Feel Good Routine - Day 11 and 12

Friday 7/27/12

70lb KB Swing x Push-ups x Chins
20 / 20 / 5
20 / 20 / 5
20 / 20 / 5
20 / 20 / 5

Saturday 7/28/105

Litvinov Sprints
70lb KB Swing x 115lb sled sprint
6 rounds:  8 Swings x 40 Yards

Waiter Walks
3 Rounds:
70lb x 40/40 yards

Notes
Amanda is in town so I've been introducing her to kettlebell work and showing her how to properly condition.  My basic approach to teaching someone interval conditioning work is to do the exact opposite of whatever I think crossfit would do.  I mean that in all seriousness.  Lately, I've been writing a lot about performing conditioning work at a 7-8 intensity level.  This is all that is needed for a beginner as well.  You don't need to get someone sore as fuck the first time they do something so they believe its effective.

I'll leave that sort of thing to pussy trainers.  And they are pussies.  One of my biggest pet peeves, and something that just really pisses me off, is when trainers put people through intense grueling workouts on their first session.  What the fuck is that.  ANYONE can make another person sore.  Whoopdy fucking do.  Why would someone do that?  Because they lack confidence.  They feel they need to show the person they are an expert.  Because look at how sore you get from working hard with me.  That is a total lack of confidence in their ability to: 1) get through to people; and 2) create adaptation without killing someone.  As such, trainers that give 40 year old woman crippling soreness are huge fucking pussies.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be teaching Amanda how to construct a conditioning session, or a training session in general.  There is more to all of this than plug and chug if you are in it for the long haul.  One of Dan John's great nuggets, and something I think a lot of people should pay attention to, is the breakdown of the 5 basic human movements:

1. Squat
2. Hinge
3. Push
4. Pull 
5. Loaded Carry

I would also actually add "run" onto that list.  Nonetheless, I've found that to construct a solid conditioning session, just pick 2-3 movements in that list and do them for high reps at a brisk pace. If you looked back over the past 3 weeks, you'd find almost all of my conditioning sessions are done in this fashion.

For example, yesterday we did a swing (hinge) a pushup (push) and a chin (pull).  Today we did a swing (hinge) sled sprint (run) and waiter walk (loaded carry).  Setting up conditioning sessions in this fashion is a fantastic way to keep your entire body strong and well oiled.  It also guarantees you won't be neglecting any body part.

Without further adieu, I have some pics from today's rooftop conditioning session.  I actually had no idea Amanda was snapping pics of me throughout the entire session, but since I got them now, might as well post them up.  I do not appear to have gotten any smaller from not lifting weights the past 3 weeks.  

Feel Good Routine - Day 10

Warm-up: foam roll, few mobility moves, stretches, 20 face pulls, 20 pushups, 5 chins.

Pump Work


Barbell Bench Press: 135x20

RDL: 135x20

Standing DB Press: 50x3; 40x10... not sure why these were incredibly hard.

Poundstone Curls: 45x45 (+2)

Leg Press: 180x20; 180x20; 180x20

Seated Calves: 45x21; 45x21; 45x21

Wide Neutral Grip Cable Row: 90x10; 90x10; 90x10

Triceps Pushdown: 90x33

Notes
After my "Feel Good Routine" is over, I expect significantly improved conditioning and lifting endurance.  I can already feel it.  This will be vital going into a high volume/hypertrophy stage.  I'm not talking about doing normal sets of 5 and then throwing in a drop set.  I'm talking about true bodybuilding.

Do I want to be a bodybuilder?  Fuck no. Of course not.  But, I do want to build my body.  Being bigger makes getting stronger easier.  Plain and simple.

Feel Good Routine - Day 9

Warm-up
foam roller, hip circles/mountain climbers, 20 pushups, 20 band facepulls, 10 chins, 10 dips

KB Work
Windmills
70x5; 70x5

70lb Double Clean and Press supersetted w/ 70lb Farmers Walks
10 x 80 yards

10 x 80 yards
10 x 80 yards
10 x 80 yards


Conditioning
Sled on the roof until I couldn't walk... 30ish minutes.

Notes
Last night was supposed to be "light."  I'm not wasting anymore negative energy with this on my blog, but long story short, a crossfit trainer "confronted" me on taking the 70lb kb's out of the box. Balance Gym has a regular gym and a crossfit facility essentially connected.  Every once in a while, the crossfit ppl take some of our equipment.  Big deal.  Anyways, apparently me grabbing the 70s to use was a big enough deal for him (150 pound dude teaching 15 people how to squat) to stop his class.  I don't think he was prepared for the intensity of my response.  Haha.

Anyways, that got me all fired up.  I just wanted to use the 70s for a warm-up.  But, I decided to do farmers walks and clean even though I'd done consider back work and deadlifts the day before. Still enraged, I went up to the roof, and just started pushing the sled back and forth.

The roof top is really awesome at night.  Balance gym is 5 stories, but it surrounded by buildings that are all probably around 10.  Further, it isn't on a city block really, its in the middle of a city block.  So you have to actually walk through an alley to get there.  When you are up on the roof with the buildings surrounding you, its almost like being in an arena.  No one is watching of course, its all office buildings.  I'm usually up there by 8-9pm when everyone has gone home.  Still, in a city that is crazy hectic its a nice little cove to go up to and pound out some intense training.

By the time I was done I could barely walk, much less still be pissed off.  I'm not sure how long I was up  there, but as I was leaving I estimated it to be around 30 minutes of almost continuous sled pushing.  Push across 40 yards, rest 20-30 seconds, push again.  What did this tell me besides the fact I use exercise for therapy? (haha)  Well, moderate interval training is probably all about perception once you have a base strength and conditioning level.  I could keep going because at the end of the day, the sled is pretty fucking light compared to the heavy leg training I've done over the years.  Usually I've thought that 5 to 8 hard passes was pretty good.  Why stop there though.  If you want to keep going, keep going.  Its not heavy.

This brings up my final point: you don't need to sprint every run or do every interval at max intensity.  What if I had done the 5-8 runs and left?  Ok, not a bad finisher.  Now, what if I did that for a month?  Listen to everyone that jerks off to interval training and you'd say massive fat loss, right?  Probably not.  But, what if I did 30 minutes for a month instead. Something tells me that would be a whole lot more effective. Not sprinting every run, just pushing the fucking thing.

Feel Good Routine - Day 8

Kettlbell BS
70lbs: windmills, swings, double clean and press, failed attempts at renegade rows... I'm doing something wrong with these.

Circuits
Pushups x 100lb DB Row
20 x 15/15
20 x 15/15
20 x 15/15

No Belt No Warm-up  Deadlift
405x5

Notes
Lost patience with some of this conditioning.  Looking back, I should have been a little more structured with this stuff.  But, whatever.  I was just annoyed starting out my session.  The crossfit dudes came from across the alley and took the 70lb KB's over to their facility.  So, I spent 15 minutes trying to find them.  Two points: 1) I guarantee none of them are doing anything remotely worthwhile with the 70's 2) they have no fucking gym etiquette and don't put shit back or unrack their weights.  The other day I witnessed an actual instructor load up bumper plates in the middle of the gym, proceed to do some 115 pound cleans or something retarded like that, and then just leave the bar sitting between two benches.  "I am the center of the world."

Anyways, I was kind annoyed with doing pushups so I just loaded up 405 and pulled it a few times.  Obviously not PR or anything, but I kinda had a feeling it was going to go smoothly.  What does this tell me?  Who knows.  I haven't deadlifted for what 6-8 weeks?  Haven't done anything strength training for 3ish weeks.  It could mean a lot of stuff:  KB's made me stronger, time off helps my deadlift, I just needed an extended break in general, my core is a ton stronger, I was just really pissed off.  At one time I would have otherthought this sort of thing to try to figure it out.  Don't know don't care.  What I DO know is that an extended break focusing on KB shit, farmers walks, sled work, etc is just fine to take a break and will maintain strength pretty well.

I'll probably do this stuff for the rest of the week.  The next two weeks after that I'll have my GF visiting and will be moving.  We like to lift together, etc, but I'm not starting a program during this time.  Probably be another 2-3 weeks of hodge podge stuff before I get back to it.  In the mean time, I've got enough experience to stay active and do the right stuff to maintain.

Update:  also, I'm getting back in the zone with the diet.  I'm at about 85% capacity right now.  Most of the summer has been 70-75%, which is fine considering I'm pretty active.  GF is huge into low carbing, cooking veges, being healthy etc.  It will be a good time for her to be here.  I'll be at work, she is going to lay out at the pool, grocery shop, bring me lunch during the day, and then plan meals at night.  This will be a good kickstart to go back full throttle.  I'll have more to say about this later, but I've effectively reset my body set-point.  Time to bring it down another notch.

Feel Good Routine - Day 7

Warm-up: Foam rolling, band facepulls, band pull aparts, chins, kb windmills, kb turkish getups

Kettlebell Core and Conditioning

3 rounds:
1 arm 70lb kb swing x 15-20 . . . 40 yard Waiter Walk down and back with 70lb kb

1 round:
double 70lb kb clean x 10 . . .  100 yard Farmer Walk down and back with 70/70lb kb

Pump Work

Pushups: BWx40

Poundstone Curls: 45x43 (+3)

Back Extensions: BWx40

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 100x30

Klokov Press: 45x30; 45x20

Seated Calves: 45x30

Notes
I'm in the best condition that I can remember.  I know its probably hard to have any perspective on some of these workouts if you don't do them, but I'm moving through everything fast, crisp and with purpose.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I do all of my conditioning work at a 7-8.  Just because you aren't pushing yourself to the extreme doesn't mean you aren't working hard.  My shirt is usually soaked after these workouts.  The warm-up alone gets me sweating a little bit.  The benefit to doing conditioning work in a normal fashion is I can tell when I am improving.  All of these faggots perpetually doing metabolic threshold work have no idea if they are really getting better.  Of course they will improve over time, but you want to know why that happens?  They are essentially doing aerobics.  Everyone likes to call anything crossfit does "anaerobic" interval training just because they are using weights.  How in the fuck is it anaerobic if you are gasping for breath and near death after every workout? 1-15 seconds = creatine/phosphate. 15-120 seconds = glycolytic.  Anything above 120 second is fucking aerobics.  I don't care if you are in "oxygen debt."  Running really fast will put you in oxygen debt too.

I'm doing really high rep stuff for restorative and conditioning purposes.  My joints and surrounding ligaments feel great after ultra high rep stuff.  Further, the muscle is engorged with blood so I get an awesome pump.  Alot of the time I almost think of the high rep stuff as active stretching.  Kettlebells are especially awesome at opening your joints up in a healthy way.  Windmills are by far one of my favorite movements.  I mean that hands down, not just in regards to kettlebells.  They are fucking great and I'm always going to do them.

I'm completely done lifting for sets of 5 for 52 weeks out of the year.  I don't know when I became so tunnel-visioned, but there are a ton of benefits to the high reps. And I'm not just talking about 8-12 reps.  Thats not high reps. High reps is 20+. In the long run it will help me become stronger because it actually builds muscle.  Do sets of 5 build muscle?  Sure.  Is it slow as fuck after a while?  Yep.

Somewhere along the line the internet decided bodbuilding is gay.  And it is, but not because they perform high rep pump work.  Think of ANY brutally strong dude you know.  What does this dude have in common with other brutally strong dudes?  They are all big as fuck.  I've never seen a small person move ridiculous weights.  It just doesn't happen.  I'll be the first to admit I often had the mentality of "gotta move heavy weights all the time to get strong."  This is wrong, borderline retarded, and completely ego-driven.  High rep work is important.  It builds muscle.

Case in point. Everyone thinks Westside consists of 1 rep max effort work and 3 rep speed work.  No one ever really talks about "repetition effort."   Here is an example the assistance work as prescribed by Dave Tate in the Periodization Bible Part I:

• Shoulders or Chest 5 Sets of 10-20 Reps (DB Bench, DB Incline, DB Military, Incline Press, Dips, Pushups)
• Lats or Upper Back Work - 5 sets of 10-20 reps (DB Rows, Bent Rows, Chins, T-Bar Rows, Lat-Pulldowns, Facepulls, Shrugs)
• Triceps - 5 sets of 10-20 reps (Pushdowns or extensions)

That is 150 reps minimum, or 300 reps maximum.  How often does anyone perform 150 reps of anything anymore?  What about 300?  Non-existant in the quagmire of medocrity that one finds the average strength trainer nowadays.  You know who does 300 reps in a workout?  Jim Wendler:  http://www.jimwendler.com/2012/07/training-update-press-video-beginner-dl-video/

I can almost guarantee, and I'm guilty of this myself, that 99% of people looked at what he did for the big lifts, watched the video, and completely glossed over the fact that he did 300 repetitions of rep work.

Strength trainers nowadays are fucking lazy.  I got fucking lazy.  Thats not to say I haven't been working out hard.  But, the majority of my training was 3-5 reps, and 8-10 if I was lucky on assistance work.  That is bullshit.  Guess what.  High reps are hard.  Take ANY exercise.  Really, any exercise.  I don't care if its side laterals or fucking deadlifts.  Now do 30 reps.  Do 30 reps and tell me that didn't take a lot of effort.  Bodybuilders might be gay, but they work out harder than powerlifters.  Straight up.

I work out at a strength training gym in the middle of a big city.  It is an awesome gym, and nice to see  most of the people there working out "right."  Everyone is doing the big compounds, and its pretty clear a lot of the younger dudes all read the internet.  You would think there are a bunch of diesel dudes walking around.  After all, they are squatting, cleaning, and doing all the right stuff.  Nope.  No strong people.  I'm simply fucking amazed at how many weak and soft people I see doing technical barbell lifts on a daily basis.  Are they wrong for doing barbell lifts?  No, but they are fucking wrong for doing triples constantly.  There is nothing wrong with going heavy once in a while, but for fucks sake, singles and triples don't make you fucking grow.  And in my opinion, I really don't think they make you strong.

A triple does a great job of demonstrating strength.  It also is a great tool to develop your neural system when you want to peak and display maximal strength for a while.  But they sure as hell don't develop your body in any appreciable way if you are doing them perpetually.  Pavel can lick my fucking ball sack.  The only person I've ever seen get absolutely diesel from performing singles is Jaime Lewis.  And he performs 20+ singles a session and lifts 10+ times a week.  No wonder he gets big from fucking singles.

People make the mistake of looking at really strong dudes doing low rep work  and think "that must be key."  But, most people don't stop to think about how at a certain point it is exceedingly hard to add muscle over time.  For a guy that is already huge, it makes sense to be committed to doing 3-5's because they have a huge ceiling.  Most people however, are nowhere near their genetic potential.

With all of that said, in general, talk about sets and reps is fucking boring.  Its boring. Like all things fitness, there are no absolutes.  Absolutes in both strength training and nutrition piss me off.  That is why I hate crossfit pansies, paleo trolls, and Rippetoe whores.  There is no "best way."  The human body is way too complex for all of that.  I will say, and somewhere along the line I lost site of this, but if there is one near truth in strength training, it is that if you get bigger, there is a pretty good chance you got fucking stronger.

Feel Good Routine - Day 6

Warm-up: Foam rolling, KB Goblet Squats, Overhead Squats, Chins/Dips

Conditioning


70lb kb swing x Pushups x Back Extensions
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10
10/10/10

80 total reps for each movement

Pump Work

DB Rear Laterals
12.5x20
12.5x20
12.5x20

Calves
45x20
45x20
45x20

Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip
100x20
100x20

Notes
I was planning on doing sledgehammers and some other shit, but I've developed blistering around/under  the callouses on my hands.  How the fuck that is possible after doing barbell shit/chins/farmers walks week in week out for years... I have no idea.  The twisting action of the dual 70 lb kb cleans on Tuesday are the source.  But, come on.  Annoying as fuck.  Anyways, I had to do stuff that I where I could hold the bar/bell in my finger tips.

Today I felt a marked difference in my conditioning level.  I was definitely breathing hard during the circuits, but I had no problem going into each round with minimal rest.  Todays conditioning was a 6 our of 10 on the effort scale.  Most of the work I have been doing is 7-8.  I've been completely staying away from any threshold stuff.  I'll leave that for the weak people that like to do crossfit.

Feel Good Routine - Day 5

Abbreviated Warm-up:  Foam Rolling, hip circles, mountain climbers, facepulls, band pull aparts, chins/dips, KB swings

Kettlebell "Strength" Work

Windmills

24kg x 3/3

32kg x 1/1

Double Cleans

24kg/24kg x 5

32kg/32kg x 5

Clean and Press

24kg x 3/3

32kg x 1/1

Double Clean and Press

32kg x 3/3

32kg x 3/3

Kettlebell Conditioning Circuits:  Double 32kg KB Cleans supersetted w/ Push-ups supersetted w/ Chins

1 / 3 / 1

2 / 6 / 2

3 / 9 / 3 

4 / 12 / 4

5 / 15 / 5

6 / 15 / 6

3 / 3 / 3 

Pump Work

Klokov Press

Bar x 15; Bar x 15; Bar x 15

GH Raise

6; 5... woot getting better

Poundstone Curls

Barx40

Notes

Had a text war with Matt on whether or not kettlebells "build strength."  Too late to post the details, but I'll write my thoughts on it all later.

I will say pressing the 70lb'rs was pretty fucking hard.  My core was shuddering.  Pressing 140lbs in the form of two kettlebells is much, much harder than a straight barbell.  Harder does not always mean better for the purposes of strength.

I think I cleaned the double 70s for 33ish reps total.  I have  a feeling my ass will be sore.  I'd be interested to see if I get up the point where I'm in the 100 rep zone for double 32kg cleans.  In fact, I'm kind of thinking about doing "the great kettlebell experiment" and attacking these fuckers to see how much mileage I can get out of them.

Feel Good Routine - Day 4

7/14/12

Warm-up
Foam Rolling, Band Pull Aparts, Face Pulls, Extended Dead Hang Chins, 20 Pushups

Kettlebell Work

Swings
24kg x 20
32kg x 20

Windmills
24kg x 3
32kg x 2

Getups
24kg x 2
32kg x 1

Side Press
24kg x 3
24kg x 3

Notes
Fun little workout.  I felt GREAT leaving the gyms.  Kettlebells really do something cool to my joints.  I always leave kettlebell work feeling much better than when I started.

Windmills and a getup with 70lbs was challenging.  I could feel my core working overtime.  I was shaking like a mofo during the getup.  Good shit.

Feel Good Routine - Day 3

Warm-up
Extensive Foam Rolling
Piriformos/IT Band Stretch
Calf/Ankle Stretch
Hip Circles
Moutntain Climbers
24kg Windmills
24kg Turkish Getups
Long hanging chins

Conditioning/Training
Farmers Walks
100/100 x 30 yards
100/100 x 80 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 40 yards
100/100 x 30 yards

Glute Ham Raise
5;4

Incline DB Fly
55x12; 55x10; 55x8

Low Cable Row (hard retraction)
90x10; 90x90; 90x10

Notes
Solid workout.  Farmers walks were a little more strenuous than I thought.  My forearms/grip were definitely the limiting factor.  That isn't to say my grip has gotten weak, but by the 5th or 6th run, I was definitely feeling it.

Next time I'll go for a little lower weight for longer distances.  I really think farmer's walks are best done for long distances.  Once you get good, then you go heavy AND long.  Long distance equals a crazy amount of tension/load on your body for a long time.  That is why they are awesome.  I don't see much good in going short with a  super heavy load unless you are a strongman.

Edit: btw, I officially fucking hate blogger.  The ONLY thing it really has to do is make text look neat, clean, and readable.  It sucks at doing that.  It randomly changes background color and constantly messes up paragraph spacing.  Fuck you blogger.

Feel Good Routine - Day 2

Warm-up
-Defranco's Agile 8
-24kg Windmills
-24kg goblet squats
-band facepulls
-2x5 chins
-2x5 dips

Conditioning: Litvinov Sprints 
KB Swing / Low Bar Prowler Sprint

20kg x 20 / 90lb x 40 yd
20kg x 20 / 90lb x 40 yd
20kg x 20 / 90lb x 40 yd
20kg x 20 / 90lb x 40 yd

Notes
Another Dan John idea for conditioning.  These are a real ass kicker.  http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_litvinov_workout

It doesn't look overly tense, but something about sprinting immediately after doing an intense leg exercise makes you want to puke.  Next time I might do a double 20kg clean followed by the prowler sprint. Anyways, this was a great little workout I'll file away.

Feel Good Routine - Day 1

Warm-up
5-7 minutes of foam rolling
IT Band Stretch
Psoas Stretch
Ankle/Toe Vents
Hip Circles
Scap Pushups
Wall Retractions
KB Windmills
KB Getups
KB Goblet Squat

Training Circuit

Double KB Clean and Press (20/20kg) / Double Front Squat (20/20 kg) / Push-ups / Chins and Pullups

1 - 1 - 1 - 1
2 - 2 - 2 - 2
3 - 3 - 3 - 3
4 - 4 - 4 - 4
5 - 4 - 5 - 4
6 - 3 - 6 - 3
7 - 2 - 7 - 2
8 - 1 - 8 - 1

10-30 seconds rest in between rounds.

More Feel Good Stuff
Facepulls - 2 sets
Glute ham Raise - 4, 4

Run Home in Thunderstorm
1.2 miles

Notes
Today was Day 1 of my "Feel Good Routine."  The entire point is to leave the gym feeling good.  Today I did just that.  I actually felt better leaving than I did walking in.  I felt loose, warm, and had a very solid sweat going.

I challenge anyone to do that circuit above and tell me it is not hard.  It might look simple, but it caught up with me very quickly.  The KB clean and Press and the Push-ups were done with escalating density.  The front squat and chins were done in wave fashion.  They peaked and then went back down.  This was a nice way to gradually increase intensity, while giving myself a mental break by having some of the reps drop down.   This is a Dan John style workout.  He has written up a ton of these little ass kickers.  He is the king of simple and effective.  If its good enough for Dan John, its good enough for me.

In sum, the circuit wasn't soul-crushing, but it was challenging and effective.  The movements felt crisp and fluid after my extensive warmups.  When it was over, I was winded, but  felt good.

I stepped outside to go home and it was absolutely pouring.  Not just raining, but down-pouring. I doubt it could rain much harder.  I didn't have too many options living right in the middle of the city.  Car was parked by apartment, no umbrella (which would have done no good.. I saw people still getting soaked), and I would have been drenched trying to get a cab anyways.  So, I said fuck it.  Got a trash bag, wrapped up my back pack, made holes for the straps, and started running.

I was soaked to the bone in seconds.  It felt fucking great.  There is something extremely liberating about running through the rain on your own accord.  I passed by people standing in doorways waiting for the storm to pass; I passed people looking miserable under their umbrellas; and I passed people gawking at the down pour through their windows.  Me?  I was just some 235 pound bro running full speed through the streets, not giving a fuck if I splashed into huge puddles.

Be strong, be in shape.  (Credit to Paul C).  On one hand, some might find it lame to talk about running through the rain for a mile and a half.  On the other hand, I passed by scores of people that were absolutely paralyzed about what to do because it was raining.  Fuck, we've really become a fragile species.

At one time or another, I'm sure we all fantasize about the pathetic dude out at a bar physically crossing the line with your girlfriend.  Wrong girl bro; I was repping 500 from the floor last night.  Or, we think about the 150lb thug that picks you out on the street because you are listening to an iPod.  Stupid move bro; I was chinning a 100lbs last night.  But lets face it.  I'm going to be a lawyer in a law firm.  The quintessential paper pushing desk-jockey job. The chance of those types of situations arising are slim.  The chance of having to sprint a couple miles through the rain aren't that slim.  I did it and didn't think too much about it because I'm in shape.

In conclusion, I train and condition because I hate carrying an umbrella, and in my world being strong and in shape means running through a fucking thunderstorm. Haha.

Strength Day - 7/05/12

Overhead
155x3
185x2.... missed the second rep, stood there, and retried and got it.  I'm like 30lbs off where I was 3 months ago lol
150x3
150x3
150x2
150x2
150x2
150x5

Squat
315x2
365x3
315x10

Chins
2 reps... called it.

Notes
Zero drive tonight.  I'm calling it quits on barbell lifting for a while.  Most of my workout was consumed with thoughts of what negative shit I was going to write about on my blog.  I'm just sick of squatting, pressing, etc.  Its been 12 weeks since my last deload, and even then my deload consisted of sprints and HIIT haha.

I feel like an old man.  My shoulder hurts like hell from a severe subluxation that happened about a month ago.  Knees are just ok, but not great.  Hips are tight.  I'm getting deep on squats but I never feel warmed up right now.  I'm scared in the hole because I feel like something is going to break.

I need some serious time off... not a week, more like a month.  There is a ton of fun shit I can be doing to still stay active.  Sled, tires, sledgehammer, KB's, dumbbells, etc.  I'll start lifting again when I feel like it.  I had already planned on a long hiatus in August, but I think I'll just take it early this year.

I'll come back with a serious strength program and actually have a plan when I walk into the gym.

Independence Day Conditioning

Warm-ups
Foam roll, mobility shit, KB Windmills
Worked up to a very easy 135x5 strict press
Did some dead hang chins with a 15-20 second hang between reps.  Loved these, stretch me out so well.

Conditioning
Few single sets of prowler sprints, and waiter walks, then:

2 Rounds
90lb x 25 yard low prowler sprint
53lb KB waiter walk (100 yard total)
10 per side sledgehammer

Notes
Ordinarily would have done 3 rounds, but overall I was at the gym for 30-40 minutes and was constantly moving during that time.

7/02/12 Strength Training

Squat
315x2
365x3
315x15

Overhead
135x5
145x5
155x5

Chins
BWx8

Notes
Was up till 1am last night drafting my first motion to dismiss.  Work was another 12 hours today, but I electronically filed the motion in federal court toinght around 8pm.  I was pretty mentally and physically exhausted getting into the gym tonight.  Not a bone in my body wanted to do anything involving a barbell.

But, I decided If I'm gonna get weaker during this time, I'm not gonna be a pussy about it.  High rep squat PR is 315x20.  I briefly contemplated going for 21 but I figured 15 served the purpose of what I needed to do.  Weakness can suck my fucking balls.

6/31/12 - Medium Jog

6/31/12

3.5 mile jog

Didn't track time... it was 100 degrees out and I didn't start until 1:00p.m.  Pretty terrible.  A couple of times I walked for a good 2-3 minutes because it was actually hard to breathe.  Not a great performance, but I still got 30-40 minutes of decent aerobics in.