Saturday, January 24, 2009

Not much gym time this week.....

Did not spend much time in the gym this week. I did do some kettlebells and DDR, so I am feeling pretty good.

Recollection is kind of fuzzy, but here is what I did..

Monday Morning:
TGU: 32kg x 10:00 (felt good)
Swings: 48kg x 10 x 10

Tuesday: DDR/HoC+ (18lb vest) for 90:00

Wednesday: DDR/HoC for 70:00
Bowling: 246-212-185 - 643

Thursday: No workout, worked on project

Friday: KB C&P: 32kg x 3 x 5;40kg x 5 x 1 (felt good)
Renegade Row: 32kg x 2 x 5; 32kg x 2 x 10
Floor Press: 48kg x 1 x 5
Guard Press: 32kg x 2 x 10
Various Snatches Press
DDR: 25:00

Saturday is going to be a kick ass leg day

Some DDR Notes:
1) I am playing at Expert level now. I can just make it through most songs, and even got my first B on one (Tribulations)

2) According to the Wii, Expert songs burn about 25-30 calories per 1.5, or about 1000-1200 calories per hour (875-1050/hr incl. rest time)

3) There is definitely a competitive aspect to DDR, which is why it is so hard to stop (competition - go figure)

4) Repetition Definitely breeds skill. I would imaging that GtG is the best protocol to practice, maybe with some long sessions for conditioning and (learning to play while you are tired). I do know that the songs seem to get "slower" the more frequently you play.

5) I have got to find a way to compete at this...

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Today's stuff....

1) I need to add a little variety to my training. Even though I am not on the "muscle confusion" bandwagon (take that, Tony Horton), I do believe some variety can help you break plateaus. Here are some things that I am going to do:

* Every workout I am going to do one exercise that I don't normally do.

* Every week I am going to try a workout protocol that I don't normally do. I did a Jason Brown circuit earlier this week that included....
On the 2:00: 10 24" box jumps, 10 24kg snatches left, 10 24kg snatches right, 10 24kg swings. I did this for 10 cycles. Check this out: In 20 minutes I did 200 snatches, 100 swings, and 100 box jumps. It is kind of like saying do the SSST, then do 100 jumps and swings cause that is not enough. I am convinced that this variety changed something in me metabolically, and I want some more of that.

* I am going to add more stretching and mobility into my routine. This is mostly for my aching shoulders. After finally breaking the 300lb plateau in the bench, my shoulders have been killing me. I also haven't been doing armbars and TGU -- they are coming back in.

********

I am more convinced than ever that gyms actually don't make money getting people in shape. Here is some of the fodder for my observations:

* In the US, they generally get the money up front (i.e., they are paid to get you to think that their gym is the best place to get in shape.)

* If you actually get personal training at the gym, the instruction usually: 1) is generic 2) Full of gimmicks (I wonder what some of these retards would do w/out a bosu ball) 3) Always includes lunges done incorrectly. 4) Almost never includes any advice for what to do for the other 166.5 hours of the week. 5) Almost never includes any education. 6) Almost never includes follow up advice or a maintenance plan (i.e., now that you are not paying me, I don't give a crap about you).

* No one lifts heavy

* No one breaks a sweat

******************

I had a pleasure of watching a woman try to train her son in my gym recently. She was trying to get him to do what I call the Xtreme Lunge (there is nothing extreme about it, but the name of my gym is "Xtreme" and all the trainers use this lunge even though it looks absolutely ridiculous). The lunge at a leg station where you have a pad on each shoulder, and you just do lunge, but you bring the knee (which is not bearing any weight) up to 90deg. She was doing the exercise correctly (it still sucks), but her poor son was destroying his knee because she had him put his heel in the same place as hers even though his legs were about 8" longer. I think that all the trainers there do this exercise because:

1) If you don't know shi'ite about training, human physiology, or physics, you might be dumb enough to think this was an effective exercise.

2) Since the personal training industry has not done enough damage to people's knee with upright walking lunges (open chain), it needs to do more damage by making it a closed chain movement. Also, by putting this exercise in the corner of the gym, there is more room for the mullets to do bicep curls.

3) Since you can't use any appreciable weight on this, everyone looks like a wuss.

4) You wouldn't want them to actually squat, because then we would need more squat racks, and thus would upset the balance of a 30:1 ideal ratio between cardio machines and squat racks. We do this even though a squat rack costs about 1/4 of a professional grade treadmill.

To me fitness should be broken down into two things:
* being able to lift heavy things...
* being able to do a lot of work in a given about of time...
If it does not fit into these two categories, don't do it.

**************

Today's workout:
Warm up: 20min Dance Dance Revolution

Box Squats: 135, 185, 225, 245 x 1 x 2
265 x 6 x 2; 285 x 4 x 2 (~50s rest between sets)
==> These felt good and fast
Leg Press: 6,8,9, 9.5 x 1 x 10
Lying Leg Curls
Leg Curls: Stack x 1 x 3 (for the teardrop, not)
Abductors
Tire Flips: Heavy tire x 2 x 10
Evil Wheel (runs): 8 x 20yds (strap evil wheel on feet, then walk 20 years)

Yesterday's workout:
KB C&P:
32kg x 3 x 5; 40kg x 1 x 1; 40kg x 1 x 3L/2R; 40kg x 1 x 1; 40kg x 5L/2R
==> Felt pretty good
1 hour HoC/DDR

I have lost 10lb 12/20 -- pants are loser and weightlifting belt is a notch lower.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Stuff....

Personal Training business is growing slowly but surely....

Yesterday's Workout:
Bench Press:
135 x 1 x 5;
185 x 1 x 5
205 x 2 x 5
215 x 3 x 5
225 x 4 x 5
==> Felt OK....

Cable crossovers

Incline DB Press
85 x 1 x 10
95 x 1 x 8
105 x 1 x 4

Dips: BW x 2 x 20 (pretty easy)

Skull Crushers

Close Grip Bench Press:
135 x 1 x 8
185 x 1 x 8
205 x 1 x 5

Pushdowns

Snatchs: 1 x 20L/20R/15L/15R

Bowling: 147(WTF)-246-215 - 608 (glad I saved a 600 out of that...)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Medical Volunteer at Disney/Monday's Workout

Here was the workout for today.
Box Squats:
135,185,225,265 x 1 x 2; 275 x 9 x 2
Leg Press: 5.5, 7.5, 9.5 x 1 x 10
Leg Curls: Stack x 1 x 10
Abductors: Stack x 3 x 15

Jason C. Brown Circuit:
(10 2' Box Jumps/Steps, 10 Snatches L, 10 Snatches R, 10 Swings) x 10 (on the 2:00)
I did this with a 24kg bell
* Started having about 40s rest, the last set took exactly 2:00 minutes. More Box Jumps at the start, did some steps at the end.

**************************


Since I volunteered at the Medical Tent as Disney this weekend (to benefit the the Leukemia Society), I did not work out Saturday or Sunday but I did get enough "physical activity" account for it. Here was my weekend:

Friday:
4:00: 1 hour of HoC/DDR
5:30: Job Interview
7:00: Done with Job Interview
8:00: Dinner w/Jennifer (Pane Rustica)
10:00: Sleep

Saturday:
1:00 AM: Wake up to alarm (yes, that is not a typo)
1:45 AM: Left for Disney/Wide World of Sport(78 miles)
2:55 AM: Arrive at WWoS
4:00 AM: Set up Massage Area and practice/warm up. Watch cool 80's band for about 1.5 hours. Eat and coffee.
5:30 AM: Practice massage techniques and commiserate for about 2 hours
7:30 AM: Massages start
11:15 AM: Massages end
12:30 PM: Eat Lunch
1:15 PM: Do computer work for about 1 hour at Kinko's in Lakeland
2:30-4:15 PM: Watch sports at Winghouse
4:30-5:30 PM: So tired I cannot fall asleep
5:30-6:00 PM: Nap
7:00-8:00 PM: Eat a great steak dinner made by Jeff Kramer
8:00-1:00 AM: Play Wii/DDR/BS

Sunday:
4:15 AM: Wake up
5:00 AM: Leave Kramer's in Lakeland
5:45 AM: Arrive At Disney
6:05 AM: Get on Bus to Medical Area
7:15 AM: Get lost on bus and finally arrive
8:45 AM to 2:30 PM: Massage almost non-stop, almost like RKC weekend
3:15 PM: Lunch (Subway)
5:15 PM: Arrive in Tampa
6:00 PM to 1:15 AM: Sleep

Monday: 1:30 AM to 6:55 AM: More Sleep
*************

Massage experience:

I had a chance to volunteer at the Disney Marathons (1/2 and full) at the Medical Area this weekend. It was a long weekend, but one that I learned a lot from.

Saturday (1/2 marathon):
We had to get into the park by 3:00 AM (I had to leave my house by 1:45 AM to get there on time.
The race started at around 5:00 AM, and the first massages started at 7:30.
Did about 4 hours of massage, averaging about 15 min per massage.

Lessons learned:
1) Almost everyone's Iliotibial Band (IT Band) is tight, tight, tight. You would think that after running thirteen miles (many at sub 8:00 mile pace) that the calves and quads would be tight - but many were like jello. The IT Band was tight on just about everyone.
2) The quality of the massage really depends on getting the person to relax. If the person is not mentally relaxed, you can't get them to physically relax. You do this by relating to them and communicating during the massage.
3) People generally like to be stretched. Different stretches to be used are:
* Heel to butt
* Hamstrings
* Gluteus medius
* Adductors
* Hip flexors
* Calves (big one)
* I threw in some PNF/C-A and C-R stretches as well.
4) Have confidence in what you are doing/relax
5) The tips (which were donated) depended on how you related to the client, not the quality of the massage.


Sunday (Full Marathon):
1) Listen to the client
2) Listen to what YOU feel
3) Have a plan, but be prepared to change the plan

General:
The runners will generally have softer muscles (slow twitch). If you have very tight muscles you are not going to be a good runner because you will always have tension in the muscles which makes each contraction less efficient. Also, if they build up lactic acid, they are toast.

Not all of the finishers were what I would call physically fit.

Massage is hard on the body. I did not need to work out after that weekend. Anyone who does massage needs to do the following:
* Eat good food
* Hydrate
* Stay away from people with bad energy (which is good to do anyway)
* Learn proper body mechanics (you cannot muscle your way through a massage). This include good posture, lunges, and positioning of the hands and fingers.
* Work out (the massage therapist that were in reasonable shape fared better than those that were not)

All in all a fun weekend. We got 10 clinical hours. and lots of free stuff/SWAG (food, shirts, sandals, towels, jackets, etc.)

Friday, January 9, 2009

Thursday's Workout...

Not much different from the norm:

HoC/DDR (w/16lb weighted vest): 1:15 (awesome)

lbs are starting to come off...

Thursday, January 8, 2009

This week....

Training this week.

Monday: Did a bunch of swing during some personal training sessions. Also put in some light BU presses and snatches. Bowling - 6 games

Tuesday:
Press Ladders: 32kg x 5 x 1-5 (felt awful)
DDR: 2 hours (getting better)

Wednesday:
Pullups: BW x 5 x 7
Lat Pulldowns: Overhand and reverse grips
KB Towel Rows: 40kg, 64kg, 88kg x 1 x 10
HoC/DDR: :40
Bowling League: 189-236-224 - 649 (Made good adjustments, kept the ball in play, and made spares. Did not throw the ball great, but not bad either. I will take a 216 average any day of the week.

Overslept for class 2x this week

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Leg Day...a

I did a leg day today. Not too bad....

Box Squats: 185, 225 x 1 x 2; 245 x 4 x 2; 265 x 6 x 2
Leg Press: 4,6,8,9 x 1 x 10; 9.5 x 2 x 10
Leg Curls, Leg Extensions, Abductors: Stack x 2 x 10
Calf Raise: Stack x 3 x 10
Tire Flips: Big Tire x 2 x 20 (work capacity is definitely increasing)
DDR x :40

Mullet Moments:
There was a guy, all upper body, in my gym today. He started legs in the Smith machine (strike one) with 30lb (strike two) with his knee going way forward (strike three) and heel popping up (strike four). After that, he went into the leg extension machine and had all of 60lbs on it (strike 5). All of sudden mullet #2 comes by, after doing 1/3 stack in the calf raise and tells mullet #1 and tells him "You know how to work the tear drop?" I wanted to say sooooooo badly "use more than 70# of weight" or "squat bitch". He went into the explanation of rotating your foot out and doing sets of 21. After that he said that classic mullet mating call..."that is all tear drop (or other relevant body part)". Ridiculous and pathetic. Let me give you a real explanation:

* "Tear Drop" = Vastus Medialis
* Origin = Medial Lip of Linea aspera
* Insertion = Tibial tuberosity (just like the rest of the quadriceps group)
* Action = Flex knee
==> Given this:
1) You cannot completely isolate it because it shares a tendon with the rest of the quadriceps group
2) The only action is to flex the knee. Rotating it is not going to help. I will say that it is not engages until the last 20 degrees or so.

Friday, January 2, 2009

I'll keep this one short....

Changing up my gym routine. Going for more of a bodybuilding split....

Friday: Chest/Tris
Saturday: Legs
Monday: Shoulders/Biceps
Wednesday: Back

Today's Workout:
BP: 185 x 5; 205 x 5; 215 x 2 x 5; 225 x 7 x 5
Pec Deck: Worked up to stack (the machine was not bolted down and it moved while doing the exercises)
Cable Crossoves
Wide Chest Hammer
Close Grip Bench Press: 185 x 5 x 5
Tricep Rope Pull Downs
Some machine crap

DDR/HoC/16lb weighted vest (burned 400 calories on DDR)

Some guy asked me for a spot. He was doing 105 lbs. I have no problem with that. I told him he should ditch the gloves, you will add to your bench right there - he said that he likes the padding. What a pussy, he was probably afraid to fuck up his manicure.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Lots of new stuff for 2009.....

1) I start Personal Training at private facility in New Tampa (AAP Fitness). I am so looking forward to this! I looked at over 15 places. Some of them were really slimy. Others lacked anyone that knew how to get people in shape. Looking forward to making 2009 a breakthrough year both for me and my clients.

2) I got Wii/Dance Dance Revolution in December, and I have been using it a lot during my training. I have gotten A and AA on many songs on level "Difficult" and even been completing songs on "Expert". I even coined a new workout protocol that uses both Dance Dance Revolution and Kettlebell exercises -- DDR/HoC. I alternate a song or two of DDR with a kettlebell exercise. The great things about using DDR for the recovery period are:

* You can't dog it. Unlike jogging, the arrows don't wait for you when you are tired. I get the old feeling that I had from soccer games where you competed and "dug deep" even when you were dog tired.

* Unlike jogging, DDR is a skill. That just makes it a little more interesting and gets the brain more active.

* Unlike jogging, DDR gives you a numerical, objective score. Not only per song, but it will also keep track of the calories burned (may not be accurate, but it is directionally correct).

Yesterday (right before the New Year's revelry. I took it a step further, I added an 18# X-vest to the mix (DDR/HoC+). I played for about 1:20 hours and did the following KB exercises:
* 32kg Snatches (swing, hang, and dead) 10L/10R
* 24kg Snatches (swing and hang) 20L/20R
* 32kg Cleans, 15/15
* 2 x 24kg Jerks, 15 (the second dip is tough with the vest)
* 24kg Renegade Rows w/pushups, 10
* 2 x 24kg Burpees, 15
* 40kg swings, 20
* 32kg Figure 9s, 10

During this, I had a long sleeve denim shirt on. It was drenched. The vest also taught me to be more efficient. It was harder to jump, needed to use more of the rotational torso muscles (internal/external obliques, transverse abdominus.

* I just completed a WSB cycle and got two new post injury PRs:
BP: 305
DL: 485
Looking to blow these out of the water in 2009. My next cycle will be more of a mullet cycle. I actually did curls for the first time in a long time on Monday. I think that I will use a four day split with the following:
* Friday: Chest/Triceps
* Saturday: Legs
* Sunday: Rest
* Monday: Back/Biceps
* Tuesday: HoC Cardio
* Wednesday: Shoulders/Traps
* Thursday: Variety Day
==> With my latest training cycle, I have not been doing the KB as much, but now they are going to be included in some form in all workouts.

Last Two Days of Training:
Monday (Press Day)
Bench Press: 135 x 1 x 5
185 x 1 x 5
205 x 1 x 5
225 x 7 x 4 (eh)

Incline DB Press: 85 x 3 x 10 (eh)

Rows and Pulldowns: Worked up to Rack x 2 x 10

Curls: 95 x 1 x 10; 115 x 1 x 10

Wednesday (Squat Day)
* Box Squats: 135, 185, 225 x 1 x 2; 245 x 6 x 2, 265 x 4 x 2 (felt damn strong)
* Leg Press: 9 x 3 x 10 (felt OK)
* Leg Curls/Adductor/Abductors: Stack x 3 x 10
* Giant Tire flips: 2 x 20

==> I noticed that my belt has went down TWO loops since November. I credit the DDR.

==> I gave a guy some execution pointers yesterday while working in Leg Curls, he gave me the following comments:
- Are you a trainer, you gave me more good advice in 3 minutes than in 6 weeks of personal training here.
- You are stronger than you look (which is really saying you are look weaker than you are).

Went to a great comedy show to bring out the New Year last night. A great show by John Pinette.