Last workout of 2008

Resolution II:

I'm on to the intermediate level :)

So:

KB clean and press ladder: 1, 2, 3, 4 x 12 kg
Pullups: 5
Deadlift: 5x115

That was round 1. Rounds 2-5 were just like that, except that I decreased the number of pullups and deadlifts by 1 each round, and added 5 lbs to my deadlift each round. If I'd gone a sixth round I would've been back to 5 pullups but still only one deadlift at 135 lbs, and I wasn't sure I could do the five pullups. Also, I think I want to give my body a little more time to get used to the higher volume on the clean & press ladders. My elbows are basically pretty healthy for an athlete in her mid forties, but at the same time I don't feel as though I can take them for granted, KWIM? I don't have tendinitis yet, but I can totally see the potential for getting it if I add weight and volume too quickly.

Since I had a little time left I tacked on another 12 days workout:

med ball carioca there, shuffle back (I reversed the order on these every other round in the interests of not being lopsided)
Add on: 2 med ball burpees
Add on: 3 med ball pushups (like diamond pushups but with hands on the ball)
Add on: 4 med ball jump squats
Add on: 5 med ball leg curls
Add on: 6 med ball plank rollouts
Add on: 7 med ball decline pushups
Add on: 8 med ball jump lunges (total, not per side--I was feeling lazy :))
Add on: 9 med ball prone tucks
Add on: 10 med ball swings
Add on: 11 (per side) spiderman climbs , hands on the med ball
Add on: 12 (per side) med ball twisty v-sit thingies ( I forget the proper name for these)

I used a 10 lb med ball, and it was a total sweatfest. I sort of made it up as I was going along, so if I had it to do over again I probably would change some things. Still, it was a nice little add on and kind of fun except when it wasn't.

Resolution I

This is the one with the clean and press and the swings. I made it to ten rounds last time I did the workout, so I was due to up my weights.

For the barbell press this time I went to 70 lbs (from 60) and for the swings I went to 30 (from 12 kg). I only had about 20 minutes between clients to work, but still managed to get in 6 rounds at those weights. I think I could've gotten a 7th and maybe an 8th if I'd had the full 30 minutes to work. But maybe not.

So, I cleaned and pressed 2100 lbs, and swung 54,000, for a total of 75,000 lbs moved in about 20 minutes. Not bad.

Noooo! Not another 12 days of fitness ladder!!

Yep. 'Fraid so.

Round 1: walking lunges there, bear crawls back (about 10 yards each way)
Round 2: see above, plus 2 pullups
Round 3: see above, plus 3 burpees
Round 4: see above, plus 4 plyo lunges each leg
Round 5: see above, plus 5 pike pushups
Round 6: see above, plus 6 skater hops
Round 7: see above, plus 7 mountain climbers each side
Round 8: see above, plus 8 spiderman pushups
Round 9: see above, plus 9 star jumps
Round 10: see above, plus 10 prone jacks
Round 11: see above, plus 11 bicycle crunches each side
Round 12: see above, plus 12 T pushups

They were all good pullups too. From a dead hang, chin up over the top of the bar, all that :)

Go, me.

Resolution III

I've already posted what this workout consists of, so won't bore you with the details. I completed 10 rounds in under 30 minutes, so next time I do the workout I'll be moving up to the intermediate level. My weights won't change, but when I do the clean & press ladders I'll be doing 1, 2, 3, 4 instead of just 1, 2, 3.

My pullups were pretty strong today, for me, and I'm very happy about that. One of my fitness goals for 2009 is to be able to do a set of 10 perfect pullups. Today I did a total of 30.

Yesterday was meant to be a rest day but I was feeling a little guilty about having overeaten on Christmas so I did supersets of Turkish getups and swings. I started with 1 rep per side of the TGU, then went to 30 swings. Second set I did two getups per side and 30 swings. Third set I did three getups per side, then 30 swings. And then I started over again at 1. I kept my rest periods short--about 15 seconds or so--so I was done in under 20 minutes. It was actually a nice little workout.

On Christmas Day I did a fairly horrible medicine ball circuit using a 10 lb ball. Lots of woodchoppers, bizarre pushup and prone tuck variations with my feet on the ball, and even more bizarre mountain climber and plank variations with my hands or forearms on the ball.

I'm still feeling the lack of a panda to assist me in my workouts.

I have a pullup bar but no panda ...

so no assisted pullups for me today :(

Instead I did Resolution #3:

Round 1:
BB deads from floor: 5x135
BB clean & press: 5x65
DB farmer's walk: 30 yards approx., holding 35s
KB swings, mixed: 20x12 kg

The four rounds after that were the same as round 1, except I added 5 lbs to my deadlift and did 1 fewer rep. Reps and poundages on the other three exercises stayed the same. So, on my last set I was deadlifting 155. Barely got it off the ground; in fact, I missed my first attempt. I truly could not have gone heavier on the deadlifts and c&p, and it took me just about half an hour to get in my 5 rounds, so I was just where I need to be poundage-wise.

Also, if your kettlebells happen to be from PerformBetter, there's a nifty new product that's basically like a Platemate, only it screws into the bottom of the bell. It's 2 kg, which is brilliant for those of us who find it a bit of a struggle to increase our weights 4 kg at a time.

PerformBetter is a great source for exercise equipment. Not perfect, though.

No pandas :(

Assisted pullups, panda-style

If you've got a pullup bar and a panda, give it a shot!

3000 lbs

That's how much weight I cleaned and pressed today :)

10 sets of 5 reps, with a barbell loaded at 60 lbs.

Supersetted with 10 sets of 30 mixed KB swings with a 12 kg bell.

In slightly less than 30 minutes.

I am strong. I am invincible. I am fucking nuts.

This workout, btw, is Resolution #1. Next time I do it I need to up my weights since I got to 10 sets.

Yesterday's workout was a fun little thing involving a 10 lb medicine ball:

Superset: lateral lunge chop, 3x12 per side; one arm squat press, 3x8 per side

Superset: 1-leg pistol squats, 3x5 per side; elevated pushups, 3x12 per side

Superset: 1'leg hip extensions, 3x15 per side; McGill crunches, 3x10 per side

Tri-set: TRX rows, 3x15 (these were supposed to be body rows with feet on the ball, but those were so not happening); prone tucks, 3x12; rollout planks, 3x10

Burpees, 5x10. What made these special was, as I did the jump I tossed the medicine ball up, then caught it on the descent, dropping into a low squat. From there I set the ball down, did the squat thrust back, lowered my chest to the ball, then reversed the motion. There's something about catching the ball as you sink into the squat that I really like. Call me a disciple of Sacher-Masoch if you will. :)