Pushing

Chris Spealler

Pressing day, last minute decided to do decline bench press as the power cage was in use, I kind of forgot about this exercise.

Decline Bench Press - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3........185, 205, 215, 225, 235

Incline DB Bench Press - 5, 5, 5, 5, 6.........70s, 75s, 80s, 80s, 70s

For time
30 Weighted Dips - 25
50 Pushups
Time: 11:38

Reverse Grip Pushdowns - 3x10......80 on all sets

Felt like a really good workout today, I completely forgot I was even sick.  Felt strong on the decline bench, 235 is my max I didn't want to try heavier as I haven't done it in a while, so I was glad I still could get 235 for 3 reps.  Part 3 wasn't too bad, I like adding weight to these pushup and dip routines I come up with.

Legs

Myself, full squat depth

The above picture shows true hamstring to calf depth, which I did on the front squat portion.  Today is leg day, which sucks, it's also Sunday, which I dislike working out on, on top of that I am sick, but meh no reason not to punish myself :).  My times however do feel much slower than what they should be, my energy was very very low coming into the workout, stupid head cold, but unless I am on my death bed I rarely skip a workout.

Elevated Reverse Lunges - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.......95. 115, 135, 145, 155

For time
50 Front Squats - 135
time: 12:28 (wow that seems slow)

Next part was interesting, I decided to rotate through 2 exercises as many times as I could till my dad finished his bike workout, he said just a few minutes.....it wasn't just a few minutes, turned into this.
5 Jump Squats - 95
10 Squats
8 rounds in 10:58

After the slow front squats I was so tired, but I had to keep going, my dad found it very comical that I was basing the finishing parts of my workout on his, he didn't know till after he said he got engrossed in a good article in his magazine and lost track of time, lucky me.  The rest of the workout was not bad, my front squats did feel slow, I had an interruption to spot someone at 25 reps, oh well.  Elevated reverse lunges are a great exercise, haven't done them in a while, the elevation allows for a much deeper ROM.

Conditioning

Myself on over the box jumps

I'll start by saying the above picture surprised me, one day while doing these I was told I was clearing the steps by a long shot, I guess this picture proves it, the height of this is 10 risers plus the step, later in the workout I tested a bit higher.  Also I have no clue why I grabbed my knees in this shot, I don't usually perform this exercise that way.

I wanted to revisit another old routine, my previous time was 15:45, here is how it went.

21-15-9 reps for time of
Hang Squat Cleans (to parallel) - 95
Burpees
Box Jumps - 24 inches
Bench Supported Lateral Hops - 16 inch bench (only count left side)
Time: 14:05

Awesome, happy with improvement, my legs were hating me for this one and my lungs were on fire, which was the same feeling last time, cept being 1 minute and 40 seconds faster makes it feel all the better.  I followed this routine with an interesting test, nothing timed, here's how it went.

Perform 2 over the box jumps (one there, one back) and perform a single burpee, that is all one rep, peform 5 reps.

Set 1 - Height of box - 24 inches, or 10 risers plus step (easy, this is what I'm used to)
Set 2 - Height of box - 28 inches, or 12 risers plus step (once I got the confidence after the first 2 reps I was fine)
Set 3 - Height of box, 32 inches, or 14 risers plus step (I felt a bit nervous here and was convinved this was as high as I'd go, 32 inches is not only my highest over the box jumps, but higher than what I've used for regular box jumps, I had Eric watch one rep and he convinced me to add one more.

The last set I took out the burpees, just so I could focus on the step, it was 15 risers, or 34 inches, I just wanted to try 5 reps.   Rep 1 went good, rep 2 and 3 were technical fails, but not to worry when I said fail I mean I landed on top of the bench (I didn't crash), not on the other side so it wasn't complete.  Reps 4 and 5 were also fine, now I'm tempted to test my max box jump height, hopefully I don't eat the floor one of these days.

Pulling

Strength coach Tony Gentilcore

Sore in most places today except my back, so lets work that.

Wide-Grip Pullups - 5xmax reps.......14, 12, 9, 9, 8

Wide Netral Grip Cable Row - 4x7.........120 on all sets

5 Rounds for time
5 Chest to Bar Chinups
10 Inverted Rows
Time: 11:06

Preacher Curl - 5, 5, 5.........60, 70, 80(4)

My pulling must have improved last time I went for max rep wide pullups I got a total of 46 reps, today I got 52, and it was a 7am workout as well.  Part 3 was interesting, this has happened before at this time but I completely spaced out, I don't mind as much when it's during the strength portion but during something timed it sucks a little more.  Right after my fourth round, I'm not sure how long I rested but it was longer than expected, it did make my last round the fastest minus the first one.  Did feel like a good workout though.

The picture posted is of a high respected strength coach, I've learned a lot of techniques from him that show up sometimes when designing my own training.

Pushing

Everyone knows who this is

Press day, felt good today

DB Shoulder Press - 5, 5, 4, 4, 4..........55s, 60s, 65s, 70s, 70s(3)

For time
50 Bench Press - 135
Everytime you set the bar down, perform 10 pushups
Time: 14:32

Shoulder to Overhead - 25x50s (broke into 4 sets)

Kneeling Rope Pushdowns - 3x10.........80 on all sets

I am pleased I was able to get the 70s on my own, this morning it was mainly females working out so I couldn't go up.  If I did I would have tried the 75s and gotten a hand off, meaning a start from the top which is easier, still happy with how the weights went.  Part 2 was hard, I've done it before and it took me 15:25 back then, so I'm happy with the improvement.  Last time I needed 6 breaks, same with this time so I must have moved a bit a quicker between sets.  Part 3 was interesting, the 50s is a weight I can handle pretty comfortably normally, trying it after part 2 was almost comical my arms barely worked and those 50s felt much heavier.  Good workout!

Legs

My last few leg days have gone really well, and today was no exception.  This time I decided to not do a timed portion and more of a performance thing, which I have been doing with my upper body sessions more.  This just means going for max reps, which for legs can be very mentally challenging.

DB Bulgarian Split Squats - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3........70s, 75s, 80s, 85s, 90s

Front Squats - 5xmax reps at 135.......10, 8, 8, 7, 7

Back Squats - 4xmax reps at 135........20, 15, 12, 12

Leg Extension - 200x50 (broken into 4 sets)

On paper it looks decent, in workout it was very tough.  I am very pleased with how the split squats have progressed, I checked my old workout logs and it wasn't terribly long ago that my set ended at the 70s, now it's starting with the 70s so I am very pleased, having said that the 90s were flipping heavy.  On rep 5 of set one of the front squats I switched to the crossed armed grip, I got no real reason to do the clean grip I'm not an olympic lifter.  The first set of back squats was hell, I so wanted to set it down at 15, then even more at 18, at 20 that weight couldn't get off my back quick enough.  The next 3 sets were more of the same.  Didn't go heavy on the squatting exercises so all were hamstring to calf, nothing else.

Conditioning

Today I decided to re-visit an old conditioning routine performed a little while back, here what was the comments I wrote about it then;

"legs hurt, shoulders hurt, lungs were on fire, one of the harder ones"

So I knew it'd be tough, also I only used a 20 kg KB because this was before our gym had 24 kg, which for a workout like this I'd normally use.

AMRAP in 20 minutes
2 Curtis P's - 95
5 Burpees
8 KB Swings - 20 kg
Score: 11 + 1 Burpee

Hyperextenstions - 3x10.....BW
Legs Elevated Ab move - 3x10 (per side)

6-10 minutes of stretching

Old score was 10 rounds even, so just over 11 rounds may not seem like a huge increase but when I finished the 10th rounds I checked and saw my time was 17:30, so if I look at it that way it's 2:30 faster, which I am happy with.  Oddly the burpees felt like the hardest one, I certainly pushed it to the max on this one, I still hate Curtis P's, I really really do.

For the record, a Curtis P is a hang squat clean (to parallel), front lunge for each leg, then push press, that all consitutes one rep.  2 reps is such a small number but each rep is 4 movements on it's own.

Pulling

Tommy Hackenbruck

Chest and part of legs are pretty sore, which I like.  Todays workout was at 9am, I was suppose to have a client then but he cancelled at about 8:55, so I had my car parked when I read his text, oh well I decided to do my own workout, I was just a bit more tired.

Chinups - 5xmax reps........17, 12, 10, 10, 8

Wide-Grip Pullups - 4xmax reps........9, 8, 7, 7

For time
Perform 60 wide neutral grip cable rows at 100 pounds, everytime you fail a rep or set the bar down perform 5 neutral grip pullups.
Time: 11:59

R-Band Curls (black) - 3x10

I'm happy with how part 1 went, I've never gotten 17 chinups at once before, I'm well on my way to 20 total reps.  Last time I did that on January 12 I got a total of 45 chinups, but it was 7am and I was exhausted, well either way today it totals 57 so a nice jump there.  The wide pullups were much harder because of that, I guess I was in a pullup mood.  Part 3 wasn't too bad, I had to make sure my rests were long enough so I didn't have to do too many extra pullups, but not too long that I didn't kill my time.

Pushing

Myself in a free handstand

The infamous early morning workouts, I got up at 5 but even by 7am when I did this workout I was still sleepy, oh well I knew I'd wake up eventually.

Bench Press - 155(6), 190(3, 3, 3, 3, 3), 155(10)

Single Arm DB Push Press - 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1........60, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90

With a 25 pound dumbbell perform as many dips as possible, after the set is done perform 10 pushups immediately, rest as needed between sets, goal is as many dips as possible overall, do 4 sets of this.
12, 10, 7, 6= 35 total dips (plus the 40 pushups)

R-Band Pushdowns (black) - 18, 8, 8

I did a workout similar to the first 2 parts here, I increased the 5 sets of 3 to 190, only 5 pounds heavier but it makes a difference (moreso at 7am).  The second set at 155 will usually be higher, the shock of dropping the 35 pounds makes it feel much lighter than the first set.  I am very happy with the push presses, first time I have gotten a 90 pound dummbell overhead, soon I will be maxed out there.  The third wasnt timed it was more about total numbers, 12 dips with 25 extra pounds was nice, kind of dropped a bit after but I expected that.  The first set of pushdowns the band was over the cable pulley station, the second and third set it was over the much higher pullup bar, hence the large drop in numbers.

Side note I only posted this picture because I was asked too, free handstands are hard but fun, I have other pics of myself in a free handstand, this is the only one where my legs were straight, all the others they moving about in attempts to keep my balance.

Legs

Myself, squat depth

Leg day, no real soreness from Sundays routine so I wanted to make it a squatting day from hell.

Travelling lunges - 3x6-8.......24 kg (8, 7, 6)

Front Squats - 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5........135, 155, 185, 205, 215, 225, 225, 185, 185

For Time
60 Back Squats - 135
Time: 9:45

Leg Extension - 3x10......170, 200, 215

The lunges were more for the purpose of warming my legs and hips up.  I never really went to failure, but it was more intense than a regular warmup so I included it in my workout.  9 sets of squats were brutal, I am actually very happy with how they went.  This is only the second time I have squatted over 200 pounds since my back injury, and last time was to 7 risers, so a shortened ROM.  225 felt heavy, very heavy but not one rep wasn't the depth shown in the picture, which I don't classify as low as I can go, but as low as I want to go when going for max weight.  The last set at 225 I had a spot for, feels awesome having that person there.  The 60 back squats were hamstring to calf, so deeper than the ROM shown in the picture, unless I am going for max weight, my depth is either to the risers or all the way down, nothing else.  My legs were done after this, and typing this now, after a protein shake, a turkey and spinach and red pepper sandwhich, an apple pecan salad and a nap, they still feel the same.  Maybe those 2 chicken breasts I have cooking will help.....but probably not....I love leg days like this after they are done.

Conditioning

Myself in an L-Pullup

Ahh Conditioning day, always a fun day.  I was going to try the filthy fifty, a crossfit classic, it's simple 10 exercises at varying degrees of difficulty, 50 reps each.  Instead I decided to come up with my own, here's what happened.

For time
50 Kipping Pullups
50 Box Jumps - 24 inches
50 10 metre Rows (so you row 500 metres)
50 Burpees
50 Travelling Lunges (25 per leg)
50 Alternating Swings - 24 kg (25 per arm)
50 Situps
50 Jump Squats
50 Push Presses - 45
50 Bench Supported Lateral Jumps - 24 inch box (25 per side)
Time: 33:51

I have completed a version of the original filthy fifty, and this time is slower but going into it I believe it to be a harder workout, and it was.  The burpees hands down took my the longest, the only thing I didn't take a break on was the row, and had the pullups showed up later they may have been a lot harder.  Overall I was spent, even the exercises that were easy (push presses, situps, lunges, lateral jumps) were still energy wasting and time consuming, was glad when it was over.

I also finally decided to post a picture of myself, it is afterall my blog, L-Pullups are very tough with my long ass legs.

Pulling

Had a bit more trouble getting going this morning than usual, when it came to workout time I felt ok but my clients this morning had to deal with me more sleepy than usual.

Rack Supported DB Rows - 4, 4, 4, 4, 4..........75, 80, 85, 90, 95(3)

Weighted Chinups - 45 (6, 6, 5, 5, 5)

For time
18 Wide-Grip pullups
30 Neutral Grip Pullups
42 Neutral Grip Inverted Rows
Time: 11:28

Incline Curls - 25s (8, 6, 7)

I wanted to try rack supported DB rows as they are harder than bench supported rows, I needed them to be heavier, plus I focussed on strict as hell form.  It's so easy to cheat on this exercise, and I could have gotten 4 on the last set, but I would have had to either use momentum or twist my body, both constitute cheating (for some people it's every damn rep).  Weighted Chinups felt good.  Part 3 looks random but it's actually the same as last weeks routine cept un partitioned, last week was broken into 6 rounds.  This way should take longer, and it did, my forearms were lit up on the inverted rows, damn fatter grip.

Pushing

Glutes are pretty sore today, felt very fatigued in the morning but after I got going it was alright.

Rack Bench Press - 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1.........225, 225, 245, 255, 265, 275(fail)

Incline Bench Press - 4x5.......135 on all sets

6 Rounds for time
5 Dips
5 Shoulder to Overheads - 50s
10 Pushups
Time: 11:29

Reverse Grip Pushdowns - 3x10......80 (10, 10, 7)

I love rack bench press (also called Pin bench press) because it allows me to go for max weight with no worry of failing.  All the sets felt good, 265 is probably where I should have stopped, but I wanted to see if 275 was possible for a single.  Turns out.....no, it hovered just above the pins for a second then fell back down, hopefully next time.  Everything else felt good too.

Legs

Early morning leg day, I hate 7am workouts my energy level just isn't all there.  Nonetheless I had to get it done, and one a bit shorter due to time contraints, doesn't mean easier just more intensive.  My back was sore going in, not hurt just stiff, I rowed a light 400 metres on top of my usual warmup and that seemed to help.

Front Squats - 10x3 with 30 seconds rest between sets........135 on all sets

12 Rounds for time
10 Back Squats to bench - 135
10 Jump Squats
Time: 20:36

Leg Extension - 170 for 50 reps (broke into 15, 15, 15 and 5)

Part 1 was something I had done many months ago, 135 is light for only 3 reps but when it's 10 sets and only 30 seconds rest between sets, it does start to get a little tough.  I could have gone a bit heavier, which I will next time, but I picked it because it's fast and effective, a technique I got from John Welbourne, who can squat over 500 pounds.  I believe you are to focus on max bar speed, it's not so much about the weight but the speed of the bar and maintaining that as the sets progress.  Part 2 sucked, my first time back squatting since my back injury, so I used the bench, same height as 7 risers which I used for front squats before.  The shortened range of motion allows me to move faster, doing 120 of them with 120 jump squats got a little painful, but I wanted a longer timed portion.

Conditioning

Conditioning day, tried a routine having absolutely no idea how long it would take.

For time
Row 10 Strokes
3 Box Jumps - 30 inches
4 Burpees
5 Single KB Thrusters - 24 kg
6 KB Swings
Continue this sequence until you have completed 1000 metres on the rower
Time: 26:48

Plank - 3 minutes (a few sets to get there)

10 minutes of stretching

Wow that was not easy, it totalled around 9 rounds or so.  I wanted to go all out on each set of 10 row strokes so that drained my energy and caused the 4 exercises to be very tough, repeating it as many times as I did makes sense as to why it took so long.  I started at about 110 metres per interval but that dropped to just over 100 by the end, very tough.  The stretching I have been forcing myself to do seems to have really helped, I've noticed an improvement and it's helped to rid my body of any aches or pains it may be feeling at the time, all it takes is around 10 minutes.  Also the height on the box caused my fellow staff to wonder what I was doing, they thought I was going underneath it.  Once I got the hang of it (around the 8th round) it wasn't too bad, too date that's the highest I have used for box jumps.

Pulling

I am pretty sore today, my legs especially but also my chest and shoulders a bit, felt good to get going though.

Weighted Pullups - 5x5........50 on all sets, last set only got 4 reps though

Single Arm Chest Supported Row - 5x4........80 on all sets

6 Rounds for Time
3 Wide-Grip Pullups
5 Neutral Grip Pullups
7 Neutral Grip Inverted Rows
Time: 10:26

Incline Curls - 3x6-8.......25s (8, 6, 6)

That was the first time I've used the weight belt for the pullups since my back injury, as having the weight resting on my lower back like the belt does can get a bit uncomfortable.  It felt pretty good as long as i braced my abs and general core.  For those who don't know, when it says 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 it means you are doing 5 sets while continually trying to increase the weight, 5x5 means you do 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight, once all 5 sets are completed at 5 reps you increase the weight, in this case I only got 4 on the last set so I would not.  Part 3 was tough the neutral grip rows were done a slightly fatter than usual grip.  Good workout!

Pushing

Spencer Hendel

Pushing Day, a good day.

Incline Rack Bench Press - 3, 3, 3, 3 3.......135, 155, 175, 185, 195

DB Bench Press - 75s(6), 80s(5), 85s(5), 90s(3), 75s(6)

Set a clock for 12 minutes, perform 50 dips as fast as possible and with the remaining time perform as many pushups as possible.
Score: 60 pushups

Overheard Rope Extension - 3x8-10.......50(10), 50(8), 50(8)

I had done incline rack bench press before but didnt record what bench I used or how high the pins were set, so I'll write it down now; 11 holes high and the always incline bench (black and white one).  I felt strong on it though, plus it's a great one to progress on.  I missed flat DB bench, I used to do that all the time when I was a teenager, glad I can do the 90s as my second chest exercise.  I got a hand off with the 90s only, and I maybe could have done 4, not really sure why I didn't try if I fail it's ok because it's only dumbbells.  Part 3 was a little different but kind of fun, I probably could have gotten more than 60 pushups but lost track of time and rested a bit, was about to do a set but then noticed my time was up, the 50 dips took maybe 6 minutes or so, around there.

Legs

Steve Willis

Today is leg day, and the timed portion I actually had a goal time to beat.  17:52 was the time my client got on his version, our versions were the same minus one thing, I am doing front squats and he did back squats.  It's common knowledge front squats are harder, and he is very good at leg movements, so I figured it would be a close call.  Had to start with some heavy movements first.

Stationary Lunges - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3........135, 145, 155, 160, 165

Stationary Lunges - 135x40 (broke down into 4 sets)

For time
25 Squats
20 Front Squats - 135
25 Squats
30 Front Squats - 115
25 Squats
40 Front Squats - 95
25 Squats
Time: 17:48

Leg Extension - 140x50 (broke down into 4 sets)

4 seconds faster, so it was pretty close, I may try this routine another time with back squats to see how that time compares to my front squat version.  My legs were actually screaming the most during the 40 reps with 95, I was trying to move very fast and they weren't liking me for it.  All squats was hamstring to calf, no questions about depth.  The lunges felt pretty good actually, 165 pounds is the most I've done for stationary lunges.

Conditioning

Conditioning day today, it was certainly a hard one.

AMRAP in 30 minutes
10 Burpees
10 Single Arm Overhead Lunges - 24 kg (5 per leg/side)
10 Over the box Jumps - 24 inches
10 KB Swings - 24 kg
Score: 7 + 10 Burpees

3 sets of
10 Overhead Situps - 20 lb med ball
10 Situps

5-10 minutes of stretching.

Part 1 was certainly a challenge, I expected people to have there commentary watching me jump over a 24 inch box, one gentleman actually said I was clearing it by about 10 inches, I could have saved some energy by not jumping so high but didn't want to risk it, that one was certainly tough.  The burpees really sucked, the OH lunges were only broken between arms and I could really feel my core trying to stabalize me as I fatigued in future rounds.  The swings were the easiest, never broken.  That totals 290 reps, none of the exercises being a quick one like pushups or box jumps, I purposefully picked exercises that each individual rep was a second or longer.  It did feel good though, had a nice big turkey sandwitch as celebration.  I also have been spending more time stretching, it certainly seems to have helped.