Run 10, Four video Sunday

Jan23
by Duf on January 23, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Posted In: BBR's, Endurance activities, Muscle Ups

I had a busy fitness weekend.  Saturday morning I set a PR for the 10 mile running distance covering it at an 8:42 per mile pace.  This really makes me hopeful that I can hit my sub-two hour half marathon goal.

Sunday I put in a bunch of time outside on my rings/bars, breaking the session into four different videos which I will list below.  I had two firsts during the session, stringing two ring muscle ups together and pulling off my cleanest slow muscle up ever.

With the ring muscle ups I found it difficult to keep my false grip locked in going from rep to rep.  I eventually figured out I just had to really concentrate on locking the grip in as I dropped out of the top of the movement.

The slow muscle up was unexpected.  I was actually planning to demonstrate the weird way I did my first slow muscle up, grabbing across the bar with my one arm and using my forearm to lever myself up and over.  Instead I found myself able to keep my hands in place and just power through the transition which felt awesome.

I finally put together the Muscle up for Dummies video that a few people asked me to do.  I basically tried to describe my experience on getting a muscle up in layman’s terms which may help others that find themselves at a similar frustration level I was at with the movement.

My BBR GUTS performance was pretty plateaued last week and I again had issues today, struggling on the dips.  Now to be fair I was still sore from the bar work on Sunday but it still pissed me off.  I did manage to hit 20 on the pull ups and 46 with the push ups but the weak dip numbers took the shine off of the rest of the attempt.

My plan to do them every day at the gym may be misguided.  I wonder if I am over training, not allowing those muscle groups enough time to rest and repair.  Most days I am walking around feeling sore which I used to think was a good thing.  Who knows, maybe i will try cutting the GUTS attempts down to 3 days this week and see if I see some improvement.

Sunday’s videos are below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSNbqPbXRyA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6EP8uTjhXE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvSjDkyQhbk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuosncUhe8o

 

 

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One arm push ups

Jan20
by Duf on January 20, 2012 at 9:29 am
Posted In: Exercises

One famous strength exercise is the one arm push up.  I recall first seeing it in the original Rocky.  It is a move that I toyed with maybe once or twice eons ago.

A couple months ago one of the guys I subscribe to on YouTube, Neill, aka. InciteFitness posted a one arm push up tutorial.  Well for some reason last night I felt motivated to try to do one.  Well I didn’t review his video before giving it a try (he makes great tutorial videos).  The only thing I recalled from it was to make sure my legs were wide and that my ground hand should be farther forward than it should be for a regular push up.

Well as I lowered myself down it didn’t feel right, I collapsed onto the floor.  While lying on the floor I repositioned my right hand and pushed from a flat on the floor position.  I slowly was able to fully raise my body just using my right arm.  I tried to duplicate the same feat with my left arm and wasn’t able to do so.

Regardless of the arm used, the torque and strain I felt across my arm, elbow and back was EXTREME.  I was straining just about as hard as I can strain to lock it out.  It is the kind of exertion I could easily picture myself getting injured by.

I later reviewed his video again and would like to give it another shot.  I would think I have adequate chest/tri strength to at least knock out a few if I use better form.

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No GUTS, Climbing Metin’s stairs

Jan19
by Duf on January 19, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Posted In: General Fitness Talk

So I went back after my GUTS routine today at the gym.  I had a one day hiatus since I needed all of my gym time yesterday to complete my squat/running duo.  I figured the day off would give the GUTS muscles some time to rest and I would come back stronger.

Well it didn’t happen.  After grinding out a few extra dips I fell short on my pull ups, only getting 18 reps instead of the 20 I pulled Tuesday.  Falling short on the pull ups seemed to defeat me mentally in the push ups, I called it quits after straining to get rep 36. Oh well.

Today was also bi’s and tri’s day at the gym.  For my triceps I decided to do the routine Metin posted the other day, tricep “stairs” .  Basically you put your hands close together on either a bench or a bar and lean down so your head sinks below the level of your hands, then, using only your triceps you push yourself back up.

The stair moniker comes from the progression that is used.  You start with a low bar/bench and step the height up for each set.  You go right from one height to the next with no/minimal rest, doing 8-12 reps per set.  If you have seen Metin’s arms, they are huge.  He obviously knows what he is talking about when it comes to tricep work.

Any way I did three rounds of the stairs, climbing three levels with each set. I felt like I had a baseball stuffed under my skin by the time I was done. My tri’s were spent.  Give it a try.

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Odd couple?

Jan18
by Duf on January 18, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Posted In: Endurance activities, Weight Training

As I mentioned last week, my current endurance goal is to break 2 hours in an upcoming half marathon in early March.  I ran this same event last year and turned in a time of 2:11 and change.  In the past when I have been training for endurance events like runs and triathlons I have totally abandoned any leg weight work exercises completely and just focused on doing the cardio.

Well I have been squatting pretty regularly for around 4-5 months.  I am by no means strong in squats but the motion is just very beneficial to overall body strength.  Any of you that have squatted before and then taken a break from squatting know that when you go back you will be in for some major muscle pain.

Well to hit my endurance goal I will need to do more than one long run a week on a Saturday.  What I normally would do is add on a treadmill session at the gym on a Wednesday as well.

This time around I am trying to have my cake and eat it too.  I started my work out off today with a squat session and then jumped on the treadmill and put in two miles at an 8:34 pace (7 MPH) which is faster than I would need to go to break the two hour half marathon mark which requires a pace somewhere around 9:10.

When I run on the treadmill I always make sure the incline is set at 1 percent.  Doing so supposedly will bring the effort level more on par with what you would experience running outdoors.

Running after squatting is obviously tougher than running without squatting.  I’m not sure what exercise experts would say about my odd training couple.  I guess I will see how it works for me as my training proceeds.

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75+

Jan18
by Duf on January 18, 2012 at 9:26 am
Posted In: Physical challenges

Last night I tried something I hadn’t tried in quite a while, a max duration wall handstand hold.  I have not been working hand stands much at all in recent months, muscle ups and the BBR’s have taken center stage in my body weight goals.  I am not sure why I decided to try the hold last night besides the fact that my low body weight might allow me to hold longer.  The theory proved to be correct.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo0WLveMuVA]

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