ExRx.net

[pdellorto]

7/31/10

AM: Static stretches

New Pushup Plus x 10
Pushup x 10

Pullups 2 x 5 (mixed grip, alternated)


MMA class. Rolled ground with two people getting ready for fights, then held the pads for 3 x 5 minute round continuous punching drills. Good class. I have to get back to practicing my escapes again next time, I've mostly been rolling this past week.


***

After class my friend worked on my elbow. It still hurts, though. I'm thinking I might need to drop these daily pullups and pushups and see if it's just constant overuse that's causing this.

Also, I IFed today, reminded of how successful that was for me with morning training after reading Stephan's log. So I tried it again - ate last at 9 pm Friday, had a cup of full-caf coffee before class, and then trained. I actually didn't eat until 2 pm, because I wasn't particularly hungry after class.

The only trouble was getting anything approaching my usual calories in because I'd lost about 2 meals worth of eating time. Which isn't so bad since I still met my micronutrient goals and met my protein, fiber, and fat ratio goals. I think I'll continue to IF on Saturdays and maybe look for another day to IF as well and see if that positively affects my body composition and numbers in the gym. It felt good on the mats today, no less power than when I have breakfast.

[pdellorto]

8/1/10

AM: Static stretches

New Pushup Plus x 10

***

Rest day. Dropped the pushups and pullups while my elbow is getting fixed. Grumble, grumble. I probably exacerbated the acute injury it suffered with all this extra work. We'll see.

Tightened up my diet a little bit. Not that it was loose, per se, just that I let the total kcals go up too high. I'll dial it down slightly and see if I can keep up my performance numbers as I do so.

[pdellorto]

8/2/10

Very Early AM: Static stretches

New Pushup Plus x 10


Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 168

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

Warmup: 300 rope skips

1) KB Snatch (5 mins, 20 kg) - Did 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10, 10/10 in 5:24, no rest - 50 per arm, 100 total reps
2) Seated Box Jump - 5 x 5 @ 30" box, 4 x 4 x 10# DBs @ 30" box, 2-3 minutes rest
3) Chinup (3 sets max) - 16, 10, 6, 2 minutes rest
4) Turkish Get-Up - 2 x 3 x 16kg KB, 1 x 5 x 16kg KB, 2 minutes rest

Later, while training my own client, we raced for sprint intervals - 4 x 20-25 yard sprints.

***

I was expecting to see that snatch test again today, so I made sure to get a bit of spatchka in the afternoon so I'd be rested and ready to go. Good thing I did.

KB Snatch - 100 total reps, 50 per arm. I did 110 total reps Thursday with the 16kg, in 10 more seconds. So I think this is better - 2000kg total volume in 5:24 vs. 1760kg in 5:34. Felt less like I was going to puke, and more like I was going to drop dead on the spot. Next time the 24kg? One can only dread!

Jumps - sit on a box, then blast up and onto the box in front. Whee! The dumbbells make it suck about 10,000x more. I love them.
Long rests and low reps - and a low box - because by the last set I was barely clearing the box. Gee, do you think doing 100 consecutive one-arm snatches before that maybe used up some of my jumping power?

Chinups - A 1-rep PR, although I didn't realize it at the time. My weight is up, too, as I'm eating for performance, not for a weight class. This was a good set considering my right elbow hurts when I pull, too. My coach and I idly discussed the fact that the Washed-Up Meathead record is 25 reps. Only +10 reps to go!

Turkish Get-Ups - worked on my form. My coach says I torque my back when I do the high-bridge version, so he modified my form a lot. Made it harder but more stable, which I think I need.

The workout looks short, but it added up quickly.

The sprint intervals were my client's idea - I raced him every 4th sprint he did, in order to keep him pushing hard. He beat me twice and tied me once, and maybe I edged him out once, despite him running more sprints. Oh well, can't do everything.

Oh, and Kenny, if you're reading this, I told my coach about band-resisted KB swings. He'd used them already before, and recognized your name from Powerlifting USA magazine.

[pdellorto]

8/3/10

AM: Static stretches

New Pushup Plus x 10

PM: MMA class. Worked side escapes plus a little rolling with three different partners. Hard stuff, and I was very tired, but I think I'm beginning to get the escape down.

***

No energy in class today. I wasn't gassed, I just had nothing in the tank after yesterday's workout.

[pdellorto]

8/4/10

AM: Static Stretches

***

Rest day. Job interview for a trainer position, though, and a good one - we'll see where it goes.

[pdellorto]

8/5/10

AM: Static stretches

Early afternoon: Foam rolling, tennis ball rolling on my tight upper back.


Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 169

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

Warmup: 300 rope skips

Prowler Sprint - high handles, length of the gym (about 30 yards), 15 seconds sprinting. Rest until heart rate dropped back to <130 - generally about 2 minutes.
1 trip x prowler + 230 (2 plates and quarter per horn) - took about 12 seconds
19 trips x prowler + 270 (3 plates per horn) - 15 seconds end-to-end

***

For some reason my back was knotted up like crazy today, and nothing I could do would loosen it up. Grr.

My workout was all of one thing - put on my heart rate monitor and sprint the prowler 20 times, for 15 seconds per trip. When my heart rate dropped back to under 130, I'd sprint it again. Generally this took about 2 minutes. The first trip put me to around ~135bpm, the second to ~145bpm, and by the end I was around ~155bpm. That's very high for me, and it took a long time to drop back down.

Hellish, but also freaking awesome. By the end I was ready to pass out and I had to sprawl out on the turf for a few minutes. I stopped at a store on the way home and I was wobbling around like a tired old man. Amazing.

What's funny is this is not a very complex workout - it's dead simple. I could have done this to myself easily, I have all the gear. But it was also exactly perfect for me - I couldn't have done 21, and it was close to 20 trips before I really started to hit that wall. My recovery will definitely improve after this, and it sure beats spending an hour on a bike. Not that I ever do that, because it's boring compared to prowler sprinting.

Obviously I'm going to p***y out of my Friday prowler sprints. I'll farmer's walk or do triceps or something, I don't know, but I am sure as hell not doing prowler sprints.

[pdellorto]

8/6/10

Very Early AM: Static stretches

Recumbent Bike: 15 minutes, moderate pace, level 10
Pallof Press: 2 x 15 per direction, short rest

PM: Rep Upper Workout, Total Rep Count method

*1) Blast Strap Row (feet on 12" box) - 12, 12, 13
*2) Blast Strap Scarecrow - 3 x 10, 90 seconds rest
+3) Blast Strap Pushup (feet on 12" box) - 14, 14, 14, 16
+4) Floor Fly - 4 x 20 x 12# DBs, 90 seconds rest
5) Plank - 90 seconds

***

I intended to do 60 second rests, but I ended up resting more after the first set and decided to just keep going with that the rest of the way. I totaled up my reps from last time, divided them down and aimed to go to failure in the last set - total rep count method. This was instead of my usual all-out every set approach.

I also switched the pulls ahead of the pushing because my blast straps were already adjusted perfectly for rows.

Rows/Scarecrows - these felt good, and my previous numbers were 15/10/9=34 reps, so 12/12/13=37 reps, a +3 rep improvement.

Pushups/fly - these were harder than I expected, since I knocked out 26 reps in one set last time (and 56 total). 14+14+14+16=58 reps. The dead-stop straight-arm flyes are really killer supersetted with pushups. They really make each other inordinately hard.

Plank - 90 seconds, until my abs felt like they'd give out. Not a surprise right after blast strap rows and pushups, I suppose.

No legs, not after yesterday's prowler sprints. That seemed like a dumb idea.

***

Also, I dropped by the local MMA school - the new one, opened in late July - to pick up a schedule. Seemed okay, but very commercial. I'll call them and arrange to watch a class. I'd like to find a nice, very local place (this one is walkable from my house) to train sometimes as a drop-in. Not sure how this place is yet.

[pdellorto]

8/7/10

AM: Static stretches

No MMA class*

Workout at home:

5 rounds of
1) Heavy Bag Shin Kick - 50 per side
2) Swiss Ball Leg Curl - 20
3) Single-Leg Glute Bridge (12" box) - 15 per leg
4) Lunge/Squat - 3 rounds of 10 reverse lunges per leg, 2 rounds of 20 box squats

***

* Drove up, expecting our senior student would hold class since our coach is off coaching at NAGA. Nope, no class. Drove home and worked out. After 3 rounds my friend joined me and did a few rounds too.

Kicks: Just 50 hard kicks each side, mostly for shin conditioning. I haven't been doing enough of that lately. Coached in proper form for 3 rounds. Canvas heavy bag, so it's relatively soft but chews up your shins nicely.

SBLCs - been a while, felt good.

Single-leg bridge - also been a while, hard after glute bridges

Lunges/squats - I was doing lunges but I saw a chance to teach my friend proper box squat form. So we switched to them.

Good workout. Shins hurt a bit, and I learned my long-since-popped ankle tendon on my left side means I need to modify my kick a little bit.

Afterward went out and picked up a bunch of pre-ordered grass-fed grass-finished local beef. Woot! Burgers tomorrow.

[pdellorto]

8/8/10

AM: Static stretches

***

Rest day.

[pdellorto]

8/9/10

Very Early AM: Static stretches

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 170

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

Warmup: 300 rope skips

1) Agility Drills - low hurdles + sprint: 2 trips double foot hops + sprint, 2 trips double-tap run + sprint, 1 trip each sideways double-tap run + sprint, 1 trip each direction sawtooth and sprint, no rest between, rest 2-3 minutes after
2) Box Squat - 5 x 45, 5 x 95, 5 x 125, 5 x 145, 5 x 165, 2-3 minutes rest, belt on last set
3) Chinup (w/Grapple Grip, 3 sets max) - 8 (4+3+1), 9 (4+4+1), 8 (4+3+1), 2-3 minutes rest
4) Pull-Through - 2 x 10 x 70, 2 x 10 x 80, 1 minute rest
5) Shuttle Run - 300 yards (6 round trips across the gym), time about 1:07.

***

Agility Drills - we're working on my speed and acceleration and cornering, all of which suck.

Box Squat - 1 rep off match my best ever (6 x 165), and this was hard today. Still, my strength isn't declining even if my box squat isn't improving. Frustrating but there we are.

Chinup - again with the grapple grip - I think these are the #3 or #4. They're obscenely hard to hold onto, and I can barely grip them with chalk and my best grip strength. It was rep out until I slid off, re-grab and rep out again. After 3 mini-sets like this I couldn't get another so then I'd rest and do it again. Hard!

Pull-through - 70 felt easy enough after 2 sets, so I went up. My previous best was 3 x 10 x 70, so this is much better. We had to strip it down after someone was belt squatting, so it took 3 of us the better part of a minute to pull the 45 pound plates away. Hahahah.

Shuttle run - this is a PR for me in all sorts of ways. That's the furthest I've run in a long time. After 4 round trips I was still doing okay, but then I started wheezing...I couldn't get in enough oxygen and I knew I was flirting with an asthma attack, but I didn't want to slow down. On the 6th trip I was so tired I was almost falling forward, and I felt a little dizzy. I finished and had to hold myself up on the wall and then sit for a minute. I can't believe my time was so low, it felt like I was running forever and running slowly. I'm sure my time will improve, but I had nothing left.
My coach asked me why I can do the prowler for 20 sprints but this kills me. It's really the speed. The prowler makes me work harder but slows me down enough that my oxygen demand doesn't exceed my ability to supply it. At a full sprint, my heart rate spikes up and my O2 demands spike up, and I can't supply it nearly fast enough. It'll improve. But this is a real record - even only a couple years ago this would have left me on the floor after half the distance, nevermind finishing and still breathing.

When I got home 40 minutes later, my voice was still hollowed out and rough from the run.


Got to work on my speed and my sprint endurance.

[pdellorto]

8/10/10

AM: Static stretches

***

Rest day. Going to get ART on my upper back/shoulders (again) and my elbows (first time) tomorrow. I need it, my "pullups every day" plan seems to have resulted in more overuse than supercompensation. Oh well.

[pdellorto]

8/11/10

Very Early AM: Static stretches

AM: ART/Massage. Got my upper back problem sorted out - I hope! And my elbows worked on. They feel better, but not great. Spent the rest of the day feeling like someone had pulled my back muscles off one by one and didn't put them back.

***

I'd also like to congratulate my ART specialist & MMA training buddy. She hit a guillotine on someone this past weekend at NAGA and got her first submission (she's won on points in the past, but not forced a tap). Go Jody!

[pdellorto]

8/12/10

AM: Static stretches

Afternoon: DeFranco's Training, Session 171

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

Warmup: 300 rope skips

1) Bench Press - 5 x 45, 5 x 95, 5 x 125, 5 x 145, 7 x 165, 2-3 minutes rest between work sets
2) Safety Bar Walking Lunge - 10 per leg x 65, 10 per leg x 85, 10 per leg x 95, 1 minute rest
3) Reverse Hyper - 3 x 10 x 180, 1 minute rest
4) Band-Resisted Prowler Acceleration - 3 x 4 @ Prowler + 50#, 1 minute rest
*5) Lat Pulldown (wide neutral fat grip) - 10 x 130, 10 x 140, 10 x 152.5
*6) Standing External Rotations - 3 x 10 x 5# DBs, 1 minute rest between supersets
7) Pushup Iso-Hold - 3 rounds of:
10 second pushup hold (top position), 3 pushups
10 second pushup hold (middle position), 3 pushups
10 second pushup hold (deck position), 3 pushups
No idea on rest - maybe around 1 minute. Not enough.
8) Jump Rope - 500 skips


***

Bench Press - sadly, 7 x 165 is not a PR. The earlier sets I just blew through, but I only had 7 reps in the tank for the 5+ set. Bleh, if I'd known I needed 8 to match a PR maybe I'd have done it. I'm better at bringing the bar down fast and cranking out the reps, though - just machine like down-and-up. I blew rep 6 on the last set and pushed it over my chest not over my face, but I got the last rep up where it belonged.
It's funny that my bench is getting better at the same rate - and weight - as my squat.

I do miss the old dedicated bench press station in DeFranco's. I had to use an adjustable bench, and my butt sits right on the gap. Annoying. On the bright side, my feet get better purchase on the bench's feet so I can drive a little better with my legs.

Lunges - Weee, walking around with a SSB on my back. Had to load it, get under it, and walk it backwards to the grass and turn. I did 10 reps, turned around, and 10 back. Hard, but 95 pounds is a 10-rep record in walking lunges. My best reverse lunges are 125 for 8, and these are a bit harder. Best walking lunge was 25# DBs for 15 reps per leg. I think this compares well. Best things is the SSB forces you to keep good posture.

I love lunges. I feel like I can really load them better than squats with my structure being what it is.

Reverse Hyper - my previous best was 185 for 2 x 10 and 180 for 12, so 180 for 3 x 10 is good stuff. I'll beat it next time.

Prowler accelerations - holy crap, these are fun! Seriously. I can't wait to try them with 45s.

Pulldown/Ext Rots - The pulldowns I started too conservatively because of my ART/massage yesterday. But at the end I knew 10 x 150 was my old PR so I grabbed of the platemates and slapped it on. The weight markings are long since worn off, but I'm assuming they are 2.5 each since they are for dumbbells. Still a PR. Ext rots were fine, but I don't expect to feel them.

Pushup Iso-holds - these are harder than they sound. I face-planted on the last one off the deck position and had to re-set to get the 3 pushups. Wow, hard.

Jump rope - just a cardio finisher. 500 skips, which was only difficult because I was so tired from doing the rest of the workout!

Had a talk about my 300-yard run, asthma, and steady state cardio with my coach. I think you'll see more cardio in my routines. I'm not opposed, because I think I can benefit from it but won't do it myself, but I'm also 100% certain it won't help my asthma. I've been down that road before - improving my VO2 max and my resting heart rate and my aerobic capacity doesn't change the fact that at high speeds my asthma kicks in and I start to take in less oxygen. Which is why I like intervals so much - I can all-out blast but stop before my asthma kicks in.

[pdellorto]

8/13/10

Very Early AM: Static stretches


AM: Quick workout.

Warmup: Foam rolling, lacrosse ball rolling, lots of movement ahead of time.

1) Front Squat - 5 x 55, 5 x 95, 5 x 125, 5 x 135, 5 x 145, 10 x 115, 2-3 minutes rest between work sets
2) Cable Quadruped Hip Extensions - 10 per leg x 24, 10 per leg x 32, 10 per leg x 43, 1 minute rest
3) Pallof Press (band) - 2 x 5 per side x 5 sec hold at extension, 1 minute rest
4) Cardio (steady state) - Recumbent Bike, 5 miles in @18 minutes, level 15.

PM: MMA class. Rolled ground with someone getting ready for a fight. Then I did technique with a new guy (new to MMA, anyway, and us). Then he wanted to roll live with punches. My coach okayed it, so we did. Bang, bang, tap, tap. Fun stuff, and he got in a few nice punches. I practiced using my punches to set up subs and vice-versa. Been a while but it felt good.

***

Front Squats - my boot camp was front squatting and someone said "I haven't done these in ages!" Yeah, me neither, so here we go. My old 3RM, set years ago, was 60kg, or around 132 pounds. So 5 x 145 is nice. 5 x 115 is my best 10-rep set, too. I did a Starr-style backoff set after my 5 x 5. Heh. I think if I do a 5/3/1 progression on these, I'll need to drop to 95 for my 5 x 10s.
But I'm happy - I went deep, and I stayed in good posture. Squatted without clips or collars, too, so I could check if I was wobbling by checking plate slide - nope, no slide. A few years ago I couldn't squat without corkscrewing, but now I'm squatting without clips. Nice.

QHEs - from here. I didn't have reverse hyper for the pendulum version, so I hooked the cable unit to my foot and did that. Felt good, I really felt my glutes working. I can see these getting strong fast.

PPs - stole Doc's idea of isometric holds at extension. Makes it very tough!

Cardio - I aimed for 10-15 minutes, but then I said, screw it, 5 miles. I think it's miles, unless it's set to km instead (possible, how would I know?) That may seem like a fast pace but on a bike...not terribly so. I ride quickly. Just did this to burn some calories and to keep my heart rate up a little longer.

Got my full day's kcals in by 6pm, then it's IF from 6 until after MMA tomorrow. Call it close to 18-19 hours. First time trying the two-MMA class IF.

[pdellorto]

8/14/10

AM: Static stretches

MMA class. Worked my side escape and controlling from inside guard with one partner. Good day, because he's got tight side control but I was able to work one of my escapes. Finished up rolling with my coach - if my buddy does, I'm morally obligated to roll too. So I asked him to keep me in side so I can try to escape. Nothing worked, and I got stomped on. I asked what I was doing wrong, and he said "You're doing fine. I'm just being mean." And then choked me until I tapped. Again.
Good class.

Before bed: 1 minute of trigger point work on my back (that's one full minute of pressure on the same spot)

***

IF worked fine. I wasn't even hungry when I got home at 1pm, after 19 hours of fasting, but my appetite turned on like a light switch when I started eating.