Conditioning

Conditioning day again, I don't normally do 2 in a row but I am house sitting for my client again and like using her basement workout stuff, so I created a nasty and horribly decieving one.

8 Rounds for time
8 Burpees
8 Hang Squat Cleans - 110 (fat bar)
8 Back Squats - 135 (from ground)
Time: 40:02

Son of a bitch that was tough I was a sweaty mess after round 2.  I say decieving because I was surprised at howquickly it hurt.  The easier was burpees, technically never broken but turned into slow motion.  The hang squat cleans were the hardest, the fat bar made it harder anyways.  I actually thought the bar weighed 90 when I went down there but quickly learned it weighed 110, heavier than I was planning but they don't have another bar (all these are pre-loaded) so I was stuck, ah well.  The back squats were done from the ground because they also do not have a power cage or squat stand.  That made a big difference, much bigger than I thought it would.  The power clean, then from the front rack position to getting it on my back, and then reversing that at the end, I made sure I rested long enough before so I didn't have to break these up.  I did feel my elbow during the workout, having to move 135 from the front to back requires a little push press but gladly I only felt it a bit, and went away right after, good sign and great workout!

Conditioning

Decided to try a good old fashioned conditioning routine today, see how my elbow feels and try some new stuff.

5 Rounds for time
4 KB Squat Cleans - 20 kg
6 Burpees
8 Over the Box Jumps (4 per side) - 30 inches
10 Ball Slams - 20 lb med ball
Time - 15:12

Treadmill sprints - I didn't keep track of how many I did or for how long, just tried to max out each time, damn these were hard, ended with incline 7.5 at 11 mph for about 30seconds.

Bike 1.5, resistance 10 - 5:32

I was a puddle of sweat after this.  The first part was tough, and I was happy that my elbow didn't feel a thing, my time feels a tad slow but this is my first real conditioning thing in a bit.  The death by deadlifts left my back sore but the squat cleans with the kettlebells were the only exercise where I kind of felt that.  The spirnts, as mentioned were hard, I probably had the gyms attention nearly maxing out the treadmill with an incline, ya it sucked the wind out of me.  The treadmill (which I almost never use) had heart rate monitors so I decided to check it what it got to, 190 by the end of the sprint, that's closing in on heart attack territory.  The bike ride was a last minute thing to kill some time, got my lungs and legs, felt great.

Full Body

Took the first routine from my client but scaled up a bit, death by deadlifts....how can I not try a routine that indicates death with 2 words.

Death By Deadlifts at 225
11 rounds completed plus 5 reps

Pulldowns - 3xmax reps at 120.......10, 8, 8

Pushups - 3xmax reps........25, 20, 18

So clearly a shorter a routine, but tested out my elbow a bit today with my brace, which I found a tad uncomfortable.  The pulldowns and pushups both activated my elbow but neither hurt for much or for long, typing this now I feel nothing.  I will slowly put upper body stuff back into my routine.....very slowly.  The death by deadlifts was what I expected, easy at the beginning then got nice and hard.  I'm surprised I got 11 rounds completed, and I mean I JUST got 11 rounds completed, I must have been at 59 seconds when I got that 11lth rep., I know I was at 8 reps at 53 seconds.  After that I managed 5 reps, these deadlifts were done without straps so I used a mix grip and were from the ground, it was very tough but 71 total reps at 225 made me happy.

Legs

Got back into a good workout today, just legs so it leave my elbow untouched but felt like hitting my legs hard as I didn't really touch them the past week (and not much else).  That usually means I will be sore.

Warm up
Front Squats
95x10
115x8
135x5

Superset
Front Squats - Isometric Back Squat
155x8 - 45x
175x6 - 45
185x5 - 65
185x5 - 65
185x5 - 65

Assisted Pistol Squats - Grey band - 5 reps, black band - 5, 5, 5, 5

Felt amazing to get a good workout in again.  There is no time for the isometric back squat as I didn't count, just held it as long as I could, I also decided to up the weight from just the bar for the last 3 sets, I wanted to keep it relatively light though.  That part really hurt and became mental to do the last set, my legs didn't feel to have the same jump, probably from the week off they took but it still felt great.  The pistol squats were done by the regular pullup bar, which I realized it basically the same height as the one by the power cage.  I have used the blue band for those but my legs felt very heavy after the first bit so the black band was sufficiently hard for 5 per leg, the grey didn't even feel easy.  Glad to be back!

Update

Saw the doctor today, his diagnosis was a mild case of elbow tendonitis, which actually surprised me a bit.  I do have a brace that I will wear and see how that feels, but I really am not too worried about it.  Since working out seriously I have had tendonitis in both my knees, both has cleared up.  It got really bad in my left knee when I was in college, my right knee followed shortly after I graduated, on the rare occasion I will feel my right knee but my left knee (which was the bad one) hasn't affected me at all.  My back has gone out multiple times, I have pulled my hip, sprained my wrist but have been able to get by them all, so I will get by this minor case of elbow tendonitis too.  I wasn't sure if he'd be able to make me feel it as I didn't feel it before the appointment, he grabbed a certain spot and yup.....there it was.  I will stick with some lighter cable work and my usual deadlifts and squat this coming week, then go into some free weight stuff later on depending on how I'm feeling.  The best way I made the others go away before was to listen to my body, if I want to train into my old age I got to stay smart and like my work shirt says, "leave your ego at the door".

Upper body

Decided to test my elbow a bit more before my doctors appointment, feels weird having such a light week but at the same time I do not mind.

Alternate Sets
Incline DB Flies - 10, 10, 10........35s, 40s, 45s
Cable Rope Shrugs - 3x10.........100

Lateral Holds - 3xmax time at 15 lb dumbbells
Rope Straight Arm Pulldowns - 10, 10, 10........80, 90, 100

Pushups - 3x20

The first 4 exercises were like before, don't involve much of an arm bend.  The flies and shrugs felt fine, the lateral holds actually bothered my old wrist injury more than my elbow (but not much).  The straight arm pulldown were done with the rope and kneeling meaning a greater range of motion, so the weight I was able to use was less, I was however able to challenge myself on all of these.  The pushups were the first time I have done anything that involves elbow bends not counting when I show a client a exericise.  None of the sets were to failure, but I could feel my elbow, not a lot though and it went away pretty quickly after I stopped.  That's a good sign, but 3x20 for pushups isn't exactly maxing myself out so I don't know how much of a test it is for my elbow, I'm curious as to what the doctor will say tomorrow.

Isolation Day

Today was nothing but exercises I hardly ever do, isolation.  3 reasons I did this, one they are easier and I barely had any time (can't wait till this month is over), 2 I wanted to see how they felt on my elbow, and 3 I wanted some damn upper body stimulation again.  None of the exercises involve any arm bend.

DB Floor Flies - 3x10........22s

Machine Reverse Flies - 10, 10, 10.....80, 90, 100

Lateral Raises - 3x10.......22s

Straight arm Pulldown - 10, 10, 10.........100, 110, 110

Alternate set
Leg Extension - 15, 15, 15......170, 200, 215
Hamstring Curls - 3x15......70

I could feel my elbow, but not really that much, certainly not enough to stop.  Felt nice to actually work my upper body again, even if it is with exercises I don't really like.  I booked an appointment to see a sports medicine doctor which will be this Friday, I may test it a bit more before then.

Legs

Busy busy day today, but did have time for a quick workout.  I did pause front squats again, last time getting to 205 barely, today went well.

Pause Front Squats
95x10 (normal style)
135x2
155x2
175x2
195x2
205x2
215x2
225x2

Natural Glute Ham Raises - 4xmax reps........10, 8, 7, 7

Wow a 20 pound improvement, last time I also wrote that I barely was able to stand back up with 205, while 225 felt about the same I maybe....maybe had another 10 pounds in me.  Very happy with that, Jason spotted me on the last 2 sets, I had to tell him the style of squats I was doing otherwise he may think I was failing when I paused at the bottom.  Natural glute ham raises can be seen in the can be seen in the video below, I had kind of forgotten about them.  They hurt like a bitch though, basically a bodyweight hamstring curl, and my hamstrings were on fire.  EDIT: Hamstrings hurt like crazy today, most sore they have been in a while, I think glute ham raises are a great thing to throw back in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRoYRAeXqUo&feature=related

I think I may get my elbow checked out, it's simply not improving, doesn't hurt when I am going throughout my day, but takes one set of showing someone an exercise to remind me it's there (I'm showing them with light weights too).  Next week I will try some isolation movements like flies and lateral raises, they should be fine as my elbow doesn't bend but at least I can get some upper body stimulation.

Back and Legs

The month of September my gym has a special that makes all the personal trainers more busy, and since I am the one with the most open schedule I have been much busier, making fitting my workouts in a bit tougher.  Today I had it all planned out for a bit more time, until a mix up at the gym left me with very little time to workout, angered I decided to lift heavy things to relieve it....it went well.

Deadlifts (starting from top)
135x10
135x10
185x8
225x5
255x5
275x5
295x5
315x5
335x5
355x5
365x5

Pistol Squats (blue band) - 4x5

365 is a very nice pr for me, 3 45's and 25 on each side, plus the bar.  It was flipping heavy, and my shins and legs took a scraping but another pr and I love it, 5 reps as well.  The pistol squats were harder than the last time, the first set I did with the black band, the next 3 I switched to the blue band, so I had less help and it was very noticable.  I also used the pullup bar by the power cage, lower than the other one, my legs were feeling it big time but I like that exercise.  Not bad for a shorter workout.

Full Body

Today wasn't a long one, but also a sorta test my elbow as I ventured away from squats and deadlifts, I'll post the outcome after.

Death by Power Clean at 135
9 Rounds completed plus 4 additional reps
*Perform one power clean the first minute, 2 the second minute, 3 the third minute, continue as long as possible until you cannot complete the required number of reps in the minute.

Black Band Assisted Pistol Squats - 5x5

Hang Power Snatch - 4xmax reps at 95........10, 9, 8, 9

The outcome, I still felt my elbow, which annoyed me a bit but it wasn't really a pain, just that slight numb feeling and I was aware that it was different from how it should feel, but no pain.  Nevertheless because this didn't really involve much in the way of upper body work I will do a week similar to last....yay more time to improve my deadlift and squat....umm ya good news -_-

Now to the workout, death by's is a crossfit workout you can do for anything, today I picked power cleans with 135.  Son of a bitch that was hard, my lungs and grip and a few other things were on fire, I just, and I mean within seconds to spare completed the 9 reps in the minute, so I plugged away and got 4 but I knew I wasn't going to get 10.  49 totals reps in 10 minutes, it starts easy but gets hard fast.  The pistols I suck at, as pictured above so I used a black resistance band which helped me with balance, allowed me to sick back and the standing up itself.  I did get full range of motion each time, I want to be able to do pistols free style in time, I know this is a exercise not friendly to the tall lifter.  The snatches went well too, it's where I felt my elbow the most but I kept a good pace.  Good workout for what it was none the less.

High rep crap

Yet another day in my squat and deadlift day, today was very light and high repetitions.  My back was feeling good but still a little sore, I could feel it throughout but not really that much.

For time
50 Front Squats - 135
100 Deadlifts - 135
Time: 25:37

That's all for today, so obviously a short one but still a tough one.  The front squats started with a set of 10, not my max at that weight but didn't want to push it.  I checked and they were completed in just under 11 minutes, normally 50 front squats takes 12 minutes so even though I wasnted trying I got a faster time.  The deadlifts started with a set of 20, then many sets of 15, I just kept plugging away as my grip, hamstrings, and spinal erectors were asking me to stop.  Overall it was a tough basic routine, Monday I will try some upper body work, very lightly, and if possible rest my back and legs, they need it.

Update

I was wondering if my workout on Wednesday would come back to bite me in the ass, yesterday it did not appear to be an issue at all, this morning was a different story.  Deadlifts and back squats, heavy weights but not so low on the repititions, happy but now my back is sore.  When I say sore I mean just that, sore, it's not out, it's not injured and nothing is spasming....but those could all become true if I did another squat/deadlift day.  So I'll probably do it tomorrow and start some upper body stuff on Monday to see how my elbow feels.  It feels better now but still there, it's weird a long time ago I re-arranged my elbow and needed to keep it in a sling for just over a month.  I was maybe in grade 8 when that happened, while I have a hard time believing it's related to that, the pain is radiating directly out of the point when my elbow is still differently shaped from my other.  Odd, maybe sometimes old old injuries do come back.  Ah well, even if it's bothers me still I can still do squats and deadlifts, the 2 lifts that work the most muscle groups in the entire body :).

Legs and Back

Need I say more

Update on elbow, seems to be feeling better as in it's not s achy anymore, but will still keep away from direct elbow style exercises, which is basically all upper body.  I don't really mind as it gives me a chance to up my legs, more preferably my deadlifts.

Continuing from Monday (which left my legs painfully sore), I picked the same 2 exercises just different styles, sumo and back squats.  For so long I never touched deadlifts because I was a pansy and scared of my back, since throwing them back in I've felt great, all the years of neglecting them is probably why they are currently my fastest progressing exercise.  Today was sumo and from the floor, didn't feel like going for max weight so ended with sets of 8, last time I did sumos I got 315 for 3, today was a nice surprise.

Sumo Deadlifts
135x10
185x8
225x8
245x8
265x8
285x8
315x8 (but barely)

Back Squats - 10, 10, 10, 10, 10........135, 145, 155, 165, 175

So, not too long ago I got 315 for 3 reps, today I got 315 for 8 reps.....damn right.  On the set of 285 it felt good, better than I thought, so I made a larger jump for my last set and went right to 3 plates a side (so 315).  I admit I JUST got 8 reps with that weight, but damn was I happy with that.  315 was a goal to deadlift in the new year, I've shattered that goal, maybe I should try for 4 plates a side, or 405 pounds.  The back squats I kept the same as last time I did 5 sets of 10 (which suck by the way).  All hamstring to calf but back squats following any kind of deadlift are painful for the back, so I didn't want to go past what I know I've already done, 175 was still challenging for 10 ass to grass back squats.  Great workout!

Update:  An online calculator said that based of my deadlifts last week when I got 355 for 5 reps, my one rep max is calculated at 399 pounds of that style.......4 plates a side here I come!

Legs and Back

I took the whole weekend off, I definately did something to my elbow, my guess is over extended it.  It's mainly sore during and after upper body workout, and then a dull ache of the rest of the day.  I know it was the bench press at 215 the past week too.  So this week I decided to leave out all upper body stuff and probably only do 3 session, but make them hard sessions that don't involve elbow extension or flexion....the elbow is like the knees and hips and back, need to be careful with.  To me it sounds like I'm babying it but I want to make sure it's healed.....man I'm accident prone.

Anywho, today I wanted to try a new technique for strength....it sucked.  You have to get 10 reps each set and time how long the set takes, gradually adding weight each set.  I picked front squats and deadlifts, because last week I did the deads with straps and from the top, today I started from the floor and was strap free.

Front Squats (for time)
135x10 - 31 seconds
155x10 - 48 seconds
175x10 - 1:40
195x10 - 3:14
205x10 - 5:18

Deadlifts (for time)
185x10 - 21 seconds
225x10 - 45 seconds
245x10 - 59 seconds
265x10 - 1:17
285x10 - 1:57

The front squats can just bite me.  The time probably indicates that the first set was unbroken, the set at 155 was done with 6 then 4.  The set at 175 was 5, then 3 and 2.  The set at 195 caught me off guard, 2 sets of 3 and 2 sets of 4.  The last one I knew was going to hurt, 3-2-1-1-1-2, and because the weight was so damn heavy I was forced to rest longer so I didn't fail.  5:18 looks so long for only 10 reps but I knew I was giving it my all.  The deadlifts were only easier because they were faster, my back was hating me a lot.  The first one again was the only unbroken, starting from the floor and not using straps was felt, although they were still touch and go.  285 was a set of 4, then 2 sets of 3, and my back was mad, not in a bad way though.  This was a challenging new style to approach a strength workout, I certainly enjoyed the challenge.  My elbow held up fine, as it should on these 2 exercises, tomorrow I will stretch myself out a lot, but will probably not post it.

Upper Body

Decided to do a basic upper body today, didn't push the heavy weights today really, also wanted to see how it'd feel on my elbow.

DB Incline Bench Press - 65s(10), 70s(8), 75s(6, 6, 6)

C2B Neutral Pullups - 5xmax reps........10, 7, 7, 6, 6

DB Shoulder Press - 4xmax reps at 50s........10, 9, 8, 7

Inverted Rows - 4xmax reps........11, 9, 8, 8

I did feel my elbow but it wasn't as bad as before.  Tomorrow is a rest day so that'll give whatever is wrong with it more time to heal.  Everything felt pretty good, I hadn't done shoulder press (seated) in a while so decided to throw it back in, the 50s felt lighter than I thought but overall it was a good upper body workout.

Posterior Chain

Rob Orlando

The other day when I was doing bench press I think my one elbow didn't like the last set, yesterday on the squat clean and thrusters I felt it a lot.  While it went away, and I don't feel it at all on my in between days, I decided to leave out pushing and just hit my posterior chain, some nice numbers today too.

Deadlifts (starting from top)
135x10
135x10
225x7
255x5
275x5
295x5
315x5
335x5
355x5

5 Rounds for time
5 Hang Power Cleans - 95
5 Hang Power Snatches - 95
Time: 5:21

50 Back Extensions

2 things that please me about today, one that is the most I have ever done for conventional deadlifts of that style, it ties what I have done for a pr on any deadlifts (sumo is also 355), but is also more reps than before too.  For conventional I have gotten 335 for 3, and remember that being close, for sumo I have gotten 355 but only for 2, and that was even closer.  Today I got 355 for FIVE, despite my shins taking a scraping, and my form probably faltering a bit I am very pleased I got 355 for 5 reps.  The second part I stole from my client but scaled up a bit, certainly hammered my grip pretty well. I now know to never....EVER do back extensions again.  The cyst of my pelvis didn't like it and I was in considerable pain for over an hour till the pressure released, didn't take away from the great workout.