Saturday workout

I've decided to make strength my focus for the next little bit. So, until I come up with a better idea, I plan to use the Art of Strength Resolution series (appropriate for the time of year, yes?) as the basis of my routine. Resolution includes 3 separate 30 minute workouts, and the idea is that as you progress you add volume/density up to a certain point, and then you increase your weights and start over again. Today I did Resolution #2:

round 1:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
5 pullups
5 deadlifts @ 115 lbs

round 2:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
4 pullups
4 deadlifts @ 120 lbs

round 3:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
3 pullups
3 deadlifts @ 125 lbs

round 4:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
2 pullups
2 deadlifts @ 130 lbs

round 5:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
1 pullup
1 deadlift @ 135 lbs

round 6:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
5 pullups (actually, 4 pullups and 1 negative--the flesh is weak!)
1 deadlift @ 135 lbs

round 7:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
4 pullups
2 deadlifts @ 135 lbs

round 8:
KB clean & press ladder, 1, 2, 3 per arm, using a 12 kg bell
3 pullups
1 deadlift @ 135 lbs

Next time I do the workout I'll go for a 9th round, and the time after that a 10th, so the only thing that'll really change will be my rest periods between sets since I'm only supposed to work for 30 minutes. Once I'm up to 10 rounds in 30 minutes I'll be considered "intermediate", at which point I'll add 4 reps per side per round to the clean & press and decrease my number of rounds to as few as 3. Once I can do 6 rounds in 30 minutes at the intermediate level I'll be ready to move on to the advanced level, which (you guessed it) means I will be adding 5 reps per side per round to the clean & press and working my way up to 5 rounds in 30 minutes.

I sort of have a feeling that because of the weights I chose and my general level of muscular endurance I'm going to be able to move through the levels pretty fast. That's okay; it just means I'll be starting over again at the "beginner" level with heavier weights that much sooner. I sort of deliberately decided to err on the side of caution because as I mentioned below, I haven't really been in heavy lifting mode for a while so I want to spend a little while getting my joints conditioned to handle heavy resistance.

Oh, I forgot to mention: I felt like getting in some intervals at the end of the workout so I grabbed my 12 kg bell and did 5 sets of 1 armed swings, 15 per arm, with 25-30 seconds rest between sets. So, about a 2:1 work/rest ratio.

What I'm tentatively planning is doing each of the Resolution workouts once per week on nonconsecutive days, with medicine ball or bodyweight circuits on my off days. I have a Turbulence Training medicine ball workout routine that looks great although I'll have to modify a couple of the exercises because I can't slam a medicine ball in my house and there's not really an appropriate space at the gym either.

In other news, I hit Sports Authority today to get some little fitness-related gifts for a few of my most dedicated long-time clients. I decided on pedometers since one of my mantras as a trainer is that fitness is a lifestyle, not just something you pursue at the gym a couple of times a week. When I tell people they need to be active every day, the first thing they usually say is, "Well, I can't get to the gym every day." As if activity were something that only happens at the gym! Unfortunately, I think that for quite a few of them that's the case ... but if they have pedometers so they can keep track of what they're doing outside the gym they may make more of a conscious effort to incorporate movement into their everyday lives. I'm hoping that'll be the case, anyway.