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 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.