The early bird gets the worm!

Warmup

-Rollout

-Lateral Ladder

-In Place

The Workout

-Glute/Ham Complex

Empty Trap Bar DL 3x10

w/

Reverse Slide Board Lunges 3x5 each leg

w/

KB Swings 3x10

-Trap Bar Jumps 4x5

135x5

145x5

155x5

185x5

-Band Accels to Band Resisted Back Pedal x4

-Lower Body Finisher

KB Swings 3x20

w/

Lateral Slide Board Lunges 3x5 each way

w/

Squat Jumps 3x5

School is starting again soon and I have work days this week so this was a 5 A.M. workout.  Yes, It was still hot at that time...  My rule for morning workouts is to make sure I'm up at least 2 hours before I start.  It helps wake me up and get the fluids running through my body in order to avoid any potential injury.  Surprisingly, It wasn't that difficult waking up at 3 A.M.  It may sound crazy, but as the saying goes: If it's important, you'll find the time.  

Another rule I try and stick to is no olympic lifts before 6 A.M.  I'm not saying this goes for everyone, but I can't recall I time where I've ever felt ready to clean or snatch early in the morning.  My CNS just doesn't have the capability of firing at the rate needed to move weights during olympic lifts at that time of the day.  There are thousands of ways to train the same movement using different exercises, so I got a little creative and did some circuit work.  I paired lower body strength building movements with hip hinging and one of the most overlooked, but always effective power movements, SQUAT JUMPS!

Overall, I think it went well for being that early in the morning.  No pictures today, nobody wants to see this face covered in sweat at 5 A.M....

New Week, New Toys

A new piece of equipment made its way in to the garage today, more on that later.

Warmup

•Roll out

•Dynamic

•In Place

The Workout

•Snatch Complex w/pec&calf stretch 3x3

•Single Arm KB Snatch 4x5 each arm

•Keg Clean & Press 4x3

•Plyo Push-ups 4x8 w/Strap chin-ups 4x4

•Knee Jumps w/KB Swing 3x3

•Band Tricep Pushdowns 3x30 w/Band External Rotation 3x10 each arm

•Slosh Pipe Walks x3 (down and back)

•Race to 100 push-ups

1x70

1x30

So...the slosh pipe made its way in to the workout today.  It was a grinder but I can see many uses for it in future training sessions.  I threw the race to 100 push-ups in at the end and surprised myself by hammering out 70 right away.  That's a new pr.  I usually go for 60 and can chip away at the last 40 but I was feeling good when I got to 60 so I kept going.  The last 30 were were rough but I got through it.  Go me.  Some of you have asked for pictures so I reluctantly took some today to honor your request.  For the record, I am not a fan of cellphones out during workouts so these may be the only pictures you get.  You'll see my chin up setup as well as the slosh pipe walks.  I believe the dog made it in there too... Enjoy!

Friday Fun

Warmup

-roll out

-lateral ladder

-in place

Workout

-Snatch complex 3x3 w/pec&calf stretch

-Hang Snatch 4x4

95x4

105x4

115x4

120x4

Bench 4x5 

225x5

245x5

275x5

295x5

w/single arm fat bar rows

80 lbs 3x6 each arm

Heels to hamstrings back squat 4x5

225x5

275x5

295x5

315x5

w/lateral mini hurdles to accel with dead stop deceleration x4 each way

I wanted today to be a grind of a workout but I ran short on time so I did what I could. 

 I haven't done any sort of snatch work other than the complex in 2 weeks so I wanted to go lighter and ease back in to it.  It felt heavier than it should at first but by the fourth set I felt like I had better bar speed and really drove the bar over head with a good finish.  

Bench wasn't the greatest today and I was prepared for that.  I've been doing more shoulder, tricep, and upper back work this week than normal so I went light and focused on finding my groove and staying with a good, efficient bar path.  I used the fat part of my farmer walk handle for rows.  I like mixing in grip work whenever I can.  I've always believed that forearm strength is neglected in many strength programs out there.

I've always liked squat, but recently it's been more of a favorite than usual.  I worked range of motion by squatting below parallel, something I plan to continue to work in alongside parallel back squats.  I'll also mix in front squat, single leg variations, and heavy sled drags to round out my lower body work.  Squatting is great for lower body strength but some days I just don't feel like loading my spine with a bunch of weights.  I'll probably never take squat out of my regular routine as long as my body allows it, but I realize it isn't the end-all-be-all for building up the lower body.  

Overall, I was happy with this weeks training.  I didn't mind cutting today short because it was my fifth day in a row of training.  My body needs a good weekend of rest so I can get back at it on Monday.  I'm a big believer in listening to your body when it needs rest.  Just make sure it's your body, not a case of "poor me" syndrome.  Have a good weekend!

Rainy Thursday

Warmup

-Roll out

-In place

Workout

-Empty Trap Bar DL 6x10

W/

-Empty Bar Hang Clean to Deep Front Squat 6x4

W/

-Beam Touches 6x3 each arm

Roll out

The rainy day put me in a circuit type mood.  I've always said that I have nothing against crossfit, I do however disagree with high rep Olympic lifts which sometimes are a part of their workouts.  Olympic lifts are hard enough to do with the right technique, when you take a power exercise and make it an endurance exercise I see nothing but achy joints being hammered on and  poor technique due to fatigue.  A perfect recipe for injury.  Nonetheless, I made modifications and created my own crossfit type circuit with more joint friendly movements.  Light weight, full body exercises, manageable set/reps, good technique, minimal rest time, lots of sweat.  A nice little workout for a rainy day...

Hump Day Training!

Ok, so I said yesterday that today was an off day but I found some time and got some training in.

Wednesday

Warmup:
-Roll out
-Dynamic

The Workout:

-Trap Bar DL 2x10 (empty bar, 45's), w/slide board lunge x5 each leg, w/pec&calf stretch
-Trap Bar Jumps 4x4
135x4
135x4
185x4
185x4

-Band Resisted Bench 6x3 w/Blast Strap Chin ups 4x5, 3x4
205x3
225 5x3

-MB Shakes 3x:30 w/Band External Rotation 3x10

It was pretty dang humid out today which is a definite factor to consider when choosing sets and reps.  I like the trap bar because there's a lot you can do with it, with little risk of injury.  I just recently started using it in place of the snatch and/or clean complex to get a little more glute/ham activation and so far so good.  It's also a great way to add some resistance to power exercises (loaded jumps) without loading the spine, thus the reason I subbed in trap bar jumps for olympic lifts today.  We used the black monster mini bands (double looped) for bench today.  It's a great way to change things up with bench along with helping you find your groove (bar path).  Not to mention it speeds up the eccentric part of the bench to keep you from bouncing the bar off of the chest and helps strengthen your press from the bottom of the lift.  All that by adding those little bands?!?!?! Absolutely!!!  Now to the best part of the workout, the blast strap chin ups.  I've felt like I've been missing something the last 2 weeks because I am a big fan of the bench/chin up paired exercise.  So I dipped in to my creativity and attached a pair of blast straps to a sturdy branch from a tree in the backyard.  Mission accomplished.  I've never been more excited to defy gravity and pull my body from the ground, so much so that what started with 4 sets quickly became 7 sets of chin ups.  After all that excitement, fatigue started to set in so I finished with a combo of core and pre-hab.  The MB shakes are interesting, if you've ever tried or seen them they almost look painful but are definitely worth the 30 seconds of ridicule and odd facial expressions.  I was first introduced to them at the Wisconsin state NSCA conference a few months ago.  A gentleman named Matt Gifford from NX Level did a presentation on the core as it pertains to sprinting.  Great info, top notch facility and coaches to which I owe almost all of my training knowledge.  That's all for now, Adios!

Time to start blogging again!

Hey there!

I decided to take you on a journey and start blogging again!  It'll mostly be my training log, but I'll try to entertain you along the way as well.  I'll try to be consistent, no promises of course.  Without further ado...

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013:

Warmup

Rolled out on myo ball, golf ball for feet
Dynamic
In-place
(for further details on this entire warm-up, ask!)

The Workout

-Clean complex-3x3 (empty bar, 25's, 35's) w/low to high chops 8,7,6 each way
-Clean combo (5,3,5,3,5)
Pull 225x5
Clean 225x3
Pull 275x5
Clean 225x3
Pull 295x5

-Squat 4x5 w/band hip work 2x10 standing (band around ankles), 2x10 sitting (band around knees)
315x5
335x5
365x5
405x5

-Good Morning 3x8 w/Shoulder Complex 3x10 each (Y,T,W)
-Finished with rolling out on myo ball again and golf ball for feet

Felt good to go heavier on clean and squat today.  I've been hesitant since I started training in the garage but all went well.  There's just something about seeing and squatting a stack of 45 lb. plates on each end of the bar that helps you understand what being a manly man is all about.  As if training in a true garage gym isn't enough to prove your manhood, it's nice to be able to say you've squatted 400 pounds in your own home.  The neighbors give weird looks sometimes, but at least they know what they're getting in to should they set foot on my property.  That may be a good or bad thing, either way, I train the way I do for many reasons, none of them involve impressing the neighbors...  Off day tomorrow, back to the gym on Thursday.  See ya then!

Weight Room

Mon 11/15-4pm

Tues 11/16-4pm

Thurs 11/18-4pm

Fri 11/19-4pm

Winter sports start this week so we won't have much gym space. As always, we'll make do and bust ass!