patterning

D1. Front Squat 145 5 , 5 205 3 255 1 205 3

D2. Power Chin ups with band 1.75 inch thick perform better band 3, 3 , 3 , 3 ,3

D3. Suitcase Cary 28kg 45 yards each arm for 2 sets

E1. Shoulders Elevated Glute Bridge BW x 8 Using GI belt 1 16kg on either side for 70 LBs 6, 6, 7

E2. ARP Cook band Level 5 Tall Kneeling 8/8 , 8/8 , 8/8

ESD

KB Chain Double 24kg
Clean
Front Squat
Over head Press
Once through is 1 rep 5 reps = 1 set.

6 sets in 10 minutes

1 Arm Swing for 10 minutes Start at the top of every minute
8/8 For the first 2 minutes
6/6 for the last 8 minutes.

I got the power pull up ideas from Ben Bruno's blog post. I'm not at a plateau yet but It just seemed like a fun way to do pull ups.

Lasts of Tests

Foam Roll
Stretch
Movement Prep

A1. Fms Ankle 8/8

A2. Box Jumps 24 inch 6 , 6 , 6

B1. T Spine Mobility

B2. Get Mills 24kg 1/3 32kg 1/4

C1. Barbell Snatch from the ground bar x 5 95 x 4 85 3 , 4,3 - just wanted to get some patterning in, first time doing it from the floor.

D1. Trap Bar DL - Bar x 5 135 x 5 225 x 3 315 x 3 405 x 1 455 x 1 480 x 1 PR!

D2. Self Joint Hip Mobilization 2 sets

E1. Over Head Press 24kg x 3 32 x 1 36kg x 1 36kg 2/1 1 push press with slow eccentric for 2 sets each arm double 32kg x 4

F1. SL RDL Barbell Loading 145 x 5 175 x 5

F2. Side Plank - Hip Abduction 10/10 , Adduction 10/10

Cardio:

30 mins Airdyne 8.97 Miles AVerage HR 157 - Some nice boring steady state cardio to finish a grueling session.

Really happy with the Trap Bar DL. I haven't gone past 425 in 4 months. With the ankle injury I was just ot get back into it. Despite that I still managed a personal Best. I think I tested well in the front squat and trap bar because I have gotten so much stronger in my single leg accessory lifts like the sl squat and sl rdl.

Gym did not have a 40kg today. They don't have a 44kg but they do have a 48kg. I cleaned the 48kg but the press didn't go anywhere. I was pretty tired from the Dead Lifts so I just went with some slow eccentric work.

I've got some good base line numbers to work with and I'm hoping to top them in 3 weeks. I just have to managed my recovery but at the same time cause enough of a stimulus to create the desired strength adaptation.

Some light work tomorrow.

Great Test Day

I've decided to run some tests on a couple key movements to see where I am at. I want to retest again in mid august. I'm doing this for several reasons. I haven't test my lifts in a while and I need a good base line so I can program from there. Ill be starting my internship August 22nd and I know life will be hectic at first. Just trying to get use to a new schedule so I might not get all the lifting time in the world I am accustomed to. This also gives me objective data to compare to. I am going to go through an intensive strength program in 3 weeks before I retest again in August.

The Movements I am testing:
Front Squat
Trap Bar DL
Overhead Press
Chin Up and Pull up - I want to see the disparity between the two in terms of strength. I also plan on training the chin up for the next month because It allows me to use the most resistance. I want to retest the pull up along with the chin up to see if the strength will carry over despite not training that specific grip. I am attached to the pull up because it is harder and I will need to be very strong with it, if i want to do the RKC "beast tamer" challenge which requires a tactical pull up with the 48kg (106lb) KB.


The program for the next couple of weeks is going to be intuitive based training. Going on how I feel, pushing it when I know its a good day and backing off some when I'm not recovered. However the hope and Idea is to work within 85-90% of these max numbers and try to stimulate some good adaptation.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Joint Mob
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8

A2. Depth Jump to vertical jump drills 5, 5

B1. Cleans - 95 5 , 5 , 5 first time doing these since the ankle accident. I'm starting from the floor and working on good patterns. They felt great though and my timing wasn't to off. Great way to get the CNS ready for front squating.

C1. Front Squat 185 , 3 205 , 3 225 , 1 255 , 1 275 , 1 295 0/1 - 275 Flew up pretty easy so I wanted to give 295 a shot. Made it about half way and my spotter gave me the index finger push to help me finish it off. I won't count it though. So 275 is a good place to start at.

D1. Chin Up BW x 3 45 x 3 90 x 1 115 x 1

F1. Pull Up BW x 3 45 x 1 70 x 1 80 x 1 85 0/1 - With 85 chin got parallel with the bar. I wouldn't of counted it anyway cause I was doing the turtle neck thing.

G1. Stir the Pot - Bw 6/6 10lb Vest 7/7 30 LB Vest 7/7

G2. SL Squat BW with 24lb DBs x 5/5 , 64LB total weight 3/3, 74LB Total weight 5/5 (PR)

H1. Ring Row BW x 6 30lb Vest 7 , 8 ISO HOLD on last rep for 15 seconds , BW ISO hold for 30 as a finisher

H2. Body Saw 10LB Vest 8 30LB Vest 8 , 8 - This presents more of a challenge with the weight on the torso verse on the slide board. Puts more load on the trunk muscles to stay stable, while putting the weight at the feet seems to get more involvement, almost like a horizontal pull up. Both are pretty valid just depends on what you are trying to train.

ESD

500 Meter Row Sprints - I haven't rowed in over a year and I've been wanting to get back at it. Such a great way to conditioning. Recovery was about 2-3 minutes.

R1 - 1:37 HR 180
R2 - 1:44 HR 181
R3 - 1:45 HR 181
R4 - 1:47 HR 182

Nothing left in the tank after all the intervals and testing. I don't want to burn out my CNS too much because I still have to test the Trap Bar DL and OHP on wed.

Deload 5

#D Breath
Foam
Stretch
Joint Mob
Prep

A1. Bretzel

A2. MB lateral 1/2 kneeling toss Rapid Response 8/8 , 8/8

A3. Box Jump 24inch 8 , 8

B1. Trap Bar DL 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 x 5 335 x 5

B2. Chop 30LB Tall Kneeling 8/8 1/2 Kneeling 8/8 Standing 8/8

B3. Lifts 20LB Tall Kneeling 8/8 12 Kneeling 8/8 Standing 8/8

ESD

Prowler work
4 Plates Push 50 Yards, Reverse Drag Back
Recovery to 140 HR
6 Plates Push 50 Yards, Drag Back
Recover
6 Plates Push 50 Yards, Reverse Back
Recover
6 Plates Push 50 Yards, Drag Back

Sled work felt good. Was really working on mainlining good angles and a tight core. The prowlers is in a hallway that has smooth cement for a floor so traction is tricky. Still fun to push and drag heavy shit. I want to incorporate some more speed work as well.

Airdyne Steady Aerobic work 20 mins maintaining a 155 HR, Distance 5.5 MI

Deload 4

Really beat up today from jiujitsu last night. Rolled with my buddy for over 90 minutes. First time rolling in 4 months. I should of just rested completely today but I dragged my ass in to work on some movements.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Joint Mob
Prep

A1. Chin Ups bw 45 5 , 5 , 5, 5 - way to ez but didn't want to push it today

A2. TRX BodySaw 8 , 8 , 8 much harder than valside with plates

Snatch 15:15 protocol 20kg 5 reps every 30 seconds

20 minutes

Considering taking the next two days completely off so I can get back into it for real next week.

Deload 3

Yesterday

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Joint Mob
Stretch
Prep

Hard Rolls 2/2 , 2/2

Arm Bars 16kg 1/1 1/1

A1. FMS Ankle 8/8

A2. Lat Bounds 8/8 , 8/8

B1. FMS Leg Lowers

B2. SL RDL Band 5/5 Ipsy 24kg 8/8 Contra 8/8

B3. Side Planks Top Leg Abduction 8/8 Lower Leg Adduction 8/8 , 8/8 - wow this really works the adductors, Ill get a video soon

B4. TRX Push Ups BW 10 30lb Vest 12 40lb Vest 10

ESD

Swing Show Same number of sets as last week however trying to get more reps or using heavier weights than last week 15 sets in 25 minutes

Doubles:
24kg x 8
28kg x 8
32kg x 8
32kg x 8
28kg x 8
2 Hand
48kg 10 , 10 , 10 , 9 , 10
1 Hand
32kg 8/8 , 8/8 , 8/8

Finished with 1:05 Left HR only peaked to 170. Felt Pretty good.

Today:

Doing some BJJ tonight for the first time in a while, I think my ankle is read fyr some light rolling.

Deload 2

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Joint Mob
Stretch
Movement Prep

A1. FMS Anke 8/8 , 8/8

A2. Turn Jumps (jumping on two feet turning 90 degrees in air and landing. 4x each direction, Side back and front jumps 4x each

B1. FMS Ankle

B2. Single Leg Squat to parallel - 14lb DBs 8/8 , "1.5" reps 7/7 . 2 pause second at the bottom 8/8 - Just trying to find ways to challenge the 1 leg squat without loading it this weke. These felt great

B3. Singl Arm KB Row, 24kg 8/8 , 8/8 28kg 8/8

B4. Ab Wheel BW 12, 20lb Vest 8 , BW 12 - I haven't done these ina ges but they felt really easy. All the body saws and stir the pots must of helped.

Deep 6 KB complex. By Senior RKC Jon Engum
- 5 swings
- 5 snatches
- 5 clean and presses
- 5 front squats
- 1/2 Get Up (starting from the top down - then when on the ground, you safely switch hands and Get Up - the kettlebell is now in your LEFT HAND where you complete the
- 5 swings
- 5 snatches
- 5 clean and presses
- 5 front squats
(end of round 1)

4 rounds in 22 minutes 24kg for 3 rounds 20kg for last one. Damn this one is pretty hard. I like it.

hips and pushes tomorrow and sled drags.

Deload Day 1

This week is going to be more about working on patterning and conditioning. If I can be discipline I don't want to go for real heavy loads. Its more of a week of play for a mental and physical break.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Joint Mob
Move Prep

A1. FMS Ankle

A2. Squat Jumps/ with counter movement 8

B1. Glute Bridges

B2. Sots Press - 14kg 4/4 12 kg 4/4 , 4/4 I have only tried htis once before and I wanted to work on it again because I think I have better mobility than last time I did it in February.

B3. Line Plank Hand Lift 5/5 , Feet lift 7/7 Hand lift 7/7

1 Round of Deep six which Ill be doing more of tomorrow

25 mins airdyne tempo runs

Gym was closing early cause of the Holiday. I just found out they have a prowler in the back. More torture!

Curls?!?! what?

Glutes and hamstrings were so sore today.Just wanted to sweat and work on little things. I also decided to get off my high horse and do some "Bi's and Tri's". First time since high school, ascetics have its place. I got all the higher priority and functional things I wanted to get done this week.

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Joint Mob
Stretch
Ankles
Hips
Movement Prep

A1. RKC Supine pull into squat drill with cook band 3 sets of 8, hands overhead

A2. Goblet Squats 20kg - Focusing on pulling into squat with hip flxrs and maintaining good spine with prying 3 sets of 25 second

B1. Arm Bar 20kg 1/1 , 1/1

B2. Prone T's 8, 8, 8

C1. Bicep curls slow tempo

C2. Chops with Cook chop bar and weighted cable machine Half kneeling 30LB 8/8 25 8/8 Standing 8

D1. Tricep Extensions slow tempo

D2. Lifts 30lbs Tall Kneeling 8/8 Half Kneeling narrow stance 8/8 Standing 8/8

My chops and lifts have really come along. I'm diggin the narrow half kneeling stance and the standing

ESD
15:15 Snatch Protocol 5 reps - Using light weights to keep the explosiveness up. I didn't want my speed to slow down and I wanted to make every snatch as powerful as the first. Also a good way to get reps in and work on form.

20 min continuous.
5 mins 16kg
10 mins 20kg
5 mins 16kg

Finished with 189 Heart Rate and a puddle under me.

Tried to do some 500m row sprints but half way through the first I just stopped because my hamstrings were just to sore from yesterday and today. No reason to push it and pull something.

Rest day tomorrow and hopefully early workout on monday before gym closes. Next week will be lots of warm up but light movements. A mental break as well as a physical. This means i should have some videos up of the hip mobilizations I have been using lately.

4 New videos

First Attempt ON 40kg Get up from two weeks ago. ON the right Hand my starting position was off which made it much harder. They were smoother when I did them today.

Also two videos of the SL RDL PR I did today.

I have a new youtube channel to go along with the blog. Ill be putting up new videos more often now as well. Not just lifting new Personal Records, but I want to include more stretches and correctives that people can learn from and use. So Please Subscribe . Enjoy and Leave comments, Always open to feedback, Thanks.

A Day full of PRs

Was feeling pretty good today and wanted to push it. Sometimes during the warm up you know when its going to be a kick ass day. A little pep in the prep.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Joint Mob
Hip Rehab
Ankle Rehab
Movement Prep

A1. FMS Ankle

A2. 12 inch hurdles Medial Hops 8/8 Lateral hops 8/8 - These felt really solid. Volume is still low but the quality is where I want it. Keeping a good posture really makes a difference

B1. T spine mobility Extension, Upper quarter turns, Lower Quarter Turns

B2. Get Mills 28kg 1/3 32kg 1/2 40kg 1/2 Felt easier than two weeks ago plus added two windmills at the top..for confidence

C1. FMS Leg Lower

C2. SL RDL Band 5/5 32kg with 30lb Vest 5/8 , 5/5 , 5/5 (PR)

C3. Anti Rotational Press Cook band 3 Half Kneeling 8/8 Standing Athletic Stance 8/8 , 8/8

C4. OHP Double 28kg 3/3 Double 32kg 5 , 4(1) last one was push press , 5 - finished with solid 5 (PR)

D1. Hip Flxr Stretch

D2. Leg Curls Slideboard 30lbs 8 , 8 45LBs 8 - Training with a fast concentric (PR)

D3. DB Flat Bench Press 85 Single Arm 5/5 , 90lb Alternating 5/5 , 95 Double 5/5 (PR)

D4. Suitcase Carry 28kg 25yds Each Side for 2 sets, Third set pushed it 35yds each side

ESD

Airdyne 5 Mile Test 14:02 (PR) Heart Rate at the end was 199 I can't remember last time I've seen it that high.

I was going to do some c2 row sprints but ill save them for tomorrow.

I felt real strong today and managed to get a lot of PRs. The SL RDLs were brutal and I have videos of them to put up.

Next week will just be a deload week. I haven't had one in months and I think its time for one before I get over parasympathetic and get injured. I can't sustain new PRs every week like I have been. If the body could, no one would ever peak and squat over 1000lbs. Plus Injuries fucking suck and sometimes you have to pull back in order to push forward later on, what a cliche thing to say. It will just be the warm up ,practicing the movements with very light load if any at all and cardio.

Ill be putting up a couple articles next week so stay tuned.

Some snatches

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Joint Mobilization
Stretch
Prep

Get ups with Windmills at top 24kg 1/4 Bottoms up 16kg 1/3 (better than yesterdays)

Snatch Intervals 24kg
60/20 x 4

I lost count but estimate around 90. Definitely tired from yesterday. I also haven't snatched in a couple weeks. I need to start doing it more and grooving the patterns.

Double Snatchs 20kg
5x5

Just wanted to move and sweat a little for the day

Big Lift day tomorrow maybe some heavy pressing.

day 1 mart with modifications

Half an hour prior to training I had received graston on the ankle. The chiro told me the ankle will be temporary weaker because along with breaking up scar tissue some of the adhesion provided stability. So I ditched sl squats and front squats today and put in some heavy goblet squats and rev slide board lunges. Also no ankle rehab exercises today. No plyos either.

I played around with the tempo for some of the strength complex. Longer eccentrics and pauses to increase total time under tension.

3d Breathing 7 minutes
Foam Roll
Joint Mobility
Stretch
Prep

A1. T spine mobility extension and rotation

A2. Get ups with Windmills at top 24kg 1/5 Bottoms up 16kg 1/3 32kg 1/3

B1. Goblet Squat (6/2/x/1) 28kg 8 32kg 8 , 8

B2. Tactical pull Ups (X/6/1/1) 6, 7 20lb Vest normal tempo 8

B3. Stir the pot 20lb vest ( each circle about 3 seconds with 1 second pause) 10, 12 , 10

B4 Shoulders Elevated Glute Bridge Marching 5/5 Single Leg 6/6 , 6/6

C1. Rev Slide Board Lunge with Dowel 8/8 20kg Goblet 8/8 8/8 8/8

C2. TRX Row (X/5/1/1) 30lb Vest 5 10lb Vest 8, 7 - The trx isometrics from monday took some of the juice out of these

C3. Body Saw (mini slideboard) 45lb Plate (2/2/2) 7 , 8 , 6

ESD for tomorrow. I wanted to do snatches but was pretty cooked from the metabolic strength workout. HR was up the whole time anyway so that was a good cardio effect for the day.

Good pulls and lots of swings.

Foam Roll
Joint Mob
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle

A2. Light Broad Jumps 4 , 4 - didn't go full throttle because of ankle just wanted to groove the pattern and work on landing, Volume was kept Low to.

B1. Bretzel

B2. Half KNeeling Parallel MB Toss 8 , 8

C1. Trap Bar DL 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 x 3 365 x 3 405 x 3 , 3 - I don't think I've been this heavy since my ankle injury. Truth be told to since this exercise is usu slay at the end of the week I don't have much left to go real heavy.

C2. Lift Tall Kneeling Using keiser 12 pounds 8/8 , 8/8 , 8/8

C3. TRX Row Holds at top 35 seconds 3 sets - focusing on full scapula activation and working on packing the neck. Chin tucked Face Back

D1. Valslide Rev Lunge First 2 sets where with stick on back making 3 points of contact ( like FMS ILL) 8/8 , 8/8 24kg Goblet Hold 6/6 20kg 6/6 - First time using this exercise. I really like it. I need to work on my lunges so this works out. Probably went to heavy with 24kg. I need to make sure I set up good patterns first.

D2. Chop Tall Kneeling 15 Pounds 8/8 8/8 8/8

D3. TRX Push UP Holds at bottom 45 seconds 3 sets Packing neck

ESD

SWING SHOW 16 sets in 25 minutes
5 Doubles
24kg x 8
28kg x 8
32kg x 8
28kg x 8
24kg x 8
5 2 hand
48kg 8,10,8,8,8
6 1 hand 3 each side
32kg 8/8
28kg 8/8
24kg 10/10

Finished with 45 seconds left Felt great. Was keeping good power through out all my swings. I might try some double work with the 36kg later this week or next

Tomorrow just doing warm up some rolling corrective and an aerobic session for active recovery.

Easy saturday

I just wanted to move and work on tissue quality today. A light cardio flush as well. Active recovery at it's finest. I also wanted to revisit some of the rolling patterns to make sure they are up to snuff even though I'm on advance progressions like chops and lifts.

Today was also dedicated to work on packing the neck and starting movements with the eyes , like the rolling patterns. Today was a good day to resivit some basic stuff and recover

3D breath
Foam Roll - went really in depth especially on the hamstrings from yesterdays session
Joint Mobilization
Stretching
Prep

FMS Rolling patterns
Legs 2/2 , 2/2 Slight disconnect with left leg going over and coming back
Arms 2/2 2/2 2/2 Slight disconnect with Left Arm going over and coming back.
Total body 2/2 2/2 looks good.

I like rolling because its a primitive pattern that can easy show a symmetries. In this case both lower and upper quarter on the left side are a little behind. So its not a diagonal dysfunction more unilateral. This make sense because on the FMS rotary stability test I can get a 3 using the left side and a 2 using the right. My left side has to inherently stabilize when using my right arms which is where I can only get a 2. This would be my frist progression into fixing that a symmerty.

A1. Arm Bars 16kg 1/1 1/1 really love this for opening up my pecs

B1. Goblet Squat prys 16kg 5x 20 seconds focusing on keeping pelvic floor tight, straight spine and packed neck. Leading the concentric part with the eyes.

B2. Linear core work. Dead bug while pushing hands into the wall to activate lats. While holding this position Single leg lowering. I got this from Chad Waterbury's article. I love the dead bug for teaching pelvic control but I never incorporated the wall push for lat activation as well. Good stuff the Article can be found here

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/iron_core_how_to_build_a_punchproof_body

Airdyne Temp work for 20 minutes. Easy stuff to get a light sweat and build up aerobic work capacity.

Possible Day 3 tomorrow seeing how I feel if not than monday.

Day 2 (MART)

Yesterday:

3D Breath
Foam Roll
Joint Mobilization
Stretching
Ankle Exercises
Hip Exercises
Movement Prep - Spiderman, Knee hug, Inchworm, Lateral and Rotational Lunges

To keep with the metabolic accelerative resistance training concept the ext segment from Plyos and strength training was completed in 70 minutes.

A1. FMS Ankle

A2. Medial Hops 8/8 Lateral Hops 8/8 done with 12inch hurdles - these felt great. I was sticking the landings and my ankle really didn't bother me. I still want to keep the volume low and slow reintroduce these dynamic landings as my ankle continues to adapt to more function.

B1. T spine mobility

B2. Get Ups 24kg 2/2 , 2/2

C1. FMS ASLR Leg Lowering

C2. SL RDL Band 5/5 Double 24kg 8/8 , 8/8 Double 28kg 8/8

C3. ARP Standing Athletic stance Gray Band lvl 5 8/8 8/8 8/8 - Haven't done standing in a long time. Much easier to compensate than Tall Kneeling of Half Kneeling

C4. Overhead Press Double 24kg Warm up 5/5 Double 28kg 8/8 Double 24kg 8/8 , 8/8

D1. Hip Flexxor Stretch

D2. Leg Curl (mini slide board ) 8 , 8 , 8

D3. DB flat Bench 75lb Single Arm 8 Alternating 8 Double 8

D4. Suitcase Cary 24kg 60yard Walk each hand for 3 sets

ESD - I was feeling pretty cooked from the strength training session but like an Ape who doesn't think I still did some tabatta circuits

20/10 x 8 sets. 3 rounds waiting till 65% HR to start each round

Swings 24kg
MB Slam rapid response 8lb Ball
Airdyne Sprint
MB Push Pass rapid response 8lb Ball

I was a little dehydrated I think today and probably over did it a bit. Active recovery tomorrow(saturday)

Single Limb stuff

No Vehicle? No Excuses. Simple easy training session outside

Light Foam Roll

A1. Body weight pistols (using half filled gallon just as counterbalance) 1R/1L

A2. 1 arm assisted pull up on tree branch( Off hand holding on to GI belt for help) 1L/1R

10 sets = 10 reps each side.

Just going to roll and stretch tonight for some active recovery.

Yesterday:

was feeling tired and sore from Monday's training. Just wanted to get in the gym and move a little. I felt way better afterwards.

Foam Roll
Stretch
Prep

Arm bars with 16kg

Goblet Prys 16kg and 28kg

Handstand holds

Tempo intesnity on Airdyne 25 minutes.

Good Day 1 - SL Squat PRs

Monday: Active Recovery Day

3D Breath
Foam
Joint Mob
Stretch
Ankle Rehab
Hip Exercises
Movement Prep

Airdyne - Tempo Intensity 30 minutes

Tuesday- Feeling good today, definitely wanted to push it in the front squat.
3D Breath
Foam
Joint Mob
Stretch
Ankle Rehab
Hip Exercises
Movement Prep - inch worm, spider man, lateral and rotational lunge

A1. 24 inch box jump 2 x 8 - working on soft landing and proper triple extension

B1. T Spine Mobility Drills - gliding/rolls , Upper Quarter look and turns

B2. Get Mills 24kg 1/3 28kg 1/3

C1. T Spine Towel and Goblet Squat Prys

C2. Front Squat Bar x 5 135 x 5 185 x 3 205 x 5 225 x 5 205 x 5

C3. Stir the Pot 12 , 12 , 12 , 12

C4. Tactical Pull UP BW x 3 16kg 5 ,5,5,5

D1. FMS Ankle Mobility

D2. SL Squat 24lb (2 12 DB in hands) 5/5 (Added 40 pounds of vests 64LB total weight) 5/5 , 5/5 44lb 5/5 - These felt great and its a new PR for me. I'm really happy with this weight

D3. BodySaw 30lbs on Slideboard - 6, 8 , 10

D4. TRX Row Bw x 3 50LBs of vests 8 , 7 , 6

No ESD yesterday. The airdynesw ere being used and I didn't want to make up something on the spot. So I'm doing the ESD today.

Day 3 and KB Day

Yesterday:

I was feeling a tired and sore yesterday, so the intensity for day 3 was light. Also short on time so i took somethings out of warm up

Foam Roll
Joint MOB
Stretch
Prep

A1. FMS Ankle 2 sets

A2. Broad Jumps 2 sets of 4. I still can't full push through ankle. I tried and had a sharp pain so I backed off these. Still not ready for them which is a bummer.

Rapid Response Rotation

B1. Bretzel

B2. Half kneeling parallel MB Toss rapid response 8lb Ball 8 , 8

C1. Trap Bar DL Bar x 5 135 x 5 225 x 5 315 , 5.5.5

C2. Lift Lvl 5 Cook band Tall Kneeling 8,8,8

C3. TRX Row ISO holds at top 30 seconds 3 sets - easy should of done weight with these

D1. Glute Ham Raise - I just played around with these. The current gym I have has one however the machine is awkward and I cna't get my toes to touch so I could only do partials.

D2. Chop Lvl 5 Cook Band Tall KNeeling 8 , 8 , 8

D4. Push up Iso holds Top 10 seconds middle 10 seconds Bottom 10 seocnds 2 cycles plus 5 explosive push ups at the end = 1 sets 3 total sets

ESD

Airdyne Tempo cardio. Keeping heart rate around 140s with 15 second 80% sprints to spike to 160-170s than waiting till 130 to start again. 20 mins total



Today

Mixed warm up

KBs 15 sets in 25 minutes
Double swings
32kg x 8
24 x 10
24 x 10
24 x 10
2 Hand Swings
48kg 5 sets of 12
1 Arm swings
32kg x 8 L/R
28kg x 10 L/R
24kg x 12 L/R
Finished with 35 seconds to spare.

On my off days I'm going to do Tempo runs and low intensity cardio. Trying to build up a better aerobic base for better recovery. this will also help put my CNS into a more sympathetic state which is where I want to be when Not training. I'm trying to get my resting HR lower throughout the day. Ill be recording it right when I wake up to monitor my progress. I've been reaidng a lot of Joel Jamison stuff from www.8weeksout.com . H has been stressing the need for better aerobic bases to help with overall recovery and recovery during higher intensity intervals.

He just put up a great presentation on rethinking energy system development which can be found here:

http://www.8weeksout.com/2011/05/24/a-new-perspective-on-energy-systems-video/

40kg

I wanted to try for some new PRs on a couple lifts. I decided to cut some of the volume down today for my other lifts as well.

3D Breathing
Foam Roll
Joint Mob
Stretch
Ankle rehab
Hip rehab
Movement Prep

A1. FMS Ankle Drill

A2. Medial box Hops 6/6, 6/6 , Lateral Box Hops 6/6 , 6/6

B1. T Spine Mob - Rolls, Uppper Quarter turns, Lower Quarter Turns, Rolls

B2. Get Ups - 24kg 1 32kg 1 36kg 1 40kg 1 (PR) - The 41kg felt pretty good, was a little sloppy on right side but nothing to bad.

C1. Lateral Hamstring Stretch

C2. SL RDL Band Warm up 6/6 , 2 32kgs 5/5 , 5/5

C3. Over Head Press 28kg 3/3 36kg 1/ 40kg 1/1 (PR) - This felt pretty good. Went up in a smooth motion.

C4. Anti Rotational Press level 5 cook band Tall Kneeling 6/6 , 6/6

D1. Hip Flxr Stretch

D2. Leg Curl Slideboard 6 , 6 , 8

D3. DB Bench 80 Single Arm 6, Alternating 6, Doubles 7

D4. Suit Case Carry Bottoms Up 20kg 35 yards each hand for 2 sets

ESD

Slideboard 45/70 x 6 rounds

Cut conditioning short today. Still have a big lift day for saturday.

Basic

Joint Mobility

A1. Get Mills 55lb KB 1/3 , 1/3

A2. Goblet Squat Prys 55lb KB 20 seconds x 4

Circuit 50/60 x 10 with 55lb KB and a Thick Tree Branch

5 Snatches Left
5 Snatches Right
3 Tactical Pull Ups
Rest 60 seconds

The hook grip in the down swing of my left hand in the snatch needs work. I think my calluses are getting in the way.

Day 1 (MART)

Today was my second attempt at Metabolic Accelerating Resistance Training. It went pretty well. Front squats don't lend themselves to high reps with perfect form so I kept it at 6 reps with slow tempo.

Foam Roll
Joint Distractions
Stretch
Ankle Exercises
Hip Exercises
Warm up

A1. Load n Lift 2 x 5

A2. Squat Jump 2 x 5

B1. Get Mills 1/4 , 1/4

B2. T spine mobility

C1. T spine bench mobility 5 , 5 , 5 , 5

C2. Front Squats Bar x 5 135 x 5 185 x 6 , 6 , 6

C3. Stir the Pot 12 , 12 , 12

C4. Tactical Pull ups BW 10 , 8 , 7 - going back to body weight for a bit to work on stricter form.

D1. FMS Ankle Mobility

D2. SL Squats 10lb DBs for counterweight BW 6/6 , 30lb Vest 6/6, BW 6/6

D3. Body Saw Slideboard with 20lb plate 8 , 8 , 8

D4. TRX Row BW 5 30lb Vest 8 BW 10 , 10

Airdyne Miles 5x

Kettlebell work tomorrow.

Good end to a great training week

Yesterday's training session went well. I wanted to incorporate some medicine ball throws today. I haven't done much rotational power with my ankle injury. But I can start with half kneeling. Having the ability to transfer power in the transverse plane is very important, especially for sport and overall function. Often we develop power lineally and Laterally but neglect the rotational component.

3D Breathing 7 minutes
Foam Roll
Joint Mobility
Stretch
Ankle Exercises
Hip Exercises
Move Prep

A1. Lin Hops 8/8 8/8

A2. FMS Ankle Drill

B1. Parallel 1/2 Kneeling MB Toss 8lb pound 8/8 , 8/8

B2. Bretzel Stretch

C1. Trap Bar DL Bar x 5 135 x5 225 x 5 315 x 5 365 x 5,5,5

C2. Incline DB Bench 45 x 8 55 Single 8 Alternating 8 Double 8

C3. Chop Cook lvl 5 Band Tall Kneeling 8 , 8 , 8

D1. RDl 135 x 5 225 x5 315 x 5 - Was starting to drag ass around this point so I left it at 1 set.

D2. SL Row Contral Lateral 24kg 8 28 7 , 7 , 7

D3. Lift Cook lvl 5 Band Tall Kneeling 8 , 8 ,8

ESD

24kg Snatch 60/20x4 96 reps - Pretty much a snatch test. I haven't snatch tested in about 3 months and only snatched 3 times since my ankle injury So I'm pretty happy with 96 reps. If I had just gotten 1 more each minute I would of had 100. Form felt real good especially the down swing.

KB Chains 20kg Snatch , Front Squat, Swing
5 reps
Rest
4 reps
rest
3
rest
2
rest
1

I was going to get more ambitious with my KB chains but I was dead tired from the work out. I'm running out of steam a little towards the end. I think the change is back in AZ I usually drink a carb/protein source to sustain me through these long workouts. Since i have gotten to Maryland I've been just drinking water. I think with the humidity I'm sweating way more and losing salts and electrolytes. Ill modify that for next week and see if it makes a difference.

Ill be doing more plyos this week and maybe getting into Olympic lifts again. Depends what the ankle does. I've got two days of rest to look forward to. I might do a KB circuit monday, just to move and be outside. Squat day should be Tuesday and I think ill be doing the Metabolic Acceleration Resistance Training aspect.

Sometime this week I want to put up a video of this great self hip mobilization that AP showed me to create my space in the hip capsule.

Day 2 (MART)

I had the pleasure of seeing Alwyn Cosgroove speak over the weekend on fat loss. Alwyn is a great presenter and really personable. I'm not going to go into full detail about his talk, but I highly suggest you take the opportunity to see him speak if you can.

I wanted to try some of the information I learned from Alwyn. Today I modified the temp of the entire work out to create "Metabolic disturbance". Basically creating a thermodynamic effect through high density training. A very effect way that Alwyn has ad the most success for doing this is Metabolic Acceleration Resistance Training (MART). That is the concept I will be implementing in today.

The changes I made were as follows:


Sets lasting to 60 seconds. Increasing time under tension

Accommodating Recovery - Basically taking just enough recovery to have another set of good form. The recovery might need to increase as the sets go on to accommodate fatigue.

Accommodating resistance - For this type of workout less weight will be used to maintain the good form, high reps and tempo

From the Plyos to the last strength set set took about 75 minutes. I had a gym boss on a 65 minute timer so I could keep up the pace. Its more exact than just trying to "feel it".

Foam Roll
Self Mobilization Drills - Hips
Stretches- Short Adductors , Hip Flxrs, Hamstrings, 90/90 PNF pull/push,
Ankle Exercises - Toe Curls, Short Arch Makers, Single Leg Straight and Bent Calf Raises ,
Hip Exercises - Clams, Wall Abductors, Mini Band in and Outs, SL glute Bridge,
Warm Up, Spider man, Knee Hugs, Inchworms

Athletes' Performance gave me a program to do while I'm home. So i've incorporated it into my warm up but, also took some things out. This took me 55 minutes to complete

A1. Medial and Lateral Box hops 2 sets of 6 each leg, each direction

A2. FMS Drosi Ankle flexion corrective ( I really like this one)

B1. Get ups 24kg 2/2 , 2/2

B2. T Spine Upper Quarter Mobility Drill

C1. Lateral HamString Stretch

C2. SL RDL 2 24kbs 8,8,8,

C3. Anti Rotational Press 8/8 , 8/8, 8/8 Tall Kneeling

C4. Single Arm KB Military Press 24kg 8/8, 8/8, 8/8, 8/8

D1. DB Bench 60 8/8 8/8 8/8

D2. Hip Flxr Stretch

D3. Slide Board Leg Curls Eccentric Only 8 , 8 , 8 (I went with eccentric because I want to make sure of full hip extension with no back arch)

D4. Suitcase Carries 24kg 60yds each hand 3 sets ( these felt great. A good tip is to make sure that you feel activation in the Quadratus Lumborum opposite of the hand holding the weight. Stewart Mccgill preached a lot about carries over the weekend and how an active and trained QL can improve cutting and lateral speed. I want to incorpoate these more and see for myself)

ESD

Slide Board
45 on / 60 off x 5 Rounds

5 Mile Airdyne = 14:05 Small Fan

Mike Boyle talks a lot about having the 5 mile airdyne being used as a performance test. This was my first time doing it. Pretty rough HR stayed in the 180s last 3 miles and Peaked at 197 at the end. I'm glad I have a base line because now I can occasionally go back and test and see how my fitness has changed.

I haven't sweated this much in one work out in a long time. I'm sticking with my 3 main lift day program with kettle bells on the off days. What I want to do is have 1 workout be a hard strength workout with longer rest and more weight, another one in the MART format and the third one a more medium intensity strength day. Ill switch which tempo each day each week, to keep the demand for adaptation up. For example this week my Day 1 was a strength day, Day 2 was a MART day and Day 3 will be another strength day. The intensity for day 3 will depend how I am feeling saturday. I still want to have an intuitive based approach and adjust accordingly to how the body responds.

Rest tomorrow. More videos to come.