Non-dirty 30

Nov26
by Duf on November 26, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Posted In: Exercises

So Sunday I got the idea in my head that I wanted to set a new pull up personal best.  I think it was loosely motivated by Ray L talking about taking down 30 reps at this weeks advanced Bar-barain training session in NYC. I had no thoughts of doing 30 pull ups, I was hoping to squeak out 28, one better than my surprising 27 rep effort in October.

I haven’t had any amazing pull up break throughs lately that would have made me think I had a good shot at 28 reps, I just got the idea in my head I wanted to do it.  I even used a bit of Zef style visualization leading up to the set, imagining how good it would feel to crank out 28.

I wore my Crossfit Clitheroe hoodie that Lee sent me for extra motivation, plus it was rather chilly outside by Florida standards. (low 60’s)

After chalking both the bar and my hands I started pulling.  With max rep attempts speed is important but since I subscribe to the Bar-barian mantra I also am very aware of form.  I kept my legs straight and my range of motion solid for all reps.

I was pretty stoked when I did the first 22 reps with no break.  I knew that 28 should be in reach.  When I squeezed out my 28th rep all of a sudden my vision changed, I want to get 30 reps…

Although my back was very fatigued, my grip still felt solid enough to allow me to do some on bar recovery. I hung for awhile but managed to squeeze out rep 29 and 30 in a convincing, chin hovering over the bar fashion.

When I watched the video back I was pleased that my form stayed consistent within Bar-baric standards.

I dropped off the bar very surprised I just completed 30 pull ups.  When I squeaked out 25 reps a few months back 30 seemed a very different and difficult beast to tame, yet here I was.  It felt damn good to be setting personal physical bests even as I am rapidly approaching half a century on the planet…

Not many people can do 30 pull ups, when you add “45 and older” to that sentence, the numbers shrink dramatically further.

 

 

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Today’s Ray’s Way Journal

Nov16
by Duf on November 16, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Posted In: Physical challenges, Ray's Way

Today was my second time doing Rays Way since I decided to just deal with left wrist pain that sidelined me for several weeks.  I once again tried to do it at the 19/9/24 level. (dips, pull ups, push ups)

Last week I failed in the 4th round of dips.  This week I was able to retard the failure into the 5th and final dip round.  At rep 16 I felt like I couldn’t even hold myself up in the lock out position so I hopped off briefly and then did the last 3 reps.

I almost completed the rest of the round cleanly but collapsed at rep 22 of the push ups.  After a few seconds I did the final two reps, probably 10 seconds past the 3 minute round time limit.

So although it was another fail, it was a definitive improvement.

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Excellence in explanation

Nov15
by Duf on November 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Posted In: General Fitness Talk

I have never claimed to be an expert in any aspect of calisthenics, well maybe except how to look silly doing it.  I am basically a novice in most disciplines whom tries to find a way to get my old, big, long body to function doing these movements.  I have never had any formal coaching or training but I have watched endless hours of YouTube videos of many individuals that have helped me along the way.

Well a couple weeks ago I stumbled across this channel on YouTube.  It is the channel of Naka Athletics whom appears to be a Crossfit group based in the San Francisco area.  The coach in these videos is Carl Paoli and he is in a word, excellent.

Carl does a fantastic job of both demonstrating and explaining countless body weight movements and exercises, some of the best I have EVER seen.   If you are looking for some really good information on the how and why behind gymnastic (and Crossfit) movements, look no further.

Just take a look at these three videos explaining push up basics.  I have no doubt that I have some fundamental flaws in my my push up form, I am going to try to apply some of the tips and see how things improve.

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Real world work outs are a real chore

Nov13
by Duf on November 13, 2012 at 8:22 pm
Posted In: Endurance activities

Despite all the various difficult calisthenic and cardio type work outs I subject my body to, I often find that some of the most grueling work is done out in the yard doing chores. This weekend was one of those times.

I spent 10 hours trimming 28 trees with hand tools.  The job involved hours of going up and down ladders, working above my head, trying to apply leverage and torque to the loppers while maintaining my balance precariously. This was followed by walking around, picking up hundreds of palm fronds putting them in the truck and the unloading them again in the back of the property.  I also threw in about an hour of skinning trees with a machete.

I’m not sure which body parts I did NOT use.  By the time I was done I felt like I was put through a meat grinder.

When I painted my bedroom a few weeks ago I had a similar unconventional workout, my core and forearms were hammered especially.

 

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Long Day in Ray’s Way

Nov09
by Duf on November 9, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Posted In: Physical challenges

I tried to do a Ray’s Way set today at the gym for the first time in quite awhile, probably a couple months at least.  I stopped doing them in an attempt to let my injured left wrist heal.  I also have avoided doing many dips or push ups during that time period as well.

Well the wrist still hurts so I decided f it, I’m going to fire RW back up again and just deal with the pain.

I tried to jump back in where I had left off with 5 rounds of 19 dips, 9 pull ups and 24 push ups.  I knew with my lack of push training it was going to be pretty much impossible to complete but I figured I would try anyway.

As predicted, during the 4th round of dips I gassed out.  However I didn’t give up.  I made sure I finished up all 5 rounds of reps although I did not do it within the allotted time period.

The dips and push ups felt very tough as I expected they would be.  The pull ups were fine.  I also expected than to be the case since I have been working pulling exercises so much since the injury.  I could probably bump them to 10 or 11 without failing.

So anyway, it’s a starting point.  As long as my wrist pain doesn’t get too severe I am just going to consider it the price of doing calisthenics business.

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