Flying into a valley

Aug10
by Duf on August 10, 2015 at 7:57 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Endurance activities

12_2[1]My gym buddy wasn’t there this week for bench press day. It was just as well since it feels like I am in the weak portion of my monthly strength fluctuation.  Just getting 225lbs off my chest felt borderline dangerous to do without a spotter. It’s part monthly cycle, part not having my training partner there and part trick left shoulder that stills feels touchy. It may also be part doing a 30 mile bike ride yesterday.

I did mix in some dumbbell flys at the end which had my pecs shaking by the time I was finished.

 

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 225lbs x 1, 225lbs x 1, 205lbs x 5, 205lbs x 4, 185lbs x 8, 135lbs x 14

Dumbbell fly – 45lbs x 10, 55lbs x 8, 60lbs x 6, 65lbs x 6

 

 

└ Tags:
Comments Off on Flying into a valley

All you need is L

Aug07
by Duf on August 7, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

LLLI entered the gym with a very sore set of shoulders which I attribute mostly to the smith machine shoulder press yesterday where I was working at near my limit.

Today I worked in some L-sit holds which in my opinion is one of the best overall ab/core movements there are.  My very lanky build makes my failure points in the hold something different than you would expect.  It’s not my abs that give out first, it is usually either my quads or my triceps.  Supporting my freakishly long legs in a suspended parallel position seems to be more than my quads want to handle.  The exact same physics come into play with my triceps as they are fighting gravity that is pushing down on my size 13 feet that are miles away.

I used to really work L sits consistently.  I would like to get some of the consistency back.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

30 P-bar knee raises

Static L-sit hold – 15 sec

One hand dead hang (both arms) 30 seconds

Static L-sit hold – 15 sec

One hand dead hang (both arms) 30 seconds

Static L-sit hold – 10 sec

One hand dead hang (both arms) 30 seconds

Static bent leg hold – 20 sec

Ab wheel roll outs (on knees) x 10

30 P-bar knee raises

Ab wheel roll outs (on knees) x 10

30 P-bar knee raises

Ab wheel roll outs (on knees) x 10

Roman chair back extensions x 15

30 second IT band stretch

Roman chair back extensions x 15

30 second IT band stretch

 

 

└ Tags: ,
Comments Off on All you need is L

Squeezed

Aug06
by Duf on August 6, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

gripper3[1]Yesterday my set of three grippers showed up, a 100 pound, 150 pound and 200 pound resistance set.  I always assumed using a gripper was stupidly simple, put it in your hand and squeeze the damn thing.  Well when I told Lou about my purchase he said I needed to make sure I knew how to “set the gripper”.  He sent me this link as a reference.   Watching the video made something I thought was very simple into something much more involved.  Some of the logic was lost on me. For example why it would be advantageous to squeeze the gripper with your off hand so the handles are parallel before doing your work sets.  It seems like allowing the gripper to expand fully followed by you retracting it fully would give the most bang for the buck.

So anyway last night while watching tv I did one set with each gripper.  With the 100 pounder I was able to squeeze out 10 reps without much issue.  However when I grabbed hold of the 200 pounder I could only get four not so great reps with my right hand and a weak 1.5 reps with the left.  I always felt my grip was stronger on my left side but the gripper work proved the opposite, weird.

The instructions for the gripper said you shouldn’t over train them, only doing 2-3 times a week.  I could see it being a shortcut to tendonitis if you went nuts.  I expected my forearms to be killing me today but they don’t feel bad at all meaning my next session needs to be more intense.

At the gym I did a mix of movements but got sidetracked by a lot of jaw work talking to a couple of my buddies.  It happens.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

60 second wall handstand

Seated dumbbell bicep curls – 25lbs x 12

Bodyweight dips x 20

Seated dumbbell bicep curls – 40lbs x 8

Bodyweight dips x 20

Seated dumbbell bicep curls – 50lbs x 4

Bodyweight dips x 20

Smith machine shoulder press – 135lbs x 8, 155lbs x 5, 175lbs x 1, 135lbs x 7

Standing dumbbell shoulder shrugs – 70lbs x 10, 75lbs x 10, 75lbs x 10

└ Tags:
Comments Off on Squeezed

Keep slogging through

Aug05
by Duf on August 5, 2015 at 5:29 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts, Endurance activities, Injuries

skeleton-running-knee-pain-292x389[1]So today I ran on the treadmill as part of my brick for the third time in as many weeks.  My IT band/knee has not gotten significantly worse or better during this time so I see no real harm in keeping at it.  Basically the first several minutes of the 20 minute run involve a slight limp that smooths out as I warm up.  I stretch before and after the run. I still am keeping the pace super slow. Hey, it’s better than nothing.

Today’s Workout

Run, ride brick

20 minutes treadmill – 2.03 miles covered

10 minutes recumbent bike – 2.20 miles covered

└ Tags:
Comments Off on Keep slogging through

A cross, get a grip

Aug04
by Duf on August 4, 2015 at 5:21 pm
Posted In: Daily Workouts

06[1]Even though the Smith machine was open I opted out of deep smith squats because of my stiff knees.  I was planning to use the leg press sled instead but that was occupied by some guy doing silly, next to zero ROM reps.  I instead kept all of my lower body work on Cybex machines with a little cross pollination of back exercises.  In addition to pull ups I did iron cross lat pull downs, a move I had not done in a decade.   If done correctly it hits your lats in a way few things can.

After being inspired by IronLoo’s amazing grip strength I decided to buy myself a set of grippers, three in total ranging in resistance from 100 to 200 pounds.  My intention is to keep them sitting by the TV remote so I can squeeze away as I catch up on my various DVR’d programs.  Multitasking is good.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 pull ups

Cybex leg press – 130lbs x 10, 190lbs x 10, 250lbs x 10, 290lbs x 8

Cybex seated leg curl – 100lbs x 10, 120lbs x 10, 140lbs x 10

Cybex seated leg extension – 110lbs x 10, 130lbs x 10, 210lbs x 6

Iron cross lat pull downs – 80lbs x 10, 100lbs x 10, 120lbs x 8

Seated calf extensions (on leg press) – 250lbs x 10, 290lbs x 10, 350lbs x 8

18 pull ups

└ Tags:
Comments Off on A cross, get a grip