Some PR's!

I just finished m deload weak on the four major lifts, so nothing really impressive to talk about or list there. However, I did three days ago, get a one-arm chin-up (palm facing) with my right arm (I had a shit ton of energy). Also, after weeks of being able to one-arm press approx. 6o lbs. and a solid month of slowly and gradually building my two-arm barbell overhead pressing strength, I pressed the two-pood kettlebell yesterday with relative ease. I could possibly go for reps with this my the end of July. Funny as it is though, with all of this strength, the shorter workouts, the more energy, my muscles have become smaller and I have dropped weight. Must be all the natural movement stuff. Feeling good.

Time..., Priorities?

Wednesday 06/24/09

Where does the time go? I have become extremely busy lately with way too much going on and my priorities seem to be out of whack. With the addition of my third class, which started about a month later than the other two and therefore is an accelerated course, things have become a little more chaotic. Some days I'm able to schedule and prioritize better, but not lately. Here though, is my official plan. Please, don't laugh; this plan does include some other... extracurricular activities that most definitely have to fit into my day. Below will be my day (depending on where I'm at or where I coming from in the morning) and how I would like it to pan out. The schedule, with all other things in life is subject to change and not stay on course.

Days that I wake up at home:

0530-0700 Usually wake up at this time and drink two big-ass mugs of only the finest coffee, watch some news and do some intermittent studying.

0700/0730-0800/0830 Walk/run Yogi

0830-0900 Workout

0930 Breakfast

1000-1230 Study, read, online course work, etc. EVERYTHING SCHOOL RELATED!

1230-1300 Lunch

1330-1400 Drive to beach and surf

1400-1500 Surf

1600-1800 Study again

1800-2000 Although since 1600 my wife has been home, telling me about her day and asking me about mine with a host of other "womanly" questions that I still don't really have the answers for, this time is complete devotion to her and the pup. Helping with dinner, drinking wine, eating dinner and probably watching some comedy, listening to some music... or watching some Bill O' Reily.

2100-2200/maybe 2300- Intermittent studying, trying reorganize and make sure I'm on track for the next day.

2300 Sleep...

Days that I wake up and go to the station:

0530 Wake up

0530-07000 Drink lots of coffee, maybe study, but probably watch a lethal combination of local news, Fox news, Univision music videos, Gala programming or some DVR'd HDNET fights or WEC Wreckage, make food for the day, get work related stuff ready, etc.

0700-0730 Leave for work.

0800-0800 (The next day, 24hours) Run calls, train, MAKE TIME TO STUDY, possibly get a short workout in, and make more time for more studying. Hopefully I get good sleep on these night, but not always and not likely, especially if I'm on rescue. Not cool.

Days that I wake up at the station:

0600-0700 Wake up

0700-0800 Drink lots of coffee, wash trucks (maybe) and bullshit with my boys (the crew, the A-team, the 12/9 Dream Team)

0800 Eat breakfast at station or in the car on my way to the surf spot.

0830/0900-1200 Surf

1230-1300 Workout

1330 Lunch

1400-1800 Study

1800-2000 Family devotion time

2000-2300 More studying.

2300- Sleep...

Well, there it is... my plan that I really need to try and adhere to. The time really is there, it's just a matter of cutting out the bullshit. The bullshit for me you might ask? Well, anything conventional, i.e. T.V., video games (I don't play these anyway), too much internet surfing (my weakness), long and arduous time-consuming workouts (simply not needed) and any other mind-numbing, media driven time wasters. My life revolves around me DOING GOOD and completing school (short term: nurse prereqs., mid term: R.N., mid/long-term: BSN, long term: CRNA.), not being selfish and allowing my dog to get some exercise, as well as teaching my wife, getting myself some good quality exercise (minimal time, minimal movements, minimal equipment, all natural, super fucking heavy and super fucking fast) all geared towards allowing me to complete my education so I can love what I do and get paid a shitload of money for it and with the workouts designed to get me that much better at surfing and having fun enjoying activities that I love to do.

On a side note, I'm still kicking ass on the 5/3/1 program. I can feel that I am getting strong as fuck and I like how I'm incorporating the O'lifts into the mix. I hope it is not a fluke, but the way I've felt over the pat couple of days and the energy that I've had have been amazing. I hope it continues right on.

Wednesday 06/17/09

Rest day, at work

Thursday 06/18/09

Warm-up

Back squat, can't remember what my sets and reps were. Then, I went to the lifeguard competition, fun stuff, and then drank beer afterwards, even more good stuff.

Friday 06/19/09

Kick box: 12x3 minute rounds with one minute rest between rounds.

Saturday 06/20/09

Rest day, at work. Lots of studying and lots of work completed. Took a long nap.

Father's Day, Sunday 06/21/09

Walk and sprint with Yogi for about one hour

Warm-up, played around with handstands, levers, etc.

Workout: Deadlift: 5 reps, 3 reps, max reps. I can't remember all the reps, but I know I pulled 320lbs. 7 times, fairly easily.

Monday 06/22/09

Walk and sprint with Yogi for about one hour

Warm-up

Workout: Deload week: Overhead presses, 3 sets of 5 reps of a rather light weight.

Front lever pull-ups: 3x5

Tuck planche holds: 10x6 seconds

Played around with flags and handstands

Tuesday 06/23/09

At work

Warm-up

Workout: Clean and Jerks: 1x5 at 115lbs. 1x5 at 135lbs. 1x5 at 155lbs. Felt great

Bench press: 5,3, and max reps: 1x5 at 145lbs. 1x3 at 160lbs. 1x11 at 180lbs.

Later in the evening we did Marine Rescue training from about 1900-2200. Nothing life paddling and swimming in the ocean at night. Awesome.

Wednesday 06/24/09

Rest day but, paddled on the paddleboard for over an hour and for probably a couple of miles.

Behind on posting

Tuesday 6/16/09

I've been behind on the postings for almost two weeks now. Sucks. Anyway, the workouts have coming along quite well. I'm still working on the 5/3/1 program but with my own "primal" modifications. On days that I bench press, I'm adding full squat clean and jerks (1RM is 205lbs.). On days that I overhead press I will be doing power cleans (1RM is also 205lbs.) and deadlifting days and squat days I may try to incorporate some full snatch and power snatch movements respectively. Other than those basic heavy compound fully body movement lifts, I am working on skills and sprints. I am keeping things extremely simple (down to the bare bones if you will). I have found this natural and "primal" way to workout (if you want to call it that) so refreshing. I have ton more energy to do all the other things in life that I really like to spend time doing. I will be taking tomorrow off while at work to hopefully get school work done for the rest of the week and to get ready for a beach flags competition on Thursday. We'll see how that goes.

Thursday 6/4/09

CFWU X 3 with modifications

Skills: handstands, press-to-handstands, L-sit-to-press-to-handstands, L-sits: 8x8 seconds, tuck back levers: 8x8 seconds.

Workout: Adv. front tuck levers: 8x8 seconds/PPPU's with feet on wall: 5x3

Back squats: warm-ups sets: 1x5 with 45lb. bar, 1x5 at 135lbs. work sets: 1x5 at 165lbs.(65%), 1x5 at 190lbs.(75%), 1x17 (max reps) at 215lbs. (85%)

Weighted pull-ups: 1x5 at 50lbs. 1x3 at 80lbs., 1x2 at 100lbs.

FROM HSPU's: 3X4

Workout was a little lengthy today. I'll see how my legs feel tomorrow from all the squats.

The beginning of 5/3/1

Saturday 05/30/09

At work at the station but worked on finding my max bench press, only 215lbs. not very good.

Sunday 05/31/09

CFWU X 3

Skills: handstands, L-sits on the rings, flags for about 30 minutes.

Workout: Deadlift: warm-ups sets: 1x5 at 135lbs., work sets: 1x1 at 225lbs., 1x1 at 295lbs. 1x1 at 335lbs. 1x1 at 350lbs., 1x1 at 365lbs. 1x1 at 380lbs. (match PR)

I was simply trying to find my 1RM for the deadlift so I can start a new program. Even with a long layoff from deadlifts, I still matched my personal best. Unbelievable.

Went out with friends to the beach and bar. Got really drunk and ate lots of pizza and chocolate..., come to think of it, a good recovery meal!

Monday 6/1/09

CFWU X 3

Skill work: very minor skill work today with just trying to feel the movement of the planche, practiced rocking from feet to hands and trying to squeeze my traps, lats, pecs and deltoids as I lean as far forward as I can possibly comfortably manage, without falling. Wasn't too comfortable, the planche isn't supposed to be.

Went to the park and practiced some short sprints, muscle-ups, levers, skin the cats for about 45 minutes.

Tuesday 6/2/09

Rest day, at work

Vehicle extrication for Spec Ops, was in and out of bunker gear for about 2.5 hours sweating my ass off carrying and manipulating various pieces of heavy equipment simulating cutting entrapped victims out of automobiles. Intensive training, good stuff.

Wednesday 6/3/09

Ah, so the program begins, or re-begins. With a much needed layoff (I feel) I am back (hopefully for good) full throttle into the strength and power stuff again. I'm following Wenler's 5/3/1 program centered around the 4 big lifts: the overhead press, the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. I took all last week finding my current maxes for each. Today, I started with the press. Of course, the program discusses assistance exercises and such, but I have my own for that. Because the program only requires one lift a day (beautiful) I have so much time for my gymnastic skills and strength moves and some other O'lifts.

I am going to create a template for the different workouts I'm going to be doing. ALL workouts will begin with a warm-up, probably the official crossfit warm-up because it utilizes the most muscle groups through a full range of motion and gets a good sweat going. Warming up is so key, I believe that all of the injuries that I have sustained have been to inefficient warming up. Next will ALWAYS follow skill work. Skill work should be done when fresh so the body does not create bad habits. For instance handstand are part of my skill work. Why would I put them at the end when fatigued from a workout when form will only be sloppy and sub par? After the skill work, the workout begins. It will usually be a planche/front lever static or dynamc, then I will move onto an O'lift such as the clean and jerk or snatch, then one of the BIG lifts (full body compound movement) then the remaining assistance exercises, i.e. RTO dips, weighted dips, OAC/OAP, weighted pull-ups, HSPU's PPPU's, one-arm push-ups, body rows, etc. All workouts will finish with stretching and/or cool down. Today's workout for instance will be called A1 and went as follows:

CFWU X 3 - 25 minutes (a little lengthy today)

Skill work - 20 minutes: handstands and press to handstands on parallettes and ground, flags (side levers) rotating right and left sides.

Workout: Tuck planche holds: 10x6 seconds/Adv. front tuck lever PU's: 2x5, 3x3

Power cleans: warm-ups sets: 1x5 at 115lbs. 1x5 at 135lbs., work sets: 1x5 at 155lbs. 1x5 at 165lbs. 1x5 at 170lbs.

Overhead press: 1x5 at 95lbs. (65%), 1x5 at 110lbs.(75%), 1x8 at 125lbs. (85%)

OAC/OAP: 3x2 each arm, assisted with alternate arm and two fingers offset on the bar, slow negative comedowns

RTO dips: 3x3

Stretch/cool down.