CD's Training Log

[cdkrug]

Park Play Day

Worked forward rolls down a slight hill, did planks with the kids, and just generally had a good time.

No stands or presses, 'cuz ya know this is a "rest week."

11yo and I did a mile walk, and she only complained slightly


The plan is to test myself on 3rm on the major lifts for hypertrophy, though I'll see how I feel later in the week.

[cdkrug]

Weigh Measure after FL-III

During this, I felt like I was gaining size. Eh . . at least weight is still moving, though it's slowed down. Tape seems to say I'm still shedding fat.

Weight 231.8 (-1.6lb, 15.2 overall)
Shoulder 26" (NC)
Chest 43" (-1", -3" overall)
Abdomen 42" (-2-3/4", -4-3/4" overall)
Waist 39-1/2" (NC)
Hips 44" -2"

I've decided I don't know how to measure my hips. I have a hard time believing they're fluctuating that much.

But I'm Mr. Symmetry again:
Relaxed arms 13"/13"
Flexed Arms 15"/15" (-3/4", -1/4")
Forearms 13"/13"
Thighs 25-1/2"/25-1/2" (-1", -1")
Calves 17-1/2"/17-1/2" (-1/2", -1/2")

Weight loss slowed WAY down the last two weeks. I'm hoping this is just a temporary plateau. I'm also assuming that I'll have a MUCH easier time doing intervals with the shorter sets of Hypertrophy I.

Pullup Test
I tried wide-grip pullups, 5reps with my foot in a band, one set per band, 5 reps or failure, 3min rest between sets.

Large Band — 5reps (Not surprising, as I was doing 4x10 with this band)
Medium Band — 5reps (Tough, but probably can do 4x5)
Small Band — Um . . .right.

So next week, Hyp I starts with the medium band on the low-rep days. I feel like I've made decent progress on pullups.

[cdkrug]

Hip Flexors and Extensors

Just playing around with 5-rep sets on Deads, and Air-Force Situps which (so I'm told) are: Knees at 90, hands on shoulders, UP until elbows hit knees, DOWN until shoulder blades hit.

Mostly I'm interested in my starting weight with lower-rep deads.

Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x4

This means I'll start "Heavy" day at 195.

AF Situps: Bodyweightx10x4

Need to grease these a bit before I can do sets of 15. Who knew I had a psoas?

[cdkrug]

Another Month, another NROL Phase

This mornings weigh-in was 232.0. Call it even. I'm not certain I trust my water balance to be within 3.2oz.

NROL Warmup

Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch 10/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 12 (total, 15lb)
Inchworm 6
T-Pushups, 12 (Total, unweighted)

NROL Hypertrophy I A1

Made a couple substitutions for Dumbbells, noted as we go along.

Tempo is STILL 311. Rest periods 90s, 5x5 sets.

Today is "Find your Weight" day.

Db Incline Bench w/ Cable Seated Row
DB Incline Bench Press (2x35)x5, (2x40)x5, (2x45)x5x3
Cable Seated Row 175x5, 187.5x5, 200x5x3

Good news is these zeroed in nicely. Bad news is that I'm running out of Dumbs.

Db Shoulder Press w/ Wide-grip Pullups
DB Shoulder Press (2x35)x5x5
Wide Grip Assisted Pullups (small band)x4 +1Neg, (Med Band)x5x3, x3+2Neg

Shoulder press was just about perfect. Band assist was a bit fussy, but I'm going to try this with the small band again in two weeks when I do this combo again.

Dumbbell Elbows-in Bench Press w/ High Pulls

This is a sub for BB Flat Bench Bench Press from HWB. No bar and no spotter if I did have one.

DB Elbows-in Bench Press (2x35)x5x5
DB High Pulls (2x30)x5x2, (2x35)x5, (2x40)x5x2

New movement, but I chose wisely. Go Me!

Something Resembling Situps

Air Force-Style situps (knees up, arms on shoulders, rise till elbows hit knees)
(Bodyweight)x15
Pause to workout ab spasm.
Swiss-ball Crunch with all the range I could manage (Bodyweight)x15x2

Soft Tissue and Stretching
My shoulders and a lacrosse ball go OUCH. Oh OW! Oh CH! OUCH!!! Got something just inboard of my scapulae that's REALLY complaining. Nothing else was tight today.

Fun with Broomstick. Not sure what this is called, but I picked it up from an Oly lifting site: Grab a broomstick in a wide grip. Keeping your elbows straight, rotate your arms around so the stick rests on your rump. Reverse until it rests on your hips. Move your hands in slightly and repeat. If you get to where you can't get over the top. Stop. Try again next time.

Adjustments?

Hard to say–this rep range doesn't recur for two weeks. Who knows what happens in the meanwhile? For the most part, my ending weights should be my starting weights next time, with two exceptions:

1. On Db High Pull, drop to 70. The last set at 80 was a bit sloppy, and I'd like to work on doing "just enough" to get the weight to my chin.

2. I'm Betwixt and Between on Crunches. I was easily doing sets of 10 with 50lb on my chest, while the situps were probably too hard. What I'll plan on doing is starting with 1 set of situps, unweighted, following up with at least the dumbbell overhead ball crunch, though I'd like to do the situps if I can at all manage it.

Stay tuned for Friday's high-rep session for what I wind up doing with this movement.

[cdkrug]

5-7-2007 Karate Night

Something's wrong with my left front kick that's making me catch my shin. Not sure what. Eh.

Somewhat Longer Sprints
To mix things up, I'm following the running schedule on the Cross Fit beginner's 12-week program. Mostly progressive sets of 400m for time.

Did the "I'm not sure how far this is, but I think it's a quarter mile." grass loop in a glacial 2:19.71

One of these days I'll measure it, but it's not as if I'm in danger of setting an hour record on it or anything.

Been a long time since I've done a hard effort longer than a minute and it shows.

[cdkrug]

Okay, the good news is that loop isn't even close to 400m.

Unfortunately, it's not even close to 800m either. It's around 550m.

longer efforts are in order. OTOH, I know where 400m is, so I can die after 200m with confidence.

[cdkrug]

5-8-2007

Bench Assembly night. Bought an inexpensive bench/rack—its chief selling point was that the squat stand is separate. Assembled the rack and put the bench in storage.

5-9-2007

Karate. Learning how my feet don't work right. Ugh.

400m Alleged Sprint

Taking care to stick to my measured path, AND taking care to land properly.

2:21.94

Good news is that I kept "running" the whole distance. Much like learning a new lift and starting slow. No sign of shin or leg soreness, so I'm doing something right.

[cdkrug]

Squats on the New Toy er . . Rack...

Actual back squats with an actual bar pulled from an actual rack. That's pretty much a new movement.

NROL Warmup

Walking Lunge w/ Side Bend 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch 10/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 10/side (15lb)
Inchworm, 6
T-Pushups, 12 total

NROL Hypertrophy I, B1

Lower Body Day, 4x10 w/ 60s rest

Squat 135x10x4

New movement. Last thing resembling a BB squat was on a smith machine over 10 years ago. Went very well and can move up next time.

Deadlift Shrug 155x10x4

Not exactly "new." Little bit grip challenged, and the shrug was much harder than I remember.

Bulgarian Split Squat alternated w/ Step-ups
Bulgarian Split Squat (2x8)x10x4 (each leg)
Step-up (2x15)x10x4 (each leg)

Reverse Crunch (Bodyweight)x15x3

Thoughts/Adjustments?

Squats can go up 10. I'm very happy with my form on these.

Deads w/ Shrugs stay the same. The shrug made it much harder than I anticipated.

Bulgarians suck. Abductors seem to give out on the second leg. They're better than they were on FL-III, coming as they do earlier in the set, but they still suck.

Step-ups are on actual stairs, which is about 4" lower than the bench I was using on FL-III.

Overall this went very well.

[cdkrug]

5-11-2007

Some catching up to do, log-wise.

NROL Warmup
Walking Lunge w/ Side Bend, 10/leg
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch, 10/leg
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 12 total
Inchworms, 6
T-pushups, 12 total

NROL Hypertrophy I, A2

First high-rep upper body day, to things are a bit experimental

Generally, 3x15 at a 311 pace.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press w/ Cable Seated Row
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press (2x30)x15x2, x11+4
Cable Seated Row 137.5x15x3

Short pause in the third push set.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press w/ Wide-grip assisted Chins
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (2x25)x15x3
Wide-grip Assisted Chins (Large)x14 +1 jumping, (Large + small)x15x2

VERY close on that first set of chins.

Dumbbell Elbows in Bench Press w/ db High Pulls
Dumbbell Elbows in Bench Press (2x25)x15x3
Dumbbell High Pull (2x15)x15x3

These felt right.

Air Force-style Situps (Bodyweight)x15x2, x3

Did more than twice as many overall before the massive ab spasm that took five minutes to work out hit me.

Thoughts and Adjustments?

Pretty good for my return to high reps. Incline bench was a little ambitious, but I see no reason to drop it, and may even try for more if my 5rm goes up sufficiently.

I'm still working out the best way to use the assist bands. Unfortunately, it makes my feet drat on the wall, but it's only adding resistance, right?

Got my feet properly anchored for the situps, which probably helped.

[cdkrug]

5-13-2007

Heavy Legs Day.

NROL Warmup

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

NROL Hypertrophy I B2

First heavy day on lower body, so lots of trial and error. 311 tempo with 90s between sets.

Squats 160x6, 150x5, 180x5, 185x5, 195x5

Felt like I could have done more. Start 195 next time.

Deadlift Shrug 205x5x5

Felt like there was NO WAY I could have done more.

Bulgarian Split Squat alternated w/ Step Ups
Bulgarian Split Squat (2x10)x5, (2x15)x5x4 (each leg)
Step Up (2x20)x5, (2x25)x5x4 (each leg)

On the step ups, had some stability issues on the left side. Nothing major. Just had to concentrate a bit more than usual on keeping it together.

Reverse Crunch (Bent Knees, flat)x15x3

Thoughts/Adjustments?

Start squats at 195 next time, depending on how I do on the next bunch of 15s and 10s.

Deads stay the same. Nothing felt out of kilter, but it was VERY hard.

I'm ever cautious with the single leg work.

Abs are Abs. Trying for straighter legs next time.

[cdkrug]

5-15-2007

Today was supposed to be a 400m day, but weather didn't permit.

Usual warmup routine that I don't feel like repeating.

NROL Hypertrophy I, A3

First time on 4x10.

Rest periods are 60s, tempi are 311.

db Incline Bench Press alternated w/ Cable Seated Rows
db Incline Bench Press (2x40)x10x4
Cable Seated Row 187.5x10x2, 200x10x4

db Shoulder Press alternated w/ Wide-grip Assisted Chins
db Shoulder Press (2x30)x10x4
Wide-grip Assisted Chins (Med)x6 +4 jumping, (Lg)x10x3, 7 + 3jumping

Dumbbell elbows in Bench Press alternated w/ db High pulls
Dumbell Elbows In Bench Press (2x30)x10, (2x25)x10x3
db High Pulls (2x30)x10x4

Situps, Airforce Style (Bodyweight)x15x3

Adjustments

This is a hard sequence to adjust, between the varying rep schemes and my attempts at doing pullups. The One Rep Max Calculator's results are proving to be "Near Misses." "We'll see" will have to be my watchword

[cdkrug]

5-16-2007

EIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AA!

Karate night.

Followed up with a 400m alleged sprint.
2:01.43 (-20.51)

Much better pacing, and my technique stayed "right" longer. Finished feeling strong. Must have been an easy night at karate.

[cdkrug]

5-17-2007

NROL Warmup

Walking Lunge w/ Upper Body Twist, 10/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch, 10/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 12 total
Inchworm, 6
T-Pushups, 12 (Total)

NROL Hypertrophy I, B3

3x15 Legs at 311, 30s rest
3x15 Abs, 311, 60s rest

Squats
135x15x3

Deadlift Shrug
140x15x3

Had trouble hitting my rests

Bulgarian Split Squats alternated w/ Step Ups
Bulgarian Split Squats (Bodyweight)x15x3 (each leg)
Step Ups (2x10)x15x3

Reverse Crunch (Bodyweight)x15x3

Really working on my range of motion on this movement.

Adjustments

My guesstimate for 15 reps Squat was spot on, based on my last set at 5 reps.

Deadlifts weren't so well estimated.

Steps and Bulgarians were . . steps and Bulgarians. I could go heavier, but it's close.

[cdkrug]

5-18-2007

400m run
2:03.20 (+1.77)

New pair of Nike Free 7.0 cross trainers. Wasn't crazy about my form, and I was sucking wind towards the end, which I suppose is my goal.

[cdkrug]

5-20-2007

Knees were bothering me today. Did 5x/side walking lunge, and did the side lunges as a static stretch.

Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist 30s, 12 (Total w/ 10lb)
Inchworms 6
T-pushups 12 (total)

NROL Hypertrophy I A4

Second low-rep day. 5x5 at 311, 90s rest

Comparisons are to A1

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press Superset w/ Cable Seated Row
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press (2x45)x5x5 +5lb ea
Cable Seated Row 237.5x5x5 +25lb

Dumbbell Shoulder Press Superset w/ Wide-grip assisted pullups
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (2x40)x5x5 +5lb ea
Wide-grip Assisted Pullups (Small Band)x5x5, x4 + 1 jumping, (Medium)x5x2

Thats 14 + 1 jumping rep with the small band versus 4 + 1 two weeks ago.

Dumbbell Elbows In Bench Press Superset w/ High Pulls
Dumbbell Elbows In Bench Press (2x35)x5x5
High Pulls (2x35)x5x5

Kept this the same. Tried the close-grip sub with 40lb-ers, but that wasn't happening. Decided to drop High Pulls a bit because I wasn't happy with my technique late in my sets last time.

Air Force Situps (Bodyweight)x15x3 (60s rest)

Adjustments?

With low reps every two weeks, it's a safe bet I'll be looking for ways to up the intensity on at least the first movement, possibly in two weeks, but Definitely in four.

I'm SERIOUSLY Tempted to start doing Stupid Pullup Tricks, BUT I don't want to mess with Alwyn's program too much. Maybe later when I'm doing Strength workouts (Coming soon to a September near you).

[cdkrug]

5-21-2007

Karate and run effort night.

2:06.04 (+3.24)

Clearly going in the wrong direction, but I'll attribute tonight's slowness to a heavy leg night at karate. Felt okay, just slow.

[cdkrug]

5-22-2007

10-rep Leg Day. Abbreviated leg warmup again.

NROL Warmup (Abbreviated)
Walking Lunge w/ Side Bend 5/side
Side Lunge w/ Opposite Hand Touch, 5/side
Ball Bridge w/ Upper Body Russian Twist, 30s, 12 (total) w/ 10lb
Inchworm, 6
T-pushups, 12 (total)

NROL Hypertrophy I, B4

4x10 at a 311 pace, with 60s rest between sets

Squat
45x5, 95x4, 145x3
170x10x4

New record for reps. Tough, but felt good.

Deadlift Shrug
155x10x4

Had a hard time making my rest periods, but I was a lot happier with my form.

Bulgarian Split Squats Supersetted w/ Step Ups
Bulgarian Split Squats (2x8)x10x4
Step Ups (2x20)x10x4

Had some core problems on the bulgarians.

Reverse Crunches (Bodyweight)x15x3

Adjustments?

When I cool down, I'm Famished.

I'm making good progress on my squats, which I suspect is at the expense of my deadlifts. Maybe I'm over gluting my squats?

Deads are just going to sit at 155 for now. Longer sets seem a lot harder for me than shorter on this movement.

[cdkrug]

5-23-2007

Karate and a 400m run.

2:12.03 (+5.99)

I need to shift these efforts ahead of karate, on the possibly erroneous assumption that all the kicking is blowing out my legs.