Out of the cocoon

Feb04
by Duf on February 4, 2014 at 6:43 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

sit-to-stand[1]So ever since last Thursday when I did 30 minutes of ass to grass static holds (the day after doing squats and deadlifts at the gym) I have been in more or less a solid cocoon of pain, soreness and discomfort.  I was walking around like my hamstrings were 6 inches too short for most of the weekend.

Well today at the gym it felt like most of the soreness had finally left my lower body.  I had mentioned today in my regular blog that I was going to try to shift my squat/DL day around to earlier in the week so the soreness has a chance to dissipate by the weekend where I can hopefully get some endurance (running) training in.

Well just for the heck of it today in between squat and DL sets I dropped down into 1 minute ass to grass holds.  I couldn’t believe how comfortable I felt.  It felt like I was as deep if not deeper than any of my holds last week and the tension/pressure across my right knee was significantly diminished.    I almost felt comfortable.  In total I held 5 or 6 minutes of A2G without significant difficulty.

Not only was I low, I was able to push myself out of the squat without any hand assist off the floor, something I required every single time last Thursday.  Instead I just rocked my weight a little up onto my toes and brought myself up via leg power only.  Sure there were still the usual cracks and creaks from my knees but I was amazed I got up sans assist.

In addition to the good times in A2G position, my squatting felt decent as well, I did more squat reps today than I probably have done in the last 5-6 months.  Of course that knocks down my deadlift endurance somewhat but I think it is a fair trade off.

Now I have no plans to try to jump back into 30 minutes of A2G hold a day.  I think that is just asking for trouble, at least with someone with poor flexibility like myself.  But I am going to definitely try to use it as my “rest” position at the gym in between other exercises.  My goal is to  maintain that edge where I am pushing my flexibility envelope without tearing it open.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

21 pull ups

15 prisoner squats

Barbell squats – 135×12, 185×8, 205×5, 215×3

Deadlifts – 225×10, 275×5, 325×5 (at 275 and 325 reps were non-momentum reps. Came to full stop in between each)

6 minutes of A2G holds

 

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A2G knocked me on my A, no pizazz

Jan31
by Duf on January 31, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Endurance activities, Failure, Injuries

weighted-dips-1[1]So I barely managed to complete the full 30 minutes of holding ass 2 grass squat position yesterday.  The last two holds I did at home were extremely uncomfortable and not deep thanks to soreness from Wednesday’s squats and deadlifts rolling in. Today my lower body feels horrible, I wouldn’t even think about attempting the position until some of this soreness leaves my body.

Today was another one of those lackluster work outs, a word I would use to describe yesterdays gym session too.  I am just not feeling all that strong, determined or motivated.

I realized today that the 1/2 marathon I have done the past 3 years is rapidly approaching, something like a month away.  I think it is pretty much assured that there will be no 4th consecutive year of my running it.

Ever since the Tough Mudder in November any running I have done has been followed with a blown up right knee.  I have done zero consistent running since the TM.

Plus my emphasis on dead lifting in the last year has transformed my body in ways that don’t seem conducive to running.  Overall I have increased my strength and power but I have also increased my body weight in doing so, something that just does not help my running in the least.  When I was scraping the low 170’s on the scale I may have looked pretty gaunt but my running was as strong as it ever was. So anyway, short of a minor miracle, I don’t see myself running a half marathon anytime soon.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

15 pull ups

15 dips

20 push ups

10 weighted dips (45 lbs)

20 push ups

4 weighted pull ups (45 lbs)

8 weighted dips (45 lbs)

20 push ups

4 weighted pull ups (45 lbs)

7 weighted dips (45 lbs)

20 push ups

 

Bleh…

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Observations, A2G

Jan30
by Duf on January 30, 2014 at 7:34 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, General Fitness Talk

a2gFor awhile I have been posting random observations from my daily gym workouts on FB.  My 25 years of going to gyms has given me a lot experience in both picking out and describing funny, annoying, or stupid behavior that often goes on.

Yesterday someone criticized my doing so, implying it was mean spirited and that I was putting people down to make myself “look good”.  That’s funny but unfortunately totally incorrect.  I simply make observations and have a moderate amount of skill describing what I am seeing.

I am never the type to push workout advice upon others unsolicited. (like this FB poster felt obliged to do for me)  If someone asks me for info or help I am happy to offer it.  That being said if you are doing something comical, I am going to notice it.  I have no doubt fellow gym goers have done double takes at some of the silly things I do while there.  It goes with the territory.  People need to stop wasting so much time being offended.

Last night I took my first shot at holding a deep ass to grass squat, or as close as I can get to it.  For a couple weeks I saw some of my FB friends posting pics of themselves in this hold but I wasn’t sure why.  It turns out it is part of an Ido Portal challenge to do 30 minutes of A2G a day for 30 days.  This position is all about opening up lower body flexibility in the back, hips, legs and knees, something I definitely need.

The first couple holds I tried last night were brutal.  The tension in my right knee made each 1 minute hold feel much longer.  In total I did 6 minutes of hold last night.  Each one minute of A2G felt a tiny bit less painful than the last. My biggest issue is I can feel I shift my weight more towards my left side where my “good” knee is.  Ideally I can push it back to the right so my weight distribution is truly balanced.

I have continued the 1 minute sessions today, incorporating it into my gym routine as well.  Right now I am at 16 minutes for the day.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

seven 1 minute A2G squat holds were mixed in between my other exercises

3 x 60 sec belly to wall handstand static holds (narrow, normal, wide hand position)

3 sets of 5 tuck lever lifts with 3 second hold at top (narrow normal, wide hand position)

10 scalpula pull ups

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Squats squished

Jan29
by Duf on January 29, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Lifting Heavy Things

halfsquat-fuck[1]Squats have been noticeably absent from DL/Squat Wednesdays for quite awhile.  Some of it was because of knee and leg issues that made the movement feel very uncomfortable.  Some of it was from my emphasis on deadlifting in recent months.

Today was the first time I got under the bar in a number of weeks.  I kept my lifts minimal and low in number but at least I didn’t feel any twinges or tweaks that made me feel uneasy.

Perhaps doing more squatting up front affected my DL later.  My one rep at 375lbs nearly killed me.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

15 prisoner squats

Barbell squat – 135lbs x 12, 185lbs x 8, 205lbs x3

Deadlift – 225lbs x 10, 275lbs x 5, 325lbs x 5, 375lbs x 1

Seated leg extension – 130lbs x 12

Seated leg curl – 130lbs x 12

 

 

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Hammer time

Jan28
by Duf on January 28, 2014 at 6:26 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

hammer_curl[1]Today I left the tri out of bi/tri day, they were feeling pretty beat up from the routine I did yesterday.  Instead between each bicep set I dropped and did 20 full ROM push ups.

I did some one handed side Fat Gripz hammer curls, something that I must have invented because I couldn’t find a picture of anyone doing them.  I do them like this.

Stand with feet relatively close together and grab a dumbbell (with a Fat Grip on it preferably)  Tuck your non-working arm behind your back.  Your working arm should curl the weight in a hammer curl fashion but not in front of you, to your side instead.

Doing them in this manner creates an imbalance that you have to work against with your core.  I started with 25 pounds and topped out with 6 reps at 40lbs.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Seated Fat Gripz dumbbell curls 25lbs x 12. 40lbs x 10, 50lbs x 3

Standing one arm Fat Gripz side hammer curls 25lbs x 10, 35lbs x 8, 40lbs x 6

Supersetted with sets of 20 push ups (30 reps last set) – total of 130 reps

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