June 2009
59 posts
1 tag
May 2009
60 posts
3 tags
Explosive Strength Training
Warmed up with some light thrusters to work on form.
1 Arm DB Snatch
5 x 3/side x 70lb
Power Clean
5 x 3 x 145lb
Complex Pair - repeat 3x One Arm Bench Press x 5/arm x 85lb
Plyometric Pushups x 8
Bulgarian Split Squat x 5/side x 45lb in each hand
Knee Jumps x 8
Finisher: Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls
3 x 15 x 95lb
Total time: 45 min. Lawd, I’ve been missing some SDLHP...
2 tags
Core Training
Flag x 5
DB Side Bends (70lb) x 5/side
Supermans x 10
High-rep set of Chinnies
Repeat 4x
Finisher: Plank hold for time: 2:45.
Done at the crowded little weight room at the Metropolitan Pool with Dave, post-swim again.
3 tags
Swim Intervals
At the Metropolitan Pool this fine morning:
300m warm up
Intervals - repeat 12x 25 freestyle sprint
25 breaststroke
200m kick (100 front, 50 left, 50 right)
200m hypoxic*
300m cool down
Total time: 45 minutes. Total distance: 1600m.
Decent swim today, but I’m really not improving on my technique swimming just once a week. I have a few swim races coming up to, so I need to get my...
1 tag
“A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.”
– Unknown
Disappointment About Limited Usage of New Turf... →
Well that blows. I thought I’d have some access to this nice new field a block away from my house.
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Went through two classes today - lots of stances and basics with the first crew and lots of sweat because it was hot and stuffy in the school. Drilled the plum blossom fist for most of the class after warming up. After going through stances again with the second class, we worked on all sorts of snake techniques. Fun stuff.
2 tags
Kung Fu practice
Open practice at the school tonight. Warmed up with some light forearm/wrist training followed by some saam sing. After that did some free-form weapons sparring with Ali. First we did darn dao vs. darn dao, then pole vs. ji mo, taking turns so we both used the pole. It was fun, but tough on the hands.
3 tags
Max Strength Training
Heavy day:
Squat
4 x 3 x 305lb
Press
4 x 3 x 150lb *FAIL* (3, 3, 2, 1)
Deadlift
2 x 3 x 355lb
Weighted Dips
3 x 3 x 100lb
Weighted Chinups
3 x 3 x 115lb
Total time: 45 min. Damn, I think I started too heavy on the presses for this program. I also think I’m crazy to do heavy pullups after deadlifts. I may need to make some adjustments, but I felt good...
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1 tag
“In the warrior’s code there’s no surrender
though his body says...”
– Burning Heart, Survivor
4 tags
Jump Rope / Burpee Intervals
Down in the basement while waiting for my laundry.
3 min Jump Rope
3 min Burpees (56)
2 min Jump Rope
2 min Burpees (34)
1 min Jump Rope
1 min Burpees (21)
30 sec Jump Rope
30 sec Burpees (12)
I rested 60 seconds after the 3 min intervals, 45 sec after the 2 min, 30 sec after the 1 min, and 15 sec after the 30 sec. Total burpees: 123.
Previously: 126 on 12/13/08; 118 on 11/2/08;...
3 tags
Core Training
Kneeling Wheel Rollouts x 10
Side Plank x 1 min (each side)
Front Plank x 1 min
Repeat 4x
This one is no fun, but easy to do while watching the Mets game.
1 tag
“Beaten paths are for beaten men.”
– Unknown
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3 tags
Explosive Strength Training
Warmed up with some light DB Snatches and DB Swings, then went to work:
Thrusters 5 x 3 x 95lb
Barbell Punch Press 5 x 3/side x 75lb
Complex Pair - repeat 4x Side-to-side Pullups x 4/side
Explosive Pullups x 8
DB Lunges x 4/side x 60lb
Lunge Jumps x 8
Finisher: DB Swings
3 x 15 x 75lb
Total time: 45 min. I had to scale back the weight on the thrusters because I...
1 tag
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
– Stephen Covey
2 tags
Core Training
Deadlift Twist (85lb) x 5/side
Knees-to-Elbows x 10
Knee-Hugs x 22, 23, 24, 25
Repeat 4x
Finisher: Plank hold for time: 3:19.
Did this at the weight room at the Metropolitan Pool with Dave, post-swim. He’s the one who set up the odd rep scheme for the knee hugs, so don’t ask me.
2 tags
Swimming Workout
Back at the Metropolitan Pool today:
350m warm up
200m kick (100 front, 50 left, 50 right)
250m pull (100, 75, 50, 25)
250m freestyle (50 x 5)
350m cool down
Total time: 45 minutes. Total distance: 1400m.
The pool was relatively empty again, which was nice, but my wings were feeling sore for some reason and it really held me back. I decided I’d be better off focusing on form drills...
Eat Your Lungs Out While Getting Leaner →
An interesting interview with Gary Taubes that neatly summarizes his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Good class today. I warmed up the first crew and took them through some stance drills. Then Sifu took over and drilled everyone on a few hand techniques and ran us through some training drills. I ran through a forearm/wrist/hand training circuit after class:
150 reps tiger claw squeezing sandbags
10 reps wrist roller
10 reps of front wrist levering with 6’ (heavy) pole
10 reps of lateral wrist...
The FDA's Warning Letter to General Mills, Calling... →
“These claims indicate that Cheerios® is intended for use in lowering cholesterol, and therefore in preventing, mitigating, and treating the disease hypercholesterolemia. Additionally, the claims indicate that Cheerios® is intended for use in the treatment, mitigation, and prevention of coronary heart disease through, lowering total and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. Elevated levels of...
1 tag
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
– Thomas Edison
3 tags
Burpees & Slams
10 Burpees
10 Med ball slams
Repeat 10x
Total time: 7:41. Wow, that’s a huge improvement from the last time I tried this. I can’t believe I was chuffed with my old time. Extra chuffed now, though my slams weren’t as explosive as I would’ve liked.
Previously: 10:05 on 2/27/08
2 tags
Kung Fu practice
Open practice at the school - did some assorted body conditioning drills to warm up before working Ji Mo Seung Do for a bit. Picked a few sections from the form and just drilled em till I was drenched.
3 tags
Max Strength Training
Started with my patent-pending warmup of 15 burpees/15 sec samson stretch on each leg, repeated 3x.
Heavy day:
Squat
4 x 3 x 295lb
Push Press
4 x 3 x 165lb
Deadlift
2 x 3 x 345lb
Simple pair, repeat 3x:
One Arm DB Row (90lb) x 5
One Arm DB Bench Press (90lb) x 5
Total time: 55 min. Everything felt pretty good today, but the last two sets of squats were slow going....
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Standard warmup of basics tonight followed by some hand technique work and form practice. I did a slightly more interesting warmup for the second crew, some forearm training, and then more form work.
1 tag
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“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
– David Banner
5 tags
Rage Intervals
I noticed a crossbar on the fence around Washington Park that was perfect for pullups, so I cooked up this little circuit to get my rage out:
10 Handstand Pushups
Sprint 50m
1 Pullup
Sprint 50m
9 Handstand Pushups
Sprint 50m
2 Pullups
Sprint 50m
8 Handstand Pushups
Sprint 50m
3 Pullups
Sprint 50m
7 Handstand Pushups
Sprint 50m
4 Pullups
Sprint 50m
6 Handstand Pushups
Sprint 50m
...
2 tags
Kung Fu practice
Worked out some of my frustrations for missing the seminars with Sigung out in Washington Park. Ran through Tiet Sien Kuen on the fake grass and felt lousy connection on the rubbery turf. It was also unseasonably chilly and my mind wasn’t as focused as it should have been.
1 tag
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
– Winston Churchill
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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks...”
– Thomas Edison
Pushup Dot Drills →
Cool variation on explosive/plyometric pushup training.
3 tags
Explosive Strength Training
Barbell Squat 3 x 5 x 135lb
1 Arm DB Snatch
5 x 3/side x 65lb
Power Clean
5 x 3 x 135lb
Complex Pair - repeat 4x One Arm Bench Press x 5/arm x 85lb
Plyometric Pushups x 8
Wall Squat x 60 sec
Squat Jumps x 10
Total time: 50 min. Morning session at the gym for a change. I tried to minimize rest between sets and it really got the sweat pumping. Everything felt pretty good and I...
5 tags
Sweet 16
Frank and I tackled an old favorite today - Ross’s Sweet 16.
Tabata Heavy Bag combinations
Tabata Squats (20, 20, 20, 19, 16, 16, 16, 16)
Tabata Heavy Bag combinations
Tabata Pushups (20, 15, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9)
Tabata intervals of each exercise - 8 rounds for 4 minutes. A total of 16 minutes of fun. Man, I can’t believe how hard I faded on those squats. Tabata pushups may be...
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Sifu gave me free reign over the Level I class tonight, so after the standard warmup and some group Gung Ji practice we did some sparring drills. Pad work followed by a few drills and light, controlled sparring. Hoping to whet their appetite for Wednesdays and expand the usual crew who comes to spar.
1 tag
“We are the heirs of inherited characteristics accrued over millions of years,...”
– S. Boyd Eaton
3 tags
Core Training
Standing Wheel Rollouts x 5
Abmat Situps x 20
Bird-dogs x 20
Repeat 5x
3 tags
Swim Intervals
At the Metropolitan Pool today:
400m warm up
200m kick (100 front, 50 left, 50 right)
Intervals - repeat 4x 200 freestyle
50 breaststroke
250m cool down
Total time: 40 minutes. Total distance: 1850m.
I was feeling pretty good today. Still working on getting my form back and focusing on the total immersion techniques I learned last year. The freestyle part of the intervals wasn’t...
2 tags
Kung Fu class
Back in the school for a couple classes tonight. Didn’t go too hard on the guys, but everyone got a good workout. Worked the Level II guys on some weapons for the second class and then practiced the bench a bit afterwards.
Why Swimming is Different - Crossfit Journal →
“[T]he path to swimming improvement is not to make more energy available through training; it’s to waste less energy by improving your stroke.”
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3 tags
Max Strength Training
Started with my patent-pending warmup of 15 burpees/15 sec samson stretch on each leg, repeated 3x. This is the first official strength day of my new program, which is based on the one outlined in Infinite Intensity. I’ll be working on a 2-day split where day 1 is max strength/heavy day and day 2 is explosive/speed strength day.
Heavy day:
Squat
4 x 3 x 290lb
Press
4 x 3 x 145lb
...
2 tags
Kung Fu practice
Since I only got the the school once this week, I needed to get out and do some serious practice. Headed over to the new Washington Park down the block. I warmed up on the fake grass, but it didn’t feel good for rooting my stances, so I did the actual practice on the cement by the swings. Ran through Tiet Sien Kuen to warm up and stoke the furnace, then I ran through the ten tigers and crane...
1 tag
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that...”
– Winston Churchill
3 tags
Tune Up Swim Intervals
Back in the pool like Sister Act 2. Met Dave at the Metropolitan Pool for a gloriously uncrowded swim session:
300m warm up
200m kick (100 front, 50 left, 50 right)
Intervals - repeat 5x 50m freestyle sprint
25m slow breaststroke
300m cool down
Total time: 35 minutes. Total distance: 1175m.
I had a lane to myself the entire time, which was amazing. My stroke needs a lot of work before my...
2 tags
Back in Action
Using this session as a tune-up before I start my next strength cycle. Been dealing with some personal issues that kept me out of the gym and the kwoon for the past few days. 5 quick sets of Cindy to warm up, then got to work:
Squat
3 x 5 x 255lb
Press
3 x 5 x 125lb
Simple pair, repeat 3x:
Weighted Pullups - 5 x 60lb
Weighted Dips - 5 x 60lb
Turkish Get Ups 2 x 3 x 60lb
...
1 tag
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
– Dr. Wayne Dyer