Thursday 26 August 2010

Things

Okay, my posting of late has been poor, but my dad is getting better and better, so that's all good.  His eyes are still yellow but he's back to putting away 5 hours a day tending the garden/farm and is walking the dogs again, not quite the old 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening, but an hour each way, which is good too.  I suspect that I get my tenacity from him.  I certainly get my cool head from him, which is good as I also have my mum's temper. 

It ain't nice when your parents get sick, is it?

I'm back to the UK tomorrow for the Reading Festival, where I shall eat, drink and be merry, so this last week I've run my body into the ground by training every day, no matter how I feel and generally pushing myself.  I've also been thinking about my training goals for the next year (I'm a teacher, our year goes September to August).  Basically I'm going to slowly trim down to 16 stone for Pete's Shodan (watch out Pete, I'll be fast and strong), then bulk back up to 17 stone and cut it down again to 16.5 for my Shodan, so I'll be heavy for my Shodan, but I want to do it my way, which will be controlled power through each technique.  Watch out every body.

So, this last week, what have I been doing?

Well...

Wednesday 18th
Ran to the Church and back, then 12 pull ups

Thursday 19th
Shadow boxing for 20 minutes
Tried out different combos and different ways of stepping into things and generating force as you move into and through your target.  Got a few nice ideas there I need to try on Fraz and Pete. 
Stretched
13 Pull ups

Friday 20th
Feeling sore and stiff
Did stretching, isometrics and Ki

Saturday 21st
Gym work
Mobility warm up
120 deep bounces
Press ups 40
Independent snatch: 22.5k x 5 per side
Isometric hold 3 x 3 sec
(later figured that I'd done this in the wrong order, whoops)
Deadlift: 70k x 6, 70k x 6, 110k x 5, 140k x 3, 160k x 3, 170k x 1, grip going, damn finger, 170k to knees.  Leave
140k x 1

Bent over row: 70k x 10, 75k x 6, 80k x 5, 85k x 5

Clean: 70k x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (+press)

Military press (one dumb bell each hand):  2 x10k x 15, 2x12.5k x 10, 2x15k x 8, 2 x 17.5k x 6, 2x20k x 4

Tricep extension: 20k x 4 per side, Tricep pull down: 25k x 5, 5 (independent)
Bicep cable curl, independent: 15k x 5, 5
Bicep curl: 20k x 30+15

Had no grip for the deadlift, but having not gone to town on it, found my back very strong for the bent over rows. 

Sunday 22nd
Boot run from parent's house to Atlantic drive and back.  Tough old run, 3.62 miles, about 1/2 hour. Got back and did 55 burpees


Monday 23rd
8 pull ups followed by 6, later still another 6 pull ups.  good form on all

Jogged down the hill at gran's house and sprinted back up.  A nasty windy hill, 160 metres or so and steep and rough terrain. Managed it 3 times before felt nauseous. 

Got back to mine and did the 350 work out: 9.25.2, nice time.  I seem to be able to maintain that out of breath feeling for a long time with little detriment to my activity. 

Tuesday 24th

Mobility warm up
Press ups 25, 10, 5

Bench: Bar x 20, 70k x 5 explosive, 5 slow, 80k x 5 explo, 5 slow, 90k x 5 explo, 4 slow, 100k x 1, 100k x 1, 110k x 1, 110k x 1, 115k x 1
Well, with the leap in strength, this slow and explosive mix is working

Squats: 1 legged squats 5 per side
Front squats: bar x 5, 40k x 5, 50k x 5, 60k x 5, 60k x 4
Back squat: 60k x 10, 80k x 5, 80k x 5, 80k x 5
Squat circuit: 25 body weight squats, 25 prison, 25 on balls of feet, 25 holding 20k plate
10 squat jumps

Snatch: 10 per side @22.5k
Bicep: 20k x 40

Wednesday 25th
Boot run to Atlantic Drive and back, 25 minutes
Ki and isometrics in evening

Thursday:
5 minute bike ride
mobility warm up
Press ups: 20 (was thinking, oh, I've clearly quite tired, maybe deadlift isn't a good idea...)

Deadlift:
Indy clean 22.5k@ 5 per side, then 3 x  sec 3 isometric holds, then 3 per side for indy clean

Deadlift proper: 70k x 5 (flew up), 110k x 3, 140k x 3 (over/under grip), 160k x 3, 170k x 2, 177k x 1 (grip really failing), 177.5k x 1, 140k x 6

Bent over rows: 70k x 10, 70k x 8, 75k x 6 (tired)

Clean with barbell: 70k x 5, 3

Clean and press: 22.5 k x 5 per side
Lateral raises: 10k x 12, 12, 10
Over head press (indy): 2x10k x 10, 2x12.5k x 8, 2x15k x 5
Bicep: 20k x 30, 15
Tricep pull down: 15k x 12, 20k x 7, 25k x 5

All in all a good week, good progress, good gains.  And cardio is maintained, so we shall see how next week goes when I get back on the mat. 

Tuesday 17 August 2010

Doo doo doo

Part of me does wish that I wasn't in Ireland.  I'm missing the Crossing the Pond Seminar and it looks so damn good.  Ah well, such is life.  Another part of me is very glad that I'm here, chilling with my folks and watching as Dad gets better and better. 

Well, after Sunday's amazing weather, yesterday was terrible!  Wind and rain and more rain and then some more rain.  No let up at all.  I sat around the house and watched Sons of Anarchy, which is an incredible show. 

I waited till the evening, then stretched a little and did the 350 work out, which is the same as the 300 work out, only you do 35 reps as opposed to 30.  Clever, huh?  I changed some things around too, swapping Hindu press ups for dips and then dips for step ups.  Time was 11:53.7, not too bad, but my oh my did I feel all those press ups.

Today I gardened for a bit, collecting in all the onions Dad planted.  There's loads, enough to keep the entire village in onions for the rest of the year.  And shallots, and red onions and, well, some other things.  He's also experimenting with the best type of potato to grow at different times of the year; I never even knew that there were different types for different parts of the year.

Training wise I got myself to the gym and did the following:

Pull ups (at gran's) 11

Mobility warm up

Press ups: 40

Bench press: bar x 15, 70k x 5 fast, 70k x 5 slow, 80k x 5 f, 80k x 4 s, 90k x 4 f, 90k x 3 s, 100k x 2,
110k x 1, 110k x 1, 110k x 1

 Front Squat: Bar x 8, 70k x 3, 70k x 3 70k x 3 wrists sore
[20 normal body weight squats, 20 prison squats, 20 squats hugging 25k weight] x 3, minimal rest between sets

Independent clean and press: 22.5k x 5per side
Independent snatch: 22.5k x 8 per side

Bicep curl: 20k, 21 protocol, 60 reps.

I dunno what it is about my biceps but I just can't get any DOMS in them these days.  Tomorrow I reckon I'll go for a jog, maybe 5 mile or so, we'll see.  My calves are still tender from that beach run. 

Sunday 15 August 2010

Sunday

My calves are aching again, but there you go.

Right, what have I been up to?

Well, Friday I took the dogs for another rambling walk across the moors and later went to grannys and did 10 pull ups and then 8

Saturday I went for a long walk with the dogs and came back and went to the gym.  I do love the Mulranny gym, hardly anyone uses it so I get to do pretty much whatever I want.


Isn't it great?

Anyway....

Warm up was mobility

Press up: 30

Deadlift:
Warm up: Isometric lift 3 x 3sec
22.5k One arm snatch x 3
Main lift:
70k x 5, 110k x 3, 130k x 3, isometric lift, 140k x 2 (grip was going on right hand because of little finger), 160k x 1, 170k x 1, 170k x 1, 177.5k x 1, 177.5k miss (damn right hand), 177.5k x 1 (to knees), damn right hand's little finger just wasn't working, 140k x 5

Bent over row - 70k x 8, 70k x 8, 70k x 8

Tricep extension: 20k x 4per side, 17.5k x 5 per side

Lat pull down: 45k x 10, 75k x 4, 75k x 4

Bicep curl- 20k x 45, 30, 21 (21 protocol)

Sunday:


Back a little stiff.  No bicep pain at all.  In fact, getting any pain in my biceps is pretty damn hard.  

Today went to the beach and ran 3.75 miles according to mapmyrun.com.  Bless it.  Did some fartlek training and went from jog to middle speed to sprint over the course of the, uh, course.  Calves sore now as tried to stay on them all the way.  They've done up the kid's play area and have put in a nice basketball court.  I used the hoop's support for pull ups and did 8, then 6 Up/downs, then 6 pull ups.  Not bad. Forearms sore from yesterday.  All in all a good weekend.  

Tomorrow I'll probably do the 300 workout, only shift it up to 350!  

Thursday 12 August 2010

Thursday

My calves have ached today, and it's an ache that has slowly increased.  Which is good, in its way, as my calves can take a hell of a pounding and recover quickly, so my run yesterday was clearly hard on them, and I managed to keep myself on the balls of my feet the whole way, which is good.

Today I decided to take myself to the gym in Mulranny for some weights and some sauna time.  Now, last time I was there, the gym was a bunch of cardio equipment, some free weights (but not too many, and dumbbells only), some bands and a bunch of machines.  I walked in there today and to my shock there were no free weights, just machines.  Oh, I thought to myself, a variation of the 300 work out it was to be...

I warmed up by doing 5 minutes on the cross trainer, then wanted a drink and went looking for the drink fountain.  And then I found it: the pool/snooker room.  They'd converted it.  Converted it into a weights room!  Bench, squat rack, 170k of weight... Oh yeah.  I was so happy. Here's what I did:

Press up: 35

Bench: Bar x 15, 60k (explosive) x 6, 60k (slow) x 5, 70k (e) x 5, 70k (s) x 5, 80k (e) x 4, 80k (s) x 3

Press ups: 6

Front squat
Deep squat held for over a minute (easy too)
Bar x 5, 40k x 5, 50k x 5, 60k x 3, 70k x 3  My wrists were going so I backed off.

Press ups: 25

Independent overhead press from floor: 22.5k x 5, 5, 5 each arm
Independent snatch from floor: 22.5k x 6, 6, 6 each arm

Press ups: 15

Bicep curl, 22.5k each arm: 8 reps, then 100 band curls.  Then 5 reps and 100 band curls

Press ups: 15

Later in the day I did 9 Pull ups and walked the dogs for a bit with some jogging.  All in all a damn good day. Was hoping to watch the meteorite showers tonight but the weather being the way it is, all I can see it cloud :(

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Wednesday

My dad's out of hospital! whoop!

Didn't actually realise how worried I was till he got the all clear.

Training wise...

Visited gran in the morning and did 8 pull ups

Picked up dad

Did 4.62 miles cross country in the afternoon with some nice hill climbs.  Popped into gran on the way back, did another 8 pull ups and then got back to my parent's house.  All within an hour. Not sure on an accurate time... but it seemed fairly fast and I was in the zone.  A few more like that and 10 miles won't seem so bad.

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, isn't it?  I'm losing track of days here, but that's the nature of the beast.  Spent another day sitting around the house looking after my sister and visiting gran, mum was off at the hospital.  I'll drive tomorrow as it gets me away and we'll have a wander around Castlebar, grab a bite to eat somewhere, which'll help mum's mind too.

Anyway, training.

Whilst visiting granny I found that the old cow shed has a strong wooden second floor that I can hang off and do pull ups on.  So I did a few sets:
6, 2, 7

Later in the day took the dogs for a walk/jog which got a sweat on me.

Then got back and:

Same squat protocol as before (so that's 210 squats) with only one set of isometric holds as various angles.

Then did kicking practice:

20 rear push kicks each leg
15 snap kicks each leg
20 side kicks each leg
10 double side kicks each leg
20 set ups each leg

Finished off with 50 burpees, which were scarily easy.  Even did them 1-50 in my head as opposed to playing my usual mind games.

Humm...

Otherwise shoulder, pecs and lower back are all a little tender from yesterday.  We shall see how we feel tomorrow.

Monday 9 August 2010

Training

So my dad is still sick and the hospital visits are crappy.  They've made a few mistakes with forgetting to scan him and feeding him at the wrong times and all sorts of stuff that does make you wonder about the Irish health care system.

Grr, wouldn't get this in super efficient Japan!

Anyway, today I stayed at home with my sister as the constant travelling just isn't fair on her.  Managed to have a look at the gym potentials:


This is an 80 litre bin half filled with rain water.



These are sacks filled with turf and that is an ancient rusty cast iron bathtub!  Fun, fun fun!

Short walk in the morning.

Mid afternoon was
Shadow boxing warm up
300 work out in 08:09:00!

Then outside to the gym!

Bin dead lift: 10 reps
Bin pick up to chest: 10, 10 (sort of a clean type motion with different angles, weird hand holds and instability)

Bath lift up (like a tyre flip, only no flip): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Bags of turf bicep curl: 5, 5, then change to hammer grip: 8, 8, 8

Farmers walk with two bags of turf: 39 sec and 45 sec

Over head clean and press with two bags of turf: 1, 1, 1

Press ups: 20, 15, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1


Got a good all round pump, especially in the lower back.  The awkward angles and general instability were good and those cleans and presses were real tough.

Went for 40 minute jog/walk/sprint with dogs cross country.  Erratic interval training, sort of. 

Saturday 7 August 2010

Saturday

So my dad's sick; probably Hepatitis.  He's in hospital currently and I'm running around doing stuff, but you do what you got to do.  He should be fine and I'm not really worried, but everyone's sort of on edge until we know for sure and he's definitely out of the woods.

My legs are currently killing me, but that shows what that squat work out was like.

I'm walking the dogs a fair bit, and trying to get Rusty to run with me, which he's sort of doing in a doggy way.  Very stop/starty, but it's good for me, running across the sort of moors.

Yesterday I did a variation on the 300 work out:

Press ups, Prison Squats, Alternate press ups, Scissor jumps, Burpees, Leg raises, Dips, Explosive press ups, V ups, Step ups.

30 of each, making 300 reps in 9:29:2

Then did 10 press ups, rested, 9, rested, 8... and so on down to 1.

Arms and chest sore today.  Also walked the dogs yesterday for a quick hour and a bit and walked them twice today.  My legs are still sore so if I get a chance tomorrow I'll sort something out with the massive copper bathtub that's lying around outside and those 80 litre bins half filled with water.  Hummm...

Bookwise the new John Connolly is very good, a few twists there I didn't see coming.  Am currently working my way though "The Secret History of the World".  Weird but interesting.

Thursday 5 August 2010

Ireland

It's cold here and wet, but there you go.  I've been on two long walks today, taking the dogs each time across the... well, if they were in the UK, you'd call them moors, but it isn't quite as grand.  An hour and a half for the first walk and about 45 minutes for the second.

It's good to be back in Ireland, seeing the family.  My Dad's sick, which is a downer, and it's probably hepatitis A, which is better than the things we were thinking it could be.

Training wise, what have I been doing?  Well, are we sitting comfortably?

Last Friday-
Shadow boxing warm up
Then
Chin ups
Clapping press ups
Kettle bell swings
Done in the following sets: 10, 9, 8, 7... you get the idea, down to 1.  No rest.  Total time: 8.14.62

Single leg squats: 2 sets of 10 per leg

Step up farmer's carry with 2 x 17.5kg: 2 sets of 10 per leg

KB cleans x 3 per side

Sat - off

Sun - Long walk + Jujitsu

Monday:
Jujitsu throwing with Mark Bloom

In the afternoon:

1000m row in 4 minutes

Pull ups: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: 35 in total

Up/downs: 8, 7, 6, 5 (3, 1, 1), 4, 3, 2, 1: 36 in total

Press ups: 10, 9, 8 (rest), 7, 6 (rest), 5, 4 (rest), 3, 2, 1

Independent bench press: (2x20k) x 8 (slow), 8 (explosive)
(2x28k) x 3 (slow), (2x20k) x 10 (explosive)

Shoulder press (20k x 1), 6 per side, 28k x 2 per side

Kettle bell snatch 5 per side

Tuesday: Jujitsu twice

Wednesday was travelling to Ireland, always more tiring than any other type of travelling

Thursday: the two long walks, obviously, then

Squat work out:
20 x Regular
20 x Heels off floor
20 x Regular
20 x Prison squats
20 x Lunges
20 x Heels off floor
20 x Prison Squats
20 x Lunges
20 x Prison Squats
20 x Heels off floor

Isometric contractions at 3 angles for ten secs each x 3

10 x squat jumps

Legs currently killing me.

Have been checking out my parent's place for equipment I cane use for training.  Watch this space.