More muscle up, Today at the Gym

Mar20
by Duf on March 20, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Muscle Ups, Today at the Gym

20121112154723-do-1-hand-stand-push-up-wall-assisted[1]Today at the Gym – today we had another demonstration of totally ineffective ab exercises.  The demonstrator was a younger guy who may have not been old enough to drink legally.  He was on the ab slant board.

After locking his legs in he reclined fully on the board.  As he did this he brought his 90 degree bent arms over his head until his upper arms were next to his ears.  Then like the trigger of a gun, he threw his arms forward as he came up off the board.  He continued his reps from there, reloading and firing off his ab momentum gun again and again.

I saw his friend doing another questionably effective but at least more visually interesting ab exercise.  He had about 8 or 9 of the Reebok steps stacked next to him.  (the risers, not the platforms) He assumed a droopy V position with his upper body and legs and then unstacked the risers from one side and restacked them on the other.

There at least 3 younger guys at the gym that have been trying to get their first muscle up.  All three are very close but can’t quite get their chest over the bar.  I have to admit it makes me feel good to grab the bar and still be able to get up and over, albeit in a very ugly manner, with roughly 25 years more on the odometer than these young guys.  I have been trying to give the guys some tips to help them get their first rep.

The muscle up aspiration at the gym has reignited my interest in the movement.  Within 6 months of getting my first muscle up I found I almost completely stopped training the movement.  I was having some elbow and forearm pain associated with it and I just found myself focused on other things as a result.

Well I am going to try to see if I can get things cranking again, that is part of the reason I have been working high pull ups into my routine.  I did a couple muscle ups today, as I said before, ugly ones.  I also tried a false grip, slow MU, something I was able to do consistently when I was really working the movement.  I couldn’t even get close to the transition point today.  It was a good indication of how far my muscle up ability has atrophied.

I did some wall handstand push ups today.  First time I have tried those in awhile.  I only got 3 reps per set but they were head to floor reps at least.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

3 sets x 3 reps wall handstand push ups

3 sets x 5 reps skin the cat scalpula pulls

2 sets x 10 reps straight bar shoulder shrugs

1 set x 10 reps straight bar inverted shoulder shrug

2 x 1 muscle ups

6 minutes of A2G hold time

 

 

 

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Can’t do it

Mar19
by Duf on March 19, 2014 at 6:13 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Injuries

ELALS-stretch-elbow[1]So today I was at the doctor and somehow we got on the subject of Crossfit.  My doctor was talking about her husband and how he has poor elbow flexibility from a car accident years ago.  She demonstrated how he couldn’t touch his shoulder with his hand by bending the elbow.

Well of course I had to immediately try this.  I first used my right arm, I was able to perch my fingers on top of my shoulder no problem.  I then tried to do the same maneuver with my left hand.  My fingers stopped dead in their tracks an inch or two away from the shoulder, wtf….

I never realized I had poor elbow flexibility on my left side.  When trying to determine why that is the only thing I could come up with is an old pitching injury.    Perhaps when it healed up over 25 years ago it did so in a manner that made the joint tight and I never bothered trying to stretch it.  Now that I know I am gimped in this manner I will try to add an elbow stretch to my 5 minute cardio/stretching routine.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

10 high pull ups

Standing Fat Grips alternating bicep curls – 25lbs x 12, 40lbs x 8, 50lbs x 3

supersetted with bodyweight tricep extensions three sets of 10 reps

Standing one arm side cable machine curls – 30 lbs x 10, 40lbs x 10

supersetted with 10 reps normal width bar dips, 8 reps close width bar dips

6 minutes of A2G squat hold mixed in

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Moving some iron

Mar18
by Duf on March 18, 2014 at 5:28 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Lifting Heavy Things

MD_345_-223[1]This was the first Tuesday in awhile where I didn’t have any contention for the squat rack at the gym.  My squat numbers were weak but I also was trying to go deeper than ever before, trying to utilize the added flexibility from all of the A2G holds I have been doing.

What I found is I felt significantly weaker trying to start the upward movement from a lower squat position which is to be expected.  For now I will just deal with bad numbers for higher real world benefit from the movement.

My dead lifting went ok but my grip felt like the weak point.  My forearms felt stretched out ahead of time.  Even pulling 275 lbs overhand I had to stop and regrip after rep 4.  Chalk would definitely help but that isn’t something my gym smiles upon.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

10 high pull ups

10 near A2G barbell squats with just the bar

Barbell squat 135lbs x 12, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 2 (below parallel thigh depth)

Deadlift – 225lbs x 10, 275lbs x 5, 325lbs x 5, 345lbs x 3

Seated leg extension with 1 second pause at top – 130lbs x 12

Seated leg curl – 130lbs x 12

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RW, Today at the Gym – the most ineffective ab exercise ever

Mar17
by Duf on March 17, 2014 at 11:32 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Ray's Way

stability-ball[1]

Today at the Gym – There was some younger guy with an accent that seemed to specialize in doing really poor ab exercises.  The first thing I saw him do was lay on the ab slant board which was set at a moderate decline angle.  As he laid on the board he was raising and lowering an eight pound Sportfit ball (like a medicine ball with handles) up and down above his head.  He did not raise off the board, he just moved the ball up and down.

Then he grabbed one of those blow up balance balls, his was somewhere around 2 1/2 to 3 feet in diameter, a big one.  He gets close enough to a wall that his legs are bent at a 90 degree angle.  He then grabs the Sportfit ball again and holds it in front of him.  Then he starts bouncing up and down on the ball, at the top his back is perpendicular to the floor, at the bottom his back is 45 degrees to the floor.  Each upward movement is not only assisted from bouncing his lower back off the balance ball but also using the Sportfit ball as a counterweight, further eliminating any use of the abs whatsoever.  Oh well.

I started off my exercise week with an untimed  Ray’s Way.  It was difficult but not torturous, meaning it’s time to up the reps.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Untimed Ray’s Way

5 circuits of 15 dips, 10 pull ups, 20 push ups

5 minutes of A2G holds mixed in between circuits

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Working the jaw

Mar14
by Duf on March 14, 2014 at 5:15 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

_50933408_face[1]Today was one of those days where I was doing too much talking and not enough reps.  I tried to compensate by doing some high exertion movements like dragon flags and even 4 or 5 single muscle up reps thrown in there.

 

 

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

10 high pull pull ups

15 slow hanging knee raises

60 second side plank (both sides)

3 sets x 5 reps dragon flags

Mixed in randomly – 4 ugly muscle ups, 6 minutes of A2G holds

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