Record Breaking Heat: Lets Condition Outside

It was 104 degrees out, which apparently broke the all time record in DC.  By the time I got to the gym, it had dropped to a cool 101, with a heat index of 110.  So, I thought to myself, why not go on the roof and do some intense conditioning to end the week? Haha.

Low Bar Sled Pushes

20 yards x 8

Sledgehammer Swings

20 left/20 right

20 left/20 right

20 left/20 right

KB Snatch 5 Minute Challenge

44lb x 68... lasted maybe 4:30.

(done in 10/10, 8/8, 6/6, 4/4, 3/3, 3/3 fashion)

Banded Face Pulls

3 sets of 15

Notes

I can't remember that the last time I've sweat that much. It was completely pouring off my body.  It felt fucking awesome.  The sleds on the roof are kinda funky and only have a low bar handle. They are smooth enough on the turf.  They will have a similar effect as the prowler.

Dan John gave me the idea for the descending ladders on the 5 Minute KB challenge.  Eventually I want to get to 20/20, 15/15, 10/10, 5/5.  Also, I need to actually use the 53 for this.

I was really surprised at how winded the sledghammer got me.  Will definitely be doing this more.

This was a fun and challenging conditioning session.  Push a sled. Pound a sledghammer.  Swing a cannonball.  My kind of cardio.

Strength Day

6/28/12

Paused Squats
315x2
365x3
405x3

Overhead supersetted w/ Weighted Chins
185x2; 135x5; 135x5
45x3; 45x4; BWx5

Notes
Had 30 minutes last night... definitely wasn't going to do high volume.  I left feeling it was a disaster of a workout.

Had a talk with Matt last night.  We both agreed doing volume when  you have limited time is probably dumb.  I'm going to stick with my plan for 2 more weeks.  If anything else I'll build a great base to move into some intensity lifting.

Small Workout and Fast Run

6/26/12

SMALL WORKOUT

Facepulls
40x20
40x20
40x20

supersetted w/

Curls
35x12
35x12
35x12


RUN
Fartlek Style
2.05 Miles
~2.5 min slow run (not jog)
~1 min fast run

Notes
-Entire workout took 30 minutes.  Thats all I wanted.  Overall I'm pleased with the improvement in the speed of my runs.  I'm not sure I'm going to do a half anymore.  I'd rather run 3 miles fast, than 13.1 really slow.  I'll never be able to run 13 miles fast, it would always be more about the distance.  We'll see.  If I keep up with the longer runs on the weekend I might be fine.  I skipped last weekend, but this weekend I'll try to hit 6-7 miles on Saturday.

Strength Day

6/25/12

Paused Squats
315x2
365x2
315x3
315x5
315x7
315x5
315x3 (27 reps)

Overhead supersetted w/ chins
135x3
135x5
135x7
135x3
135x5
135x7
135x3 (33 reps)

Notes
Kind of a grinder tonight.  I'm gonna fucking push it the next couple of weeks.  I will say I started to get a taste of the full body beat down tonight. I've only been lifting 2x a week for a while now, but I haven't had a deload in months really.  But, overall I still have good pop.

Goal is to hit 50 reps each in squats/overhead at 315/135 before moving on.  There is zero thought behind this other than "It would be cool to squat 315 for 50 reps in one workout."  Hopefully I'll hit this within 3 weeks.  I'd like to hit it "naturally," i.e. just getting better at the lifts, rather than deciding to just do it one day and blow my guts out.  Once I hit these goals, I will switch things up a  little.  Still squat twice a week, but maybe switch out overhead and chins for bent rows and dips.  I dunno.

I'm doing chins extremely explosively now.  Not high reps, but complete deadhang for 1-3 seconds, then slam my chest to the bar.  3-6 reps.  BW or weighted, whatever feels better that night. I switch grips every set.  Tonight for instance I went from relatively wide overhand to hands touching underhand.  Just feels healthier to switch it up.  I'm not really tracking them, so who cares.

Strength Day

6/22/12 - Friday Night

Paused Squats
315x3
315x4
315x5
315x3
315x5 (20 total reps)

Overhead Press
135x4
135x5
135x6
135x4
135x5
135x6 (30 total reps)

Chins
BWx5
45x5

Notes
Girlfriend is in town.  She squatted and pressed with me.  It was a ton of fun.  She started with the bar on squats and is now up to 105 pounds.  With overhead she couldn't even do the bar once, so we started with DB overhead.  Now she is up to bar x 5-6 for multiple sets.  She loves barbell lifting.

I've introduced pure barbell lifting now to a number of people.  Everyone that starts barbell lifting correctly soon recognizes the superiority of this form of exercise.  Amanda, a former beauty pageant girl that did endless hours of cardio, now squats three times a week.  It is completely her choice to exercise like this.  I always said I just wanted to teach her the right way to do this so she would always have something to fall back on.  Precision, focus, drive, confidence, and a hard body.  Pure barbell lifting develops all of these qualities.

Jim Wendler recently wrote how it took him years to really learn what focus is in the gym. If you watch any true veteran of strength training, you will learn what focus really means.  It is not just getting psyched up for a lift.  Anyone can do that.  Focus is the few moments before the lifter approaches the bar, and of course, precision while performing the lift.  Focus has a different look that only comes from years under the bar.

I say all of this knowing the above workout means nothing in the grand spectrum of the strength training.  Its not about that anymore.  At least not right now.  There will be periods where life allows me to lift 4x a week and focus on getting stronger.  I'm performing three lifts twice a week right now.  Why?  No matter what I'm doing, I want to get better.  That is what makes strength training fun for me.

I've been able to do the above workout for years.  But, last night I lifted the bar with more proficiency than I ever have.  Regardless of the weight on the bar, I'm getting better.  That is the whole point.  You can't be on a constant track to hit PR's every 4th week of your life.  I wouldn't even want a life like that. Then, lifting would have to be the center of everything.  That's kind of fucking gay.

I believe, no matter what you are doing in life, you should strive to get better.  Getting better doesn't mean being the best.  Getting better doesn't have to mean adding 5 pounds on the bar every week.  That is the end  goal of course, but in the mean time you can still improve.  When you teach yourself to perform with precision, and when your focus improves over the years, regardless of bar weight, the times you can attack PR's will be much more fruitful.

So, what I'm saying is I'm not just going in and punching a card right now.  Just because I'm not implementing wave periodization or RPE does not mean I'm not trying hard.  The weights listed on this page says nothing about my mentality in the gym.  When I come out of this twice a week training phase, I will be a better lifter.

Small Workout and Run

6/20/12 (Both)

Small Workout
Facepulls supersetted w/ BW hangs
37.5x25
37.5x25
37.5x25

Seated DB Curls supersetted w/ Low Incline Fly
25x15
25x15
25x10

30x15
30x15
30x10

Run - Fartleks
-2.25 Miles
-didn't keep track of heartrate or time
-Used Adele for my intervals. Jogged the verses, ran/sprinted the chorus.

Notes
-93 and humid as fuck while I was running.  D.C. literally sits on a swamp.  Not only is it humid, but the air is stagnant.  You can feel the cloud of moisture as you run through it.  It definitely makes breathing more difficult.  Nonetheless, it felt fucking awesome to be completely dripped in sweat as I ran.  It was like a steam room.  Felt great.

-High reps are HARD.  Seriously, we all know bodybuilders are pussies, but they probably work out harder than anyone.  Even these small ass workouts w/ really high reps force me to concentrate.  The puuuuuump.

Week Update: Strength Training and Runs

Wednesday 6/13
2.25 Mile Run
-Fast Pace
-8:20 min/mi

Friday 6/15
Full Body Strength
Squat: 315x3; 365x2
Deadlift: 315x5; 365x5; 415x5
Chins: BWx6; 35x3; 53x3; 75x3
-Lifted with my little sister Kristy.  Was helping her more than anything and just doing random shit.
-She started lifting in January and is up to a legit 185lb squat and 200+ deadlift.

Saturday 6/16
Long Run
-6 miles
-no idea on pace.
-ran with my sister and we stopped to see monuments and all that.  It was a lot of fun.

Monday 6/18
Full Body Strength (Start of new template)
Squat: 315x2; 315x3; 315x4; 315x2; 315x3; 315x2 (16 reps)
OHP: 135x2; 135x3; 135x4; 135x2; 135x3; 135x4; 135x2; 135x3; 135x4 (27 reps)
Chins: BWx3; BWx4; 52x3; 52x3; 52x4
Facepulls/YTI's: lots of reps

Conditioning
5 Minute KB Challenge
-double 53lb KB clean
-51 reps... stopped around 4:30
-Goal by the end of the summer is 100 reps in 5 minutes. Also want to do the snatch 100 reps in 5 minutes.
-This gives me a firm approach to metabolic conditioning, and gives me something to get better at.