See BamaDave Run (and Lift)

[BamaDave]

OOPS - Log correction! Those 3x15 front squats from Friday's workout were 100# and not 150#. LOL!!

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SUN. 1.28.07
BIKE RIDE

DISTANCE: 17.0 miles
TIME: 1:36:37
AVE. SPEED: 10.6 mph

-- Windy and cold here today, but decked out all in black, it felt pretty good in the sun... and the views were spectacular in the clear air. Lots of quad burn - jeez! So much more pain involved with biking than running. LOL. My bike still pretty much sucks. Only two gears functioning, and I am afraid to mess around with it and wind up breaking it and ruining my only outlet for endurance/cardio work right now. After I start running again, I'll have to try to fix the gears.

I got on the scale this afternoon, and it read 190.0 - WTF?!?!? I'll have to check in the AM for a better comparison with typical readings. But it definitely looks like my weight has started going back up since starting the Undulating Periodization program... just like it did when I was following NROL Strength. Probably mostly good weight gain, but I really don't want to go any higher. LOL. I mentioned to Mrs. BamaDave, and she said I didn't look any different. That was a great reply, which could only have been topped by saying, "yes, I know, honey, all that extra muscle mass you're adding is driving me wild!"

[gregl515]

Chicks dig muscle big guy!

[BamaDave]

Greg, I know!! Those girls are so superficial!!!

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MON. 1.29.07
PM WORKOUT

UNDULATING PERIODIZATION - UPPER BODY #4, WEEK 2 - WKT. 3

All exercises = 5 sets of 5; 90 sec. rest between sets and supersets; 311 Tempo


A1. INCLINE DB PRESS: 72.5# e/h: 5x5

A2. BENT OVER BB ROWS: 185#: 5x5


B1. WIDE GRIP PULLUPS: +25#: 5x5

B2. MILITARY PRESSES: 122.5#: 5; 5; 5; 4; 4


C1. DIPS: +45#: 5x5

C2. INCLINE DB CURLS: 42.5# e/h: 5x5

-- My second time on this workout, and I did make some reasonable gains versus the first time I did it a couple of weeks ago. Which I should, since my AM weight today was 189.0 . I'm trimming back on the calories a bit, since my weight seems to have jumped a good 5 pounds since I started this workout plan. This is my highest weight in over 3 years, although for weight training it's a good thing.

[BamaDave]

TUES. 1.30.07
AM BIKE RIDE

DISTANCE: 7.6 miles
TIME: 44:40
AVE. SPEED: 10.2 mph

-- Nice ride this AM - I took the hardest route up to the "high point" of the area and didn't have to stop at all... unlike the last time I rode that way.

My knee feels very good this AM. I do think Step-Ups last Friday aggravated it a little bit, so I'm going to sub those with something else for lower body work for awhile. Still no running planned until I feel no inkling of this injury at all.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

[b]My knee feels very good this AM. I do think Step-Ups last Friday aggravated it a little bit, so I'm going to sub those with something else for lower body work for awhile. Still no running planned until I feel no inkling of this injury at all.

I'm glad your knee is feeling good and I agree that it's smart to find movements that don't aggrevate it, but work to help you recover and encourage motor patterns that overcome the source of the pain.

I did not go back and look at what other exercises are in your workout plan, but one good substitute for the step-ups would be DB single-leg RDLs. I know you're doing a lot of bw RDL variations in your warm-up (I've been using that warm-up too and I just love it), but adding weight makes it a whole new lift.

[BamaDave]

Thanks for that suggestion, Lisa! Sounds like a good sub to me.

[kuri]

Nice work Dave.

I second Lisa's recommendation (as if she needs it) on the single leg RDLs. Very challenging yet knee friendly.

[BamaDave]

WED. 1.31.07
PM WORKOUT

UNDULATING PERIODIZATION, WEEK 2/WKT 4, LOWER BODY WKT. 4

*Dynamic Leg Warmup routine done before starting

All exercises = 4 sets of 10 with 60 sec. rest/ 311 tempo


A. FRONT SQUATS: 150#: 10; 10; 10; 10


B. RDL's with SHRUGS: 210#: 10; 10; 10; 10


C1. BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS: 70# (2x35# DBs): 10 ea.; 10ea.; 10ea.; 10ea.

C2. SINGLE-LEG RDL's: 70# (2x35# DBs): 10ea.; 10ea.; 10ea.; 10ea.


Added-in core exercises:

D. PLANKS: 2 x 90 sec (75 sec. rest)

E. SIDE PLANKS w/ arm raise: 1 min. ea. side

-- I swapped out the Step-Ups with Single-Leg RDL's as Lisa suggested, and I don't feel any tendon irritation this morning. This workout was a struggle. The fast pace kills me, but I did make decent gains across the board versus the last time I did this workout two weeks ago. Those BSS's were especially rough, as if that's a surprise to anyone who does them!

[BamaDave]

FRI. 2.2.07
PM WORKOUT

UNDULATING PERIODIZATION - UPPER BODY #5, WEEK 3 - WKT. 1

All exercises = 3 sets of 15; 30 sec. rest between sets and supersets; 311 Tempo


A1. INCLINE DB PRESS: 50# e/h: 15; 15; 15

A2. BENT OVER BB ROWS: 120#: 15; 15; 15


B1. WIDE GRIP PULLUPS: BW (U=unassisted, A= feet-on-bench assist): 5U+10A; 5U+10A; 4U+11A

B2. MILITARY PRESSES: 75#: 15; 15; 11


C1. PUSHUPS: Feet on Swiss Ball: 10+5; Regular: 11+4; 10+5

C2. INCLINE DB CURLS: 25# e/h: 15; 15; 12


D. SWISS BALL CRUNCHES: +70#: 15; 15; 15

-- We skipped spin class Thursday night due to two sickies in the house . My legs and abdominal region were so sore from Wed. night's workout, that may have been a good thing. I did better with projecting reasonable loads for this 3X15/ 30 sec. rest interval routine, although I still couldn't get the last sets on a couple of exercises. Plus I was toast on pushups. Overall, I did gain pretty well versus the last time through this torture chamber.

I later decided that I was feeling a little more irritation with the tendon post- Wed. night's workout, so something else I am doing in the routine is bugging it a little. Or it may have just been loading. If I sense this again, I'm just going to bail out of lower body weight training for a short period altogether. I only have three months until the Indy Mini!!

[BamaDave]

SAT. 2.3.07
AM BIKE RIDE

DISTANCE: 10.3 miles
TIME: 1:00:57
AVE. SPEED: 10.1 mph

-- Good challenging ride. Kinda cold, though, for my delicate Southern self (20's to low 30's). I wish I had all my gears so I could crank it on some stretches. I'm definitely improving on the hills, and I hope this helps me retain some running fitness.

[UpNorth]

Nice work on the 3x15 workout. That's a killer setup!

I wonder if the BSS are causing your knee iritation. If the step-ups were giving you issues why wouldn't the BSS? Aren't they more or less the same movement. Maybe?

Question: You keep wishing for those extra gears. What is stopping you from taking your bike in for a tune-up to get the gears fixed? Seriously. Around here a tune-up costs about $30.

[BamaDave]

Thanks, Jeff. It seems to be anything with a "toe-off" that bugs the tendon a little. Thanks for the tip on the bike. I'm pretty clueless about biking overall. This is my first bike since I was a teenager! LOL. I wonder if this bike is worth $30??? Hmmmm...

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SUN. 2.4.07
BIKE RIDE

DISTANCE: 18.1 miles
TIME: 1:46:47
AVE. SPEED: 10.2 mph

-- Getting better and better with the hills, but still not reflected in my average speeds (which are surprisingly consistent). I'm going to start working on that more. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to trial running again this week. Leg feels really good today. Only a slight twinge when I had to use the leg to brace myself at one point to avoid getting pummelled by a car. And I also was bitten by a dog. Nice! A chocolate/speckled lab. WTH?!?! Because it was a lab, I really didn't think he would bite me. I was more focused on his buddy, the Doberman. I hope he enjoyed my pepper spray. It didn't bleed, but I have a nice bruise on the bite spot. I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed hearing me swear at the top of my lungs, too.

[Lisa~]

Oh no! The doberman ran interference while the lab moved in for the kill!

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

Man, Dave, that sucks about the dog bite. Glad it didn't break the skin, though. Hope to hear that your next attempt at running goes well. Indy's creeping up on us.

[BamaDave]

Yeah, those dogs were taking Super Sunday a bit too seriously! So much for my confidence on guessing potential biters based on breed.

Jim, Indy will definitely be here before we know it. I'm running it, even if I just have to twiddle my thumbs for a couple of weeks to finally clear this up completely.

--

MON. 2.5.07
PM WORKOUT

UNDULATING PERIODIZATION, WEEK 3 - WKT. 2, LOWER BODY WKT. 5

*Dynamic Leg Warmup routine done before starting

All exercises = 5 sets of 5 with 90 sec. rest/ 311 tempo


A. FRONT SQUATS: 180# (+20#): 5x5


B. RDL's with SHRUGS: 255# (+10#): 5x5


C1. BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS: 80# (2x40# DBs) (+20# e/h): 5x5 ea. leg

C2. SINGLE-LEG RDL'S: 80# (2x40# DBs): 5x5 ea. leg


-- I made some tweaks tonight. I dropped lunging motions from the dynamic leg warmup as well as the lateral squats and any "up on the toes" stuff. And I kept the BSS load reasonable for 5-rep sets. I don't feel anything at the knee post-workout, but I will have to see how it feels in the AM to know for sure that I didn't annoy it even a little. Front Squats are feeling pretty good. I would really like to hit a one rep 250# Front Squat sometime reasonably soon. I haven't really attempted a 1RM on those in, say, forever!

[BamaDave]

TUES. 2.6.07
AM BIKE RIDE

DISTANCE: 7.15 miles
TIME: 39:40
AVE. SPEED: 10.8 mph

-- I've decided I would much rather run the morning after lower body weights than ride a bike. OW. I guess I won't say it was cold at 24 degrees this morning given the hell my Northern friends are going through, but it certainly felt cold when flying down a long hill at 30 mph! Otherwise - invigorating weather that would have been perfect for running.

My leg feels great this morning, so I think I eliminated the right stuff from my lower body routine. The only thing that really hurts are my glutes.