Wednesday 12/31/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 10, 9, 8, 8, 7

Afternoon:

Squats - 5x135, 5x135, 4x145, 3x145, 3x145

Did the swing/hindu squat portion of Dave Whitley's Brutal Minimalist Fitness routine with the 24kg bell. I had to break the second set of swings up into 34+6. The whole thing was done in 15:00 approximately.

I have a way to go with my squats.

I hit the first 50 sets of swings driving the bell to shoulder height. Still didn't make the second set of 40 but I'm improving.

Tuesday 12/30/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 10, 9, 8, 7, 7

Evening:

High volume pressing - 5 ladders of 5 rungs mp ladders with the 16kg bell with 3 24kg rows in between rungs.

The presses smoked my shoulders pretty good.

I got my new power rack assembled and ready for use. It's a Powertec power rack and I'm very happy with the quality of it all.

Monday 12/29/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6

Evening:

Max VO2 - 16kg bell 15/15 protocol - 50 sets of 7 reps.

I'm thinking that the fighter pullup plan really agrees with me. I'm feeling stronger ever time. I didn't even have to rest a lot between the sets of 10, 9 & 8 like I would have had to a few weeks ago. I think I might stay on this for a week or two more and see what happens.

The Max VO2 was my first go around with this. I was miscounting for almost the whole time and thought I was only halfway to my goal for today of 50 total sets of 7 reps. LOL! I was panicking and thinking "shit...this is going to look weak posted on my training blog".

Anyway...I got my 50 sets in and I had some more in the bank. Jordan told me not to kill myself adding sets so I'll ease my way to 80.

Friday 12/26/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 9, 9, 8, 7, 6

Afternoon:

24kg C&P - 5 ladders to 2 rungs each arm alternating with sets of 5 bent over rows each arm

Light swings - 24kg - two handed - 10, 20, 20

The bell is popping up to shoulder height much more easily now. I was pretty congested and it was hard to breathe so I kept it to the 50 total swings.

Thursday 12/25/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 9, 8, 8, 7, 6

Throughout the day I did gtg pistols - 5 for the first set and 3 more of 4

Wednesday 12/24/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 9, 8, 7, 7, 6

Afternoon:

24kg C&P - 5 ladders to 2 rungs each arm alternating with sets of 3 bent over rows each arm

Did the swing/hindu squat portion of Dave Whitley's Brutal Minimalist Fitness routine. I had to break the first 2 sets of swings up into 42+8 & 30+10. The whole thing was done in 14:30 approximately.

Not bad considering I'm still sick. I should be able to do the whole thing in complete sets under 14:00 sometime soon I'm thinking.

Tuesday 12/23/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 9, 8, 7, 6, 6

Throughout the day I did about 5 - 6 sets of gtg pistols. First set was 5 reps the rest were 4 reps.

My shoulder is getting less sore and my cold is starting to go away. I restarted the week of pullups because I didn't own 10 when I tried them...whether it was because of my cold or not it fits with the backoff week intentions.

Monday 12/22/08

Morning:

Fighter pullups - 9, 8, 7, 6, 5

Afternoon:

24kg C&P - 8 sets of 1 each arm alternating with 3 bent over rows each arm between sets.

24kg two handed swings - 12 sets of 15 on the minute

I have a cold and I was feeling beat up so I took the weekend off and will have a light week this week. This will help with the craziness of Christmas and give me a good backdown week to get ready for the new routing Jordan put together for me. I'll start that on the 29th when we get back from my Mom's house.

Thursday 12/18/08

Morning:

Fighter pullup program - bw pullups 9, 8, 8, 7, 6

Evening:

5 sets of 20 2 handed 24kg swings alternating with 20 hindu squats

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x4 210, 1x4 210, 1x5 190, 1x5 190

3 sets of 3 zero momentum situps done slowly with no falling through on the way down.

Throughout the day I did 4 sets of 4 pistols each leg.

Wednesday 12/17/08

Morning:

Fighter pullup program - bw pullups 9, 8, 7, 7, 6

5 sets of 20 2 handed 24kg swings alternating with 20 hindu squats

5 sets of ladders with 2 rungs (1 ,2) 24kg c&p each arm alternating with 5 bent over rows each arm

4 minutes of swings - 80 total.

Tuesday 12/16/08

Morning:

Fighter pullup program - bw pullups 9, 8, 7, 6, 6

Evening:

2 handed 24kg swings 5 sets of 20

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 205, 1x5 205, 1x5 185, 1x5 185

3 sets of 3 zero momentum situps done slowly with no falling through on the way down.

Throughout the day I did 5 sets of 4 dips and pistols each leg.

Monday 12/15/08

Morning:

Fighter pullup program - bw pullups 9, 8, 7, 6, 5

I've gained thickness in my lats from the low rep weighted pullups but I could feel a bit of loss in the endurance. I'll see how a week or so of lots of bw pullups will affect me.

Evening:

5 sets of 1 handed 24kg swings 10+10 alternating with 20 hindu squats

5 sets of 1 24kg c&p each arm

24kg snatches - 5+5 on the minute for 5 minutes. 50 total.

Jordan was right that I should be shooting for 80 reps with the 24kg bell at the TSC in April instead of the sissy 60 I was shooting for. I just did 50 in 5 minutes - it wasn't that bad and I haven't even done any serious snatching yet.

I do have some soreness in the front of my trap from pulling the bell up. I know that I need to work on my hip snap so everything else has to work less.

Saturday 12/13/08

Afternoon:

5 sets of 20 hindu squats
5 sets of one handed swings 10+10 for 100 total.

5 ladders of 2 rungs C&P ladders with 24 kg alternating pullup ladders with 20 lb for all 5 ladders. The 2nd rung of the last 3 ladders I had to dip a bit on the left side to get it up. All were lowered slowly.

Did the swing/hindu squat portion of Dave Whitley's Brutal Minimalist Fitness routine. I had to break the first 3 sets of swings up into 40+10, 30+10 & 25+5. The whole thing was done in 16:30 approximately.

I have decided to really focus on swings after Jordan gave me tips on improving my hip drive and showed me that I was settling into doing just enough to perform the swing. Trying to make each swing, one or two handed, pop the bell up to shoulder height with my hip drive and keeping my upper body from going too horizontal made the intensity of my swings work me hard. That's a good thing.

If I'm going to be a snatching machine I better "own" my swings.

Thursday 12/11/08

Pistol and dips gtg throughout the day. 5 sets of 4 each.

I felt a bit beat up and under the weather today so I gave myself a day off for the first time in a while.

Wednesday 12/10/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 20 24 kg two handed swings in between and after rounds.

5 ladders of 4 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell (with 2.5 lb plate duct taped to it) with pullup ladders 20 lb plate for 3 ladders.

Rolled the dice and did 4 minutes of swings on the minute for 85 swings with the 24 kg bell. 1 sets of 25 and 3 sets of 20.

I didn't feel that strong today - I missed my very last pullup. I can't be too bummed about it as it has only been a week since I've been doing the full 5 ladders. I got my workout done though and that's what counts.

Tuesday 12/9/08

Evening:

2 handed 24 kg swings 30, 20, 30, 20

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 155, 1x5 155, 1x5 200, 1x5 180

3 sets of 3 zero momentum situps done slowly with no falling through on the way down.

Throughout the day I did 5 sets of 3 dips and pistols each leg.

Monday 12/8/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 20 24 kg two handed swings in between rounds and after.

5 ladders of 3 rungs C&P ladders with 16 kg alternating pullup ladders with 20 lb for 3 rungs for all 5 ladders. I used the 24 kg bell for the single c&p beginning each ladder.

Rolled the dice and did 8 minutes of snatches with the 16 kg bell.

I did 128 snatches in that time (8 sets of 8+8).

Saturday 12/6/08

Afternoon:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 20 24 kg two handed swings in between rounds and after.

5 ladders of 5 rungs C&P ladders with 16 kg alternating pullup ladders with 20 lb for 3 rungs for all 5 ladders. I used the 24 kg bell for the single c&p beginning each ladder.

Rolled the dice and did 4 minutes of swings with the 24 kg bell. 95 swings.

Thursday 12/4/08

Evening:

1 handed swings 2 sets of 10+10
2 handed swings 2 sets of 20

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 195, 1x5 175

3 sets of 5 loaded cleans with 24 kg alternating 1 tgu 24 kg each side.

Dl felt lighter than Tuesday.

Gtg pistols and dips today 5 sets of 3 throughout the day.

Wednesday 12/3/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 24 kg two handed swings in between and after rounds.

5 ladders of 4 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders 20 lb plate for 3 ladders.

Rolled the dice and did 6 minutes of swings on the minute for 140 swings with the 24 kg bell. 4 sets of 25 and 2 sets of 20.

I did 5 ladders of 3 rungs of the pullup ladders with 20 lbs for the first time today! The 3rd rung of the last two ladders was just touching the bottom of my chin and not the middle of my neck but it's definitely progress. Stoked.

Tuesday 12/2/08

Morning:

Rolled the dice and did 10 minutes of snatches with the 16 kg bell.

I did 144 snatches in that time (6 sets of 8+8, 4 sets of 6+6). I'm still doing more than I should I suppose but I want to snatch! I got a bit better feel for the point where I punch the bell up. It's lower than I was originally doing it and it works much better.

Pistols - 5 sets of 3 each leg

Pistols were a bit shaky on the left leg. I'm pretty sure it's mental as my knee is still a bit sore from tweaking it some weeks ago.

Afternoon:

1 handed swings 3 sets of 10+10

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 190, 1x5 170

The weight is starting to feel heavier now. :)

I also did gtg dips today 4 total sets of 5

Monday 12/1/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 24 kg two handed swings in between and after rounds.

5 ladders of 3 rungs mp ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders with 20 lb plate matching in between rungs for 3 ladders and 15 lbs for the last 2 ladders.

I forgot to snatch after the pressing ladders. I'll get some snatching in tomorrow to make up for it.

Friday 11/28/08

Morning:

Pushup and pullup superset ladders down - 20 pushups, 9 pullups, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 5 pushups, 1 pullup.

Afternoon:

Pistols - 1 set of 3
Zero momentum situps - 2 sets of 3, 1 set of 2

I was pretty tired after the week of helping Margaret's grandparents and the routine I was doing. I'm looking forward to two days off this weekend and then starting back up on the ROP.

Thursday 11/27/08

Afternoon:

TGU 4x3 each side with 24 kg bell

Brutal Minimalist Fitness 50 swings, 10 hindu squats, 40 swings, 20 hindu squats, 30 swings, 30 hindu squats, 20 swings, 40 hindu squats, 10 swings, 50 hindu squats. 24 kg bell and it was all done in around 18 minutes.

The "cardio" section took me longer but there was an audience in the hotel room at the time so I was distracted.

Wednesday 11/26/08

Morning:

Pushup and pullup superset ladders down - 20 pushups, 9 pullups, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 5 pushups, 1 pullup.

Afternoon:

Pistols - 3 sets of 4, 2 sets of 3
Zero momentum situps - 3 sets of 3

More volume than the previous day. This hit me pretty good for sure.

Tuesday 11/25/08

Afternoon:

TGU 4x3 each side with 24 kg bell

Brutal Minimalist Fitness 50 swings, 10 hindu squats, 40 swings, 20 hindu squats, 30 swings, 30 hindu squats, 20 swings, 40 hindu squats, 10 swings, 50 hindu squats. 24 kg bell and it was all done in around 16 minutes.

Felt stronger today than the first day I did this routine so I added 1 set of tgu.

The "cardio" section really gets me sucking oxygen and my heart pumping so I need to keep the active recovery while resting.

Monday 11/24/08

Morning:

Pushup and pullup superset ladders down - 20 pushups, 9 pullups, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup, 15 pushups, 6 pullups, 10 pushups, 3 pullups, 5 pushups, 1 pullup.

Afternoon:

Pistols - 5 sets of 3
Wheel rollouts - 3 sets of 3

Sunday 11/23/08

Afternoon:

TGU 3x3 each side with 24 kg bell

Brutal Minimalist Fitness 50 swings, 10 hindu squats, 40 swings, 20 hindu squats, 30 swings, 30 hindu squats, 20 swings, 40 hindu squats, 10 swings, 50 hindu squats. 24 kg bell and it was all done in around 16 minutes.

I decided since we are going out of town for the week to take care of Margaret's grandparents that I would keep my workouts simple, but I wanted to keep the intensity. This workout does that in a short period of time.

I thought since I have been doing the squats for a while that they would be the simple part of this. Those last 50 were tough and my legs felt a bit wobbly afterwards. Good stuff.

I'm bringing an Iron Gym doorway pullup bar with me along with an ab wheel for some work on the days I don't do this.

Thursday 11/20/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 24 kg two handed swings in between and after rounds.

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 175, 1x5 160

5 sets of 5 loaded cleans with the 24 kg bell each arm alternating with 5 sets of 1 tgu each arm
2 sets of 1 press each arm in the second and third sets of cleans
3 sets of 3 high pulls with the 24 kg bell

I felt strong today. The presses with the 24 kg bell felt much better than they ever have on my left arm. It helps that my lat is getting more active now for sure.

It also helps that I ate great last night and all day today. I also got great sleep last night. That stuff matters!

Wednesday 11/19/08

Evening:

5 ladders of 4 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders 20 lb plate for 2 ladders, 15 lbs for 2 and 10 for 1.

Rolled the dice and did 7 minutes of 20 swings on the minute for 140 swings with the 24 kg bell.

I didn't feel strong today as my pullups showed quite clearly. I'll attribute that to the terrible dinner we had last night and the fifty pounds of salt that must have been mixed in my one piece of lasagne.

Tuesday 11/18/08

Morning:

100 hindu squats

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 24 kg two handed swings in between and after rounds.

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 170, 1x5 155

50 hindu squats

I also did 5 gtg pushup sets of 16 throughout the day.

Monday 11/17/08

Evening:

5 ladders of 3 rungs mp ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders with 20 lb plate matching in between rungs for 3 ladders and 15 lbs for the last 2 ladders.

Rolled the dice and did 5 minutes of snatches with the 16 kg bell.

I did 76 snatches in that time. I know I should have done less since it's the easy day but I wanted to see what a few more would be like. My form needs work definitely.

Saturday 11/15/08

Afternoon:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 16 kg two handed swings in between rounds and after.

3 ladders of 5 rungs C&P ladders with 16 kg with pullup ladders 1, 2, 3 with 20 lb for 3 ladders. 2 ladders of 4 rungs C&P ladders with 16 kg with pullup ladders 1, 2 with 20 lb, 3 with bw.

Rolled the dice and did 9 minutes of swings with the 24 kg bell.

I didn't get a good count (again)....I'll work on that. Around 180 swings. I started with 2 sets of 25 and then 20 and then they started breaking down into smaller sets for a bit and then I got some more 20 rep sets in there. I was huffing and puffing no doubt.

Doing the pullup ladders like that (to 3) gave me a rest for a bit when I did the c&p rungs of 4 and 5. I still couldn't get a fourth ladder with the 20 lbs (yet) but my bw pullups felt like I was rocketing up to the bar. Hopefully next week I'll be able to do a fourth (or even fifth) ladder.

I felt my lats helping out on my presses for the first time today. I've been concentrating on getting my lats to kick in on presses for the last week and I felt them help press it up and pull it down. Good progress.

Thursday 11/13/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 16 kg two handed swings in between rounds.

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 135, 1x5 165, 1x5 155

10 Minutes of 24 kg tgu taking it slow.

I worked in some bu cleans with the 16 kg bell concentrating on crushing the handle and holding it up for about 30 seconds. Did my first snatches with the 24 kg bell - 2 sets of 2 each arm. Also did a set of 5 loaded cleans with the 24 kg each arm.

Wednesday 11/12/08

Evening:

5 ladders of 3 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders 20 lb plate for 3 ladders, 15 lbs for the last 2.

Rolled the dice and did 8 minutes of 20 swings on the minute for 160 swings with the 24 kg bell.

I think I'm going to break my light, medium and heavy days into sets of 15, 20 and 25 swings on the minute for however minutes the dice tell me.

The 24 kg bell requires me to focus on technique 100% of the time to keep myself from getting hurt.

Tuesday 11/11/08

Evening:

Jump rope 5 rounds of 2 minutes with 10 16 kg two handed swings in between rounds.

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x3 135, 1x5 160, 1x5 150

Monday 11/10/08

Afternoon:

5 ladders of 2 rungs mp ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders with 20 lb plate matching in between rungs.

Rolled the dice and did 7 minutes of snatches with the 16 kg bell.

As I'm feeling these out I did 6 snatches each arm on the minute. I actually did 84 snatches but 72 of those were within the 7 minute round.

Saturday 11/8/08

Evening:

5 ladders of 4 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell with pullup ladders 1, 2, 3, 2, with 20 lb plate for 1 ladder, 15 lbs for 1 ladder and 10 lbs for the rest.

Rolled the dice and did 7 minutes of swings with the 24 kg bell.

I couldn't count em after a bit but I started with 2 sets of 30 swings on the minute mark that had me sucking some wind and moving down to sets of 20 and then going for a couple sets of 10 in the last 2 minutes.

Thursday 11/6/08

Evening:

5 sets of 5 loaded cleans with the 24 kg bell each arm alternating with 5 sets of 1 tgu each arm
3 sets of 10 swings with the 24 kg bell

I worked in some bu cleans with the 16 kg bell and tried some high pulls with the 24 kg bell

Deadlift - 1x5 135, 1x5 155, 1x5 145

Wednesday 11/5/08

Evening:

5 ladders of 3 rungs C&P ladders with the 16 kg bell with matching pullups with 10 lb plate
Rolled the dice and did 6 minutes of swings with the 24 kg bell.

I got 140 swings in the 6 minutes. I should have been more around 120 or so as it was supposed to be a medium day but I'm still feeling out what I can do.

Monday 11/3/08

Throughout the day:

Sets of pullups

Bodyweight 9
With 10 lbs 13x3
Bodyweight 5

Total of 50

Few sets of pushups and some squat holds with thighs parallel to the ground for 60 seconds.

Sunday 11/2/08

Evening:

12 minutes tgu with the 24 kg bell
16 minutes of 24 kg swings 30/30

More bu cleans, cleans and presses in between. A few sets of 10 snatches.

I was kicking myself for not finishing my 20 minutes of swings with my 16 kg after my form started breaking down with the 24 but I wasn't thinking too clearly. It's a really noticeable step up from swinging the 16.

Friday 10/31/08

Early afternoon:

Deadlifts - 135x3, 135x3, 145x3, 145x3, 155x3, 155x3, 165x3, 165x3

Deadlifts felt good. Got some tips from Jordan later on in the afternoon.

Thursday 10/30/08

Evening:

10 minutes tgu with my new 24 kg bell
20 minutes of 16 kg swings 30/30

More bu cleans and presses in between.

Still feeling noticeably stronger and the 16 kg bell is starting to feel lighter. I'm working on trying to make all of my reps in the swing perfect.

Wednesday 10/29/08

Morning:

Pushups - 1 set of 20
Pullups - 1 set of 9
Hindu squats - 50

Evening:

Pushups - 1 set of 20
Pullups - 1 set of 9
Hindu squats - 50

These are for maintenance really. My pullups feel strong though - all 9 were pulled up to my chest.

Tuesday 10/28/08

Evening:

10 minutes tgu with my new 24 kg bell
18 minutes of 16 kg swings 30/30

I cut my tgu time shorter because of the heavier bell and my swings were cut short by a stressed wife. I practiced cleans, bu cleans, presses and bu presses. All the tgu I've been doing have paid off since my presses feel pretty solid with the 16 kg bell. I practiced singles with the 24 kg just to see and it went up on both sides. My left is definitely weaker.

Monday 10/27/08

Throughout the day I did 2 sets each of pushups for 20 reps and pullups for 8 reps gtg style.

Evening:

Pistols with bodyweight only. 6x3 each leg.
Hindu squats - 50.

Pistols were harder than when I use a weight.

Sunday 10/26/08

Afternoon:

15 minutes of tgu with 16 kg.

20 minutes of 16 kg swings 30/30

I am starting to feel much stronger in the movements. In between the tgu and the swings I practiced cleans, presses, snatches and some bu cleans and presses.

About a week and a half ago I could barely do a bu clean on my left side and today I got my left side pressed overhead and back down. Small steps but noticeably fast progress.

Stoked!

Friday 10/24/08

Early afternoon:

Deadlifts - 135x3, 135x3, 145x3, 145x3, 155x3, 155x3

At the suggestion of people on the Dragondoor forums I'm just going light and trying to keep full tension and practice the movement. I kept rest times between sets to about 2 minutes.

Thursday 10/23/08

Evening:

15 minutes of tgu with 16 kg.

20 minutes of 16 kg swings 30/30

As mentioned in my main blog...I accidently deleted all training entries for the last few weeks. I'll make sure to have a full cup of coffee in my system before I do anything important from now on!