Dufisthenics

Today at the gym I had a guy next to me in the other smith machine that seemed to be overly equipped.  Hanging on the bar in between sets he had his two knee wraps and weight belt.  You would think the guy was pushing some serious iron.  The funny thing was the bar had a 25 pound plate and two 10’s on each side.  Granted he was doing split legged lunge squats which are tougher but still nothing requiring this level of reinforcement.

Even funnier was the long break and prep/tear down following each set where he would carefully wrap up each knee and latch up the belt before and reverse the process after.  It all just seemed overly dramatic.  Later I realized this is the same guy that brings in his own gravity boots and uses them to hang upside down for 2-3 minutes at a time.  He seemed to carry an attitude with him along with his extra equipment which made him even less likely to be a future gym conversationalist of mine.

I did legs today, returning to the Smith machine for deep squatting.  Last week I paid dearly for not doing weighted legs for a week or two with multiple days of pretty miserable lower body soreness.  I am hoping to avoid that by subjecting myself to my least favorite movements every week whether I like it or not. I used my feet less forward stance again this week and again felt more balanced under the bar.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Smith machine squats 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 7, 205lbs x 4, 225lbs x 2, 185lbs x 5

10 pull ups

Seated leg extension with 1 sec pause at top – 90lbs x 12

10 pull ups

Seated leg extension with 1 sec pause at top – 110lbs x 10

10 pull ups

Seated leg extension with 1 sec pause at top – 130lbs x 10

10 pull ups

Seated leg curl – 100lbs x 10

10 pull ups

Seated leg curl – 120lbs x 10

Seated leg curl – 140lbs x 8

10 pull ups

Rotary calf extension – 170lbs x 12, 250lbs x 8

10 pull ups

So I was back on the Smith machine doing my deep squats. They have seemed harder than they should be ever since I was relegated to doing them on the Smith.  I have described how I get my feet way out in front of me when repping which allows me to get my thighs well below parallel, adding to the difficulty.  Well I think I may have gone a little too far with the foot placement.

Today I did my first couple sets with my feet out as far as I have been going.  The reps felt tougher than they should be.  I then did my next couple sets with the feet moved back towards me a couple inches and I felt better.

My theory is once you get the feet too far ahead of you, energy and power is being wasted pushing sideways, back into the bar, instead of up and under it.  I will continue to tweak my foot position till I find a happy medium where I am still getting adequate depth while pushing up weight that gets me out of the “sissy” category.

I mixed in a bodyweight shoulder dropset pressing routine I saw Daniel from Fitness FAQs demonstrate in one of his videos.

I have known Daniel via the bar community for many years, dating back to when he was just a relatively scrawny kid who was flexible and could do handstands.  He has turned into a mini-Hulk since then, using his well rounded fitness routine and diet to transform his body.  Daniel seems like he just has a very bright future in front of him.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

Smith machine squats – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 5, 205lbs x 3, 225 lbs x 1, 185lbs x 5

Shoulder press drop set – Belly to wall hand stand push ups x 5, elevated feet handstand push ups x 10, feet on floor inverted V push ups x 10

Seated leg extension with 1 sec pause at top – 90lbs x 10, 110lbs x 10, 130lbs x 10

Shoulder press drop set – Belly to wall hand stand push ups x 4, elevated feet handstand push ups x 10, feet on floor inverted V push ups x 10

Seated leg curl – 100lbs x 10, 120lbs x 8, 140lbs x 6

So today I did some dragon flags as part of my core day.  My first set of six reps felt strong, strong enough that I could have probably repped 8 if I wanted to.  My second set was going ok until the start of rep 5 where I felt a sharp pull in my lower right back as I was reversing direction.    That promptly ended my dragon flag session but I still was encouraged that I felt stronger and more controlled during the reps.

I threw in some bench press reps and one arm dead hangs for fun.

My traps are very sore today thanks to the workout I did not document yesterday.  I finished that one with 1 arm standing cable machine shrugs, topping out at 190 pounds.  My traps were not used to that sort of loading.

Today’s Workout

5 minutes cardio/stretching

20 hanging knee raises

6 dragon flags

10 standing side side raises holding 45 pounds

20 hanging knee raises

5 dragon flags

6 standing side side raises holding 90 pounds

20 hanging knee raises

Barbell bench press – 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 10

One arm dead hang pronated grip – 30 seconds each arm

One arm dead hang supinated grip – 30 seconds each arm

One arm dead hang pronated grip – 30 seconds each arm

One arm dead hang supinated grip – 30 seconds each arm