A Back Off Day For The New Year - 1/1/09

I watched a lot of Gray Cook's stuff today and may have figured out a little something I need to clean up on myself. I couldn't raise my left knee to a good height because my right hip wouldn't extend all the way. I worked through a simple progression of a single leg hip raises, a rock back on all fours with on leg extended, and knee dip/ankle raise combo that allowed both knees to be raised to the same height. Very cool stuff! May sound a bit confusing but Gray gives a good explanation on this dvd. So that was a warm up and a cool down with few other stretches at the end. Here's how the rest of the session went.

-TGU 24KGx5/5 1set

-Conventional Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
35LBSx5 2sets

-Bent Press 28KGx5/5 2sets

-1 KB Row 40KGx5/5
Left elbow feels much better even on these.

-Snatch 24KGx10/10 5sets

That's it for today. Sat will be a heavier session with more bending and I will continue to use the high step progression as a warm up and cool down for a few weeks and then retest.

More Of The Same - 12/30/08

Started the day with the wall sit/press, agility ladder and speed bag. A nice 45 min start to the day. The speed bag is coming along nicely, the hands don't feel lost while alternating hitting techniques anymore. Here's how the afternoon went after a few toe touches and single leg hip raises.

-TGU 36KGx1/1 3sets
Felt good with the extra weight. Another time of 2 through and I will see how the bull dog feels.

-Conventional Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
385LBSx5 2sets
Feeling better with this every rep. I'll be ready for a cycle with these after the vacation.

-Bent Press 32KGx5/5 2sets

-1 KB Row 48KGx5/5 2sets
Probably add some weight next time here.

-Plate Curl 2-10LBSx5/5 2sets
Tried the 25 and it wasn't happening. I'll get it. Thinking about getting a leverage block to help with these.

-Bending
DS #1 to 90 degrees on the left hip(PR!)
I didn't keep time(probably 10-15 min) cause I just wanted to get this thing to 90. Very happy with this bend, takin' it to an S very soon.

DS #1 to 50 degrees on the right hip
Thought this would be a iso session but finally got that thing to move after a few push/pulls. I guess that would be a PR for the right hip too. Good night of bending!

-Swing 40KGx10 every 30 sec for 5 min
I was going to do 7 1/2 min(15 sets) but felt the hips slowing down so I packed it up and called it a night.

I finished off with some stretching. My right quad is starting to loosen up and I noticed I am grabbing the ground with my right foot better. Coincidence...I think not. ;-)

Little Bit Of Fun - 12/28/08

Wanted to move a little today so I started with the pump and pry stretch to move the hips and back and went into a snatch TGU combo.

-Snatch/TGU 24KGx20 min
I snatched, did a TGU from the top, and used a transfer swing to switch hads. I took breaks when I needed them(4-5 times I think) and focused on the shoulder pack and total body tension the whole way through. Pretty good combo!

-Bending
SCF Polo #1 (labeled Polo #1) to 180 degrees on left hip
SCF Polo #1 (labeled Polo #1) to 90 degrees on right hip(to 130 on left hip)
Diamond Special #1 to 65 degrees on left hip
I was pretty fried by the time I got to the Diamond, but I need to get stronger with them. I got a video of the Polo and sent it to FBBC for a cert.

Still Playing w/ The New Moves - 12/27/08

Started with the toe touch and single leg hip raise to move things around before I added some weight.

- TGU 32KGx1/1 3sets done continuously

-Conv. Deadlift
225x3
365x5 2sets
Felt good, but still getting into the grove with style of dead.

-Bent Press 32KGx5/5 2sets
Felt much better with this already. This will be fun to see where I can go with this in a few cycles. I'll try and get some video up in the next few sessions.

-Plate Curl 2-10LBSx5/5 2sets
Felt stronger today than the first time.

-Bending
SCF Polo #1 (labeled Polo) to 115 degrees in 5 min on left hip
I didn't use the towel for padding so my thigh got pretty sore pretty quick.

-Swing 48KGx10 every 40 sec 10 rounds
Had me going pretty good by the end.

A Christmas Training Session - 12/25/08

I said I would stay off till Sat but couldn't keep away. I had worked the speed bag and agility ladder but this was the first resistance session in about a week. I figured that was a good rest period.

-Wall Sit/Press x 5min
I think I will save this for after the session from here on out

-Single Leg Hip Raise x8/8
Used this to fire the hip and open the hips before the deads. I tucked the leg in the air so that the thigh was holding a wadded up towel into my ribcage. This forces one hip to extend while the other stays flexed. Good for creating stability and mobility at the same time. Another gem from Grey Cook.

-TGU 32KGx1/1 3sets done continuously
I will start with these and go heavier than I have in the past.

-Conventional Deadlift
225LBSx5
315LBSx5 2sets
Felt good for the first time through in awhile. I felt the semi-sumo getting ready to stall out so I figure this slight change would be enough to keep the progress moving. We'll see. Filmed the last set for critique.



-Bent Press
32KGx3/3,2/2,3/3
Lost focus on the set of 2. I didn't really like the barbell press. I think this will help reinforce the lat engagement and then I may try the barbell again in the future.

-Bent Row 48KGx5/5 2sets
A switch from the pulls and chins to try and give the elbow a little different angle to work with. Again, we'll see how it goes.

-Plate Curls 2-10LBSx3/3 3sets
I noticed my thumb on the side with the tweaked elbow extends a little weird and is weaker that the other side. I'm gonna use these to see if I can strengthen it up. Making the wrists stronger will be a nice side affect.

-Swing 40KGx10 every 30 sec for 5 min
Nice quick hip action to finish the day. I want to add more heavy swings to the next few cycles.

A few little changes made for a great session today.

Time Off A Bit Early

I was scheduled to have one more session before the down week, but decided to take it early. I am getting tired of this elbow/forearm on the left side feeling tender so I will try and do a bit of rehab and ART on it during the down time. I found that the thumb opens funny because the palm of my hand is very tight so even the ext. work is off a little.

As for the next cycle it won't start till I return from vacation on 1/17. In the mean time I will play around with the conventional deadlift, the bent press, and the heavy row. Horse shoes will be the main focus of bending for awhile and swings, snatches, and TGU's will be the bulk of the KB work. That' what I'm looking at. Will probably start up on Sat.

Session #11 - 12/18/08

Started the day with some bending. Actually some iso work on a grade 8 with IMPS. I got a little wobble in it but not much. Put about 15-20 min into it. Here's how the afternoon session went.

-Wall Sit/Press 5min

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
435LBSx4
390LBSx5
Happy with this, I only got 2 at 435 last time.

-Military Press 155LBSx4,3

-Chin Up 25LBSx5 2sets

-Suitcase Dead 175LBSx3 left/2 right
Couldn't keep it from from spinning out of my right hand on the 3rd rep

-Torso Rotation 45LBSx30 sec on/30 sec off 4rounds
Felt good with the extra weight.

-Swing 32KGx10 20sets
I took a little time to help my sister-in-law out with her training and then we ended it up with you go-I go style swings. Much more fun to swing with a partner.