Flow Drill Friday

Tabata intervals 8x: KB 2-hand swings, 12 kg
5 min: KB renegade row to squat thrust to high pull to snatch to windmill to TGU, alternating sides of the body and working continuously
Tabata intervals 6x: KB 2-hand swings, 12 kg
5 min: KB renegade row to squat thrust to high pull to snatch to windmill to TGU, alternating sides of the body and working continuously
Tabata intervals 4x: KB 2-hand swings, 12 kg
5 min: KB renegade row to squat thrust to high pull to snatch to windmill to TGU, alternating sides of the body and working continuously
Tabata intervals 2x: KB 2-hand swings, 12 kg
5 min: KB renegade row to squat thrust to high pull to snatch to windmill to TGU, alternating sides of the body and working continuously

Working continuously with no breaks except for the 10 second pauses during the tabata intervals, it took me half an hour. I'm not sure why I felt it necessary to point that out, as you all are more than capable of doing the math yourselves.

Oh, and I used 8 kg for the flow drill because I didn't want anything bad to happen to my rear rotator cuffs. I have a lot of range of motion in my shoulders, which is not a bad thing in itself but I don't have quite the strength I need to keep my shoulders stabilized during snatches if I go heavy. I need to work on that.

Quick and dirty

circuit 3x:

12 KB rack squats, 14 kg, no rest
12 box jumps, 18", no rest
30 sec. mountain climbers, 90 sec. rest

circuit 3x:

12 DB thrusters, 15 lbs, no rest
12 squat thrust KB deadlifts, 14 kg, no rest
bodyweight squats to fatigue, 90 sec. rest

I cheated on the bodyweight squats because for some reason I can do these forever and not get all that tired. So I stopped after 50 reps my first two times through the circuit, then went to 100 on my last time through before finally getting too bored to continue. Other than that it was a nice little workout, and I plan to give a modified version of it to a couple of my fat loss clients.

The post below was meant to have text accompanying it ...

but was text necessary, really??

I think I'm getting some insight into what's causing them, though. They definitely seem to be linked to how well I slept the night before. Last night, for instance, I didn't get much sleep--I had trouble drifting off, and I had to wake up at oh-fuck o'clock to get ready for work, and sure enough I've felt awful all day.

I think hormones could be a factor as well, and also stress.

Anyway, no workout happened yesterday for several reasons, the main one being that I had to take poor Moose back to the vet to get checked. She'd been acting odd all weekend, and I was worried she might have a UTI, to which cats with renal failure are highly prone. Turns out there was nothing wrong on that score, but it's still a very good thing I took her in because her kidneys have gotten a lot worse. It's at the point now where we're going to have to start giving her fluids subcutaneously, probably for the rest of her life. Fortunately, this will do a lot to keep her comfortable and prolong her life. Not so fortunately, it means poking kitty with a big needle :( Paul and I are old hands at administering subcutaneous injections to unenthusiastic felines, but it's certainly not our favorite way to spend an evening.

So today I was determined to get in some resistance training in addition to teaching my cycling class. Here's what I did:

KB clean and press ladders, 1, 2, 3 x 14 kg 3x, supersetted with pullup ladders, 1, 2, 3 3x (The way this worked is, I did 1 c&p per side, then 1 pullup. Then without resting I did 2 c&p and 2 pullups, then 3 c&p and 3 pullups. Then I rested for about a minute before repeating the set two more times)

1 leg squats, 3x8 per leg, supersetted with DB flyes, 3x10x20

Chest-supported DB rows, 3x12x25; SB rollouts, 3x8

Kettlebell 1-arm swings, 5x15 per arm, with 30 sec. rest between sets.

I have a couple of new fitness goals. One is to be able to do pullups with a vertical reach. The other is to be able to combine v-ups with a med ball throw. Oh--and hanging v-ups! I want to be able to do those too. These are some of the crazy exercises I'm working on with a client who is a competitive swimmer. He's a sprinter, so we're working on developing his explosive strength and power. The training we're doing is modeled after the dryland program used by the Auburn University swimming team, which I gather is comprised of various Olympians and world record holders. I really enjoy developing functional programs for athletes:)

Migraines suck!

Migraines suck!

The Filthy Fifty

I haven't been able to get this one out of my head since Deb mentioned it on Sandi's blog a couple days ago.

I had to modify some to make it appropriate for my size, gender, fitness level, and availability of equipment, but I did it:

50 18" box jumps (instead of 24")
50 band-assisted pullups (instead of jumping)
50 KB swings with a 12 kg bell (instead of 16 kg)
50 walking lunges
50 hanging leg raises (instead of knees-to-elbows, which I'm too feeble to do; legs were pretty damn bent toward the end, but at least my knees were right up in my armpits and I wasn't swinging wildly)
50 BB push presses with 35 lbs (instead of 45)
50 SB back extensions (instead of regular back extensions)
50 flip & squats with an 8 kg bell (instead of wall ball shots with a 20 lb ball, which would be hell on the drywall)
50 squat thrust pushups (instead of burpee pushups)
50 airborne jumps (instead of double unders, because I tend to trip over myself when I jump rope)

I got it done in a little less than 40 minutes. Not bad for an old lady.

Workout du jour

90 minute ballet class, then later the following:

circuit 3x:
KB rack squat, 10x12 kg
KB 1-arm chest press, 10 per arm x8kg the first 2 sets, 12 kg the 3rd set (shoulder stayed stable, which I was happy about)
KB 1-leg deadlift, 10 per leg x 12 kg
KB 1-arm row, 10 per arm x 12 kg
KB split squat, 10 per leg x 12 kg
KB side press, 10 per arm x 8 kg

circuit 1x:
KB windmill, 10 per side x 8kg
KB pullover crunch, 12 x 8kg
KB Russian twist 12 x 8 kg
plank, arms on ball, 30 sec.

hand to hand swings, 5 x 12 kg x 30 sec., 15 sec. rest between sets

The workout is from a new program I'm trying out called KettleBelleBody. It's an e-book with 6 months' worth of kettlebell and bodyweight programs. The workout comes with an exercise manual that explains pretty well how to do the different exercises so in that regard it's better for kettlebell novices than some of the Art of Strength downloadable workbooks. The program I'm doing right now has 8 workouts. Three are total-body workouts meant to be done once per week on nonconsecutive days; one is strength-focused, one is cardio-focused, and one is core/balance focused. Five are "20 minute blasts," meant to be done a minimum of once per week, although if you like you can do as many as six per week as an add-on to your total-body workouts and/or on your off-days. There's also a yoga flow sequence that can be done as often as you like.

Good news, bad news

The good news is, Paul and I have been talking about taking an honest-to-gosh vacation in early April. We haven't had one in (ulp) nearly 2 years, for a variety of reasons that are too boring to go into here.

The bad news is, if we go in early April it means I have 6 weeks to get myself bikini-ready.

So, time to rein in the eating (blech!) and step up the cardio, excuse me, the energy systems training :)

I shall try to contain my enthusiasm.

Bodyweight Sunday

circuit to warm up, then:

superset: reaching lunges (sort of like 1-leg squat touchdowns, only you reach away with the arms instead of coming straight down), 3x12 per leg; pullups with knee-ups, 3x8

superset: alligator crawls (like bear crawls, but with a pushup in between each rep), 3x10 per side; side plank leg raise, 3x10 per side

tri-set: inchworms, 3x8; x-body mountain climbers, 3x12 per side; stick-ups, 3x12

tabatas:

jump squats, 4x20 sec., paired with running pushups, 4x20 sec.
jump lunges, 4x20 sec., paired with pushup setups, 4x20 sec.
in and out static squat jumps, 4x20 sec., paired with prone jacks with knee-ins, 4x20 sec.

The alligator crawls are weirdly fun--try them!

Yesterday was a dead loss ...

the migraine I've been fighting since Wednesday kicked in bigtime and I ended up spending most of the day horizontal. Blech.

I'm still not feeling fantastic, but definitely better than I was, so managed to get in a workout of sorts:

superset: DB Bulgarian ss, 3x8x20; 1-leg SB curls, 3x12 per leg
superset: DB 1-arm row, 3x8 per arm x 35; pushups with arms on SB, 3x12
superset: DB deep stepups, 3x8 per leg x 20; DB rear delt raises, 3x12x10
circuit 3x: 12 waiters bows, 12 mountain climbers per side, pushups to complete fatigue (I got 30 the first time through the circuit and 25 the second two times), 12 SB jackknifes, 60 jumping jacks, plank with arms on SB, 30 sec.

I'm still feeling a little off ...

and wondering if I might be fighting off some sort of a low-grade something. So, I again opted for a "lighter" workout yesterday.

Bodyweight circuit to warm up, then:

superset: 1 leg squats, 3x8, grasshopper pushups, 3x10 per side (these are like spiderman pushups except that instead of bringing the knee to the elbow you bring the leg out to the side fully extended.)

tri-set: burpees, 3x10; t-pushups, 3x8 per side; side plank, 3x30 sec. per side

tri-set: 1 leg RDL, 3x12; chops, spiderman climb, 3x10 per side; x-body chops, 3x15 per side

intervals: 30 seconds of one exercise, 30 seconds of another, 30 seconds rest 8x. Exercises were mostly ripped off from RC's Get Metabolic workout.

The bodyweight-only chops were kind of interesting. I wasn't expecting to feel much of anything in my core, but what I found is that by clasping one hand over the other, and using the hand on the bottom to resist the downward motion of the hand on top, I actually got a deeper contraction than I generally do when using weight.

WWDD?

Deb, you were my workout inspiration today!

I woke up feeling migrainish and really not wanting to work out. I picked up my kettlebell anyway and started to do the routine I'd planned, and right away I realized it was an inappropriate choice. I thought about not working out at all because I really really wasn't into it, and then I asked myself, what would Deb do?

She would work out, even if she felt low on energy after a long day at a stressful job.

So I looked through my workout file and found a Turbulence Training routine that looked manageable, and I did that.

superset: dumbbell squats, 3x8x35; spiderman pushups, 3x8 per side
superset: incline dumbbell press, 3x8x30; pullups, 3x8
superset: dumbbell RDL, 3x8x35; decline pushups, 3x12
circuit 3x: 15 y-squats; 12 mountain climbers per side; 8 decline pushups; 6 1-leg RDLs per side; 8 burpees, 8 squat thrusts

It felt challenging but appropriate: nothing too technically demanding, so minimal risk of injury. I like having some workouts like this in my repertoire for days when I'm feeling a little off.

Monday Monday

This is another one of the workouts I'm planning to give my buddy S.

Bodyweight circuit to warm up, then:

superset: bulgarian split squat with DB curl to press, 3x12x12; SB jackknife, 3x20
superset: DB RDL, 3x10x30; elevated pushups, 3x12 per side
superset: DB rows, 3x15x25; SB leg curls, 3x20

unpleasantness:
20 seconds bodyweight squats/10 sec. squat hold 8x
20 seconds pushups/10 seconds plank hold 4x
20 seconds plank hold/10 seconds side plank hold 8x
20 seconds overhead lunges/10 seconds t-pushups 4x

I'm not sure how I feel about this one to be honest. I might tweak it some before I give it to S.

3 pull-ups 10 decline pushups 30 swings

That was today's fun. The challenge I set myself was to get 10 rounds in less than 20 minutes. I made it, but barely. I used 14 kg for all 30 swings, and the decline was high-ish--24 inches or so. So anyway, all told I did 30 pullups, 100 decline pushups and 300 swings in just under 20 minutes.

Then I did some tabatas, using the exercises from RC's Get Metabolic workout:

2x: in and out jump squat/prone cross toe/split jack/1-leg burpee
2x: mountain climber/jump squat/inchworm/spiderman climb
2x: over-under/5-dot drill/bicycle crunch/explosive step-up
2x: skiers on SB/lateral step-out/SB alternating step-off/jump lunge

This just about worked, but I'd want to modify for a client because I think most of my people would have trouble with the quick transitions on and off the ball. It was fun, though.

Today I really should've gone for a run and done yoga ...

but instead I did the following:

KB complex 5x:

15 hand to hand swings, 20 hand to hand drops, 30 sec. figure 8, 20 tactical lunges, 10 clean & press to windmill each side

The c&p to windmill really limited the amount of weight I could use. I stuck with 8 kg and it felt about right. Each round of the complex took a little over 3 minutes to get through, so with rest that part of the workout took about 20 minutes.

Then I did heavy Turkish getups for 5 minutes. I despise these, but I can't avoid them. I really need to practice my snatches as well. I'm thinking 1, 2, 3, ladders with heavy weight, not going too fast so I can really get the form down.

Achy breaky Friday

This morning I did the second workout in the program I created for my client S. Dude doesn't know what he's gotten himself into!

After warming up with a circuit of bodyweight exercises and joint mobility moves I did the following:

specific warmup:

3 pistol squats supersetted with 5 pushups, hands on bench and feet on ball

superset: pistol squats, 3x8 per leg; pushups, hands on bench and feet on ball, 3x15

superset: overhead kettlebell squats, 3x8 per sidex10 kg; 1-arm kb rows, 3x20x10kg

tri-set: superplanks, 3x10; SB prone skiers, 3x10 per side; side planks, 3x 1 per side x 45 sec.

circuit 2x, no rest:

20 kb swings (14 kg)
pushups, AMRAP in 60 sec.
20 kb swings (14 kg)
bodyweight squats, AMRAP in 60 sec.
20 kb swings (14 kg)
mountain climbers, AMRAP in 60 sec.
20 kb swings (14 kg)
alternating front lunges, AMRAP in 60 sec.

I did that first thing in the morning, then trained some clients. Had a cancellation at 10 am so checked out a Zumba class. It was a hoot! I've never done much salsa dancing, and lately I haven't even been doing jazz so my hips don't get much swivel practice!

It's actually not a bad workout, though I have a feeling some of the steps might cause knee stress in some exercisers. I think it'd be fine for most people, but for anyone with a predisposition to have pain in the knees I'd be a little concerned about all the time spent in a slight pigeon-toed stance, with the knees flexed and buckling inward. Still, if you know that's an issue for you it's easy enough to modify even if it means you're not doing an authentic merengue.

Puke-it-up Wednesday

First I warmed up with some general bodyweight exercises. Then I did a specific warmup consisting of 2 pullups and 6 dumbbell bench presses with 25 lbs. Then the fun began:

superset: pull-ups with kneeups/kneeups, 3x4 pullups with kneeups, followed by 4-6 kneeups only (the program called for 8 pullups with kneeups but I'm not that strong yet); db bench press, 3x8x35

superset: db reverse lunge, 3x8x30, decline spiderman pushups, 3x12

tri-set: hanging leg raise, 3x8; SB rollout, 3x10; plank with arms on ball and feet on bench, 3x30 sec.

tabata 2x: jump lunges/pushup setups/in and out jump squats/prone cross-toe/jump squats/running pushups/tuck jumps/inchworms

I'd been planning to do at least three rounds of the tabata, but after 2 times through I felt very ready to stop. I still had 90 minutes of ballet ahead of me, and we've been doing more jumps and turns lately so I didn't want to fry my legs too much.

Thought for the day: even good legs tend to look like boudin blanc when stuffed into pale pink tights.

RKC Tuesday

This was supposed to be the same as last Friday's workout, but on my last set someone was hogging the pullup bar so I had to improvise

Rounds 1 & 2 looked like this:

1 KB c&p each side, 30 lbs, 1 pullup, no rest
2 KB c&p each side, 30 lbs, 2 pullups, no rest
3 KB c&p each side, 30 lbs, 3 pullups, rest 1-2 min

Round 3:
KB c&p 3, 2, 1 reverse ladder
4 pullups
2 KB c&p each side
2 pullups
1 KB c&p each side
1 pullup

25 kb swings with 30 lbs, rest 10 seconds, repeat until 6 minutes is up.

Then I taught my cycling class.

Lower body Monday

superset: BB back squats, 5x115, 5x120, 5x125, 5x130, 5x135; 1-leg RDL, 5x5x 2 30 lb kbs

superset: box jumps, 5x5x20"; low bb front squats, 5x10x45

unpleasantness: 20 sec. jump squats, 20 sec bodyweight squats, 20 sec. squat hold, repeat a total of 3 times without resting.

30 min. elliptical

I'm not sure how "clean" this is, but ...

I just fixed myself a chai hot chocolate, and for fake food it was pretty yummy:

mix 1/2 cup skim milk and 1/2 cup water and heat to boiling, then add a chai tea bag and let brew for at least a minute. Remove the tea bag and stir in an envelope of sugar free fat free hot chocolate (the 25 calorie kind), and voila!

Gratuitous cuteness

I'm not quite sure what this photo has to do with health and wellness and getting super ripped and all that good stuff, but it's too darned cute not to share.

"Christian Thibaudeax can bite me" Sunday

Alternating sets:

BB flat bench press: 90x5, 100x1, 95x5, 105x2 (woot!), 85x10
pullups: BWx5, BW+10x1, BWx5, BW+15x1, band assistedx12

KB complex, 5x12 kg: 10 swings, 5 clean & press each side, 10-15 hand to hand sumo deads, 5 high pulls each side, 5 overhead full squats each side, 10 hand to hand swings

Each round of the complex took about 3 minutes to complete, so with a 1 minute rest between rounds I had a nice little 20 minute metabolic conditioning routine.

I think I like this combination of heavy resistance and metabolic work.