Themed Training and Dynamic Effort

Thursday:

This week had Raquel, Tim, and Justin show up. Nick and Katie need to come back, but I understand how busy they can be. In any case, we did a nice little warm-up, ran some routes, and then worked on some technique. Nothing big.

Today:

Dynamic Effort:

Warm-up:
10:00 light jog

Work-out:

3x2 Box jumps (couldn't measure.. about middle of my tummy)
5x8 115lb Squat+minibands
5x8 95lb Bench press+minibands
3x3 Pull-ups+minibands
---

I need to program this day better. Just didn't feel complete. Very disorganised. Not entirely happy. The bands were interesting, though. Completely changed the dynamic (no pun intended) of every exercise.

Back to Binh Dinh

Two hours of kung fu today as "active rest." Fuck, my endurance is terrible.

ME Lower Body

Warm-up:
5:00 stationary bike

Work-out:

ME Deadlifts:
1x5 155lbs
1x5 165lbs
1x3 175lbs
1x3 185lbs
1x3 195lbs
1x1 215lbs
1x1 225lbs
1x1 235lbs
1x1 245lbs
3x1 255lbs
(in hindsight, I should've stopped at 235)

Unilateral:
2x8 135lbs reverse barbell lunges, each leg

Posterior:
3x8 bodyweight+65lbs hyperextensions

Ab circuit:
10 sit-ups
10 reverse crunches
20 russian twists, 10 each side
10 reverse crunches
10 sit-ups
1:00 front plank
10 overhead ab pressups
0:30 front plank

ME Upper Body

Warm-up:
5:00 jog

Work-out:
15:00 HIIT sprinting

(stretching and jiont rotation during rest period)

ME Pull-ups:
1x5 bodyweight
1x5 15lbs
1x3 20lbs
1x3 25lbs
1x3 30lbs
1x1 35lbs
3x1 40lbs

Supplemental:
2x8 115lbs bench press

Superset:
3x8 30lbs DB seated clean/30lbs DB overhead press

Grip:
3x30 10lb DB regrips

Themed Training - Technical Endurance

Okay, wow. It was cold today. And the endurance runs were tough. We jogged between spots.. First thing was vaulting/underbarring down a LOOOOOONG hill on some rails, then QMing back up. Do it again with reverse QM. Then several random circuits in various locations with minimal rest. Only Raquel and a new (older!) man Tim was there. Still lots of fun. Tiring.

Power Training Day

Lost some of the footage, but here's the gist.

ME Lower Body

Warm-up:
5:00 stationary bike

Work-out:

ME Squats:
1x5 155lbs
1x5 175lbs
1x3 195lbs
1x3 205lbs
1x1 215lbs
1x1 220lbs
3x1 225lbs

Unilateral:
2x8 85lbs Bulgarian split squats (each leg)

Post-chain:
3x8 135lbs Deadlift

Abs:
20 sit-ups
15 reverse crunches
10 overhead ab presses
x2
---

On the first of the 225lbs, I heard a loud *crrrrrRRRRKKK!!!* sound going down. When I came back up and inspected, I noticed that, along the left leg, my pants had completely torn open. Yes, that's right.. I ripped my pants open in the weight room.

ME Upper Body

Warm-up:
5min stationary bike

Work-out:
ME:
1x8 135lb bench
1x5 145lb bench
1x3 155lb bench
1x3 165lb bench
1x1 175lb bench
3x1 185lb bench

Supplemental:
2x7 pull-ups

Superset:
3x8 40lb/40lb DB bentover row/rear delt flies

3x8 30/30lb DB shrugs
3x8 30/30lb curls

Grip:
5x10 10lb DB regrips

Themed Training - Conditioning Circuit

Another week of themed training that saw the newcomer Ruda. Amazing jump power! Poor endurance and stamina. I had a 20lb vest on for much of the conditioning, which consisted of climb-ups, QM on ledges, squats, reserve walking lunges, box jumps, squat to box jumps, box jumps to squat jumps, more QM, push-ups, plyo push-ups, etc. etc. I was trying to fatigue everything with little rest. And then rest.. Lol. And then the circuit once more! We went over some basics with Ruda, and closed with some playing and another brief conditioning session (focusing mostly on cardio with QM, jogging, and some stamina work).

ME Lower Body

Warm-up sets listed.

Max Effort:
1x5 65lb box squat (parallel)
1x5 115lb
1x5 135lb
1x3 165lb
1x3 195lb
1x1 225lb
3x1 255lb

Unilateral:
2x8 100lb Bulgarian split squats (each leg)

Post chain supplemental:
3x8 25lb Ham-glute raises

Ab circuit, no rest (one minute each):
Sit-ups
reverse crunches
Oblique left
Oblique right
Atomic
Sit-ups
---

First thing.. Just because you CAN squat something doesn't mean you SHOULD. I should've stopped at 225lbs, but I was being egotistical. "YEAH! I've got two 45lb plates on both ends, I can do 20 more!" After the DL test being so soon before, my body wasn't ready, and my erector spinae paid the price for it. though, I also now know that my DL should have been higher than it was.. I could've done more, as stated, but I was worried because I had started wobbling. From now on, though, I'll be able to do things a bit smarter.. with my "max effort" lifts lower than these tests by just a bit. I've finished my numbers, so I'll outline my goals for the end of March.

CURRENT:
Bodyfat: 16%
Weight: 180lbs
1RM Bench: 185lbs
1RM Box Squat: 255lbs
1RM Deadlift: 235lbs
1RM Weighted pull-up: 35lbs

GOAL:
Bodyfat: 12%
Weight: Doesn't matter yet.
1RM bench: 200lbs
1RM box squat: 285lbs
1RM DL: 285lbs
1RM WPU: 50lbs

Deadline is March 31st.
---

EDIT: Apparently, I suck at math. I've changed my current numbers to reflect the REAL weight (I kept adding bar+two 45lb plates up to 115 instead of 135, so DL and bench are 20lbs heavier than listed.. Box squat I had added correctly because after 4 45lb plates, I just did 45x5.. BUT.. I switched it off to 2 45s, 2 35s, and 2 25s.. But I didn't account for the "5s" at the end of the 25s, so it was actually ten pounders heavier than I thought.

ME Upper Body Day (Bench 1RM test)

Warm-up:
5:00 jog

Work-out:
1x5 95lb bench press
1x5 115lb bench
1x3 135lb bench
1x3 145lb bench
3x1 165lb bench (max)

Supplemental:
2 sets pull-ups.. 10, 5 (yeah, this really sucked)

Superset:
3x8 95lb overhead press
3x8 95lb upright row

Grip training:
5x20 8lb dumbbell regrips
2x60sec 45lb plate pinches
---

I'm not too happy with this. My upper body, after these test results, has shown itself to be muuuuuch weaker than what I expected it to be. At least there's only progress to be made from here.

HIIT and DL1RM

This morning, being a beautiful day, I did a good 15 minutes of HIIT sprinting with a 2 minute or so light jog to warm up and a brisk walk back.

Later on, after a warm-up routine, I went into the gym and decided to warm up to - and test - my 1RM for deadlift. At the end of the week, I'm going to "compile my stats" and set out clear cut goals and timelines. I'm pretty happy with the weight of my 1RM, but there's also a lot to be desired. We shall see.

Death by Sled and Sandbag/Some Thoughts

If there's one important lesson that I learned from Dan, it's that you -need- to make sure you can do whatever you coach others. Next weekend will be a training day for Parkour Virginia (and maybe some others) where I intended to show them some more intense and serious conditioning than the "warm-up" that they were used to from me. Well, that also means that I needed to test it! Much of what I had planned had been done before in the form of the PKTO 3-Year Anniversary Meet. Only thing is that I don't have a 500lb tractor tire available to me! I do, however, have the Kingstowne Parcourse. And armed with my new sled, I had planned out a great day for dynamic movement. Throws, jumps, sprints, etc. But could a person who hasn't done much training before last it? Could I last it? Remember last winter during the anniversary where I pretty much suffered through the whole thing? That was my worry.

For the record, I had a tape measure for distances.

Warm-up:
50m QM x2
50m 50lb walking sled drag x2
50m run x2
10 push-ups
25 sit-ups
25 squats
Joint rotation

Circuit One:
50m 30lb dumbbell clean-and-throw
10 squat-jump-into-pull-ups
50m 30lb dumbbell clean-to-overhead-throw
10 24" box jumps with added vertical jump

Circuit Two:
50m sandbag deadlift+press to chest and throw (140lbs) - Note: Throwing this makes it go, max, 2 feet away. Lmao.
50m burpee-to-broad-jump x2
50m sandbag deadlift+throw
50m sprint x2

Circuit Three:
100m sandbag deadlift+throw
10 pull-ups (note: Last two required jumping)
100m sled sprint (50lbs)
Monkey bar shimmies
100m prowler sprint (50lbs) - Note: Only calling this a prowler sprint cause I'm doing it in the same fashion, but it's still on the sled.
50m dumbbell clean-and-throw (30lbs)
100m deadlift+throw
DEAD

Cool-down:
CARRYING ALL THAT SHIT BACK INTO THE GOD DAMNED CAR!!

I massaged with my foam roller and stretched out like HELL once I got home. This was done with minimal rest and I was VERY proud of myself for getting through it all. My body only started to really give out toward that last stretch of the last circuit, but at that point, I was so close to finishing that I just pushed it without any real thoguht of giving up. This may all be because this was perhaps more lax than the 3-year anniversary, or I'm in much better shape now than I was then. Who knows for sure. But I'm very confident that my guys can do this, now.
---

On a somewhat more introspective note, I've decided to go under a very strict routine. I'm going to spend the next week or two testing out my 1RMs and other things. A recent scaling showed me that I'm back up to 180lbs and 16% bodyfat. This is MOST likely due to terrible eating habits. But considering the progress I made, I can't allow myself to slip again. So this means that the eating and the training BOTH have to step it up. After the testing, I'm going to be setting very distinct goals for myself and time frames to do it in. Hopefully, my personal training doesn't interfere with my personal training too much. I do know that, regardless of how much I weigh, I want to get down to 8% bodyfat. Right now, I'm shooting to just get back to the 12-13 I was at two months ago, and after that.. to 10-11. Little bit at a time, of course.

More on this later.

Upper Body, Grip, Movement through Sprints

Another themed day out in the cold. Raquel was the only one who showed up (this girl has so much drive!). Raquel asked me to bring my new drag sled out, so I loaded it with 50lbs and dragged it from the parking deck to the meeting spot.. That alone was SUPER tiring. I had her drag it around for a bit, then we did some bridge shuffles across a ramp to warm up, then some shimmies, grip training with the plates. I had her do some push-ups onto an elevation while I did some weighted split-squats. Then we dragged the sled off and did some sprints into vaults and such (super difficult), and dragged the sled aaaaaaaalll the way to this new area that was pretty fun. I had Raq do some box jumps and then we dragged the sled back to the parking deck. Yeah, the sled was pretty exhausting. It's going to be SUPER fun later. LoL.

Box squats, chins, and presses

I recently discovered the glory of box squats, so I decided to try them out tonight. My warm-up:

QM up+down stairs x2
Reverse QM up+down stairs x2
2:00 jumping jacks
2:00 skip rope, double-unders every third swing

Work-out:
3x5 box squats (100lbs - 50lb vest+25lb dumbbells on each shoulder)
3 sets of chin-ups (7, 6, 5)
3x15 atomic sit-ups
3x12 overhead press (30lb dumbbells on each arm)

Cool-down:
2:00 Front plank
stretch
---

The box squats were pretty tiring.. Everything was, actually, and the chins just got worse and worse. Doing chins for the first time in a long time also made me realise that my pecs and serratus anterior are REALLY tight, so I need to work on that.

More fun with flips and kettlebells.

I had gone to the gym Friday night, but I went out afterward, so I didn't get the chance to make a post. Nick and Katie came again, and this guy Josh from DC. I led a warm-up that consisted of QMs, reverse QMs, walking lunges, and sprints. And we lucked out because they had the plates out this time, so I threw some plates down on a block and we did prowler sprints across the floor. MUCH fun. But the rest of the time was vaulting, drilling basics, practicing sloppy flips and whatnot, ending with some light conditioning (rope climbs and various strength things). It's weird to me. On the drive home, I kept thinking that I barely did anything... And I've realised that training "Parkour" makes me feel, these days, like I haven't done much at all. I need that more intensive conditioning.. even if I hate it while I'm doing it. Even if there are times when I feel like giving up... it's what makes me feel like I've accomplished something. I mean, I don't really progress unless I condition.. It's weird how it used to be that strict "technical" training used to make me so sore and tired... and now it doesn't do anything at all. The longer I go at this, the more I realise how weak we really are. How useless traceurs are in the real world. How much we don't know what real strength and power is. It changes my approach. And it also changes what I end up passing onto others.

Tonight, I warmed up with some jogging outside (the weather is incredibly warm for February) and then did:

3x10 wide-stance push-ups (20lb vest)
5x5 kneeling abwheel (20lb vest)
3x5 pull-ups (20lb vest)
3x5 one-armed kettlebell clean and press (each arm, wearing 20lb vest)
3x5 kettlebell swings (20lb vest)

Cool-down:
Jogging up and down my stairs three times with the vest on.
Stretch.