Monday, March 16, 2009

Meathead Monday Musings

Boy, did I feel like a meathead doing this one!

bodyweight circuit to warm up, then:

Deadlifts, 1x6x75 (warm-up), 3x12x115

Superset: BB lunges, 2x8x65; cable crunches, 2x8x???

Superset: DB RDL, 2x8x35's; x-body mountain climbers, 2x12 per side

Superset: BB reverse curls, 2x10x35; DB calf raises, 2x15x 35's

Leg matrix: 24 squats, 12 alt-leg lunges each leg, 12 plyo lunges each leg, 24 jump squats

countdown from 10: plyo pushups and jump squats (this is the one where you do 10 of each, then 9 of each, then 8 of each, and so on all the way down to 1, resting as little as possible between sets)

I didn't really care for this workout, to be honest. The straight set of 12 deadlifts in the beginning just seemed weird to me, particularly since the program called for a full 2 minutes rest between sets. To me straight sets with long rests mean I should be trying to go heavy, but how heavy can you go on a set of 12? 4-5 sets of 4-8 reps would make more sense to me. Also, the deads were supposed to be snatch-grip, which means that if you're me at least you really can't use much weight without weirdness happening in the shoulders. I don't dislike snatch-grip deads, but I put them in the same category as overhead squats, ie, I think of them as being more about balance and core stabilization than about moving massive amounts of iron. So, anyway, I ended up doing sumo deads, which I can go heavy on, but not if I'm doing a set of 12 because my grip gives out toward the end.

So, anyway, I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do about this workout. I think I might make it a little more like Workout B, where the first set of squats is supersetted with another exercise, and the rep scheme varies. I'm thinking side plank rear delt raises would be an interesting exercise to pair with the snatch grip deads.

Tomorrow is an active rest day. I'll be teaching spinning for sure, and might do some bodyweight or kettlebell stuff in addition if the spirit moves me, but it may not.