12/14/16

Squat
275x5
275x5
275x5
225x8

Conventional Deadlift
315x3
315x3
315x3

Cardio
-Incline Walking
-20 mins
-2.5 mph
-10 degree Incline

Notes
Tried conventional tonight.  Actually felt pretty good.  Natural.  Going to work with it for a while.

12/12/16

Cardio

Incline Walking
-25 minutes
-10 deg. incline
-2.5mph
-Avg. HR 116 bpm

Notes
-Nothing noteworthy other than that my avg. heartrate is significantly lower if I do not lift directly before cardio.  I expect this delta to drop as my general fitness improves.

12/11/16

Upper/Lower

1. Squat
275x5
275x3
275x3
225x8
225x8

2. RDL
135x10
135x10
135x10

3a. Mid-Grip Incline (30 degrees)
135x12
135x14
135x16

3b,  DB Row
65x12
65x12
65x12

4a. Hyperextension (glute dominant.. I think)
12; 12

4b.  Cable Curls
40x12; 40x12


Cardio - Incline Walking
-35 Minutes
-2.5 mph
-10 degree incline
-Avg.  HR 131 bpm

Notes
Squat woes continue, but every session I'm relearning stuff I once had mastered.  In short, I need to get my glutes back in the game, and start using my core the way it was intended.  Out of everything, the most effective exercises of the day was the RDLs... I realized that if I was bracing correctly, my hamstrings weren't actually tight.  They are tight when my movement is cock-eyed.

On a boring note, the incline walking is feeling good.  Yes 2,5mph is incredibly slow, but the incline adds some flavor to it.  Going to continue this until I'm at 45 minutes, 3.0 mph, 10 degree incline, and with a heart rate under 135 bpm.

12/08/16

Upper - Strength


1. Bench
245x2 @ 7
260x2 @ 7
275x2 @ 8
225x8
185x8

2. Pendlay
185x5
185x5
135x10

3a. OHP
135x8
135x8

3b. Band Facepulls
2x12

Notes
-Feeling fine.  Will lowly ramp up volume over the next few weeks. Overall volume is  more important to me than weight on the bar right now.

12/06/16

Lower - Strength

45 minutes of warm-ups and mobility work

1. Squat
135x5; 135x5; 135x5
185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5
225x5; 225x5;225x5......................blah

2. 90/90 split squat
2/2; 2/2; 2/2

3.  Squat
225x3... I think 2 reps in there might have been an actual fucking squat. yay

4.  Back Extension (glute squeeze)
10; 10; 10

Notes
Frustrating session.  My left hip has been killing me just walking around.  It takes forever to "undo" my wretched poor posture and get into a decent position under the bar (hence the 45 minute warm-up).  So much work to do.  Once I am not totally fucked posture wise, I'll start loading the bar.  However, you can't undo a shit sedentary lifestyle with a few stretches and gym sessions a couple times a week.

This is going to be a long, painful process. Rebuild and activate core, regrain movement, unlock joints, etc. I'm not looking forward to it.  I'm still going to do it, I'd just rather be loading the bar and worrying about the simple stuff: strength and recovery.  Not whether its finally time to get an MRI on my hip.

12/04/16

Cardio

Incline Walking
-30 minutes
-2.2mph @ 10 degree incline

Notes
Got a new heart rate monitor/fitness tracker - Garmin Fenix 3 HR. It rocks.  My heart rate was barely breaking 115 during this "cardio" so its time to slowly increase speed and/or incline.  I'm doing incline walking for a number of reasons: 1) low impact; 2) almost entirely fat-burning; 3) easy; 4) little impact on recovery; and 5) re-training my walking gait.

The last one - "walking gait" - is important for me.  I've re-developed a very pronounced heel strike when walking around in dress shoes the past 3 years.  In law school, I spent a lot of time and effort building up to full runs/jogs with minimalist shoes using a more natural "forefoot" strike.  The incline treadmill helps a lot with this, because you naturally (or if you think about it) strike the tread with your forefoot, as opposed to your heel.  If I had a readily accessible grass hill, I would prefer to train on that.  In any event, the idea is to build up some calf/ankle stability through walking, and then transition into minimalist jogging.

12/03/16

Upper/Lower

1. Safety Bar Squat

-185x5

-185x5

-205x5

-205x5 @ 7

2. RDL

135x8

135x8

135x8

3a. Mid Grip Incline

135x8

135x8

135x8

3b.  DB Row

65x10

65x10 

65x10

Cardio - incline walking

-25 minutes

-2.2 mph @ 10 degree inclines

12/01/16

Mobility/Conditioning

-Started with normal warm-ups and some new upper back/shoulder stretches I found on some blogs.

3 Rounds:

-15 x 28kg KB swings

-10 pushups

- 2 x 28kg KB Windmill

-10 shoulder dislocates

-Goblet squat hold

Incline Walking

-20 minutes

-10 degree incline, 2.2 mph

Notes

-Will be spending a good amount of time on core/mobility in coming weeks.

11/30/16

1a. OHP
140x3
140x3
140x3
140x3
140x3
140x3

1b. DB Row
60x6x6

2a. Bench
135x2x10

2b. Hammer Curls
25x2x10

Cardio
-Incline treadmill
-15 minute at 10 deg. at 2.2mph

Notes
Will be incorporating some bro-building over the next few weeks to induce some hypertrophy and start feeling more resilient.  Will slowly increase cardio as well.

On cardio, I will focus on getting in short sessions during the week (especially after a lifting session) of 20-25 minutes max.  Ideally I will include a medium non-lifting day of 30-40 minutes as well.  Then on the weekends, I will try to do "long" sessions outside.  Either hiking, or carries, etc.  A bit out of season for cardio outdoors, but I've never let that stop me in the past.

11/27/16

Squat
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3 @ 7

Deadlift
315x2
315x2
315x2 @ 7

Bench
225x5
225x5
225x5 @ 7

Facepulls 2x12

Notes - putzing along, getting the movements familiar again.

11/25/16

~10 Mile Hike in Shenandoah

Little sister and I decided to take a drive out to Shenandoah to get a hike in, as she had never seen the national park.

We decided on a random mountain, which wasn't too difficult to summit.  While snacking at the top, we came up with the bright idea to go back down a different way and make our own "loop."  In theory, it looked like a great plan on the map (and it worked out fine).  However, we underestimated the fairly aggressive elevations changes... going all the way back down, and then looping around to go all the way back up.

We ended up getting back to the car in when it was pitch dark.  Luckily, I had headlamps and flashlights.  Sometimes I feel a bit "overprepared" for what should be casual dayhikes.  However, I can't imagine finishing the last 20-30 minutes of this hike in the complete dark.  Lesson learned - always be prepared!

Note: not my picture, but captures the beauty of Shenandoah nicely - which quite frankly is not difficult from any angle(fogs/clouds were terrible during our hike)..  Love this place.

11/24/16

Thanksgiving Day Hike

~5 miles around Great Falls Park, which runs along side the Potomac. 

 Felt good to bop around on the rocks and boulders before eating a big Turkey Dinner.  It was fun seeing all the people out for the holiday being active.  I've always liked working out or doing something active the morning of Thanksgiving... takes some of the bite out of the pure gluttony that follows.

11/23/16

Squat

225x3

275x3

275x3

315x3 @ 7.5

Forget what else I did.  Had more fun helping my little sister with her squat technique.

11/21/16

OHP
 135x5; 135x5; 135x5

Pendlay
135x8; 135x8; 135x8

RDL
185x5; 185x5; 185x5

Facepulls
60x2x15

Back to it

11/20/16

Squat
135x5
225x3
275x3 @ 6

Bench
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2 @ 7.5

Deadlift
135x3
225x2
275x2 @ 5

Notes
I miss blogging.  I'm going to have a light ~2 week acclimation phase, then start training for a 4/01/17 USAPL meet in Washington, DC.  More to come.