Saturday, December 31, 2011
Day 122 of 365 - Lower
Friday, December 30, 2011
Day 121 of 365 - Upper
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Day 119 of 365 - Lower
Warm Up
Elliptical - 16 minutes, 5 over 160bpm, stop at 130bpm
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Front Squat to Box - 5 x BW, 45, 90; 3 x 100; 5 x 110lbs
DO Axle Deads (25lb plates) - 5 x 10 x 123lbs
Reverse Lunges - 4 x 8/8 x BW; 1 x 8/8 x 5lbs overhead
Notes
I focused on using my arms on the elliptical and hit 174bpm at one point. It messed me up a little while lifting. I think 5 minutes over 160bpm but under 170bpm might be the best for my warm up. 165bpm as the target, I suppose.
Squats felt good today.
Reverse lunges are difficult for me to coordinate. I kept them light, using a dumbbell overhead as an alignment cue on the last set. The toe on my left foot hurts if I step too far back. They were significantly harder than the forward lunges I have been doing.
Watched the Power Unlimited documentary on youtube this morning. Good times.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Day 118 of 365 - Upper
Warm Up
Go through some stuff around my house and gym, figuring out what I can donate or sell. Price it out and post it online.
Work
Bench - 5 x 45, 88; 3 x 98; 10 x 108lbs
Notes
I am on vacation and wanted to spend my time playing on the internet and eating nachos. I am scheduled to lift. My compromise was to bench while my nachos cooked. They are delicious.
10 reps at 108 required a little effort on my part, maybe because I was not warmed up very well.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Day 115 of 365 - Lower
Friday, December 23, 2011
Day 114 of 365 - Upper
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Day 112 of 365 - Lower
Warm Up
Elliptical for 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Front Squats to Box - 3 x BW, 45, 85, 95; 6 x 105lbs
DO Axle Deadlifts (25lb plates, band on knee) - 5 x 10 x 123lbs
Lunges - 5 x 5/5 x 12k overhead
Notes
I tried harder than last week's squat workout. It shows. The top of my left forearm is feeling better.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Day 111 of 365 - Upper
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Day 108 of 365 - Lower
Warm Up
Elliptical for 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Deadlift - 3 x 45, 60k, 180lbs, 205lbs; 5 x 230lbs
Overhead Squats to Box - 5 x 5 x 20k barbell
Two Hand Swings - 5 x 10 x 28k
Notes
Only 16 hours between this session and the last one. It is all my schedule allows for. The top of my left forearm is still tender.
I think I had a major breakthrough on how to perform an overhead squat. It is a movement I have wanted to learn for years, but always failed at, even with just the bar. Normally I am fighting not to fall backwards. Normally when I squat I try to send the force through my heels. Today I let myself push through my toes as much as I wanted. The squats were far, far easier. Promising...
Friday, December 16, 2011
Day 107 of 365 - Upper
Warm Up
Elliptical for 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Overhead Press - 3 x 45, 65, 75; 8 x 85lbs
One Arm Rows 5 x 10/10 x 20k
Turkish Getup - 3 x 2/2 x 16k
Notes
I sat too much yesterday and went to bed far too late. Last week's snatches gave me a splitting headache, so I opted for something a little easier today.
Switched to a dumbbell after the first set of getups. The top of my left forearm is aching. No idea why.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Day 104 of 365 - Lower
Warm Up
Elliptical - 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Front Squats to Box - 5 x BW, 45, 70, 90, 100lbs
DO Axle Deadlifts - 5 x 8 x 123lbs
Lunges - 5 x 5/5 x 10lbs overhead
Notes
Four days straight of lifting has caught up with me. I did the bare minimum. Next week I will do better.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Day 103 of 365 - Upper
Warm Up
Elliptical for 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Bench Press - 5 x 45, 75, 85; 10 x 95lbs
Renegade Rows 5 x 5/5 x 16k
KB Clean and Press - 5 x 6 x 16k's
Notes
Bench was easy, but my shoulders are clicking and popping. My hope is that regular mobility work and practicing the movement will make it usable. I was repping with 145lbs in college. I cannot do 5 x 10 with my assistance exercises, using the weights I have. I will build up to it.
In other news, I locked in the rate I wanted for my refinance today. 3.25% for 10 years, no points. I'll be poor for awhile, but it will save me more than $30k total over the next 10 years. Score!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Day 102 of 365 - Lower
Warm Up
Elliptical - 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Deadlifts - 5 x 45lbs, 110lbs, 165lbs, 190lbs; 8 x 215lbs
Overhead Squats - 5 x 5/5 x 12k
Two Arm Swings - 5 x 10 x 24k in 5:00
Notes
This program is more work than I am used to. It seems having psyched up for my deadlift max ensures I need it for the hard set each time I deadlift. I am not sure if that is good or bad.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Day 101 of 365 - Upper
Elliptical for 10 minutes
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
Overhead Press - 5 x 45, 65, 70; 8 x 80lbs
KB Snatch 5 x 10/10 x 16k - 4:15
Turkish Getup - 5 x 1/1 x 16k
First day of 5 3 1. My assistance work was harder than my main exercise. I am not sure what that means. I think, perhaps, that I am lazy...
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Day 98 of 365 - Upper
Warm Up
Elliptical 10 minutes (2 workouts in a row!)
Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Work
KB Press - 10 x 16k's, 16k's,
Renegade Rows - 5/5 x 16k, 16k
KB Snatch - 10/10 x 16k, 16k
Partial Getup to Half Kneeling - 3/3 x 16k
Notes
Lower back muscles are quite sore today. Kept the weights light and volume low as a result.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Day 97 of 365 - Lower
Foam roller and mobility work with 12k kettlebell
Deadlifts - 5 x 20k, 60k, 90k; 1 x 110k, 282lbs
Front Squats to 12" Box - 5 x BW, 20k, 85lbs; 1 x 110lbs, 130lbs
I got back on the elliptical. I really ought to do that every time. I paid enough for it.
Today was all about finding some maxes to start 5 3 1. The deadlift was better than I expected (within 10lbs of my all time PR) and entirely mental. I'll probably have a hard time falling asleep tonight because of it.
The front squats might have been better without deadlifting first, but this is what I had time for. My heaviest front squat ever was only 155, so 130 is close enough to whatever my current true max is.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Day 95 of 365 - Upper
Warm Up - Foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Overhead Press - 8 x 45lbs; 5 x 65lbs, 85lbs, 95lbs
Renegade Rows - 5/5 x 16k, 16k, 16k
Close Bench - 5 x 88lbs, 5 x 108lbs, 3 x 118lbs
Half Getup - 5/5 x 12k, 16k
Grippers between sets - 3/3 x T, T, T, #1, #1
I am thinking about making a run at Wendler's 5 3 1 program. It is pretty close to the upper/lower split that works for me mentally. Maybe I can actually get stronger following it.
I need to loosen my body up this week and set maxes to start the program next week.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Day 94 of 365 - Lower
Warmup - foam roller and mobility with 12k kettlebell
Box Squats - 10 x BW, 12k; 5 x 16k's, 16k's
Single leg deadlifts - 5/5 x 16k, 16k's, 16k's
Lunges - 5/5 x BW, 12k overhead, 16k overhead
I am all tight from sitting around. Yikes! Maybe I'll do something again tomorrow.
Day 94 of 365 - November in Review
November was not a good month for progress against my goals. Stress at home has me distracted and escaping into non-productive activities.
1. Lifting - The month started out ok, but fell apart in the last two weeks. Poor diet led to low energy and skipped workouts.
2. Eat on $4 a day - Stress led to low quality, expensive eating habits. I am trying to get back on the menu I laid out at the start of November. About all I learned is that corn flour and corn meal are very different ingredients, that yield very different results. I did make my best pizza to date.
3. Become competitive at pool - This goal remains on hold.
4. Maintain my home - This goal received no attention in November and is likely to remain on hold for December.
5. Excel as a quality engineer - So far adapting to the new developer has been a non-issue. I discovered I can get my agile books for free via interlibrary loan, which is fantastic. I am 2/3 of the way through the book Product Development Flow. The author provides solutions to and reasons for many of the problems I have experienced with traditional project management. Very cool. I also have the book _Agile Testing_ sitting on my kitchen table. I expect to start it in the next week and to see continued strong progress in December.
Overall
Other than doing well with my career (which I am getting paid for), I really took things easy. I cannot decide if this is an appropriate response to stress or simply poor coping ability on my part. December may be more of the same. I have put my Netflix on hold in an effort to direct my energy productively. We'll see what happens.