How easy it is to fall back in to old ways. Going over some of my older blog posts, I'm cringing at some (if not most) of the stuff that I have written. I wonder if writing is like seeing and hearing oneself on camera? Everyone is their own worst critic I assume. With that, I am revising (once again) the way I write and what I write on. By nature, I'm a rambler and, I'm loud. I have attempted to rectify this but to no avail. Maybe, by writing here and paying better attention to my tone and maturity, I can better choose my words, decibel level, and writing style.
What I'd like to discuss today is information. Going back to my opening statement of today's post about falling back in to old ways, I believe that I do this simply because of too much information. This morning, while reviewing my posts over the past few years, it's fairly obvious when I am getting too much information. My posts become more infrequent and my workouts (which constitutes most of this blog anyway) become more voluminous and frequent. This is where and when I started to regress.
A year ago, I apparently had most things dialed in. I was working out very infrequently and random, doing mostly sprints and bodyweight stuff outdoors and walking a lot. I was much lighter, !54lbs. but stronger, faster and more energetic. Over the course of a year, without realizing it or better yet, blindly implementing various protocols back into my regimen (due to seeking too much information), my weight is back up approximately 20lbs. at 172-173lbs., slightly overtrained, sore most of the time and stiff. I really haven't gotten any stronger or faster and once again seeking more information to "show me the way." What's bad is that I know better. I got to where I was last year because I made the conscious decision to follow no one and to do my own thing. I did what felt good and what I felt was right. What happened? What I believe happened is that I for one reason or another, I wasn't satisfied. As humans, we're never satisfied. We always want/think we need more. More weights, better programming, better equipment, perfect diet, etc. I spend a lot of my time researching and surfing the net and other peoples blogs for different kinds of workouts, routines and regimens. I'll admit, I'm addicted. I love the science. I am fascinated with the human body and I love to read studies and peoples opinions on the subject. But, sometimes I(we) overdo it and either nothing gets done or too much gets done and, there is a fine line. I've once again crossed it. I have not been mindful. Most people, I think, probably are not very mindful while going about their day.
We rely too much on other people, the media, facebook, co-workers, friends, family etc, for approval and/or to dictate our actions and thoughts. I have fallen victim to this and hate to admit that I'm not exempt. What I have found though, is that when I let go of all the clutter and reliance on others, my mind becomes clear and my body follow suit. Letting go however, is hard to do. There's a reason why the saying is termed "the downward spiral" and not "the upward spiral." It's so easy to fall and keep falling but pulling yourself out takes hard work. How do we pull ourselves out? By being mindful. By being consciously aware of our thoughts, our mind and body and by minimizing the outside noise (the clutter). Every waking second we are faced with loads of (mainly) useless information that take over our lives and do the thinking for us. For me, it's the reading of everybody else's blogs, websites, and articles and the lack of trust in my own thoughts, experience, or writing/reading style.
It's funny to see all the folks out there who deem themselves "experts or gurus" who basically just regurgitate information from someone else. I often times think to my self "Why am I not writing and charging for this stuff?" I've been in the game for a long time as it pertains to exercise and diet. I know what works. However, like a lot of people, I become influenced by other and lose my way. That ends here. Today. I hope that it will end for you to. I am all for reading and researching various material and there are certainly a few people out there who I think probably have "it" dialed in. But none of us really knows what goes on behind the scenes of anyone's life. "Their" way may not be "your" way and, most likely isn't.
There has never been a program from someone else that has worked for me for any substantial length of time. It is blatantly obvious that what I was doing roughly a year ago was brutally effective and brutally basic. I ran fast, I jumped high, I did push-ups, pull-ups, dips and, most importantly, I appeared to be having fun. I looked awesome and felt awesome. Why did I go away from this? I now know. Damn, what a waste of time to research what "everybody else and all the experts" were doing. I'm going back to my way. You should do the same. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Iron/bodyweight combo
Sunday 2/13/11
Quick little workout with the fellas at work the other day.
Workout:
One-leg squats: 1x5 @ bodyweight, 1x5 at 35lbs., 1x5 @ 45lbs., 1x3 @ 75lbs.
One-arm only incline dumbbell bench press: 1x5 @ 55lbs., 1x5 @ 65lbs., 1x3 @ 75lbs., (two-arm dumbbell press): 1x5 @ 60lbs.
Assisted one-arm chins/pulls: 3x3
Assisted one-arm push-ups: 3x5
Quick little workout with the fellas at work the other day.
Workout:
One-leg squats: 1x5 @ bodyweight, 1x5 at 35lbs., 1x5 @ 45lbs., 1x3 @ 75lbs.
One-arm only incline dumbbell bench press: 1x5 @ 55lbs., 1x5 @ 65lbs., 1x3 @ 75lbs., (two-arm dumbbell press): 1x5 @ 60lbs.
Assisted one-arm chins/pulls: 3x3
Assisted one-arm push-ups: 3x5
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday morning workout
Sunday 2/6/11
Workout:
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 135lbs., 1x5 @ 185lbs., 1x3 @ 245lbs., 1x3 @ 295lbs., 1x3 @ 315lbs., 1x2 @ 335lbs.
One-arm dumbbell press: 1x5 @ 50lbs. 1x5 @ 55lbs., 1x3 @ 60lbs., 1x3 @ 70lbs., 1x3 @ 80lbs., 1x3 @ 90lbs.,
Weighted chins: 1x5 @ 50lbs., 1x3 @ 70lbs., 1x3 @ 90lbs.
Overhead dumbbell press: 1x5 @ 35lbs., 1x5 @ 45lbs., 1x3 @ 55lbs., 1x3 @ 65lbs.
Standing ab wheel rollouts: two arm and one arm.
Played around with some handstands, levers and one arm push ups. Was able to get a one arm push up with each arm. I may try and play around with skills more often. Workouts are geared towards heavy lifting and strength to keep joints, etc protected when sprinting.
Workout:
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 135lbs., 1x5 @ 185lbs., 1x3 @ 245lbs., 1x3 @ 295lbs., 1x3 @ 315lbs., 1x2 @ 335lbs.
One-arm dumbbell press: 1x5 @ 50lbs. 1x5 @ 55lbs., 1x3 @ 60lbs., 1x3 @ 70lbs., 1x3 @ 80lbs., 1x3 @ 90lbs.,
Weighted chins: 1x5 @ 50lbs., 1x3 @ 70lbs., 1x3 @ 90lbs.
Overhead dumbbell press: 1x5 @ 35lbs., 1x5 @ 45lbs., 1x3 @ 55lbs., 1x3 @ 65lbs.
Standing ab wheel rollouts: two arm and one arm.
Played around with some handstands, levers and one arm push ups. Was able to get a one arm push up with each arm. I may try and play around with skills more often. Workouts are geared towards heavy lifting and strength to keep joints, etc protected when sprinting.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
HIT Workout 3
Saturday 1/28/11
Workout:
Dips: Down 4 sec., up 4 sec., Time Under Load (TUL) about one minute.
Front Squats @ 185lbs.: approx. 4-5 seconds down 4-5 seconds up. The weight was too heavy and I did not go to failure due to grip failing first. I didn't like these.
Close grip pull-ups: 4 seconds up, 4 seconds down, TUL about one minute.
FROM (full range of motion) push-ups with feet elevated on bench and hands on chairs: 4-5 seconds down, 4-5 seconds up, TUL about one minute.
Cable rows & approx. 50-60 lbs.??, 5 seconds concentric, 5 sec. eccentric, TUL about 90 seconds.
Sunday 1/29/11
Sprints with my wife and dog after a walk. I don't know how many I did but, the distance was varied and I was winded multiple times.
Wednesday 2/2/11
12 x 3 minute rounds of every other round being boxing and jumping rope. Very intense but very "cardio-like."
Some thoughts and observations. First, I've gotten way too "jacked" from the HIT stuff and, what I appear to believe is a lack of activity throughout the day/week. My bodyweight last year at this exact time was 154lbs. Today, I am close to 180lbs. The one day of HIT I did this past Saturday had me so pumped and nauseated I don't know what's going on. I am starting to believe that I am in fact a genetic freak and can pretty much just look at weights and get big and strong. On a related note, today I did some "kinda intervals" which turned into more of a cardio session. Again with this workout, I became supremely jacked. Later in the day I also noticed that I was ravenous for shitty carbs and sweets. Cardio certainly increases one's appetite. So, what to do? After looking at my workouts and diet from about a year ago, I was certainly eating a lot less during the day; more salads with some meat, some nuts and eggs. My workouts were mores sporadic and involved more sprinting, bodyweight stuff and tossing kettlebells around. Also, I was walking a lot, something that I'm still doing a fair amount of. I plan to cut completely out the cardio stuff which (I haven't done much of anyway) and cut back the HIT stuff (getting too big) I will try and keep updating as this now has become my little experiment to see why not "one way" works for everybody.
Workout:
Dips: Down 4 sec., up 4 sec., Time Under Load (TUL) about one minute.
Front Squats @ 185lbs.: approx. 4-5 seconds down 4-5 seconds up. The weight was too heavy and I did not go to failure due to grip failing first. I didn't like these.
Close grip pull-ups: 4 seconds up, 4 seconds down, TUL about one minute.
FROM (full range of motion) push-ups with feet elevated on bench and hands on chairs: 4-5 seconds down, 4-5 seconds up, TUL about one minute.
Cable rows & approx. 50-60 lbs.??, 5 seconds concentric, 5 sec. eccentric, TUL about 90 seconds.
Sunday 1/29/11
Sprints with my wife and dog after a walk. I don't know how many I did but, the distance was varied and I was winded multiple times.
Wednesday 2/2/11
12 x 3 minute rounds of every other round being boxing and jumping rope. Very intense but very "cardio-like."
Some thoughts and observations. First, I've gotten way too "jacked" from the HIT stuff and, what I appear to believe is a lack of activity throughout the day/week. My bodyweight last year at this exact time was 154lbs. Today, I am close to 180lbs. The one day of HIT I did this past Saturday had me so pumped and nauseated I don't know what's going on. I am starting to believe that I am in fact a genetic freak and can pretty much just look at weights and get big and strong. On a related note, today I did some "kinda intervals" which turned into more of a cardio session. Again with this workout, I became supremely jacked. Later in the day I also noticed that I was ravenous for shitty carbs and sweets. Cardio certainly increases one's appetite. So, what to do? After looking at my workouts and diet from about a year ago, I was certainly eating a lot less during the day; more salads with some meat, some nuts and eggs. My workouts were mores sporadic and involved more sprinting, bodyweight stuff and tossing kettlebells around. Also, I was walking a lot, something that I'm still doing a fair amount of. I plan to cut completely out the cardio stuff which (I haven't done much of anyway) and cut back the HIT stuff (getting too big) I will try and keep updating as this now has become my little experiment to see why not "one way" works for everybody.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)