ExRx.net

[pdellorto]

11/1/09

AM: Foam rolling, band work, static stretches.

Mid-afternoon: some running around at work.

PM: Static stretches.

***

At work I fell during class and hit my (previously gashed) shin into a wheeled skid. Completely re-opened the cut. Gah. That'll kill ground work at MMA for a week, at least. Grr.

[pdellorto]

11/2/09

AM: Static stretches

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 105

Pre-warmup: Foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, dynamic stretches, band warmup.

Warmup: 300 rope skips

5-round Circuit. Rested 1 minute between rounds 1+2, and 2+3. 1 1/2 minutes between 3+4 and 4+5.

1) Backwards Sled Drag - 30 meters each way, round trip x sled+180
2) Broad Jumps - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8, ranged from 78" to 88"
3) Alternating KB Press (20 kg KB) - 7 / 8 / 6 / 6 / 6 per arm. Strict as long as possible, then slight push press.
4) Pullups (various grips) - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8
5) Feet Elevated Blast Strap Pushups (feet on 30" box) - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8
6) Sandbag Zercher Squat - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8, one clean and then 8 squats per round

1 rep, lying on my back in the parking lot wondering if I'd be able to drive home.

***

Hard, hard circuit today. It looks less brutal than it was. Only the blast strap pushups were easy, and then only relatively.

Backwards Sled Drag - easy at first, added up quickly.

Broad Jumps - The jumps really took a lot out of me. I couldn't really get good distance today, but I'm comparing them to when I'd do them first in a workout, not in a circuit after dragging four plates.

Alternating KB press - easily the hardest thing today. I don't know why but they kicked my butt all over the place. I got 7 and then 8 and then barely got my 6 per arm the next set. I don't know why. I had the drive to push-press them but I felt like I'd never get the bells down safely after 6 reps so I quit. Weight over my head = cause for extra caution.

Pullups - Did neutral grip, pronated, supinated, neutral close, supinated close.

Blast Strap Pushups - The only easy thing today, and 8 reps was hard on round 5 because my abs didn't want to keep me rigid. Thanks to the stretch-shortening reflex I got my last two reps.

Squats - Ugh, I couldn't keep upright on these today. I kept coming up hips first, not hips and shoulders together.

I was wrecked afterward. My coach asked me how I felt. I said "I hope five rounds is enough, because I don't have six in me." He asked me if I felt better than when I did circuits previously (like, one a week). I thought about it and said "I feel exhausted, but my rest times are shorter now." It's true, and it was no easier than before, so I guess I am improving. Not enough that they can't kick my butt all over the gym anytime they want to. I mean, I could have done this with a 10# vest on or something equally horrible.

[pdellorto]

11/3/09

AM: Static stretches, foam rolling, band warmup

***

Slept very poorly last night; this has been happening more and more lately as I have post-gym activities instead of going home, eating, and resting. Woke up today totally wrecked. Had to miss MMA class due to my injuries again.

My shins and my abs are totally smoked from yesterday. Hard to walk, hard to sit up once I lay down. Wow. My guesses are "broad jumps" and "blast strap pushups, feet elevated" respectively, maybe sandbag zercher squats too.

To sleep 2 hours early to try and make up for the damage; aiming for 12 hours sleep.

[pdellorto]

11/4/09

AM: Static stretching, band warmup

PM: Static stretching

***

Got a good 10 hours of sleep, then got a 30 minute nap in, too. Still sore as can be.

[pdellorto]

11/5/09

AM: Static stretches, band work.

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 106

Pre-warmup: Foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, dynamic stretches, band warmup.

Warmup: 300 rope skips

1 minute rest unless otherwise noted. PRs (for reps or weight) in bold, * and + denote supersets.

1) Stepovers/Duckunders - 10 each L-R, 10 each R-L
2) Russian Twist w/Grappler - 10 per direction x bar+15#, 10 per direction x bar+20#
3) Pistol Box Squat - 3 x 8 x bw, about 1 1/2 minutes rest between sets
4) One-Arm Pushup - 15 tries per arm, alternating arms, long rests between each try
*5) Pullup (pronated grip, Tyler grips) - 8, 7, 6
*6) Dip - 12, 11, 10
7) Farmer's Walk - 2 trips with 2 x 102 torpedoes
8) Ab Circuit - 3 circuits, 1 minute rest, of Pushups to a T-Hold x 5 per side, V-Ups x 10, Bicycles x 30 per side

***

Come on, you have to admit my workouts are pretty damn cool.

Stepovers/Duckunders - more like a warmup, although I never feel like setting up for these. The only lateral lunges I'll do are these.

Grappler Abs - I've gone heavier but only at the end of a workout. This was plenty today, and I was confident I did these snappy and hard, too.

Pistol Box Squat - to a box with 2 mats. Lower in a pistol, sit on the box, then up. Cued to get up by lifting my working foot and then pushing down hard. 3 x 8 was brutal and slow but I got all of them. My coach John told me he's starting me on the box but we'll work toward free-standing pistols. Sweet!
What's surprising to me is how much the balancing leg works. My quads were feeling it in both legs, not just the working leg. I'd done partial pistols before, but not this deep, and not when already a bit sore. So it was very noticeable this time.

One-Arm Pushup. No, really, I was told to do one-arm pushups. You know, me, the guy who can just about one-rep his bodyweight on the bench. The lanky dude with the long arms. I told my coach I couldn't even do one, nevermind 10-15. He laughed and said "So what dude? Just try." So, I tried. Feet apart for balance, abs clenched as tight as in a maximal squat attempt. 15 partials on each arm; a big puddle of sweat on the floor when I finished. I went down as far as I could go without falling. Once or twice I caught myself with the other hand, but went back up with one arm. I got further down on the last few reps, mostly by closing my eyes so I wouldn't see the floor coming at me if I fell (I didn't). I told John that and he liked that a lot.
Going to work on these.
http://www.beastskills.com/OneArmPushup.htm

Pullup/Dip - hard combo. The tyler grips are great but evil. I hold them reversed (thick end towards the thumb) so they are even harder to hold. If you lose any grip at all, they start to slide out of your hands. Add that to general fatigue and 8/7/6 was quite an accomplishment.
The dips were brutal but I'm very happy I got 12/11/10 - 33 reps, +2 reps off my previous 10/10/11 performance last time.

Farmer's Walks - the hard part is when you turn, the torpedoes keep turning after you stop. Oh, and you have to walk around in the dark with giant weights in a parking lot when you're working out after 5 pm.

Abs - Pushups to T-Holds are much easier before you did one-arm pushups and dips. Just saying.

That was a great workout. I didn't get a single one-arm pushup, but I will eventually. I got to try two new exercises I've always wanted to do, I got to work thick pullups and dips, I got to farmer's walk and do crazy abs work. I was physically fried at the end, but very, very happy.

[pdellorto]

11/6/09

AM: Static stretches, band work

PM: MMA class. Switched leads on my standup for various reasons I won't get into. All my combos felt odd, even when I did them right. I suppose it's undoing tens of thousands of repetitions with my hands and feet reversed.
Standup mitt work is so not tiring compared to ground work of any kind.

TKEs before bed.

***

By the way, tomorrow (11/7) is Strikeforce on CBS. With any luck, they'll show the women's MMA fight from the undercard. My friend Roxanne Modafferi is fighting, and you might just see her on national TV. Here's hoping!

[pdellorto]

11/7/09

AM: Trap Bar DL 5/3/1 with Boring But Big accessories

Warmup: General warmup, Clams/Glute Bridges x 10 x 2

Bold is a PR for reps or weight.

1) Trap Bar DL - 5 x 140, 2 mins, 5 x 185, 2 mins, 5 x 215, 4 mins, 16 x 240
2) Trap Bar DL - 5 x 10 x 145, 1 min rest
3) Single-Leg Bridges - 5 x 15 per leg, 1 min rest
4) Bat Wings - 5 x 10 x 10# DBs, 1 min rest

PM: Static stretches while watching Strikeforce

***

Trap Bar DLs - 16 x 240 is +1 rep over my previous rep max for 240. The 5 x 10 x 145 felt light but as usual by set 5 I was really feeling it.

Single-Leg Bridges - foot up on a chair braced against a support beam, one leg at a time. I think these are easier than 2-legged Swiss ball leg curls, though. Next time I'll shorten the rest.

Bat Wings - I'd just figured I'd try them, went light, and did 10s. It's the same feeling as bent-over shrugs, actually, which I'd picked up from Paul Kelso's Shrug Book. Still, I felt it was worth trying, and I'm sure it'll add to my back soreness tomorrow.

[pdellorto]

11/8/09

AM: Static stretches

PM: Static stretches, foam roller

***

My knees are very achy today. Was it the deadlifts or the single-leg squats? First time, so I'm wondering if it's the squats. I need to find some pre-hab/re-hab work to do on my knees. I can't bring myself to think that pistols are contraindicated for me.

Oh, and my rhomboids are pretty sore too. Heh.

[pdellorto]

11/9/09

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 107

Pre-warmup: Foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, dynamic stretches, band warmup.

Warmup: 300 rope skips

1 minute rest unless otherwise noted. PRs (for reps or weight) in bold, * and + denote supersets.

1) Sandbag Loading - 2 sets of 8 reps per side, 50 pound sandbag
2) Pullup - 8, 8, 7, 2 minutes rest
3) Swiss Ball DB Bench Press - 10 x 35# DBs, 23 x 50# DBs, 17 x 50# DBs, 14 x 50# DBs, 2-3 minutes rest
4) Kroc Row - 20 x 90# DB
5) Lying Rear Delt Raise (incline bench) - 2 x 12 x 5# DBs, 12 x 10# DBs
6) Sledgehammer - 3 x 10 per side
7) Offset/Med Ball Pushup - 2 sets of 16 total reps (R hand on ball, 2 hands on ball, L hand on ball, 2 hands on ball x 4), 2 minutes rest
8) Fat Bar Curls - 8 x 55, 8 x 65, 8 x 70
9) Ab Circuit - 3 circuits of Bicycle Crunches x 30 per side, Sprinters x 30, Toe Touches x 20, 1 minute rest

***

Sandbag Loading - just light and easy warmup, really. Remember when 7-8 reps per side was my cardio finisher? I've moved up.

Pullups - I don't know why but I couldn't get 8 in the third set. That's a big letdown for me; 3 x 8 should be easy for me. Hmm.

Swiss Ball DB Press - 23/17/14 is 54 total reps, beating my previous total by 4 reps. Still, I almost got the 15th rep so I was a bit annoyed. I think my previous 50 total reps were on a flat bench, and these are harder.

Kroc Row - I did 28 x 75 last time, so John said "So, 90 for 20." Good thing he said so, because I only got 20 because I was told to. It was hard, but I love these. One set and done. 20 x 90 predicts a 1RM of like 145 or so. Hahaha. Yeah, I can't see me rowing 145 for one, not one handed or two.

Lying Rear Delt Raise - easy, even with sore rhomboids. 10 was better, 5 was too light. I need a good pair of 7.5s. Heh.

Sledgehammer - felt good as usual, tried to speed up the reps and make them all-out power slams.

Offset/Med Ball Pushup - each "rep" was a 4-rep block - left hand on floor/right hand on ball, two hands on ball, left hand on ball/right hand on floor, two hands on ball. Goal was 4 of these for 2 sets, so 16 and 16. Got them, barely. The two hands on the ball were the hardest ones.

Fat Bar Curls - with the heavy fat bar. My PR is 10 x 70, but I wasn't up to beating that today. My forearms were pumped and non-functional after these, even though my biceps didn't feel much at all.

Ab Circuit - To get the second set of these, I had to tell myself I'd only do two. Then, of course, I did three today. Brutal.

I think I screwed up my drink mix today...too many carbs. My drink was too sweet and nasty today, I had to force myself to finish it. I think I doubled up my sugars by accident. Bleh.

I'm really, really bummed on the pullups. WTF, not getting 3 x 8. That's easy pickings for me. I did 5 sets of 8 in the last circuit. Grr.

[pdellorto]

11/10/09

AM: Static stretches, band work

PM: MMA class. Worked on my one-two the whole class. I switched back to my old lead, so I have to re-learn the footwork. Still, it's coming back faster than I thought it would. Worked with a taller guy, too, which was good if a bit strange to punch upwards.

[pdellorto]

11/11/09

AM: Static stretches, band work

PM: Static stretches

***

I've managed to rehab my knees enough that I can do some gentle quad stretching, so I added that back in to my static stretch routine. Not sure if all this stretching is helping or not, but it feels productive, and I'm hoping it'll pay off in less injuries down the road. Usage injuries, I mean. The acute ones are mostly training accidents; no stretch will stop a poorly-blocked punch or a what have you.

[pdellorto]

11/12/09

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 108

Pre-warmup: Foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, dynamic stretches, band warmup

Warmup: 300 rope skips

Circuit, 5 rounds. Rest 1 minute between rounds 1 and 2, 2 and 3; 2 minutes between 3 and 4, 4 and 5.

A) Tire Flip - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8
B) Mixed-Grip Pullup - 8 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 6
C) Pistol Squat to Box (per leg) - 6 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 6
D) Double KB Press (2 x 16kg KBs) - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8
E) Box Jump (30" box) - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8
F) Kettlebell Snatch (16kg KB, per arm) - 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8

Total time: Just under 35 minutes.

***

To make it easier on my record keeping, I'm recording circuits with letters, not numbers.

I came in and saw this circuit, all with "6-8 reps," written on the board. I thought "I hope that's not me." My coach said he'd done it the night before, and "have fun with that." Ah, crap. I went all-out and finished fast, but I was wrecked.

Tire Flips - Let's see, previous best was 4 x 6? Try 5 x 8. Woot. Oh man, was that hard.

Chinups - Mixed (alternated) grip. My grip was fine, my back gave out first. Got to work on these, I want 5 x 8 even with short rests.

Pistols - I went 6s because last week reps 7 and 8 were killer. 5 x 6 worked well.

KB Press - these felt really good, but still took a lot out of me.

Box Jumps & KB Snatches - these are both easy, but then try flipping a tire afterwards.

I would have puked afterward but I was too tired.

[pdellorto]

11/13/09

AM: Static Stretches, Band Work

PM: MMA class. Worked that one arm bar I've been trying to master, over and over. Also did some light rolling with someone trying to escape mount. Gave him moderate resistance and punished stupid errors, otherwise we went easy.

[pdellorto]

11/14/09

AM: Trap Bar DL 5/3/1 with Boring But Big accessories

Warmup: General warmup, Clams/Glute Bridges x 10 x 2

Bold is a PR for reps or weight.

1) Trap Bar Deadlift - 5 x 145, 3 x 180, 3 x 200, 2 minutes rest, 3 x 230, 4 minutes rest, 6 x 255
2) Trap Bar Deadlift - 5 x 10 x 145, 1 minute rest
3) Single Leg Bridge - 5 x 15 per leg, 30 seconds rest
4) Kettlebell Swing - 25 x 20kg

***

Trap Bar DL - I didn't have a lot in me today, and I probably should have just done 3 x 255, but 6 x 255 was a rep PR for that weight (but not a projected 1RM worth noting) so I did those. 5 x 10 x 145 felt very hard today.

Single Leg Bridge - these are too easy, I need to switch back to swiss ball curls.

Swing - just some light work to get my hips snapping forward.


Off to NAGA to watch my strength coach grapple.

Out late. Went to sleep extremely late. 2? 3? Somewhere in there.

[pdellorto]

11/15/09

Mid-morning: Static stretches

PM: Static stretches, foam rolling

***

Woke up extremely early, tried to make up for it with a long nap after work.