CD's Training Log

[cdkrug]

3/5/2007

Karate night. Felt good and had decent energy.

[cdkrug]

3/6/2007

In which we discover Lunar New Year's Resolutions

Warmups
Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist 10/side
Side Lunge with opposite hand touch 10/side
Bridge/Upper Body Russian Twist 30s, 10/side
Inchworm 6
T-pushups (unweighted) 5/side

NROL FL-II Workout B4

All rest periods 45s
All tempi 311

Warmup Pulls (Snatch-grip except for plate)
45x5 (Plate)
95x4
155x3

Snatch-grip Deadlift alternated w/ T-Pushups
Snatch-grip Deadlift 185x10x3
T-Pushups 8x10x3

MUCH happier with my Deads today. Grip-wise, I only needed to switch to mixed-grip on the last rep of set 2, and the last 4 of set 3

Bulgarian Split Squats/Overhead Press alternated w/ Chin-thingys
Bulgarian Split Squats w/ Overhead Press (2x8)x10x3
Chin-thingys (4xNegative)+(275x6)x2, (3xNegatives)+275x10

Split squats were much less happy. Held my form together but it wasn't pretty. I'm happier with distributing the negatives among the sets, but it's frustrating to ALMOST be able to do a chin.

Romanian Deadlift bent over row alternated w/ Lower Body Russian Twist
Romanian Deadlift bent over row (2x40)x6, (2x35)x10x2
Lower Body Russian Twist (Straight)x10, (Straightx4) (Bentx6), (Bentx10)

I think I blew out my gripping muscles on Deads. MANY grip problems here. Had to drop weight.

Intervals?

Apparantly, everyone discovered their Lunar New Years Resolutions. Not one piece of cardio kit available, and snowing outside. Ran through my kata and called it a night.

Given the state my legs have been in, probably not altogether a bad thing.

Adjustments
According to my reckoning, my deadlift next time should an unlikely 231.25. Time to buy a pair of 45s for 225. Keeping T's the same, thinking I can go up easier than down.

I ordered the "Assisted Pullup" band package from Iron Woody which should be here for next time. I'll see how I feel about the Bulgarian Presses.

I think with the lower reps, I can do 40s on the Romanians, even on the shorter rests.

[cdkrug]

3/7/2007 Karate Night

Blood! Bruises! HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AA!

[cdkrug]

3/8/2007

Welcome to the last four workouts of NROL FL-II. Low reps and short rests. Hooyah

Warmups
Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist, 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch, 10/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist (6lb Ball) 30s, 10/side
T-pushups 12

NROL FL-II A5

All rests I-can't-believe-only-30-freakin'-seconds???
All tempi 311

Front Squats alternating w/ Wide-grip cable seated rows
Front Squats (45x2)x8x3
Wide-grip Cable Seated Rows 250x8x3

Once I found my balance, this wasn't that bad. Must be towards the end of a sequence, 'cuz I'm getting pretty good at the movements.

Supine Hip Extension with Leg Curl alternated w/ DB Push Press
Supine Hip Extension with Leg Curl 10x8x3 (1 arm out)
DB Push Press (2x40)x8x3

Plate on my tummy, trying to hold it there with both hands didn't work, so I stabilized with one arm, switching arms every second rep. Working up to both hands up next time. This was a good weight for this movement.

Dynamic Lunge alternated w/ Upper Body Russian Twist
Dynamic Lunge (2x20)x8x3
Upper Body Russian Twist 20x8x3

No Intervals Today
Legs are still "off." I'll try again tomorrow (non-lifting day). I don't wanna break anything.

Adjustments?
Next "A" workout is my last of the series. I'm going to at least try to move EVERY weight up, except for Supines, which I'll try to do the movement with both hands up on the weight.

[cdkrug]

Fun with Roadrunner Catching Equipment

My giant rubber bands arrived from Iron Woody. Hooked them to the pullup bar and enjoyed the stares of my fellow gym rats as I tried to figure out how to use them.

"Are you trying to catch the Roadrunner?" was my wifes comment as I was gleefully opening the box.

For the record, I did 5 reps reverse grip, and I didn't kill myself.

Metabolic Overdrive
5min Warmup
3 rounds (8.3/4.0)
1 round (8.5/4.0)
5min Cooldown

Legs felt better today. HR was a little lower than usual, probably because I didn't try to blow doors from the beginning.

[Victoria]

cdkrug, I love reading your log! I read the whole thing from the first entry in one sitting last week! I admire how thorough and detailed you are with your entries. Great job with your log and your workouts!!!

Congrats on almost finishing FL2. What next after that?

BTW, do you compete in karate or do it just for fun?

[cdkrug]

Originally Posted by Victoria

cdkrug, I love reading your log! I read the whole thing from the first entry in one sitting last week! I admire how thorough and detailed you are with your entries. Great job with your log and your workouts!!!

Congrats on almost finishing FL2. What next after that?

BTW, do you compete in karate or do it just for fun?

Thanks! I consider myself a Piker compared to Galya and some others.


I'm following Lifter IV since Jan 1, substituting FLI for BreakIn as I've been lifting NROL-style for about a year. Next is FL-III (new to me), then H-I (did it last year), H-III, S-I and SII (all new to me).

Not sure after that. The only NROL workout I'll not have done by then is SIII, so I may do that instead of the prescribed FL-I, depending on whether I'm still working out at the Corporate gym or in my basement.

We're in the midst of a "Crap this is talking long" relocation. The Dojo I used to train at competed, and usually did well. My new dojo doesn't compete at all. As it happens, I joined the old dojo just After the Big Annual Tournament, and left just before to come here. Funny how that works.

[cdkrug]

3/11/2007 -- The Adventures of Willie Pulmor

Wound up working 8 hours today, so I sacrificed intervals on the altar of gainful employment. Considering it was Sunday, it wasn't a bad work day.

Weigh-in this morning was 238 for the second week in a row.

Warmups
Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist, 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch, 10/side
Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 10/side (6lb Squishy Ball)
Inchworms 5
T-pushups 12 (unweighted)

Only interesting bit concerns inchworms. My wife looks at me and says, "That won't work . . you're torso's shorter than your legs." Interesting. Apparently, I'm the only one who hasn't noticed that. Ah well. Still trying 'em.

NROL Fatloss II B5

All tempi 311
All rest periods 30s. Holy crap.

Warmup Pulls (snatch grip except for plate)
45x5 (Plate)
95x4
155x3
205x2

Snatch-grip Deadlift alternated w/ T-pushups
Snatch-grip Deadlift 230x8, 230x2 + 225x6, 225x8
T-pushups 8x8x3

Stripped some weight from the bar after 2 reps on the second set. I didn't keep track of my grip today, but the first set was all overhand and the last was 2 overhand, 6 mixed.

That's a new personal best pull for reps, either weight, but only 5450 total load versus 5550 last week on higher reps (185x30)

Bulgarian Split Squat Overhead Press alternated w/ Band Assisted Chinups
Bulgarian Split Squat Overhead Press (2x8)x8x3
Band Assisted Chinups (Med + Large)x8x3

Fairly happy with BSS-OHP today, or as happy as one can be with that icky movement. Stayed conservative on the weight.

Band Assist Chins. New apparatus. Doing negatives last week was SO much harder than pulldowns, I moved to chins altogether with the band assist. I had to fuss with band combinations that allowed me to say HOLY CRAP only AFTER I'd completed my reps. I did fall out of the contraption once. Thankfully there was no one else in the room at the time.

Romanian Deadlift Bent Over Row alternated w/ Lower Body Russian Twists
Romanian Deadlift Bent Over Row (2x40)x8x3
Lower Body Russian Twists (Straight Legs)x8x3

The bigger pulls at the beginning took a lot out of my grip, but I got through the reps. This is the first time I've done all three sets of Russians with straight legs.

Adjustments

Unlike the A workout, I won't be bumping every movement up here. Going to try for all pulls at 230 and keep T's the same.

I'll try a weaker combination of bands on the chins. I'm thinking ahead for FL-III where I'll have to do this in a giant set and may well be glad of any band I can lay my hands on. I'm not sure what I'll do with BSS-OHP

The last superset is staying the same.

[cdkrug]

3/12/2007

Karate Night

I didn't know it, but I was tested for rank tonight with the other white belt. I've NO idea what my rank IS now, but it's one lower than yesterday.


I now have orange stripes on my white belt, but as our instructor says, "The only colors that really matter are black and blue. And so long as they're on you and not on me, I'm okay with that."

[cdkrug]

3/13/2007

Last A-workout of Fatloss II

Warmups
Walking Lunge with Upper Body Twist 5/side
Side Lunge with Opposite Hand Tough 5/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist 60s, 10/side (6lb ball)
Inchworms 6
T-pushups (unweighted) 12

Took me a long time to warmup today. Decided it best to lessen the unweighted lunges.

NROL Fatloss II A6

All tempi 311
All rest periods 30s

Front Squat alternated w/ Wide-grip Cable Seated Rows
Front Squat (2x50)x8x3
Wide-grip Cable Seated Rows 250x8x3

New weight on this movement. It was hard. Front Squat load moved from 2160 to 2400 lb

Supine Hip Extension w/ Leg Curl alternated w/ Push Press
Supine Hip Extension w/ Leg Curl 20x8x3
Db Push Press (2x45)x2 + (2x40)x6, (2x40)x8x2

Overreached a bit on push press, but got through the sets with the lower weight. No actual "miss" but things were a bit dicy on rep 2.

I tried to put both hands atop the plates (atop my beer gut) on the Supines, but I needed a bit more balance than that. I alternated which arm was out between reps and it worked well.

Dynamic Lunge alternated with Upper Body Russian Twist
Dynamic Lunge (2x25)x8x3
Upper Body Russian Twist 25x8x3

More weight on both movements. Very nice progress on Dynamic Lunges, going from 180lb Load (18 reps with 2x5) to 1200lb, mostly due to getting better at the mechanics

Metabolic Overdrive
I was still "up" from lifting, so I shortened the warmup stage.

3min Warmup
1 round (8.4/4.0)
2 rounds (8.0/4.0)
1 round (8.3/4.0)
5min Cooldown

No soreness in the legs, but I had a bit of hip stiffness. Concentrated on lengthening my stride as much as I could I'm REAL anxious to get outside.

Thoughts?

Looking over my logs, it seems that I can do greater load when I do more volume. I'm not sure if that's a mental thing or just how my muscles are wired. 'Course I've never tried for a max, so I can't say for certain what my strength has done.

Having outgrown my corporate gym for deads last month, it's time to outgrow it for Squats. Luckily, FL-III is next. I somehow doubt outgrowing the weight available to me will be a problem for next month.

[cdkrug]

3/14/2007

Karate Night. Another test for one of the Seniors. Just normal bruises for the rest of us.

Learned a new throw and remembered to keep my chin tucked when I was uke for the throw . . .Much less Ouchie that way.

[Victoria]

CD, I like your idea on the supines-alternating arms holding the plate. I'll have to remember that when I am doing FL2. Glad to see your dynamic lunges shaping up. I still feel clumsy with mine...but I slog through them anyway. Great work on the MO after the workout. I wish I could do that, too, but time won't allow since I workout in the morning before going to work.

Chin up!! Ooops, or is it chin down?

[cdkrug]

Originally Posted by Victoria

CD, I like your idea on the supines-alternating arms holding the plate. I'll have to remember that when I am doing FL2. Glad to see your dynamic lunges shaping up. I still feel clumsy with mine...but I slog through them anyway. Great work on the MO after the workout. I wish I could do that, too, but time won't allow since I workout in the morning before going to work.

Chin up!! Ooops, or is it chin down?

Thanks. I tried for weight on hips but trust me that was an ASTONISHINGLY bad idea. You might want to avoid my mistake of holding the weight TIGHT and then wondering why I couldn't raise my hips. I tried to keep my hands lightly on the weight, but I couldn't keep my balance that way.

I can't always get MO in, but I like to do at least once on a lifting night, as karate keeps me busy other nights. After a "b" workout, it's probably not possible.

Anywho . . .

3/15/2007 -- Beware the Ides of Deadlifts

Deadlifts just SUCKED today. Ah well.

Warmups
Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch 10/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist 30s, 10/side (8lb squishy ball)
T-pushups (Unweighted) 10

NROL Fatloss II B6

311 tempo and 30s rest

Snatch-grip deadlifts alternated w/ T-pushups
Warmup Pulls(snatch-grip except for plate)
45x5 (plate)
95x4
155x4
205x3

225 was NOT happening tonight. Dropped to 205 and my form was still crap at the end of the second set. Ditched the rest.

Snatch-grip Deadlift 205x8x2
T-Pushups (2x8)x8x3

Bulgarian Split Squat w/ Overhead Press alternated with Band-assisted Chin-ups
Bulgarian Split Squat w/ Overhead press (2x10)x8x3
Band-Assisted Chinups (Large+Small)x8x3

And these sets went okay. So it doesn't seem to be a hip issue. I used the small band for the second this time, which means less assist. Felt good, but I'm feeling it in my lats now.

Romanian Deadlift w/ Rows alternated with Lower-body Russian Twist
Romanian Deadlift w/ DB Row (2x40)x8x3
Lower-body Russian Twist (Straight leg)x8x3

No intervals today.

Next Week

Next week is a rest week. Then FL-III. Happy Joy

[cdkrug]

3/16/2007 Intervals R Us

The grass here is dry enough, so it's time to move the intervals outside.

There's a long uphill stretch outside our apartment. Did four repeats up the hill.

Judgement tells me that my work round intensity was a bit stepped up, and my recovery was just a bit short, but the wear on my calves was TONS less.

Time for another $5 stopwatch.

[cdkrug]

3/16/2007 How 'bout some MORE intervals?

Went out to the park and did . .well . . I call them "Intervals up the long hill."

I tried to remember what I timed last year . . .that the long way UP took 1min, more or less, and the short way down took 2. I sure didn't FEEL faster today.

Warmup 1/2mi
Four repeats up the long hill
Cooldown 1/2mi

[cdkrug]

Second Weigh/Measure

Weight 233.4lb (-7.6lb on FL-II, 13.6lb total)
Shoulder 26" (Unchanged)
Chest 44" (+1/2" on FL-II, -2" total)
Abdomen 43-3/4" -1/4" on FL-II, -2-1/4" total
Waist 39-1/2" -2" on FL-II
Hips 46" +2"
WHR 0.86

Relaxed Arms 14"/13-1/2"
Flexed Arms 15-3/4" (+3/4")/15-1/4" (+1/2")
Forearms 13"/13" (unchanged)
Thighs 26-1/2"/26-1/2" (unchanged)
Calves 18"/18" (+1/4")

Weight's moving in the right direction. Waist and abdomen went down, yet I still made some size gains on my arms and legs. Yea me.

[Victoria]

Congrats on your numbers. 7.6 lb loss on FL II...that's great! Do you follow a particular diet? I'm starting to look into one for myself. I've lost no weight on FLI...but...I dropped a pant size, finally!!! I'm going to start tracking when I start FLII in a couple weeks. It looks like you may have lost a little more weight on FLII than FLI? Anyway, congratulations again. Looks like things are moving in the right direction.

BTW, what's WHR?

[cdkrug]

Plans for FL-III?

Rest week, provided "Rest" means "Two nights of Karate"

Planning on following Lifter IV. That means Fatloss III and intervals, 5-5-5-6 if I'm mapping Met Overdrive correctly onto Lifter IV.

I hope to do intervals outside on the grass whenever I can manage it. Feels MUCH better than on the treadmill. Now to find my stop watch . .or buy another one.

The Logistical Nightmare moves from the B-workout to the A-workout. Giant Sets, not to mention 20 reps, gives me a reprieve from outgrowing my work weight room. Put me down as "I think I can make this work."

Specifics?
–My DL form has been crappy towards the end of my last set. Dropping that all the way back down to 135 and moving up S-L-O-W-L-Y.

–I've NEVER done explosive or clapping pushups. Good opportunity for me to fall on my nose

–I'm trying to progress through pullups. My last sets were with my "large" and "small" bands together under my knees. For the Giant Sets, I'm going to reset up to Large + Medium. Even with the bands, this is MUCH more difficult than bodyweight pulldowns on my current apparatus.

–I'm looking at adding some balance elements. Stay tuned.

–I'm probably not up to doing hanging leg raises. I'll start with the progression in the book and see where it goes.

More if I think of anything.