Strength Workout

Personal training with Paul

My last training session of the year, and it was a tough one. I did this routine for the first time in October 2009 and I completed it back then in 44:50.

Shredded shins from doing deadlifts

3 RFT:

15 Squats - 95 lb (full range of motion)
15 Deadlifts - 115 lb (conventional grip)
15 Bench Press - 85 lb
15 Pull-ups
15 Military Press - 55 lb
15 Single Arm DB rows - 35 lb (15 per arm)

Time = 24:50

Following a significant improvement on my PR for last week's 12 Days of Christmas routine, I was really pleased with today's performance. I knocked 20 minutes off my PR for this strength workout. It shows that the training I've been doing since the beginning of August this year is really paying off. That's due in no small part to the advice and oversight of my trainer, Paul, who trains me once a week and checks on the routines I do on my own during the week. 

Unfortunately, I finished this routine so quickly Paul had plenty of time to add a couple of "fillers" to make up the hour until his next client arrived.

1 km on the rowing machine
50 box jumps to 20 inches

Time = 9:30 

Followed by

3 x 100 m sprints on the rowing machine
Times: 19 seconds, 19 seconds, 20 seconds

Video: Barbells for Boobs

A breast cancer fundraiser from the Crossfit community.

Shoulders and lats

Three new PRs today.

Dumbbell military press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
30s, 35s (4.5), 35s, (5), 40, 40 (4)

Pull-ups 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
30, 35, 37.5, 40, 42

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25 x dumbbell push press @ 40s
25 x C2B chin-ups

Time = 5:26 (PR = 5:33, December 23)

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6 RFT:
5 x push press @ 37s
8 x b/w dips

Time = 9:44 (PR = 11:19, November 22)

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For time:
30 x dumbbell rows @ 65 lb (per arm)
30 x neutral grip pull-ups

Time = 9:12 (PR = 10:29, November 22)

Conditioning

For time:
10 x burpee broad jumps
40 x box jumps @ 24"
10 x burpee broad jumps
40 x bench supported lateral jumps (per side)
10 x burpee broad jumps
40 x over the bench jumps (40 total)
10 x burpee broad jumps
40 x jump lunges (per leg)

Time = 21:50

This is a modified version of my trainer's routine. Over the bench jumps looked too intimidating at 24", so I opted for a lower standard bench. It wasn't just the height, but also the depth of the 24" bench that put me off; it was simply too far forward for me to leap. I want to do this as RXed, so I'll have to work my way up to the full-sized bench. Other than that, I think this was pretty much as Paul did it. He beat me by 35 seconds!

Leg extensions:
20 @ 95 lb
1 min rest
20 @ 65 lb
1 min rest
20 @ 35 lb

Olympic lifting

Deadlift 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
155, 175, 195, 205, 210 (2)

Forgot to wear joggers, so I shredded my right shin and left my DNA on the bar!

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30 x hang cleans @ 110 lb

Time = 7:15

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Amrap 15: Clean and press @ 105 lb

Rounds = 30

A bit disappointed at such a low score. I don't like making excuses when I don't perform well, but my right Achilles tendon was hurting throughout most of this routine and it definitely played a part in limiting the momentum I needed to left the bar for both the cleans and overhead presses.

Chest and traps

Nothing too strenuous today; just 45 minutes of various bench presses, chin-ups, pull-ups and dips. 

I felt a bit unfocused today following Christmas Day over-eating and treats, plus two consecutive late nights (and I don't usually train on a Sunday, but I was bored!). Nutrition didn't go too far off the rails. When I ate a lot it tended to be healthy food - sweet potatoes and turkey - and the treats were Cheryl's chocolate cookies, which use pure chocolate with very little sugar or flour.

Rack bench press 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
120, 125, 130 (2), 130 (2), 130 (1)

Chin-ups 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
35, 40, 42.5 (4), 45 (3), 45 (2)

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For time:
15 x dumbbell bench press @ 2 x 40 lb
30 x pull-ups

Time = 5:12 (PR = 6:29; November 25, 2010)

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Amrap 12:
4 x dips
8 x push-ups

Rounds = 9 + 2 dips (PR = 8 rounds + 1 dip; November 25, 2010)

I'm quite pleased with the first PR, but the second one should be qualified by noting that the last time I did the dips and push-ups they were preceded by a challenging routine involving lots of pull-ups, chin-ups and push-ups.

And a partridge in a pear tree

Personal training with Paul.

Today I had my last personal training session before Christmas, for which Paul had me do the same 12 Days of Christmas routine as last year. (Think of the song, but substitute an exercise for each of the gifts.) However, he made this year's version more challenging with heavier weight for the thrusters and power cleans, plus I used a heavier kettlebell for the swings (last year I used a dumbbell that was a couple of pounds lighter). I think the box jumps were higher this year, too.

1 x push-up
2 x knees to elbows
3 x box jumps to 24"
4 x pull-ups
5 x air squats
6 x kettlebell swings
7 x mountain climbers (per leg)
8 x dumbbell snatches (per arm)
9 x tuck jumps
10 x thrusters @ 95 lb
11 x burpees
12 x power cleans @ 95 lb

I completed the whole "song" in exactly 40 minutes; last year's time was dead on 50 minutes.

Really pleased with the greatly improved time, especially since the whole routine is a bit more challenging. It shows that my fitness has improved in the past 12 months, as has my mental strength.

Shoulders and lats

Seated shoulder press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
35s, 37s, 40s, 42s (2.5), 40s (5)

Chin-ups 5, 5, 4, 4, 3
35, 40, 45, 50 (3), 52 (2)

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For time:
25 dumbbell push-press - 40s
25 chest-to-bar chin-ups

Time = 5:33

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Amrap 20:
3 x barbell push-press @ 105 lb
10 x push-ups
8 x chin-ups

Rounds = 9 + 7 push-ups (just over than a full round more than last time)

Chest and traps

Trained a bit later today; because of a lack of sleep last night I felt like I needed a few more hours to really wake up. Fueled by a small chicken sandwich and a cup of black coffee, I think I did pretty well today. Taking a week off from my usual weight routine probably helped, too.

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Dumbbell bench press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
40, 45, 50, 55 (4), 55 (3)

Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
120, 130, 140, 150, 150

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5 rft:
3 x pin bench press - 7 holes @ 115 lb
6 x pull-ups

Time = 8:38

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Amrap 15:
10 x true push-ups
10 x 30 lb dumbbell push-up rows (5 per arm)
10 x 60 lb dumbbell rows (5 per arm)

Rounds = 5 plus 1 dumbbell push-up rows (both arms)

Legs

Front squat 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
95, 105, 110, 115, 125

When I did this two weeks ago I got up to 145 lb in the last set. I felt like I could have gone heavier today, but I didn't progress with big enough increments to get me up to the heavier weight. I don't usually check back to my final weight until I finish a routine, so I didn't know what I should be aiming for. Shame.

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10 RFT:
3 x front squats @ 125 lb
5 x back squats @ 125 lb

Time = 12:08

Last time I finished in 13:11. Perhaps Paul's pen did lie! :-)

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For time: 50 lunges with 52.5 lb dumbbells; 15 x air squats and 10 x jump squats whenever I have to put down the dumbbells.

Time = 9:56

No record of my previous time to compare this to.

Upper body

Shoulder press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
35s, 37s, 40s, 40s, 40s

Chin-ups 5, 5, 4, 4, 3
35, 40, 45, 50, 52 (2.5)

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20-15-10-5 reps of
Chin-ups
Inverted rows

Time = 10:48

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20 dips
25 push-ups
15 dips
20 push-ups
10 dips
15 push-ups
5 dips
10 push-ups

Time = 12:54

Total Body

An unusual - for me - training session today. This morning I didn't have time to go to the gym due to snow shoveling and getting Madi ready for school. I had an hour or so to kill early evening before Madi's Christmas pageant, so I thought I'd fit in a few general weight routines. The gym was pretty busy with young guys flexing their muscles with lots of curls and bench presses, so I stuck to machines most of the time.

I didn't record any weights or reps because this isn't a typical training session for me, so I probably won't be repeating it. This was a mixture of leg presses, leg extensions, dumbbell bench presses, dumbbell flys, dips, pull-ups and preacher curls. None of this was too taxing, which is just as well because I'm a morning person; I felt like I didn't have as much energy this evening.

My back has definitely improved over the last few days, so staying away from heavy lifting was a good idea. Back to normal next week.

Conditioning

For time:

25 x squats
25 x push-ups
25 x pull-ups
25 x sit-ups
50 x squats
50 x push-ups
50 x pull-ups
50 x sit-ups
75 x squats
75 x push-ups
75 x pull-ups
75 x sit-ups

Time = 51:52

This was much tougher than I expected and is probably the longest workout I've ever done, in terms of time. I've done this before a long time ago (I couldn't find the date) but a less challenging version: chin-ups (underhand) instead of pull-ups (overhand) and the push-ups weren't chest-to-floor, either. These changes definitely made a difference, particularly the pull-ups, which I eventually had to do as singles, That can take a hell of a long time when you're trying to complete 75 reps!

Not a great time, but I'm not too disappointed because I know I tried as hard as I could. No plyometrics like the last couple of days, but still a decent bodyweight workout. There were a 150 reps of each movement, which is a total of 600 reps in total.

The good news is I completed 150 sit-ups without my back being a problem. It's been feeling pretty good for a day or two, which I'm sure is due to me not lifting any heavy weights.

Conditioning

Another souped-up version of an earlier home workout.

Amrap 30:

5 x pull-ups
5 x jump lunges (per leg)
5 x clapping push-ups
5 x burpee box jumps

Rounds = 14 plus 5 pull-ups

The last time I did this was in April 2010, when I completed 15 rounds exactly. Back then I did chin-ups (underhand) instead of pull-ups (overhand), and the box jumps in April were 18 inches high, whereas this time they were 24 inches.

It's been a while since I had the "fire-breather" effect!

More admiring comments today, but I also pissed off another gym member who asked if I had finished with the pull-up station. He didn't look happy when I told him I had another 15 minutes.

Conditioning

I'll be staying away from heavy weights this week because (a) my back is still causing me some problems, and (b) I've been doing a lot of work with weights for a couple of months, so I probably could use a short break. It was starting to feel like I was just going through the motions.

Five minutes' warm-up on the stationary bike. 

This is a routine I did at home on Wednesday, 29 July, 2009, but I made it a bit more challenging by increasing the height of the box jumps to 24 inches (from 18), as well as doing a full chest-to-floor push-up as part of the burpee.

20 x squats
20 x burpee box jumps
20 x chest to floor push-ups
15 x burpee box jumps
20 x tuck jumps
10 x burpee box jumps
20 x jump lunges (per leg)
5 x burpee box jumps
20 x squats

Time = 15:33

I had some admiring comments about the height of the box jumps, including one person who asked me if I was afraid I'd fall over while trying to jump so high!

Followed this with a shorter routine:

21-15-9 reps of push-ups off parallettes and inverted rows (overhand)

Time = 5:11

Walking home, I realised my protein shake had frozen! Bloody country...

Video: Holy Poo!

Now, that's fit!

Chest and traps

Personal training with Paul

Incline bench 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
95 (2), 85, 95, 95, 105

Dumbbell row, max reps @ 75 lb
5, 7, 5, 5, 7

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Incline dumbbell bench
@ 40s - 10
@ 45s - 4, 4, 6

Pull-ups (no kip)
6, 7, 7, 8

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Amrap 15:
5 x true push-ups
10 x push-ups
3 x wide grip pull-ups
5 neutral pull-ups

Rounds = 6 + 3 push-ups

Cardio

I was going to do this week's leg routine today - postponed from yesterday - but my lower back has been very painful since yesterday evening. I took a painkiller/ muscle relaxant, but that only masks the pain so I decided not to risk causing any further damage by lifting heavy weights. Instead I did 30 minutes on a stationary bike, using the "random hill" setting at an intensity of 8.

Shoulders and lats

Dumbbell military press 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
30s, 35s, 37.5s (2, then did 3 reps with 35s), 35, 35 (4)

Pull-ups 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
30, 35, 37.5, 40, 45 (2)

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25 x dumbbell push-press @ 40s
25 x chest-to-bar chin-ups

Time = 6:21

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Amrap 20:
3 x push-press @ 105 lb
10 x push-ups
8 x chin-ups

7 rounds plus 6 chin-ups

I did this same routine with Paul a couple of weeks ago, and everything was pretty much the same except the amrap. On November 29 I managed 8 rounds plus 6 push-ups. A little bit short of that today, which is probably due to me doing similar movements on consecutive days that left my arms and shoulders fatigued. That would also explain why my form on the 3 x push-presses was a bit crappy.

Article: Obesity in the European Union

They're rapidly approaching North American obesity rates:

 

Here's the full article on the BBC's website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11935525

Olympic lifting

Deadlift 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
155, 175, 195, 205, 210 (1 - started to use my back too much, so I stopped)
PB: 195 lb on November 23, 2010

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30 x clean and press @ 100 lb

Time = 15:11

I failed on 6 reps, which I didn't count, because my arms didn't lock out when I had the bar overhead. I struggled with my original planned routine (amrap 15 clean and jerk @ 105 lb) which is why I did this instead. I'm a bit frustrated that I'm having problems with this exercise.

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Cindy - amrap 20:
5 x pull-ups
10 x push-ups
15 x air squats

Rounds = 13 plus 4 pull-ups

Chest and traps

Rack bench press 5, 5, 4, 4, 3
95, 110, 120, 130 (3), 135 (1)

Cable row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
120, 130, 140, 150 (4), 150 (3.5)

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Rack bench:
5 x 125 lb plus 20 push-ups
5 x 115 lb plus 20 push-ups
5 x 100 lb plus 20 push-ups

Time = 7:09

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5 chin-ups with 35 lb dumbbell plus 6 pull-ups
5 chin-ups with 30 lb dumbbell plus 6 pull-ups
5 chin-ups with 27.5 lb dumbbell plus 6 pull-ups

Time = 8:15

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Amrap 10: as many pull-ups and push-ups as possible, any combination

Push-ups = 89
Pull-ups = 35

Last time I did this routine - with Paul - I started with pull-ups, then switched to push-ups when I failed. This time I did it the other way round, to see if it would make a difference. Here's what I managed to complete back then:

Amrap 10: As many pull-ups and push-ups as possible; breaks and order as I wish
Pull-ups = 34
Push-ups = 94 

So one more pull-up today, but five fewer push-ups.

Legs

Personal training with Paul

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Front squat 5, 5, 5, 3, 3
95, 115, 125, 135, 145 (2)

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10 rft
3 x front squats @ 125 lb
5 x back squats @ 125 lb

Time = 13:18
I'm sure Paul miscounted the rounds, but he claims "the pen doesn't lie"!

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For time
50 travelling lunges @ 50s
Every time I dropped the dumbbells I had to do 15 air squats and 10 max air jump squats

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Leg extensions
20 x 95 lb
20 x 65 lb

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I know I've completed a hard, challenging workout when I get to the changing room afterward and people who saw me train simply look at me and shake their heads. No need to say a word!

Not looking forward to the pain tomorrow morning.

Chest and traps

Rack bench press @ 7 holes 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
110, 120, 125, 130 (1), 130 (1.5)

Dumbbell row 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
65, 70, 75, 80 (4), 80 (5)

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15 x rack bench @ 115 lb
30 x pull-ups

Time = 12:35

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For time:
25 x rack bench @ 100 lb
25 x dips
25 x dumbbell bench @ 2 x 30 lb
25 push-ups

Time = 15:57

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Didn't do too badly after yesterday's disappointment. My biceps felt pumped even before I started today. 

While I was about halfway through the dips, two young guys who were training nearby turned to me and said my routine was pretty impressive. It felt like they were stopping short of saying "for an old guy"!

Video: Flipping Burpee Thruster

Bloody kids. They sit on their asses all day, watching TV and not doing any exercise.

Olympic lifting

Hang clean 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
105, 110, 115, 120, 125 (2)

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30 x hang cleans @ 110 lb

Time = 8:47 (last rep needed a 1 min rest!)

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Amrap 20 clean and press @ 105 lb

Reps = 34

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After yesterday's good performance, today's was a bit disappointing. I've done more reps in an amrap 15 clean and press than I did today in 20 minutes. It was such a big drop in performance that I wonder if I screwed up with the weight plates. I failed on several reps trying to keep things moving. However, my biceps feel very sore, so I guess I worked my arms pretty hard.

Felt pretty intimidating having Jason and Eric training together next to me with weights that made the bar bend!