Workout Saturday 29/9/12

A nice strength session to follow up from my boxing the day before.

Warm-up

5 minutes skipping.
5 minutes foam roller.

Bosu medicine ball squats - 3 sets x 10 reps.
Y-T-W-L - 3 sets of 3 complete reps per side.

Superset

3 sets

Bb bench press - 8 reps at 68kg.
Hammer curls - 10 reps with 12.5kg dbs.

Superset

3 sets

Shoulder press - 10 reps with 15kg dbs.
Bb bent over row - overhand (supinated) grip - 10 reps at 53.5kg.

Superset

3 sets

Eccentric chin ups x 10 reps.
Rolling triceps extension - 10 reps with 15kg dbs.

Warm-down

5 minutes foam roller.
10 minutes static stretching.

Boxing - Friday 28/9/12

For the first time ever I hit the boxing ring with Brett Little, a terrific fight coach who works out of Fit To Go - a tidy fight/boxing/weights gym in Cheltenham run by ex-pro fighter Phil Fagan.  It was one hour of fairly intense movement, a lot of time spent working on countering years body memory from karate training and adjusting to the guard position with hands-up-to-face of traditional boxing.  Well, when I say 'countering', I should instead say 'adjusting'.  After so many years of fight training there is no reason why any half-decent student can't quickly adjust to differing styles of movement, or tai sabaki.  The principles of body management remain the same regardless of the style of martial art.  Hip movement, feet work, speed, hikite.

As is shown in the attached video, there is always room for improvement!  It's funny how when reviewing such material the recorded product seems much slower than at the time. Regardless, it provides an excellent way of analysing technique, and I encourage everyone to use their phones or other devices to record and analyse their movement in all facets of training.  Video review is a valuable tool for performance improvement.

Workout Thursday 27/9/12

Thursday is Killer Cardio day.  Today was a slight variation of the usual, with my training partner Mark Boddington having yesterday purchased a 2 metre power band, we implemented this awesome tool into our sprint drills.  The workout itself was an abbreviated affair, with the typical interference of work commitments, but we managed to do some interesting stuff.

Superset

4 sets

10 x 45kg squats.
10 x TRX rows.
2 x 20 metre power band sprints.

 It wasn't the vomity session that it normally is today.  We streamlined the workout to just the three exercises - having not worked with a power band before we weren't quite sure about what to expect.  Next time, when time is not at such a premium, we'll get back to some unorthodox push-ups, and other such stuff.

 

I'm the one doing the running.

Workout Tuesday 25/9/12

I got a text from a friend Tuesday afternoon, asking me if I wanted to train.  He wanted to do some bench work.  I had a 45 minute session with a client, and then afterwards went straight to the gym.  It was a pretty short session, but it still managed to be a killer. 

Warm-up

5 minutes on the foam roller.
5 minutes kettle bell swings.

Bench Press

10 minutes to do 10 x reps at 90% 1RM (85.5kg for weak, old me).

Superset

Db bench press - 10 x reps with 25kg dbs.
Bent-over row - 10 x reps with 43.5kg bb.

Warm-down

10 minutes foam roller.
10 minutes static stretching.

Qualification

Today I received the first and most basic of my fitness qualifications - my Certificate III Fitness.  It's the first small step in what I hope will be a continuing process of education and experience.  I am loving the learning and I am loving the application.

More training.

More study.

Workout Sunday 23/9/12

This morning I had a client for personal training, and put him through a tough session of boxing drills and agility runs.  Essentially I held the pads and had a bit of a stretch, which was nice.  Then, I went off to the gym for my own punishing and exhilarating workout!

Warm-up

2 minutes skipping.
5 minutes foam roller.
3 sets of modified Y-T-W-L.

Superset

3 sets

Deadlifts -  1st set at 95.5kg, 2nd and 3rd sets at 105.5kg x 8 reps.
Judo push-ups - 3 forward, 3 left rotation, 3 right rotation.

Powerclean to front squat

3 sets

1 powerclean for set up for front squats x 8 at 55.5kg.

Torsonator

2 sets with 15kg on barbell

Twists x 20.
Lunge and press x 20.
Squat and hand-to-hand press x 20.
Clean and press x 20.
Knee strike x 20.

Warm-down

5 minutes foam roller.
15 minutes static stretch.

Workout Saturday 22/9/12

Been a tough week with work/school/family commitments, and training has suffered a little as a result.  Apart from a splendid 2 hour boxing session on Monday night at school, I haven't done any training.  A few foam roller sessions, and some static stretching on the lounge room floor, have been the extent of it.  Today it's all about the upper body and core.

Warm-up

15 minutes brisk walk to gym.
5 minutes skipping.
5 minutes foam roller.
3 sets of modified Y-T-W-L (lunge position with dumbell).

Superset

3 sets

Resistance band push-ups x 10
Eccentric chin-ups x 10

Superset

3 sets

Db bench press x 10 reps with 25 kg dumbells.
1-arm row x 10 reps with 27.5kg dbs.

Superset

3 sets

Bb bent over row x 10 reps - 43.5kg.
Db shoulder press x 8 reps with 15kg dbs.

Bag work

15 minutes punching and kicking.

Warm-down

5 minutes foam roller.
15 minutes static stretching.
15 minutes walk home.
10 minutes foam roller.

Workout Sunday 16/9/12

Another simple workout.  For this one I did two core lifts, added an explosive plyometric variable and then finished up with a series of core exercises.  It's a real sore-maker, this one!

Warm-up

15 minute brisk walk to gym.
Resistance band stretches - chest/shoulders/thoracic spine.

Superset

4 sets of 8 reps.

Bench press - 70.5kg.
Deadlift - 95.5kg
Box jumps

Core

3 sets.

Hanging straight leg raises x 5 reps.
Russian twist with 10kg plate x 20 reps.
Pallof press complex (hold 30 sec, front punch x 10 reps, high punch x 10 reps each side) at 17.5kg.

Warm-down

15 minute brisk walk home.
10 minutes foam roller.
15 minutes static stretching.

Workout Saturday 15/9/12

A fairly light workout today - my first session in the gym in three days after being hit with the dreaded lurgy.  Nice and simple.

Warm-up

15 minutes brisk walk to the gym.

Powercleans

Emphasis on technique.  Warm-up with unloaded short bar - 13.5kg.  20 reps.
10 reps at 23.5kg.
10 reps at 33.5kg.
10 reps at 43.5kg.
10 reps at 53.5kg.
6 reps at 58.5kg.
5 reps at 63.5kg.

Chins and pulls

3 sets.
Eccentric body weight chin-ups.  1st & 2nd set 10 reps.  3rd set 5 reps.
Face pulls x 10 reps.

Warm-down

Foam roller 5 minutes.
15 minute brisk walk home.
Static stretching 10 minutes.

Forced Rest

Illness is a pretty average way of engaging in forced rest.  It's the first time in a year that I have been sick, and I reckon it has to do with the change in season.  Whatever.  The opportunity that is presented to me is to catch up on some movies I've been wanting to see for a while (Prometheus, Jeff Who Lives At Home & Casa De Mi Padre) and school work and study.  In the course of the latter I caught up with an old friend of mine (not personally, but certainly his website) Jim Smith, who has a terrific article on training periodization here.   Specifically, it's based around training intensity, but the same ideas apply.  It's nice to see that what he discusses here is pretty much my basic philosophy to training, that is, keep mixing it up, don't allow your body to get too used to any one particular exercise, keep working hard, keep working smart, and rest whenever you genuinely feel the need.  Note well:  'rest' doesn't necessarily mean 'lie on the couch all day doing nothing', rather, 'try doing something completely different to your regular routine'.  During periods of heavy weight lifting, throw in a few days of pure cardio.  When you're focusing more on CV fitness, add in the occasional resistance day.  And so on.  MIX IT UP!  I really like the way that Smith advises the lack of a set plan when hitting the gym.  Perhaps I'm reading it wrong, but I think that what he's talking about is take your approach to the workout in the same way that battle planners prepare for conflict, that is, make the plans, prepare for contingencies, and then on contact with the enemy forget it all and attack! 

This is exactly how I plan my workouts.  Usually I workout in the early-mid afternoon, so a couple of hours beforehand I will consider what type of work is required for my session.  Next I will think of 2-3 appropriate core lifts that are relevant and then add in a few functional techniques.  And that's pretty much it.  Once I get to the gym I'll listen to how my body is feeling, adjust my warm-up accordingly (even though my warm-up is usually pretty much the same every time, I will make the occasional modification), and then take the same philosophy to my lifts.  If I'm feeling sore or especially weak (a frequent occurrence!) I might do light conditioning instead of a volume/strength day.  Or cardio.  Or boxing.  Or plyometrics.  Or anything else.  The trick is to keep working.  Or thinking.  Or studying.  Or relaxing.  Or reading.  Or living.

Workout Sunday 9/9/12

Another little cardio session for me today.  Very basic, very sweaty.

Sunday Cardio

15 minute walk to the gym.
25 minutes HIIT on the elliptic cycle.
20 minutes running on the treadmill (4 kilometres), 5 minutes warm-down.
10 minutes stretching and foam roller.
20 minutes walk home.
10 minutes foam roller.

Workout Saturday 8/9/12

Having missed out on the Killer Cardio (KC) session on Thursday, I decided to do a variation of this today.  Focusing a little more on fight conditioning, I incorporated bag punching and kicking into the KC routine.  The aim with this circuit is to keep the heart rate up, but to also work on power, to work the ATP-CP system.  Short bursts of power, that's what it's all about...

Warm-up

15 minute brisk walk to gym.

Fighting Circuit

5 sets.

30 second rest between each exercise, 2 minutes rest between sets.

1 minute skipping.
10 squats at 45 kg.
50 fast punches.
20 fast kicks.
2 x 20m sprint.
20 crunches.

Warm-down

5 minutes walking.
30 minutes proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) & static stretching, including makoho stretching.
15 minutes brisk walk home.

Workout Friday 7/9/12

A light cardio day today.  The thing that I love about the type of training I'm doing is mixing it up as much as possible.  I will almost never do the same workout twice - every session in the gym is a little challenge to do something different, to load and test my body in a way I've not yet tried.  There will always be the same types of foundation exercises, of course, but I believe that if you mix the movements around, incorporating different superset patterns, and work in a varied mix of smaller compound movements, it will be more difficult to adapt to the work.  This pretty much ensures progression in strength.

Cardio

15 minutes brisk walk to gym.
5 minutes rower.
25 minutes elliptic cycle.  High intensity interval training (HIIT).
10 minutes treadmill running.  2.5km.
20 minutes brisk walk home.

Foam roller 5 minutes.
Static stretching 10 minutes.

Workout Thursday 6/9/12

Simple strength day today.  My two other training partners for my killer cardio sessions had other appointments, and after the plyometrics I did at school last night I was more than content to simply hit the weights.  So, after a lovely lunch of authentic Japanese from Mizu, in South Yarra, off I went...


Warm-up

15 minutes brisk walk to the gym.
5 minutes skipping.
Resistance band stretches - thoracic/chest/shoulders.

 Deadlift & Bench Press Superset

4 sets of 6 reps for each exercise.

Deadlift - 1st set 95.5kg, sets 2,3 & 4 115.5kg.
Bench press - 70.5kg.

Front Squat & Row Superset

4 sets of 6 reps (front squat) and 8 reps (seated row).  Powerclean to start position for front squat.

Front squat - 55.5kg.
Seated row - 90kg.

Triceps Push-down, Crunches & Modified Cuban Press Superset

3 sets of 8 reps (triceps push-down), 20 reps (crunches) and 10 reps (mod. Cuban press).

Triceps push-down - 40kg.
Crunches - bodyweight.
Modified Cuban press - 5kg dumbells.

Pullof Press & Face Pulls

2 sets of 30 second hold, 10 punches, 10 presses (Pullof press), and 10 reps (face pulls).

Pullof press - 17.5kg.
Face pulls - resistance band.

Warm-down

Foam roller (at gym) - 5 minutes.
25 minutes brisk walk home.
Foam roller (at home) - 10 minutes.
Static stretching - 10 minutes.

Workout Wednesday 5/9/12

Today was the first time in a while that I really didn't feel like being in the gym.  I was tired from a restless night with my youngest child, and that lack of effective rest was having an impact on my psychological state.  However, I usually find that on those occasions where the will is weak, the reward at the end of the session is multiplied.  It wasn't to be today, I still felt pretty crap afterwards.  In this workout I compromised by keeping it short and focused on upper body and core.

Cranky session

Warm-up

15 minute brisk walk to gym.
5 minutes skipping.
Resistance band stretches - thoracic/chest/shoulder.

Chest

Superset 3 sets of 10 reps.
Dumbell bench press - 25kg dbs.
Dumbell bench flies - 5 kg dbs.

Shoulder/back

Superset 3 sets of 10 reps.
Barbell bent-over row (overhand/pronated grip) - 53kg.
Dumbell shoulder press - 15kg dbs.

Torsonator

2 sets of 10 reps each side.
15 kg plate.
Twists/squat&press/clean&press/squat&side to side press/knee kicks.

Warm-down

15 minutes brisk walk home.
Foam roller for 10 minutes.
Static stretches for 10 minutes.

At school last night I also had a session of plyometrics and a study of core lifts.  The lifts were all about technique, and barely rate a mention as 'work', but the plyometrics session was a real sweat-maker.

Plyometrics

5 minutes warm-up jog/sprints.
Illinois test x 3.
V test x 3.
Ladder runs + variations x 15.
Bean bag catches.

Once I got home from class I was feeling much better.  The plyometrics was something I really enjoyed, and I have noticed a very big improvement in my cardiovascular fitness over the last couple of months.  I'm starting to feel pretty good for a 40-year-old!

Workout Tuesday 4/9/12

The author demonstrating the ONLY appropriate use of  a Smith machine.

I have an ongoing issue with rotator cuff tendinopathy, specifically supraspinatus and biceps tendinopathy, and this has seriously affected my training regime.  I have had to cut out all isolation exercises for the arms, notably curls and dips, and have had to cut down on the weights for the other big exercises like bench press, rows and shoulder press.  I am taking anti-inflammatories, and am performing minor rotator cuff movements like horizontal external shoulder rotation with a resistance band (elbow at hip).

Today's focus was on mid-level volume.  Three exercises, 6 sets, 6 reps of each.  Again, the weight was only at about 65-70% max due to concerns and limitations regarding the injury.  We have to be careful...

Volume superset

6 sets, 6 reps.

Bench press - 65.5kg.
T-bar row - 65kg.
1 powerclean to 6 front squats - 63kg.

Workout Sunday 2/9/12

Conditioning day today.  It's about sweat, coupling strength and power in movement, and neural training - pretty much everything that gets done in the dojo, but without the pair-work.  The emphasis is on technique (as it always is, really).

Warm-up

15 minutes brisk walk to the gym.
5 minutes skipping.

Conditioning

9 minutes 16kg kettle bell complex - two-handed swings, ATBP, single-hand swings, one-leg deadlifts, swing&pull back.

Torsonator complex - twists, one-arm squat&press, clean&press, hand-to-hand squat&press, knee kicks.  2 sets.
Judo push-ups.  4 sets of 9 reps (standard, then left and right).
Face pulls - 2 sets of 10 reps.

Bag work.  500 punches, 200 kicks.  (Started breaking in my lovely new Everlast grappling gloves.  Mmmmm.  Punching...)

Warm-down

15 minutes brisk walk home.
10 minutes foam roller.
10 minutes static stretching.

Workout Saturday 1/9/12

Sometimes the only thing to do when you're feeling hungover and a little bit slow is to hit the gym and work through all of the neural dysfunction (and stagnation) and detox like a mofo.  And what's the best way of doing this?  Well, it's really just a matter of turning up and seeing what happens.  Once you're at the gym, what is the only option left to you but to workout?  Granted, you could be one of those types that just hangs around chatting about all of the great workouts you've done, about all of the martial arts you used to do, about how strong/fast/flexible/fit you used to be, or you could just shut your mouth and get on with it.  Today, this is how I got on with it.

Warm-up

17 minute shaky walk to the gym.
Drink water.
Neural stretching - resistance band stretch for chest, thoracic spine & shoulders.
Drink water.

Legs/back/etc

Superset

Deadlift - 2 sets of 8 x 95.5kg, 1 set of 105.5kg.
Pushups - 3 sets of 10 reps.
Drink water.

Chest/legs/core

Superset

Barbell benchpress - 3 sets of 8 reps at 65.5kg.
Barbell (overhead) lunge - 3 sets of 20 reps at 33kg.
Drink water, keep stomach acids down.  Breathe.

Back/shoulders/core

Superset

Drink water.
Seated row - 3 sets of 10 reps at 85kg.
Dumbell shoulder press - 3 sets of 10 reps at 12.5kg.
Drink water.

Core/rotator cuff

Cable hold & punch (modified Pullof press) - 30 second hold, 10 mid-level punches, 10 upper-level punches - 2 sets at 17.5kg.
Resistance band face-pulls - 2 sets of 10 reps.
Water.  Lots more water.

Warm-down

15 minutes brisk walk home (feeling almost great now).
10 minutes foam roller.
10 minutes static stretching.